Children of Men
Where the DNA of Children of Men travels
Films that shaped it
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the bigger visual references in the making of this film were Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange
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For the beginning, we watched The Battle of Algiers with the crew. Not because of the subject matter, but the journalistic camera, the way Pontecorvo creates the sense of reality from a subjective point of view, but also this sort of immediate chaos.
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When we started pre-production, there were certain films we screened for the crew. For the car sequence, we showed Godard’s Weekend. Not for the realism, but to show how a single shot can sustain tension and character interaction over a long period.
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We talked about films like Stalker for the feeling of decay and spiritual wasteland.
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There's that scene in Children of Men where he gets into the car and it's all one shot. It's fantastic. I went and watched it, and then I kept looking for a cut, and there isn't one. And I thought, 'Oh my God, you can do that!'
Films it shaped
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I loved the grittiness and realism of Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men... I thought those were great movies to use as touchstones for the look of Catching Fire.
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I liked The Battle of Algiers for the documentary feel and the hand-held approach.
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When we were trying to figure out how to shoot this fight, we knew we wanted it to be unique. My DP, Maryse Alberti, and I, we talked about a few things. She's a huge fan of one-take scenes. I'm a huge fan of Alfonso Cuaron's work, and especially "Children of Men." So we knew we wanted to try and get one in there, and that was the scene that made the most sense to us.
