STACK Jun #128

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JUNE 2015 JB Hi-Fi
050
The life of British physicist Stephen
Hawking pretty much defines
the term ‘triumph over adversity’
when it comes to inspirational
biopics. Given two years to live
from his initial diagnosis of motor
neurone disease, Hawking defied
the odds and is still making news
today in his seventies. Adapted
from the book Travelling to
Infinity: My Life With Stephen by
Hawking’s wife Jane, The Theory
of Everything focuses primarily on the pair’s relationship
from their initial meeting at Cambridge in 1963, where
Hawking is a doctoral student, through the struggle with
the debilitating condition that would cripple him physically
and compromise his ability to communicate his brilliant
theories concerning the nature of black holes and the
origin of the universe. Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne is
simply brilliant as the wheelchair-bound genius – you’ll
quickly forget that you’re not actually watching the real
Stephen Hawking – and is equally matched by Felicity
Jones’s performance as Jane. A compelling and sentiment-
free look at a modern day genius in the tradition of The
Imitation Game and A Beautiful Mind. • See page 36
Big Bang theory.
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
A has-been actor who once headed
a successful superhero franchise
attempts to make a comeback with
a Broadway production, so he’ll
be remembered as more than just
“a Hollywood clown in a lycra bird
suit”. Art imitates life in the casting
of former Batman Michael Keaton,
whose career is given a Tarantino-
like resurrection in this backstage
black comedy from Mexican
director Alejandro G. Iñárritu – best known for dark dramas
like Amores Perros and 21 Grams. The tone is lighter and
the narrative more linear in Iñárritu’s latest; amidst the
chaos leading up to opening night, Birdman ruminates on
the nature of fame and success, the fear of failure, and
Hollywood’s obsession with comic book blockbusters.
Keaton and the supporting players (Naomi Watts, Edward
Norton, Emma Stone) are uniformly excellent, but the real
star here is the dazzling technical trickery that makes it
appear as though the entire film has been shot in a single,
unbroken take – a feat previously pulled off by Hitchcock in
1948 with Rope. Iñárritu’s fresh and creative showbiz satire
transcended its arthouse trappings to wow mainstream
audiences and win this year’s Oscar for Best Picture. Don’t
miss it. • See page 38
Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
BIRDMAN
BD ONLY
Deleted Scenes
– Church
– Riverbank
– Jane Types for Stephen
– God’s Work
– Stephen Drops Robert
– Helping Stephen into the Car
– Jonathan Lends a Hand
– Stephen Meets the Queen
Becoming the ‘Hawkings’
A Beautiful Mind
EXTRAS
FURTHER VIEWING
Release Date: 04/06/15
Format:
DVD & BD
All-Access Featurette
Gallery: Chivo’s On-Set
Photography
BD ONLY
A Conversation with Michael
Keaton and Alejandro G.
Iñárritu
JB HI-FI EXCLUSIVE
Alternative Cover & Art Cards
Adaptation
EXTRAS
FURTHER VIEWING
Release Date: 11/06/15
Format: TOP
HITS
TOP
HITS
visit REVIEWS DVD&BD
There are only sixteen
visible cuts in the entire
film. Because the movie was
carefully rehearsed and shot in
sequence, the editing process
only took two weeks.
DID YOU KNOW...
In an email to director James
Marsh about the portrayal
by Eddie Redmayne, Stephen
Hawking said there were
certain points when he thought
he was watching himself.
DID YOU KNOW...