|
|
 |
| 首頁 Home | 電影 Films | 評論 Opinions | 戲院 Cinemas | 資訊 Information | 網站地圖 Site Map |
首頁 ->
電影 -> 香港每年上映電影
->
Home -> Films ->
Films Released in Hong Kong by Year ->
| 開畫日期 Release Date | ||
| 片長（分鐘） Running Time (Min.) | ||
| 級別 Category | ||
| 上映戲院（首週） Cinema Line-Up (First Week) |
警告!!
歐洲最強戰機「幻影2000」
50000呎高空蒸發！
恐怖組織滲透最精銳空軍，
過百「幻影」激戰敵我難分！
多個歐洲、非洲重點城市
成為襲擊目標，
法國巴黎首當其衝！
檔案編號：MIR2000
事件：一架新型戰機「幻影2000」失蹤
地點：法國霍蘭治空軍基地
詳情：
歐洲最大航空展"The Farnborough Air Show"的軍備展?部份中，法國達索航空公司向各國代表展示最新式多用途戰機「幻影2000」。一次常規的演練過程後，軍方空中指揮塔向「幻影2000」的機師下達回航的指令，但並沒有得到任何回覆。三十秒後，「幻影2000」完全切斷與指揮塔的通訊，同時基地雷達亦失去「幻影2000」蹤跡。軍方即時發出內部警報。
危機評估：
從整件事件當中的計畫部署嚴謹性和組織性分析所得，不排除是次事件為另一宗恐怖軍事行動，而非因個人疏忽導致的意外。
「幻影2000」為世界最新式的多用途戰機之一，是唯一能與美國的「F」系列和俄羅斯的「米格」系列戰機抗衡的機種。假如「幻影2000」落入恐怖份子手中，其破壞力將超越911事件。
相關可疑事件1：
事件發生的同時，霍蘭治空軍基地的戰機機師費倫隊長和曼尼隊長正於軍事演練附近空域進行實戰訓練。軍方即時向二人下達追截「幻影2000」的命令。據報告二人與「幻影2000」展開接觸，並無視上級命令開火攻擊。二人因此事正接受停職調查。
相關可疑事件2：
「幻影2000」事件發生後，數名國家要員包括軍方、特務部及政府高層被查出曾與外國軍火商私下秘密洽談。懷疑是次接觸與事件有關。
對策：
指派國家特務情報局進行徹底調查，包括軍方內部以堵塞存在漏洞；全面追蹤「幻影2000」戰機下落，並盡一切方法找出將受襲擊的可能目標。
結論：
一級緊急戒備！
全球城市隨時遇襲！
《幻影危機》
Sky Fighters
歐洲最強戰機凌空蒸發
恐怖襲擊陰影籠罩全球
軍備展?上，一架新式戰機「幻影2000」在表演中人間蒸發，歐洲最強空中武力落入恐怖份子手上；另一方面救國精銳機師費倫和曼尼任務成功卻遭革職，軍方內部爾虞我詐敵我難分。同一時間曼尼前度美藉女友加入空軍特別行動組，曾經背叛的她竟再次接近曼尼，原因撲朔迷離！國慶日在即，表面看似風平浪靜其實暗藏殺機。費倫和曼尼周旋於軍方、特工及恐怖份子三方之中，二人能否解決危機？驚天恐怖襲擊連鎖爆發，全球陷入極度恐慌！
史上最逼真空戰 超龐大軍事鉅製
為求逼真，電影出動了多架現役「幻影2000」戰機，每機平均單價高達5000萬美金！另外為此次拍攝更不惜工本特別研製一套的攝影機支撐系統，將4部35米厘攝錄機裝配在「幻影2000」之上，以應付高空50000呎和在音速下飛行時產生的強大壓力和G力。再加上為讓演員特別完全複製的「幻影2000」駕駛艙和「幻影2000」每次出動任務的燃料開支等費用，耗資龐大的程度在同類型空戰電影中也極為罕見！
5萬呎高空音速拍攝 挑戰危險極限
毫無破綻力求完美
《幻影危機》對歐洲甚至世界影壇來說，是一項非常嚴峻的挑戰和艱鉅的任務，因為製作人員要挑戰電影的極限，拍出史上最真實的空戰場面！導演謝勒皮利斯早在劇本的編寫工作開始前，就已經提出這項挑戰：放棄電腦特技和製作立體模型，要以連續鏡頭實地拍攝空戰場面！謝勒皮利斯表示：「我要每一項資料和每一個細節都做到無可反駁，真實無瑕！」為此更特別邀請空軍精銳機師卡尼埃少校參與整個製作，包括長達12星期的空中拍攝工作、制定實戰戰術和為真實武器的演出擔任顧問。
卡尼埃少校就有這樣的經歷：「我回到所屬的空軍中隊，將我們在空中拍攝回來的連續鏡頭放給其他機師看，他們都說是特技畫面。因為大家都知道拍攝空戰大多採用手搖鏡，但我們所拍的如此穩定逼真，必定是經過特技處理。但我們克服了這個問題，我們做到了！」卡尼埃少校所指的，就是特別研製的攝影機支撐機，將4部攝影機固定在「幻影2000」之上，並抵受50000呎高空和音速飛行的壓力和G力。
空戰場面直逼極限
除了器材以外，拍攝的技巧和飛行技術是另一個重大而艱鉅的課題，攝影師艾力麥倫表示：「我們在空中拍攝的每一個鏡頭，都有一大堆問題要考慮。首先，每個鏡頭都要有含意和作用，而且不是何時何地拍攝都可以，時間、地點、甚至有沒有雲，雲的密度高或低都要好好考量。最重要的，還是安全問題。戰機激烈的飛行動作、大幅度的轉向都是空戰場面不可缺少的，要拍出震撼和充滿迫力的鏡頭，飛機一定要夠近，但這樣危險性便會大大增加，隨時損失價值5000萬美元的戰機和1000萬美元的戰機機師。所以，我們每分每秒都在挑戰安全極限！」
