This film was as much fun making as it'll be for you to watch. It's a fast moving powerful story that will have you guessing right up to the big BANG ending! Sledge was originally done as an 'improv' with guide lines set up for the actors to follow. Fast forward to Sledge of today. Ben Fiore took the already powerful story, crafted it with his touch and kept the original guidelines in mind. At the end of the day, it was better then the original. On production: Sledge cost, overall, ready for this......$50! And that was on food for the crew. How did we do this? I knew the Cinematographer and all of the actors personally, so they all agreed to work for free! The warehouse is owned by a relative. And the rest is all hard work. It was shot in 12 hours and edited & scored within 6 days.....Sit back and Enjoy!!
2 Reviews
This one's a good ride
booster_shoes4 March 2005
I saw this film last year at the Coney Island Film Festival in Brooklyn, New York with some friends. Even though the amateur 10-star self-plug in the "User Comments" by the director is cute, I can say that this film is actually an interesting and gripping mini-story about a washed-up an old con man trying to make a last-hoorah score versus a clutch of local gangsters. The con man unknowingly steps on the gangsters' toes in the process and the story quickly runs from there.
I would equate the story's tempo to being dropped into a roller-coaster car just as it starts down the first drop...it has the ups and downs. Instead of turns, there are a couple sudden twists and, finally, an abrupt end that leaves one wide-eyed, excitedly thinking, "Man, that was fast." The script was well thought out. Riveting dialog at a steadfast pace. The story had me sweating, almost as if I was in the story, myself, witnessing it first-hand.
The cinematography was pretty tight, as well. I liked the black and white look of the film.
The editing, though, could have been tighter and a bit more creative. There's also a point in the film where one of the gangsters gets a call on his cell phone and the cell phone rings with a digitized rendition of the theme from "The Godfather"...definitely a bad choice of sound effects, I thought. That sound effect immediately diffused the tension that was built into the story, making myself and the audience chuckle out loud the seemingly "wanna-be" gangster character. Up to that point all of these thugs were believably intimidating. It took some effort on my part to get back into the momentum of the story, but I managed to do it before the story ended.
The acting was generally good, but I get the feeling that the actors directed themselves. The head gangster was overacting a bit and came off a bit comical. Good thing the actors had an idea where to stop.
I have to say that there was a lot of trash shown that day at the festival, where the audience noisy, inattentive, uninterested. When this film came on, almost immediately, one could here a pin drop with the audience's "ooh's", "ah's", and a couple of "oh, s**t's" where they seemed to correctly belonged.
It definitely got the attention of my friends and I.
I would equate the story's tempo to being dropped into a roller-coaster car just as it starts down the first drop...it has the ups and downs. Instead of turns, there are a couple sudden twists and, finally, an abrupt end that leaves one wide-eyed, excitedly thinking, "Man, that was fast." The script was well thought out. Riveting dialog at a steadfast pace. The story had me sweating, almost as if I was in the story, myself, witnessing it first-hand.
The cinematography was pretty tight, as well. I liked the black and white look of the film.
The editing, though, could have been tighter and a bit more creative. There's also a point in the film where one of the gangsters gets a call on his cell phone and the cell phone rings with a digitized rendition of the theme from "The Godfather"...definitely a bad choice of sound effects, I thought. That sound effect immediately diffused the tension that was built into the story, making myself and the audience chuckle out loud the seemingly "wanna-be" gangster character. Up to that point all of these thugs were believably intimidating. It took some effort on my part to get back into the momentum of the story, but I managed to do it before the story ended.
The acting was generally good, but I get the feeling that the actors directed themselves. The head gangster was overacting a bit and came off a bit comical. Good thing the actors had an idea where to stop.
I have to say that there was a lot of trash shown that day at the festival, where the audience noisy, inattentive, uninterested. When this film came on, almost immediately, one could here a pin drop with the audience's "ooh's", "ah's", and a couple of "oh, s**t's" where they seemed to correctly belonged.
It definitely got the attention of my friends and I.
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