Oct 192014
 
Strangers on a Train 3 - Murder

— “Truffaut said that Hitchcock filmed lovemaking as if it was murder, and filmed murder as if it was lovemaking.” I have posted my third commentary about Alfred Hitchcock‘s brilliant film, Strangers on a Train. My first post discussed the opening sequence, comparing the shooting script to the film, and Truffaut’s vision of Hitchcock as [...]

Sep 032014
 
Timelapse of REAR WINDOW

— Jeff Desom’s methodical assembly of all the shots of the courtyard in Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece is an extraordinary piece of storyboarding. You get to see all the different homes and stories that make up the courtyard, and to see the plot unfold. Desom actually used this footage to create a 20-minute 3-projector looping video [...]

Sep 022014
 
PASOLINI by Ferrara - 2 Trailers

___ Abel Ferrara offers a film about Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini starring Willem Dafoe in the title role. The film focuses on the end of his life and his mysterious murder. I wonder whether the film can do justice to the complex genius of the poet, filmmaker, artist. I hope it’s better than Welcome [...]

Jul 282014
 
Interview with Harris Savides: The Filmmaking Process

– I posted an interview I did 7 years ago with the late, great cinematographer Harris Savides about the filmmaking process with director Gus van Sant for their masterful Death Trilogy: Gerry, Elephant, Last Days. The post is on my blog on theasc.com. Here’s an excerpt: BB: And for you as a cinematographer, does freedom [...]

Jul 172014
 
- Trailer for MOMMY by Xavier Dolan

— Xavier Dolan’s film is about a flamboyant mother who home-schools her turbulent teenage son with the help of school teacher neighbor. This inventive feature was shot on 35mm film in the unusual 1:1 format by André Turpin. Dolan’s film shared the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival with Jean-Luc Godard’s 3D film, Goodbye [...]

Apr 202014
 
Pasolini Easter

Images from the the last 4 minutes of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1964 masterpiece “The Gospel According to Saint Matthew”. The sequence starts with the descent of Christ’s body from the cross, his burial, & the subsequent visit to an empty tomb. The film ends with Jesus telling the disciples that he will always be with [...]

Mar 192014
 
Nymphomaniac Vol 1 - Forget about Sex

To be honest, I had been avoiding seeing Nymphomaniac Volume I by Lars von Trier. It felt like homework I had to do. Don’t get me wrong, I love sexuality as a filmmaking subject, in part because it is so difficult to do well. I feel that the 2 most difficult cinema subjects are sex [...]