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''Snowpiercer'' () is a 2013
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...
science fiction action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
based on the French
climate fiction Climate fiction (sometimes shortened as cli-fi) is literature that deals with climate change.Glass, Rodge (31 May 2013).Global Warning: The Rise of 'Cli-fi' retrieved 3 March 2016 Generally speculative in nature but scientifically-grounded, wor ...
graphic novel ''
Le Transperceneige ''Snowpiercer'' ( French: ''Le Transperceneige'', ) is a post-apocalyptic, climate fiction graphic novel first published in French by Casterman and created by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette. The graphic novel was first published in 1982 und ...
'' by
Jacques Lob Jacques Lob (19 August 1932 – 24 May 1990) was a French comic book creator, known for several comics creations, including '' Superdupont''. Biography Jacques Lob began his career as an illustrator of humorous cartoons that were published in va ...
, Benjamin Legrand and
Jean-Marc Rochette Jean-Marc Rochette (born 23 April 1956) is a French painter, illustrator and comics creator. He is best known and recognized for the comic book series '' Edmond le Cochon'' and '' Le Transperceneige'', as well as for his illustrations of the lit ...
. The film was directed by
Bong Joon-ho Bong Joon-ho (, ; Hanja: 奉俊昊; born September 14, 1969) is a South Korean film director, producer and screenwriter. The recipient of four Academy Awards, his filmography is characterised by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black h ...
and written by Bong and
Kelly Masterson Kelly Masterson is an American screenwriter, playwright and writer who lives in New York. He wrote the screenplay for the film ''Before the Devil Knows You're Dead'', for which he is perhaps best known. Before moving to New York to stage several ...
. A South Korean-Czech co-production, the film marks Bong's English-language debut; almost 85% of the film's dialogue is in English. The film stars Chris Evans,
Song Kang-ho Song Kang-ho (born January 17, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Song made his film debut in ''The Day a Pig Fell into the Well'' (1996), and came to national prominence with a series of critically acclaimed performances, including ''No. 3'' (1997) ...
,
Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...
,
Jamie Bell Andrew James Matfin Bell (born 14 March 1986) is an English actor and dancer. He rose to prominence for his debut role in ''Billy Elliot'' (2000), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, becoming one of the youngest ...
,
Octavia Spencer Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Critics' Choice Awards and three Screen Actors Gu ...
,
Go Ah-sung Go Ah-sung is a South Korean actress. She began her career as a child actress, notably in '' The Host''. Her other notable works include ''Snowpiercer'' (2013), ''Samjin Company English Class'' (2020), as well as the TV dramas ''Master of Study' ...
,
John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...
, and
Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award n ...
. It takes place aboard the ''Snowpiercer'' train as it travels a globe-encircling track, carrying the last remnants of humanity after a failed attempt at
climate engineering Climate engineering (also called geoengineering) is a term used for both carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and solar radiation management (SRM), also called solar geoengineering, when applied at a planetary scale.IPCC (2022Chapter 1: Introduction and F ...
to stop
global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
has created a new
Snowball Earth The Snowball Earth hypothesis proposes that, during one or more of Earth's Greenhouse and icehouse Earth, icehouse Climate, climates, the Earth's surface, planet's surface became entirely or nearly entirely Freezing, frozen. It is believed that ...
. Evans stars as Curtis Everett, leader of the lower-class tail-section passengers, as they rebel against the elite of the front of the train. Filming took place at
Barrandov Studios Barrandov Studios is a set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Several major Hollywood productions have been made here, including ''Mission Impossible'', '' ...
in Prague, using train car sets mounted on
gimbal A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis. A set of three gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain independent of ...
s to simulate the train's motion. ''Snowpiercer'' received critical acclaim, and appeared on many film critics' top ten lists of 2014 after its international release, with praise for its vision, direction, and performances, particularly by Evans and Swinton. In the United States, the film was initially planned for a limited-screen showing but the critical response prompted
The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...
to expand the showing to more theaters and to digital streaming services. With a budget of $40 million, it remains one of the most expensive South Korean productions ever.


Plot

In 2031, 17 years after an attempt to stop
global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
via
stratospheric aerosol injection Stratospheric aerosol injection is a proposed method of solar geoengineering (or solar radiation modification) to reduce global warming. This would introduce aerosols into the stratosphere to create a cooling effect via global dimming and increa ...
catastrophically backfires and creates a new
ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
, the remnants of humanity have taken to a self-sustaining
circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circ ...
al train, the ''Snowpiercer'', run by reclusive transportation magnate Wilford. The passengers on the train are segregated, with the elite in the extravagant front cars and the poor crammed into squalid tail compartments overseen by armed guards. Urged by his father-figure, Gilliam, Curtis Everett and his second-in-command, Edgar, lead the tail passengers in a revolt after they realize the guards' weapons have no ammunition; bullets are believed to be "extinct" due to a previous revolt. They free Namgoong Minsoo, a captive security specialist, who insists that his
clairvoyant Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...
daughter, Yona, be freed as well. Namgoong helps the tail mob progress forward, but they find themselves facing guards with melee weapons, overseen by Minister Mason. During the battle, the train goes into a tunnel, causing total darkness. The guard force, who have
night vision Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night vi ...
, begin picking off the blind rebels. However, the tail-sectioners launch a counterattack with torches and push the guards back. Edgar is held hostage, but Curtis abandons him to capture Mason, forcing her to order the remaining guards to surrender while Edgar is fatally stabbed. The tail army stays back, holding the guards captive, while Curtis takes Mason, Namgoong, Yona, skilled fighter Grey, and Tanya and Andrew (two parents who have had their children taken from them) toward the front of the train. Curtis's group travels through several opulent cars. Namgoong and Yona recognize a landmark outside and consider that the ice may be thawing. The group reaches a schoolroom, where a teacher is indoctrinating the children on Wilford's greatness. A bald man brings eggs for the children to open to celebrate the eighteenth circumnavigation of the Earth. The bald man goes to the tail army and shoots them with loaded automatic guns hidden under the eggs, revealing that bullets still exist. The captured guards are freed, as is Mason's henchman Franco. The teacher, who received a gun from the bald man, kills Andrew before Grey kills her. Franco broadcasts to the classroom his execution of Gilliam, this prompts Curtis to kill Mason. Curtis's group moves on, but Franco catches up with them, killing Grey and Tanya. Franco is then seemingly killed by Curtis and Namgoong. The two, along with Yona, continue onward. In the last car before the engine, Namgoong reveals that the reason he collected the drug Kronole was to use it as an explosive to escape the train with Yona, believing they can survive. Curtis stops them, as he wants to meet Wilford; Curtis explains that in the early days of the train, 17 years before, the tail section had resorted to cannibalism, and he had been ready to eat the infant Edgar but Gilliam offered him his arm instead. Curtis wants to face Wilford to ask why he created this
closed ecosystem Closed ecological systems (CES) are ecosystems that do not rely on matter exchange with any part outside the system. The term is most often used to describe small, wikt:manmade, manmade ecosystems. Such systems are scientifically interesting and ...
. The engine door opens, and Wilford's assistant Claude emerges and wounds Namgoong before inviting Curtis inside. Curtis meets Wilford and, to his shock, learns that he and Gilliam conspired to stage Curtis's rebellion to reduce the tail section's population to sustainable levels. Wilford orders 74% of the tail passengers killed. He then offers Curtis his position leading the train. Curtis appears ready to accept when Yona overpowers Claude, rushes in, and pulls open a floorboard to reveal Andrew and Tanya's children, Andy and Timmy, working the engine as
slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. Appalled, Curtis knocks out Wilford and rescues Timmy from the machinery, though he loses his arm in the process. Curtis gives Yona matches to light the fuse for the Kronole, while Namgoong fights and kills Franco, who had followed them, along with partygoers from another car. As the door to the engine room was damaged during the fighting and will not close, Curtis and Namgoong use their bodies to protect Yona and Timmy from the blast. The explosion triggers an avalanche that derails and wrecks the train. With Namgoong unresponsive, Yona escapes the wreckage with Timmy. They see a
polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
in the distance, indicating that life exists outside the train. The bear notices them.