正因如此，觀眾才能在欣賞片中的空中緊急加油、戰機超低飛、和民航機接觸等場面時感受到前所未有的迫力和真實感。另外電影中的各種武器、導彈等等都極具危險性，所以製作隊伍在處理兩軍交戰和開火的場面時要非常小心，同時又要捕捉到最精彩的一刻，拍出打得最精彩的畫面！
國防部及空軍全力協助 禁飛重地破禁拍攝
精英軍人專業支援
法國國防部及空軍均對此次拍攝提供全力協助，多位在任空軍機師、軍官及技術人員親身參與電影的製作，包括長達12星期的高空拍攝工作和示範各種超高難度的實戰技巧，令電影的空戰場面充滿真實感。片中演員為求逼真更親身接受軍事訓練，務求擁有戰機機師的體力應付高空飛行拍攝。
軍事重鎮登上銀幕
除了提供人材，此片更破天荒獲得官方首次開放禁飛區凱旋門和巴黎鐵塔上空供飛行拍攝，更特別提供多個軍事重鎮包括霍蘭治空軍基地及非洲吉布地共和國軍事基地作實地取景，將最前線的軍事實況展現觀眾眼前！
歐洲最強空中軍備
多用途戰機「幻影2000」全面剖析
歐洲最強戰機「幻影2000」技術先進，是世界上為數不多的完全不以美國和前蘇聯設計為藍本開發的戰機之一。其性能水平和作戰效能不亞於美國F-15、F-16戰機，而從目前的研製和銷售情況來看，也只有「幻影」戰機能與蘇美戰機抗衡。「幻影2000」在現代軍備中為世界上最好且分佈最廣的戰鬥機之一，不單是法國空軍的主力戰鬥機，更先後為台灣、埃及、希臘、印度、秘魯、卡塔爾、阿聯酋等多個國家所採用，牢牢地占領了世界戰鬥機市場。甚至有軍事家以「幻影時代」來形容「幻影」系列戰機的強勢發展。
型 號： 幻影2000-9(最新型號)
機身規格
翼 展： 9.13m
全 長： 14.36m
高 度： 5.20m
空 重： 7,500kg
最大起飛重量： 17,000kg
內載燃油量： 3,113kg(4,000L)
最大掛載能力： 6,000kg
引 擎： Snecma M59P20型渦輪風扇引擎
引擎推力： 10,000kg(22,000lb;98.06kN)
最大平飛速度： Mach 2.2
最大爬升率： 17,060m/min
升限： 16,460m(50,000ft)
最遠航程： 3,335km
限制超載： +9.0/-4.5G
武器系統
固定裝備： 30mmDEFA高射速機關砲2門
武器掛載點： 左右翼端各一、翼下各三、機腹掛載點一；共9個掛載點
空對空武器： R550「魔術」2型?外線導彈
SUPER R530D「超530」半主動雷達型導彈 MICA導彈
空對地武器： BGL 1000激光制導炸彈 ARMAT反雷達導彈 APACHE「阿帕奇」空對地巡航導彈 非制導火箭發射器 AS30L導彈 AM39「飛魚」空對艦導彈
SCALP隱身巡航導彈 「風暴影子」隱身空對地導彈
「的士速遞」大導再爆官能震撼 開畫贏盡法國票房
憑《的士速遞》締造全球票房奇蹟的大導演謝勒皮利斯Gerard Pires炮製型爆天戰，法國上畫即奪票房冠軍寶座。曾執導《的士速遞》(Taxi)、《極速強盜》(Steal)等動作猛片的謝勒皮利斯，擅長處理表現速度感的鏡頭，憑著他凌厲的動作表現手法，令《的士速遞》變成大受歡迎的系列電影，更獲美國荷里活的電影公司投資重拍。《幻影危機》正是他挑戰速度感的顛峰之作，5萬呎高空壯闊逼真空戰場面，一幕幕呈現觀眾眼前！
型男美女演繹精銳機師
貝諾麥吉梅(Benoit Magimel) 飾演 曼尼
曼尼隊長為法國空軍最精銳的機師之一，曾參與波斯灣戰爭，而且是霍蘭治空軍基地空戰成績最優秀的一員。不過因為他在一次任務中無視上級命令而遭停職調查。
被喻為法國新一代魅力型男的貝諾麥吉梅其實在12歲之齡便已憑《生命宛如幽靜長河》(Life Is a Long Quiet River,1987)嶄露頭角，16歲成為全職演員的他多年來參與過多部法國鉅製，包括、《血腥洪流之末日追兇》(Crimson
Rivers 2-Angels of the Apocalypse, 2003) 、《豪門孽殺》(The Flower of Evil, 2002)、《鋼琴教師》(The
Piano Teacher, 2000)。
克洛維斯．哥尼勒(Clovis Cornillac)飾演 費倫
曼尼的拍檔，與曼尼出生入死多年。心浮氣躁的他經常闖禍，要由曼尼替他善後。在追截被偷走的「幻影2000」時差點被擊落。
高維哥尼勒自1985年從影以來曾演出多部電影，近年作品有《美麗緣未了》(A Very Long Engagement, 2004)、《冰川尋謎》(Malabar Princess, 2004)、《風流黑寡婦》(The Very Merry Widows, 2003)。
愛麗絲泰莉安妮(Alice Taglioni)飾演 卡絲
曼尼的前度女友，美國空軍機師，曾與曼尼和費倫參與波斯灣戰爭，不過當時卻拋下曼尼陣前逃脫。今次遠道從美國而來加入曼尼所在的空軍基地，到底有甚麼目的？
愛麗絲泰莉安妮是近年法國最灸手可熱的女星之一，在拍畢《幻影危機》後片約不斷，2006年與荷里活笑匠史提夫馬田合演《傻豹》(The Pink Panther)。
3月30日 危城戒備
SKY FIGHTERS
Distributed by: Intercontinental Film Dist. (HK) Ltd.
