Back in February, we reported that "The Witch" director Robert Eggers was about to shoot "The Lighthouse" with Willem Dafoe and Robert Patinson. Now comes the news [via IndieWire] that the film has finished production and will be released in 2019 (possible Sundance premiere?).
Interview by Interview magazine, Pattinson had an interesting quote where he mentioned getting angry at Eggers who made him shoot multiple takes of a given scene:
“That’s the closest I’ve come to punching a director,” said Pattinson. “However much I love Robert [Eggers], there was a point where I did five takes walking across the beach, and after a while I was like, ‘What the fuck is going on? I feel like you’re just spraying a fire hose in my face.’ And he was like, ‘I am spraying a fire hose in your face.’ It was like some kind of torture. It definitely creates an interesting energy.
Editor Louise Ford (“Don’t Breathe” and “Thoroughbreds”) had stated in an interview that the film was shot in Black and White.
“It’s set in 1890, and we’re shooting on 35mm black and white stock, virtually unheard of nowadays,” she says. “Most black and white movies are shot in colour, and then converted to black and white in post. The dailies look beautiful; it’s very exciting.”
The film has been described as “a fantasy horror story set in the world of old sea-faring myths.”
I was immediately impressed by "The Witch" and Eggers' raw talent as a director for atmosphere. I saw it back in 2015, a year before it would be released, and unlike many Sundance directors, it just felt like Eggers would not be a one-hit wonder, the atmosphere and shot-selection in "The Witch" could have only been made by a truly gifted artist.