NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Equilibrium (2002 film)

Equilibrium is a 2002 action/science fiction film written and directed by Kurt Wimmer. The movie draws from classic dystopian novels such as Nineteen Eighty-Four (totalitarian state), Fahrenheit 451 (destruction of art), We, Anthem, This Perfect Day and Brave New World (use of drugs to create uniform individuals), as well as from the Outlanders series of novels, and the film Logan's Run. Christian Bale has the lead role in the film and is supported by Taye Diggs, Emily Watson and Sean Bean. Equilibrium DVD case cover US version, This work is copyrighted. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about actors, films, television shows, video games and production crew personnel. ... Image File history File links Description: 4 out of 5 star. ... Kurt Wimmer is an American screenwriter and film director. ... Jan de Bont (born October 22, 1943) is a Dutch cameraman and film director. ... Kurt Wimmer is an American screenwriter and film director. ... Christian Charles Philip Bale (also known professionally as Christian Morgan Bale; born January 30, 1974) is a British [1] actor. ... Emily Watson Emily Anita Watson (born January 14, 1967) is an English actress best known for her acclaimed debut performance in Lars von Triers Breaking the Waves. ... Taye Diggs in the 1999 film House on Haunted Hill Taye Diggs (born Scott Diggs on January 2, 1972) is an American theatre, film and television actor. ... Shaun Mark Bean (born 17 April 1959) is an English film and stage actor from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. ... Angus Macfadyen (born September 21, 1963 in Glasgow) is a Scottish actor. ... Willaim Fichtner as Sully in The Perfect Storm William Fichtner (born November 27, 1956 in East Meadow, New York) is an American actor. ... Klaus Badelt is a German composer, best known for composing film scores. ... Dimension Films is a motion picture label currently a part of The Weinstein Company. ... December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Poster for 2001: A Space Odyssey, an archetypal science fiction film Science fiction film is a film genre that uses speculative, science-based depictions of imaginary phenomena such as extra-terrestrial lifeforms, alien worlds, and time travel, often along with technological elements such as futuristic spacecraft, robots, or other technologies. ... Kurt Wimmer is an American screenwriter and film director. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative in prose. ... Nineteen Eighty-Four (commonly abbreviated to 1984) is a dystopian novel by the English writer George Orwell, first published by Secker and Warburg in 1949. ... This article is about the novel. ... The cover of the Penguin Classics translation of We. ... Anthem is a science-fiction novella by Ayn Rand, first published in 1938. ... This Perfect Day (1970), by Ira Levin, is a heroic science-fiction novel of a technocratic dystopia. ... Original book cover of Brave New World. ... Outlanders is a series of science-fiction novels published by Gold Eagle, an imprint of Harlequin Enterprises. ... Logans Run is a 1976 science fiction film based on the novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. ... Christian Charles Philip Bale (also known professionally as Christian Morgan Bale; born January 30, 1974) is a British [1] actor. ... Taye Diggs in the 1999 film House on Haunted Hill Taye Diggs (born Scott Diggs on January 2, 1972) is an American theatre, film and television actor. ... Emily Watson Emily Anita Watson (born January 14, 1967) is an English actress best known for her acclaimed debut performance in Lars von Triers Breaking the Waves. ... Shaun Mark Bean (born 17 April 1959) is an English film and stage actor from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. ...

The movie performed poorly at the box office. Although it was received well by test audiences, the film was given only a limited release and little promotion. It was also received very poorly by critics ^[1]. Despite this it has achieved a cult-like status and a high 7.7 rating on IMDB. Cult film is a colloquial term for a film that has accrued a devoted group of fans. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) [1] is an online database of information about actors, movies, television shows, television stars and video games. ...

The film was released as Cubic in Scandinavian countries ^[2] and as Rebellion in Japan.

