Twelve Monkeys

Twelve Monkeys (Twelve Monkeys in English) is a 1995 American science fiction film.

Directed by Terry Gilliam, and inspired by the film La Jetée (1962), by Chris Marker, it stars Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt and Christopher Plummer. After Universal Studios acquired the copyright to make a longer version of La Jetée, David and Janet Peoples were hired to write the script. Its plot depicts the story of a prisoner called James Cole (Bruce Willis) who, in a post-apocalyptic world, volunteers for a scientific experiment whose purpose is to travel to the past to find out what caused the situation in which he lives in the future.

Under Gilliam's direction, Universal gave them a budget of $29.5 million, and filming took place between February and May 1995. Filming was done primarily in Baltimore and Philadelphia, where the story takes place. The film received critical acclaim upon its release and grossed $168.4 million worldwide. Brad Pitt received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and won a Golden Globe in the same category. The film was nominated for and won in several Saturn Award categories.

Plot

Hypothetical Distribution of Cole Memorized Virus

James Cole (Bruce Willis) is a convicted felon living in a sinister post-apocalyptic future in Philadelphia. Between 1996 and 1997, the Earth's surface had been contaminated with a virus so powerful that it forced the surviving population to live underground. In order to gain leniency, Cole requests that scientists be sent on dangerous missions back in time to gather information about the virus, supposedly released by a terrorist organization known as the "Army of the Twelve Monkeys." Where possible, he is asked to extract samples of that pathogen in order to discover a cure. Throughout the film, Cole experiences recurring dreams about being chased and shot at an airport, dreams that he can't figure out.

On his first mission, Cole arrives in Baltimore in 1990, not 1996 as planned. He is arrested and admitted to a psychiatric hospital, due to the diagnosis of Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe). There he meets Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), an anti-consumer patient obsessed with animal rights. Cole tries in vain to leave a voicemail at a number monitored by scientists from the future. After a failed escape attempt, he is locked in a cell, but then disappears, returning to the future. Back in his own time, the scientists question him and show him a distorted message that tells of the location of the Army of the Twelve Monkeys and confirms that they are responsible for spreading the virus. He also shows her photographs of various people, including Goines. In a second attempt, the scientists make a mistake again and this time they send him to a trench in France during World War I, where he is wounded by a bullet. Finally, he is sent back to 1996.

Cole kidnaps Railly and begins a search to find Goines, as he was the founder of the terrorist organization. When confronted, this character denies knowing about the virus and says that Cole had thought of ending humanity at the hospital in 1990. When the police arrive, Cole disappears again, and after this incident, the doctor begins to doubt his identity. diagnosis, as she finds evidence that she is telling the truth (such as the bullet in Cole's leg, which—extracted by herself—turns out to be a World War I bullet, and also sees a photo of that combat on the trenches that Cole appears in. Or Cole's prediction that a missing child was actually hiding, it was being broadcast on the TV news and Cole remembered that case from seeing it in his childhood). Instead, the time traveler begins to think that his experiences are hallucinations and convinces the scientists to send him back in time. Railly leaves a voicemail at a number traced by the scientists to prove Cole's insanity, whereupon he believes the message they had transmitted to him before showing him his second mission. It is then that they both realize that the epidemic that he announced would be real and they make plans to enjoy the little time they have left.

On their way to the airport, they discover that the Army of the Twelve Monkeys is a red herring; all his plans consist of delaying traffic by releasing animals from the zoo. Once there, Cole sends one last message saying that this organization is not guilty and that he would not return. At that moment, José appears, an acquaintance of his from the future, who gives him a weapon and instructions to complete his mission. Railly spots the real culprit behind the epidemic: Dr. Peters (David Morse), an assistant in the Goines' virology lab. Peters would embark on a large list of cities, which coincides with the sequence (memorized by Cole) of dispersal of the disease. Later, he is fatally shot while trying to stop Peters. As she dies in Railly's arms, she watches a boy—little James Cole—who witnesses his own death. This is the scene that is repeated in her dreams throughout the film. Finally, Peters, once inside the plane, sits next to Jones (Carol Florence), one of the most prominent scientists in the future.