Cast

* Chris Evans as Curtis Everett
The leader of the revolution. About the character of Curtis, Evans said, "I mean, for me, the tail section is, I think that's Curtis. I think that's who he is. The tail section is hard; it's grinding; it's tough; it's real. So that's where I had the most fun. Back there." Casting directors suggested Evans to Bong, who initially had misconceptions of Evans before they met due to the "caricature of the American all muscle", but quickly departed from that notion and described Evans as "actually very sensitive and has a quiet and introverted side. He's a very, very smart person, and he's a director." Bong was introduced to the films ''
Puncture Puncture, punctured or puncturing may refer to: * a flat tyre in British English (US English "flat tire" or just "flat") * a penetrating wound caused by pointy objects as nails or needles * Lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap * Puncture ...
'' and ''
Sunshine Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when th ...
'' where he described Evans's performances as showing his "sensitive acting abilities". Bong and Evans spent months talking about the dialogue, and Bong received help from the cast and crew including Evans due to it being his first English language film. Bong said that for the role of Curtis, hiding Evans's muscular physique was the most difficult thing about working with the actor, explaining, "He's supposed to be in the poor tail section for 17 years, eating only protein blocks, and it was tricky to hide all of that muscle mass with costume and make-up." On whether he was surprised by the fan response, Evans said, "I've been surprised about everything about this movie. Every movie you make, you hope people will enjoy it, but this movie has surpassed all of my expectations across the board." *
Song Kang-ho Song Kang-ho (born January 17, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Song made his film debut in ''The Day a Pig Fell into the Well'' (1996), and came to national prominence with a series of critically acclaimed performances, including ''No. 3'' (1997) ...
as Namgoong Minsoo
The specialist who designed the security features on the train. On taking the role, Song said, "This was the third time I worked with director Bong, and working with director Bong is a wonderful experience.... is time around, working with the wonderful cast members was a tremendous experience." Describing Namgoong, Bong said, "He sets up the ending, because he has a vision about this world that's different from Curtis's. He has a desire to go outside of the train." On the name of the character, Bong stated, "I was looking for a name that would be most difficult for foreigners to pronounce. Namgoong ... it is difficult. There are some name-related jokes in the film." Song plays a character who only speaks Korean, and although as difficult as it was, he said, "at the same time, it was very refreshing and fun to do". *
Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award n ...
as Wilford
The creator and caretaker of the engine.
Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...
was considered for the role. About the character, Harris said, "He's so built up, who this guy is, and then there's this big thing open, and he's just this old guy making dinner with his robe on, but director Bong really wanted him to be matter-of-fact and very mundane, and simple, and kind of freaky that way." Harris also added that the character is "probably a coagulation of various folks". The role of Wilford was the last to be cast, and it was friend and fellow filmmaker
Park Chan-Wook Park Chan-wook ( ; born 23 August 1963) is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, producer, and former film critic. He is considered as one of the most prominent filmmakers of South Korean cinema as well as world cinema in 21st century. H ...
who suggested Harris for the role. Bong stated that Wilford needed to be played by someone with "tremendous presence and performance from the first moment that he appeared in order to convince the audience", adding that "
arris In architecture, an arris is the sharp edge formed by the intersection of two surfaces, such as the corner of a masonry unit; the edge of a timber in timber framing; the junction between two planes of plaster or any intersection of divergent a ...
turned Wilford into a lively and ironic character with added appeal." On taking the role of Wilford, Harris mentioned, "When I was sent this script, I was told director Bong is a Korean director, and that he'd made some other films, but I had never seen any of them ... I thought they were wonderfully accomplished films, which really made me want to work with the guy. I'm a big fan of his." Harris praised Bong very highly, especially his tendency of editing the piece whilst shooting. Since the film's release, Bong has revealed background information about the character, such as Wilford being
bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
, "He slept with Claude, the Egg-Head, Mason, and the pregnant teacher. Yet, his 'the One' is the Engine." Tyler John Williams portrays a young Wilford. *
John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...
as Gilliam
The spiritual leader of the tail section. Bong first saw Hurt in ''
The Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...
'' while at middle-school, which made him curious about the actor; for the part of Gilliam he wanted an older actor, though one with the ability to "exude the ambience of spirituality". On the character of Gilliam, Hurt said, "He is certainly shadowy, but he is shadowy for a reason. Even though I still am not entirely certain what the reason is," adding, "as far as Gilliam is concerned, he believes in the status quo, but he also sees himself as a true humanitarian. I mean he has literally given his limbs to these people." Hurt stated that the role of Gilliam was physically challenging one at that, because "the fact that I had one leg strapped behind me, trying to stagger around on those not very easy-to-use crutches... and having to make it look like as though I'd been doing it for years." He too acknowledged Bong's encouragement of collaboration in allowing the cast and crew to "interpret things as we want, as we see fit" as well as adding pointers to the act. Hurt said of Bong, "I just fell in love with him. He was wonderful. I hadn't seen anything. I hadn't seen ''Mother'' or anything, which I immediately did when I got home. I went, 'Wow, that's the chap I was talking to.' Thank God instinct has left me completely. I adored him then, I adored him ever since." as well as previously adding, "He is quite different but technically, he is as clever as
Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
. That's saying something.... He is one of the best directors I've worked with. I absolutely adore working with him." *
Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...
as Minister Mason,
Wilford's right hand, the second in command on the train and the spokesperson for Wilford for the past 17 years. About the character, Swinton said, "Mason is a pretty monstrous construct so we felt we were dealing with extremes, but the truth was that we didn't have to go that far. Look at Hitler with his dyed black hair and Gaddafi with handmade medals stuck on his jacket." Swinton prepared for the role by studying clowning politicians throughout history, and Mason is, in Swinton's words, "a complete smash cut of all the monstrous, maniacal, political clowns". Swinton added that the character is a mix of
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
,
Colonel Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spelling ...
,
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, and
Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...
. The
Yorkshire accent The Yorkshire dialect (also known as Broad Yorkshire, Tyke, Yorkie or Yorkshire English) is a dialect of English, or continuum of dialects, spoken in the Yorkshire region of Northern England. The dialect has roots in Old English and is influen ...
Swinton uses is based on someone from her early life who had the accent and to her, "was an early example of authority". Tilda and Bong met at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
when ''
We Need to Talk About Kevin ''We Need to Talk About Kevin'' is a 2003 novel by Lionel Shriver, published by Serpent's Tail, about a fictional school massacre. It is written from the first person perspective of the teenage killer's mother, Eva Khatchadourian, and documen ...
'' played and both wanted to work together. In one original scenario, Mason was a middle-aged man and first mentioned as "peaceful", so Bong changed it and offered it to Swinton. Bong added, "I originally talked to
John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in ''Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in ''Days of Thunder'' (1990), ''Wh ...
about playing Mason." On Mason's appearance, Bong stated, "Tilda actually wanted to take the look further and I had to pull her back. She at the time really wanted to transform herself and look different than she ever looked before. I was all for it. Obviously there was something that started the whole look." Additionally Swinton stated, "As we were playing we had these ideas, like fantastic pendulous breasts... And
Jamie Bell Andrew James Matfin Bell (born 14 March 1986) is an English actor and dancer. He rose to prominence for his debut role in ''Billy Elliot'' (2000), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, becoming one of the youngest ...
loved wearing them of course. We have a picture of him. Our crew picture involves
ell An ell (from Proto-Germanic *''alinō'', cognate with Latin ''ulna'') is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand). The word literally means "arm", and ...
wearing Mason's breasts." Bong was inspired by a photo Ondřej Nekvasil found of a lady inside the
National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...
, and he showed the image to Tilda who "loved it". The appearance of Mason was based on
Roxie Collie Laybourne Roxie Collie Simpson Laybourne (September 15, 1910 – August 7, 2003) was an American ornithologist born in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She pioneered the study of forensic ornithology while at the National Museum of Natural History; these ...
. *
Jamie Bell Andrew James Matfin Bell (born 14 March 1986) is an English actor and dancer. He rose to prominence for his debut role in ''Billy Elliot'' (2000), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, becoming one of the youngest ...
as Edgar
Curtis's second-in-command. On taking the role, Bell said, "The reason why I wanted to be a part of the film was because of what Director Bong had to say about it; it was his vision that he brought to the table and I thought what it stood for was important to me." When asked of performances that were interpreted differently onscreen from the screenplay, writer Masterson stated, "
ell An ell (from Proto-Germanic *''alinō'', cognate with Latin ''ulna'') is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand). The word literally means "arm", and ...
is very impish and mischievous as Edgar, which I didn't predict from his character. That might just be Jamie." and of his performance, "I think
ell An ell (from Proto-Germanic *''alinō'', cognate with Latin ''ulna'') is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand). The word literally means "arm", and ...
s performance, a lot of it is improvised, and quite brilliantly." On relating to the character, Bell said, "You know, I come from a very working-class background myself. There was the sense that I had to overcome something and really test myself. So in a way Edgar is very similar, he genuinely doesn't have anything and he's the lowest of the low of these people." *
Octavia Spencer Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Critics' Choice Awards and three Screen Actors Gu ...
as Tanya
A determined mother who is set on getting her son back. Despite not possessing the qualities of a fighter, she nonetheless takes part in the rebellion and speaks for the people of the tail section. The film marks Spencer's first time working in the
science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...
genre. Spencer described Bong as "an
auteur An auteur (; , 'author') is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded but personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, which thus manifests the director's unique ...
" and expressed sadness at the studio's proposal to cut the film. On imagery from the history base of references, Bong said, "When pencers character is being beaten by the soldier, it's meant to remind people, somewhat, of the
Rodney King Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving whi ...
incident." On the message of the film, Spencer said, "We are all covered in smoke and dirt from years and years of not washing and particles in the air, and we are all the same color if you look at it." *
Ewen Bremner Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish character actor. His roles have included Julien in ''Julien Donkey-Boy'' and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in ''Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel ''T2 Trainspotting''. Early life Bremner was born in ...
