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Just a quick post.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I am a big fan of the book series, the Swedish films, and of course -- David Fincher's film version (newly released on DVD and Blu-Ray).

Lisbeth Salander is already part of the pop culture lexicon -- with plenty written about the great Noomi Rapace and Rooney Mara that have played her in the films. Much has been said about Stieg Larsson's untimely death and the phenomenon and legacy of his books. And David Fincher-- well, he's the genius behind some of my favorite films including Fight Club, Seven, The Social Network, and many more. (Not to mention that he was a major music video director and his work was a staple on MTV when they still played music videos.) 

What I wanted to highlight is the opening credits and the original trailer of Fincher's version of the film -- namely, why Trent Reznor (basically Nine Inch Nails) + Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) + Led Zeppelin = perfection. 

The song: 
"Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin is a pure classic. Robert Plant's yowling, Jimmy Page's riffs, and John Bonham's chugging percussion. The lyrics evoke viking conquests, pelts, and lots of snow. Perfect for a movie set in wintertime in Sweden.

Trent Reznor's electronic update of the music is amazing -- it hews closely to the original but with the forward momentum of drums from the future. Karen O's amazing vocals are a stand-in for Lisbeth Salander and her power. Just absolutely the right choice.  

(Fun side note: in the movie, Plague -- Lisbeth's hacker friend-- sports a NIN t-shirt. AND in the third book of the Millennium trilogy, James Bond is mentioned -- ahem, Daniel Craig. --- Oh, and one of my favorite little moments: Billy's Pan Pizza makes an appearance. Lisbeth eats the stuff over and over in the books. Fincher actually gets the product into the film. Details!).


The trailer:

All sorts of bad-assery. The quick cuts of scenes from the film. The driving propulsion of the song. And of course, THE FEEL BAD MOVIE OF CHRISTMAS tagline. When I had first seen this in the movie theaters -- I dropped a quiet f-bomb to myself. It was that good.



The opening sequence:

Blur Studio's work on the title credits is equally amazing. An inky black nightmare. Full of Lisbeth's tattoos (dragon, phoenix, wasp) coming alive, technology run amok, leather, and bondage. Sexy and scary = spot on.

Teasers done. Now get to it. Check out the film/books/soundtrack. Worth your while. 

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