Dispatches – Sun. Dec. 14, 2014 – Recommended Viewing Tonight on TCM Greetings Folks, Interesting viewing on TCM is in store for tonight and early tomorrow morning early. Overview - 8:00 PM – PM Great Expectations – B&W (1946) Received Oscar nomination for Best Picture Dir: David Lean – Oscar nomination for Best Direction DP: Guy Green - Won Oscar for best B&W Cinematography For the Nighthawks (Early Monday AM) – 3:30 AM – Blow-Up (1966) Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni - Received Oscar nomination for Best Director DP: Carlo Di Palma A Heads-Up for later Monday AM - 7:30 AM – Umberto D. (1952) – B&W – 89 min. Dir: Vittorio De Sica DP: G. R. Aldo -- -- -- Commentary – 8:00 PM – PM Great Expectations – B&W (1946) – 118 min. Received Oscar Nomination for Best Picture Dir: David Lean – Received Oscar nomination for Best Direction DP: Guy Green - Won Oscar for best B&W Cinematography Plot Teaser – A humble orphan suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor. -- -- While this British cinema classic adapted for the screen from the Charles Dickens novel of the same name might seem a bit dated to some viewers, it is a Must-See for Film Students interested in film history. Considering DP Guy Green won an Oscar for his lensing on this picture, aspiring Cinematographers should also watch and learn. Production Notes – Director Lean wanted the film to have a feeling of realism. He worked closely with the Art Director and Cinematographer to achieve this end. -- -- For the Nighthawks - 3:30 AM - Blow-Up (1966) 110 min. Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni - Received Oscar nomination for Best Director DP: Carlo Di Palma Plot Teaser - A mod London photographer seems to find something very suspicious in the photographs he took of a mysterious beauty in a desolate London park. -- -- Though made and released at the end of the British New Wave of Social Realism Cinema era, this ground breaking picture is yet another must-see for Film Students of any production discipline, and once again, especially for aspiring Cinematographers. DP Carlo Di Palma is well known for his lensing collaborations with Directors Michelangelo Antonioni and Woody Allen. Prolific indeed, Di Palma shot the following pictures for equally prolific Woody Allen: Hannah and her Sisters (1986), Radio Days (1987), September (1987), Alice (1990), Shadow and Fog (1992), Husbands and Wives (1992), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Don’t Drink the Water (1994), Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Everyone Says I love You (1995) and Deconstructing Harry (1997). -- -- Production Notes – Reportedly the first British feature film to show full frontal female nudity. Aspiring Art Directors take special note – According to reports, Director Antonioni was unhappy with the color of the grass in Maryon Park where a significant sequence was filmed. He had the grass sprayed green according to his specifications so he could re-shoot the scene. Main character Thomas (David Hemmings) workhorse camera was the then innovative Nikon F, the worlds first 35mm SLR with full coupling of shutter and aperture with its exposure meter. Even though the particular model had been around since 1959, the somewhat glamorous publicity it received via the film generated an unprecedented enthusiasm among camera buffs, professionals and amateurs alike, a welcomed marketing evolution for Nikon. --- --- --- Heads-Up for later Monday AM – 7:30 AM – Umberto D. (1952) – B&W – 89 min. Dir: Vittorio De Sica – Nominated for the Grand Prix-1952 Cannes Film Festival. DP: G. R. Aldo Plot Teaser - In post-war Rome, an elderly man and his dog struggle to survive on his government pension to keep from falling from poverty into shame. -- -- Fans of Italian Neorealism should flip to see this picture. It is arguably one of the best of the genre and is definitely a Must-See for all Film Students, aspiring Cinematographers in particular. A great deal can be learned from this picture. The “neorealist” filmmakers of the era made gritty, scaled-down films that examined the everyday problems of contemporary life and the Human Condition with passionate justice and detailed realism. Thankfully Film Directors Vittorio De Sica, Luchino Visconti, and Roberto Rossellini delivered cinema of conscience and avoided the gaudy costume dramas, historical epics, and propaganda films that were the bulk of Italy’s film production at that time. -- -- The following two paragraphs are from a review of the film by Roger Ebert, noted film critic. “(Umberto D.) may be the best of the Italian neorealist films--the one that is most simply itself, and does not reach for its effects or strain to make its message clear. Even its scenes involving Umbertos little dog are told without the sentimentality that pets often bring into stories. Umberto loves the dog and the dog loves him because that is the nature of the bond between dogs and men, and both try to live up to their side of the contract.” “Neorealism was an Italian movement, born in wartime, continuing through the 1950s, which believed that films should be made close to the surface of everyday life and played by non-professionals who embodied their characters. Umberto D is one of the most successful demonstrations of that theory. The old man is played by Carlo Battisti, then 70, a university lecturer who had not acted before.” To read the entire review, see: rogerebert/reviews/great-movie-umberto-d-1952 -- -- I urge all Film Students to thoroughly read-up on Italian Neorealism. You will find interesting cost effective techniques in all the production crafts, especially Casting (using non-professional actors), Art Direction (extensive and creative use of real locations and characteristic architecture) and Cinematography (which covers all the above). --- --- Thoughts - From Director Vittorio De Sica (1901 – 1974): “Moral indignation in most cases is, 2% moral, 48% indignation, and 50% envy.” “Ive lost all my money on these films. They are not commercial. But Im glad to lose it this way. To have for a souvenir of my life pictures like ‘Umberto D.’ and ‘The Bicycle Thief.’” -- -- From Director Michelangelo Antonioni (1912 - 2007): “In Blow-up I used my head instinctively!” “All the characters in my films are fighting these problems, needing freedom, trying to find a way to cut themselves loose, but failing to rid themselves of conscience, a sense of sin, the whole bag of tricks.” --- --- --- Enjoy and learn from the magic. Experience your observations in an inclusive 360-degree Spherical pattern. Respect your art and its materials. And be safe out there. Frost
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 23:20:08 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015