Cast

• Bruce Willis like James Cole.
• Madeleine Stowe as Kathryn Railly.
• Brad Pitt like Jeffrey Goines.
• Christopher Plummer as Dr. Goines (father of Jeffrey Goines).
• Jon Seda like Joseph.
• Christopher Meloni as Lieutenant Halperin
• David Morse as Dr. Peters.
• Frank Gorshin as Dr. Fletcher.
• Vernon Campbell like Tiny.
• Lisa Gay Hamilton like Teddy.
• Bob Adrian as the geologist.
• Simon Jones as the zoologist.
• Carol Florence as the astrophysics Jones.
• Bill Raymond as the microbiologist.
• Thomas Roy as the street preacher.

Production

Origins

The idea behind Twelve Monkeys came from executive producer Robert Kosberg, a fan of the French film La Jetée (1962). Kosberg persuaded the film's director, Chris Marker, to sell the project to Universal Pictures, setting the stage for a longer-running sci-fi film. The company reluctantly agreed to acquire the rights to make a version of the film, hiring David and Janet Peoples as screenwriters. Producer Charles Roven chose Terry Gilliam to direct because he felt his style was perfect for the non-linear plot. and time travel themes in Twelve Monkeys. Gilliam had at the time dropped out of a film adaptation project for A Tale of Two Cities when he signed the contract. to direct the film. The film is also the second in which Gilliam did not write or collaborate on the script. Although he prefers to direct his own scripts, he was captivated by the "[so] intriguing and clever script. The story is perplexing. He talks about time, madness and the perception of what the world is or stops being. It is a study in madness and dreams, death and rebirth, set in a world that is falling apart."

It took Universal Studios longer than expected to approve the filming of Twelve Monkeys, even though Gilliam had two stars (Pitt and Willis) and a budget of $28.5 million (low for a Hollywood science fiction film). As the company's previous production, Waterworld (1995), had been a commercial failure, Gilliam was forced to convince Willis to reduce his pay. Due to the success of his previous production with Universal Studios, Brazil (1985), Gilliam received the right to final cut. The Writers Guild of America was skeptical of the inspiration received from La Jeteé and Chris Marker.

Cast choice

According to Gilliam, Bruce Willis, who entrusted James Cole, coincided with the character's character.

Gilliam had first cast Dustin Hoffman in the role of James Cole and Jeff Bridges in the role of Jeffrey Goines, but was opposed by Universal Studios. Gilliam, who met Bruce Willis during casting for The Fisher King (1991), stated that this matched Cole's characterization as "someone strong and dangerous, yet vulnerable". The actor had three tattoos on his neck and scalp during filming: one indicated his prisoner number and a pair of barcodes on each side of his neck.

The director cast Madeleine Stowe in the role of Kathryn Railly because he had been deeply impressed by her performance in Alone in the Twilight (1994). Gilliam met her during casting for his adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities. Both of these things fit well with her, and the film needs these elements, since it must be romantic'.

Gilliam originally believed that Brad Pitt was not right for the role of Jeffrey Goines, but was convinced otherwise by the casting director. Pitt was hired for a relatively low salary. However, by the time Twelve Monkeys was released, Interview with the Vampire (1994), Legends of Passion (1994) and Se7en (1995), so Pitt was already a recognized actor, and the film would attract attention. Months before filming began, in Philadelphia, Pitt spent weeks in the Temple University hospital visiting and studying the psychiatric guard to be prepared to embody his character.

Shooting

Filming on Twelve Monkeys began on February 8 and wrapped on May 6, 1995. Filming in Philadelphia and Baltimore (including scenes at the Senator Theatre), which took place in winter, was plagued with weather-related problems. There were also difficulties with the film's futuristic mechanical setting.