as Andrew
A helpless father whose only wish is to protect his son. On taking the role, Bremner said, "I watched director Bong's film ''
Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...
'' which I was really knocked out by. He has a much adventurous sense of a character and he's a rare director in his route to cast actors that he really likes." Despite the weak and frail imagery of the character of Andrew, Bong needed an actor who was able to convey the raw emotion of the character to the audience directly. Bong became a fan of Bremner's after watching his appearance in '' Naked (1993 film), Naked''. On Bremner, Bong said, "He would become an actor like
Byun Hee-bong Byun Hee-bong (born Byun In-chul; June 8, 1942) is a South Korean actor. Career Byun In-chul was born in Jangseong County, South Jeolla Province, and attended Salesian High School in Gwangju. He took up law at Chosun University before dropping ...
one day." *
Go Ah-sung Go Ah-sung is a South Korean actress. She began her career as a child actress, notably in '' The Host''. Her other notable works include ''Snowpiercer'' (2013), ''Samjin Company English Class'' (2020), as well as the TV dramas ''Master of Study' ...
(credited as Ko Asung) as Yona Minsoo
The 17-year-old daughter of Namgoong Minsoo. On taking the role, Go said, "It was like going back to where it all started. Director Bong gave instructions and Mr. Song gave me advice or guidance, so it felt like I had returned to being on my first film, '' The Host''." About her character's name, Go said, "
ong Ong or ONG may refer to: Arts and media * Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction * “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip Places * Ong, Nebraska, US, city * Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town * Ong River, Odisha, India ...
couldn't think of any name for Yona; he just left her as "The Inuit Girl". I gave him Nastyona's album, and he went "This is it!" adding, "It also matches the Biblical figure Jonah ronounced Yona in some languages, including Koreanand had a right feel to it." She added that she spoke with a mixed accent of the United States, Philippines and India, and spoke to fellow cast member Ewen Bremner for advice on her English pronunciation. Go described Yona as being, "someone who was completely indifferent to Minsoo's ambition. Even if she knew, she wouldn't have cared." Of Yona's background, Bong revealed, "Yona's mother was the leader of the Frozen Seven's revolution—because she was an Inuit. She was confident that she could endure the coldness. However, she went out too early." *
Alison Pill Alison Pill (born November 27, 1985) is a Canadian actress. A former child actress, Pill began her career at age 12, appearing in numerous films and television series. She transitioned to adult roles and her breakthrough came with the television ...
as Teacher
Found teaching a classroom of young students, towards the front of the ''Snowpiercer''. *
Vlad Ivanov Vlad Ivanov (; born Vladimir Ivanov , 4 August 1969) is a Romanian actor of Lipovan , flag = Flag of the Lipovans.png , flag_caption = Flag of the Lipovans , image = Evstafiev-lipovane-slava-cherkeza.jpg , caption = Lipovans during a c ...
as Franco the Elder
A seemingly indestructible henchman working for Minister Mason. *
Luke Pasqualino Luca Giuseppe "Luke" Pasqualino (born 19 February 1990) is a British actor of Italian descent. He is best known for his portrayal of Freddie McClair in the television series '' Skins'', d'Artagnan in the television series ''The Musketeers'' an ...
as Grey
Gilliam's bodyguard, a muscular, agile, fast-moving warrior who is handy with knives. On taking the role of Grey, Pasqualino said, "I got to work with a dream cast and
ong Ong or ONG may refer to: Arts and media * Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction * “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip Places * Ong, Nebraska, US, city * Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town * Ong River, Odisha, India ...
who I think is frankly a genius. I feel very lucky and privileged to be given the opportunity". Grey has various tattoos on his body, each seeming having a specific story, including Gilliam's name tattooed on the heart side of his chest. After the film's release Bong revealed background information, "There are homosexual relationships among the men. Gilliam and Grey seem like a couple with a large age gap. Gilliam is someone whom Grey admires deeply, of course, but one could imagine they sleep together too. And Gilliam sends Grey to Curtis." Additionally,
Adnan Hasković Adnan Hasković (born 23 December 1984) is a Bosnians, Bosnian actor. Biography Adnan Hasković studied acting in Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo from 2003. He studied under professor Izudin Bajrović and then under professor Admir Glamo ...
as Franco the Younger, an executor of the army led by Mason;
Clark Middleton Clark Tinsley Middleton (April 13, 1957 – October 4, 2020) was an American actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in '' Kill Bill: Vol. 2'', ''Sin City'', ''Fringe'', ''Snowpiercer'', and ''The Blacklist''. Career Middleton's first ...
as the Painter, who is often seen drawing other passengers or key events visually chronicling underclass life and death; Emma Levie as Claude, Wilford's assistant who may have a relationship with Wilford;
Tómas Lemarquis Tómas Lemarquis (born 3 August 1977) is an Icelandic language, Icelandic–French language, French actor. Early life Lemarquis was born in Reykjavík, the son of an Icelandic mother and a French father, Gérard Lemarquis, who is a schoolteacher ...
as Egg-head, one of Wilford's agents that aids in the New Year celebration massacre;
Steve Park Stephen Park (born August 23, 1967) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He won races in NASCAR's two top Northeast touring series ( Modified and K&N East) and all three national divisions (Truck, Busch, Cup Series). Park ...
as Fuyu, a regimented assistant to Mason; and Paul Lazar as Paul, one of the rebels in Curtis's army who makes the protein blocks. The creators of the graphic novel,
Jean-Marc Rochette Jean-Marc Rochette (born 23 April 1956) is a French painter, illustrator and comics creator. He is best known and recognized for the comic book series '' Edmond le Cochon'' and '' Le Transperceneige'', as well as for his illustrations of the lit ...
and Benjamin Legrand, have cameo appearances in the film.


