MovieChat Forums > Beyond the Black Rainbow (2011) Discussion > Why set this film in the 80's?

Why set this film in the 80's?

posted 12 years ago by Dr_Apoc
2 replies | jump to latest

Does anyone have any thoughts as to why the writer picked the time period to set this film in?

Overall, I'd say that the film lends itself to any period in a science fiction period (1950 to 'the future') and that by simply leaving off the year the film is taking place in, nothing would have changed. For example, can anyone really say what year THX-1138 is taking place in (and does it even matter)?

What the director shows us here is that the experiments and beginning of the Arboria colony all happen in the late 1960's and that Elena comes of age in the early 1980's. But what he also shows is that this isn't a world change (like 1984 or Brave New World) and that this is a colony with no, or limited, exposure to the outside world (scene with President Reagan talking about the USSR, the subdivision of "normal" house shown at the end, the two drunks in the swamp, the modern pharmacy labels on the drugs, etc).

So, what does anyone think at the director/writer's decision to place this film in a particular time period? As it has no baring on the story itself, it must have some symbolic value.

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There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who get binary and those who don't.

[–] cade1 12 years ago

Actually, the time period works on a couple levels.

Part of what the writer/director was commenting on was 60's era new-age movements. Well, if the protagonist Elena is 16 when she comes of age, that would mean the film would be in the early 1980s.

Also, the early 80s time setting certainly adds to the creep factor.

But the biggest reason was more personal to Cosmatos - he said as a child he'd roam the horror aisle at his local vid rental store, looking at box art for movies he wasn't allowed to watch, imagining what they were about.

Well, that's what he did with BtBR - made a movie that could have been one of those movies, a 'forgotten film from 1983' (hence no usage of any digital effects that would be detectable by the audience as a modern machination). The first time as a lad going to his Video Addict rental store - was in 1983.

I personally LOVE the old retro look, wood paneling, Dr. Nyle's hair, etc...

[–] Dr_Apoc 12 years ago

I will admit that the attention the director puts into this film is really quite amazing. Beyond the sets and costuming, even the just slightly cheesy look of the Pyramid and the creepy look of the robot sentinels of the complex all look very much like an early 80's film.

I'm not a film major (or even in the business) so forgive my lack of proper additives but even the "texture" of the film had me thinking it was a very old film that had just been released on Netflix.

Thanks for the reply and lets hope to see more films from this guy. Anyone so anal in producing an artistic image deserves a second look.

But I do have one question from your responses...

As a 15 year old stalking those same VHS isles in 1983, I don't really remember anything that would "add to the creep factor."

The clothing looked like plastic bags when it wasn't blue jeans pants and jackets, Punk Rock was ending, DEVO, Gary Newman and synthpop were all the rage and big hair was a fact of life but I can't say that anything from that era was "creepy." By today standards it was awful, silly and downright humiliating for your kids to see photos of, but its not like it should keep you up late at nights. I've often felt that my hairstyle of the late 80's (mullet) was more along the lines of something that could be classified under the "Things Man was not meant to know" category.

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There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who get binary and those who don't.