Tim Burton's film "Big Fish" is familiar to many connoisseurs. He can boast not only excellent directing and acting, but also a solid script. Due to this, the film "Big Fish" received mostly positive reviews from ordinary viewers and venerable critics. Therefore, telling about it in more detail is definitely worth it. Perhaps some moviegoers who are not familiar with him will be interested and decide to watch.
Short story
What makes the Big Fish reviews so good? First of all, thanks to the wonderful plot. The film was released in 2003, it belongs to the genre of fantastic tragicomedy. Therefore, do not confuse it with the Russian film "Big Fish", released in 2016.
The main character of the picture is Will Bloom - an ordinary clerk, characterized by pragmatism and a complete lack of imagination. Since childhood, he regularly had conflicts with his father - Edward. The fact is that Edward, an experienced salesman, loved to tell stories from his life: how he met a witch predicting fate, how he traveled with a giant and much more.
It is not surprising that the pragmatic Will did not understand his father, considered him an ordinary liar, which is why family relations did not build up in any way. But Will grew up, left his father’s house, healed his life. Probably, everything would have remained, but once Edward was given a terrible diagnosis - cancer. Understanding his father’s old affairs, Will realizes that not all of his father’s stories were ordinary fabrications. Perhaps, thanks to such a turn, critics gave high marks and left good reviews for the film "Big Fish" in 2003.
How did it end? Worth a look at the movie.
Leading actors
The main role - Will Bloom - went to actor Billy Crudup, well-known to viewers from films such as Johnny D., Eat, Pray, Love, Alien: Testament, Mission Impossible 3, and many others.
But the role of his father - Edward Bloom - was played by two actors at once. After all, the film takes place not only in the present, but also in the past. Young Edward was played by Ewan McGregor, who played significant roles in the films Star Wars. Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Moulin Rouge, Beauty and the Beast, Christopher Robin, Fargo and several others. The image of the elderly Edward was able to perfectly convey Albert Finney. Prior to that, he appeared in the films “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Luker,” “Wolves,” “Miller's Crossroads,” and others.
If we talk about the roles and actors of the film "Big Fish" in 2003, then you can not help but mention Sandra Bloom - the wife of Edward, mother of Will. She was also performed by two actresses. Elderly Sandra was played by Jessica Lang. She is well known to viewers who watched the 1976 King Kong films, The Postman Always Calls Twice, Titus - Ruler of Rome, Cape of Fear. But the young Sandra was entrusted to play Alison Loman, who showed herself perfectly in a number of films. First of all, it is worth highlighting the "White Oleander", "Magnificent Scam", "Thirteenth Floor".
Has the film received awards?
Big Fish was nominated for many awards, including an Oscar for great music. Which is not surprising, because the film "Big Fish" received excellent reviews. That's just not a single award and failed. However, the nomination for prestigious awards is also a serious indicator.
The film was also nominated for the following awards:
- "Saturn": best actor and best fantasy film;
- Golden Globe: best comedy, best song, best music, best supporting role.
We can not say about the nomination for a Grammy for a wonderful soundtrack. And this is not a complete list of awards that the film could receive. Their total number is eighteen.
Alas, in all nominations there were films, according to critics, who more deserved the right to become the best.
How Burton became a director
All connoisseurs know Burton's film "Big Fish". However, few people know that this film could have been shot by a completely different director, perhaps even more famous - by Stephen Spielberg himself. Yes, this option was also considered. And Spielberg even seriously wanted to attract Jackie Nicholson, who could play the aged Edward Bloom.
But the world famous director at the last moment declined the offer, deciding that he was already too busy with interesting projects. As a result, this honorable post went to Tim Burton, and the film came out exactly as enthusiastic viewers saw it.
Interesting Facts
Perhaps any successful and sensational film can boast of a number of interesting facts that fans would like to know about. Big fish is no exception. Below are a few of them.
- It’s worth starting with the fact that the film is based on the famous book by Daniel Wallace “Big Fish: A Novel of Mythological Proportions”. As admirers admit, Burton, although significantly changed the atmosphere of the book, but still managed to convey its spirit. By the way, Daniel Wallace himself also appeared in the film, he got the episodic role of a teacher of economics.
- The book enjoyed considerable popularity even before the film adaptation: more than fifty thousand copies were sold, which allows it to be included in the bestseller list. And after the film appeared, the publishers released several more circulations, which the enthusiastic audience dared from the bookshelves.
- In one of the scenes of the film, you can see a cat jumping out from behind a circus dome. It was trained by the Russian trainer Valery Tsoraev.
- The film has gained considerable popularity not only in the United States and Europe. For example, watching a clip from the South Korean group BTS Spring Day, you can see a huge number of references to the "Big Fish".
- Daniel Wallace came up with a name for his book thanks to his father's favorite saying. He, who had worked as a salesman all his life, loved to repeat the phrase "I would never want to be a big fish in a small pond."
- Most of the filming was conducted in the United States, Alabama. Work began in mid-January 2003, and ended after only three months. After that, the crew went to Paris to shoot a few more scenes for the film.
Conclusion
Most likely, viewers who have already watched the movie "Big Fish", enjoyed watching. And those who have not watched it, for sure, had a desire to fill this gap.