Filmmaker Videos
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Watch: Robert Bresson, Less is More
For the uninitiated, Robert Bresson can seem like one of the more forbidding of the all-time great directors. But his work has a visual precision, narrative economy and compelling worldview that remain absolutely transfixing today. In his latest video essay, which itself clocks in at an economical seven minutes, Julian Palmer (aka The Discarded Image) isolates and comments upon several of the most important elements of the Bressonian style, making it a great intro for beginners. If you’d like to learn more about The Discarded Image, and to possibly support further videos, check out the Patreon page.
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Watch: “L’argent, A to Z”
James Quandt analyzes Robert Bresson’s themes and motifs in this video essay on L’argent, which just joined the Criterion Collection last month.
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Watch: David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return Comic-Con Message
David Lynch delivers a message to Comic-Con attending fans of Twin Peaks: The Return in the only way we could expect.
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Watch: How John Wick 2 Uses Silent Cinema Techniques to Convey Anguish
Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd all share something in common. No, I’m not referring to the fact that they’re all icons of silent comic cinema, but they are all essential inspiration for the movements and facial expressions of Keanu Reeves in John Wick 2. The excessive violence that has defined the action franchise might make one overlook this connection, but Christopher Aguiar (aka “Mr. Nerdista” will break it all down for you in the video above.
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How Viral Video Contests Led to Will Blank’s Beautiful Fantasy Short, Limbo
Recently receiving its online premiere after months of plaudits on the genre festival circuit, Will Blank’s Limbo is a beautifully executed fantasy short concluding with an unexpected philosophical gut punch. Adapted from Marian Churchland’s graphic short story, the set up is simple — a man coping with the detritus of a failing relationship heads to the desert, where he comes across a dying dog able to grant him one wish. The starkness of the environment and the pathos of the situation — nobly conveyed by Sam Elliott, who voices the (skillfully animatronic) dog — elevates this simple story into something […]
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Watch: “The Invisible Thelma Schoonmaker,” Martin Scorsese’s Editor
This video essay examines Thelma Schoonmaker’s key contributions to Martin Scorsese’s work by taking a closer look at two scenes from Raging Bull. Bonus: footage of the Scorsese exhibition currently on display at the Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam.
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Web Series Trailer Watch: Let Me Die a Nun
A team of notables are behind a forthcoming independent web series about “the opposing but intersecting trajectories of a lesbian soon-to-be nun (Ana Fabrega), her Jewish stalker (Carl Kranz), and the object of her affection (Hari Nef).” In addition to the actors above, the cast includes Eleanore Pienta (star of Filmmaker favorite See You Next Tuesday) and 2015 25 New Face Zia Anger, and the series is written, directed and edited by Sarah Salovaara (the short Google Ambien and also a former Filmmaker Contributing Web Editor). It’s produced by Rachel Wolther — whose Snowy Bing Bong was a delirious highlight […]
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Watch: “Stanley Kubrick: Practical Lighting”
In this video essay, Adam Tinius (aka “Entertain the Elk”) makes the case for Stanley Kubrick’s mastery of practical lighting.
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Watch: Michel Gondry’s Charming, iPhone-Shot Summer Vacation Short, Detour
Michel Gondry has made a charming and inventive — in his typically lo-fi way — short film for Apple that shows off the video capabilities of the iPhone 7. With elements of The Red Balloon, Toy Story and, I’m sure, memories Gondry has revisited from his own childhood family vacations in France, the short follows a family on their annual summer sojourn, a trip that winds up leaving the youngest child’s prized red tricycle along the side of the road. Impressively, the short doesn’t try to fake some kind of crazy bokeh, or indulge in trick macro shots. No, like […]
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Watch: “The Art of David Lynch”
The title is literal: this video essay looks at some of David Lynch’s key visual inspirations, including Rene Margritte, Edward Hopper, Arnold Böcklin and Francis Bacon.
