Hype and Glory

I saw an early screening over the weekend of The Revenant.  For several reasons, including that it hasn't opened yet, I won't say much about it, other than on some levels it's an absolutely stunning, breathtaking achievement of filmmaking.  And on another level, for reasons I'm not quite certain why, I personally found it a bit empty.  Or distanced.  But overall, because of what it does wonderfully, it's well-worth seeing.  Just know that it's brutal in many parts.

I bring this up for another reason entirely, though. It was sort of an "Only in Hollywood" kind of thing, where hero worship meets overhype.

The screening I saw was at the Writers Guild Theatre, where there was a Q&A with one of the screenwriters, Mark L. Smith, afterwards.  So, before the film began, someone came down front to make a little announcement -- welcoming everyone, reminding us know about the Q&A, saying that because this was a pre-release screening that the studio had "guards" present to make sure that there was no one video-recording it.  And to let us know, breathlessly, that "This was director Alejandro González Iñárritu's first film (!) since Birdman."

I almost stood up and shouted excitedly -- "Wow, you mean that he hasn't made another movie in one whole year??!!"

Anyway, here's the trailer.  Just know that it doesn't do the good things justice.  Including what is most certainly the greatest bear fight ever on film.  Nor does it do the 2-1/2-hour running time justice either...

​Addendum:  

Even having seen the movie, I don't have a clue what the billboard is trying to get across.