Synopsis

Following an apocalyptic Third World War, the strict government of the dystopian city-state Libria has eliminated war by suppressing all human emotion. In the monochromatic and sedate society, artifacts from the old world (works of art and music that may evoke some emotion) are destroyed and the population is required to take sedatives. Grammaton Cleric Preston, a man trained to locate and arrest those guilty of feeling emotions, finds himself abandoning the drug and experiencing outlawed feelings. As he struggles to conceal his feelings from his superiors, colleagues, and family, Preston finds himself drawn into a sinister world of double-crossings and lies, and becomes an unwitting pawn in a sophisticated plot which ultimately changes the repressed society forever. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A dystopia (or alternatively cacotopia) is a fictional society, usually portrayed as existing in a future time, when the conditions of life are extremely bad due to deprivation, oppression, or terror. ... John Preston or Cleric (also known as Grammaton Cleric Preston) is a fictional character whom appears in the 2002 film Equilibrium. ...

Plot

Equilibrium is set some time in the future, in the dystopian city-state of Libria. The film explains how, in the early years of the twenty-first century, a devastating Third World War breaks out, the impact of which brings civilizations across the planet to their knees. After the war ends, world leaders fear that the human race cannot possibly survive a Fourth World War, and so set about building a new society which is free of conflict. (20th century - 21st century - 22nd century - other centuries) Definition In calendars based on the Christian Era or Common Era, such as the Gregorian calendar, the 21st century is the current century, as of this writing, lasting from 2001-2100. ...

Believing that human emotion is responsible for man's inhumanity to man, the new leaders ban all materials deemed likely to stimulate strong emotions, including art, music, and literature. These materials are rated "EC-10" for "emotional content" (a reference to the MPAA film rating system^[3]), and are typically destroyed by immediate incineration. Furthermore, all citizens of Libria are required to take regular injections, called "intervals," of a liquid drug called Prozium, collected at the distribution centers known as "Equilibrium". Prozium suppresses strong emotions, creating a sedate and conformist society. The loss of emotions is a heavy price, but it is considered to be one paid gladly in exchange for the elimination of war and crime. Emotion, in its most general definition, is an intense neural mental state that arises subjectively rather than through conscious effort and evokes either a positive or negative psychological response to move an organism to action. ... The MPAA film rating system is a system used in the United States and territories and instituted by the Motion Picture Association of America to rate a movie based on its content. ... Oral medication A medication is a licenced drug taken to cure or reduce symptoms of an illness or medical condition. ...

Libria is governed by the Tetragrammaton Council, which is led by a reclusive figurehead known as "Father". Father never interacts with anyone outside the ruling council, but his image is omnipresent throughout the city in a strong cult of personality. The Tetragrammaton Council strives to create identical lives for all Librians, and uses its police state apparatus to enforce unity and conformity. The procedure for dealing with criminals is well-established in Libria - "processing" and trial pursued via the Palace of Justice, prior to terminating enemies of the state in furnaces. At the pinnacle of Librian law-enforcement are the Grammaton Clerics, a special order of police trained in the deadly martial art of Gun Kata, an art which teaches users to predict the actions of opponents during firearm combat. The Clerics exist for the purpose of locating and destroying EC-10 materials, and for pursuing, apprehending, and, if necessary, terminating "sense-offenders" - people guilty of feeling emotions. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Yahweh. ... Billboard of Joseph Stalin. ... A police state is a political condition where the government maintains strict control over society, particularly through suspension of civil rights and often with the use of a force of secret police. ... Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... Gun Kata is a fictional firearm-based martial art, seen in the films Equilibrium (2002) and Ultraviolet (2006). ...

