Filmmaker Videos
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Watch: William Friedkin Visits Criterion’s Offices
In the latest edition of “a famous person visits the Criterion Collection’s offices,” William Friedkin drops by to browse. Sighting Sunday Bloody Sunday, he remembers that as another film nominated for Best Picture the year he won with The French Connection. Segeuing from memory to pro-digital polemic, he says that the Criterion’s editions preserve films as they were meant to be seen, unlike movie theaters, where prints are “scratched up.” He also praises “one of Walter Huston’s greatest performances, The Devil and Daniel Webster” and talks up Jules Dassin’s Brute Force. “I never thought I’d see this again,” he says, […]
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Watch: The Teaser for Twin Peaks’ Unexpected Return in 2016
This is unexpected but welcome: in 2016, 25 years after its abrupt and terrifying finale, Twin Peaks will return to Showtime in 2016. Variety has the story, but for now here’s a teaser trailer with zero new footage that’s still mildly bonechilling. Fans, you may recall that abrasively loud Frost/Lynch production company logo that ended every episode; it’s the stinger here, so maybe turn down the volume.
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Watch: P.T. Anderson and Inherent Vice Cast’s NYFF Press Conference
Stoking the fires of anticipation for P.T. Anderson’s Pynchon adaptation Inherent Vice, here’s the press conference from Saturday morning’s NYFF press screening. The questions may not always be on point, but you’ll probably want to stick with it for P.T. Anderson quoting Crazy People to explain why he shot in 1.85 rather than widescreen (it’s like a Volvo: “they’re boxy but they’re good”), Owen Wilson explaining that “I had one shirt that I really wanted to wear, and I guess it wasn’t ’70s enough” and that his look was equally modeled on Dennis Wilson and Zoot the sax player from […]
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Trailer Watch: Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper
Here’s an effective alternative to the traditionally jam-packed action thriller trailer. The first bumper for Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper is structured entirely around a white knuckled do-or-die scenario in which the titular protagonist, played by Bradley Cooper, wagers whether or not to make a kill shot. Based on Navy Seal Chris Kyle’s autobiography and co-starring Sienna Miller, the film opens on Christmas Day, just in time for awards season.
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Watch: iPhone 6 Plus 240 fps Slow Motion Test Footage
Our friends at No Film School have a good round-up of 240 fps test footage shot with the iPhone 6 Plus. I’m particularly mesmerized by this 39-second snippet, which is nothing more than wine being poured from a bottle into a glass. The same way NFL Films render just about anything hypnotic by breaking it down to the tiniest movements, so here: wine’s trajectory through air is captured in all its separate streams, then blood-like bubbles and blobs pop up as liquid hits glass.
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Watch: Breaking Down David Fincher’s Directorial Techniques
While the gender politics behind David Fincher’s much-anticipated Gone Girl adaptation may be muddled, the “dark lord of cinema”‘s direction is as crystalline and precise as ever. Tony Zhou, in his latest Every Frame A Painting, examines how Fincher manages to make even the most expository exchanges cinematic by using framing to relate character dynamics. He also takes a close look at Fincher’s faithfulness to the tripod, sparing use of close-ups, and almost inhuman camera movements. It’s a must watch for anyone who values the abilities of visual language.
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Trailer Watch: Interstellar, Now with Giant Waves
Here’s the latest trailer for Christopher Nolan’s global warming/space travel epic Interstellar, now reported to clock in at a you-better-deliver 175 minutes. Where the last trailer had Michael Caine orating Dylan Thomas to urge humanity to not go gentle into that good night, this time the exposition gives a more concrete idea of what to expect, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your tastes. There’s also lots of Matthew McConaughey urging people not to give up and what appears to be the biggest tidal wave since The Abyss‘ director’s cut.
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Trailer Watch: Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice
Paisley, mutton chops and “It’s a Wonderful World” — here’s the brand new trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson’s eagerly awaited Inherent Vice, adapted from Thomas Pynchon’s novel. Joaquin Phoenix, Benicio del Toro, Katherine Waterston, Owen Wilson and Reese Witherspoon all star in PTA/Pynchon’s woozy comedy about the end of the ’60s.
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Steven Soderbergh Re-imagines Raiders of the Lost Ark as a Masterclass in Staging
A little belated in posting the latest installment from Steven Soderbergh’s guerrilla film school, but better than never, as the saying goes. Here, Soderbergh sets Steven Spielberg’s seminal blockbuster Raiders of the Lost Ark to an electronic tinged soundtrack and black-and-white wash. His reasoning is that a dialogue-free version allows the film to be appreciated as a master class in the elusive technique of staging. In my book, Fassbinder is the top of the heap as far as blocking goes, but Soderbergh makes the case for the other Steven in the following terms: I value the ability to stage something well because when […]
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“Even If It’s a Bad Movie, You Get a Good Running Commentary”: Slavoj Zizek at the Criterion Offices
Philosopher and critic Slavoj Zizek stopped by the Criterion offices the other day, resulting in this video in which he talks his way through some of the titles in the stockroom. In just five minutes he tosses off tons of quips and instant analyses about films like Louis Malle’s Murmur of the Heart (“It’s one of those nice, gentle French movies, where you have incest”), Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo (“a pretentious fake” but with a good commentary track), and Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock, which he compares to Tarkovsky’s Stalker.
