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==Release==
==Release==
''Cloud Atlas'' is set to be released on October 26, 2012 in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |last=Yaniz |first=Robert |title=‘Cloud Atlas’ Release Date Bumped Up to October |url=http://screenrant.com/cloud-atlas-release-date-october-ryanz-180892 |journal=[[Screen Rant]]|accessdate=29 June 2012 |date=June 19, 2012}}</ref> [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] will distribute the film in the United States and Canada, and [[Focus Features|Focus Features International]] is handling sales and distribution for other territories.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Fernandez |first=Jay A. |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/risky-business/wb-focus-international-distribute-cloud-177479 |title=WB and Focus International to Distribute 'Cloud Atlas,' Starring Tom Hanks |journal=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date={{nowrap|April 12}}, 2011}}</ref>
''Cloud Atlas'' was released on October 26, 2012 in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |last=Yaniz |first=Robert |title=‘Cloud Atlas’ Release Date Bumped Up to October |url=http://screenrant.com/cloud-atlas-release-date-october-ryanz-180892 |journal=[[Screen Rant]]|accessdate=29 June 2012 |date=June 19, 2012}}</ref> [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] will distribute the film in the United States and Canada, and [[Focus Features|Focus Features International]] is handling sales and distribution for other territories.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Fernandez |first=Jay A. |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/risky-business/wb-focus-international-distribute-cloud-177479 |title=WB and Focus International to Distribute 'Cloud Atlas,' Starring Tom Hanks |journal=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date={{nowrap|April 12}}, 2011}}</ref>


=== Critical Reception ===
=== Critical Reception ===

Revision as of 20:42, 27 October 2012

Cloud Atlas
Theatrical poster
Directed by
Screenplay by
  • Lana Wachowski
  • Tom Tykwer
  • Andy Wachowski
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byAlexander Berner
Music by
Production
companies
Cloud Atlas Production
X-Filme Creative Pool
Anarchos Production
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • September 8, 2012 (2012-09-08) (TIFF)
  • October 26, 2012 (2012-10-26) (United States)
Running time
172 minutes [1][2]
CountriesGermany
United States
Hong Kong
Singapore
LanguageEnglish
Budget$102 million[3]
Box office$3,455,000[4]

Cloud Atlas is a 2012 epic adventure drama film written and directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer. It was adapted from the 2004 novel of the same name by David Mitchell. With a budget of $102 million (financed by independent sources; Warner Bros also paid $15 million to acquire the film's North American rights[5]), Cloud Atlas is one of the most expensive independent films of all time.

With an ensemble cast to cover the film's multiple storylines, production began in September 2011 at Studio Babelsberg in Germany.

The film was premiered on September 9, 2012, at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival, where it received a 10-minute standing ovation.[6][7][8][9] It was released on October 26, 2012[10] in conventional and IMAX theaters.[11]

Plot

The official synopsis for Cloud Atlas describes the film as:

An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.[12]

Cast

The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing

Letters from Zedelghem

Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery

The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish

An Orison of Sonmi~451

Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After

Production

Development

The film is based on the 2004 novel Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Filmmaker Tom Tykwer revealed in January 2009 his intent to adapt the novel and said he was working on a screenplay with the Wachowskis,[13] who optioned the novel.[14] By June 2010, Tykwer had asked actors Natalie Portman, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, James McAvoy, and Ian McKellen to star in Cloud Atlas.[15] By April 2011, the Wachowskis joined Tykwer in co-directing the film.[16] In the following May, with Hanks and Berry confirmed in their roles, Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw, Susan Sarandon, and Jim Broadbent also joined the cast.[17][18] Actor Hugh Grant also joined the cast days before the start of filming.[19]

Cloud Atlas was backed by the German production companies A Company, ARD Degeto Film and X Filme, and Variety reported in May 2011 that the film had a production budget of $140 million. The filmmakers also secured ca. $20 million from the German government, including €10 million ($13.5 million) from the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF),[20][21] €1.5 million ($2.15 million) from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, a German funder, as part of their plans to film at Studio Babelsberg later in 2011.[22] The project also received €1 million ($1.5 million) financial support from Filmstiftung NRW,[23] another German organization. The budget was updated to $100 million.[24]

Principal photography

Filming began on September 16, 2011.[25] German media considers Cloud Atlas to be "the first attempt at a German blockbuster" with its budget making it the most expensive German-produced film to date.[26] Tykwer and the Wachowskis filmed parallel to each other using separate camera crews.[27] The Wachowskis directed the nineteenth-century story and the two set in the future, while Tykwer directed the stories set in the thirties, the seventies, and the present day.[28] Warner Bros. Pictures has said that they are happy with the film's 164-minute running time, after previously stating that it should not exceed 150 minutes.[29] The MPAA has given the film a rating of R for "violence, language, sexuality/nudity, and some drug use."[30]

Filming also took place in Düsseldorf,[31] Scotland and Majorca.[19] Scenes filmed in Scotland feature the recently built Clackmannanshire Bridge[32] near Alloa and Glasgow amongst others.