Release Date: 30 March, 2006
A FILM by
GERARD PIRES
ALICE TAGLIONI and PHILIPPE TORRETON
Running time: 102 minutes
WWW.LESCHEVALIERS-LEFILM.COM
SYNOPSIS
The Farnborough Air Show. A Mirage 2000 vanishes in the middle of a flight presentation…
Captains Antoine Marchelli and Sebastien Vallois are immediately sent to patrol the area over the North Sea where the fighter disappeared from the radar screens. They soon spot the Mirage: it is flying, hidden, beneath an Airbus A340. The Mirage adopts a combat position. At that very moment, Marchelli and Vallois receive the order to abandon pursuit without any further delay. Too late! The Mirage 2000 is about to open fire on Vallois. Marchelli has to shoot it down to protect his colleague. This incident is the prelude to a far-reaching plot. At stake, the hijacking of a French Air Force fighter plane for a terrorist attack.
A plot whose final act will be played out on Bastille Day in the skies of Paris, above the Champs-Elysees in the presence of the same two pilots, Marchelli et Vallois…
PRODUCTION NOTES
The movie SKY FIGHTERS is based on a unique challenge in the context of French and European cinema, a challenge suggested by Gerard Pires before the writing of the screenplay even got under way and accepted by the producers right from the start: to attempt to create a resolutely modern film without resorting to digital special effects and 3-D mock-ups but by using live action footage of the most spectacular aerial scenes ever shown on a movie screen.
Specially designed for this, a kerosene tank was used to support four 35-mm cameras fitted to a Mirage 2000 and capable of filming simultaneously at an altitude of more than 50,000 feet and at the speed of sound! And in order to allow the actors to experience real flying conditions, a Mirage 2000 cockpit was entirely rebuilt on a telescopic cradle and fitted with integrated cameras.
This challenge couldn't have been taken up without the exceptional support of the Ministry of Defence and the French Air Force. This support can be observed in the 12 weeks of aerial shooting including, exceptionally, several flights above Paris. It can also be observed in the film crew's involvement in numerous Mirage 2000 missions with the best fighter pilots from the Orange and Djibouti bases.
In addition to all this technology, the film benefits from the enthusiasm and shared passion of pilots, technicians and officers, as well as the participation of top European industrial companies that made it possible to take up this fantastic challenge.
INTERVIEW WITH GERARD PIRES
Director
Between the planes and the action scenes, there were plenty of elements to draw you to SKY FIGHTERS…
There were two things that interested me: the fact of filming planes in flight, of course, but also the chance to work with first rate actors and to make a film in which their performances were crucial. Therefore, I involved them as much as possible, on a physical level for instance, by making them fly in fighter pilot conditions. I found the idea of challenging TOP GUN quite exciting.
Between the in-depth work with the actors and the film's spectacular dimension, can we say that SKY FIGHTERS is a sort of synthesis of your first films, which were primarily human adventures, and the more recent ones that are dominated by suspense and action?
Absolutely. My greatest pleasure on this film was the relationship with the actors. I had actors from different backgrounds: Benoit Magimel is a fairly "introverted" actor, with a reserved side to him, but he had a very analytic vision of what he was doing; Clovis Cornillac devours one shoot after another, he loves it!; Geraldine Pailhas whom we don't usually see in this kind of film and who said something that touched me a great deal when we first met: "But why did you think of me?" To which I replied: "Because you're an actress!" (laughter) The same is true of Philippe Torreton, who had wanted to make a "sheer entertainment" movie for ages but who had never been offered one… And, finally, Alice Taglioni, whom I met while she was performing on stage. In fact, by pure coincidence, she had a great deal of affinity with the aeronautical world: her brother is a helicopter pilot. You virtually have to force Alice out of a plane at gunpoint!
Listening to you, the personalities of Benoit Magimel and Clovis Cornillac seem to be a perfect match for the characters they play since one is more introverted and the other more energetic…
Yes, that's right, they do match. But that only became apparent after they were cast. Those aren't the kind of things that you can decide in advance and, even though an actor's task is to act, it's true that the characters they play here resemble them. That became more and more obvious as we went along.
You have often compared a pilot's work with that of a director, claiming that the two activities are marked by the need to make rapid decisions in difficult situations. With SKY FIGHTERS, did you feel that you have made the right decisions?
