Watch This Is Spinal Tap and then you revisit a film like Spinal Tap, and it hits you: sometimes the greatest “vision” a filmmaker can have is the discipline to make it look like there wasn’t one at all. With the 41st-anniversary… Read More »This Is Spinal Tap (1984) – Cinematography Analysis
Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1948) is always at the top of my list. I return to it constantly. It’s a film that is often overshadowed by the heavy hitters like Vertigo or Psycho, but to me, Rope is a quiet titan a masterclass in technical audacity that feels… Read More »Rope (1948) – Cinematography Analysis
Ghost in the Shell (1995) is exactly that. It’s a film I keep coming back to, not just because it predicted our digital mess of a future, but because the cinematography is an absolute masterclass. Honestly, calling it “animation” feels like… Read More »Ghost in the Shell (1995) – Cinematography Analysis
A Christmas Story, I still remember the hazy mid-90s VHS airings on the WGN Super Station. The fuzzy lines and the channel watermark weren’t “distractions” they were part of the texture. That “warm and fuzzy” feeling people talk about isn’t… Read More »A Christmas Story (1983) – Cinematography Analysis
Before Midnight (2013) is a difficult watch, but for all the right reasons. By the time we get to this third installment, the “fairytale” luster of Vienna and the bittersweet amber of Paris have evaporated. What’s left is something starker, more… Read More »Before Midnight (2013) – Cinematography Analysis
I still remember sitting in a theater back in 2004 when Hero finally hit the US. I was just a kid then, but the atmosphere in that room changed the second the first color sequence washed over the screen. As a filmmaker… Read More »Hero (2002) – Cinematography Analysis
Let’s talk about Wonder (2017), Wonder is a fascinating case study for that. Stephen Chbosky’s adaptation of the R.J. Palacio novel is basically a masterclass in empathy. Honestly, this film could have easily spiraled into manipulative, “hallmark” sentimentality. It’s a dangerous line… Read More »Wonder (2017) – Cinematography Analysis