Byzantium (2012)

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writers:

Moira Buffini (play)
Moira Buffini (teleplay)

Release Date:

28 June 2013 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Thriller

Plot:

Residents of a coastal town learn, with deathly consequences, the secret shared by the two mysterious women who have sought shelter at a local resort.

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Mother Daughter Relationship | Female Vampire | Based On Play

Cast

Saoirse Ronan	...	Eleanor
Barry Cassin	...	Robert Fowlds
Gemma Arterton	...	Clara
David Heap	...	Lap Dancing Client
Warren Brown	...	Gareth
Ruby Snape	...	Wendy
Thure Lindhardt	...	Werner
Jenny Kavanagh	...	Barmaid
Glenn Doherty	...	Steve
Edyta Budnik	...	Nadia
Gabriela Marcinkova	...	Anya
Caleb Landry Jones	...	Frank
Daniel Mays	...	Noel
Uri Gavriel	...	Savella
Sam Riley	...	Darvell
Jonny Lee Miller	...	Ruthven
Caroline Johns	...	Young Clara
Christine Marzano	...	Mrs. Strange
Kate Ashfield	...	Gabi
Jeff Mash	...	Mark
Ronnie Masterson	...	Old Lady in Hospital
Patricia Loveland	...	Old Lady in Hotel
Maria Doyle Kennedy	...	Morag
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sean Folan	...	(uncredited)
Tom Hollander	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Neil Jordan

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Moira Buffini		play
Moira Buffini		teleplay

Produced by
Sam Englebardt	....	producer
William D. Johnson	....	producer
Elizabeth Karlsen	....	producer
Joanna Laurie	....	associate producer
Mark C. Manuel	....	executive producer
Alan Moloney	....	producer
Redmond Morris	....	co-producer
Susan Mullen	....	associate producer
Patrick O'Donoghue	....	line producer
Ted O'Neal	....	executive producer
Danny Perkins	....	executive producer
Stephen Woolley	....	producer

Original Music by
Javier Navarrete

Cinematography by
Sean Bobbitt

Film Editing by
Tony Lawson

Casting by
Susie Figgis

Production Design by
Simon Elliott

Art Direction by
Bill Crutcher		(supervising art director)
Martin Goulding

Costume Design by
Consolata Boyle

Makeup Department
Chloe Bourke	....	daily makeup trainee
Lorraine Brennan	....	hair stylist
Lucy Browne	....	additional makeup artist
Audrey Doyle	....	makeup artist
Deirdre Fitzgerald	....	makeup artist
Lorraine Glynn	....	key hair stylist
Nikkie Grimshaw	....	key art finisher
Alexandra Joyce	....	crowd hair junior: dailies
Cerina Knott	....	special makeup effects artist
Waldo Mason	....	prosthetics designer
Aisling Nairn	....	assistant makeup artist
Justin Pitkethly	....	special makeup effects artist
Ciara Scannell	....	daily makeup trainee
Tom Packwood	....	mould maker (uncredited)

Production Management
Lucie Graves	....	post-production supervisor
Sharon McGuinness	....	unit manager
Rachel Neale	....	production manager: uk

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tony Aherne	....	first assistant director
Shoky Carter	....	trainee assistant director
Dion Clements	....	trainee assistant director: background
Jim Corr	....	third assistant director
Jamie Deasy	....	trainee assistant director
Lyndzi Doyle	....	trainee assistant director
Catherine Dunne	....	second assistant director
Peter Freeman	....	first assistant director: second unit
Anna Harrison	....	additional third assistant director
Sophie Higel	....	trainee assistant director
David Kennedy	....	daily assistant director
Vera Kvlividze	....	trainee assistant director
Lorena Wright	....	trainee assistant director

