Blu-ray... the '80's...

I've converted to Blu-ray. Not as a religion mind you, but as the format of choice. While DVD's look wonderful on my television, Blu-ray looks quite beautiful and sublime. Like others of my ilk, I am determined to add new discs to my collection and not replace the old ones... wishful thinking.

A few thoughts off the top...

Blade Runner - looks spectacular. The downside... the clarity allows the viewer to 'spot the matte painting'. Yes, the wizard emerges from the curtain occasionally to show itself. Still. Spectacular.

The Shining - that lens is really something else. Thanks to Rob for putting me onto the 'making of'. Intimate and fascinating. I loved the footage of the composer, Wendy Carlos (she invented an instrument for the film!).

The Third Man - The Third Man!

Body Heat - As my friend Ike said - What a debut!

Two films that I hadn't seen and have always wanted to see, 'The Last Emperor' and 'Reds'. I've always wanted to see them but refused to see them on VHS or television as I'm such a big fan of Vittorio Storaro. Storaro deserves blu-ray in the least, projection at the most. I've often criticized the '80's cinema as being commercial and benign yet it's easy to miss some great films being made under the radar. Both of these films have an epic sweep yet both of these films are small and intimate. It isn't something that you would attribute to the '80's at all. The 'masters' were all having a hard time finding financing for personal films as Hollywood made money hand over fist on commercial enterprises. I've wanted to write more on this topic but to be honest haven't quite got my head around it. I watched Coppola's 'Rumble Fish' the other night and was enthralled. It's so daring and original and was received so poorly. The decade seemed to be a cleansing of the 70's director-driven films but often feels like a river of gold where you have to shake the pan to find the nuggets.

Not that I would deride some of the terrific commercial films of the decade. I do love many of them. It just seems like we need to keep a healthy mixture. It is an issue today as the big companies are leaving their Miramax killing divisions behind and focusing again on huge commercial films. 3D, they say, will save the world! Again. The 1950's had the same idea with the advent of television. Spectacle! That's what they want.

There have been plenty of great films made in this decade and we can only hope that the accountants don't give it all away. I do love my blu-ray but I would like to keep watching films that are worthy of the awe.

Everybody wants something...

I found this great diagram in the book 'On Film Making' by Alexander Mackendrick. Mackendrick was the writer and director of 'The Man in the White Suit' and 'The Sweet Smell of Success' as well as the director of 'The Lady Killers' (among others). This book is an absolute gem, brimming with great advice.

Through the diagram you can see how intricately Graham Greene had worked out all of his complex relationships. You also see how contradictions stand to create conflict and a help create a richness of character. In feature films it is difficult to create characters with any degree of depth and that is why Greene wrote his first draft as a novella and then transplanted it into a screenplay.

I was talking with a fellow screenwriter the other day and she was mentioning how novices were lacking a counter theme in their stories. That is to say that their antagonists and secondary characters are lacking a clearly defined goal. If you were to suddenly change the point of view to any of the characters you would see that the film would still work. If you made Anna's story in 'The Third Man' the central story (made her the protagonist) the story still works. It may not be the strongest point of view but in the end it is still functioning.

The Lodger

I watched Alfred Hitchcock's "The Lodger" last night and was struck by the sophisticated visual style that he used in the film. Hitchcock borrows heavily from the German expressionists with regards to lighting and composition as well as using a tinting process, colouring the film in sepia and blue (depending on locations). The DVD release is from the newly released "Premiere Collection" and the film is accompanied by two modern scores. One is by Ashley Irwin and the other Paul Zaza. I preferred the Irwin score as it felt like an homage to Bernard Herrman's work with Hitchcock. At a few points I surfed between the scores to find some remarkably different choices and moods.

One of the things that made a huge impression on me was Hitchock's use of E. McKnight Kauffer as the title designer. I am very far from being an expert on silent pictures but I found that his title designs were incredibly evocative, dynamic and unique. Here are some of the images:









It shouldn't have surprised me as Hitchcock was famous for hiring the likes of Saul Bass and Salvador Dali to develop and produce titles or sequences in his films.

