Billy Wilder’s 1951 masterpiece Ace in the Hole (or The Big Carnival) is exactly that. It’s a blistering, uncomfortable watch. Even seventy years later, it feels like a punch to the gut, holding up a mirror to media sensationalism and human greed in… Read More »Ace in the Hole (1951) – Cinematography Analysis & Stills
I’ve spent thousands of hours in grading suites, but nothing quite prepared me for the cognitive dissonance of The Act of Killing. But Joshua Oppenheimer’s film throws all those standard rules out the window. It’s a total head-trip that forced me… Read More »The Act of Killing (2012) – Cinematography Analysis & Stills
I first picked up To Be or Not to Be because of its reputation for being “too soon” for 1942 audiences. But as I sat with it, I stopped thinking about the controversy and started obsessing over how Rudolf Maté managed to… Read More »To Be or Not to Be (1942) – Cinematography Analysis & Stills
Moustapha Akkad’s The Message is a different beast entirely. It’s a film that shouldn’t work. You’ve got a massive, three-hour historical epic where the main character is never seen, never heard, and never even directly quoted. For many, this film was a… Read More »The Message (1976) – Cinematography Analysis & Stills
Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show. It’s a 1971 classic that serves as a cold, hard reminder of why I got into this craft. It isn’t just a movie; it’s a deep dive into the soul of visual storytelling. It’s raw.… Read More »The Last Picture Show (1971) – Cinematography Analysis & Stills
Every frame is a choice that guides the viewer’s eye and manipulates their pulse. So, when I sat down to rewatch Peter Bogdanovich’s Paper Moon (1973) recently, it wasn’t just a casual viewing. It felt like a masterclass in how deliberate cinematography… Read More »Paper Moon (1973) – Cinematography Analysis & Stills
I spend most of my life in a darkened room, pushing pixels and massaging shadows to find the right narrative “soul.” So, when a film like Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Winter Sleep comes across my radar, it’s more than just a movie. It’s… Read More »Winter Sleep (2014) – Cinematography Analysis & Stills