DANGEROUS WATERS I just got a few lashes from my friend Dennis Bartok for criticizing THE SET-UP, so Im going to get back on the horse now before I lose my ability to ride. Watched the beautiful MoC blu of LA NOTTE last night, and was impressed as always by Michelangelos skill at staging and composition -- typically unique composition. Hes one of my heroes, as well as a strong influence. All the more reason not to shy away from criticism, nit-picking as it may be. We all aim for that elusive dream perfection, even though, as Cormac McCarthy reminds us in COUNSELOR, its the imperfection in the diamond that makes it unique and beautiful. Sometimes skill and craft, the tricks of the trade, are our enemies. Antonioni was a master at moving and directing large groups and crowds. His style allows us to examine each frame at length. I began to notice a pattern to some of his direction of extras, with one or two too many bursts of laughter from a foreground featured extra (extra pay in Hollywood, no pun intended.) Of course the looped sound track didnt help. And the dying friend in the hospital at the beginning over-reacted to being jabbed with the needle. If perfection is unattainable, that shouldnt deter us from attempting to reach it, especially since its an impossible dream. And we should never be afraid to criticize our heroes, and particularly ourselves.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 18:42:15 +0000
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