If you're a follower of this blog, you know my taste in movies. I've searched YouTube for some interesting interviews on film makers and how they think. Here's the best of them: Stanley Kubrick
This short six minute clip of a longer piece focuses on Kubrick's early years as a bad school student (except for science). Instead of a school student, he became a student of photography - from taking pictures to selling them. I like his explanation of coming up with a generalized approach to "problem solving" as a way to help you in any thing.
Orson Welles
It would be great to see the entire interview of this. "Friendship is more important than art," remember that the great Orson said that.
Here's another Orson clip where I can't tell if he really believes what he's saying.Love that extreme close up.
Hitchcock - Form vs. Content
"What is in a film that makes an audience go through these various emotions," asks Hitchcock in this clip. It's not the content of the story. It's his technique of the subjective camera.
Francis Ford Coppola on The Conversation
Coppola considers The Conversation to be his best. Rent it if you haven't seen it. It's a million miles away from The Godfather.
The Late Bob Fosse
Rare interview of this theater film double threat. Any frame from any one of his movies is more inspiring than this interview, but it is good to see him in the flesh. You wanna say, "Put out the cigarette, Mr. Fosse." Unintentional funny: that last musical out-tro.
Charlie Kaufman
Writer of Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and now director with his latest movie Synecdoche, New York.He's got to have one of the most creative minds out there.I like what he says about our culture only accepting one kind of narrative arc. He ends with, "Be diligent and some what courageous."
Woody Allen May 2008 Interview
In this interview from Time.com, Allen gives a great performance. Answer #2 is a home run.
Otto Preminger From 1972
"It would be wrong for me to tell you what to think." That's the essence of his film making style in a handful of words.
Ridley Scott On Creating A Convincing Universe
Sounds simple to say but what separates a dull genre picture into something more: good art direction choices.
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Know my favorite films and you will know me. Tell me if you agree with these or what you think should be on this list. These are all American films - so don't dis me 'cause there's no Antonioni!
You'll see that I have 5 musicals on the list. Why? Because the rules of the musical are so difficult to do well. How do you get people to sing out loud? And, if they do sing can you still make a film with dark overtones?
The Cameraman (1928) Buster Keaton knew better than Chaplin how film worked as a medium. Some of the best movies are about the act of watching or making of movies. This one belongs in that category.
42nd Street (1933) Busby Berkely is still being quoted today. He had
the brains to put the camera just about everywhere. And he had one
goal: to top himself.
The Lady Eve (1941) Preston Sturges could do no wrong when he
was in the zone in from 1940 - 1944. No one does dialog like this
anymore. Juno got close.
Casablanca (1942) Just another picture made by the Hollywood studio system. But this one endures. Why? There's a clue in the song that Sam plays, "It's still the same old story - a fight for love and glory - a tale of do or die." If your movie doesn't doesn't do that - it's not a memorable movie. Lesson to screenwriters: Be audacious and go to the end of the line - do or die.
To Be or Not To Be (1942) If only to appreciate Jack Benny and the great Carole Lombard - this is a farce perfectly realized.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) You've seen it, right? If you haven't -
take someone you love. Sure, it's a happy ending but there's a lot of
darkness too.
My Darling Clementine (1946) Henry Fonda was never better. A well paced film. Perfect scenes that start in the middle. The dialog is forgotten afterwards but the images linger.
*****
Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Elia Kazan directed the Broadway
show and this film. He doesn't try to cinema-ize the film. He knows
this is a showcase for Brando and Vivien Leigh (his favorite actress - he told me himself!).
Brando's performance changed film acting forever. Raw. Real. Effeminate
but virile.
Anatomy of A Murder. (1959) One of Otto Preminger's best. The objective camera. As a TV producer, I can't imagine doing any shoot without getting "coverage." The amazing thing is that Preminger never had to shoot coverage. All the information was in his compositions and tracking shots.
Pyscho (1960) Always experimenting this guy, Hitchcock. "I know, I'll kill off the star in the first reel!"
The Apartment (1960) I love this screenplay. So economical. Nothing extraneous. Fred McMurray doing a great "banality of evil" riff.
West Side Story (1961)/The Sound of Music (1965) Basically the same
movie - not in terms of content - but in form. Robert Wise directed with
an editor's mind. He was Orson Welles' editor for years. See how the
edits work so damn well.
2001 (1968) Just so you know what people are talking about when they talk about the
apes and the monolith. And, there is no better match dissolve then when that bone flies up. Dave?
Planet of the Apes (1968) One of the best ending shots of all time. Bonus: Best use of a leather vest on an ape.
*****
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
Robert Altman makes a western and sets it in a brothel. Strange,
genre-bending, cynical, and dark. No one would ever make this movie
today. 'Tis a pity.
Cabaret (1972) Bob Fosse adapted the stage play perfectly. From the first song - he broke the rules and made the songs of the cabaret the back drop not the main event.
The Conversation (1974) Coppola's favorite movie. Harry Caul is a voyeur and is slightly
nauseated with himself. Sounds like a modern movie goer to me.
Jaws (1975) I was scared to swim in a pool after I saw in this in East Hampton, LI
on opening night in the 70's. It changed the big movie opening weekend
forever.
New York New York (1977) Imagine if Mean Streets was a musical. A real genre stretcher. Fascinating failure and worth watching. A blend of artifice and reality.
Manhattan (1979) Woody Allen is funny. Duh. But see how his technique of long
takes and beautiful compositions (with Gordon Willis' superb
cinematography) wax the lane to make us hear those one liners so well.
*****
Raging Bull (1980) You just keep asking...How did they (Scorcese, DeNiro, Pesci, Chapman and Schoonmaker) do this?
Pennies from Heaven (1981) Herbert Ross put everything he knew about
movies, musicals, and song and dance into this film and turned it all upside
down. Christopher Walken is the scene stealer.
Tootsie (1982) Another great screenplay. It's all about not saying what you mean:
Last line (from memory): "You know that blue dress that you look great
in? (pause) Can I borrow it?"
*****
Boogie Nights (1997) The first half of this film is pure genius and maybe that was the point of this film as well. Great second acts in Hollywood are rare.
This week the NY Times ran a blog post by Stanley Fish entitled The 10 Best American Movies. To date, seven hundred thirty three people took the time to comment.
Some web readers agreed with Mr. Fish but most chided him for his selections. His absence of Citizen Kane and the The Godfather movies coupled with his inclusion of Groundhog Day was a blow too deep for many to keep silent.
These types of Best Ever lists are always subjective. You can't fault Mr. Fish for thinking the best movies were made in that golden yesteryear of his youth. Eight of his films were made in the 40's and 50's. Movies may have the most impact on us when we are young...
But what I object to most is his explanations for liking these films are almost exclusively based on plot and the screen performance of the actors.
Everyone likes a good yarn and a truthful performance... The art of film, though, is in the hands of the director and how he or she employs the tools of cinema: composition, camera movement, editing, music...
These tools allow the viewer to see movies through a character's eyes (Rear Window) or let us be a more objective witness (Anatomy of a Murder).
In the coming year I hope to share more about the formal side of film and how our video marketing work can benefit from the tools of cinema.
In the meantime, rent or buy the two films mentioned above and tell me what you think about them - but tell me how you think the form is working in concert with the content.
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