Before Friday’s latest vamp flick, Movies.ie recommends the following titles…
It’s “Harry Potter” for the next generation. But instead of wizards and wands, Stephanie Meyers “Twilight” series is bringing vampires and werewolves to the big screen with a healthy dose of teenage love and angst. Already setting box office records in the States, expect “Twilight” to take a big bite out of the Irish box office this weekend. Before Bella and Edward hit Irish screens, we recommend you check out the following titles:
NOSFERATU
From German director, FW Murnau, this was the masterpiece that put bloodsuckers on the map. Essentially a rip-off of Bram Stoker’s Dracula – to which director FW Murnau couldn’t secure the rights – Nosferatu showed the vampire as a monstrous character straight out of legend. Closer to the traditional Transylvanian monster than Stoker’s suave Count, Murnau’s vision almost single-handedly invented the idea that vampires cannot bear sunlight.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S ROMEO AND JULIET
Take out the supernatural and what is Twilight but a love story – a guy, a girl, rival families and plenty of woe to go around – sound familiar? Yes, the comparison to Romeo and Juliett is an obvious one, but any excuse to sit back and watch Baz Luhrmann’s ambitious adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic tale of star-crossed lovers. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes play the famous lovers kept apart by rival industrialist families. Bookended by newscastsers reciting Shakespeare’s prose as their copy, this clever glam updating of Romeo and Juliet is one of the most unusual adaptations of the Bard’s work in the history of cinema. The stylish and colorful sets earned the film an Oscar nomination for art direction.
THIRTEEN
For her directorial debut “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke gave us “Thirteen”. Los Angeles teenager and overachiever Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) is an excellent student in her seventh grade class and gets along well with her mother, Melanie (Holly Hunter). She fears that she’s not cool enough to be friends with Evie (Nikki Reed), the most popular girl in school. Fueled with genuine adolescent energy, Tracy follows Evie’s lead into the harsh realities of sex, drugs, and hard-edged adventure. Consumed with temptations and conflicting desires, Tracy loses her good-girl identity, greatly affecting her relationship with her mom. Partly autobiographical, Thirteen was co-written by Hardwicke and actual 13-year-old Reed, who are close family friends. Originally intending to write a teen comedy, they ended up creating a hard-hitting drama exposing the contemporary teenage experience.
“Twilight” hits Irish cinemas Friday, December 19th.