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Danny Boyle: A Retrospective
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February 8-14
Formula Kino Horizon 
 Born on October 20, 1956, in Manchester, England, as the son of Irish immigrants, Boyle discovered his passion for film at a young age. He attended the University of Wales for a time, but he left to pursue a career in the theater. During the mid-to-late 1980s, he worked as a director with a number of companies including the Joint Stock Theatre Company, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Court Theatre.
On British television, he directed several movies and a few episodes of the popular Inspector Morse mystery series, among other projects. On the big screen, he made his directorial debut with Shallow Grave (1994). The dark comedy featured three roommates—played by Ewan McGregor, Kerry Fox and Christopher Eccleston—who discover the dead body of their fourth roommate along with a suitcase full of cash. The film proved successful in Britain and earned Boyle more than 14 awards, including a British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for Best Screenplay.
Boyle was launched into the international spotlight with his next effort, Trainspotting (1996), an adaptation of the Irvine Welsh novel. The film, again starring McGregor, brought audiences along for a fascinating look at drug use among a group of economically depressed Scotsmen living in Edinburgh. Janet Maslin of The New York Times described the film as “perversely irresistible” and its characters as “funny, sharp, well-played and fiercely memorable.”
Trainspotting was a huge success, grossing more than $16 million in the U.S. alone and earning an Oscar nomination for best writing. Boyle’s next film, A Life Less Ordinary (1997), featured McGregor as a fired janitor who wants to reap revenge on his old boss by kidnapping his boss' daughter (played by Cameron Diaz). Meanwhile, two angels—Holly Hunter and Delroy Lindo—try to get the mismatched pair to fall in love. As critic Roger Ebert to put it, “the film expends enormous energy to tell a story that is tedious and contrived.”
Moving onto a big budget production, Boyle helmed The Beach (2000), starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tilda Swinton. The casting of DiCaprio reportedly led to a fallout between Boyle and McGregor, who said he was originally promised the leading part. In the film, DiCaprio plays Richard, a young man who travels to Thailand seeking adventure. He learns of a mysterious island that is supposed to be a true paradise, but he discovers the society there is no utopia. Opening to mixed reviews, the film only earned around $39 million domestically, though its foreign gross was above $100 million.
Boyle explored a more sinister world in his post-apocalyptic sci-fi film 28 Days Later (2003). Set in London, the film follows Jim (played by Cillan Murphy) as he struggles to survive after a virus turns most of the city’s residents into violent zombies. Boyle's take on story earned him critical praise, a Saturn award and more than $82 million at the worldwide box office.
Boyle next turned to lighter fare with the family drama Millions (2004). In the film, a bag of money literally falls from the sky into the hands of a young boy. He and his older brother debate what to do with all of the cash. “I wanted to make something from the perspective of an 8 year old, when everything’s very simple, colorful and quick,” Boyle told Esquire.
In 2007, Boyle again ventured into the world of science fiction with Sunshine. The film told the story of a group of astronauts who travel through space on a mission to repair the sun. Despite some strong performances by its cast, which included Murphy and Michelle Yeoh, Sunshine quickly disappeared after its release.
With his checkered box office history, many heralded Boyle’s next effort, Slumdog Millionaire (2008), as a comeback. The film tells the rags-to-riches tale of a young man (Dev Patel) from the slums of Mumbai, India, who gets a chance to compete on his country’s version of the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire game show.
Boyle spent nearly a year filming this story in India, and used a mostly local cast. Mixing several genres, Slumdog Millionaire features comedy, romance and suspense. After its screening at several festivals, the film received rave reviews. This positive response helped Slumdog Millionaire to become a box office champion, earning more than $377 million internationally. Slumdog Millionaire also won numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe and a Directors Guild of America Award for Boyle. The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won eight, including trophies for Directing and Best Picture.
But Slumdog generated controversy over whether its youngest actors were fairly compensated. In response to the criticism, Boyle revealed that the production company paid for the actors' schooling and basic living costs, and even established a college fund for the children.
Boyle had also expressed some interest in doing “a woman’s story.” He told Peter Bart of Variety that “I have two daughters. My films have been 'guy stories' and I think maybe it’s time to change course.” While it remains to be seen whether this will come to fruition, he has continued to direct work with some thematic variation. 2013's Trance, starring James McAvoy and Rosario Dawson, follows the travails of a thieving art auctioneer who loses his memory. With Trance faring better abroad then domestically, Boyle then handled the story of one of the world's biggest technological icons in the 2015 biopic Steve Jobs, featuring Michael Fassbender in the title role.
The films will be demonstrated on English with Russian subtitles.
Danny Boyle: A Retrospective
Trainspotting
Drama. UK 1966, 94 min. Directed by Danny Boyle. Starring: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Kevin McKidd, Kelly Macdonald, Shirley Henderson. A wild, freeform, Rabelaisian trip through the darkest recesses of Edinburgh low-life, focusing on Mark Renton and his attempt to give up his heroin habit, and how the latter affects his relationship with family and friends: Sean Connery wannabe Sick Boy, dimbulb Spud, psycho Begbie, 14-year-old girlfriend Diane, and clean-cut athlete Tommy, who's never touched drugs but can't help being curious about them... Awards: Academy Award Nomination – Best Adapted Screenplay; BAFTA Award – Best Adapted Screenplay; BAFTA Award, Scotland – Best Film, Best Actor; Brit Award – Best Soundtrack; Seattle International Film Festival – Best Film, Best Director; Empire Magazine Award – Best British Film, Best British Director, Best British Actor, Best Acting Debut; Evening Standard Award – Best Screenplay; Independent Spirit Award Nomination – Best Foreign Film; Sattellite Award Nomination – Best Film, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay; Czech Lion Award – Best Foreign Language Film; etc.
