MovieChat Forums > The Doctor Blake Mysteries (2013) Discussion > why so grey???

why so grey???

posted 11 years ago by hamlet-16
16 replies | jump to latest

Like many modern movies and television shows, this ABC series seems to have developed a terminal case of the greys or more a case of the grey green murkies.

Perhaps Dr. Blake could prescribe a dose of colour to fix the patient! Along with some depth of field as well!! Less of the ultra closeups and jiggly camera please!!!!

I don't want to worry the cinematographer but I am here to tell you that 1959 was as colourful as any era.

Why must everything be shot as though they forgot to switch the colour on?

It is a pity that the photography takes away so much from an interesting and sometimes very good series.

[–] SPfromOZ 11 years ago

Hadn't really noticed the 'bland colour', but you're right! Perhaps it's just to further impress on us the post war era, as nearly all TV shows and some movies were filmed in Black and White back then. Isn't it supposed to be set in early to mid '50's? not 1959. The cars, clothing and hairstyles suggest this, and there's not a bodgy in sight! LOL

[–] !!!deleted!!! (41638798) 11 years ago

People keep saying 1959 but as I wrote in the other thread that would mean it's almost 18 years since he lost his wife and daughter in Singapore.

If it's more like 1953-54 (the Queen's portrait is up so we at least know it's no earlier than that), it makes more sense for him to still be looking for his wife.

That would mean it's been only about 7-8 years since the end of the war--a time when he might still hold out hope somebody can find her.

Also 7-8 years after a trauma like the Japanese prison camp wouldn't be much healing time and would account for how they keep talking about it like it was fairly recently.

Also, Mrs. Beazley isn't a young lass, but if she had a hubby die in the Solomons and it's 1959 that would make her a bit older than she looks. Unless she was a child bride.

It's got to be earlier than '59.

[–] SPfromOZ 11 years ago

What episode are you up to in the series? It has ended here in Australia. In the last episode there is some information about his family. As you point out the time that has passed since he last saw his wife and daughter, it will be interesting to see if they follow the correct timeline in the new season.
He found out that his wife died but his daughter is still alive in an orphanage!?! WTF? If it's indeed 1959 then she's too old to be in an orphanage
I think Mrs Beazley looks around early to mid 40's (NG is 42). So that would fit with her husband dying when he did, she wasn't that young, mid 20's. People got married at an earlier age back then, if a girl wasn't married by say age 30, she would be considered an 'old maid'!

[–] HairynosedWombat 8 years ago

1958 or 1959 was mentioned in some episodes. Some vehicles date from after 1955.

In the episode where Blake performed CPR, the basic technique was first described as a possible treatment for drowning in a US medical paper around 1959, although Blake would have been the only person before 1980 to call it CPR.

Opened my window to listen to the news
But all I heard was the establishment blues!

[–] amandabriggs 10 years ago

I think the cinematography is appropriate given the period in which the series is set, it wasn't a happy time with the country recovering from war. I do see your point and think it is valid, but I think they are just trying to convey the general darkness of that era.

[–] amorehl-93-99338 7 years ago

I think the cinematography is appropriate given the period in which the series is set, it wasn't a happy time with the country recovering from war. I do see your point and think it is valid, but I think they are just trying to convey the general darkness of that era.

I totally disagree! Maybe it was vastly different in Australia (or perhaps you weren't alive then?), but in the US, the late 50s and early 60s was a time of great optimism, with a booming economy -- hence the continuing wave of "Baby Boomers."

Regardless, that greyed-out cinematography is just annoying, dull, and depressing.

[–] willjohn 10 years ago

Craig McLachlan is now in his late 40s. He isn't the long haired kid singing "Mona" anymore. People in the 1950s tended to dress plainly.

[–] art25-992-772234 10 years ago

Craigs 48 but yeah he looks older then he really is .

[–] art25-992-772234 10 years ago

Craigs 48 but yeah he looks older then he really is .

[–] shona285 10 years ago

In one of the episodes (season 1) it is the Melbourne Cup.The poster on the wall says 1959 Melbourne Cup. I think this settles the arguement of the date.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Ceindreadh 8 years ago

In ep 1 of S4, they have a poster advertising a 1960 event, so they've moved on a bit.

[–] petervintner 9 years ago

Make-up and acting. That's in the job description.
He looks younger without the beard and in his own clothes.

[–] max843 9 years ago

So true, can barely differentiate items in the background. Annoying. Luckily the headshots take up most of the screen so at least the various characters can be identified. ☺

[–] frank-270 8 years ago

The grey grading is what I call graded or "grey dead" to spell it correctly. It has been made to look grey and dead. Loads of modern shows do that, annoyingly.

[–] Jamal-Nazreddin 8 years ago

Yes, you're right. All those Batman movies and Buffy TV shows were filmed in utter gloom.

I think it used here to add some gravitas because the main star is known for his teenage soap-opera mindlessness.