Art Department
Marshall Aver	....	production buyer: UK
Graeme Bird	....	modelmaker
Paul Boulton	....	dressing props trainee
Bruce Gallup	....	supervising painter: UK
Martin Hayes	....	construction coordinator
Sarah Kingston	....	prop buyer
Dan Marsden	....	carpenter
Louise Mathews	....	assistant art director
Eleonora McNamara	....	sculptor
John Neligan	....	head buyer
Tony Nicholson	....	stand-by props
Marco Anton Restivo	....	art director: UK
Edwin Ryan	....	sculptor
Pilar Valencia	....	graphics

Sound Department
Mark Auguste	....	supervising sound editor
Sam Auguste	....	dialogue editor
Luke Brown	....	assistant foley mixer
Peter Burgis	....	foley artist
Paul Cotterell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Brendan Deasy	....	sound mixer
Robert Farr	....	sound re-recording mixer
Andrew Felton	....	boom operator
Glen Gathard	....	foley editor
Glen Gathard	....	foley mixer
Colin Ritchie	....	adr editor
Timothy Siddall	....	assistant foley editor
Pete Walker	....	sound trainee

Special Effects by
Kevin Byrne	....	special effects supervisor
Neal Champion	....	special effects supervisor
Bernard Newton	....	floor effects supervisor
Kevin Nolan	....	special effects technician
Scott Peters	....	special effects senior technician

Visual Effects by
Jaroslaw Ancuta	....	roto artist
Craig Bardsley	....	lead animator: Prime Focus World
Chris Bentley	....	titles coordinator
Gabriel Blanco	....	pipeline engineer
Ilona Blyth	....	visual effects producer
Emma Braney	....	visual effects artist
Marc Calvelo	....	animator: Prime Focus VFX
Chris Chadwick	....	matchmove artist: Prime Focus
Stefan Drury	....	head of visual effects: LipSync Post
Mike Eames	....	animation supervisor: Prime Focus Film
Arslan Elver	....	character animator: PrimeFocus
Sean Farrow	....	executive visual effects supervisor
Anna Harantova	....	texture artist
Robert Jackson	....	lead compositor
Marc Jouveneau	....	VFX Supervisor: Prime Focus Film
Pavel Kacerle	....	lighting td
Tim Keene	....	executive visual effects producer: Prime Focus
Jakub Krompolc	....	lead rigger
Ivan Lima	....	junior compositor: Lipsync Post
Fran Martinez	....	digital compositor
Abigail McKenzie	....	digital lab operator
Sandrine Moniez	....	digital compositor
Mark Nelmes	....	visual effects supervisor
Dan Newlands	....	matchmove artist: Prime focus
Cian O'Laoi	....	visual effects editor
Jane Paton	....	digital compositor
Andy Quinn	....	digital compositor
Marko Radinkovic	....	digital compositor: Prime Focus Film
Sinisa Radosavljevic	....	digital compositor: Prime Focus Film
Martin Ruizl	....	lead massive td
Jorge Sanchez	....	lighting technical director
Ben Sharp	....	CG supervisor: lipsyncpost
Ben Shepherd	....	head of CG
David Shere	....	compositing and sequence supervisor: Prime Focus Film
Lee F. Sullivan	....	CG Supervisor: Prime Focus World
Lucy Tanner	....	visual effects producer
Ruggero Tomasino	....	digital compositor: LipSync Post
Daniel Tomlinson	....	senior DI operator
Eric Tsui	....	visual effects artist
Thomas Waddington	....	digital lab operator
Howard Watkins	....	head of design: titles
Stephen Willey	....	head of systems
Harry Wormald	....	digital matte painter
Lenka Zuckova	....	visual effects artist

