Snowpiercer has yet to hit cinema screens in the U.S., but that hasn’t stopped the apocalyptic sci-fi pic from generating considerable column inches. The dispute between director Bong Joon-ho (The Host) and distributor Harvey Weinstein has come to be the stuff of Hollywood legend. Cast all that aside for a moment, though, as there’s a new red band trailer to watch. And it’s well worth it.
The title refers to a train which serves as the film’s main location. Housing the remaining human survivors following a botched global warming test, the train hurtles around the planet powered by a never-ending engine. As is the case when you pop a load of upset, confused, emotional people into a tiny space for eternity – feathers get ruffled. The wintry backdrop echoes the bleak climate aboard the train, as class systems continue to be the cause of strife for earth’s last citizens. The rich people get huffy at the lower classes, someone throws a tomato, you know how it goes.
While we’ve been treated to a series of international trailers and clips from the film before, this latest offering hammers home the social inequalities with a bit more action.
Early reviews on the film, including our own, have pointedly made reference to the quarrel between director Bong Joon-ho and Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein’s rationale was that Joon-ho’s cut was too long – and needed twenty minutes trimmed from it. After much debate, a compromise was reached; it will be released as Joon-ho intended, but only to a limited audience. Sadly folks, this means if you’re as excited as we are about Snowpiercer, you might have to travel to catch it on the big screen.
While you await its release though, you can check out the official synopsis, watch the new trailer and feast your eyes on a glut of new images below.
In this sci-fi epic from director Bong Joon-Ho (The Host, Mother>), a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet. The final survivors board the SNOWPIERCER, a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine. When cryptic messages incite the passengers to revolt, the train thrusts full-throttle towards disaster.
Starring Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Ed Harris, Octavia Spencer, John Hurt, Jamie Bell and Ewen Bremner, Snowpiercer ploughs into cinemas on June 27th.
