All Is LostTwo years ago, JC Chandor's first feature film Margin Call did the unthinkable. It humanized the people responsible for the banking disaster of 2008. His second feature, the devastatingly titled All Is Lost, attempts an even more outlandish filmmaking feat. It's a dialogue-free, yet entirely gripping story of a single character, masterfully played by Robert Redford, who is marooned at sea when his boat is irreparably damaged by a stray shipping container. What's even more impressive, from a technical filmmaking standpoint, is that most of the effects in this epic survival tale were accomplished practically. Here's a brief look at how it all came together.

Before we get to the behind-the-scenes, here's the trailer for All Is Lost, as well as a brief video about what Chandor was trying to accomplish with this film:


It's clear that the immediate story and tone of All Is Lost demand a sense of immaculate realism from the myriad special effects that were necessary to make this film. For that reason, a good portion of these effects were shot practically with several different boats and a hell of a lot of water.

Here's are two behind-the-scenes looks at All Is Lost. The first comes courtesy of Yahoo Movies, and the second comes from HitFix.

In the past week, we've talked extensively about CGI-driven filmmaking versus practical filmmaking, and whether or not the former is supplanting the latter in the modern filmmaking landscape. There seemed to be a consensus that computer-driven filmmaking was the future, whether we like it or not. Films like All Is Lost, however, prove that practical effects still have a place in the future of filmmaking because they have the ability to provide a sense of immediacy that is simply not able to be captured through CGI.

What do you guys think? Have you seen All Is Lost yet, and if so, did its use of practical effects serve the story and the style of filmmaking? Let us know down in the comments!

[via Filmmaker, HitFix & Yahoo Movies]