Stunts
Robin Earle	....	head stunt rigger
Paul Kennington	....	stunt performer
Belinda McGinley	....	stunts
Donal O'Farrell	....	stunt coordinator
Mike Robertson	....	stunt rigger
Alan Walsh	....	stunt performer
William Willoughby	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Brian Beaumont	....	gaffer: UK
David Boyle	....	camera trainee: daily
Ian Buckley	....	key grip
Luke Cairns	....	second assistant camera: b camera, UK shoot
Fionn Comerford	....	camera operator: dailies
Niall Cullinane	....	camera trainee: second unit
Brendan Dempsey	....	additional electrician
Grace Donaldson	....	grip assistant
Paul Edwards	....	steadicam operator
Ian Jackson	....	camera trainee
Nic Lawson	....	cinematographer: second unit
Conor Lynch	....	video assist operator
Greg McGuinness	....	camera trainee
David O'Connor	....	grip
Christopher Raphael	....	still photographer
Patrick Redmond	....	still photographer
James Starr	....	video operator

Animation Department
Matt Mitchell	....	animator

Casting Department
Louis Elman	....	adr voice casting
Miranda Howard-Williams	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sally Cram	....	UK costume trainee
Rosie Grant	....	assistant costume designer
Jane Law	....	costumes for Gemma Arterton
Marion Weise	....	costume supervisor
Zuzana Zilkova	....	costume cutter

Editorial Department
Stuart Fyvie	....	digital colourist
Sean McGrath	....	post-production coordinator
Eoghan McKenna	....	dailies colourist
Jamie Turpin	....	first assistant editor
Diana Vasquez	....	assistant colourist

Music Department
Michael Connell	....	music editor
Isobel Griffiths	....	orchestral contractor
Ellie Grimwood	....	music clearance assistant
Toby Hulbert	....	assistant scoring engineer
Ben Parry	....	choir director
Jonathan Williams	....	musician: cello

Transportation Department
Mike Beavan	....	UK transport
Gary Birmingham	....	UK transport captain
Martin Birmingham	....	UK transport
Paul Cullen	....	transportation captain
Paul Laffy	....	UK transport
Pete Tabecki	....	UK transport

Other crew
Dave Curtis	....	technical supporter
Niall Delaney	....	production accountant
Elton Farla	....	emergency care practitioner
Emer Fitzpatrick	....	assistant accountant
Niamh Gale	....	assistant coordinator
Brendan Gunn	....	dialect coach (saoirse ronan )
Julia Hall	....	senior designer: titles
Fiona Harper	....	production assistant: UK
Will Haynes	....	production secretary: UK
Kitty Kaletsky	....	assistant: Elizabeth Karlsen
Simon Keating	....	production assistant
Kate Lawrence	....	development executive
Nadiya Luthra	....	assistant to alan moloney
Hugues Mace	....	floor runner: UK Unit
Jane McCabe	....	production coordinator
Natalie Moore	....	first assistant accountant
Marie-Celine O'Reilly	....	extras coordinator
Alexander Phoenix	....	systems administrator
Alice Syed	....	production co-ordinator: UK
Emma Woodcock	....	location scout: UK

Production Companies

• Demarest Films
• Lipsync Productions
• Number 9 Films
• Parallel Film Productions
• WestEnd Films

Distributors

• Broadmedia Studios (2013) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2013) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• IFC Films (2013) (USA) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2012) (Switzerland) (all media)
• Mongkol Major (2013) (Thailand) (all media)
• Rialto Distribution (2012) (Australia) (all media)
• Rialto Distribution (2012) (New Zealand) (all media)
• StudioCanal (2012) (UK) (all media)

Special Effects

• Lipsync Post (visual effects)
• Prime Focus World (visual effects)
• Team FX

Other Companies

• ARRI Media  camera equipment provided by
• Codex Digital  digital recording equipment
• Fatts  post production script services
• HireWorks  Avid Nitris DX rental
• Hothouse Music  Music Supervision
• Irish Film Board  funding
• Mediacom 24-7  travel and accommodation
• Reel Meals(Take 2)  catering
• Sky Media Travel  travel agent
• UK Film Council  funding
• Windmill Lane Pictures  post-production facilities

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for bloody violence, sexual content and language

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

UK | USA | Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 | Netherlands:16 | Ireland:15A | Australia:MA15+ | Singapore:M18 | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

Demarest Films

Trivia:

Saoirse Ronan actually plays Ludwig van Beethoven's complicated Piano Sonata Opus 2, No. 3, having undergone an intense 12-week crash course in piano lessons.