Production


Development

In the winter of 2005, Bong found
Jean-Marc Rochette Jean-Marc Rochette (born 23 April 1956) is a French painter, illustrator and comics creator. He is best known and recognized for the comic book series '' Edmond le Cochon'' and '' Le Transperceneige'', as well as for his illustrations of the lit ...
's French graphic novel series ''
Le Transperceneige ''Snowpiercer'' ( French: ''Le Transperceneige'', ) is a post-apocalyptic, climate fiction graphic novel first published in French by Casterman and created by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette. The graphic novel was first published in 1982 und ...
'' at a comic book shop near
Hongik University Hongik University (, colloquially ''Hongdae'') is a private university in Seoul, South Korea. Founded by an activist in 1946, the university is located in Mapo-gu district of central Seoul, South Korea with a second campus(branch campus) in S ...
and finished reading the entire series while standing in front of the bookshelf where he found it. He was fascinated by ideas of people struggling on the train for survival, and how every section is classified in
social stratification Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political). As ...
. Bong showed the series to his friends, fellow director
Park Chan-wook Park Chan-wook ( ; born 23 August 1963) is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, producer, and former film critic. He is considered as one of the most prominent filmmakers of South Korean cinema as well as world cinema in 21st century. H ...
and producer Lee Tae-hun, who loved it as well. Although Bong praised the original graphic novel, he soon realized that a film like ''Snowpiercer'' needed an original take. Bong stated, "... I had to come up with a completely new story and new characters in order to create a new, dynamic ''Snowpiercer'' that was packed with cinematic exhilaration." In the following year, Park's production company Moho Film acquired the copyrights to the original story of ''Snowpiercer'' for Bong, and in 2007 the copyrights to the story extended. The first draft of the screenplay for ''Snowpiercer'' was completed on 15 September 2010, and in December, the second draft of screenplay was completed and modified. On 4 October 2010, Bong, whilst at the
Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...
, had initially entertained the idea of shooting the film in Canada due to it having "... a great infrastructure for filmmaking, and Korean expatriates are involved in the film industry a lot." Bong wanted a film studio with a 75- to 100-meter-long space to fill with four train cars connected together. The production team travelled to Europe for studio scouting and ended up with two studio choices:
Barrandov Studios Barrandov Studios is a set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Several major Hollywood productions have been made here, including ''Mission Impossible'', '' ...
in Czech Republic and
Korda Studios Korda Studios (in Hungarian: ''Korda Filmstúdió'') is a film studio complex 26 km west of Budapest in the wine-making village of Etyek; hence the media nickname ''Etyekwood''. It is built on the site of a former barracks. The studio is n ...
in Hungary. In August 2011, a Czech producer hired by the production team began negotiations with two film studios for availability; Barrandov Studios was eventually chosen as the film studio and production service provider of ''Snowpiercer''. On 18 January 2012,
Kelly Masterson Kelly Masterson is an American screenwriter, playwright and writer who lives in New York. He wrote the screenplay for the film ''Before the Devil Knows You're Dead'', for which he is perhaps best known. Before moving to New York to stage several ...
was hired to rewrite the script before it went into production due to Bong seeing his screenplay work on ''
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead ''Before the Devil Knows You're Dead'' is a 2007 American crime thriller film directed by Sidney Lumet. The film was written by Kelly Masterson, and stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, and Albert Finney. The title comes from t ...
'' and being impressed with the tonality of darkness and acuity in the story. Bong and Masterson had originally envisioned a romantic story for the protagonist; however they jettisoned that idea in subsequent drafts of the screenplay. On 8 October 2013, at the
Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...
, Bong acknowledged the challenges in adapting such a story to fit the apparent constraints of cinema, to which had to omit certain scenes from the graphic novel, "... I had to capture that long story in a two-hour film, so rather than cut out some scenes from the comic, I just rewrote the whole story to fit this time frame." On 13 January 2012, Chris Evans began negotiations to star in the film adaptation, and was later confirmed as the film's male lead. On 17 January 2012,
Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...
and
Jamie Bell Andrew James Matfin Bell (born 14 March 1986) is an English actor and dancer. He rose to prominence for his debut role in ''Billy Elliot'' (2000), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, becoming one of the youngest ...
were confirmed to be in talks to join the project. Swinton first met Bong at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
, where she was of the mind that she did not want to make any other films, a decision she takes after each film: "And that one (and only) condition in which I will make another film is that I will have some fun. So we started to play with the idea of what would amuse us about this." Bong and Swinton experimented with voices, mannerisms and the general appearance of the character of Mason. On 18 January 2012,
John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...
was confirmed to have been cast, with Hurt stating, "All the film crew refer to
ong Ong or ONG may refer to: Arts and media * Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction * “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip Places * Ong, Nebraska, US, city * Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town * Ong River, Odisha, India ...
with great reverence, as 'Director Bong'. I love the fact that I am working for Director Bong." On 2 February 2012, Octavia Spencer had joined the cast of Bong's project in the role of a "passenger on the train who joins the revolt in order to save her son."
Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award n ...
spoke of his love of Bong Joon-ho's films and wanted to work with him, "I want to do this. I don't care what he's asking me to do because he's a really great filmmaker." On 27 February 2012, Ewen Bremner had joined the cast of Bong's film. On 3 April 2012,
Luke Pasqualino Luca Giuseppe "Luke" Pasqualino (born 19 February 1990) is a British actor of Italian descent. He is best known for his portrayal of Freddie McClair in the television series '' Skins'', d'Artagnan in the television series ''The Musketeers'' an ...
was confirmed to have joined the cast. Bong states that it took four years to develop the project, with an additional three to produce with Park. Stating, "Today, I feel I have overcome a terrible disease, like cancer cells had occupied my body during that time," as well as expressing an interest in making smaller films in the future.


Filming

In August 2011, the studio was determined as the shooting location, and in October 2011, Bong and his production team moved to the Czech Republic. During the period of November 2011 to April 2012, the key members of the crew were secured and confirmed, those being: Ondřej Nekvasil, Eric Durst, Julian Spencer and Marco Beltrami. The preparatory production began in
Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
, Austria during mid-March for one day to shoot some snowy scenery on the
Hintertux Glacier The Hintertux Glacier (german: Hintertuxer Gletscher) is the tourist name for the glaciers of the Gefrorene-Wand-Kees, also called the Tuxer Ferner, and the nearby Riepenkees at the top of the Tuxertal, a side valley of the Zillertal in the Austria ...
, which made for excellent conditions and perfect weather. On 3 April 2012,
principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
had officially begun in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, Czech Republic, at the
Barrandov Studios Barrandov Studios is a set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Several major Hollywood productions have been made here, including ''Mission Impossible'', '' ...
on
gimbal A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis. A set of three gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain independent of ...
s on its interconnected sound-stages after preparatory filming in the production occurred at the end of March, with a said budget near to $42 million, which was the largest film budget of all time for any film with Korean investors. Bong filmed ''Snowpiercer'' with
35mm 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format ...
film in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Roughly ninety percent of the film was shot on set. Bong's original wish was to shoot the film entirely in Korea, but a studio large enough to accommodate a set of such scale was difficult to find, thus Barrandov Studio was used instead, requiring the construction of a 100-meter replica of the title train. In choosing Barrandov Studio, Bong explained, "All the artwork, huge train sets and the gimbal were greatly completed and fully operational. Shooting at Barrandov Studios will never stop with a perpetual engine." Bong's usage of the studio allowed him and his team to carry out meticulous experiments to contrive perpetual movement by staging the film on a giant gyroscopic gimbal, which can roll from side to side or bend realistically, to give three-dimensional feel to the train. Nearly all the shots within the train are filmed so that the tail sections are left of the characters on-screen, and the engine to the right; this was a "discipline" that Bong wanted to "maintain that energy, and give the audience a sense that whichever way the shot is moving, that's where the characters are going". Flash SFX, the team involved in the construction of the gimbal stated, "The main challenge of physical effects work was that of inventing and developing a system that would perfectly simulate movements of train in motion. We managed to create a massive gimbal system supporting train cars with a total weight close to 100 tons. It was capable of simulating all sideway motions and vibrations of the train, including perfect make-believe curves of railroad tracks." On 14 July 2012, principal photography officially wrapped in the Barrandov Studios after a 72-day shoot, with
post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. The ...
carried out in South Korea, and Bong started editing the film for its release.


