Why Its a Classic: The Searchers Moviewise 2023-11-10 | "The Searchers" (1956) directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent (based on the novel by Alan LeMay) is not only the quintessential American western but one of the greatest and most important films in the history of cinema. This video essay tells you why.A perfect combination of universal, concise and layered screenwriting with a direction that is discreet, exact and painterly, "The Searchers" is the first film examined in the WHY IT'S A CLASSIC series. Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) is a confederate veteran who, alongside his foster nephew Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter), spends years searching for his kidnapped niece Debbie (Natalie Wood), whose family was massacred by the Comanche.A classic earns its place in the canon through recognizable quality. It stands out from heaps of contemporaneous works to always be named as the highest point an artform can aspire to. A classic prospers through history; it is canonized by time. Artistry alone can guarantee survival because history gives no handouts. Times change, cultures change, peoples change, but beauty, craft and excellence always remain.This series is a celebration of the pantheon of great films.Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise00:00 Intro00:45 Screenplay07:00 Direction#videoessay #filmmaking #classiccinema #johnwayne #johnford #thesearchers #cinematography #screenwriting #western Call to Adventure - Comedy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300022Artist: http://incompetech.comScheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWUBrandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 - Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303 Artist: http://incompetech.com
When the screenwriter is 2500 years old Moviewise 2024-10-18 | The first 500 people to use my link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare https://skl.sh/moviewise10241A video essay covering the sparse history of cinematic adaptations of Greek tragedies.//Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise//Follow me on Twitter: https://x.com/MrMoviewise25 centuries ago the ancient Greeks invented drama. The great Athenian playwrights Aeschyllus, Sophocles and Euripides mastered the art form and gifted the world with dramaturgical masterpieces such as "The Persians", "Oedipus Rex", "Antigone", "Medea" and "The Trojan Women".As influential as these works are, it's rare to find films that use them as source material. In this video we'll go through the films that do and we'll examine how their styles transfer the plays to a new medium. Do they retain the strangeness of the original or do they try to tame it? A fun and healthy discussion on the translation principles of Foreignization and Domestication.We'll open with the 1957 Canadian film "Oedipus Rex", directed by Tyrone Guthrie (and Abraham Polonsky according to IMDb, but I don't know about that), based on Sophocles' most famous play and most likely the most famous Greek tragedy of them all. This is the film that comes the closest to the actual unusual experience of Greek theater. Its masks, poses and proud theatricality make it one of the most unique films you'll find.Then we'll visit the films of Zorba the Greek's director, Michael Cacoyannis. In Greek (modern Greek, not the ancient one, of course... I feel like it needs be said) he directed "Electra" (1962) and "Iphigenia" (1977). Both were based on Euripides and both got Oscar nominations for the Best Foreign Language Film of the year.He also directed, in English, "The Trojan Women" (1971), a fantastic adaptation of another Euripides play and the film with the most star-studded cast (Katharine Hapburn, Vanessa Redgrave, Geneviève Bujold, Brian Blessed and the ubiquitous Irene Papas). It features a gorgeous translation by Edith Hamilton which is already worth reading on its own.After Cacoyannis, we'll visit the highly singular career of Italian director Vittorio Cottafavi, famous (ok, strong word) for the most well staged peplum films ever made. He made four Greek tragedies for Italian television: Antigone (1957), The Trojan Women (1966), Antigone (1971) again and The Persians (1975) – the only Aeschyllus adaptation covered here.Some may argue that these films don't count because they were made straight for television. Such people are not fun to hang out with.Lastly we'll go through a third "Antigone", this time directed by arthouse darlings (for some reason) Jean-Marie Straub and Danniele Huillet. Their 1992 film is... something else. The text – adapted by Bertolt Brecht from Friedrich Hölderlin's translation – is worth a look though.We'll take a quick look at a fourth Antigone and freer adaptations made by Lars von Trier (Medea) and Miklós Jancsó (Electra). It's quite a ride. Long live Greece!#videoessay #filmhistory #ancientgreece Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.comCanon in D Major by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100301Artist: http://incompetech.comBushwick Tarantella by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300002Artist: http://incompetech.comConsort for Brass - Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN110068 Artist: http://incompetech.com
How in the world isnt this film a classic? Moviewise 2024-10-04 | A video essay about the great underrated 1948 thriller "The Big Clock", directed by John Farrow.//Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise//Follow me on Twitter: https://x.com/MrMoviewiseJohn Farrow was not a celebrated auteur, he's a journeyman going from film to film with professional craftsmanship; the type of director who doesn't get celebrated, no matter how well he does his job. And in "The Big Clock" he did something splendid! Find out how he stages and shoots one perfect scene after the other here, how he uses long takes, dynamic blocking, depth of field, minutious compositions and camera motion to keep a perfect plot flowing."The Big Clock" is about George Strout (Ray Milland), editor of a crime magazine subsidiary to Janoth Publications, a media conglomerate ruled by Earl Janoth (Charles Laughton). After Janoth kills his mistress, Pauline York (Rita Johnson), he orders George to lead a manhunt to find... George? It's a great story. Elsa Lanchester plays a wonderfully entertaining role. And did Janoth's pinky mannerism inspire Dr. Evil?#videoessay #classicfilm #filmdirecting Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.comScheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWUInvestigations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100646Artist: http://incompetech.com
The Top 10 Best Top 100 Best Movies of All Time of All Time Moviewise 2024-09-21 | The first 500 people to use my link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: https://skl.sh/moviewise09241 What's the only thing better than a list of best films? That's right! A list of best lists of best films!//Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise//Follow me on Twitter: https://x.com/MrMoviewise//Read Paul Schrader's article "Canon Fodder": paulschrader.org/articles/pdf/2006-FilmComment_Schrader.pdfThis is a list of the 10 best lists of the 100 best movies ever made. The List List, the list-list, Listception, or what you will. The film canon as presented in ten different ways, carrying the bonafide giants ("Citizen Kane", The Rules of the Game", "Breathless", "Seven Samurai" et al.) as well as quite a few unexpected picks.A small correction: I say the 10th list is the only one with films from before the 1910s but the 6th list also has a Georges Méliès' "A Trip to the Moon". So it's actually two lists that apply.00:00 Intro (Listophilia)05:55 10 The Essential09:23 9 The Niche11:46 8 The King's Picks13:55 7 The Croissant16:59 6 The Old World19:16 5 The Frat Boy21:24 4 The Classy23:12 3 The Canon28:22 2 The Historian31:14 1 The Chemical X33:51 Coda#cinephile #movielist #bestfilmsCanon in D Major by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100301Artist: http://incompetech.comCopyright free images by Unsplash
If you disliked Furiosa you weren’t really watching Moviewise 2024-09-14 | A video essay about “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”, the Mad-Max-less prequel to “Mad Max: Fury Road”. //Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise//Follow me on Twitter: https://x.com/MrMoviewiseWhat stands out is how Furiosa is stylistically different from Fury Road. While the earlier film was one of the best modern examples of the montage-oriented film, Furiosa shines through its Mise-en-scène approach. It means that Fury Road is a film built out of the editing – multiple shots producing meaning –, whereas its prequel gives higher emphasis to longer takes and the possibilities of exploring cinematic space.First, I'll compare Road to Osa to make their visual differences clear, then you’ll learn how George Miller uses his camera, sets and actors to craft one sophisticated shot after the other.#videoessay #filmdirecting #madmax #furiosa #furiosaamadmaxsaga Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.comCanon in D Major by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100301Artist: http://incompetech.comCall to Adventure - Comedy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300022Artist: http://incompetech.comHero's Theme by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://www.twinmusicom.org/song/280/heros-themeArtist: http://www.twinmusicom.org
There Hasnt Been a Better Film in 30 Years Moviewise 2024-08-17 | A video essay about William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1996). Kenneth Branagh’s extraordinary adaptation of the greatest play ever written and perhaps the highest achievement of the English language.//Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise//Follow me on Twitter: https://x.com/MrMoviewise//Read David Bordwell’s brief opinion on the film: davidbordwell.net/blog/2008/04Whenever asked what’s my favorite movie, instead of balking and saying there are too many to choose from in that famous cop out, I always answer Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet. And this video is a work of love to tell you why. The only unabridged adaptation of Shakespeare’s longest play, Branagh’s Hamlet was shot – as many great epics of old – in 70mm format by Alex Thomson. With Patrick Doyle’s beautiful music and the gorgeously creative sets of Tim Harvey, the film is a truly breathtaking artistic experience visually, musically and literarily (what screenwriter could even compete with the Bard’s poetry?).The amazing international cast features Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, Kate Winslet, Charlton Heston, Jack Lemmon, Rufus Sewell, Robin Williams, Gerard Depardieu. In non-speaking parts you’ll also get John Gielgud, Judi Dench and John Mills. Oh, there’s Richard Attenborough too. Frequently unmentioned but definitely worthy of note are Nicholas Ferrell, Richard Briers, Brian Blessed, Michael Maloney, Rosemary Harris, and even Simon Russell Beale. And Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are there too.And in one of the best performances in the history of cinema is Derek Jacobi as King Claudius. He acts so astoundingly well and naturally I couldn’t help but dedicate a portion of the video to him.00:00 What's your favorite movie?00:37 Screenplay02:13 Music and Sets03:49 Direction12:02 Waltzing with Ken15:45 Walk & Talk & More17:53 Some notes20:56 A Bunch of Random Things I Love in Hamlet25:44 Derek Jacobi Appreciation Time28:57 Curtain Time#videoessay #filmdirecting #shakespeare Canon in D Major by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100301Artist: http://incompetech.comScheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWUInvestigations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100646Artist: http://incompetech.comHero's Theme by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://www.twinmusicom.org/song/280/heros-themeArtist: http://www.twinmusicom.org
How Charles Chaplin Makes a Speech Moviewise 2024-08-02 | A video essay about Charles Chaplin's celebrated speech at the end of "The Great Dictator" (1940).It's very frequently called one of the greatest if not THE greatest movie speech of all time, but is it? Here I'll go through Chaplin's use of rhetorical devices and strong emotion and find some unexpected flaws in his highly articulate (too much so?) text. Whatever flaw the speech may have in its appropriateness it's impossible to forget that Chaplin is speaking not as much to his diegetic audience as to actual movie goers watching him in the real world. This fact makes judging the speech in narrative and only narrative terms an incomplete approach. A singular case!// Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise// Follow me on Twitter: https://x.com/MrMoviewise#videoessay #screenwriting #charleschaplin Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 - Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303 Artist: http://incompetech.com
The Mad Magic of Off-Screen Space Moviewise 2024-07-19 | A video essay about the freedom directors have to play around with off-screen space.// Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise// Follow me on Twitter: https://x.com/MrMoviewiseOff-Screen Space! This famous area of film studies can make for a fun case of how the spatial geography of movie scenes doesn't need to follow the logic of real life. Sometimes, something you would see and/or hear in reality is not noticed by the characters because it's simply not in the frame. Movies gotta surprise you every now and then.Based on Roger Ebert's comments on how Sergio Leone plays around with off-screen space in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", we'll examine some other cases of directors doing the same to one level or another, such as Peter Jackson recreating one of Leone's gags in "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring".We'll take a fun look at Jackie Chan in "Armor of God", where he has the world's worst (or, cinematically speaking, best?) spatial awareness; then, how in one shot from "The Banshees of Inisherin", Martin McDonagh fits characters into the landscape; the climax of Dario Argento's "Phenomena", featuring a particularly sneaky villain; a terrific comic moment in John Ford's "The Wings of Eagles"; history's greatest knife reveal in my favorite Anthony Mann film, "Reign of Terror" (also known as "The Black Book"); and a quick look at an often deleted scene from Jules Dassin's "Night and the City".Here's the link to Roger Ebert's review for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" for his Great Movies series: rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-1968#videoessay #filmmaking #cinematography Way Out West by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.orgScheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWU
What Is the Busiest Shot in Movie History? Moviewise 2024-07-05 | A video essay about a random question I once asked myself: what is the busiest shot in movie history?So random in fact that I had to make up a whole bunch of definitions and limitations to answer it (and so a long and complex tracking shot wouldn't just kill all the fun). I came up with four rules to narrow it down. Rule number one: Geography. The shot must use as much of the screen as possible. Every side and layer. Two: Consistency. The camera can never completely abandon the initial angle. It can approach and pull back and pan and tilt, up to a point, but we must remain in the same spot throughout. Arcing motions are out the window.Three: Internal Movement. Elements on-screen cannot remain still; they must change positions. And because of the Consistency rule, they must move more than the camera.And four: Story. We must be able to witness a full storyline developing on screen. Thus specified I arrived at an extraordinary (as should be expected) shot from "War and Peace" (1965-1967), the monumental Soviet epic by Sergei Bondarchuk. It deals with Pierre's unintentional marriage proposal to Hélène. It's an extraordinary use of depth and the width of the scope aspect ratio. The amount of story and information on screen is astounding! This is, after all, one of the greatest masterpieces of Russian cinema.#videoessay #filmmaking #cinematography // Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise// Follow me on Twitter: https://x.com/MrMoviewiseIf you'd like to know how faithful the shot/scene is to the original novel, I included below the specific paragraphs it adapts. War and Peace: Book 3, Chapter 2 (gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2600/pg2600-images.html)“The step must be taken but I cannot, I cannot!” thought Pierre, and he again began speaking about indifferent matters, about Sergéy Kuzmích, asking what the point of the story was as he had not heard it properly. Hélène answered with a smile that she too had missed it.When Prince Vasíli returned to the drawing room, the princess, his wife, was talking in low tones to the elderly lady about Pierre.“Of course, it is a very brilliant match, but happiness, my dear...”“Marriages are made in heaven,” replied the elderly lady.Prince Vasíli passed by, seeming not to hear the ladies, and sat down on a sofa in a far corner of the room. He closed his eyes and seemed to be dozing. His head sank forward and then he roused himself.“Aline,” he said to his wife, “go and see what they are about.”The princess went up to the door, passed by it with a dignified and indifferent air, and glanced into the little drawing room. Pierre and Hélène still sat talking just as before.“Still the same,” she said to her husband.Prince Vasíli frowned, twisting his mouth, his cheeks quivered and his face assumed the coarse, unpleasant expression peculiar to him. Shaking himself, he rose, threw back his head, and with resolute steps went past the ladies into the little drawing room. With quick steps he went joyfully up to Pierre. His face was so unusually triumphant that Pierre rose in alarm on seeing it.“Thank God!” said Prince Vasíli. “My wife has told me everything!” (He put one arm around Pierre and the other around his daughter.)—“My dear boy... Lëlya... I am very pleased.” (His voice trembled.) “I loved your father... and she will make you a good wife... God bless you!...”He embraced his daughter, and then again Pierre, and kissed him with his malodorous mouth. Tears actually moistened his cheeks.“Princess, come here!” he shouted.The old princess came in and also wept. The elderly lady was using her handkerchief too. Pierre was kissed, and he kissed the beautiful Hélène’s hand several times. After a while they were left alone again.Investigations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100646Artist: http://incompetech.comCall to Adventure - Comedy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300022Artist: http://incompetech.com
Learn to See (and LOVE) Invisible Directing Moviewise 2024-06-21 | A video essay about the brilliantly invisible directing style of "Sleuth" (1972), directed by the great and greatly underrated Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the play by Anthony Shaffer and starring Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine and Alec Cawthorne.Joseph L. Mankiewicz is one of the greatest screenwriters of all time ("All About Eve" just might be the best script ever written) but if you try to find information about his visual style you'll be met with nothing but disappointment. Critics predominantly call his technique unremarkable and overly dependend on dialogue.I believe, however, in what I see, not in what I'm told. And when I see Mankiewicz's films I see a master of staging and framing. He blocks his actors with versatility, arranges the set with efficiency and shoots everything from the most informative and unobtrusive angle. He is a definite equal to Howard Hawks.// Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise// Follow me on Twitter: https://x.com/MrMoviewise#videoessay #cinematography #filmmaking Consort for Brass - Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN110068 Artist: http://incompetech.com Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.com
Ernst walks into an aspect ratio store and says Yes Please! Moviewise 2024-06-07 | A video essay about the great 1921 German anarchic comedy "The Wild Cat" (Die Bergkatze), directed by no other than master craftsman Ernst Lubitsch and starring Pola Negri in her best role.We'll analyze the film's inventive use of masks to manipulate its screen shape and – I dare say – aspect ratio into whatever Ernst feels is most appropriate for the moment, achieving humorous and aesthetic results. Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/MoviewiseThe aspect ratio is an inherent part of a movie. The image has gotta end some place, right? Until a new John Cage type says he made a documentary without a frame or a camera and it’s the real world and you roll your eyes and pseudo intellectuals hail it as a modern art masterpiece – but I digress. Have you ever thought about how much we take our movie shapes for granted? Theoretically you can give your film whatever aspect ratio you soever desire but we keep limiting ourselves to a handful of rectangles. Over 100 years ago, this little unpretentious divertimento showed how infinite are the possibilities of the movie screen. I'll gladly die on the hill that Lubitsch's silent films were even better than his talkies. And I imagine there aren't more people on this hill because they simply haven't watched his silent masterpieces ("Lady Windermere's Fan" from 1925 is likely his best).By the way, the films shown in the beginning, in order are: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), 12 Angry Men (1957), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), Written on the Wind (1956), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Les Girls (1957), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Ben-Hur (1959), Pulp Fiction (1994), Lawrence of Arabia again, Caché (2005), Asteroid City (2023), Life of Pi (2012), Lucifer (2014) which has a circular ratio, Mommy (2014), War and Peace (1967) and finally Die Bergkatze (1921). And later I show other Lubitsch films when talking about masks: The Oyster Princess (1919) and The Doll (1919).#videoessay #filmmaking #silentfilm Merry Go - Silent Film Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100731Artist: http://incompetech.com
The Best Films of 2023 (The Moviewise Awards) Moviewise 2024-05-24 | Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise It's the Moviewise Awards! The latest (I mean that) ranking and honoring you'll find for the films of 2023 (until Kristin Thompson posts the Top 10 Best Films of 2023 on her blog in 2113, 90 years from now, as she does).There will be a Top 10 as you'd expect, though I wonder if they will be the films you'd expect. I'll also give you my Top 5 in the categories of best cinematography, performance, screenplay and directing. And don't forget the stuff that movies are made of... Dreams? No, shots! I'll provide a Top 10 best shots of the year. The video begins with 5 honorary prizes because why not?00:00 Intro01:05 What the Hell Is Wrong with You People Award01:40 WTF Award02:30 MVP Prize03:21 John Wayne Award04:42 Eisenstein Award05:57 Best Cinematography06:59 Best Performance07:47 Best Screenplay08:59 Best Director09:46 Top 10 Shots11:35 Top 10 Best Films of 2023#filmmaking #bestfilms #bestmovies Call to Adventure - Comedy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300022Artist: http://incompetech.com
Why Its a Classic: The Night of the Hunter Moviewise 2024-05-10 | A video essay about Charles Laughton's macabre fairy tale for adults about a mass murderer who simply wants a doll. Here I analyze the elements that led "The Night of the Hunter" to be elevated across movie history. Its universal Good vs. Evil narrative aided by its highly unique chiaroscuro visuals. This is, after all, an extremely unusual film, and it was one even upon its release.During the Great Depression, serial killer "Preacher" Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) finds out his former cellmate hid 10,000 dollars in his house. Charming his way through the town, Powell marries the widow (Shelley Winters) and does all he can to make her children John and Pearl reveal where is the money. Soon they'll have no one to turn to but the benevolent protector Rachel Cooper (Lilian Gish).A classic earns its place in the canon through recognizable quality. It stands out from heaps of contemporaneous works to always be named as the highest point an artform can aspire to. A classic prospers through history; it is canonized by time. Artistry alone can guarantee survival because history gives no handouts. Times change, cultures change, peoples change, but beauty, craft and excellence always remain. This series is a celebration of the pantheon of great films. I found out while making this video that "Laughton" is pronounced Law-tuhn. I always said Laugh-tuhn, as in laugh. You learn something new everyday.#videoessay #filmmaking #cinematography Investigations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100646Artist: http://incompetech.com
Forget All You Know About Camera Movement Moviewise 2024-04-26 | A video essay on camera movement but instead of focusing on tracking, panning, tilting, dollying, handheld and all those other technical types I'm sure you know backwards, my dear viewer, we'll treat the subject from another point of view.In his book, "On Film-Making", Alexander Mackendrick wrote that camera movement can be split into two kinds: Motivated and Unmotivated. Based on this dichotomy I developed a longer list (mostly made up of subsets of what would likely be considered Unmotivated).Here we'll think in terms of Centers of Attention. I made up the acronym COAT to make it snappier. That's the specific element onscreen the director wants you to focus your eyes on (the focal point). Keep that in mind when the camera moves.In a Motivated motion, the camera Follows a COAT. That’s why I call it the Following camera. The Unmotivated camera does not move according to a COAT. Most of the time we are left without a COAT while it Seeks one outside the frame, that’s why I call it the Seeking camera. There are many other types of camera movement that don’t Follow a COAT but don’t leave us without one, and we’ll go over them in this video. 00:00 Camera Movement00:47 Motivated & Unmotivated01:45 Following03:31 Seeking04:54 Other types of the Unmotivated05:17 Revealing06:02 Enlarging & Reducing06:40 Including & Excluding07:08 Arcing07:33 Nothing08:18 Combinations09:45 X-Ray Vision camera movement10:45 OutroThere's also camera roll, right? Doesn't really seem to fit anywhere here. Let's pretend it's a subset of Arcing.Oh, and that shot from "The Asphalt Jungle". If you think about it, it's very similar to those Arcing/Including close-ups Spielberg loves. But this time the camera moves down the actor’s body to end on his hand instead of remaining on his head, making it similar to Revealing (down instead of the usual up), but since he's out of focus I don't think it should count as Revealing (a rule I made up when thinking about this shot). Because during the Arcing motion around Louis Calhern we have no COAT, that would qualify as Seeking. Just don't forget that the motion begins by briefly Following. So, I'd say we first Follow then Seek. That's it. That Seeking motion pretends to be Revealing (down Calhern's body), Arcing (around him) and Including (Marilyn Monroe sleeping).And since you’ve read this far...Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/MoviewiseCanon in D Major by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100301Artist: http://incompetech.com
The Greatest Movie Speech of All Time Moviewise 2024-04-12 | A video essay on the most perfectly written and delivered movie speech of all time and why I hold it in such high regard. A video about the ancient art of classical rhetoric and how it is primordial for the creation a truly memorable, persuasive, emotional and beautiful text.The film is "Amistad" (1997), directed by Steven Spielberg and written by David Franzoni, who proved here he's an extraordinary writer. Before the Supreme Court, former U.S. President John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) makes a passionate and verbally extraordinary defence of Cinque and prisoners of the Amistad, free African men who were kidnapped and sold into slavery.You can find the real John Quincy Adams speech for the Amistad case online. It's 108 pages long and it lasted four hours. In this video I'll go through the 5 Canons of Rhetoric (Invention, Arrangement, Style, Memory and Delivery) and a slew of rhetorical devices. We'll witness this speech's complete mastery of each rhetorical subject.A couple notes: in classical arrangement Confirmatio usually comes before Refutatio instead of after, as was done in this speech. Arrangement also gives another part to the speech called Partitio, which is when you state what will be your arguments throughout the speech. That sounds rather expositional and not very cinematic (spoiling your own scene?), so it makes complete sense to not have it in a movie speech.Here are some of the books I used as references when writing this video. I recommend them all for those interested in the study of this priceless subject that is rhetoric:- "How to Win an Argument: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Persuasion" by Cicero and James M. May - "A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms" by Richard A. Lanham- "Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric" by Ward Farnsworth- "The Elements of Eloquence" by Mark Forsyth- "On Rhetoric" by Aristotle- "Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion" by Jay HeinrichsThis last book here with the catchy title. You won't believe who the author claims inspired him to study rhetoric!I split the video into the parts of the speech (Arrangement) but make sure to catch up on the other canons and multiple devices:00:00 Movie Speeches00:32 Amistad02:28 Exordium03:04 Narratio06:03 Refutatio09:11 Confirmatio12:45 PeroratioI was editing the video when I found out "southern" is pronounced ˈsʌðɚn and not – as one would damn well expect – ˈsaʊðɚn. Damn you, English! Make sense! I couldn't be bothered to rerecord though.#videoessay #screenwriting #filmmaking #anthonyhopkins Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.comCanon in D Major by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100301Artist: http://incompetech.comScheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWUConsort for Brass - Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN110068 Artist: http://incompetech.com Hero's Theme by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://www.twinmusicom.org/song/280/heros-themeArtist: http://www.twinmusicom.orgCopyright free image by Unsplash
This Is the Best Directing of the Year Moviewise 2024-03-29 | A video essay about "The Taste of Things, directed by Tran Anh Hung ("The Scent of Green Papaya", also sublime). This is a marvelously composed, blocked and shot masterpiece. Beauty put on screen.Here we'll go through the movie's sublime visual style, how Hung's camera glides through the sets, always capturing actors and their actions with precision and elegance. We'll examine the tightly choreographed dance that makes up the cooking set pieces, how actors, props and the camera are always in the perfect spot. We'll also see how non-cooking scenes are given equal care, also boasting magnificent blocking. This film is a delicious lesson in staging and camerawork.The story? Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel) is a gourmant who's had a 20-year relationship with his extraordinary cook Eugénie (Juliette Binoche). He frequently entertains his fellow gourmet friends and tries to move his unusual romantic arrangement further. It's a cozy little jewel of a film, with some of the most delightful scenes and moments of the year.Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise#videoessay #filmmaking #cinematography
My Thoughts on the Oscar Winners Moviewise 2024-03-15 | "Oppenheimer" triumphed with 7 Oscars and "Poor Things" did well enough with 4 wins. Now I will go through this slew of Oscar winners and give my thoughts on each feature category. I'll say which film won and whether I agree with the decision and why (if I feel like it). It's just for fun. There's no reason to badmouth the Academy Awards or any other type of award because generating discussion is all that matters. Do we object to some award choices? Inevitably, but that goes with the show. Should we outlaw awards? Hell no! Awards are lists and, as a listophile, I defend the idea that the more lists the better. Here's one, by the way: the chapter selection:00:00 In Defense of the Oscars02:03 Best Animated Feature: The Boy and the Heron02:25 Best Foreign Language Film: The Zone of Interest03:02 Best Original Song: What Was I Made for? from Barbie03:33 Best Original Score: Oppenheimer04:08 Best Visual Effects: Godzilla Minus One04:24 Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Poor Things04:47 Best Sound: The Zone of Interest05:29 Best Costume Design: Poor Things05:52 Best Production Design: Poor Things06:28 Best Cinematography: Oppenheimer08:03 Best Film Editing: Oppenheimer08:35 Best Adapted Screenplay: American Fiction09:08 Best Original Screenplay: Anatomy of a Fall09:32 Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr. for Oppenheimer10:13 Best Supporting Actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers10:37 Best Actor: Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer11:40 Best Actress: Emma Stone for Poor Things12:15 Best Director: Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer15:12 Best Picture: Oppenheimer#academyawards #oscars #oppenheimer #christophernolan #directing Third year in a roll I said "hairstyle" instead of "hairstyling". Maybe I'll get it right next year. Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/MoviewiseWatch my video on the Oscar nominated directors: youtu.be/M0gZKgRpAoc?si=hOUR3SIrEqeIdwHcWatch my video on the Oscar nominated screenplays: youtu.be/bHUETYxDVO0?si=x6pFrolkJhC8PzchDanse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.comCanon in D Major by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100301Artist: http://incompetech.comInvestigations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100646Artist: http://incompetech.comConsort for Brass - Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN110068 Artist: http://incompetech.com Call to Adventure - Comedy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300022Artist: http://incompetech.com
What the Oscar Nominees Teach You About Film Directing (Scorsese, Nolan, Glazer, Lanthimos, Triet) Moviewise 2024-03-01 | Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Yorgos Lanthimos, Justine Triet and Jonathan Glazer are vying for the Academy Awards for Best Achievement in Directing. We all know it's Christopher's year. Interestingly for us, these five directors and their films are all extremely different in terms of visual style. We'll check how by analyzing their films here.We'll go through the distinct ways these directors frame their shots, move their cameras, block their actors and plenty more. And when analyzing film direction, remember to always stick uniquely to what is presented on-screen.This video is a defense of the analysis of film style. An achievement in directing shouldn't be judged by personal interpretation, cultural context, making-of stories, worldview or the simple fact of whether the film is good or bad. This video is a defense of the act of analyzing a director's job uniquely for their visual style. Some wise men once said:"Criticism of film, despite the form’s visual nature, has tended to be derived primarily from literature and not from painting or, as might be more reasonable, a combination of the traditions of literature, painting, theater, and the unique forms of film itself". – Stuart M. Kaminsky (International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Vol. 2 - Directors)"Yet most film scholars don't analyze style, particularly visual style. Ironically, as films have become more available for close analysis than ever, interest in stylistics has waned. Why? Partly because film studies has for some time attracted scholars of a literary turn of mind, more comfortable with hermeneutics than stylistics (which remains a minor discipline in literary studies). In addition, even scholars have difficulty attending to the minutiae of technique. As we watch a film, we absorb its images but seldom notice how they're lit or composed. So critics and scholars find it more natural to talk about characters' psychological development, about how the plot resolves its conflicts and problems, or about the film's philosophical or cultural or political significance". – David Bordwell (Figures Traced in Light)00:00 Intro01:23 Martin Scorsese for "Killers of the Flower Moon"06:23 Christopher Nolan for "Oppenheimer"13:43 Justine Triet for "Anatomy of a Fall"17:06 Yorgos Lanthimos for "Poor Things"20:20 Jonathan Glazer for "The Zone of Interest"25:45 OutroJoin me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise "Rivette foams at the mouth": this is a reference to Jacques Rivette's famous Cahiers du Cinéma text "On Abjection".Parametric storytelling: this one's too complicated. Check David Bordwell's "Narration in the Fiction Film", chapter 12.#oscars #christophernolan #oppenheimer #martinscorsese #killersoftheflowermoon #yorgoslanthimos #poorthings #thezoneofinterest #anatomyofafall #academyawards #bestdirector #filmdirector #direction #cinematography #filmmaking Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.comCanon in D Major by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100301Artist: http://incompetech.comInvestigations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100646Artist: http://incompetech.comBrandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 - Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303 Artist: http://incompetech.comDispersion Relation by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100258Artist: http://incompetech.com
How Good Are the Oscar Nominated Scripts? Moviewise 2024-02-16 | Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/MoviewiseEvery year the Academy Awards nominates five films for Best Original Screenplay and five films for Best Adapted Screenplay. I decided to bundle them up and rank them from the worst screenplay to the best one.I'll analyze primordial screenwriting aspects such as structure, plot, psychology and dialogue. How deep are the characters that people these worlds? How far do they go to tackle their chosen conflicts, themes and messages? Do these writers demonstrate mastery of language? Results may vary. 00:00 Intro00:44 10 Past Lives02:14 9 The Zone of Interest03:29 8 Barbie05:18 7 Maestro07:51 6 May December09:33 5 Anatomy of a Fall12:03 4 The Holdovers13:37 3 Poor Things15:14 2 American Fiction16:50 1 OppenheimerI bet someone will check the ranking without watching the video and call me a Nolan fanboy, which I would find hilarious.#oscars #academyawards #oppenheimer #poorthings #theholdovers #americanfiction #anatomyofafall #barbiemovie #pastlives #thezoneofinterest #maestro #maydecember Canon in D Major by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100301Artist: http://incompetech.comScheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWUConsort for Brass - Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN110068 Artist: http://incompetech.com
How These Great Screenplays Got Written Moviewise 2024-02-02 | Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/MoviewiseHave you ever watched a highly complicated historical film that spans long stretches of time, features multiple storylines, dozens of characters and feeds you exorbitant amounts of information and thought to yourself: how does someone even begin to write something like that? Then you're in luck!In this video essay we'll go through many outstanding screenplays to uncover the handy techniques that creative writers use to find method in this madness. Techniques such as cold opens, intercutting, dialogue hooks, rhyming scenes, montages and many more.The screenplays most often used as examples here are:-"Lawrence of Arabia" by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson-"Reds" by Warren Beatty & Trevor Griffiths-"Gandhi" by John Briley-"The Last Emperor" by Bernardo Bertolucci and Mark Peploe-"Malcolm X" by Spike Lee & Arnold Perl-"Schindler's List" by Steven Zaillian-"Nixon" by Oliver Stone & Stephen J. Rivele & Christopher Wilkinson-"Oppenheimer" by Christopher NolanWe also go through several films by Martins Scorsese: "Goodfellas" and "Casino" (written by Scorsese & Nicholas Pileggi), "The Wolf of Wall Street" (by Terence Winter) and "The Irishman" (by Steven Zaillian).Also mentioned here are the films "Lincoln" (Tony Kushner), "JFK" (Oliver Stone & Zachary Sklar), "Il Divo" (Paolo Sorrentino), "Carlos" (Olivier Assayas & Dan Franck), "Vice" (Adam McKay), "The Big Short" (Adam McKay and Charles Randolph) and "Viva Zapata" (John Steinbeck).#videoessay #screenwriting #historicaldrama #filmmaking Call to Adventure - Comedy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300022Artist: http://incompetech.com
Why Its a Classic: Casablanca Moviewise 2024-01-05 | Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise"Casablanca" (1942) directed by Michael Curtiz and written by Philip G. & Julius J. Epstein and Howard Koch (based on a play by Murray Burnett & Joan Alison) is widely known as one of the greatest and most important films in the history of cinema. Even those who dislike old and black and white movies enjoy “Casablanca”. Today you’ll learn why.A perfect combination of universal, sharp and well-characterized screenwriting with a direction that is dynamic, rich and layered, "Casablanca" is the second film examined in the WHY IT'S A CLASSIC series. Watch episode one here: youtu.be/MXnE-bA0BlU?si=1SMCNOBqnyORK3qOA classic earns its place in the canon through recognizable quality. It stands out from heaps of contemporaneous works to always be named as the highest point an artform can aspire to. A classic prospers through history; it is canonized by time. Artistry alone can guarantee survival because history gives no handouts. Times change, cultures change, peoples change, but beauty, craft and excellence always remain. This series is a celebration of the pantheon of great films. It’s 1941, Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) owns an American café in Casablanca, destination of thousands of immigrants escaping Europe on account of World War 2. Rick takes no sides, managing his bustling bar/casino while interacting with all sorts of odd fellows, including Ugarte (Peter Lorre), Ferrari (Sydney Greenstreet) and the corrupt chief of police, Louis Renault (Claude Rains). Things get dicey when Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), resistance fighter extraordinaire, arrives with Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), Rick’s former girlfriend who broke his heart.Bensound SexySpotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6RwA4w...Apple Music / iTunes: https://music.apple.com/album/sexy-si...
The Strangest Christmas Double Bill Moviewise 2023-12-22 | Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/MoviewiseCelebrate Christmas by watching two old Hollywood holiday gems about escaping trios of criminals! Start off with "3 Godfathers" (1948), directed by John Ford. John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz and Harry Carey Jr. (the film is dedicated to his father, Harry Carey) play three outlaws who rob a bank and escape into the desert while being chased by a posse led by sheriff Perly Sweet (Ward Bond). Our bandits stumble onto a dying woman in labor. Right before dying she names them all her son's godfathers and makes them promise to bring him to safety. It all happens during Christmas time by the way.The second film is "We're No Angels" (1955), directed by Michael Curtiz. Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray play three outlaws who just escaped Devil's Island into Cayanne in French Guiana. They hide out in a failing merchant's shop with the intention of robbing the place blind at night. The family's kindness though gives them a change of heart and they decide to use their illegal skills to solve every single problem – professional and personal – the family is facing.#christmasmovies #classiccinema #humphreybogart #johnwayne We Wish You a Merry Christmas by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.orgDanse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005 Artist: http://incompetech.com Carol Of The Bells by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Artist: http://audionautix.comCanon and Variation by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org
No, Old Movies Dont Look Like Plays. Heres Why Moviewise 2023-12-08 | Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/MoviewiseRead David Bordwell saying "Try doing this on the stage!" davidbordwell.net/blog/2023/03/03/manual-labors A video essay explaining why old films don't really look like stage plays. It's a common criticism among young viewers (at least, I hope they're young) to claim that classical movies are too "theatrical", as if they were no more than filmed plays.Though the influence of theatrical staging on cinematic staging is undeniable, cinema is capable of creative arrangements of actors and sets that are simply impossible on the stage. We'll see examples in three films from the classical era, all from brilliant filmmakers: Otto Preminger's "Anatomy of a Murder", Jean Renoir's "The Rules of the Game" and John Huston's "The Asphalt Jungle". Plus, we'll see how one Steven Spielberg still keeps creative cinematic staging alive and well in "The Fabelmans".You'll realize there's a term more appropriate to cinema than our famous mise-en-scène: mise-en-cadre, or mise-en-frame, or mise-en-shot. It's a thing.#videoessay #filmmaking #classiccinema #cinematography #filmdirector #jamesstewart #Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 - Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303 Artist: http://incompetech.com
The Filmmaker Who Did Everything Right Moviewise 2023-11-24 | Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/MoviewiseA video essay about the greatest writer cinema ever had the privilege of having: Billy Wilder. With his strong characters, witty dialogue, clever plot structure and emphasis on action, he shows you how to make a screenplay that's precious and cinematic. With his long takes, wide angles, pristine timing and sophistication he was also one of the greatest directors of all time. Here we'll compare Billy's perfect romantic comedy "Sabrina" (1954) - which he wrote alongside Samuel Taylor and Ernest Lehman (he always wrote with collaborators) - to Sydney Pollack's 1995 remake. You'll see how everything special about the original film was cold-heartedly eliminated, creating a sobby average love story instead of a well-made masterpiece. Why anyone would try to rewrite Billy Wilder's dialogue is completely beyond me.Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn / Julia Ormond) is the daughter of the millionaire Larrabee family's chauffeur. She's in love with their youngest son, playboy David (William Holden / Greg Kinnear), but he barely knows she exists. After she returns from Paris transformed into a new woman (Audrey Hepburn without a hairtail?) David is finally smitten. The eldest son, Linus (Humphrey Bogart / Harrison Ford), won't let David throw away his upcoming union to a more lucrative prospect though, so he gets in the way.00:00 Sabrina02:44 Comparing Scenes07:57 Demigods vs. Mortals11:58 Props & Motifs15:24 Dialogue#videoessay #screenwriting #billywilder #filmmaking #dialogue #cinema Call to Adventure - Comedy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300022Artist: http://incompetech.comBushwick Tarantella by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300002Artist: http://incompetech.com
Scary Cameras: The Dirty Tricks of Horror Films Moviewise 2023-10-27 | A video essay on the various ways horror films use the camera to scare you. Directors enjoy playing with your anxiety and blurring the lines between objective and subjective angles to make you fear just about everything.These effective techniques can be found everywhere, from "Halloween" to "Scream", from "Friday the 13th" to "I Know What You Did Last Summer", from "The Shining" to "Scary Movie". They're specially prevalent in the works of Italian founding fathers of terror Dario Argento and Mario Bava.Find out what they are!#videoessay #horror #scream #filmmaking #cinematography Investigations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100646Artist: http://incompetech.com
Writing a Perfect Cast of Characters Moviewise 2023-10-13 | Join our free newsletter: moviewise.beehiiv.com/subscribeA video essay analyzing the terrific screenplay of the epic western "The Big Country" (1958), directed by William Wyler and written by *inhales*... James R. Webb & Sy Bartlet & Robert Wilder; aAdaptation by Jessamyn West & Robert Wyler (don't confuse him with Robert Wilder); based on the novel by Donald Hamilton.We'll take a look at how each of its seven major characters make the movie's world shine thanks to their surprising similarities and differences. And this is also the best film to discuss the subject of masculinity, by opposing true manliness to infantile braggadocio.Jim McKay (Gregory Peck) arrives in the west to settle down with his fiancée Pat (Carroll Baker), daughter of Major Henry Terrill (Charles Bickford), who's in a decades-long feud with the Hannassey clan, led by Rufus (Burl Ives, stealing the show).The boastful men of the land like Buck Hannassey (Chuck Connors) and Terrill foreman Steve Leech (Charlton Heston) provoke Jim, but he doesn't need to prove his courage to anyone as he intends to buy the land of Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons) and put an end to the feud.Also mind how beautifully composed are Wyler's scope frames.Join me on Patreon ► patreon.com/Moviewise#videoessay #filmmaking #screenwriting
The Argentinian Film That Mastered Visual Storytelling Moviewise 2023-09-29 | A video essay about the outstanding 2014 Argentinian movie "Wild Tales" (Relatos Salvajes), written and directed by Damián Szifrón.A black comedy anthology film featuring 6 stories about revenge and lashing out against society, "Wild Tales" features numerous examples of creative direction that elevate its excellent screenplays to the highest level of contemporary visual storytelling.In this directing analysis we'll go through some remarkable shots that never call attention to themselves but reveal perfect cases of staging, blocking, composition and camera angle. Szifrón sure loves his rack focus.The cast is also terrific, featuring Rita Cortese, Oscar Martínez, Erica Rivas, Pedro Almodóvar regular Darío Grandinetti, and, obviously, Ricardo Darín as Bombita. You simply can't make a film in Argentina without him. It's literally against the law.Do you also know Gabriel Pasternak?Join me on Patreon ► patreon.com/Moviewise#videoessay #filmmaking #cinematography Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.com
What Makes a Great Performance? Moviewise 2023-09-15 | A video essay that seeks to unpack the mysteries of a great performance. What's it all about?We'll go through a three minute scene from "Giant" where James Dean elevates the art of acting to new heights. Then we'll move to "Glengarry Glen Ross", where Al Pacino brings David Mamet's words to life through unbelievably rich line delivery and body language. Did you ever notice how much he plays around with his leads?I'll talk about a tiny detail I love in Joe Pesci's performance in "Goodfellas", then about an even tinier detail in Henry Fonda's performance in "Jezebel". #videoessay #alpacino #cinema #filmmaking #joepesci #jamesdean
The Future of Cinema Is in the Past Moviewise 2023-09-03 | A video essay about how current directors have been using the Scope aspect ratio (~2.4 : 1) incorrectly. To prove that the wide images we have been getting are not truly wide, we’ll go through the history of widescreen. First we’ll see how classical filmmakers like William Wyler, Anthony Mann, Vincente Minnelli and Akira Kurosawa used to frame their images in Academy Ratio (1.37 : 1), then we’ll see how they adapted to 2.35 and 2.55. What did they gain and what did they lose?As time went by, however, Scope faced the challenge of television and pan and scan (urgh…). To save their images, directors devised two strategies that allowed their films to be shown on the small screen without much loss: Shoot Full Frame or Shoot and Protect. The latter was the more popular choice and it slowly lead to the downfall of Scope.TVs grew bigger and wider, making letterbox an attractive choice to save Scope frames. Unfortunately, directors got a liking to those black bars without much minding why they were there. This lead to our age, in which audiovisual media is shot in 2.39 willy-nilly, simply because it looks “cinematic”. And it seems the best way to get our directors to deliver us images that look full, tall and composed (at least better than bad Scope) is with the return of Academy Ratio as examples from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and Zack Snyder’s Justice League can prove. By the way, did you ever notice how poorly framed is Inception?00:00 Academy Ratio02:18 Scope06:32 Pan and Scan08:55 Letterboxing11:27 IMAX vs. Bad Scope16:52 Academy Returns#videoessay #cinema #directing #cinematography #aspectratio Canon in D Major by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100301Artist: http://incompetech.comJumpin Boogie Woogie by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Artist: http://audionautix.comCall to Adventure - Comedy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300022Artist: http://incompetech.comCopyright free images from Unsplash
This Old TV Show Has Better Directing Than Anything Today Moviewise 2023-08-18 | A video essay about the legendary 1976 BBC miniseries "I, Claudius": the intrigue-heavy, blood-soaked, sex-maniac, decades-spanning story of the first four Roman emperors. Brilliantly adapted by Jack Pulman from the novels by Robert Graves, the series was directed by journeyman Herbert Wise. Here you'll see how his deft camerawork and creative blocking elevated a seemingly stagy production into an extraordinary example of effective cinematic staging.The stunning cast features Derek Jacobi (Claudius), Siân Phillips (Livia), Brian Blessed (Augustus), John Hurt (Caligula), Patrick Stewart (Sejanus), George Baker (Tiberius) and Patricia Quinn (Livilla).#videoessay #filmmaking #cinematography Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.comConsort for Brass - Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN110068 Artist: http://incompetech.com
How Woody Allen Became a Great Director Moviewise 2023-08-04 | A video essay about one of the greatest American filmmakers and the evolution of his directing style. Though Woody Allen is deservedly praised for his extraordinary screenplays, his enormous abilities in staging and shooting scenes deserve closer analysis.Woody's early, funny films were "Take the Money and Run", "Bananas", "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask", "Sleeper" and the funniest movie of all time, "Love and Death". As hilarious as they are, there is nothing remarkable about how they were directed. Show the joke, move on. That's their motto, and thanks to terrific editor Ralph Rosenblum they keep a brisk pace.Then, in "Annie Hall", Woody hired cinematographer extraordinaire Gordon Willis (The Godfather, 1 and 2). Gordy taught Woody how to plan and prepare each shot and what emerged from that partnership is movie history.From then on, Woody developed his two favorite types of shots, which he used, reused, fine-tuned and perfected through the years. I call these shots the "Flat Oner" and the "Walk to Walk and Talk... and Away".We'll go through some Allen/Willis films ("Interiors", "Manhattan", "Broadway Danny Rose") to demonstrate how much he improved as a visual storyteller. Then we'll analyze scenes from Woody's three masterpieces: "Hannah and Her Sisters", "Crimes and Misdemeanors" and "Bullets Over Broadway".00:00 How Woody Allen Became a Great Director01:25 Early, funny, lazy.03:50 "Gordon knew it all".05:42 Walk to Walk and Talk... and Away.07:41 And apartments are flats.09:24 With all this use of space...14:33 Blocking king of New York City.20:27 "I forgot my mantra."#woodyallen #videoessay #directing #cinema Woody Allen's quotes about Gordon Willis come from his autobiography "Apropos of Nothing".Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/MoviewiseDispersion Relation by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100258Artist: http://incompetech.com
Directing Comedy Is No Joke Moviewise 2023-07-21 | Directed by Charles Crichton, "A Fish Called Wanda" is the perfect comedy! Not only is John Cleese's screenplay (with story by him and Crichton) the ideal example of how to write a hilarious and fast-paced story, but the director - helped by his long experience as a classical filmmaker - shot the whole film with enviable precision. In this video essay you'll learn that what's usually called "invisible directing" is not really invisible when you know what to look for. In this case, watch the film looking for these 5 directing techniques: energetic blocking, wide shots, fluid camerawork, frame filling and background action. We'll cap it off by analyzing one of the movie's greatest scenes shot by shot (almost) and pointing out how Crichton masterfully guides you through this hilarious bedroom farce. 00:00 A Fish Called Wanda 02:50 Energetic Blocking 03:56 Wide Shots 04:43 Fluid Camerawork 05:59 Frame Filling 06:53 Background Action 07:33 Synchronicity 09:01 Scene Breakdown Master criminal George Thomason (Tom Georgeson, seriously) and animal loving stutterer Ken (Michael Palin) hire Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her "brother" Otto (Kevin Kline) for a diamond heist. After Wanda and Otto betray George, Wanda tries to seduce his lawyer, the uptight Archie Leach (John Cleese), for information. Otto is jealous. Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise #videoessay #directing #jamieleecurtis Call to Adventure - Comedy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300022 Artist: http://incompetech.com Scheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.com Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weasel Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWU
Top 5 Tragic Endings (You Didn’t Expect) Moviewise 2023-07-07 | What's the only thing better than a happy ending? And what's the only thing better than a sad ending? An over-the-top disastrous ending that comes out of nowhere!This is a list for the five films with the biggest last second failures from the good guys' part. Movies that seem on their way to a typically pleasant conclusion and up and decide that making you suffer is more fun. Movies that, out of the blue, woke up and chose violence. Films that pick you up at your place, talk some fascinating conversation, pay for dinner, take you back to their romantic penthouse, make you feel like the world's most special star, understand precisely how you want to be touched, make you finally realize what love and pleasure are all about, then stab you in the eye.00:00 Sudden Depressing Endings00:43 502:47 404:55 307:00 208:56 1Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise #movielist #cinema #ending Master of the Feast by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1400019Artist: http://incompetech.comScheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWUCanon in D Major by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100301Artist: http://incompetech.comWay Out West by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org
Why Every Film Today Looks the Same Moviewise 2023-06-23 | A video essay about the directing style that has dominated cinema since the 1970s: Intensified Continuity.David Bordwell, our greatest movie theorist, created the term to define this visual fashion that replaced the classical form. His amazing book “The Way Hollywood Tells It: Story and Style in Modern Movies” can tell you everything about the subject.Intensified Continuity is marked by fast cuts, over predominance of close shots, lens length extremes (though Bordwell emphasizes the clear overuse of long lenses) and constantly moving cameras. Most living filmmakers have these tendencies as an eternal part of their arsenal, from Michael Bay to Michael Mann, from the Wachowskis to Ridley Scott, from the Farrelly brothers to Christopher Nolan.The style also brought, unfortunately, a preference for lazy blocking. Most films are blocked in the Stand & Deliver style, in which two actors stand or sit (Sit & Deliver mostly) still and talk without ever moving. Cutting from one close-up to the next, the scene (and the movie) move at a visually inert pace. Walk & Talk is an alternate choice, but directors from the classical era had a richer quiver, which included the Cross and the Turn Away. By analyzing six scenes from five movies we’ll check the limitations of Intensified Continuity and the wider set of creative choices used by classical directors. A comparison between Peter Jackson’s Council of Elrond in “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” and Robert Wise’s final board meeting in “Executive Suite” will reveal how little value a beautiful extravagant set has when the director is only interested in shooting quick faces with the long lens. Then a comparison between Mia and Sebastian’s fight in Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” and Margo and Bill’s fight in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s “All About Eve” will show what a difference elaborate blocking can make when staging a scene. It’s odd that Chazelle decided to be so static in such a dramatic moment when earlier, in a lighthearted scene, he perfectly blocked his actors the same way a classical filmmaker might have done.Finally, a scene from Robert Redford’s “Quiz Show” will demonstrate how directors can use the fast and dramatic pace of Intensified Continuity while still keeping older techniques alive. 00:00 Intensified Continuity04:35 Flamboyance06:03 Blocking07:12 The Fellowship of the Ring vs. Executive Suite11:22 La La Land vs. All About Eve15:38 Quiz ShowJoin me on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise #videoessay #cinema #thelordoftherings #lalaland #directing #blocking In his book “Figures Traced in Light: On Cinematic Staging” (my favorite of his), David Bordwell analyzes a scene from “Jerry Maguire” and long lens shots from “Heat” and "Jerry Maguire", both of which I included here while I speak. Much of the enlightening information I learned from him also comes from his invaluable blog.David Bordwell’s article about Intensified Continuity: http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2007/05/27/intensified-continuity-revisited David Bordwell’s article about Blocking: http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2007/02/09/walk-the-talk David Bordwell’s article about the Cross: http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2010/06/01/the-cross Copyright free images from UnsplashDanse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.comEnigma by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100241Artist: http://incompetech.comInvestigations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100646Artist: http://incompetech.com
Storytellings Most Useful Type of Scene Moviewise 2023-06-10 | A video essay on the most narratively powerful type of sequence or scene that you will find in a movie, book, play or what you will... the Celebration.Weddings, funerals, birthdays, parties and balls (and orgies?). They are the stuff of great writing because they give a story the chance to gather every important character and let them interact for a while under the auspice of important themes such as love and death. Through their behavior and reactions we get glimpses of their different personalities. Characters who would normally never meet have long awaited encounters. Celebrations can set the world of the movie or establish a particular time of happiness (or lack thereof...).Leon Tolstoy (War and Peace), Gustave Flaubert (Madame Bovary), William Shakespeare (Hamlet), Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice) and that highly productive scribe Anonymous (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) all knew it. As did screenwriting couple Frances Goodrich and Albert Hacket and the other screenwriting couple Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan.Through several examples you'll learn why celebration sequences are so ubiquitous and infinitely useful. Seven out of ten episodes in Succession's final season were centered on some kind of event after all.00:00 The Bad Sleep Well00:29 The Godfather01:01 Celebration Sequences01:44 All About Eve02:05 The Deer Hunter03:03 Fanny and Alexander03:51 Literature05:28 Visconti's The Damned & The Leopard06:28 The Thin Man07:34 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy08:13 Advantages & Opportunities#videoessay #thegodfather #kurosawa #ingmarbergman #thedeerhunter #thegreatgatsby #screenwriting #screenwritingtips Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.comBushwick Tarantella by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300002Artist: http://incompetech.comConsort for Brass - Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN110068 Artist: http://incompetech.com
5 Films to Watch After Successions Finale Moviewise 2023-05-29 | "Succession" may be over but there are still many great stories about court intrigue, power grabs, backstabbing, shady dealings, uneasy alliances, Machiavellian maneuvers and verbal abuse. And here is a list of five great films to fill up that Succession-sized hole in your heart. Five films full of plots, lies, betrayals, schemes, conspiracies and curses. Five films to watch after the most amazing finale of our age.00:00 Succession01:04 503:59 407:01 309:37 212:30 1#succession #successionseason4 #finale #successionfinale #network #alpacino #briancox #list Bushwick Tarantella by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300002Artist: http://incompetech.comIndustrial Revolution by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100811Artist: http://incompetech.com
The Simple Formula for Witty Dialogue Moviewise 2023-05-19 | Wit! You can't describe it but you know wit when you see it. It's coming up with the perfect quip at the right moment, but how does one master the art of being witty? As Humphrey Bogart said in "The Barefoot Contessa", there's more to talking than just words (that's a paradox).What do William Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Billy Wilder, Peter Greenaway, Groucho Marx and you two hours too late have in common? We'll go through some of the wittiest movies ever written like "Ridicule", "All About Eve", "The Thin Man", "His Girl Friday", "Casablanca", "The Belly of an Architect", "The Lion in Winter", "Closer", "Kind Hearts and Coronets" and "Sweet Smell of Success" to find out.This video essay will reveal the simple formula that can make you a master of wordplay, repartee, paradox, quipping or what you will. I know you're already a master of double entendre.00:00 Ridicule00:57 Wit01:50 Wordplay02:58 Double entendre03:38 "Misinterpretation"04:09 Thinking Wit06:11 Sweet Smell of Success07:00 Specificity08:30 Esprit d'escalier#videoessay #dialogue #screenwriting #cinema #screenwritingtips #film #witty Join me on Patreon: patreon.com/MoviewiseDanse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.comInvestigations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100646Artist: http://incompetech.comConsort for Brass - Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN110068 Artist: http://incompetech.com Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 - Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303 Artist: http://incompetech.com
Writing Intelligent Characters for Dummies Moviewise 2023-05-12 | An intelligent character thinks _____Welcome to the Pickle Game! Here you must guess what a movie character will do to get out of a pickle. We'll play it to talk about an essential lesson in screenwriting and storytelling: what makes an intelligent character different from everyone else?Once you've learned the secret you can create a brilliant character who can escape from any pickle even if you're a dummie (which I know you're not, you wonderful video-watcher and description-reader you!).00:00 Pickle Game00:19 Round 101:09 Round 202:01 Round 303:16 ConclusionWe'll start off by going through a scene from "The American", starring George Clooney and Thekla Reuten, directed by Anton Corbijn, written by Roman Joffe, based on a novel by Martin Booth. Then we're off to Clooney's "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", written by Charlie Kaufman, based on Chuck Barris's autobriography or something and starring Sam Rockwell and Julia Roberts. And on the final and hardest round we'll journey back to the silent era and watch Douglas Fairbanks as "The Thief of Bagdad", penned by himself and Achmed Abdullah, directed by Raoul Walsh (those sets by William Cameron Menzies also deserve a mention - did you know he invented the term "production designer?). Look, I just want to give credit to whoever wrote the great solutions I'm praising in the video and I figure the names must be in this paragraph by now. Yes, and keywords.Support my work on Patreon: patreon.com/Moviewise#videoessay #screenwriting #georgeclooney #samrockwell #confessionsofadangerousmind #theamerican
Dear directors, whats stopping you from directing like this? Moviewise 2023-05-05 | Swedish master director and screenwriter Ingmar Bergman is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. In 1953 he directed "Summer with Monika" (Sommaren med Monika) and gave a lesson (as he often did) on how to shoot a scene.In this video essay we'll analyze a short scene from the film to understand what's so special about it. Basically, it's a perfect example of three principles of composition in film: blocking, camera movement and camera angle.Blocking: actors move constantly in the scene, to the left, to the right, forward and backward. Protagonist Harry has a vague task to perform and it involves moving up and down repeatedly. Everything the actors do helps to keep the scene dynamic and visually interesting.Camera movement: the steady camera only moves to follow characters. If we need to look at an actor who is offsceen, Bergman makes the camera follow a character who is moving to that part of the set. This is unobtrusive camerawork at its best.Camera angle: there are two or three distinct angles (a couple very similar) and all of them show a great deal of the set and give the actors room to move around and position themselves in perfectly visible ways that make use of the screen's height, width and depth. Also, every element shown onscreen (a door, a window, glasses) is used at one point or another, revealing that all visual elements were planned from the start.Every single detail about how this scene is shot is right. And this is just one shot out of many in this movie, which is just one movie out of many in Bergman’s career. This is how classical directors were masters of staging and framing. Something you seldom see today.#videoessay #ingmarbergman #directing #framing #blocking #filmmaking
Youll Never Hear Dialogue the Same Way Again Moviewise 2023-04-28 | Discussions about movie dialogue always revolve around matters of style, whether the language is heightened, snappy, literary, realistic or naturalistic. But there is one aspect of dialogue that should always come first: content. I raise the theory that there are only two types of content for dialogue, both in fiction and in real life: the Practical and the Analytical. Practical: facts and events. Reality. Things that happened, that are happening and that will happen.Analytical: Ideas and feelings. Opinions, hypotheses, analyses, analogies, metaphors, connections and conclusions. Basically this is the MBTI (Myers–Briggs Type Indicator) dichotomy of the preference for Sensing or Intuition applied to dialogue. Practical and Analytical are rarelly absolutes. They are poles, with dialogue mostly falling somewhere in the middle. But everyone still has a natural preference for one type of dialogue or the other. Many screenplays have subpar dialogue because of an excess of the Practical: characters speak about the plot, about stuff that happened, is happening and will happen (remember "Game of Thrones"?). But the Practical should be used only to provide exposition and to prepare characters to talk analytically.Take every film that is praised for its excellent dialogue ("His Girl Friday", "The Maltese Falcon", "Casablanca", "All About Eve", "Sweet Smell of Success", "The Apartment", "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", "A Man for All Seasons", "The Lion in Winter", "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "The Godfather", "Annie Hall", "Pulp Fiction", to name a few in here). What do they all have in common? All these films have their characters think and speak about their points of view concerning the world around them. The Analytical permits characters to be fleshed out and feel like real humans, not merely tools to move the plot along.The Practical and the Analytical can also be used to differentiate characters. Have you ever noticed how common is the pair of characters made up of the dreamer and the doer? One character likes to talk about ideas, the other speaks less and gets things done. Make sure to watch HBO's "Rome"; Vorennus and Pulo made up one of the best duos in TV history.As much as being Analytical is connected to intelligence and sophistication, it is also related to arrogant pedants. The character who is to the point and objective (Practical) can also be an intelligent man of action. Jean-Pierre Melville made a career out of Practical men who only speak what and when they need to. On the other hand, Éric Rohmer made a career out of characters who only speak analytically.In this video essay we'll go through this whole theory with plenty of examples.#videoessay #cinema #dialogue #screenwriting #screenplaytips Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.comScheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWUConsort for Brass - Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN110068 Artist: http://incompetech.com Copyright free images from Unsplash
Which Godfather Is the Best? Moviewise 2023-04-21 | "The Godfather" or "The Godfather: Part II"? Which one is the greater movie? Let's examine each movie's screenplay and direction to find out!It's not a clash between Vito Corleone and Michael Corleone, or about Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, but between these two great masterpieces of cinema. Which is your favorite?Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo wrote a masterpiece of an airtight script when they made the first film. Did they pull off the same feat the second time around? Coppola was a master director in full force on Part 2. Did he have the same powerful creative vision when he made the original film? What about cinematographer Gordon Willis?