Because the film has a non-linear story, there were continuity errors and several scenes were reshot. In addition, Gilliam was injured practicing horsemanship. Despite these setbacks, the director was only a week behind his original shooting schedule and was able to stick to his budget. Production designer Jeffrey Beecroft (Mr. Brooks, Dances with Wolves) revealed that it was "a tough shoot. There wasn't enough time or money. Terry is a perfectionist, but he was really adamant about not going over budget. He's been trashed [in terms of budget] in Munchausen and it's still haunting him.

The filmmakers were not allowed the luxury of soundproof rooms, so they had to use abandoned buildings in Philadelphia in which to film. Exterior shots of the airport were taken at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, while those inside were made at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The scenes in the mental institution were filmed at the Eastern State Penitentiary, located in Philadelphia.

Aesthetics

Gilliam used the same style of filming as in Brazil (1985), as well as using a similar aesthetic (specifically, Fresnel lenses were used). The room where Cole has interviews with the scientists it was based on the works of Lebbeus Woods. Those scenes were filmed at three different power plants (two in Philadelphia and one in Baltimore). Gilliam intended to show how the criminal is interrogated through a set of televisions because he felt that it evoked "a nightmarish technological intervention." You try to see the faces on the screens in front of him, but the real faces and voices are there [right] and you feel those tiny voices in his ear. To me, this is the world we live in, the way we communicate today, with technological devices trying to [fulfil this function], but failing".

The art direction took special care to ensure that the 2035 underground world contained pre-1996 technology as a means of depicting the future as bleak. In addition, Gilliam, Beecroft and Crispian Sallis (the art director) went to various flea markets and stores looking for materials with which to decorate the stagings. To create most of the visual effects sequences, Gilliam applied the techniques of Peerless Camera, the studio he found in the late 1970s, whose supervisor was Kent Houston (The Golden Compass, Casino Royale). Digital editing was done by The Mill.

The Lebbeus Woods Trial

At the beginning of the film, Cole must enter an interrogation room and sit in a chair with rails attached to the wall. There is also a sphere supported by a metal framework suspended directly in front of him, probing him for weaknesses as scientists question him. Architect Lebbeus Woods brought a lawsuit against Universal Studios in February 1996 arguing that his work "Neomechanical Tower (Upper) Chamber" (Neomechanical breech turret, in Spanish) had been used without permission. Woods won it, collecting a million dollars from Universal, although he allowed distribution of the film to continue.

Music

The film's soundtrack was composed, arranged, and conducted by English musician Paul Buckmaster. The main theme was based on the Punta del Este Suite, by Argentine tango musician and composer Astor Piazzolla.

Themes

Memories, time and technology

Twelve Monkeys studies the subjective nature of memory and its effect on the perception of reality. Examples of false memories include:

• Cole's mental reconstruction of the shooting at the airport, altered in every dream.
• A man with "mental Divine" in the psychiatric hospital that has false memories.
• Railly telling Cole, "I remember you like that," when they both disguise themselves before arriving at the airport.

There are references to time, travel through time, and monkeys throughout the film, including the episode of the Woodrider series called "Time Tunnel" (The Time Tunnel in Spanish), broadcast on a television in a hotel, the film by the Marx brothers Pistoleros de agua dulce, from 1931 (whose original title is Monkey Business), being seen in the mental hospital, and monkey-related sub-themes (drug testing, news, and animal rights). The film is also a study of the decline of modern civilization in the field of communication due to the interference of technology.

Allusions to other cinematographic works

Twelve Monkeys is inspired by the short French film La Jetée (1962), specifically in the fact that the protagonist is haunted by the image of his own death. The climax of both films takes place in an airport.

In its resemblance to the French film, Twelve Monkeys features "Hitchcockian" and references to films by this director, such as Vertigo (1958). Towards the end of the film, Cole and Railly hide in a theater where a 24-Hour Hitchcock marathon is being broadcast and watch a scene from this film. The doctor dresses up in a blonde wig, like Judy (Kim Novak) becomes the blonde Madeleine in Vertigo. Her escort watches her emerge illuminated by a red light, while Scottie (James Stewart) sees Judy under a green light. In addition, brief notes from the 1958 Bernard Herrman film can be heard. Railly is also wearing the same coat that Novak wore in the first part of Hitchcock's feature film. The scene in which Judy (as Madeleine) looks at the growth rings of a fallen tree and recalls past events in her life is in keeping with the theme of Twelve Monkeys . Cole and Railly have a similar conversation to the same music from Vertigo.

