Beyond the Black Rainbow, Panos Cosmatos, 2010



link to trailer - it won't load here for some reason. WATCH IT!

Boy, did I watch a doozy. My GF and I found this on Netflix last night. If David Lynch watched this, he'd be like, "WTF?"

This is either one of the most brilliant movies I've ever see, or it's a disaster. Either way, it's loony tunes.

This is Cosmatos' first feature, and if the name sounds familiar, it's because he is the son of legendary schlockmeister George P. Cosmatos - the auteur behind Stallone epics like Rambo: First Blood Part II and Cobra. And Beyond the Black Rainbow was financed by DVD residuals from Tombstone (1993), directed by George P.!

The movie was shot in three weeks using a modified Panavision 35 mm camera. This was suggested by cinematographer Norm Li, for he noted that Panos' references – mostly films from the '70s and '80s – "were all grainy, colorful, and full of texture", and he felt the 35 mm format was "the only way to shoot" the movie. (Wiki)

The movie is about Elena, a teenage girl stuck in a 1970s version of what a futuristic-looking, New Age institute of some sort would look like...where she is looked after by a mean nurse and a really weird doctor. It's like she's in jail. Elena also seems to have telekinetic powers.

As for plot, that's about all I could figure out. The rest of the movie is, what in some circles is called, a "trance film." It's slow, deliberate, with very little use of meaningful dialog. The movie relies on its visuals and soundtrack.

And man, the visuals are amazing. This film is like a weird cross between The Shining, Scanners,2001, Flash Gordon,Dark Star, Audition, and THX 1183. The soundtrack is completely synthesizer-driven, and reminded me of John Carpenter's Escape From New York and 80s era Tangerine Dream scores.

In between, there are pools of black oil that birth creatures... "Sentianauts", who are apparently mind-controlled military police guards...a whole section that's in black-and-white and shot in such a way that it is completely blown out - all you can see is bright white with some facial black lines of the characters....a demon-like, straight-jacketed, zombie...and on and on...

The cinematography is absolutely incredible, but it's almost matched by the production design of the "Institute" in the film. The music, as I've said...is so damn good I had it playing in the background while I watched football today.

Beyond the Black Rainbow is a hallucinatory, fascinating film. Whether it works...who the **** cares? It was like watching an acid trip while listening to a Wendy Carlos album.

I'm really curious to see what you other Loungers will make of this one...and watch through the end credits...

Sounds awesome. Will watch.

Looooove Beyond the Black Rainbow. One of the few films I've watched and thought, "I have no idea what I just watched but it's amazing." Love the look and feel of this film. The fabric pops on the screen. It's one I'd like to watch again but it's heavy. Make sure to watch with no distractions.

Are you kidding? Next time I watch it, I'm going to be on mushrooms.

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Man, I really liked it; I plan on re-watching. Visually stunning. Very reminiscent of Kubrik and psychadelic sci-fi cinematography from the 60s and 70s.

Only problem is that it drags a bit too much for me, esp the rare bits of dialog. I want to see this guy do more movies. He's either brilliant or just doing good Kurik imitations.

Thanks for posting this! Can't wait to see it!

I've read some interviewed with the director, and it seems he's doing a pastiche of 70s/80s horror movies. He said when he was a kid, he'd go to the video store and look at all of the box covers of the movies he wasn't allowed to rent - the R-rated ones - and he would make up stories in his head based on the box covers.

Apparently, he writes in a nontraditional way, as he is more interested in the visuals and sound then in actual narrative.

Although, the narrative of BTBR actually makes sense after viewing it 2 or 3 times.

From what I gather:



Even the spoilers don't really make sense lol.

I think I somehow missed one or two key plot points the first time around, def want to give it another viewing after reading the wikipedia synopsis.

Saw it a second time, enjoyed it even more now that I have a better understanding of what's going on and what the major themes are.

I still haven't seen this but will, but listened to a podcast where they insisted the director of this must be a fan of Exorcist 2: The Heretic.

Which makes me want to see it more.

Just fired this up. Netflix best guess for my taste profile is 1 star I'll let you know how close they came.

Well, I lasted 38 minutes And that was forced as I wanted to quit sooner. Really weird and not seeming to go anywhere but I guess that was expected after OP.

The visuals are kind of cool but not cool enough to endure another hour plus of this, Definitely has that 60's or 70's feel to it. But it can't make me care or want to watch anymore of it.

What's with all of the reflections? Do they have some key meaning? Even the title in the open is shown in reflection and then almost every shot has some sort of reflection in it. In any event I won't "reflect" on this movie as I try to blot those 38 minutes out of my memory.

If you enjoy stuff like this more power to you! Not my cup of tea for sure.

As a cohesive narrative, this movie barely works. As pure cinema, it does.

It was an odd film in both obvious and non-obvious ways. In terms of the non-obvious, it struck me how original it was, whilst also causing me, a film fan, to be reminded of literally dozens of movies. I started noting these down about half way through, and kept noting them throughout the film. I'm sure I missed several before I started, but here is my list as written:

Argento, Cronenberg, musical cues from early John Carpenter - Assault on Precinct 13, Escape from New York and The Thing - and Suspiria/Goblin, Shivers, Scanners, Man Who Fell To Earth, THX 1138, Sleeper, Rollerball, Firestarter (the book), UFO (the TV series), Stridulum (aka The Visitor), Logan's Run, Andromeda Strain, 2001, Manhunter, The Keep and its Tangerine Dream soundtrack, Dark Star, Blade Runner, Crimes of the Future, O Lucky Man, Clockwork Orange, Xtro, Solaris, Carrie, Eraserhead, Wages of Fear, Dune.

I will need to rewatch this movie again soon, and I suspect when I do my score will be different - either higher or lower. I need some distance to get proper perspective on this one.

7/10

This one's been on my "to see" list for quite some time now. I've read very polarizing things about it, so I'm quite intrigued to see it. Even more so after reading Diebitter's list.

The only recent film that this movie is similar to is A Field in England.


We're definitely in Ken Russell/Jodorowsky/Lynch territory with this one.

Isn't A Field in England the Ben Wheately film? I've been meaning to catch that one also actually. I'm one of the apparent few who wasn't keen on Kill List, but I did enjoy Sightseers & had fun with his ABC's of Death segment. His new upcoming one High Rise (2015) sounds interesting as well.

Lol, I really disliked Exorcist 2, so now I dunno how to anticipate Black Rainbow.

Btw if you're a fan of surrealist films, you should check out Arcana (1972) if you haven't seen it yet. Totally weird but quite compelling overall, for me.

Put me in the camp of people that thoroughly enjoyed this. I agree that the story is not particularly engaging but oh my, the style is terrific. This is very fun to watch for the colors, the music, etc.

LOL...I've watched this 5 more times...but it's usually just on in the background. Great atmosphere. I had it on - audio too - during a cocktail party I hosted for some fellow UNLV Profs. It was the talk of the party.

Saw it twice and feel kinda degen about wanting to watch it a third time.

Will watch today.

Posting to remind myself to watch

Bump.

I had an urge to give this a third watch, but it's no longer on Netflix, so I broke down and bought a digital copy. I think I have a problem, lol.

Still a great experience. It'll be harder find now, but I want to encourage anyone who's a fan of Kubrick-style psychedelic sci-fi to seek this out and give it a try.