Authors — Vadim Rizov
-
A Series of Visitations: Alexander Sokurov’s Days of Eclipse
The Strugatsky brothers novel upon which Alexander Sokurov’s 1988 Days of Eclipse is based has the following fairly mind-blowing premise: a group of scientists in Moscow find their research in various fields frustrated by inexplicable events, and conclude that the universe is deliberately sabotaging them in an attempt to preserve its mysteries. Sokurov’s film has plenty of the inexplicable but none of this throughline — it’s parsable only with difficulty and guidance from external sources — and relocates the settting from St. Petersburg to Krasnovodsk, Turkmenistan. Krasnovodsk is now Türkmenbaşy, having reclaimed an indigenous name in the post-Soviet era. This […]
by Vadim Rizov on Aug 22, 2014 -
Watch: China’s OnePlus One Smartphone Trumps Canon 5D Mark III’s Resolution
Giacomo Mantovani sent over this test video to No Film School, which compares China’s OnePlus One smartphone camera with Canon’s 5D Mark III, which both have 1080p capacity. Some of the side-by-side comparisons aren’t exactly the same: some of the OnePlus One footage cropped 300% is from a 4K file, while the 5K Mark III is only 1080p. The non-cropped footage from both cameras is at 1080p. As Mantovani writes, “The sole aim of this test is to compare how the OnePlus One performs in respect to the Canon 5D Mark III in a ideal light condition. In this case […]
by Vadim Rizov on Aug 21, 2014 -
Stray Links, 8/18-8/21: Orson Welles’ First Film is Online and Chinese Film History
This week’s round-up of suggested reading is all film-related for a change: • The China Digital Times conducts a long, fascinating interview with Paul Pickowicz, an authority on Chinese cinema who talks about studying film in China from 1982-83 as an “unwelcome guest,” shifting trends in national anxieties as expressed on-screen through the decades, how long-dead political affiliations shape the government’s choice of which films from pre-1949 to promote as canonical, and much more. It may be the most interesting film-related thing I’ve read all week. • Kurmanzhan Datka: Queen of the Mountains, a Kyrgyzstani epic about a 19th-century hero, […]
by Vadim Rizov on Aug 21, 2014 -
Trailer Watch: Kink, the BDSM Documentary from “25 New Faces” Alum Christina Voros
“If pornography were high school, we would be the goth table,” says one of the subjects of Christina Voros’ forthcoming documentary Kink, which looks at Kink.com, the web’s largest generator of BDSM porn. Voros was one of our “25 New Faces of Film” in 2008; you can read that profile here. Since then, she’s been very busy, especially as a cinematographer. Notably, since 2009 she’s regularly served as James Franco’s DP on shorts and features, including the recent Child of God and As I Lay Dying. Kink promises to delve deep and familiarize viewers with the producers of BDSM porn. […]
by Vadim Rizov on Aug 20, 2014 -
“Burn That Film! Burn It!” Tsui Hark and Patrick Lung Kong on A Better Tomorrow
It’s not every day a director comes on stage in Buddhist monk’s garb and slippers, but such was Patrick Lung Kong’s refreshingly idiosyncratic appearance Saturday night at Queens’ Museum of the Moving Image, two days into a two weekend retro of his work. To his right was Tsui Hark, who himself reshaped the Hong Kong film industry multiple times: with 1986’s Peking Opera Blues, a breakthrough moment for international recognition of HK martial arts fare, 1992’s Once Upon a Time in China, and as producer on John Woo’s 1986 A Better Tomorrow, among many other instances. 1967’s The Story of […]
by Vadim Rizov on Aug 19, 2014 -
Watch: A New Algorithm Near-Seamlessly Edits Footage from Multiple Cameras
Disney has a research division, and this video demonstrates something pretty cool they’ve been working on: an algorithm that automatically cuts together footage from multiple cameras. This isn’t entirely a new development: in the video above, the research team compares their results with those obtained using Vyclone, which kind of does the same thing. But Vyclone has trouble sorting footage in an orderly fashion if the camera pans between two separate actions happening in the same area, tending to randomly cut between the two. There are other advantages to Disney’s algorithm, which respects the 180-degree-rule when cutting between multiple sources, […]
by Vadim Rizov on Aug 18, 2014 -
Jealousy or, What Does Philippe Garrel Want?
Jealousy’s first view is from a keyhole. Daughter Charlotte (Olga Milshtein) peeps through, watching mother Clothilde (Rebecca Covenant) weep and beg actor husband Louis (played by Philippe Garrel’s son of the same name) not to leave. The film doesn’t primarily concern her feelings, nor necessarily Charlotte’s reaction to the split, though both are foregrounded in passing; as in i.e. recently Boyhood, a primary focus does not preclude space for alternate POVs. The main trajectory is Louis’ short, tumultuous relationship with his new partner Claudia (Anna Mouglalis), someone not nearly as in love with shabby-comfortable apartment life; the movie’s narrative is […]
by Vadim Rizov on Aug 15, 2014 -
Stray Links, 8/11-8/14: Film Preservation in China, Ferguson, and the Weight Watchers Recipes of 1974
Here’s this week’s round-up of reading, film-related and otherwise: • “Trying to make a film in Sub-Saharan Africa can be a financial and logistical feat, but getting it to audiences can be an even bigger task. A networking event at the Locarno Film Festival is a chance for African film-makers to make their project come to life.” Jo Fahy reports from Locarno on the Open Doors Lab, which brings 12 filmmakers from continental Africa to the festival to receive script mentoring, apply for Swiss funding and more. • Peter Greenaway has completed shooting one film about Sergei Eisenstein, which he’s […]
by Vadim Rizov on Aug 14, 2014 -
Watch: How to Pull Off a Dolly Zoom Timelapse
Here’s a compact instructional video from Eric Stemen, who demonstrates how to pull off a dolly zoom timelapse using some basic gear and software. A dolly zoom timelapse allows for both accelerated views of changing light and some impressive distortions of space; it’s an effect that’s very showy and always gets attention. Stemen’s short video walks you through the surprisingly relatively process of pulling off this expensive-looking trick. Hat tip to our friends at No Film School for spotlighting this video.
by Vadim Rizov on Aug 14, 2014 -
The 52nd New York Film Festival Main Slate is Here
Here we have the just announced line-up for the main slate of the 52nd New York Film Festival. It’s probably safe to expect some additional titles to be added later on, but the 30 titles below are already no joke, covering a broad swath of some of the most-discussed titles from this year’s festival circuit. Titles and descriptions are from Lincoln Center’s press release, which can be read in full here, with links to any previous coverage of the films as applicable in the title. Gone Girl (Opening Night – World Premiere, previously announced) David Fincher, USA, 2014, DCP, 150m […]
by Vadim Rizov on Aug 13, 2014