I'll say yes… But we'll really be able to judge on landing, in other words when the film is released… Above all, I had to make decisions of a technical nature, about the way of shooting the aeronautical scenes. They had to be original and effective. After all, at times, you can be original without being effective. The two don't necessarily go hand in hand.
Talking of this, did the initial footage that Eric Magnan brought back from the sky knock you out instantly or was it necessary to make a few modifications?
The first footage shot was very encouraging. In other words, it wasn't 100% what I wanted for the film. It was just a little sluggish and still a little too contemplative, a little distant while the pilots were a little timid! That was quickly corrected, to an incredible degree. I involved Eric so closely in the shoot because I couldn't do everything and also because he is amazingly competent with a very concise approach. We worked like a very close creative team and it all went very well.
It takes nerve to fire up a team of fighter pilots!
I fly all kinds of planes and helicopters. I could "see" the shots that I needed and, to get them, we really had to get out there. I reminded them of something that the photographer Frank Capa once said: "If the photo isn't good, that means you're not close enough." And we based everything on that! I never needed to repeat it, nether to Eric nor to the pilots!
Didn't you occasionally envy Eric Magnan for all the hours he spent in such a mythical plane as the Mirage?
In any case, I didn't envy the exhausting hours on end that he spent up there! It wasn't all fun for him, he was exhausted. But I have flown in fighters before. I even once flew in Russia on board a Sukhoi 27… That's a fairly violent fighter and so I didn't feel frustrated from that point of view.
Do you remember the sensations that you back then?
It was a blend of pleasure and concentration. In other words, exactly what you feel when you make a film.
And, where the direction was concerned, how did you go about getting these powerful sensations across?
Simply by trying to be as realistic as possible. And that's not that simple! But it's something that I insisted on, for the aerial shots as for the scenes on the ground, with the actors in cockpits on pneumatic jacks. They were subjected to what the pilots were subjected to. These requirements should set SKY FIGHTERS apart from other films made on this subject. There is a level of realism that has rarely been taken this far. Some of the aerial shots filmed by Eric Magna were reworked during post-production to heighten the perception of these sensations. The trouble is that what you experience on a physical level isn't necessarily what the camera films. You can film two planes flying at 800 kmph but have the impression that they are standing still. After all, if the two of them are flying at the same speed, they are at 0 kmph in relation to each other…
Did you occasionally have to give a "jerky" aspect to the perfectly stable footage filmed with the pod?
That did indeed happen. We occasionally had to degrade the quality of the footage to make it more realistic!
How do you make such a film your own with so many contributors involved?
It's not hard. When you make a film, you're the leader of operations and you're not supposed to know how to do everything, such as the music, say. The advantage in having a great number of contributors is that it tends to generate much more inventiveness, competition and challenge. Above all, you need to arouse the passion of all these contributors, so that they surpass themselves.
The idea of pushing the limits is present throughout the film. Which limits were you yourself led to push back?
I don't ask myself a question! (laughter). Non-stop concentration perhaps… A lot of errors are made through a lack of concentration. If you simply lose the thread for a fraction of a second, you end up way off the mark. Yes, that' s the real limit: never letting go. In relation to everything and everyone!
The actors also tested their limits. For instance, Clovis Cornillac talks about a scene in which he himself had to handle the controls of a biplane while a helicopter filmed him in close-up. What memories do you have of that moment?
I knew the risks. It is always difficult to bring two flying objects close together, especially when one is a chopper. They mustn't touch… And the pilot was fully aware of the problem! But when you work with extremely competent people such as him, there is no reason why things should go wrong.
Looking back, is there anything that you would have liked to have done differently?
You can always do things better! Every shot could have been better. But one can compare this to sculpture or painting: you have to know when to stop. You're always a little frustrated but, for me, directing a film is a blend of euphoria and frustration. And that can be tiring at times.
What memories do you have of your work with the French Air Force?
It was an important partnership but I think that they stand to gain as much from this project as we do. It's the kind of partnership that has already proved its value with TOP GUN: at the time, the US Air Force lent a whole airbase for two months! I hope to return the favour with a spectacular movie appreciated by audiences. People on site, such as Major Stephane Garnier, were passionate about the project. All the pilots gave it everything they had, with a great deal of enthusiasm. And that's what's so remarkable. We asked them for things that they are not used to providing and they gave us everything.
Your work with Major Garnier continued all the way up to post-production?
Absolutely. I involved him in the process at all times. There were instrumentation problems to be solved: I wanted each piece of information to be irrefutable and Stephane Garnier and Eve Ramboz, who handled all the special effects, did a fantastic job. All the information that appears on the flight displays is authentic and realistic. Even for shots that last half a second! The audience perhaps won't notice until later when they freeze the image on their DVD players.
How do you view up this experience now?
This is a film resulting from a unique passion. Everyone gave it all they had.
What place will this film hold in your filmography?
For now, I'm above all satisfied because the accumulation of the technical challenges and the pleasure I had in working with the actors. I haven't yet had time to think about it!
FILMOGRAPHY
GERARD PIRES
THE ACTORS
The cast is one of the film's strong points. How did you all end up on the project?
Benoit Magimel
The producers spoke to me about the film before it was even written and then I met Gerard. I found the idea very appealing. The fact that Gerard is passionate about aviation, that he himself flies and that he has a huge amount of experience in this area gave me the feeling that this was going to be an important film for him and that he would give it a more personal dimension than the previous genre films that he had made. The choice of my acting partners was also a decisive element for me. Everything combined to make me want to do the film.
