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Volume CXXXII, Number 23 |
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Silver Screen goes gold
MACAELA FLANAGAN
COLUMNIST
Growing disillusioned with the blockbuster movies at Hoyts? Fear not, Bowdoin has a film all its own. A year long, advanced independent study in the History department has produced a 30-minute film, written, produced, and directed by Bowdoin senior Ethan Bullard. The original score was written and compiled by another Bowdoin talent, Colin Thibadeau, also for independent study credit.
After The Gold Rush will premiere tonight at 8:00 p.m. in Smith Auditorium. The multi-themed project is a study of a young man who attempts to escape the industrial world only to find that it catches up with him.
After The Gold Rush is a creation that that combines Ethan's interest in 19th-century American History, black and white Western films, and the resources of the frontier. He spent the fall semester watching old Westerns and reading both primary documents and the writings of Patricia Limerick and Richard Slotkin.
The picture was filmed in two sessions. The East Coast portion was filmed at Lowell National Historic Park, where there is an old 19th century cotton mill on the premises. Winter break brought the Bowdoin crew to Wyoming, where the remainder of the film was shot on Bowdoin Rich Fox's '03 Bitterroot Ranch. This past semester has been filled with editing-an estimated five and a half hours of footage needed to be cut down to the 30-minute film. The film is set in 1869 and shot in agreement with Ethan's film preference, a 1920s aesthetic, resulting in a black and white silent film.
Scott Raker '05 stars as the young Scottish immigrant Angus MacKay, who works in a Massachusetts mill. Jesse Cargill '03 fills in the other major role as Griffith. Other Bowdoin players in the film are George Hubbard '03, Dave Donnelly '03, Todd Forsgren '03, Rich Fox, Andy Keshner '03, Mark Lutte '03, Julian Waldo '03, Jared B. Ware '05, James Wilikins '04, and Jordan Harrison '04. Those of us knowledgeable in the history of film or the American West will find the characters are inspired by prominent figures in these respected disciplines (i.e. Griffith = D.W. Griffith).
Why a Western, Ethan? "Westerns have always been fantasy pictures where contemporary ideology is projected in a pseudo-historical setting and a mythical frontier." The film, besides being a conglomeration of Ethan's academic interests, also encompasses varying themes that have plagued the U.S. since the days when the Western frontier was still an untamed land. While there are plenty of films commenting on the displaced people of the West, so Ethan brings to the forefront the importance of the West's resources, because they had an enormous part in Western settlement as well. While After the Gold Rush is in accordance with Westerns of the time, Ethan's film is a more critical analysis of what has been done to the West.
Bowdoin students wrote, directed, acted, and produced every ounce of this work, and that is certainly something this campus doesn't get to see everyday. So whether you're a film buff, history kid, or cowboy, come and show your support and enjoy a truly engaging independent film right in your own back yard. Smith Auditorium, today at 8:00 p.m.. After the Gold Rush. Be there.
Bullard's After the Gold Rush Debut
Grown disillusioned with the blockbuster movies at Hoyts? Fear not, Bowdoin has a film all of it's own. A year long, advanced independent study in the History department has produced a thirty-minute film, written, produced, and directed by Bowdoin senior Ethan Bullard. The original score was written and compiled by another Bowdoin talent, Colin Thibadeau, also for independent study credit. After the Gold Rush will premiere Friday, May 2nd at eight o'clock PM, in Smith Auditorium. The multi-themed project is a study of a young man who attempts escaping the industrial world only to find that it catches up with him.
After the Gold Rush is a creation that that combines Ethan's interest in 19th Century American History, black and white Western films, and the resources of the frontier. He spent the fall semester watching old Westerns and reading both primary documents and the writings of Patricia Limerick and Richard Slotkin. The picture was filmed in two sessions. The East Coast portion was filmed at Lowell National Historic Park, where there is an old 19th century cotton mill on the premises. Winter break brought the Bowdoin crew to Wyoming, where the remainder of the film was shot on Bowdoin alum Rich Fox's Bitterroot Ranch. This past semester has been one of editing an estimated five and a half hours of footage down to the thirty-minute film. The film is set in 1869, and shot in agreement with Ethan's film preference, a 1920s aesthetic, resulting in a black and white silent film.
Scott Raker stars as the young Scottish immigrant Angus MacKay, who works in a Massachusetts mill. Jesse Cargill fills in the other major role as Griffith. Other Bowdoin players in the film are George Hubbard, Dave Donnelly, Todd Forsgren, Rich Fox, Andy Keshner, Mark Lutte, Julian Waldo, Jared B. Ware, James Wilikins, and Jordan Harrison. Those of us knowledgeable in the history of film or the American West will find the characters are inspired by prominent figures in these respected disciplines (i.e. Griffith = D.W. Griffith).
Why a Western, Ethan? "Westerns have always been fantasy pictures where contemporary ideology is projected in a pseudo-historical setting and a mythical frontier." The film then, besides being a conglomeration of Ethan's academic interests, also encompasses varying themes that have plagued the US since the days when the Western frontier was still an untamed land. While there are plenty of films commenting on the displaced people of the West, so Ethan brings to the forefront the importance of the West's resources, because they had an enormous part in Western settlement as well. While After the Gold Rush is in accordance with Westerns of the time, Ethan's film is a more critical analysis of what has been done to the West.
Bowdoin students wrote, directed, acted, and produced every ounce of this work, and that is certainly something this campus doesn't get to see everyday. So whether your a film buff, history kid, or cowboy, come and show your support and enjoy a truly engaging independent film right in your own back yard. Smith Auditorium, Friday May 2nd (TODAY), at 8 PM. After the Gold Rush. Be there.
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