With commentary from Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader
Being a film I’ve seen many times it was a good experience watching this again with the commentary. This time around I really noticed how much the camera moves. Scorsese might credit this to his many influences that he continually mentions, the likes of Powell-Pressburger and Godard come up frequently. I also noticed how much of an art film this actually is. That shot that moves in on the bubbling water and…
Mirror is unlike any film that I have seen before. It is a film of memories. Memories from a dying man. They take us to Russia prior to, during, and after world war II. There is no coherent storyline, only memories that jump back and forth out of chronological order. Rarely do we remember chronologically.
The opening scene acts as Tarkovsky’s opening statement. A therapist working with a man with a speech impediment. We see the shadow of the microphone…
Narration (Joanne Woodward): There’s always a criticism about narration - Scorsese’s opinion of narration is more for the tone of the movie than as a crutch to move the story forward. From the opening titles you can see the beauty of the film. There is an emphasis on art, particularly Paintings, there are lots of paintings. The film almost resembles a painting, with dissolves like brushstrokes, beautiful lighting, and fades to red or yellow. Scorsese has publicly professed his love for early Hollywood melodramas. Obviously, Scorsese is handling his great melodrama as carefully as the works of art that he is trying to emulate.
Paul Thomas Anderson films take multiple viewings for me to completely understand all of the nuances involved. This being my first viewing I am not quite prepared to dig into this one. Here are a few things I liked: Daniel Day-Lewis (obviously), on that note all of the actors are incredible - all of them, the use of food, Jonny Greenwood’s score, that grand shot of the New Years Eve party, the camera work in general, the great dark humor.…
Film School Dropout 2018
Week 15 - (2018) - Costume Design - Edith Head
Kirk Douglas is ON in every single scene.
In terms of Edith Head’s costume design: suspenders and a belt?!
A story of American capitalism. Making sure you’re looking out for number one. Ringing true, in journalism, the phrase “if it bleeds, it leads.” Continuing to rationalize your decision making throughout the whole thing, until you get to the point you realize you had gone too far, but it’s too late to change anything.
