Running time

[Gerald]

Arcel on the running time:

Director Nikolaj Arcel Explains the Dark Tower Runtime

It's basically what I thought: it's an introductory movie.

 

[Gerald]

Dennis Haysbert's character wasn't revealed yet, and I was already wondering in the trailer if he could be Roland's father. And he is!

Dennis Haysbert - IMDb

We're only getting the movie on 24th of August here, so I best be avoiding these threads for a while.

Who will see it in the theatre no matter what?

I'm inclined to, but I will have to look at the reactions first. I usually only look at star-ratings and reviews that promise to be spoiler-view. It's still a bit of a bummer it's 95 minutes, as I like the experience of two hours - when you take the effort of going to a theatre, having to wait til it begins, the commercials etc. I want to be entertained for a while.

 

[kingricefan]

I'm going to be watching with an open mind.

 

[recitador]

i'll probably see it in theaters. no matter what it turns out like, it's bound to be more entertaining than some of the crap they put out.

 

[doowopgirl]

Just read some headlines (and one article) stating that the movie's running time is somewhere around 95 minutes. Is this confirmed? If so, how do people feel about it? If it really is 95 minutes, then it was done for economic reasons, in my opinion.

Apparently it is 95 minutes. The director says they have a lean and mean script. There is no need to cram everything in the first film. If it goes well we can expand from from there. Sounds fair to me.

 

[Gerald]

SK compared its length to the first book on Twitter. Even though the film is not the first book as such, The Gunslinger is an introductory book. It lets you meet Roland and his world and tells a little of his background and childhood, but it doesn't right away show you how big the entire world is, or what its connection is to ours.
It's clearly not a standalone story like The Hobbit, which easily could have existed on its own had Tolkien never returned to it. In fact, the last chapter of the Gunslinger (I can't really remember if he wrote that specifically for the book and it wasn't published previously, but I think he did) throws up so many questions you're almost forced to read the next book to find out more.

 

[carrie's younger brother]

But how about dvd's? You can pause them when you like, watch them from your comfortable chair. I prefer watching blu-ray/dvd to the cinema, but on occasion a film makes me so curious that I go to the cinema. I used to go to the cinema a lot more, but now it's just a couple of times a year. Now I go mostly for things like Bond, Star Wars. I also went to Skull Island this year, because some characters like Kong I feel you HAVE to see on the big screen - and it didn't disappoint. Often in cinemas the sound is just too loud too, but I like the 3D as I don't have that at home (yet). Some films hardly use 3D like Rogue One, but Skull Island used it enough, although they usually use it for smaller things coming out of the screen - I would have liked Kong's arm to reach into the cinema, but it didn't happen.

There are articles on The Dark Tower in British best known (I think) film mag Empire, and in British sf/fantasy/horror magazine SFX, but they are rather short. It seems there is a lot under wraps with this film, they don't want to give a lot away.

Yes, watching at home is preferable. We saw War for the Planet of the Apes in the theater last week. Other than the guy a few seats over from me playing with his phone throughout the entire movie, it was a good experience. Excellent movie. This may have only been the second movie my husband and I have seen in a theater in 2017.

 

[Gerald]

I think that even though they changed the story around, it will still start the way The Gunslinger starts in the desert. Maybe even the first line from the book will appear as text on the screen, because it's so iconic. It seems you can't really get around starting in that way, but since it's no literal translation, we'll have to see.

 

[Neesy]

I'm going to be watching with an open mind.

 

[Gerald]

Trailer of references to his other works. Don't know if these are all that will be in the movie or just a few of them:

 

[OldDarth]

I'll be at the theater to see the movie on Thursday the 3rd - opening show at 19:19 pm.

 

[Gerald]

I hope we'll be able to avoid spoilers for those who have yet to see it or will be waiting for a dvd release. I think no one wants spoilers on this one.
But everyone considers spoilers or the seriousness of a spoiler to be something different. It's often hard to talk about a movie without having to reveal things about it. We're only getting it at the end of August here, I'll have at least a couple of weeks of having to avoid spoilers, which will probably be hard.

I always think that when a movie has been out for a couple of months or longer, and has been released on dvd also, you should be able to speak about it freely, as everyone who really cares about it has had a chance to see it then.

 

[doowopgirl]

I have gone from, no way not interested, to maybe I'll keep an open mind, to can't wait have to see it. A week from Saturday. My birthday present to my husband. Is he a lucky man or what?

 

[recitador]

I hope we'll be able to avoid spoilers for those who have yet to see it or will be waiting for a dvd release. I think no one wants spoilers on this one.
But everyone considers spoilers or the seriousness of a spoiler to be something different. It's often hard to talk about a movie without having to reveal things about it. We're only getting it at the end of August here, I'll have at least a couple of weeks of having to avoid spoilers, which will probably be hard.

I always think that when a movie has been out for a couple of months or longer, and has been released on dvd also, you should be able to speak about it freely, as everyone who really cares about it has had a chance to see it then.

i would think the folks here would be good about posting in their own threads and properly tagging.

 

[Gone Todash]

...the running time for an Opus of this sort would be overwhelming....hell, 90 minutes would barely get you a decent synopsis....

Agreed....the only way to deal with this magnificent story is a HBO or HULU type series AND be faithful to the source material (i.e. Roland is not a trench coat wearing superhero as depicted in the movie trailers)

 

[metallicalex777]

The soundtrack for the movie is available on Spotify and all other forms of social listening (look up Junkie XL). It's actually pretty cool...For those that like to see the track listing in order which you can kind of see a glimmer into what the movie flow looks like based off of the titles. (potential spoilers) here it is:

1. The Dark Tower
2. The Face of My Father
3. I Kill With My Heart
4. Skin People
5. Getting a Toothbrush
6. Dutch Hill
7. Guardian
8. Arrival in Mid-World
9. His Shine Is Pure
10. The Map
11.Thinny
12. Something Got Out
13. We Don’t Have Chicken
14. Manny Village
15. See Across Worlds
16. There’s Always Another Battle
17. A Chicken, a Goat, and One Bullet
18. Keystone Earth
19. Portal Activity
20. Smiley Face
21. The Creed
22. Death Always Wins
23. Dixie Pig
24. Tall, Dark and Handsome
25. Full Package as Advertised
26. It Will Fall
27. Collateral Damage
28. Hot Dogs
29. Roland of Eld (Main Titles)

 

[OldDarth]

Love the track for the Creed

Roland's hero theme - Roland of Eld is pretty damn epic too:

 

[OldDarth]

From Nik Arcel's Reddit Ask me anything:
Someone asked about the 95 minute length of the movie:
This film really serves as an introduction to the saga and I've always felt that we should not try to cram every single part of the massive mythology, including all the great characters and storylines, into one film. Obviously the story is supposed to continue in future films and the TV series. Hopefully at the end of it all there won't be a single thing from the novels that we haven't touched upon in some way.