American Cinematographer - March 2017 - 20

Production Slate

East Meets West
By Mark Dillon

The Great Wall is a U.S.-China co-production of unprecedented scale. At a reported budget of more than $135 million, it is
touted as the most expensive movie ever shot entirely in China. It
also marks the first English-language film for renowned Chinese
director Zhang Yimou, known for martial-arts epics Hero and House
of Flying Daggers.
Set in the 12th century, during the Song dynasty, the fictional
tale opens on a band of European mercenaries scouring northern
China for the region's fabled gunpowder. Clashes with bandits and
a shadowy monster leave only two alive: crusading archer William
Garin (Matt Damon) and sword-wielding Spaniard Pero Tovar (Pedro
Pascal). They arrive at a fortified city protected by China's Great Wall
and are imprisoned by a distrusting army of elite warriors known as
the Nameless Order.
The warriors fear the severed claw of a "Tao Tei" monster that
Garin carries after his earlier confrontation, as it signals an attack by
a horde of the ravenous beasts that comes every 60 years. Garin and
Tovar meet fellow prisoner Ballard (Willem Dafoe), who plans to steal
the valued "black powder" and escape. He recruits Tovar, but Garin
bonds instead with the warriors in their fight against the Tao Tei. As
a final battle looms, Garin must choose sides.
The project combines the efforts of directors of photography
from both East and West. British-born, New Zealand-raised, Brook20

March 2017

lyn-based Stuart Dryburgh, ASC, NZCS began the project and shot
the first leg before handing off to Zhao Xiaoding, CSC - Zhang's
frequent collaborator and an Oscar nominee for House of Flying
Daggers. "It was conceived as Zhang making a Hollywood film, so
the idea was to surround him with Hollywood professionals,"
explains Dryburgh. "I'd been a great admirer of Zhang's films for
many years, so I was very interested as soon as my agent called up
with the possibility."
Other Western recruits include production designer John
Myhre, costume designer Mayes Rubeo and key grip Guy Micheletti.
New Zealand gaffer Sean O'Neill - who has collaborated with
Dryburgh on such projects as The Piano (AC June '94), which earned
the cinematographer an Oscar nomination - was also brought on.
Working with the many Chinese technicians necessitated
more than 100 translators, but Dryburgh reports that communication within the camera department was not a problem, as the operators and most of the assistants spoke English. "Zhang's English is
probably better than he lets on, but he decided it was more precise
to work through translators," the cinematographer adds.
Dryburgh had 14 weeks of preproduction, which entailed
significant storyboarding and previsualization, especially since many
shots combine physical and digital elements. The overall visual intent
was to contrast dark, misty atmosphere with the bright colors of the
costumes and sets. The monsters are purely digital constructs
brought to life by visual-effects supervisor Phil Brennan, along with
ILM Singapore visual-effects supervisor Samir Hoon and the Indus-

American Cinematographer

The Great Wall photos by Jasin Boland, SMPSP, courtesy of Universal Pictures.

European
mercenary
William Garin
(Matt Damon)
joins a group
of elite
warriors to
defend
humanity
against
monstrous
creatures in
the actionadventure
feature The
Great Wall.

American Cinematographer - March 2017

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