Despite the efforts of the police and Clerics, a resistance movement exists in Libria, known as "The Underground". Members of this movement believe that war and crime are a small price to pay in order to experience human emotions, and consequently they are responsible for terrorist activity against Libria, targeted specifically against the Prozium factories. The leaders of the Underground believe that if they can disrupt the production and distribution of Prozium for a short period of time - even a single day - then the Librians will rise up and destroy the Tetragrammaton Council. The Underground operates within Libria itself, but also has contact with resistance groups residing in "The Nethers" - the ruins of cities destroyed during World War III. These outsiders hoard objects and artifacts from the old society before World War III, including art and literature. Subsequently, they are the targets of Librian death squads composed of police and Clerics. Olivia Amador ... Terrorist redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The film's protagonist, Grammaton Cleric First Class John Preston, is Libria's highest ranking Cleric, whose success stems from his intuitive ability to identify sense-offenders. After a raid on a group of resistance members in The Nethers (which ends with the destruction of the Mona Lisa), Preston notices that his partner, Grammaton Cleric First Class Errol Partridge, has personally taken a copy of the poems of Yeats under false pretenses. Preston discovers that Partridge has not turned the book over for destruction, so follows him to a ruined cathedral in the Nethers, where Partridge talks of the loss of everything that makes them human, most notably the right to experience emotions. When Preston argues that emotions lead to jealousy, hatred, and destruction, Partridge admits that it is a heavy price to pay, but one worth paying. Partridge then reaches for his gun forcing Preston to shoot him. Shortly afterwards, Preston accidentally breaks the vial of his morning dose of Prozium, and begins to experience emotions. This is a screenshot of a copyrighted movie or television program. ... This is a screenshot of a copyrighted movie or television program. ... Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda (La Joconde), is a 16th-century oil painting on poplar wood by Leonardo da Vinci, and is arguably the most famous painting in the world. ... A 1907 engraving of Yeats. ...

Preston is assigned a new partner, the career-conscious Brandt, who claims to have similarly perceptive abilities in identifying sense offenders. Following a standard police raid on Mary O'Brien, a Librian woman who has stopped taking Prozium, his emotional confusion is exacerbated during her interrogation. Subsequent attacks and raids into the Nethers expose Preston to illegal objects salvaged from the ruined cities. His fledgling emotions are further stimulated by seeing the sunrise over the skyscrapers of Libria, and hearing the music of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (first movement). He first acts out of emotion when he makes an excuse not to execute a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy in the Nethers. Preston has by now ceased taking Prozium, and is forced to try and maintain his monotone and emotionless facade in front of his son and the increasingly suspicious Brandt. Over the course of the film, Preston's behavior increasingly mirrors that of Partridge in the beginning, even to the point of repeated dialogue. The Symphony No. ... The Bernese Mountain Dog (also called Berner Sennenhund or Bouvier Bernois) is a versatile farm dog originating in the canton of Berne in Switzerland. ...

Soon, Preston is involved in increasingly illegal activities, including regular visits to the Nethers. During one such visit to return the puppy he rescued, he is forced to kill several Librian policemen. Because of the deaths of these policemen the Tetragrammaton Council steps up its war against the Underground, mounting more raids and ordering that unidentified persons found in the Nethers are "subject to summary destruction". Brandt, having seen Preston re-arranging his desk (signalling a dislike of conformity) and attempting to save resistance members during a raid in the Nethers, becomes suspicious, and before long Preston is summoned before Vice-Counsel DuPont, a high-ranking member of the Tetragrammaton Council. Preston explains that he is attempting to infiltrate the Resistance in order to destroy it. DuPont tells him that he has heard rumors of a cleric attempting to join the Resistance (a reference to Preston's own unreported activities), and Preston promises to find this traitor. Preston unwittingly makes contact with the Underground, who inform him that they have been watching his progress for some time. He agrees to assassinate Father, an act which will create enough confusion for the Underground to detonate bombs in Libria's Prozium factories and hopefully bring down the Tetragrammaton Council. However, after watching the execution of Mary O'Brien in Libria's furnaces, Preston weeps uncontrollably, and, during this clear demonstration of strong emotion, he is arrested for sense-offense by Brandt.

