We’ve been in conversation about these films with THE GREEN KNIGHT writer/director David Lowery over the past few weeks for our Guest Selects program, and he recorded this deep dive video just a few days before our programming team got a chance to see the film. So, how was the movie? First of all, it’s a masterpiece, anchored by a spectacular performance from Dev Patel as Gawain, off on a Magical Mystery Tour through medieval England to settle his debt with the Green Knight. Featuring lushly realized production design dampened with the rot of decay and doom through the lens of cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo, and set to a haunting score for the ages by Daniel Hart, it’s pure, must-be-seen-on-the-biggest-screen-possible cinema. If you’ve read the original tale, you’ll find that it’s not a straight word-for-word adaptation, and encapsulates a few other pieces of the Gawain canon along the way. Like the folklorists of a millennia ago, Lowery uses his skills as a storyteller to capture the elemental truth of the classic legends, streamlining and adjusting the narrative where it makes sense to create an accessible and deeply relatable story of a naive young man who finds himself in far over his head... and honorbound to lose it. Those of us who saw David Lowery’s video beforehand and since could absolutely see the inspirations of his film choices at play, from the lived-in fantasy worlds that masterful mix practical and visual effects in THE DARK CRYSTAL and WILLOW, to the vivid and vibrant costumes and production design in BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA and MARIE ANTOINETTE, and the powerful use of close-up that David drew from THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC. There are no spoilers in it, and we highly recommend watching before seeing the movie. (Or, make sure you’re there for the pre-show if you’re watching at an Alamo Drafthouse.) ---------- Where to find Alamo Drafthouse? http://drafthouse.com http://twitter.com/alamodrafthouse http://facebook.com/alamodrafthouse http://instagram.com/drafthouse