Immortals is a supernatural sword-and sandals epic about a lowly Greek stonemasion (Henry Cavill) who rises to lead the defense of his people against a barbarous king (Mickey Rourke) who seeks to conquer and enslave them. On paper, the film would seem little more than a conventional action-adventure, but director Tarsem Singh (The Fall, The Cell) has turned it into something else entirely, something gorgeous and campy and just a tad insane, an uiltra-violent Hellenic acid-trip. The film’s freaky headwear alone could warrant its own separate article.
When I caught up recently with Tarsem to talk about Immortals, I asked if he was ever concerned that the film’s grandiose visuals might overwhelm the storyline. He answered, “No. It’s part and parcel to the movie. How much of a story is there?” Such candor is rare among directors, who usually strive to at least pay lip-service to the primacy of story and character. Tarsem, as you will see in the following interview, is of a different breed entirely (our hearty apologies for the video’s framing problems):
Immortals opens everywhere this Friday, November 11, 2011. Click on the image below to check out our Immortals photo gallery:
