Telluride Film Festival screens 'Gravity'

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the esteemed Telluride Film Festival. It's a movie fest that's hosted several recent Academy Award-winning movies, most recently last year's Best Picture, Argo. I've been following developments at Telluride pretty closely, and it seems that several heavy hitting films are poised to do very, very well this upcoming awards season, especially Gravity.

The Alfonso Cuaron-directed thriller Gravity generated hugely positive reviews at the Telluride Film Festival and at the Venice Film Festival, where it premiered a few days ago. Telluride marked the first time Gravity played stateside. Gravity stars George Clooney and Sandra Bullock as two astronauts who literally get lost in space. If you haven't seen the trailer for Gravity, you should:

GRAVITY - "Detached" Official Trailer #2 (2013) [HD] George Clooney, Sandra Bullock

I might need Dramamine to see this one, especially since it's being released in 3D and IMAX. The visuals look stunning, and no doubt the acting is first rate with the likes of Clooney and Bullock on board. This trailer is just very hard to watch but wow, right?

After seeing this trailer again, and realizing that some of the Venice Film Festival reviews included words like "nerve-shredding" and "daring," I for one can't wait to see Gravity when it opens in October. Reviews for the Gravity premiere at Telluride were equally as glowing, if not more so. Anytime you see these kinds of consistently crazy-good reviews, you should pay attention. Here's just an example, in Scott Feinberg's review from Telluride of Gravity:

It may sound hyperbolic, but Gravity is truly one of the most visually magnificent films that I have ever seen. It creates a sense of genuine majesty and wonder about space and space travel that has long been absent from the big screen. Indeed, I imagine that the experience of watching it is akin only to the experience that I've often heard described of seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars during their initial runs.

Feinberg goes on to say that he would be "shocked" if Gravity didn't snag multiple Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture, Original Screenplay, Cinematography and a Best Actress nomination for Sandra Bullock). As I said, I've really been following these festivals to confirm what I'd hoped: That Alfonso Cuaron has made a true masterpiece.

October 4, 2013: Mark that date on your calendars, movie fans, because on that day we'll all get to finally see what all this fuss is about.

Photo courtesy of FilmoFilia.com