Succession - Why Logan Always Wins Moviewise 2023-04-14 | Logan Roy (Brian Cox) is the almighty billionaire mogul head of the Waystar Royco media conglomerate in HBO’s Succession, the best show on TV. Brilliantly written by Jesse Armstrong, Logan is power personified with an enduring reputation of always winning. In this video essay we’ll find out whis secrets to power.By going through some of the show’s most iconic scenes and episodes (“Which Side Are You On?”, “Hunting” and “All the Bells Say”) you’ll see how diligently Logan follows Robert Greene’s “The 48 Laws of Power” and Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War”. And it’ll be clear why Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) fails in his weak attempts to be like his father.00:00 Logan Roy01:17 Dealing the Cards04:17 Kendall’s Failure06:31 Logan and The Art of War07:30 The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy#succession #briancox #videoessay #hbomax Industrial Revolution by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100811Artist: http://incompetech.comDanse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.comScheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWUHall of the Mountain King by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1200072Artist: http://incompetech.com
The Camera and the Mirror, A Love Story Moviewise 2023-04-07 | Out of the filmmaker's toolkit, one of the most underrated devices is the mirror. The camera and the mirror are likely the most perfect and enduring couple in the history of cinema. Mirrors and reflective surfaces can help spies, voyeurs and demons. Mirrors are perfect for comedy, drama, romance and thrillers. Reflections are the stuff of greatly composed frames. Mirrors can give you one or more frame within the frame, maybe even a frame within the frame within the frame.They are tools for self reflection, they make two characters face each other without facing each other, they put two characters facing each other side by side for the audience. Because they can be confused with reality, mirrors can block your way or save you from being seen by an enemy. They can also scare you (remember the mirror scare cliché?). Mirrors make the invisible visible, they access inaccessible parts of the set, they remove the need to cut or to pan the camera, they create unusual images, they give room for creative experimentation and they just damn look good!This video essay goes through the endless possibilities of mirrors in the movie screen. Enjoy!#videoessay #film #cinema #mirror
John Wick and the Problem with Writing Action Moviewise 2023-03-31 | John Wick was a landmark action movie. Its simple yet effective storyline was the perfect excuse to deliver amazingly choreographed action set pieces. Keanu Reeves made a memorable action hero comeback and a franchise was started. About that..."John Wick: Chapter 2", "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum" (a colon AND a hyphen!) and now "John Wick: Chapter 4" all doubled down and tripled down and above on the action without offering any story besides: John must survive.While the first film told a story of grief, puppy death revenge and took its time to build enormous expectation, all three sequels only throw goons at John to take down in repetitive ways. Let's see in this video essay why that is not enough and compare it to what is done right in the great action films "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".Ever noticed how Hollywood (check Marvel) gives you a fight scene, then pauses so characters can chat? Like there's no way of conveying personality through fighting.#johnwick #keanureeves #videoessay Scheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWUCall to Adventure - Comedy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300022Artist: http://incompetech.com
A Guide for Analyzing Movies Moviewise 2023-03-24 | How do you analyze a movie? Should you interpret it?Should you seek the hidden meaning behind every minuscule detail?Should you read each color on screen as a metaphor for the ancient virtues?Should you consider every which element and pixel before your eyes as a clue for illumination?Should you spend every breathing second of your life prostrate before that thousandth frame of "Vertigo" trying to understand what that little puppy sculpture on the corner means?? Let's find out!This is what I call the Freud Approach, or the Robert Langdon Contingency. It's fun but whether it's useful at all is up for debate.#videoessay #analysis #cinema Copyright free photos from Unsplash
Judging the Oscar Winners Moviewise 2023-03-17 | "Everything Everywhere All at Once" won 7 Oscars. Should it have won? Should anyone who won have won? Let's find out!00:00 2023 Academy Awards00:23 Best Foreign Language Film - All Quiet on the Western Front00:39 Best Original Song - "Naatu Naatu" from RRR01:07 Best Original Score - All Quiet on the Western Front02:26 Best Visual Effects - Avatar: The Way of Water 02:43 Best Makeup and Hairstyling - The Whale03:20 Best Sound - Top Gun: Maverick04:04 Best Costume Design - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever05:16 Best Production Design - All Quiet on the Western Front06:23 Best Cinematography - All Quiet on the Western Front07:13 Best Film Editing - Everything Everywhere All at Once07:40 Best Adapted Screenplay - Women Talking08:05 Best Original Screenplay - Everything Everywhere All at Once08:28 Best Supporting Actor - Ke Huy Quan for Everything Everywhere All at Once08:57 Best Supporting Actress - Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All at Once09:40 Best Actor - Brendan Fraser for The Whale10:16 Best Actress - Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All at Once11:40 Best Director - Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert for Everything Everywhere All at Once12:15 Best Picture - Everything Everywhere All at Once#oscars #everythingeverywhereallatonce #academyawards #kehuyquan #michelleyeoh #jamieleecurtis #brendanfraser #thewhale #naatunaatu #rrr Scheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWUInvestigations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100646Artist: http://incompetech.comConsort for Brass - Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN110068 Artist: http://incompetech.com Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 - Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303 Artist: http://incompetech.comCopyright free photos from Unsplash
Why Women Talking Should NOT Have Won the Oscar Moviewise 2023-03-10 | Sarah Polley's "Women Talking" is the front runner for the Oscar of Best Adapted Screenplay and, even though its plot and characters are of great intelligence, it should not win. The reason concerns a crass mistake of adaptation, a clear example of misreading that made the movie's dialogue make no sense.The second favorite is "All Quiet on the Western Front" (Edward Berger & Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell). Should this adaptation of the classic Erich Maria Remarque novel win?And what about "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" (Rian Johnson)? And Kazuo Ishiguro's adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's "Ikiru", "Living", starring Bill Nighy? Or maybe the Oscar should go to - bear with me - "Top Gun: Maverick" (Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie, story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks)? 00:00 Women Talking04:27 All Quiet on the Western Front07:09 Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery08:21 Top Gun: Maverick10:43 Living#womentalking #oscar #topgunmaverick #topgun #glassonion #knivesout #living #allquietonthewesternfrontDanse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=005Artist: http://incompetech.comScheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWUConsort for Brass - Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN110068 Artist: http://incompetech.com Copyright free photos from Unsplash.
Best Director! How Do You Judge It? Moviewise 2023-03-03 | In this video essay I analyze the direction of the five films nominated for the Oscar of Best Achievement in Directing in 2023. Which one do you want to win?00:00 How to judge who is the best director00:25 Todd Field for Tár03:04 Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans05:38 Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for Everything Everywhere All at Once09:18 Martin McDonagh for The Banshees of Inisherin12:48 Ruben Östlund for Triangle of Sadness#oscar #everythingeverywhereallatonce #tar #thebansheesofinisherin #triangleofsadness Scheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWUConsort for Brass - Classical Rousing by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN110068 Artist: http://incompetech.com Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 - Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303 Artist: http://incompetech.comCopyright free photos from Unsplash
Rating the Oscar of Best Original Screenplay 2023 Moviewise 2023-02-24 | Let's analyze each screenplay nominated for the Academy Award of Best Original. What's good? What's bad? Which one is your favorite?-"The Banshees of Inisherin" written by Martin McDonagh-"Everything Everywhere All at Once" written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert-"The Fabelmans" written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner-"Tár" written by Todd Field-"Triangle of Sadness" written by Ruben ÖstlundWe all know it's either gonna be EEAAO or Banshees.00:00 Triangle of Sadness03:59 The Fabelmans07:00 Everything Everywhere All at Once09:14 The Banshees of Inisherin11:17 Tár#oscar #everythingeverywhereallatonce #tar #thebansheesofinisherin #thefabelmans #triangleofsadness Scheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWUInvestigations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100646Artist: http://incompetech.com
Should the Oscar Go to Everything Everywhere All at Once? Moviewise 2023-01-27 | Will the kung fu movie about a dimension hopping Chinese lady who just wants to pay her taxes and run her laundromat win the Academy Award of Best Motion Picture of 2022?Hard to tell, but "Everything Everywhere All at Once" is still a timely film that deals with the Gen Z mindset and humor better than any other film yet made. The screenplay of EEAAO also pulls off quite a balancing act by giving us character arcs for all 5 major characters AND their alternate selves, all the while using some creatively insane universes to tell a simple story of a mother coming to terms with her teenage daughter.But the screenplay would never work without some careful directing and the Daniels make sure their story is perfectly understandable at all times. Let's check how!What makes a film encyclopedic? Find out here: youtu.be/AZ4uFzcmehE #eeaao #everythingeverywhereallatonce #michelleyeoh Investigations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100646Artist: http://incompetech.comScheming Weasel (faster version) by Kevin MacLeod http://incompetech.comCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/scheming-weaselMusic promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/2CapGaKMsWU