Elsewhere in the film, Cole wakes up on a gurney where the scientists from the future sing in chorus. This is a direct homage to a scene in the Dennis Potter movie The Singing Detective.

Premiere

Critical reception

Director Terry Gilliam at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001.

The film received a positive response from critics. A study based on 45 reviews collected by the specialized website Rotten Tomatoes showed that 87% of critics gave it a score of 7.2/10. This consensus is that "the plot is a bit confusing, but the excellent acting and mind-blowing plot twists make Twelve Monkeys a wacky and effective experience" In addition, the site's 18 critics gave the film a score of 6.8/10, with 83% of them giving positive comments. In comparison, Metacritic calculated an average rating of 74. /100, based on 20 reviews.

Critic Roger Ebert focused on the film's depiction of the future, finding similarities to Blade Runner (1982, scripted by David Peoples) and Brazil i> (1985, directed by Terry Gilliam). "The film is a celebration of madness and death, whose hero tries to triumph over the chaos of his [time traveler] condition and proves inadequate," Ebert said. "[In] this vision, the world is a cold, dark and bleak place; even the romance between Stowe and Willis seems more desperate than joyful. This is all very well done and the more one knows about movies (especially film technique) the more one will enjoy it. As entertainment, it targets the mind more than the senses'. Julián Monge-Nájera, BBC and NatGeo science adviser, referred to the film's scientific content saying: "Although according to the theory of relativity it is potentially It is possible to send a person to the future if you have an almost infinite source of energy, otherwise sending a person to the past is out of the question for most physicists... The fact that a virus can spread over the entire surface the planet has already been shown by the flu virus.”

Desson Thomson of The Washington Post praised the art direction and staging. "The performance by Pitt and Willis, the atmosphere [created by] Gilliam and the stimulating impulses alleviate those plot complications," said the reviewer. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine i>, credited the film's success to Gilliam's direction and Willis's performance. Critic James Berardinelli opined that the filmmakers came up with a clever and creative reason for introducing time travel into the plot. Instead of being sent to change the past, Cole aims to design a better future. In contrast, Richard Corliss of Time magazine expressed that time travel and the apocalyptic vision of a future bleak is a cliché. "In its fantastic mix of mayhem, carnage and zoo animals, Twelve Monkeys is Jumanji for adults".

Ticket office

Twelve Monkeys had a limited release in the United States on December 29, 1995. In the week of its worldwide release (January 5, 1996), the film grossed $13.84 million.. It even collected a total sum of 57.14 million dollars in that country and 111.7 million in other regions, reaching a total amount of 168.84 million dollars. The film remained in first place in terms of level of revenue two weeks in January, before From Dusk Till Dawn, Mr. Holland's Opus and Black Sheep will take that place.

Universal Studios released in the May 2005 special edition of Twelve Monkeys an audio commentary by Terry Gilliam and producer Charles Roven called "The Hamster Factor and Other Twelve Monkeys" ("The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys", in the original English), as well as production.

Awards and nominations

Brad Pitt received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, but lost to Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects. Costume designer Julie Weiss (Frida, Hollywoodland) also received a nomination for her work, but it was James Acheson who won the award for Restoration However, Pitt won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Terry Gilliam received directing honors at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival. Twelve Monkeys received positive reviews. of the science fiction community. In addition, it was nominated for the Hugo Awards for best film within this genre and the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films awarded it the Saturn Award for best science fiction feature film. Pitt and Weiss also won this class of awards. Willis, Stowe, Gilliam and the Peoples received nominations for these awards.

TV series

On January 16, 2015, the television series 12 Monkeys, based on the film, premiered on the Syfy channel in the United States. Co-executive producer and creator Terry Matalas called the series a "complete reimagining" from the original film, as they did not intend to retell the same story.