Notes On Cinematograph: Shots

Showing posts with label Shots. Show all posts

Thursday 3 March 2011

Kazan: Claustrophobia, Alienation, Desire

Eight shots from a life in exile

America, America

A tree grows in Brooklyn

East of Eden

Panic in the streets

On the waterfront

Wild River

East of Eden

Boomerang

Thursday 23 December 2010

Poetics of Space#5: A Hopper Connection

Still:

House by the Railroad (1925)
Edward Hopper

Motion:
Days of Heaven (1978)
directed by Terence Malick, photography by Néstor Almendros (and Haskell Wexler)

and

Psycho (1960)
directed by Alfred Hitchcock, photography by John L. Russell

Friday 19 November 2010

And Before Frank Miller There Was Karel Zeman

The Fabulous Baron Munchausen

Last Week I watched two of the visually most beautiful fantasy films of my life. Two works from the Czech master of animator/live film, Karel Zeman (1910-89). His style is consists of using amazing painted sets in the style of Victorian illustrations (Wikipedia names Gustave Doré as a influence - That's partially true), and the live actors who wander through animated settings. This impressive combination of live and dead, reality and fantasy, still and motion, makes his dreamlike images closest thing to a Georges Mélièsian concept of film as a fulfillment of dreams and unconsciousness.

In 1955 Zeman made his first film combining live actors, animation, and special effects, Journey to Prehistory. Three years later, he released his masterpiece The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (1958), opening a new world of possibilities that he explored in his other adaptations of Jules Verne novels — Stolen Airship (1966) and Off on the Comet (1968) - and classic stories such as The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (1961), and many more. The great success of these science fiction and fantasy features is a tribute to Zeman’s sense of humor and storytelling abilities, as well as his technique and originality. Though most of Zeman’s films are meant for children, they possess a sophisticated wit and visual style that enchants adults as well.

And yes, before Frank Miller and his black and white noirish drawings with a touch of red, there was Karel Zeman. To make sure, take a look at these shots from Stolen Airship, 1966, and see how mature, how impressive and how stylish is his style!

Monday 8 November 2010

Guns & Alleys: Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)

shots from Pete Kelly's Blues, a mini-masterpiece, produced, directed and starred
by Jack Webb. cinematography Harold Rosson

Saturday 6 November 2010

Gérard Philipe's Last Close-Ups

Gérard Philipe's last close-ups, short before his sudden death.
The film is Les Liaisons dangereuses (Roger Vadim, 1959)

Cinematography by Marcel Grignon

Tuesday 2 November 2010

Brilliant Corners: Shots From An Unfinished Video Essay

Shots from my yet untitled/unfinished video essay about film culture in Iran.

Saturday 30 October 2010

Ernest Laszlo/Robert Aldrich#1

The two shots below are a sample of one of the greatest artistic achievements in American cinema. An outcome of a long and celebrated collaboration between director Robert Aldrich and cinematographer Ernest Laszlo. Their collective work includes:

Four westerns - Apache (1954), Vera Cruz (1954), The Last Sunset (1961) and 4 for Texas (1963).

Two film noir: Kiss Me Deadly (1955), The Big Knife (1955).

And a drama about six German veterans who take on the task of disposing of unexploded bombs in the ruins of post-war country in Ten Seconds to Hell (1959)

In a series of posts we're going to examine the visual elements of these seven films and the role of Laszlo in defining the cinema of Robert Aldrich.

The Last Sunset (1961)

Wednesday 6 October 2010

In Memory of Arthur Penn (1922-2010)

Three shots from Micky One (1965), directed by Arthur Penn, cinematography by Ghislain Cloquet

يادداشتي كه به مناسبت مرگ آرتور پن نوشته‌ام را در شماره آينده (آبان) ماهنامه فيلم بخوانيد. به اضافه يادداشتي درباره ميكي وان در همان شماره و در صفحه بازخواني‌ها.