Prince Avalanche

Prince Avalanche

Theatrical release poster
Directed by David Gordon Green
Produced by
Screenplay by David Gordon Green
Based on Either Way 
by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson
Starring
Music by
Cinematography Tim Orr
Edited by Colin Patton
Production
company
Distributed by Magnolia Pictures
Release dates
  • January 20, 2013 (Sundance)
  • August 9, 2013 (United States)
Running time
 94 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $725,000
Box office $442,313[1]

Prince Avalanche is a 2013 comedy-drama film starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch. It was directed by David Gordon Green, who also wrote the screenplay based on the 2011 Icelandic film Either Way (Á annan veg). The film was shot in Bastrop, Texas, after the Bastrop County Complex fire.

Plot

In 1988, an odd pair of sorts, meditative and stern Alvin (Paul Rudd) and his girlfriend's brother, Lance (Emile Hirsch), dopey and insecure, leave the city behind to spend the summer in solitude repainting traffic lines down the center of a country highway ravaged by wildfire. As they sink into their job in the remarkable landscape, they learn more than they want to about each other and their own limitations. An unlikely friendship develops through humor and nasty exchanges, leading to surprising affection.

Cast

Production

The idea of making Prince Avalanche came when the band Explosions in the Sky proposed the idea of making a movie with director David Gordon Green at Bastrop State Park, which was being restored following the 2011 Bastrop County Complex fire.[2] Adapted from Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson's 2011 film Either Way, the script for Prince Avalanche consisted of roughly 65 pages – about 30 pages short of an average feature-length screenplay.[3] From development onward, the film was fast tracked to completion. "We really didn’t have time for proper or traditional development," said Gordon Green. "We had the idea in February of 2012, we were filming in May, and sound mixing in July. It was an unusually tight production schedule."[4] Paul Rudd joked to an Entertainment Weekly interviewer, "I found the biggest challenge of working on this was trying to stifle my alpha-male [masculinity]."[5]

The film's entire production was done in secret; it was only announced to the public after completion in June 2012. This was at the request of the director, David Gordon Green, who wanted to get back to his independent roots after his last three films were completed by a major film studio.[6] Principal photography for Prince Avalanche began in May 2012 and lasted for 16 days in Bastrop State Park. Because of its scale, the film was shot with a small 15-person film crew.[7] While already mid-shoot, the film crew came across Joyce Payne, a resident of the area whose home was destroyed in the fire.[8] Fascinated by her story, Gordon Green included her in the film. "It wasn’t scripted at all; it was something very real for her that we documented," said Gordon Green. "It ended up being pivotal. I couldn’t imagine the movie without it now."[4]

Release

Prince Avalanche premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival on 20 January.[9] Then it had its international premiere in competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival on 13 February 2013[10] where David Gordon Green won the Silver Bear for Best Director.[11] It subsequently screened within such U.S. festivals as South by Southwest and Maryland Film Festival.

Reception

Prince Avalanche received positive reviews and has a rating of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 105 reviews with an average score of 7 out of 10. The consensus states: "A step back in the right direction for director David Gordon Green, Prince Avalanche shambles amiably along with a pair of artfully low-key performances from Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch."[12]

Soundtrack

Prince Avalanche
Soundtrack album by Explosions in the Sky & David Wingo
Released August 6, 2013
Genre Soundtrack
Length 37:35
Label Temporary Residence
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 72/100[13]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [14]
Alternative Press [15]
Clash 7/10[16]
Consequence of Sound C+[17]
Drowned in Sound 8/10[18]
Exclaim! 6/10[19]
NME 6/10[20]
Pitchfork Media 6.5/10[21]
Popmatters 7/10[22]
Rolling Stone [23]

The soundtrack was scored by Explosions in the Sky and David Wingo.[24]

No. Title Length
1. "Fires"   1:29
2. "Theme from Prince Avalanche"   2:22
3. "Dear Madison"   1:47
4. "Passing Time"   1:51
5. "Rain"   1:08
6. "Alone Time"   4:59
7. "Hello, Is This Your House?"   4:10
8. "Can't We Just Listen to the Silence"   1:35
9. "Wading"   1:38
10. "Dear Alvin"   1:21
11. "The Lines on the Road that Lead You Back Home"   2:00
12. "An Old Peasant Like Me"   3:47
13. "Join Me on My Avalanche"   3:29
14. "The Adventures of Alvin and Lance"   1:50
15. "Send Off"   4:09

References

  1. ↑ "Prince Avalanche (2013)". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  2. ↑ Abrams, Simon (August 9, 2013). "Q&A: David Gordon Green on Prince Avalanche, Emile Hirsch & Bitching About Movies". Esquire. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ P. Sullivan, Kevin (August 13, 2013). "Emile Hirsch Was Unsure If 'Prince Avalanche' Was Actually A Movie When Filming It". MTV News. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dowd, A.A. (August 15, 2013). "David Gordon Green on Prince Avalanche and its Nicolas Cage companion piece". The A.V. Club. The Onion, Inc. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  5. ↑ Breznican, Anthony (February 8, 2013). "News and Notes. Sundance's Indie All-Stars: Smile! Film's finest braved the cold to sizzle inside our Park City, Utah, photo studio". Entertainment Weekly (New York: Time Inc.): 14.
  6. ↑ "Rudd, Hirsch wrap secret indie". Variety (Penske Business Media). June 6, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
  7. ↑ Sacks, Ethan (August 9, 2013). "To film 'Prince Avalanche,' David Gordon Green went into the wild with Emile Hirsch and Paul Rudd". New York Daily News. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  8. ↑ Hannaford, Alex (October 18, 2013). "Prince Avalanche: story behind a heartbreaking cameo". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  9. ↑ "2013 Sundance Film Festival Announces Films in Premieres and Documentary Premieres". December 3, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Berlinale 2013: Competition Now Complete". berlinale. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  11. ↑ "Prizes of the International Jury". Berlinale. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  12. ↑ Rotten Tomatoes
  13. ↑ "Prince Avalanche Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  14. ↑ Heaney, Gregory. "Prince Avalanche (Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  15. ↑ Stewart- Panko, Kevin (July 30, 2013). "Review: Explosions in the Sky & David Wingo – Prince Avalanche: An Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Alternative Press. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  16. ↑ Wilson, Anna (August 22, 2013). "Explosions In The Sky and David Wingo – Prince Avalanche: A Motion Picture Soundtrack". Clash. Music Republic Ltd. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  17. ↑ Arroyo, Steven (August 8, 2013). "Album Review: Explosions in the Sky and David Wingo - Prince Avalanche". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  18. ↑ Hanratty, Dave (August 20, 2013). "Album Review: Explosions In The Sky – Prince Avalanche". Drowned in Sound. Silentway. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  19. ↑ Persaud, Travis (August 7, 2013). "Explosions in the Sky & David Wingo – Prince Avalanche". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  20. ↑ Gardner, Noel (August 2, 2013). "Explosions In The Sky & David Wingo - 'Prince Avalanche OST'". NME. Inspire. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  21. ↑ Howe, Brian (August 5, 2013). "Explosions in the Sky / David Wingo: Prince Avalanche OST". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  22. ↑ Ezell, Brice (August 7, 2013). "Explosions in the Sky & David Wingo: Prince Avalanche OST". Popmatters. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  23. ↑ Dolan, Jon (August 12, 2013). "Explosions in the Sky and David Wingo: Prince Avalanche: An Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album Review". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media.
  24. ↑ iTunes

External links