Marketing

A five-minute trailer for Cloud Atlas, accompanied by a short introduction by the three directors describing the ideas behind the creation of the film, was released on July 26, 2012.[33] An offical trailer was released on September 7, 2012.[34] On October 24, 2012 (just two days before the film's release), Collider.com discussed why the audience must see Cloud Atlas on its opening weekend.[35]

Release

Cloud Atlas was released on October 26, 2012 in the United States.[36] Warner Bros. Pictures will distribute the film in the United States and Canada, and Focus Features International is handling sales and distribution for other territories.[37]

Critical Reception

The film premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, whereupon it received a 10-minute standing ovation.[6][7][9] Overall, reviews have been polarized, with some critics praising the film highly and others panning it outright. The reaction to Cloud Atlas has been compared to the previous year's reaction to Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 60% of critics have given Cloud Atlas a "fresh" rating based on 114 reviews, with an average of 6.4/10. The site's consensus from the collected reviews was "Its sprawling, ambitious blend of thought-provoking narrative and eye-catching visuals will prove too unwieldy for some, but the sheer size and scope of Cloud Atlas are all but impossible to ignore".[38] The film currently holds a Metacritic score of 55 out of 100 (based on reviews by 41 critics), indicating 'mixed to average' reviews[39]

Film critic Roger Ebert praised the film for being "one of the most ambitious films ever made", awarding the film four out of four stars. He wrote "Even as I was watching Cloud Atlas the first time, I knew I would need to see it again. Now that I've seen it the second time, I know I'd like to see it a third time ... I think you will want to see this daring and visionary film ... I was never, ever bored by Cloud Atlas. On my second viewing, I gave up any attempt to work out the logical connections between the segments, stories and characters."[40]

Variety described it as "an intense three-hour mental workout rewarded with a big emotional payoff. ... One's attention must be engaged at all times as the mosaic triggers an infinite range of potentially profound personal responses." James Rocchi of MSN Movies stated "It is so full of passion and heart and empathy that it feels completely unlike any other modern film in its range either measured through scope of budget or sweep of action."[41] The Daily Beast called Cloud Atlas "one of the year’s most important movies".[6]

Inside movies described the film as "utterly, wonderfully epic".[7] Michael Cieply of The New York Times commented on the film "You will have to decide for yourself whether it works. It’s that kind of picture. ... Is this the stuff of Oscars? Who knows? Is it a force to be reckoned with in the coming months? Absolutely."[8]

However, the film was criticized by Slant Magazine reviewer Calum Marsh, who called Cloud Atlas a "unique and totally unparalleled disaster" and commented "[its] badness is fundamental, an essential aspect of the concept and its execution that I suspect is impossible to remedy or rectify".[42] The Guardian stated "At 163 minutes, Cloud Atlas carries all the marks of a giant folly, and those unfamiliar with the book will be baffled."[43]

