War Horse star Tom Hiddleston discusses his experience of watching Jurassic Park for the first time, and gives his impression of a Velociraptor.
“It was the end of the days of chivalry. War changed and the world changed.”
Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch on how War Horse depicts the shift in conflict techniques during World War One.
“There was a moment when Captain Nicholls sees the machine guns…and Spielberg wanted to show Captain Nicholls death without you seeing him die. And he said to me… ‘The camera’s going to move across your face, but I don’t want you to do shock or surprise or fear or terror. How old are you?’ I said: ‘I’m 29.’ ‘Ok, so at the top of the shot, give me your war face, the face you’ve been doing all day: you’re winning, you’re triumphant, you’re a noble officer, and it’s all going well. Then I’m going to say ‘Guns’ and when you hear me say ‘Guns’, the camera will settle and I want you to de-age yourself by twenty years. So you’re 29 and then you’re nine. Strip away the man and show me the boy.’ I think that was the most heartbreaking piece of direction I’d ever received.”
Tom Hiddleston on the direction given to him by Spielberg for Captain Nicholls’ death scene in War Horse - one of the most powerful moments in the film.
![Something that confused me after my first viewing of War Horse is the fate of Emilie, the young girl who finds the stray Joey on her grandfather’s farm in France.
At the end of the film, Grandfather appears at a horse auction hoping to buy Joey, and suggests that Emilie may have been killed. When asked what has happened to his grand-daughter, Grandfather replies:
“The war has taken everything from everyone. He [Joey] is all that I have left of her.”
Later, when handing Joey over to Albert, he says:
“He belongs to you. That is, of course, what my little girl would have wanted. And she was the boss.”
At the scene’s end, however, Grandfather refers to Emile in the present tense when asked what her name was:
“Emilie. Her name is Emilie.”
So what gives? Should Emilie be referred to in the past or present tense? Is she dead or alive? The obvious answer is that she’s dead and Grandfather refers to her in the present tense as a way of keeping her memory alive.
However, it’s also possible that Emile is still around and that her ‘death’ is metaphorical rather than literal. In other words, the young, vivacious girl Grandfather once knew has been replaced by someone who has been corrupted by the violence of war.
Grandfather’s purchase of Joey is an attempt to restore some hope in the girl’s life and bring the Emilie he knew back. His decision to hand Joey back to Albert therefore becomes even more poignant than it had initially been. War really has taken everything from everyone - and there’s no way to get it back.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4a1lqZ5JM1r5cyr0o1_500.jpg)
Something that confused me after my first viewing of War Horse is the fate of Emilie, the young girl who finds the stray Joey on her grandfather’s farm in France.
At the end of the film, Grandfather appears at a horse auction hoping to buy Joey, and suggests that Emilie may have been killed. When asked what has happened to his grand-daughter, Grandfather replies:
“The war has taken everything from everyone. He [Joey] is all that I have left of her.”
Later, when handing Joey over to Albert, he says:
“He belongs to you. That is, of course, what my little girl would have wanted. And she was the boss.”
At the scene’s end, however, Grandfather refers to Emile in the present tense when asked what her name was:
“Emilie. Her name is Emilie.”
So what gives? Should Emilie be referred to in the past or present tense? Is she dead or alive? The obvious answer is that she’s dead and Grandfather refers to her in the present tense as a way of keeping her memory alive.
However, it’s also possible that Emile is still around and that her ‘death’ is metaphorical rather than literal. In other words, the young, vivacious girl Grandfather once knew has been replaced by someone who has been corrupted by the violence of war.
Grandfather’s purchase of Joey is an attempt to restore some hope in the girl’s life and bring the Emilie he knew back. His decision to hand Joey back to Albert therefore becomes even more poignant than it had initially been. War really has taken everything from everyone - and there’s no way to get it back.
With War Horse out on DVD in the UK this week, I take a look at Steven Spielberg’s use of nature in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Always, Jurassic Park and Saving Private Ryan.
Check out Celebrate the Land: Spielberg’s War Horse on Quiet of the Matinee.