I really enjoyed this film although it does suffer from ending that is almost satisfying but ultimately disappointing and tacked on. Apparently Hitchcock would have preferred a much more sinister ending but was handcuffed by the producers to make it more uplifting due to the popularity of Ivor Novello, the actor playing the killer. Regardless I highly recommend this film and the Premiere Collection of discs. So often these old films are given poor releases by companies packaging public domain titles. Using dirty and damaged prints, the VHS tapes were recorded in extra long play modes and on DVD they are highly compressed in order to get two or more films on a single disc. Here they are presented with some love and extra features that make it much more enjoyable and enlightening.

A new version of "The Lodger" is due to arrive next year. The new film is written and directed by David Ondaatje, nephew of famous novelist Michael Ondaatje.

Tilt and Shift

With the new Canon 5d Mark II


Cano 5D Mark II DSLR + TS-E 24mm F3.5 L from Martin Chiu on Vimeo.

O Canada!

Criterion Online...

Rob sent me this link...

http://www.criterion.com/

In the early nineties Laserdisc emerged from the ashes and revitalized the hardcore film fans. Using an fm modulated picture (analogue) and a digital soundtrack, Laserdisc was the best image you could find on a home video format. Much superior to VHS. Films were available in letterbox format and in addition to the digital audio track, Laserdisc also contained an analogue track you could switch over to. This is where the 'audio commentary' originated. The film's soundtrack on the dolby digital stereo track, the commentary on right channel of the analogue track and a mono mix of the film on the left channel of the the analogue tracks. The mono channel was to ensure that those who didn't have the new digital systems would still be able to get the soundtrack in mono. Very clever.

On the pioneering edge of all this was the Criterion Collection. They sought out the best prints of films, made deals with the studios and rights holders and tried to bring cinephiles the most comprehensive version of classic and intriguing films of days gone by. They have come a long way.

Technology aside. Criterion has been the ultimate standard for the passionate lover of film. They cost more. What you pay for is the licensing of the films from the rights owners, the cost of finding and scanning the best prints available and the in house production of the special features (docs and commentaries). It seems to me that this business is in it for the love of movies more than the love of money and that is a refreshing change.

I am planning on buying their new release of "The Third Man" on Bluray. I own the Crition Laserdisc and the first release on DVD (I held back from the second release).

Poor Orson... never saw a dime. He took a salary to pay for his own film, "Othello". They offered him profits but he needed the cash... He lost A Lot of money...

Thanks Rob.

Films about making Films...

Lately I've been exploring some films that deal with the art of filmmaking. The following is a small list of films are currently available.

1. Visions of Light - A film about cinematography that touches on the changes in the craft from the beginnings to the 1990's. Many great examples and many terrific cinematographers and their work. I would love to learn more about James Wong Howe... an immigrant Chinese photographer - a terrific artist and a wonderful story).

2. Music for the Movies: Bernard Herrmann - What a treasure this film is! It provides some biographical details of Herrmann's life but more importantly, it explores his indelible impact on film music. The film features interviews with the late David Raskin and Elmer Bernstein. There are great passages where Herrmann's scores are deconstructed giving the viewer a window into the composers methods.

This film also features a scene that Herrmann scored for Hitchcock's 'Torn Curtain'. They play it with and without the score...


As another part of the series, The Hollywood Sound explores the change in style from old Hollywood to the modern day and features a rerecording of Raskin's Academy Award winning score for "Laura".

3. The Cutting Edge - A film about the craft of film editing. It explores the craft of editing through many artisans including one of the greats, Walter Murch.



I have been working on film scripts with my writing students over the last few weeks and one of my biggest comments has been "write the edits". Think like the editor. Think in cuts. Think in the juxtaposition of words and images... images and images. That's how you write a film.

4. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse - Based on Eleanor Coppola's book 'Notes' and her documentary footage from the production, Hearts of Darkness is unparalleled in it's uncompromising view of the filmmaking process. Not to be missed.

5. Burden of Dreams - An account of the filming of Werner Herzog's 'Fitzcarraldo'. Herzog is one of the most engaging and talented artists working in film today. Uncompromising, daring and magnificent. I love his quote "I want viewers to be able to trust their eyes again"... He is a fearless artist.

Feel free to comment and add more to this list. I did watch 'Cinematography Style' in thinking of this post and I found it terribly ironic. It is a documentary about Cinematographers that, although beautifully shot, was just a series of quickly cut talking heads. Was there no room for a breath and an exploration of visuals? Sponsored by Kodak and Panavision, the film felt more like a public relations piece than a real exploration of the art and craft of cinema photography.