Movie Connections:

References Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)

Byzantium Review.

Over the course of five years I think it's safe to say the reputation of vampires has been well and truly tarnished. Instead of being blood sucking beasts, audiences seem more interested in watching them make love and glisten in the sunlight, however that's were director Neil Jordan steps in. Admittedly Byzantium isn't the most traditional vampire movie, but that's not a problem, because the end result is a fresh, innovative take on the creatures that may have installed some credibility in the post Twilight era.

Essentially the main-plot of Byzantium follows the mother and daughter duo of Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan. The two continuously move from location to location due to them having to hide their secret that no-one is aware of, however upon seeking refuge at a rundown coastal area, their secret is uncovered, which results in their past calling for blood.

Now as I have said, in the last few years vampires have been getting a hard time. Whenever you see or hear of vampires these days, the first thing that usually comes to mind is that of Robert Pattison. Personally I am not a fan of the Twilight movies and I have to confess I was quite sceptical going into Byzantium, due to the supposed vampire themes. However, I am happy to report that Byzantium is an original, different and genuinely great movie that I would regard as one of my favourite films of the year so far.

The films concept is in my opinion superb. As soon as the film began I was invested. One thing that I liked in particular was that the film showcased rarely a dull moment. It is very well paced and the story is just great, with some rather intriguing flashback sequences being utilised brilliantly to connect all the dots.

Aside from being very well written, the films' setting is another factor as to what makes it so enjoyable. Personally I felt that the run-down coastal setting was just superb. Not only because it sets the tone and feel of the movie, but it just gave it that added creepiness that you would expect from a movie like this.

The cinematography is very good and in terms of visuals I think the film was one of the best looking that I have seen in a long time. Understandably the mood is very dark and occasionally quite Gothic, but again, not only is the seaside primitive in establishing that, some of the other locations really are just as good.

Aside from Jordan's fantastic direction, the thing I liked most about Byzantium was the acting from its two leading ladies. Beginning with Saoirse Ronan, as we all know she is a fantastic young actress who very rarely fails to come up with the goods. In this movie she is playing quite a reserved, intellectual who is quiet but intriguing nonetheless, whereas her on screen mother portrayed by Gemma Arterton is the exact opposite. Now I think it would be unfair to compare the two because although they are both playing vampires, they are very different characters to say the least. There's no two ways around it, Ronan is genuinely great in this movie, but I thought the real star of the show was Gemma Arterton, who I felt was absolutely fantastic. In my opinion Arterton showed a very different side to her normal self in this movie. Whilst I wouldn't go as far as saying the role was too demanding, I have never seen her play a part like this, and honestly I think she should do it more often, because it has shown a massive amount of versatility on her part.

In terms of chemistry Ronan and Arterton work wonders on screen and if it wasn't for their performances I honestly think that this movie would have panned out very differently. So in terms of casting I think it's a job well done.

This really isn't the type of film that you're going to forget in a hurry. Personally I could watch it again and that really is saying something, as I rarely watch something more than once, however with that being said one final thing that I would like to touch upon would be the musical score.

Again this was another key factor in establishing the look and feel of the film and it really worked. This is a rare movie where everything just blends simultaneously and for that reason alone I most certainly feel it's worth investing two hours in.

Byzantium is a great movie that really makes me feel passionate as a critic. In a year where films have been slightly hit and miss, this film is definitely a hit. It has a great vision and knows exactly what it wants to be. Supported by two stand out performances this is British-Irish film-making at its near best and as I stated it is one of my favourite films of the year so far.

8.5/10

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