Visual effects

The visual effects company
Scanline VFX Scanline VFX is a global visual effects and animation company founded 1989 in Munich. The studio is led by VFX Supervisor Stephan Trojansky. The company has 7 locations including Munich, Stuttgart, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Montreal, London, and Se ...
worked on ''Snowpiercer''. The company worked primarily on the exterior shots of the film: the frozen city, the Yekaterina Bridge, the Frozen Harbour landscape in the sushi lounge, the "Frozen Seven" sequence, the industrial park in the shoot-out sequence, and the avalanche and post crash environment at the end of the film. Already having multiple designs, storyboards and basic concepts of the train cars, it set in motion the development of over 60 different versions of the various wagons for the train ''Snowpiercer''. Thus, visual effects supervisor Michel Mielke said "... we ada good idea of the vision of director Bong, we saw what he liked, and what did not work for the movie." Visual effects designer Eric Durst spoke of the Aquarium Car being an intriguing challenge of lighting, with the differentiation of a water-based environment on one side and a frozen-based landscape at the other. Durst and his team, including director of photography Alex Hong, had light "travel through water trays on top of the aquarium structure." Durst added that "These refracted the light spilling on the actors, replicating the way light would react in an actual aquarium environment." In the task of creating that world, Mark Breakspear and his team in Vancouver spent a great amount of time at the
Vancouver Aquarium The Vancouver Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In addition to being a major tourist attraction for Vancouver, the aquarium is a centre for marine research, ocean literacy education, cli ...
to study "the fish, the lighting environments, the way the light refracted through the water and glass, along with how it distorted the fish as they passed." Among the most challenging effects on the train was the length of the train and the number of cars that needed to be handled. Mielke had a "very complex rig" created and built to provide the animators involved in the creating process with enough capability as was possible. He stated, "The rig managed that the train automatically followed the rails, that the motion of the wagons where simulated depending on the rails, that the wagons could be changed easily and so on." Parallel to
principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
in Prague, the first designs of visuals spanned from May 2012 up until the final shots of early March 2013, with a team of over 70 artists developing over 186 VFX-shots with almost 50 being full of
computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images may ...
.


Design


Costume design

Costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...
Catherine George explained that Mason was initially inspired by a Smithsonian photograph that production designer Ondřej Nekvasil had found of an older lady amongst a room full of dead birds at the
Museum of Natural History A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
, who was a real person from Swinton's childhood. In designing Mason's costume, George found images of women from their late sixties and early seventies, adding that, "... a certain type that I remembered growing up who would wear their fur to go into town and scoff at people who were less better off, a bit of a
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
type, really." George also designed Mason's suit to look "a typical conservative politician shape and style" with the purple adding a royal quality to the attire. She had "collected pictures of dictators wearing elaborate uniforms and crazy hand-made medals" to experiment with the designs of such a character. George later admitted to the similarities to
Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
, although not intentional. George and Bong travelled to Swinton's home in Scotland with "a couple of suitcases of clothes, wigs, glasses and teeth" to play around with ideas. On creating individuality for the passengers in the tail section, George had the designs come from random materials they would use to fashion practical clothing, "The tail section clothing was pieced together from different garments and repairs were made on top of that. They had to improvise with any materials that were left on the train." For the design of Curtis, Bong and George wanted him to be anonymous but at the same time recognizable. The design was difficult as George had to conceal Evans's muscular physique and muscle mass thus, "We had to cut out the sleeves of his under layers to help him look leaner." George personally designed the costumes for Nam and Yona, who wear the "darker-coloured intense black". Taking inspiration from photographs of train engineers from an early industrial period and vintage French railway jackets, it was designed while she looked at utilitarian clothes due to Nam previously being a train engineer before his imprisonment. George also designed many of the tail section costumes, including Nam's, using Japanese
Boro __NOTOC__ Boro may refer to: People * Boro people, indigenous peoples of Amazonas, Brazil * A variant spelling for the Bodo people of northeast India * Charan Boro, Indian politician * Isaac Adaka Boro, a celebrated Niger Delta nationalist and Nig ...
fabric. In creating Claude's yellow coat and dress, George was mindful of the fact it was the first colour of brightness in the tail section scene, as well as the property of yellow being the most luminous colour in the spectrum. She expressed, "It's the colour that captures our attention more than any other and in
colour psychology Color psychology is the study of hues as a determinant of human behavior. Color influences perceptions that are not obvious, such as the taste of food. Colors have qualities that can cause certain emotions in people. How color influences indivi ...
yellow is non-emotional and lacking compassion." Camera testing occurred before deciding the final colours as well as observing how they'd interact, with the back drop of darker costume colours.


