One of Hollywood’s most recognisable and versatile directors, Steven Spielberg, has taken on the responsibility of adapting one of Ronal Dahl’s most beloved books ‘The BFG’. A magical story of innocent friendship that blossoms between a big floppy eared giant and orphan yearning for something more in her life. Many directors have taken on the daunting task of putting Dahl’s work on the big screen with as many failures as successes. Dahl’s imagination and work has been ingrained into the young brains of an entire generation, as the films of Spielberg have done.
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The BFG was first published in 1982 the same year E.T was released in theatres. Its quite an coincidence when you see that Steven Spielberg once again teams up with E.T screenwriter Melissa Mathison to create a world in which children’s imaginations can run rampant. It’s not always the best advice to judge a book by its cover but that’s exactly how Spielberg was first introduced to the BFG:
‘I read it to my kids; I picked it up in a bookstore, and I was more familiar with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory than I was with the BFG, but it had a great illustration the cover… and I thought this would be a nice book to buy…
So I read it out loud so I heard myself reading it four years after it was first published to my first child and I had started to understand why it had come so popular… I didn’t see it as a film back then, I saw it as a way to popularise myself with my own family.’
The film itself is a wonderful visual and emotional journey that really throws back to the feeling of 80’s children films. Spielberg’s classic style is instantly recognisable and takes you on a rollercoaster through the street of London to giant country. There is a particular sequence where the BFG and Sophie hunt for dreams that blew me away. Along with this CGI used to transform Mark Rylance into the BFG is remarkable and is elevated by such a suitable and sweet performance by Rylance. Spielberg was on the forefront of the digital revolution alongside his friend George Lucas in using CGI and a tool to expand their visions. He delves into how the introduction of computer effects has change the way he tells stories:
‘With the digital revolution today there is no limit to anyone’s imagination, you can literally put anything on the screen where as it took a lot of imagination to figure out how to craft an illusion, so illusion is gone. We no longer have to use practical magic to make you believe something is real because through digital effects, it’s real and its photo real. Hopefully the success of BFG for me is measured not just by heart that I expressed by these two characters and their relationship but also that 15-20 minutes into the movie you forget there are any effects at all. If the movie is working you forget we are using special effects to make Mark 25 ft tall and to keep Ruby in every scene with him in her 4ft range and so that’s the biggest change I think that’s happened, and there’s plus’ and minus’ to that too.’
Along with the 100th anniversary of Ronald Dahl’s that has sparked massive interested back into his work, Spielberg will celebrate his 70th Birthday and from all accounts its doesn’t seem like his workload will slow down anytime soon. Although having one of the influential career’s in cinema history Spielberg doesn’t like to sit back on his laurels. Like a shark he is always moving forward:
‘I’m happy I still get to keep working, I’m in my 70th year and I feel like I don’t get tired I love what I do I love telling stories and working with great actors and gets me to not look at myself as a legacy and I don’t have a chance to look back because I think if I dwell too much about that it will make me sit back on my tush and I’m not ready to do that.’
After watching ‘The BFG’ I came out of the screening wishing I could see it again through 9-year-old eyes. In a world that look like it’s getting incredibly dark and morbid it’s more important then ever to bring a sense wonder back into world. The film really does let you escape into a world of pure imagination for a while.
*To win a copy of The BFG Novel, BFG ears, a giant pencil, an activity kit, gobblefunk magnets and a notebook, answer the following question:
When was The BFG first published?
words JAYDON MARTIN