Word: cameraworks
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...symbolism and its disruption of the conventional rules of narrative, occupies a cinematic universe distinct from Bergman's. Scenes from a Marriage is a classical work. It derives its dramatic power from the potency of its dialogue, the emotive force of its actors, and the austerity of Bergman's camerawork with its insistent focusing on the torn faces of the protagonists. The Middle of the World, on the other hand, is a thoroughly modernist work, straining its story through a sieve of images, metaphors, and formalistic devices which, while establishing the film as a more ambitious production, dilute its intensity...
...edition of an etching. It is the responsiveness of his printing, combined with his long wait at the view finder, that gives Adams' handmade landscapes their unique and poetic clarity. If he is an anachronism, as some crit ics claim, Adams remains the most commanding anachronism in modern camerawork...
...REMOVED the psychological insight from Dostoevsky's story, using an actor whose face reveals nothing and attempting a political statement contrary to his romantic nature. This has been a major problem in Bertolucci's other adaptations. Before the Revolution (1963) covered over Stendahl's psychological crystallization with broadbrush, romantic camerawork. The Spider's Stratagem (1969) lengthened a tightly constructed story by Borges to the breaking point. These films, in varying degree, destroyed what was good in their sources without adding anything else. Partner, in particular, which obliterates its source with such effectiveness--and to such little artistic effect--contrasts strongly...
VISUALLY, TOO, PARTNER points up Bertolucci's greatest short-coming. Aside from occasional verbal slips, he is most pretentious when his fluid camerawork begins to dominate the content of the film. Superfluous dolly shots, over-emphasis on color, and attempts at unusual angles begin at times to take over his films. Spider's Stratagem is probably the worst offender in this area, since Borges' story needed no extra emphasis at all. But there Bertolucci was merely trying too hard to make his points. In Partner he molds the film to suit his visual whim. A revolving chandelier is the most...
Yasujiro Ouzu's Autumn Afternoon (sometimes titled The Taste of Mackerel) is, quite, simply, a masterpiece. Its muted color and rigorously simple camerawork are consistently a joy to watch, and its emotional insight into post-war Japan is consistently moving. Little more could be said without delving into the intricate simplicity of this wonderful film...