Brandt brings Preston before DuPont, claiming that he has captured the traitor and accusing Preston of not taking Prozium, killing a police patrol in the Nethers, and conspiring with the Underground to assassinate Father and destroy the Council. Preston, however, turns the tables on Brandt. During a previous raid in the Nethers, Preston secretly swapped guns with Brandt, and so informs the Council that the policemen were killed with the weapon currently in Brandt's possession. Brandt realizes that he has been set up and tries to inform DuPont, but is taken away for trial and execution on the orders of DuPont. Apparently cleared, Preston is released. He returns home to destroy his stashed Prozium before a police patrol finds it, and is confronted by his young son. Preston fears that his son will betray him to the police for not taking Prozium, but he in fact reveals to Preston that he and his sister have not taken Prozium for some time, and has already hidden his cache of Prozium. Relieved, Preston goes ahead with his plan. As part of an elaborate plot formed with the Underground, the leaders of the Resistance turn themelves in to Preston, who persuades DuPont to grant him an audience with Father, during which he intends to assassinate Father and spark off a general uprising against the Librian government. assassin, see Assassin (disambiguation) Jack Ruby assassinated Lee Harvey Oswald in a very public manner. ...

Preston arrives at the seat of the Librian government for his audience with Father, and is advised that as a security measure, he is to have no weapons in Father's presence and is required to take a lie detector test, which he had first encountered with the Underground. His emotions are picked up by the lie detector, and it is soon revealed that Preston has been tricked. Via a telescreen, Father speaks to Preston, revealing that he has been aware of Preston's sense-offense, and has staged Brandt's arrest in order to lull Preston into a false sense of security and allow him to think that his assassination scheme can go ahead. Thus, Preston has been tricked into handing over Libria's enemies whilst simultaneously walking right into Brandt's trap. Preston, defeated, asks Father how he was aware of the plot. The face on the telescreen changes, revealing the face of Vice-Council DuPont, who explains that the real Father died years ago, and that the Tetragrammaton Council elected DuPont as the new Head of State. He has simply used the image of Father as a political figurehead. This is a screenshot of a copyrighted movie or television program. ... This is a screenshot of a copyrighted movie or television program. ... A polygraph or lie detector is a device which measures and records several physiological variables such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiration and skin conductivity while a series of questions is being asked, in an attempt to detect lies. ... Assassin and Targeted killing redirect here. ...

Preston, however, immediately regains control of his spiralling emotions and, using pistols that he has sneaked in beneath his ceremonial uniform, kills the guards surrounding him. He makes his way through the corridors of the Tetragrammaton Headquarters, killing several dozen guards, until he encounters DuPont and Brandt at DuPont's office, a richly decorated room which reveals that Libria's ruling elite are sense offenders themselves. A swordfight ensues in which Preston quickly dispatches DuPont's elite bodyguards and finally Brandt himself. Preston and DuPont engage in a final hand-to-hand gun-kata duel with pistols, and Preston eventually manages to disarm DuPont. Weaponless, DuPont tries to bargain for his life with Preston, arguing that Preston, a human being with emotions, cannot kill him, another human being with emotions. He asks if it is a price worth paying. Remembering Mary's execution, Preston replies that it is, and shoots DuPont. Preston then destroys the telescreen propaganda machines which broadcast across Libria, and the device which projects stunningly realistic holographic images of Father. Realizing that the Tetragrammaton Council is faced with a crisis, the Underground detonates bombs in Libria's Prozium factories. A pistol is a usually small, projectile weapon, normally fired with one hand. ... An Australian anti-conscription propaganda poster from World War One Propaganda is a specific type of message presentation directly aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of people, rather than impartially providing information. ... This article is about the photographic technique. ...

The film ends from different views - Preston's son smiling from his school desk as the Prozium factories explode, Preston's daughter playing at home with the rescued puppy while the telescreens shut down, the leaders of the Underground cheering at their execution as they hear the bombs explode across Libria, and Preston permits himself a rare smile, watching through the windows of DuPont's office as the citizens of Libria riot in the streets, slaughtering police and clerics, signalling the collapse of the Tetragrammaton Council.

