On first viewing, I found THE FUGITIVE (1993) to be a slick mid-'90s thriller. A larger-than-life story of the wrongfully convicted man-on-the-run, hellbent on proving his innocence and bringing his wife's killer to justice. But the DVD audio commentary by director Andrew Davis greatly enhanced my appreciation of the film.
What's most impressive is the amount of dialogue that was ad-libbed, particularly by Tommy Lee Jones and his posse of U.S. Marshals. In order to produce a sense of spontaneity, the actors were encouraged to understand their characters' motivations and then work out their lines together on-set, instead of adhering strictly to the written script. This allowed the actors to make the characters their own and made the interplay more natural. This surely contributed to Tommy Lee Jones's Oscar victory for his colorful performance.
The production also strove for realism wherever possible. For the train crash scene, they crashed a full-size train. Director Andrew Davis, a Chicago native, made use of authentic Chicago locations. He snuck footage during the real Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade and opted to use a real office interior, with a real view of the city, rather than a phony backdrop. Tommy Lee Jones rode in a real helicopter and Harrison Ford drove a real ambulance. Movie-making is all about storytelling and filmmakers work hard to create illusions. Nowadays it's possible to do anything using digital special effects. So it's impressive to see a big action thriller like THE FUGITIVE make the movie "for real".
What's most impressive is the amount of dialogue that was ad-libbed, particularly by Tommy Lee Jones and his posse of U.S. Marshals. In order to produce a sense of spontaneity, the actors were encouraged to understand their characters' motivations and then work out their lines together on-set, instead of adhering strictly to the written script. This allowed the actors to make the characters their own and made the interplay more natural. This surely contributed to Tommy Lee Jones's Oscar victory for his colorful performance.
The production also strove for realism wherever possible. For the train crash scene, they crashed a full-size train. Director Andrew Davis, a Chicago native, made use of authentic Chicago locations. He snuck footage during the real Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade and opted to use a real office interior, with a real view of the city, rather than a phony backdrop. Tommy Lee Jones rode in a real helicopter and Harrison Ford drove a real ambulance. Movie-making is all about storytelling and filmmakers work hard to create illusions. Nowadays it's possible to do anything using digital special effects. So it's impressive to see a big action thriller like THE FUGITIVE make the movie "for real".