Behind the Scenes of The Revenant

As the Academy Awards nominations are revealed in January, films coming out this winter are making bold moves to get nominated. The sets of these films often have the best cast and crew who are dedicated to making the best movie of the year. One film that aspires to be in the top ranking films of 2015 is The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.

Based on the novel of the same name, The Revenant tells the story of Hugh Glass (played by Leonardo Dicaprio), a frontiersman who is left for dead by members of his hunting team. The film follows Glass as he tries to survive the harsh winter and as he attempts to get revenge on those who left him behind. Not only is The Revenant based on the novel, but it also based on the true story of fur trapper Hugh Glass, who survived a bear mauling in 1823.

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu is the visionary for this thriller set in the American frontier, who has been known for his unique vision in films such as Birdman, Babel, and 21 Grams. Iñárritu’s recent film Birdman received big wins at the Academy Awards last year by winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. With winning very prestigious accolades with Birdman, many film buffs are interested to see how The Revenant will follow up an Oscar winning film.

While the story of bear mauling and revenge might already sound like an intense and dramatic movie, the set of The Revenant brought its own wild stories. Principal photography for the film began back in October 2014 and The Revenant was expected to wrap around March of 2015. However, due to the production schedules and the director’s artistic choices, the film wrapped up principal photography in August, delaying the film by five months. Due to being over-schedule, the film blew past its original budget of $60 million to $135 million, more than double of the original budget.

While it might seem curious to some why the film would come over-budget and past schedule, an understanding of what went on during filming and the director’s creative process become very revealing. In an unusual directorial choice, Iñárritu decided to shoot film scenes in sequence, meaning each scene was filmed chronologically according to how the film’s story. Generally on film sets, production avoids shooting scenes in sequence as it can be very costly for the production’s budget. In addition, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubeski wanted to shoot the film in only natural light, leaving 90 minutes a day to shoot the film.

However, Iñárritu trusted Lubeski’s choices for The Revenant as the cinematography worked on Birdman with the director and won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for the film. While his process was unusual, Lubeski is dedicated to creating beautiful footage by employing the use of the new Alexa 65 camera system. This camera system features a “large-format solution for high-end theatrical motion pictures” with its ability to capture 65mm image. Inspired by the cinematic masterpieces of the 20th century, the Alexa 65 captures immersive detail and stunning image quality.

On top of these unusual production schedules, the locations of The Revenant featured some of the harshest weather conditions that pushed the cast and crew to its limits. Acccording to Variety, the cast and crew faced filming in below 30 degree temperatures and the director added that “conditions were against us all the time”. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio in a Q&A session mentioned how The Revenant was the most difficult film, I think, that any of us have ever done.”

While the set of The Revenant appeared to be highly unconventional and at times unsafe, it’s clear that the talents of the director, cinematographer, and actors are making the movie Oscar-worthy. Audiences will be able to judge for themselves when The Revenant comes out on Christmas day.

Kelly Kauffman and Hutton Marshall