In a movie, the director is always present, invisible. We see his or her effect or indifference on the actors, the camera, the editing. So what if we pull back a little further, behind the finished image
"A lot of things are going wrong today. It's just not my day," says the carpet salesman before he starts to weep. The joke, of course, is that no one ever has their day. Jokes, punchlines, gags – they
Amazing what some people can do in a half-dozen paragraphs. In May of this year, Jean Douchet, one of the original critics for Cahiers du cinéma, wrote a short text entitled "Notre Combat." The resourceful
The dream of the lightweight camera is to be able to go anywhere and capture any image. Of all the dreams films and film production have provided us with, it's the one we've followed through the least
What is the 21st Century? is the column where Ignatiy Vishnevetsky tries to find an answer to the titular question. *** Above: Alden Ehrenreich (left, facing away) and Vincent Gallo (right) talk in
Above: An image from the beginning of The Life of the Dead. It's a good day. Cool Chicago summer — a few days before the 4th of July, but it feels like September. I'm sitting in the living room, going
Above: Michael Mann (second from the right) and crew members working on Public Enemies. Photo by Rob Olewinski. I spent a few days in the summer of 2008 on the set of Michael Mann's Public Enemies
Above: The Biograph Theater in 1934 and as it appeared when re-decorated in 2008 for the production of Public Enemies. I spent a few days in the summer of 2008 on the set of Michael Mann's Public Enemies
Above: Stand-ins help rehearse a scene from Public Enemies. Photo by Rob Olewinski. I spent a few days in the summer of 2008 on the set of Michael Mann's Public Enemies, which was shooting at the time
What is the 21st Century? is the column where Ignatiy Vishnevetsky tries to find an answer to the titular question. *** Above: Michael Bay on the set of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. "Who is
What is the 21st Century? is the weekly column where Ignatiy Vishnevetsky tries to find an answer to the titular question. *** Above: Paris By Night (1959) by Asger Jorn; Miami Vice (2006), directed
Above: Sasha Grey in The Girlfriend Experience. Steven Soderbergh's a difficult figure to pin down, because he's both approachable and completely elusive. As a man who usually serves as his own cinematographer