The Immortal

Hello all. Unfortunately since we were a bit late! We are out. Since the film wont be in competition, its likely to see less viewers. Would really appreciate some reviews and feedback if you can. Cheers.

What a shame about the DQ. Some really nice work here. The production design is outstanding. Excellent costumes and props but mostly the beautifully lit ocean-at-night environment. The story gets bogged down in exposition unfortunately and the end could have been clearer. Bringing in the 'made as part of 48 hrs' in the midst of the conclusion was perhaps a mistake. Showing the eyes of one of the characters opening along with the heartbeat and breathing SFX might have sold it better (if I'm reading the ending right). Still, beautiful work, well done.

There is some really impressive visual effects going on here, the lighting and the black and white results in a really good looking film. It's somewhat reminiscent of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrowland.
If the film falls down I think that it's in the pacing which dragged a bit and delivery with the performances which could do with being amped up quite a bit as it seems to be calling for a bit more punch to it.
I think I agree with the other review by Tom as well.

What an incredibly beautiful visual world you have built that is set off the coast of historic Timaru. That first shot draws you right into the scene! The production design is strong and I really love the imaginative considered cinematography. I liked the feeling of it until the dialogue scenes started. After that, I felt like the film was getting explained to me. I would have liked it to continue with minimal dialogue (show don't tell). Maybe you can develop it further.
Real cool and sorry to hear about the DQ.

Great graphics and good script timing, Enjoyable. Be Immortal.

Thumbs up, good work. Props for going under the full 5 minutes. Cool lighting and nighttime effects.

I would have liked more action and less talking

Title with the font and the eye looked bad-ass, and I loved the super hero genre tied into the historical setting

A rare historically (1862) set film in 48 Hours that actually felt like you were in the time and place, and a strong example of how to do black and white the 'right' way. Whilst many teams might click apply black and white in premiere, Desert Walk used strong lighting and exceptional understanding of shadows to make a bold cinematography statement. Even the outfits perfectly suited the choice, with inky blacks and crisp whites of masks, jackets and shirts offering striking contrast and seering images for the viewer.

The camerawork was also smooth, with a superb opening shot, and the editing made the right cuts at the right times for the material that was present.

I bought into your story myself, as we were kept on the edge of our boat not knowing whether The Immortal who had abandoned his pirate ship under siege was bluffing or not to his gun holding captor, and the ending reminded me of Twin Peaks in a good way.

Having said that, I do feel that the film lost steam after the fantastic opening, with the dialogue potentially needing some trimming to leave some more intrigue for the viewer. The very final shot on the other hand probably could have actually been shown for more punch than the sound effect after the competition credit.

Story: 2.5/5
Technical: 4/5
Elements: 2.5/5
Overall: 3/5

I thought the start of this was excellent. I love being thrust into action already in progress! An ambitious film in many respects and I actually like how it started rather grand and then went small and talky. Maybe going all "Lighthouse" on it and shrinking to a 4:3 aspect ratio would have given as a more claustrophobic feel on the boat - but that's maybe not what you were after. I actually disagree with some of the comments on too much dialogue - this is character driven piece that needs this level of exposition. Otherwise, I think we would have been left to filling in the blanks a bit too much. Nice work.

The visual effects are really impressive and it's incredible you were able to do that as part of 48 hours. However, I think it might have hamstrung you in the long run because setting your story in a row-boat really limited what you were able to do in terms of cinematography, story and acting. A stronger script with weaker visual elements would have made for an overall better film, and I think for this film its expository storytelling and one-location setting really let it down. But in future years, if you can put the story first and use the visual elements to enhance the script, you have the skills to create a really amazing film.

Excellent production design and cinematography! And a stand out performance from the female lead, but it is unfortunate that the audio was not captured as well as it could have, and I think partially due to that, I had a really hard time following the dialogue and what the story was actually about. Audio is half your film so make it count!

As everyone has mentioned.....amazing cinematography and VFX to create a stunning image. Loved the performances, lighting, black and white and close quarters storytelling. Awesome work guys - a beast of an effort for 48hours.

I am heavily impressed by this film! The opening scene is incredible, the black and white look really lends itself well to the story, I'm still wondering how you did all the effects! The characterizations were good and the costumes worked well.

I feel its biggest downfall was in the sound department. A little bit of cleanup and levelling on the dialogue audio would make a huge difference to being fully invested in the story. The gunshots sounded like they could use a bit more bass.

I only half agree with others about the pacing in the boat, as its intentions were a mexican standoff, as i've said the audio fix would've helped that a lot. Also I feel like the two of them should have been close in the boat the whole time. In the OTS shots the two felt close which worked well for the tension, but then the wides showed them further apart which was a little jarring.

All in all a brilliant film! Can't wait to see what you do next. 3.5/5

Great costumes and effects. Great acting as well. Cliché lesson learned, always shoot twice. Great job guys! Excellent film.

Maybe one of my favourite visual styles I've ever scene in the comp - something that is so rarely attempted.

The main shots of the characters out at sea is breathtaking, it looked amazing and completely beyond anything I would know how to achieve in 48!

The performances are really effective here too - though as others have said I think the talky nature of it slows the pacing down a lot. I think the problem is not so much that it's a conversation movie, but that the conversations goes for as long as it does. Some scene changes or action sequences would have really amped this up - though you already got DQ'd for being late so I can't imagine this would have changed your luck ahaha.

Sorry about the DQ, I long for the day I get to see a James Bradley film actually compete in the comp!

Things you got right: One of the coolest and most polished looking 48Hour films I've ever seen

Things to work on for next time: Pairing that beautiful visual style with a more compelling story. Also handing your film in on time!

Bravo fam! I've watched a few films today and this one was my favourite.
Production value - brilliant. Story and script - great. Your actress - great job, reminded of me of a Keira Knightly. There's nothing I can really say bad about this film so top effort team!

It's unfortunate y'all got the DQ but meh.

Yoooo this film looked sickkkkk. Such an awesome style, it's not often that keying out characters on a green screen actually pays off.

Really well performed and confident story although maybe a little fuzzy on the details/motivation behind the characters and the ending had me a bit lost.

DQs are lame but heaaaaps of potential from this team, super excited to see more from you