Gun Kata

Gun Kata is a fictional gun-fighting martial art discipline that is a significant part of the film. It is based upon the premise that, given the positions of the participants in a gun battle, the trajectories of fire are statistically predictable. By pure memorization of the positions, one can fire at the most likely location of an enemy without aiming at him / her in the traditional sense of pointing a gun at a specific target. By the same token, the trajectories of incoming fire are also statistically predictable, so by assuming the appropriate stance one can keep one's body clear of the most likely path of enemy bullets. Gun Kata is a fictional firearm-based martial art, seen in the films Equilibrium (2002) and Ultraviolet (2006). ... Download high resolution version (1620x689, 273 KB)(Gun Kata montage from the 2002 film, Equilibrium This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... Download high resolution version (1620x689, 273 KB)(Gun Kata montage from the 2002 film, Equilibrium This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ...

The Gun Kata shown in Equilibrium is a hybrid mix of Kurt Wimmer's own style of Gun Kata (which he invented in his backyard) and the martial arts style of the choreographer. They disagreed on the appropriate form of Gun Kata, with Kurt Wimmer advocating a more smooth, flowing style and the choreographer supporting a more rigid style. Much of the Gun Kata seen in the movie is based on the choreographer's style (movements are rigid and rapid). Kurt Wimmer's Gun Kata is dispersed sparsely throughout the movie, most notably in the intro scene with the silhouetted man (played by Wimmer himself) practicing with dual pistols. Wimmer's intended form of Gun Kata can be better seen in Ultraviolet. Ultraviolet is a 2006 science fiction/action film. ...

Fictional references

Equilibrium contains many references to similar works of dystopian fiction, most notably George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, Ira Levin's This Perfect Day, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, The Wachowski Brothers' The Matrix Series and George Lucas' THX 1138. However, unlike unsuccessful protagonists such as Winston Smith of Nineteen Eighty-Four, John Preston emerges triumphant, overthrowing Father and bringing Tetragrammaton rule to an end. Eric Arthur Blair (June 25, 1903[1][2] â€“ January 21, 1950), better known by the pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist. ... Nineteen Eighty-Four (commonly abbreviated to 1984) is a dystopian novel by the English writer George Orwell, first published by Secker and Warburg in 1949. ... Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 â€“ November 22, 1963) was an English writer who emigrated to the United States, living in Los Angeles until his death in 1963. ... Original book cover of Brave New World. ... Ira Levin (born August 27, 1929 in New York) is an American novelist, playwright and songwriter. ... This Perfect Day (1970), by Ira Levin, is a heroic science-fiction novel of a technocratic dystopia. ... Ray Douglas Bradbury (born August 22, 1920) is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer best known for The Martian Chronicles, a 1950 book which has been described both as a short story collection and a novel, and his 1953 dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451. ... This article is about the novel. ... Laurence Larry Wachowski (born June 21, 1965) and Andrew Andy Wachowski (born December 29, 1967) are American film directors and writers most famous for the Matrix series. ... The Matrix series consists primarily of three films, The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. ... George Walton Lucas, Jr. ... THX 1138 was George Lucas first full length movie. ... Peter Cushing as Winston Smith in the 1954 BBC Television adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four, with Donald Pleasence as Syme. ...

