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Hollywood is a mans'
world. Steven Speilberg, James Cameron, George Lucas are the
names which spring straight to mind when you ask anyone about
who are the Hollywood hotshots.
Kathryn Bigelow is one of the few women
to break the patriarchal mould. She directed action adventure
Point Break and returns this month with another male dominated
film, K-19: The Widowmaker, starring Harrison Ford and Liam
Neeson.
According to director/producer Kathryn Bigelow,
the story of what happened to K-19 and her crew had everything
an action-thriller needed built right into the actual events
as they took place during the Cold War. And, since that war
was fought on a mental battlefield rather than a physical
one, the film, drawn from public sources and historical record,
is that much more intriguing and unique.
“The story had all the elements for a dramatic movie,”
says Bigelow, who went to Russia prior to filming to talk
with K-19’s survivors and their families. “It had
a built-in ‘ticking clock’ suspense factor; that
is, a nuclear submarine with an impending reactor meltdown
that could cause catastrophic global repercussions. It had,
at its center, a ferociously dedicated and charismatic captain,
whose bold decisions under pressure saved the boat and its
crew. And above all, it had the courageous young submariners
themselves, who knowingly subjected themselves to a lethal
dose of radiation to repair the damage and fend off disaster.”
Caught up in making “K-19: The Widowmaker”
for five years, including setting foot on the historic K-19,
Bigelow says that she feels privileged to have conducted extensive
research with the people whose lives were touched by the K-19
disaster, and she was inspired by their stories to make a
film that shows their compelling sacrifice and humanity.
“Our film examines the heroism, courage
and prowess of the Soviet submarine force in ways never seen
before,” adds Bigelow. “It is a fascinating tale
of ordinary people who became heroes when faced with a tragic
situation. Capturing the nobility of their sacrifice has been
the primary motivation for everyone involved in making this
film.”
KATHRYN BIGELOW, according to Variety, is
“an audaciously talented filmmaker determined to push
the envelope for women directors,” and in the course
of her career, she has distinguished herself as one of Hollywood¹s
most innovative filmmakers.
Building up a reputation as one of Hollywoods
best filmmakers has been a challenge. Primarily a mans' environment,
Bigelow prides herself in the fact she has been involved in
some of the most exciting action films ever made, and praise
has been coming from all angles.
In 1985, Bigelow directed and also co-wrote
the stirring cult classic “Near Dark.” Produced
by Steven-Charles Jaffe, the film was critically lauded as
“poetic horror,” and as always, Bigelow’s visual
style garnered positive reactions from the press who described
it as “dreamy, passionate and terrifying, a hallucinatory
vision of the American night-world that becomes both seductive
and devastating.” Following the release of “Near
Dark,” the Museum of Modern Art honored Bigelow with
a career retrospective.
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