Clovis Cornillac
I thought to myself that there were very few films of this kind in France. Besides, this is the kind of film that made me go to the cinema when I was a kid and that then allowed me to move on to more serious films. I'm fairly keen on well-made action films whose basic goal is to entertain. I won't only make this kind of film and, in any case, there aren't that many parts like this that come along…
Geraldine Pailhas
To be honest, I was surprised that they thought of me… I was pleased too, especially as I already knew that Clovis and Benoit were in the film… As soon as I started reading the screenplay, the part delighted me. To be honest, I'm a big fan of action movies, mainly American ones because French action movies are more exceptional! And when this opportunity to take part in SKY FIGHTERS came along, I realized that I wouldn't be offered a part like this twice. Everything about the project aroused my enthusiasm and curiosity. Then, when I met Gerard Pires, I immediately made my mind up!
Philippe Torreton
I had always dreamt of being in an action and adventure movie. Even though I kept telling people and mentioning it in interviews, my reputation as an intellectual stage actor stuck to me even though I love all kinds of other genres. And so I was very happy when the producers and Gerard Pires thought of me, especially as it was for a part in a film like this one with all its action sequences and footage the like of which had never been seen before. The logistics provided for this film serve a story that concerns us all since it deals with a lot of things that are unfortunately present in the world around us: the terrorist threat, weapons contracts, the competition between countries to obtain certain deals, etc. All this has been brought together in a very intelligent manner since the action never gets the upper hand over the plot or vice versa. I feel that it is a very successful blend. And so I had every reason to accept.
Alice Taglioni
I was won over even before reading the screenplay! I should say that my older brother introduced me to this world. Indeed, ever since he was four, he has been crazy about fighter planes, in particular the Mirage 2000. It was his dream and all he ever talked about. It's true that seeing one at close range, getting on board and even flying in an Alpha Jet like I was able to do with Clovis and Benoit, was an inaccessible dream that suddenly came true. Quite frankly, it was fantastic… And, on top of that, this is a real action film and not just a film about guys in planes! There was room for female parts too and the plot seemed particularly thrilling.
Weren't you worried that the planes would become the true heroes of the film?
Benoit
No. For me, the weight and substance of the characters formed the main argument to make a successful action movie… If the human element isn't there, why bother using actors? Machines have no feelings. Without characters, the audience gets bored and everything becomes conceptual. The characters were our key concern throughout writing and everyone invested themselves emotionally. In any case, the story is always the key challenge and our emotions help us to make the journey.
Clovis
The planes do indeed play a crucial part but that didn't scare me. The planes are some of the main characters in the film but we know it all goes beyond a simple description of these planes. If you just want to see planes fly, you may as well watch a good documentary on aviation or the Air Force. However, if you make a film, you need to identify and represent the person in the plane. And that's what our job was.
Geraldine
I never even thought about that. It seemed obvious to me, and Gerard Pires confirmed it, that the actors wouldn't be there just as pretty faces, even though we look good in the film!
Alice
I have the impression that the actors play a key role. The planes are just like a pilot's flight suit: they help you get into the part. In the film, I'm often in a flight suit and, as soon as I'm dressed like that, I almost feel as if I'm a pilot! When you have a Mirage 2000 alongside too… that's a huge help. It's much tougher when you really have to act without the support of the planes.
Philippe
In any case, we never see Bertrand in a fighter plane! Whenever he takes a plane, it's a Falcon, not a mirage. He isn't in the heart of the action like Benoit or Clovis. He is more involved in the theoretical side, close to the authorities. Therefore, in a way, I feel he has even more "substance" than the other parts because it isn't easy to play mystery. And my character is full of it…
Talking of the characters, why are their names Marchelli and Vallois, and no longer Tanguy and Laverdure?
Clovis
I don't think Gerard was too keen on using the characters from the time with their slightly outdated air from the Pompidou years… As for me, it was simple: I only knew the comic strip from its title. Therefore, I had no particular attachment to Tanguy… Since the days of "Tanguy and Laverdure", the pilot's work has evolved, the technical side has progressed and the stakes and threats have changed… It seemed logical that Tanguy and Laverdure would have changed too.
Benoit
We liked the idea of the two pilots forming a tandem. Marchelli at first seems inseparable from Vallois. In fact, we worked together to try to build up their identities so that we would end up with a story of friendship between two very different but complimentary characters.
Clovis
There are what you could call two heroes, or rather two images of the hero, who are Marchelli and Vallois. I'm Vallois and Marchelli is Benoit. He plays a more secretive character, the handsome and intense type, while I'm a little more ugly, with a bigger mouth! Quite honestly, I feel that Benoit and I make a great screen tandem! On screen, we're very different in our acting style, for instance, but we remain very complimentary. We have a friendly, open relationship and when we wanted to change things we did so without any trouble. And we get along off set so…
What were your impressions when you got to know the world of the pilots and the Air Force?
Benoit
We had a long period of preparation during which we were able to meet a lot of pilots and officers… Quite frankly, they were perfect! They believed entirely in the project, helped us a great deal and we never actually had the impression of being with the military!
Clovis
Exactly. I'm not the military type, far from it… But the striking thing about this world is the passion that unites them. Fighter pilot isn't just any old job. Or rather it's a job and a passion. From that angle, the job isn't that different from ours. If we aren't fired by something that we're passionate about, it's not even worth trying. The fact of flying made me understand the amazing state of freedom that a pilot could find himself fin. I even got to hold the joystick during the flight. It was fantastic.