Similarities to other Dystopian Fiction

Like Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Matrix, and Brave New World, Equilibrium takes place in the near future following a catastrophic war. Nineteen Eighty-Four imagines worldwide revolutions and civil wars in the aftermath of the Second World War, which ultimately lead to the creation of three equally powerful hyperstates and the nightmare society of the novel. The Matrix takes place after a devastating war with the machine state of Zero One. The society of Brave New World is closest to that of Equilibrium - both imagine devastating wars in the near future, the apocalyptic results of which oblige world leaders to sweep away the past and create a new society in which people live. In Brave New World, the World Controllers eliminate war by uniting the planet as one country - The World State. In Equilibrium, the Tetragrammaton Council eliminates war by forcibly suppressing emotions. The existence of other states in Equilibrium is a matter of debate. In the world of the Matrix, the entire world is in darkness (see Operation Dark Storm) and ruins after the war, except for the machine city, where humans are kept in pods to be used as a power source. The world of Nineteen Eighty-Four is divided into the three hyperstates of Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia, along with a disputed zone used as a battlefield. Apart from the divide between the city of Libria and The Nethers, Equilibrium never reveals whether there are other states in the world. A globe (with distorted tectonic plates) in Vice Council DuPont's office suggests that Libria encompasses the entire planet, but this suspicion is neither confirmed nor denied. It has been suggested that Revolutionary be merged into this article or section. ... List of civil wars List of divided nations List of fictional wars (including fictional civil wars) Wars of national liberation The Logic of Violence in Civil War What makes a civil war? The Wars of the Roses Information about the English civil war fought between 1455 and 1487. ... Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into The Second Renaissance. ... The tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the second half of the 20th century. ...

The four works also share similarities in their portrayal of the past. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, the IngSoc government teaches a severely distorted version of history, and keeps changing this version to fit in with ongoing events, so that the government can never be wrong. However, some members of the government are aware of actual historical events, but it can never be established just how distorted their version of events is. In the Matrix humans are told the world is in the year 1999 instead of the real time (which is some time after 2199). In Brave New World, the World Controllers deliberately keep people from learning of past events by suppressing all historical information and conditioning people to not ask about the past. The only people with any real knowledge of history are the ten World Controllers, who keep their knowledge from others.

In terms of the protagonists, the Equilibrium's cleric John Preston is most similar to Fahrenheit 451's fireman Guy Montag who both seek out and destroy works of art and literature through incineration.

Drug use

The use of sedatives to keep society calm and placated is a central theme in Equilibrium, Brave New World, This Perfect Day and THX 1138. In Brave New World, citizens take regular doses of the drug soma, taken in tablet form, which makes users sedate and mindlessly happy. Similarly, in This Perfect Day, the members of society undergo regular injected "treatments" which keep them docile, obedient, and emotionally sedated. Soma was the inspiration for both THX 1138's emotion-suppressing pills and Equilibrium's "Prozium" (a portmanteau of Prozac and Valium), an injected drug which serves the same purpose. A sedative is a drug that depresses the central nervous system (CNS), which causes calmness, relaxation, reduction of anxiety, sleepiness, slowed breathing, slurred speech, staggering gait, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes. ... The term Soma was used in Aldous Huxleys novel Brave New World (1932) in which it describes a mass-produced drug. ... Look up Portmanteau word in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Background Fluoxetine hydrochloride (brand names include Prozac®, Symbyax® (compounded with olanzapine), Sarafem®, Fontex® (Sweden), Fluctine (Austria, Germany), Prodep (India), Fludac (India)) is an antidepressant drug used medically in the treatment of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia nervosa, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and many other disorders. ... Diazepam, brand names: Valium, Seduxen, in Europe Apozepam, is a 1,4-benzodiazepine derivative, which possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties. ...

Living standard

The standard of living is relatively similar in Brave New World, This Perfect Day and Equilibrium. Whilst the characters of Nineteen Eighty-Four live squalid, diseased and materially deprived lives, the citizens of Brave New World, This Perfect Day and Equilibrium enjoy clean, comfortable lives with plenty of everything. However, those citizens living outside of the city, in the ruined cities of "The Nethers", seem to live much harsher lives than the inhabitants of Libria. A distinction is drawn in psychological terms - those living in Libria indeed have plenty of everything, but their homes, clothes, possessions and lifestyles are inevitably monotone and dull. Those living in The Nethers live harsher lives, but have access to a wide range of artifacts from the old society. This also parallels Brave New World, as the reservations that the American Indians live on are also much harsher, but more spiritually rich, as well as This Perfect Day, as the islands that the incurables live on are culturally rich and diverse in other important ways. There are however some similarities between the population of "The Nethers" and the "Proles" of Nineteen Eighty-Four. The Standard of living refers to the quality and quantity of goods and services available to people and the way these services and goods are distributed within a population. ...

