The Shepherd
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The following 6 users liked this post by Mogwi:
Always liked the book and radio version. I wonder if one of his own flying experiences drew John Travolta to the story:
"On November 24, 1992, Travolta was piloting his Gulfstream N728T at night above a solid undercast when he experienced a total electrical system failure". Should get a good audience as a classic Christmas ghost and getting-home story. Looking forward to seeing it.
"On November 24, 1992, Travolta was piloting his Gulfstream N728T at night above a solid undercast when he experienced a total electrical system failure". Should get a good audience as a classic Christmas ghost and getting-home story. Looking forward to seeing it.
An observation about the "Disneyfication" of "The Shepherd" by the hosts of CBC Radio's "As It Happens", home of the wonderful reading of the story by "Fireside Al":
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio...ation-critical
Scroll to 24:15.
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio...ation-critical
Scroll to 24:15.
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Disney, The Shepherd
Released on Disney + 01 December a short film adapted from a Frederick Forsyth novella..
https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF...y+the+shepherd
https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF...y+the+shepherd
Last edited by Senior Pilot; 2nd Dec 2023 at 09:52. Reason: Fix link
Travolta says in Beeb interview his decision to do the film was informed by his own experience:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67518127
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67518127
The shepard
Very smart, the outgoing scenes at night were beautiful. twiddled with he source material a lil but hey ithink its really good.
And some nice close ups of the aircraft.
And some nice close ups of the aircraft.
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Watched it last night. As a longtime fan of the book (I read it every Christmas Eve without fail) I was hopeful but worried at the same time, and..
...actually, it was not bad at all. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of everything, though as the Vampire used was a former Swiss FB.6 I happily overlooked the bang seat and conventional control column rather than spade grip. The way the in-cockpit sequences were filmed made it very claustrophobic and the young actor brought across the pilot's increasing worry, frustration, desperation and eventually acceptance of his fate very well. The external shots showed how lonely a big, empty sky can be when you have problems with your aircraft and while the CGI was not perfect, it was quite acceptable.
The screenplay stuck pretty well to the book, with a few extra sequences at Celle at the beginning to overcome the fact that for a good part of the story there is little or no dialogue, and let's be honest, to have the pilot talking to himself all the time would be daft (I would not dare to say that most pilots of my acquaintance prefer to talk to themselves than others. No sirree, not me
). Other dialogue is put in to overcome the same issue, though I know some people will not approve.
Talking of not approving, there is an extra sequence at the end which is going to be marmite. Personally I liked it and felt that it leaned into the story well, but others will hate it and see it as an unnecessary deviation. I'll let you make your own minds up.
Ultimately, it is worthy of 39 minutes of your time. To me it captured the heart and soul of the original novella, was clearly made with love and affection, and is a well made little piece of Christmas television.
...actually, it was not bad at all. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of everything, though as the Vampire used was a former Swiss FB.6 I happily overlooked the bang seat and conventional control column rather than spade grip. The way the in-cockpit sequences were filmed made it very claustrophobic and the young actor brought across the pilot's increasing worry, frustration, desperation and eventually acceptance of his fate very well. The external shots showed how lonely a big, empty sky can be when you have problems with your aircraft and while the CGI was not perfect, it was quite acceptable.
The screenplay stuck pretty well to the book, with a few extra sequences at Celle at the beginning to overcome the fact that for a good part of the story there is little or no dialogue, and let's be honest, to have the pilot talking to himself all the time would be daft (I would not dare to say that most pilots of my acquaintance prefer to talk to themselves than others. No sirree, not me
). Other dialogue is put in to overcome the same issue, though I know some people will not approve.Talking of not approving, there is an extra sequence at the end which is going to be marmite. Personally I liked it and felt that it leaned into the story well, but others will hate it and see it as an unnecessary deviation. I'll let you make your own minds up.
Ultimately, it is worthy of 39 minutes of your time. To me it captured the heart and soul of the original novella, was clearly made with love and affection, and is a well made little piece of Christmas television.
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Ghost wisky
"Talking of not approving, there is an extra sequence at the end which is going to be marmite. Personally I liked it and felt that it leaned into the story well, but others will hate it and see it as an unnecessary deviation. I'll let you make your own minds up."
guessing your alluding to the 2nd spectre/spirit.
Thought the landing part could have had abit more work into to build tension, and as a pay off, but i guess the largest factor is the north sea sequences as many pilots will be able to empathize with that feeling of being over the black and over the fog to ominously descend through, to get home to the east coast.
guessing your alluding to the 2nd spectre/spirit.
Thought the landing part could have had abit more work into to build tension, and as a pay off, but i guess the largest factor is the north sea sequences as many pilots will be able to empathize with that feeling of being over the black and over the fog to ominously descend through, to get home to the east coast.
.....
So, you talk me into it, I join Disney + using my I pad only to discover that my (not very) smart tv doesn’t support it and I’ll need a fire stick or similar at £40+ or have to watch it on the I pad. I blame you!