Production design

Bong and his illustrators created various pieces of
concept art Concept art is a form of visual art used to convey an idea for use in films, video games, animation, comic books, or other media before it is put into the final product. Concept art usually refers to world-building artwork used to inspire the ...
for the train cars of ''Snowpiercer'', led by
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...
production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...
Ondřej Nekvasil, who was brought onto the production team to help realize those visions. Nekvasil approached the atmosphere of the tail section it as if it were a "dark, monochromatic ... life", emphasising poor living arrangements, to which he found inspiration from poor areas of Hong Kong and elsewhere to put in the set designs. In order to make the colours appear "used" and "dirty", Nekvasil and company started with colourful props that were subsequently washed out and forcibly aged to create a feeling of "really used property and space", while creating a back story to justify the appearance. When designing the train, Nekvasil and Bong hit upon the idea of the train not being designed by one man in one specific moment; the idea that "these various train cars were built in different periods of Wilford's life". Another idea was the logical scale of the train itself, though Bong entertained the notion of it being beyond a logical scale, Nekvasil stated, " ... if it's 20 feet wide, it'll no longer seem like a train." Dimensions and sizes were discussed, and the design sized finalised was "slightly bigger than a typical train", though enough to allow space for camera movement inside the train. The design was difficult due to distance limitations, as Nekvasil said, "... the biggest stage we had, which was about 300 feet long, was not big enough to fit everything." Instead of overly relying on CGI, Nekvasil's production design team constructed twenty-six individual train cars and used a giant gyroscopic
gimbal A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis. A set of three gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain independent of ...
in Prague's
Barrandov Studios Barrandov Studios is a set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Several major Hollywood productions have been made here, including ''Mission Impossible'', '' ...
to simulate the movement of an actual train when shooting. Bong stated that the gimbal was used on the third day of shooting, explaining, "Sometimes we felt carsick on set," due to the realistic effects of the gimbal.


Sound design

Sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...
s Anna Behlmer,
Terry Porter Terry Porter (born April 8, 1963) is an American former college basketball coach and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was most recently the head men's basketball coach at the University of Portland. A native of Wisc ...
and Mark Holding mixed the sound for ''Snowpiercer'', supervised by sound editor Taeyoung Choi.


Music and soundtrack

In May 2012,
Marco Beltrami Marco Beltrami (born October 7, 1966) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has worked in a number of genres, including horror (''Scream'', ''Mimic, The Faculty, Resident Evil, The Woman in Black, A Quiet Place' ...
was hired to compose the
incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...
for ''Snowpiercer''. In January 2013, a song titled ''Yona Lights'' was released on the film's official website in South Korea. On July 2013, during the 007 Fimucité at
Tenerife International Film Music Festival The Tenerife International Film Music Festival (Fimucité) ( es, Festival Internacional de Música de Cine de Tenerife) is an international film music festival that is held in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands ...
in the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
, a few pieces of the three films composed by Beltrami (''Snowpiercer'', ''
Soul Surfer A soul surfer (term invented during the 1960s) is a surfer who surfs for the sheer pleasure of surfing. Although they may still enter competitions, winning is not the soul surfer's main motive, since they scorn the commercialization of surfing. T ...
'' and '' The Wolverine'') were selected for the performance. The film's official soundtrack was released in August 2013 in South Korea and the international release date was on 9 September 2013.


Release

''Snowpiercer''
premiered A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...
at the
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
on 29 July 2013 in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, South Korea, before screening at the
Deauville American Film Festival The Deauville American Film Festival (french: Festival du cinéma américain de Deauville, link=no) is a yearly film festival devoted to American cinema, which has taken place since 1975 in Deauville, France. It was established by Lionel Cho ...
as the closing film on 7 September 2013, the
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
as the part of Berlin's Forum sidebar on 7 February 2014, opening the
Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...
on 11 June 2014, and the
Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
on 22 June 2014.


Cutting request

On 9 November 2012,
The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...
acquired the distribution rights to ''Snowpiercer'' from
CJ Entertainment CJ Entertainment (Hangul: CJ 엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean film production and distribution company under CJ ENM. The company operates as a film production company, film publishing house, investment and exhibition. History During early 1 ...
, based on the script and some completed footage, with a plan for
wide release In the American motion picture industry, a wide release (short for nationwide release) is a film playing at the same time at cinemas in most markets across the country. This is in contrast to the formerly common practice of a roadshow theatrical re ...
in North America, as well as throughout the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It was released in the United States on 27 June 2014 in just eight theaters in selected cities. This delay was caused by
Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films inclu ...
, an owner of The Weinstein Company, requesting 25 minutes of footage be cut, asking for less dialogue and more action, and a voice-over sequence at the end of the film. The fish-gutting scene was one that Weinstein was adamant about removing, but Bong lied to Weinstein, claiming his father was a fisherman and the scene was in tribute to his father, to get Weinstein to agree to keep it. Weinstein screened his cut to a test audience of around 250 members. In response to the poor score given by the test audience, Weinstein said to Bong they needed to cut more. In a later test screening of Bong's original cut of the film, the audience's score was "much higher". Following the news of the cut, a ''Free Snowpiercer'' petition campaign demanding the director's cut of the film to be released in the US was created by cinema activist Denise Heard-Bashur, with support from the film's stars
Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...
and
John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...
. Bong's uncut version of the film was eventually released, but with the caveat that the film switched distributors to
Radius-TWC The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...
, resulting in a limited release in art house cinemas. On 3 July 2014, it was announced that thanks to positive reviews, ''Snowpiercer'' would get a wider US release and play in over 150 theaters.


Home media

The film was released on DVD and
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
in various countries, including France and Korea, over Q3 and Q4 first, before the movie was finally debuted in North American theaters. The film was eventually released on home media in North America on 21 October 2014, and became available on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
for streaming on 1 November 2014. It did not get a genuine UK release until November 2018, when it was made available digitally via
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
and was released on DVD & Blu-ray in 2020.


Reception


Box office

Between its South Korean opening on 27 June 2014 and 23 October 2014, the film earned
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
86.7 million worldwide. , it was the tenth highest-grossing domestic film in South Korea with 9.35 million admissions. The film holds the domestic record for the fastest movie (domestic and foreign) to reach four million admissions, which it achieved in its fifth day after premiere, and another record for the highest weekend figure (from Friday to Sunday) for a Korean film, with 2.26 million viewers. The film took in $171,000 on its US opening weekend, averaging around $21,400 per theater. The film grossed US$59.8 million in South Korea and its largest international market was China, with $11.1 million.