Benoit
Most of the time, they have had this desire to fly, to go and touch the sky, ever since they were children. You don't become a pilot by chance. And so, it's easy to understand the heartbreak experienced by those who are dismissed from the Air Force because of an error that wasn't of their doing, as happens to our characters in the film. It feels like a betrayal and I thought it was important to get that across in the film.
Philippe
It's quite astounding to enter that world. It's not so much the planes themselves, but rather the members of the military who allowed us to be there, in the hangars, seeing things that we normally have no right to see. It's pretty amazing to let a whole movie crew into such a place. The wonderful thing about the cinema, notably with this kind of film, is that it can occasionally open doors onto worlds that you think you know but that you have never approached. It was daunting to speak with these men. We met men of every rank, from young novices who were just learning to fly to others who already had a large number of flight hours… They're very serious men but, at the same time, have a lot of humour, with the need to let off steam that we can also see in the film. It's touching to enter into that private world. This impressed me more than the planes, even though they are breathtaking machines.
Geraldine
We were given a wonderful welcome, with each of these two worlds eager to find out more about the other. But I was initially entranced by the picture postcard image: the uniform, the Ray Ban glasses, the sun striking the runway, the Mirage 2000s… It was all incredibly photogenic.
Alice
The thing that marked me most was the actual flight that I did with Benoit and Clovis… It was incredible. I wasn't at all apprehensive about it even though I can be on so-called "normal" planes. In this case, I didn't feel any fear, I was just eager to get started, to get into the cockpit and to take off. Even though you feel a little queasy when you realize after 20 minutes that you still have another 40 minutes to go. Then there are the famous Gs and the "blackout". It's a really rough ride…
Clovis
I initially thought that doing a flight was a privilege and even a luxury. But I soon realized that there was nothing luxurious about it at all! During the flight, I had what they call the "greyout" that you get around 7 Gs. You see everything in black and white. There's the "blackout" too that manifests itself through a ten-second loss of consciousness. I missed that but not the "greyout". You end up crushed in your seat, you see everything in black and white and then… you feel a lot of pain! But there's worse! The negative Gs that correspond to a movement of the plane when the pilot pushes hard on the joystick. Everything surges forward and your whole body seems to want to emerge from itself vertically. Basically, the brain pushes against the eyes. In fact, that was a wonderful experience because when it came to shooting the close-ups, we were lucky enough to work in a cockpit mounted on jacks that could move in every direction, thus altering the physical sensations. And the fact of having done a real flight beforehand allowed the body to remember what it had gone through, such as the pressure of the Gs, something that you don't necessarily experience in everyday life. As soon as the cockpit swerved to one side, my body would recall the sensation that you have in flight when you're subject to 4, 5 or 6 Gs… In a less violent manner though!
Philippe
I envy Clovis, Benoit and Alice! I would have loved to have had that experience at least once in my life! The simple fact of seeing these planes take off fascinates me: they're fabulous aircraft after all and I didn't even get to use a flight simulator… That's one hell of a frustration.
How did the work go with Gerard Pires?
Benoit
We were all very serious during preparation but the shoot unfolded in an easy-going and humorous atmosphere. Gerard is very precise. He is also very forthright and simple in his relationships with others. In general, he is just next to the camera, focused on the actors. I feel a great deal of friendship for him.
Clovis
We got the Gs there too! No, I'm kidding! He's a guy I get on very well with. On this film, he seemed to be completely at home. Aviation is his passion. As soon as he gets the opportunity, he is up in the air with his helicopter, planes or whatever… He wastes no time. He's certainly passionate about it! And so it was a very pleasant shoot. It went very well indeed.
Geraldine
He has a very clear vision of what he wants. The takes were in general fairly short and the editing was already more or less complete in his mind. That gave us a faint impression of not controlling what we were doing but Gerard was always there to reassure us. He controls everything, he is very precise but he is always ready to work on last minute alterations.
Alice
Monsieur Pires was brilliant! I got on very well with him. I think he's a very good director of actors, very open. He is impressive because he knows how to do everything that he wants and has his whole film in his mind. And that's reassuring for an actor, especially on a film like this.
What do you think of the fact that a film on this scale has been made in France?
Philippe
France isn't the most insignificant country in the world! After all we have advantages so we may as well finance projects like this one. However, it has to be done correctly. A film isn't a concept, it's a blend of a story, a cast and a crew. Those are the reasons why the cinema is a complex art. You have to think of everything. One of the characteristics of this film is the fact that everyone has to be able to find what they're looking for: teenagers have to adopt the film but, at the same time, adult audiences have to enjoy the story. When you look at the French films that are released in the course of the year, you see a lot of different styles. There aren't many countries in the world that can claim that. Such diversity offers, of course, the best and the worst but at least it's better than nothing. I feel that we should make the most of that to bring together people who, in theory, weren't destined to meet… a bit like this film, which I find very encouraging.
Geraldine
When you're luck enough to have such technical and artistic means at your disposal, you simply can't do a mediocre job. We all felt concerned. Our ambitions were huge.
Clovis
Plus the film attains a sort of mythical dimension… Personally, I have never dreamt of being a pilot. But when I told people that I would be making SKY FIGHTERS, a number of friends - aged from 20 to 80 - all said, "That's brilliant!" I never imagined for a second that some of the people I knew would fantasize about a project like this! And, all of sudden, I realized that it could become part of a collective fantasy…
FILMOGRAPHY
BENOIT MAGIMEL
CLOVIS CORNILLAC
GERALDINE PAILHAS
ALICE TAGLIONI
PHILIPPE TORRETON
THE PRODUCTION
How did the whole adventure unfold, from the original idea to the actual shoot?
