Sometimes I like to analyze and enjoy cinematic brilliance one shot at a time. As a director, I’m often floored by the inventiveness, freshness, or just plain audacity of the staging and camera work of some of my favorite directors. These shots illuminate theme and create maximum story impact, often invisibly, with enormous economy. In the following posts, I scribble about them in an effort to remember and to be inspired. Hope it inspires you, too.
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A ONER IS FUNNER: “MOVING OHM”
I directed a short for some actor friends who were looking to make a film/have some footage
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JEZEBEL (1938, Wyler)
Today's post has as much to do with David Fincher as it does with one of my
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BAMBI (1942, Disney, et al.)
Today's shot marks the first inclusion of an animated film. This one from the earlier days of
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THE GODFATHER (1972, Coppola)
I think you should watch the scene first! (Though if you haven't seen The Godfather yet, move
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VERTIGO part 2 (1958, Hitchcock)
As promised, we're back for one more shot from one of my favorite Hitchcock films, Vertigo. This
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DELIVERANCE (1972, Boorman)
No dueling banjos in today's shot, but it's no less creepy. Here's an example of a oner
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2001 (1968, Kubrick)
Doing research has been one of the most enjoyable parts of keeping this notebook; you never know
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TO DIE FOR (1995, Van Sant)
I'm a little obsessed with this movie at the moment. One part Citizen Kane, one part Goodfellas with
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ROME (2005, Farino)
. Here's a TV show, but no wonder Rome is cinematic to its roots, as its pilot and