Surveillance

The surveillance society of Nineteen Eighty-Four is replicated in the film. The two-way telescreens of Nineteen Eighty-Four are a feature of Libria (although it is not known whether every telescreen is two-way, or only the screen used to ensnare Preston in the government headquarters; furthermore, it's possible that none of the screens are two-way. DuPont could simply have pre-recorded the dialogue shown to Preston, comfortable in the knowledge that the former Cleric would be captured). In both stories, the telescreens serve to broadcast propaganda, but those of Nineteen Eighty-Four also allow the thought-police to watch people at leisure. Another difference is in the content of the telescreen broadcasts: the screens of Nineteen Eighty-Four broadcast news reports on the endless war, lists of condemned criminals, and falsified historical information, while those of Equilibrium display genuine historical information and explanations of Tetragrammaton doctrine read by Father. Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior. ...

Surveillance is also carried out by the numerous stormtroopers spread throughout the city. During the scene where Father first introduces Prozium, a crowd of Librians can be seen passing by several stationed stormtroopers on the street. Some stormtroopers are accompanied by a young cleric-trainee, who occasionally notifies them of potential sense-offenders walking amongst the crowd.

Librians can also report any acts of sense-offense they have seen, as shown by Preston's son's decision to report his classmate. This effectively forms a city-wide Neighborhood Watch-like surveillance system that can be cruelly effective. This article is about the local crime prevention organization. ...

Class system

Equilibrium appears to borrow Brave New World's theme of a strict class structure. In Brave New World, citizens of different classes are distinguished by the color of their clothes, a theme which appears in Equilibrium. A scene of Librian citizens watching Father on a telescreen clearly shows the watchers divided into rows according to the color and quality of their clothes. This is a screenshot of a copyrighted movie or television program. ... This is a screenshot of a copyrighted movie or television program. ...

Father

Contrary to popular belief, the figure of Father was not intended as a direct reference to Nineteen Eighty-Four's Big Brother. Director Kurt Wimmer disputes this notion in the DVD commentary of Equilibrium, stating that the character of Father is a reference to religious themes that resonate throughout the film. ^[4] A closer match to the intent of Equilibrium is the manner in which the founders of Christ, Marx, Wood and Wei are foci of worship-like activity in Levin's This Perfect Day. Father with child Daddy and Fatherhood redirect here. ... Big Brother as portrayed in the BBCs 1954 production of Nineteen Eighty-Four. ... This page is about the title or the Divine Person. For the Christian figure, see Jesus. ... Marx is a common German surname. ...

Fighting Style

The film's fight sequences have been described as very similar to The Matrix series. This is inaccurate. Whereas The Matrix series makes extensive use of wire work, with the characters performing superhuman feats, Equilibrium uses no wires. Equilibrium also does not use the bullet time effect employed in The Matrix. Equilibrium's Gun Kata does not appear in The Matrix. The Matrix series consists primarily of three films, The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. ... Wire fu is an action film genre in which the actors use wire-work to perform amazing stunts. ... Bullet-time is a concept introduced in recent films and computer games whereby the passage of time is slowed down so that an observer can see individual bullets flying throughout the scene at a conceivable rate, usually with their trails made visible. ...