Laurent Brochand
The project was born in the course of 2002. I kept thinking about the comic-strip that had marked my childhood, "Tanguy et Laverdure" by Charlier and Uderzo, that became a TV series called "Les chevaliers du ciel" in the 1960s, 70s and early 80s. A fabulous title, a pair of emblematic heroes, a mythical world… I then approached Mandarin Films with the idea of a film adaptation.
Eric Altmayer
We wanted to make another film with Gerard after RIDERS, the shooting of which in Canada had left us feeling a little frustrated. We were looking for an idea… For someone as specialized in aviation as Gerard, Charlier and Uderzo's comic-strip offered a host of possibilities… We quickly realized that in evoking "Tanguy et Laverdure", we would be using characters that are almost part of the French cultural heritage. Above all, they represented an artistic property that obtained a favourable echo from the Air Force, the partner without whom we couldn't have made the film. However, while "Tanguy et Laverdure" brought us a number of valid elements, we quickly opted for a film with a contemporary story and updated heroes. Since the 1960s, the threats have changed as much as the pilots, along with the planes, both on a mechanical and technical level. And so, naturally, we came to feel that today's Tanguy and Laverdure would be Marchelli and Vallois, other pilots, other names, another story.
Laurent Brochand
Gerard had already worked with Gilles Malencon on one of his screenplays. On reading it, we saw that it was extremely effective and structured in an American style, something that is quite rare in French screenplays. He clearly had a sound approach to narrative construction for action and adventure films. In addition, Gilles Malencon turned out to be a fan of pilots: he knows the aviation world very well, along with the narrative constraints linked to that world. And so one problem vanished immediately. After all, picking up a pen and describing an aerial combat scene when you know nothing about the subject is very difficult and exhausting. With Gilles, everything became easy and enjoyable.
Eric Altmayer
And here we approach the major premise of the film: realism. Gerard is responsible for this fundamental decision: filming real planes in the most realistic situations, as close as possible to the action described in the screenplay. It's quite amusing to realize that we did our best to do without the 3-D images and virtual shots that have been state-of-the-art technology for five years now. However, we feel that they completely alter the nature of today's Hollywood actions movies…
Laurent Brochand
This approach meant that we needed to work closely with the Air Force in general and with our expert consultant, Major Stephane Garnier in particular…
Major Stephane Garnier
My involvement in the project lasted two years. My first task was to help the screenwriter, Gilles Malencon, to discover the world of the fighter squadrons. I spent a lot of time telling him about my past experience and that of my colleagues, I took him to visit the squadrons, he accompanied me on certain flights… He would sit in a corner and we'd forget he was there. He was thus able to observe the relationships between people, the way things happened, etc. He then started putting his ideas in place and my role was then to answer an incredible amount of questions: I had to make sure that what was written in the screenplay was plausible. That went on for quite a while because there were almost twenty different drafts of the screenplay!
Then there was a second, very intense stage, this time with the director Gerard Pires and, shortly after, with the person responsible for the aerial photography, Eric Magnan. The three of us studied how to film the aerial part of the story and broke the scenes down into an incredible number of shots that would then have to be fitted in with flight missions… For the goal was clearly established from the outset: the crew had to be able to film the pilots' training missions, and not pilots performing in a movie! And so I had to insert these shots, or fragments of them, in ordinary training missions. That was a long and painstaking task because there were six hundred aerial shots…
Eric Magnan
When the screenplay said: "one plane spirals behind another", that meant both everything and nothing! We had to tackle this in terms of aerial shots, but also in terms of risk management. And so there was, on the one had, an artistic approach that consisted in deciding exactly what Gerard wanted and, on the other hand, a logistic approach that aimed to prepare each shot in its entirety. I would do three-dimensional drawings to figure out where the planes were, on the rights scale in relation to the sun, and then I would draw in the camera angles. All that had to be prepared ahead of time because it's impossible to improvise with planes that are moving at 1,000 kmph. We had scenes with fifteen planes at the same time… We therefore had huge briefing sessions and our philosophy was to say what we were going to do and then do what we had said. We didn't improvise. We worked closely with the pilots to visualize and perfect was what it was possible to do, which led us to carry out some pretty amazing flights.
Major Stephane Garnier
Once this side of things was more or less settled, we had to answer the question: "We have a story and the director as drawn up a work schedule, so how do we do it?" A huge logistic undertaking was launched with the crew and the production manager. We had to tighten things up and bring as many elements as possible together on one site, without that disturbing the smooth running of the Air Force's bases. We visited each of these bases and then certain sites were selected for such and such a scene. At the same time, we had to liaise with the Air Force's information and public relations service to obtain the necessary authorisations for each element vital to the film's production.
Eric Altmayer
You have to realize that if, three years ago, the Air Force and SIRPA AIR had reacted to our project saying, "Yes, fine… euh… we'll let you film, why not," we'd have come up against countless logistic and technical problems, as well as human ones. Instead, we dealt with people who immediately wanted to make something unique and exceptional.