Critical response

Film review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reports that 94% of critics gave the film a positive rating, based on 264 reviews with an average score of 8.1/10. The website's critical consensus states, "''Snowpiercer'' offers an audaciously ambitious action spectacle for filmgoers numb to effects-driven blockbusters."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
assigned the film a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 38 reviews from mainstream critics, considered to be "universal acclaim". Chris Nashawaty of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' gave the piece an "A" rating, stating, "''Snowpiercer'' sucks you into its strange, brave new world so completely, it leaves you with the all-too-rare sensation that you've just witnessed something you've never seen before ... and need to see again."
A. O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic. He has been chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' since 2004, a title he shares with Manohla Dargis. Early life Scott was born on July 10, 1966 in ...
wrote, in his review for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', "Planetary destruction and human extinction happen a half-dozen times every summer. It's rarely this refreshing, though." Andrew Pulver of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' scored the film most positively, writing, "''Snowpiercer'' works brilliantly, the sum of extremely disparate parts that adds up to cinematic excellence." Joshua Rothkopf of ''
Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...
'' scored the film five out of five stars, writing, "Sprung from a 1982 French graphic novel and bearing its era's trickle-down tensions, ''Snowpiercer'' is a headlong rush into conceptual lunacy—but you'll love it anyway." Rothkopf praises Joon-ho, stating, "... Bong grabs onto the grungy conventions of postapocalyptic adventure with relish. He serves up claustrophobic action scenes (one largely shot in the dark) and ominous, messianic overtones as the band of rebels makes its way forward."
Lou Lumenick Louis J. Lumenick (born September 11, 1949) is an American film critic. He was the chief film critic and film editor for the ''New York Post'' where he reviewed films from 1999 until his retirement in 2016. He is currently researching the histor ...
of ''
The New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' gave the film high acclaim, writing, "Don't miss it—this is enormously fun visionary filmmaking, with a witty script and a great international cast." He added, "The beautifully designed train is one of the most memorable in screen history ..."
David Denby David Denby (born 1943) is an American journalist. He served as film critic for ''The New Yorker'' until December 2014. Early life and education Denby grew up in New York City. He received a B. A. from Columbia University in 1965, and a master' ...
of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' spoke highly of the piece, stating it to be, "Violent, often absurd, but full of brilliant surprises, while Bong keeps the center of the action moving toward the front of the train, a considerable feat of camera placement, choreographed mayhem, and cohesive editing," and praising Nekvasil's production design, "Bong and ekvasil provide them with a series of
sybaritic Sybaris ( grc, Σύβαρις; it, Sibari) was an important city of Magna Graecia. It was situated in modern Calabria, in southern Italy, between two rivers, the Crathis (Crati) and the Sybaris (Coscile). The city was founded in 720 BC ...
astonishments." Clarence Tsui of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' wrote a highly positive review, commenting, "''Snowpiercer'' is still an intellectually and artistically superior vehicle to many of the end-of-days futuristic action thrillers out there." Speaking highly of Bong's film-making, Tsui wrote, "Bong's vivid depictions—aided by Ondřej Nekvasil's production design, Hong Kyung-pyo's cinematography and Steve M. Choe's editing—are exceptional." David Thomson of ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'' remarked that "The most bracing and liberating thing about Joon-ho Bong's ''Snowpiercer'' is not just its lyrical forward motion, but the exuberance with which the film revels in its plot predicament." He furthers praises Nekvasil's "progression of design set-pieces" and Tilda Swinton's performance, saying "She is the life and soul of this riotous party, and you will be sad to see her disposed of, no matter that Mason's ghastly manner has earned it." Scott Foundas of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote, "An enormously ambitious, visually stunning and richly satisfying futuristic epic from the gifted Korean genre director Bong Joon-ho." Foundas added that Beltrami's original score was "among the generally impeccable craft contributions
o the film O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...
" James Rocchi of
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wrote that, "If the film has one element that never flags or falters, it's Evans." Some were more critical of the film. Jordan Adler of ''We've Got This Covered'' wrote "We leave ''Snowpiercer'' more exhausted with questions than invigorated by its unique vision and style. It is a formidable example of directorial control bogged down by poor writing, half-finished effects work and a rather thin exploration of a fascinating dystopian universe."
Ann Hornaday Ann Hornaday is an American film critic. She has been film critic at ''The Washington Post'' since 2002 and is the author of ''Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies'' (2017). In 2008, she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Ear ...
of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' found otherwise potentially good acting to be "virtually lost in a tonal mishmash that can never decide between thoughtful political metaphor, lightheartedness and pulverizing violence" and went on to describe the director's "tiresome, slow-motion fetishism, mixing costumes and weaponry in an effort to distract from the scenes' sheer repetitiveness."


Critics' top ten lists

In 2020, ''Snowpiercer'' was ranked by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' number 8 among the classics of modern South Korean Cinema. The film appeared on several critics' lists of the top ten best films of 2014.


Accolades, awards and nominations


TV series

The film, along with the original French graphic novel, was adapted into an American television show by Tomorrow Studios, and premiered on
TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
on May 17, 2020, in the United States. It is available on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
for worldwide distribution. The show stars
Jennifer Connelly Jennifer Lynn Connelly (born December 12, 1970) is an American actress. She began her career as a child model before making her acting debut in the 1984 crime film ''Once Upon a Time in America''. After having worked as a model for several year ...
and
Daveed Diggs Daveed Daniele Diggs (born January 24, 1982) is an American actor, rapper, and singer-songwriter. He is the vocalist of the experimental hip hop group Clipping, and in 2015, he originated the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jeffer ...
, among others, and takes place in a rebooted narrative of the film, with events on the train starting about seven years after the global catastrophe.


References


External links

* * * * * * {{Bong Joon-ho 2013 films 2013 science fiction action films 2013 multilingual films South Korean science fiction action films English-language South Korean films 2010s Korean-language films South Korean multilingual films Films directed by Bong Joon-ho Films scored by Marco Beltrami Films about revolutions Films based on French comics Films set around New Year Films set in the 2030s Films set in 2031 Films set on trains Films shot in Austria Films shot in the Czech Republic Films with screenplays by Bong Joon-ho South Korean post-apocalyptic films Climate change films Live-action films based on comics Films about social class Czech science fiction action films 2010s dystopian films Films about cannibalism Stillking Films films English-language Czech films Fictional trains Czech post-apocalyptic films Czech multilingual films Avalanches in film 2010s English-language films 2010s South Korean films