Trivia

The Beretta 92 (also Beretta 96 and Beretta 98) is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. ... The Walther WA 2000 bullpup sniper rifle was designed by the Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen company from the ground up as a specialised police sniper rifle as opposed to being an adaptation from an existing rifle. ... The M40, United States Marine Corps standard-issue sniper rifle Sniper rifle is a term most frequently applied to rifles used by military or law enforcement to ensure accurate placement of shots at greater ranges than other small arms. ... The Cadillac Seville was a mid-size luxury sedan manufactured by General Motors Cadillac division from 1975 to 2004. ... Chlordiazepoxide (marketed under the trade name LibriumÂ®) is a hypnotic drug which is a benzodiazepine derivative. ... Look up Portmanteau word in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Background Fluoxetine hydrochloride (brand names include Prozac®, Symbyax® (compounded with olanzapine), Sarafem®, Fontex® (Sweden), Fluctine (Austria, Germany), Prodep (India), Fludac (India)) is an antidepressant drug used medically in the treatment of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia nervosa, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and many other disorders. ... Diazepam, brand names: Valium, Seduxen, in Europe Apozepam, is a 1,4-benzodiazepine derivative, which possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties. ... In filmmaking, dubbing is the process of recording or replacing voices for a motion picture. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Yahweh. ... A Greek cross (all arms of equal length) above a saltire, a cross rotated by 45 degrees For other uses, see Cross (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Cross-Potent-Heraldry. ... The swastika (from Sanskrit , from su well, and asti being, thus good fortune or well-being) is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles in either left-facing () or right-facing () direction. ... The movements flag. ... Photos of a genocide victims on display at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum The Khmer Rouge (Khmer: ) was the extremist Communist organization that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. ... Original book cover of Brave New World. ...

Cast

Christian Charles Philip Bale (also known professionally as Christian Morgan Bale; born January 30, 1974) is a British [1] actor. ... John Preston is a fictional character in the 2002 movie Equilibrium. ... Shaun Mark Bean (born 17 April 1959) is an English film and stage actor from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. ... Emily Watson Emily Anita Watson (born January 14, 1967) is an English actress best known for her acclaimed debut performance in Lars von Triers Breaking the Waves. ... Taye Diggs in the 1999 film House on Haunted Hill Taye Diggs (born Scott Diggs on January 2, 1972) is an American theatre, film and television actor. ... Angus Macfadyen (born September 21, 1963 in Glasgow) is a Scottish actor. ... Sean Pertwee (born June 4, 1964) is a British actor. ... Willaim Fichtner as Sully in The Perfect Storm William Fichtner (born November 27, 1956 in East Meadow, New York) is an American actor. ... Haakon Domninic Myrvedt mostly known as Dominic Purcell [1] (born February 17, 1970 in London, England) is an British-born Australian actor most active in the United States. ...

References

^ Equilibrium (HTML). Rotten Tomatoes (n.d.). Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
^ Equilibrium DVD: Cubic (HTML). JDF. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.
^ Equilibrium Not 451 Redux (HTML). SciFi.com (2002-11-27). Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
^ Transcription by ChronosX (n.d.). Equilibrium Commentary: 9. Doubting Father? (HTML). JDF. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
^ Trivia for Equilibrium (2002) (HTML). Internet Movie Database Inc. (n.d.). Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
^ Transcription by JenGe (n.d.). Equilibrium Commentary: 2. An Unfeeling Society (HTML). JDF. Retrieved on 2006-09-15.
^ Equilibrium Body Count (HTML). Movie Body Counts (n.d.). Retrieved on 2006-09-15.

2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ...

External links

Image File history File links Wikiquote-logo-en. ... Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ...

Fansites

Official sites

Categories: Articles lacking sources | All articles lacking sources | 2002 films | Cult science fiction films | Dystopian films | Post-apocalyptic science fiction films | Films shot in Super 35 | Dystopian fiction Gun Kata is a fictional firearm-based martial art, seen in the films Equilibrium (2002) and Ultraviolet (2006). ... Kurt Wimmer is an American screenwriter and film director. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2002. ... // Please note that following the tradition of the English language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the United States and Canada in 2006; because they may have made most of their income in a later year, they may not be the top-grossing... Ultraviolet is a 2006 science fiction/action film. ... John Preston is a fictional character in the 2002 movie Equilibrium. ... Milla Jovovich as Violet Song jat Shariff. ...