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Offishul Boys in the Boat movie thread

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Comments

  • Doog_de_JourDoog_de_Jour Member Posts: 7,977 Standard Supporter
    whlinder said:

    Movie review, by me:

    Met expectations, which were to convey enough of what Joe Rantz went through and what the team became in the ~2 hours available in a movie. The aesthetics and cinematography of the rowing scenes were well done. It's jarring to see us practicing without mountains or conifer trees in the background. Impossible to cram the book into that movie; at the end of the day the movie is only loosely based on the book and if you separate the two you will enjoy the movie more. Far easier to enjoy the movie if you haven't read the book or know the story. Still, it was awesome. The wife (never read the book) loved it. The kid (only read the young readers version 8 years ago and doesn't remember the details) also loved it. It got the kid to demand to read the full book which she has already started on.

    Having our fight song sung in a movie was sweet.

    I got free pub with my Washington Rowing pullover from a couple of rowing families who made it to the early screening and had also read the book.

    I'll probably go see it on the big screen once or twice more.

    Thanks for the review @whlinder! I’m unfortunately going to have to wait until January to see it, but I’m looking forward to it.

    BTW, for those of you that have Spotify Premium, you can listen to the film soundtrack and the audiobook now.
  • 1to392831weretaken1to392831weretaken Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 7,599 Swaye's Wigwam
    Where did they practice back then?
  • whlinderwhlinder Member Posts: 4,739 Standard Supporter
    Lake Washington
  • haiehaie Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 21,766 Swaye's Wigwam
    44% Rotten Tomatoes score but almost all of the reviews I read seemed like butthurt, smelling own farts art house drivel.
  • CFetters_Nacho_LoverCFetters_Nacho_Lover Moderator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 30,246 Founders Club
    haie said:

    44% Rotten Tomatoes score but almost all of the reviews I read seemed like butthurt, smelling own farts art house drivel.

    I never go by the critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Fuck those guys.
  • whlinderwhlinder Member Posts: 4,739 Standard Supporter
    haie said:

    44% Rotten Tomatoes score but almost all of the reviews I read seemed like butthurt, smelling own farts art house drivel.

    I'll be curious how the reviews of this differ from the reviews for Remember the Titans which is another story I knew IRL before it became a movie (or book). (My HS, "played" on the football team, many of the principle characters I knew while passing through there - Yoast, Boone, Petey)

    Remember the Titans has like a 72% Rotten Tomatoes score. The story arcs aren't that different - team is made of underdogs (only in perception for RTT), team has adversity, team comes together, team kicks ass. Lack of familiarity due to racial differences and racial conflicts (which was significantly exaggerated; most real conflict was because 3 schools merged into 1 and so 3 teams became 1) vs. poverty. Beating Nazis to win gold is way ahead of whichever team the Titans won the state title against. Disney took more liberty with the story than Clooney/MGM and the screenwriters did. Remember the Titans just had a neat and clean story which fit within a single year instead of the multi-year build to 1936 that BITB actually has. And people understand football.
  • 1to392831weretaken1to392831weretaken Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 7,599 Swaye's Wigwam
    whlinder said:

    Lake Washington

    Oh, you said that it's jarring to see them practicing without mountains and conifers in the background, so I thought the movie must have moved where they practice or something.
  • haiehaie Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 21,766 Swaye's Wigwam
    whlinder said:

    haie said:

    44% Rotten Tomatoes score but almost all of the reviews I read seemed like butthurt, smelling own farts art house drivel.

    I'll be curious how the reviews of this differ from the reviews for Remember the Titans which is another story I knew IRL before it became a movie (or book). (My HS, "played" on the football team, many of the principle characters I knew while passing through there - Yoast, Boone, Petey)

    Remember the Titans has like a 72% Rotten Tomatoes score. The story arcs aren't that different - team is made of underdogs (only in perception for RTT), team has adversity, team comes together, team kicks ass. Lack of familiarity due to racial differences and racial conflicts (which was significantly exaggerated; most real conflict was because 3 schools merged into 1 and so 3 teams became 1) vs. poverty. Beating Nazis to win gold is way ahead of whichever team the Titans won the state title against. Disney took more liberty with the story than Clooney/MGM and the screenwriters did. Remember the Titans just had a neat and clean story which fit within a single year instead of the multi-year build to 1936 that BITB actually has. And people understand football.
    One positive review I read stated that these kinds of movies don't win awards anymore and Hollywood is pretty biased against them.
  • Doog_de_JourDoog_de_Jour Member Posts: 7,977 Standard Supporter

    whlinder said:

    Lake Washington

    Oh, you said that it's jarring to see them practicing without mountains and conifers in the background, so I thought the movie must have moved where they practice or something.
    If I recall correctly by watching a "behind the scenes" featurette, a lot of rowing scenes were shot in the UK, so that might explain it.
  • Doog_de_JourDoog_de_Jour Member Posts: 7,977 Standard Supporter
    haie said:

    44% Rotten Tomatoes score but almost all of the reviews I read seemed like butthurt, smelling own farts art house drivel.

    A Coug I know said it was "Rudy" in a boat.

    Whatever. A lot of inspirational "inspired by a true story" sports films are a little sappy. I'm not expecting this to dominate Hollywood award season.
  • RaceBannonRaceBannon Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 105,458 Founders Club
    Friday Night Lights is an art house classic
  • 1to392831weretaken1to392831weretaken Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 7,599 Swaye's Wigwam
    whlinder said:

    whlinder said:

    Lake Washington

    Oh, you said that it's jarring to see them practicing without mountains and conifers in the background, so I thought the movie must have moved where they practice or something.
    If I recall correctly by watching a "behind the scenes" featurette, a lot of rowing scenes were shot in the UK, so that might explain it.
    Yeah, Clooney has said repeatedly that 1936 Seattle doesn't look like Seattle of today so they shot it in the UK. Whether that's a reason or an excuse, whatever. They do some far angle shots of Montlake Cut which look great except for the fact that IRL such a shot would show the Olympics in the distance. Again, it's fine, can't nitpick to the point of not enjoying it for what it is.

    I just find it amusing which pieces get historical/scene precision and which ones don't. Hooverville south of downtown, with the Smith Tower in the distance, accurate per photos and the memories my dad has described to me. The Olympic 8s themselves, the ASUW shell house, some of the launch boats for the Cal race (one is named Oski III), a shout out to Hugh Laurie's dad, historically accurate. Mt Rainer, the Cascades and Olympics being absent when showing UW rowing on Lake Washington? OK. Only if you notice such things.
    Okay, now I get it. Seems like it would have been something pretty easy to digitally insert.
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