Shallow Grave
Drama/Thriller. UK 1994, 89 min. Directed by Danny Boyle. Starring: Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston, Ewan McGregor. The new flatmate of three preexisting roommates turns up mysteriously dead but in possession of a large sum of money. When the roommates decide to keep it for themselves, their action sets in motion a destructive chain of events that spiral out of control. Awards: BAFTA Award – Best British Film; San Sebastian International Film Festival – Best Director; Empire Magazine Award – Best British Film, Best Director, Best British Actor; Evening Standard Award – Best Breakthrough Director; Angers European Film Festival – Best Screenplay, Audience Award, Liberation Advertisment Award; Cognac Police Film Festival – Grnd Prix, Audience Award; Fantasporto Film Festival – Best International Film.
The Beach
Adventure/Drama/Romance. UK 2000, 119 min. Directed by Danny Boyle. Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel York, Patcharawan Patarakijjanon, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillome Canet, Tilda Swinton. The story centers on a young nicotine-addicted traveler named Richard, an avid pop-culture buff with a particular love for video games and Vietnam War movies. While at a hotel in Bangkok, he finds a map left by his strange, whacked-out neighbor, who just committed suicide. The map supposedly leads to a legendary island paradise where some other wayward souls have settled.
28 Days Later...
Drama/Sci-Fi/Horror. UK 2002, 113 min. Directed by Danny Boyle. Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston. Animal activists invade a laboratory with the intention of releasing chimpanzees that are undergoing experimentation, infected by a virus -a virus that causes rage. The naive activists ignore the pleas of a scientist to keep the cages locked, with disastrous results. Twenty-eight days later, our protagonist, Jim, wakes up from a coma, alone, in an abandoned hospital. He begins to seek out anyone else to find London is deserted, apparently without a living soul. After finding a church, which had become inhabited by zombie like humans intent on his demise, he runs for his life. Selena and Mark rescue him from the horde and bring him up to date on the mass carnage and horror as all of London tore itself apart. This is a tale of survival and ultimately, heroics, with nice subtext about mankind's savage nature. Awards: BIFA Award Nomination – Best Film, Best British Independent Film, Best Director; Empire Magazine Award – Best British Film; European Film Award – Best Cinematography; Saturn Award – Film Award; Fangoria Chainsaw Award – Best Film, Best Screenplay; Fantasporto Film Festival – Grand Prix (Silver), Best Director; Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival – Narcisse Award.
Sunshine
Sci-Fi/Thriller, Adventure. UK, USA 2007, 107 min. Directed by Danny Boyle. Starring: Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, Cliff Curtis, Mark Strong. 50 years into the future, the Sun begins to die, and Earth is dying as a result. A team of astronauts is sent to revive the Sun - but the mission fails. Seven years later, a new team is sent to finish the mission as mankind's last hope. Awards: BIFA Award – Best Production Design; Sattellite Award Nomination – Best Production Design.
Slumdog Millionaire
Drama. UK, USA , France 2008, 120 min. Directed by Danny Boyle. Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Saurabh Shukla. The story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions. Each chapter of Jamal's increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the show's seemingly impossible quizzes. Awards: Academy Award – Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Score, Best Song, Best Sound; Golden Globe Award – Best Film/Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing; BAFTA Award – Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound, David Lean Directing Award, Antnony Esquit Score Award; BIFA Award – Best British Independent Film, Best Director, Best Breaktrhough Actor; Toronto International Film Festival – Audience Award; Sattellite Award – Best Film, Best Direcor, Best Score; David di Donatello Award – Best European Film; European Film Award – Best Director, Carlo di Palma Cinematography Award; Goya Award – Best European Film; Rotterdam International Film Festival – Audience Award, MovieZone Award; etc.
Frankenstein: Lee Miller
Theatre production. UK 2011, 123 min. Directed by Danny Boyle. Starring: Jonny Lee Miller, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ella Smith, John Killoran, Steven Elliott, Karl Johnson, Daniel Millar, Lizzie Winkler. Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein's bewildered creature (Cumberbatch) is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker (Lee Miller). Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the friendless Creature, increasingly desperate and vengeful, determines to track down his creator and strike a terrifying deal. Two versions of the production are shown - principal performers exhange parts.
Frankenstein: Cumberbatch
Theatre production. UK 2011, 119 min. Directed by Danny Boyle. Starring: Jonny Lee Miller, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ella Smith, John Killoran, Steven Elliott, Karl Johnson, Daniel Millar, Lizzie Winkler. Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein's bewildered creature (Cumberbatch) is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker (Lee Miller). Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the friendless Creature, increasingly desperate and vengeful, determines to track down his creator and strike a terrifying deal. Two versions of the production are shown - principal performers exhange parts.
Schedule:
8 February, Wednesday
19:30 Trainspotting; Q&A: Danny Boyle
9 February, Thursday
19:30 Shallow Grave
10 February, Friday
19:30 28 Days Later...
11 February, Saturday
15:00 Frankenstein: Lee Miller
17:30 Sunshine
12 February, Sunday
15:00 Frankenstein: Cumberbatch
17:30 Slumdog Millionaire
13 February, Monday
19:30 The Beach
14 February, Tuesday
19:30 Trainspotting
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