Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Directed by Brad Silberling
Three wealthy children's parents are killed in a fire. When they are sent to a distant relative, they find out that he is plotting to kill them and seize their fortune.
12 connections found
View:
12 films that influenced this film
What critics say influenced Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
The name could be an homage to "Count Orlock," which was the name of the Dracula character in Nosferatu , and Olaf's first scene borrows heavily from the meet-and-greet with the Lugosi vampire.
Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, a two-time Oscar nominee ( Sleepy Hollow and The Little Princess ) for his ability to light a scene and bring an emotional intensity to the setting, displays that gift again in this movie.
Based on a fusion of tales by Daniel Handler (a/k/a Lemony Snicket), the film takes place in a superhistorical Boston that only a hermit from Orange County could imagine: think Bedknobs and Broomsticks London meets Blade Runner�s LA.
Director Brad Silberling's previous films -- "Casper," "City of Angels" and "Moonlight Mile" -- have all dealt with death as major themes; you may know that Silberling was dating actress Rebecca Schaeffer when she was killed by an obsessed fan in 1989, so it's understandable how his work would become flavored by thoughts of mortality.
Director Brad Silberling cut his teeth on special effects with his first ever feature film Casper, but with this movie he has proved himself a master in the craft.
As conceived by writer Robert Gordon ("Men in Black 2") and director Brad Silberling ("Casper"), it comes off as a very suitable kind of Tim Burton-lite, ably offset by the talented and capable Browning and Aiken (with the help of the adorable Hoffman twins) who give the film just the right level of empathetic naturalism.
Director Brad Silberling ("Casper") children's family tale is based on the offbeat children's books "The Bad Beginning," "The Reptile Room" and "The Wide Window" by Daniel Handler (the San Franciscan writes under the pen name of Lemony Snicket); Robert Gordon is the screenwriter.
Advertisement
Director Brad Silberling's previous films -- "Casper," "City of Angels" and "Moonlight Mile" -- have all dealt with death as major themes; you may know that Silberling was dating actress Rebecca Schaeffer when she was killed by an obsessed fan in 1989, so it's understandable how his work would become flavored by thoughts of mortality.
Director Brad Silberling (City of Angels) finds a good tone for the picture, injecting enough humor to offset the subject matter while still dealing with the central theme, which is the resiliency of children.
For those unfamiliar with author Daniel Handler (pen name Lemony Snicket) and his "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books, here's a literary litmus test: How do you feel about the children's books written by Roald Dahl, such as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "James and the Giant Peach" and "The Witches"?
Connolly is a likable eccentric for his few scenes, but pity Luis Guzmán ("Anger Management"), Jennifer Coolidge (TV's "Joey"), Jane Adams ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"), Craig Ferguson ("Saving Grace") and Jamie Harris ("Rick") as Olaf's unsavory troupe.
(Production designer Rick Heinrichs worked on Burton's Sleepy Hollow.)
Directed by Brad Silberling, the film has a Tim Burton-like visual feel, which is unsurprising given that the production designer is Rick Heinrichs, a frequent Burton collaborator ("The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Sleepy Hollow").
The technical credits are meritorious: Robert Gordon's screenplay (which adapts the first three of eleven books in the popular series) is brisk and unabashed; Rick Heinrichs's Tim Burton-esque production design is exhilarating (not surprisingly he worked on Burton's "Sleepy Hollow"); the costumes are great, the cinematography cool.
Its visually arresting screen presence engages the significant talents of production designer Rick Heinrichs, previously employed by Tim Burton on "Sleepy Hollow" and "Planet of the Apes."
Director Brad Silberling is responsible for this vision, putting together an award winning team to tell the Baudelaire tale - production designer Rick Heinrichs, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, and costume designer Colleen Atwood all from the foreboding "Sleepy Hollow."
And director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki's ("Sleepy Hollow") chiaroscuro lighting adds considerably to the moody mood.
Advertisement
Director Brad Silberling's previous films -- "Casper," "City of Angels" and "Moonlight Mile" -- have all dealt with death as major themes; you may know that Silberling was dating actress Rebecca Schaeffer when she was killed by an obsessed fan in 1989, so it's understandable how his work would become flavored by thoughts of mortality.
I give Silberling ( Moonlight Mile ) credit for not allowing them to swallow the film.
Director Brad Silberling ("Moonlight Mile") takes on the challenge of translating perhaps the second most popular series of current children's books for the screen and succeeds most of the time.
Following up Moonlight Mile with another memento mori, Brad Silberling steadfastly resists the epileptic flash-edits that sink this kind of big-budget ship, but his direction is ultimately workmanlike.
Finally, director Brad Silberling ("Moonlight Mile") directs as if his life depended on it, reeling in his performers when necessary, or letting them fly hither and yon.
Director Brad Silberling (''Moonlight Mile") has essentially made a Tim Burton movie without the weird shafts of adolescent pain: The woeful tale of the Baudelaires, their orphaning and subsequent journey from one hapless guardian to the next -- chased all the while by the venal stick-figure Count Olaf (Carrey) -- is sad but not tragic here, a story of resourcefulness and fortitude in the face of amusingly grim events, narrated by the silhouetted figure of Snicket (Jude Law) with the tact of a first-year undertaker.
Directed by Brad Silberling, the film has a Tim Burton-like visual feel, which is unsurprising given that the production designer is Rick Heinrichs, a frequent Burton collaborator ("The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Sleepy Hollow").