References

  1. ^ "CLOUD ATLAS (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 2012-10-08. Retrieved 2012-10-08.
  2. ^ http://www.fandango.com/cloudatlas_156784/movieoverview?date=
  3. ^ http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-box-office-cloud-atlas-mavericks-silent-hill-20121025,0,5144803.story
  4. ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cloudatlas.htm
  5. ^ http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-box-office-cloud-atlas-mavericks-silent-hill-20121025,0,5144803.story
  6. ^ a b c "The Wachowskis' 'Cloud Atlas' Wows Toronto International Film Festival". Daily Beast. September 9, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ a b c "Toronto Film Festival: Cloud Atlas premiere lands an emotional standing ovation for cast, including Halle Berry, Tom Hanks". Inside Movies. September 9, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ a b "Toronto Gets a Look at Cloud Atlas". The New York Times. September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ a b "Wachowskis open up their 'Cloud Atlas' at last". Los Angeles Times. September 9, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ Smith, Ian Hayden (2012). International Film Guide 2012. p. 126. ISBN 978-1908215017. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  11. ^ Sandy Schaefer (September 24, 2012). "'Cloud Atlas' Arriving in IMAX Theaters; First TV Spot Released". Screen Rant. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Staff (September 15, 2011). "Wachowskis to start filming 'Cloud Atlas'". UPI. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Billington, Alex (January 29, 2009). "Tom Tykwer Adapting Cloud Atlas with Wachowski Brothers". FirstShowing.net. Retrieved September 16, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  14. ^ Keenan, Catherine (April 2, 2011). "David Mitchell – Interview". The Sydney Morning Herald. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Staff (June 17, 2010). "'Cloud Atlas' aims to recruit all-star cast". NME. Retrieved September 16, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  16. ^ Kroll, Justin (April 12, 2011). "'Cloud Atlas' gathers with Tom Hanks". Variety. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Roxborough, Scott; Kit, Borys (May 11, 2011). "Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw Join 'Cloud Atlas' (Cannes Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Lodderhose, Diana; Meza, Ed (May 12, 2011). "Sarandon, Broadbent circle 'Atlas'". Variety. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ a b Dawtrey, Adam (September 13, 2011). "Tykwer, Wachowskis' 'Cloud' draws crowd". Variety. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "LatestNews" ignored (help); Text "News" ignored (help)
  20. ^ Bestsellerverfilmung: „Wolkenatlas“ begeistert Testpublikum - Neueste Nachrichten aus Potsdam
  21. ^ DFFF
  22. ^ Meza, Ed (May 10, 2011). "Wachowski siblings secure coin for 'Cloud'". Variety. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ http://www.imdb.com/company/co0066028/
  24. ^ Horn, Andrew (July 12, 2011). "NRW backs Tykwer/Wachowskis' 'Cloud Atlas'". Variety. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ Warner Bros (September 13, 2011). "Cameras to Roll on the Wachowski-Tykwer Directed 'CLOUD ATLAS'". Reuters. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ Pidd, Helen (June 22, 2011). "Cloud Atlas to be filmed in Berlin as city eyes starring role in movies". The Guardian. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ Roxborough, Scott (August 22, 2011). "Wachowskis, Tom Tykwer Set for 'Cloud Atlas' Shoot Mid-September". The Hollywood Reporter. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ Hemon, Aleksandar (September 10, 2012). "The Wachowskis' World beyond "The Matrix"". newyorker.com. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  29. ^ [1], Release date, May 17, 2012
  30. ^ [2], MPAA June 5th, 2012.
  31. ^ Cloud Atlas (2012) - Filming locations
  32. ^ Hutchinson, Hamish (August 30, 2012). "County's bridge to Tinseltown". alloaadvertiser.com. Retrieved August 30, 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  33. ^ Matt Goldberg (July 26, 2012). "Extended Trailer, Directors' Commentary, and Poster for Tom Tykwer and The Wachowskis' CLOUD ATLAS". Retrieved August 7, 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  34. ^ Sandy Schaefer (September 7, 2012). "Official Trailer for the Wachowskis' 'Cloud Atlas': Shorter But Still Stunning". Retrieved September 7, 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  35. ^ Matt Goldberg (October 24, 2012). "Why the Future of Mainstream Cinema Depends on You Seeing CLOUD ATLAS This Weekend". Retrieved October 24, 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  36. ^ Yaniz, Robert (June 19, 2012). "'Cloud Atlas' Release Date Bumped Up to October". Screen Rant. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  37. ^ Fernandez, Jay A. (April 12, 2011). "WB and Focus International to Distribute 'Cloud Atlas,' Starring Tom Hanks". The Hollywood Reporter. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ "Cloud Atlas (2012)". Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  39. ^ "Cloud Atlas Review". Metacritic. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  40. ^ [http:rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121024/REVIEWS/121029991 "Roger Ebert Cloud Atlas Review"]. Chicago-Sum Times. Retrieved October 25, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  41. ^ "TIFF Review: 'Cloud Atlas'". MSN Movies. Retrieved September 11, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  42. ^ "Toronto Film Festival: Cloud Atlas premiere lands an emotional standing ovation for cast, including Halle Berry, Tom Hanks". Slant Magazine. September 9, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  43. ^ "Cloud Atlas - review". The Guardian. September 9, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cloud_Atlas_(film)&oldid=520163774"