Principal photography began in July 2004. In the sky above Paris…
Laurent Brochand
For the Bastille Day parade. With ten cameras set out around the city and the first in-flight use of the pod that we had made…
Eric Magnan
To make this film, we required material that didn't exist. We had to be able to film the Mirage 2000s in every situation, at all speeds and at all altitudes but there was no existing means of filming that. And so we used an additional 2,000-litre tank that we fitted beneath the wing of a Mirage 2000, modified by Dassault Aviation in collaboration with the Air Force, to house five cameras. These five cameras were set at specific angles. They were controlled from the rear seat of the two-man Mirage 2000, with a control panel hooked up by radio. This is how we managed to film totally unique shots.
How did things go in the air?
Eric Magnan
For each combat scene - and there are a lot in the film - we had to do acrobatic figures that involved a large number of elements. The planes had to be close and the scene had to say something. The aesthetic side of the whole undertaking was important too. We didn't shoot just anywhere. We had to work at specific times of day, with or without clouds… Then we had to keep framing the planes during their acrobatics and there was always a safety margin that it was of course impossible to ignore. You can't do just anything during this kind of operation. During the briefing sessions, we would define the limit of this safety margin in relation to what we wanted to do, for the best artistic result possible. During the flight, I would be sitting in the rear seat, my eyes glued to the video return. The pilots didn't see what the cameras were filming and so I had to guide them. During a series of acrobatics in which the planes were in tight formation, I could say to them, "The plane's out of the frame a bit." Of course, I didn't put it like that. In flight, I used very short words that had been the subject of a prior briefing. It was really intense…
Major Stephane Garnier
I showed the resulting footage to the pilots in the squadron that I fly with and many of them thought that they were trick shots. Subconsciously, we are used to seeing footage that is shot with a hand-held camera, a process that leads to a certain number of imperfections in the image. Here, the image is so stable and pure that it seems unreal. But no, there are certainly no trick shots…
Let's get back down to earth. How was the film cast?
Eric Altmayer
The cast is the result of a fundamental decision. With Gerard, we above all wanted it to reflect the idea that in spite of the planes, the beauty of the aerial footage and the spectacular nature of the film, our priority was to tell a story with real characters. In other words, that the whole challenge facing this production, from the writing of the screenplay all the way up to post-production, was the desire to go further than a simple adventure movie or action spectacular. We had to enrich the subject and the material through strong identification with the characters, the communication of emotions and the credibility of their personal arc. Gerard sensed that he had an opportunity to make not just an action movie but also a great movie.
Laurent Brochand
We had to find a pair of actors who would conform to the image conjured up by the title that we wanted to retain, LES CHEVALIERS DU CIEL, a team that embodies a certain ideal of courage and panache. Benoit Magimel was an immediate obvious choice and he was quickly won over by the subject. Opposite Benoit, who represented the handsome and silent type, we had to find his counterpart, a much more "rock'n'roll" type gifted with a genuine sense of humour, along the lines of the opposition between Tony Curtis and Roger Moore in the series "The Persuaders". That's when Clovis came on board. Benoit was very keen on working with him…
Eric Altmayer
Alice Taglioni was virtually the first actor to be cast for the film. We had discovered her in LA BANDE DU DRUGSTORE and she seemed the obvious choice for the part. We didn't know at the time that she was also passionate about planes…
Laurent Brochand
Then, with Geraldine Pailhas as a young bureaucrat working for the Prime Minister and Philippe Torreton as the head of the secret service, we knew that we had the ideal cast for the intelligent action movie that we had in mind… All we had to do then was make sure that those playing the pilots - Benoit, Clovis and Alice - were given the preparation required to make them credible in their parts…
Major Stephane Garnier
As with the screenwriter, I took the main actors to discover the special world of a fighter squadron, mostly at the Orange base. We also spent a lot of time together so that I could share my passion with them. They then discovered military aviation through flight simulators. They were trained on the simulators, just like the fighter pilots in Orange. This allowed them to discover the Mirage 2000. And, above all, the Air Force, gave each one of them the chance to fly in an Alpha Jet! And so they got to know the daily life of a pilot, mission preparation, briefing, execution - the flight itself - and then everything that we do on returning from a mission. They were truly able to make the most of all the work that had been done prior to their arrival.
Everything that had been seen on the simulator was then seen in flight. And all this work came in useful from the very start of shooting, which began with the scene in a cockpit on an articulated cradle… During the takes, we had a radio hook-up and I would remind them of things that we had seen together on the simulator. I would tell them, "Remember, what you're doing here is something I showed you at such and such a point, etc. You just have to play that out." Afterwards, when the ground scenes were shot in Orange and Djibouti, they had enough information at their disposal to create and perform plausible attitudes or reactions. They got to spend a lot of time with the pilots, notably on the Orange airbase, and this allowed them to seize elements that interested them in order to bring their characters to life…
Eric Altmayer
The exciting thing about this kind of project is that we have to make choices in an unknown field. We had a single reference in the area of action films set in the aviation world: TOP GUN. Since then, many other films have used aerial scenes, some of which are very well done, but they are isolated within the story. We made the decision at an early stage - where both the story and the aerial footage were concerned - to try to do as well, if not better, and in any case to be different. We couldn't simply copy an existing model just to compare ourselves with it.
註：以上資訊由片主或其推廣代表提供。本網並不保證此等資訊是否正確。
Note: The information above is provided by the owners of the film or their agents
who are responsible for the promotion of the film. We do not guarantee the accuracy
of such information.
相關連結 Related Links
|
Copyright(C)
1999-2011 Hong Kong Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.
|