Say what you will about cinematographers, but they’re literally responsible for what we see in movies. Ultimately, save for a few choice lines, it is these images we remember most from the classic films we cherish.
It was the cinematographer’s use of a soft lens in critical close-ups that told more of Ilsa Lund’s backstory in Casablanca than any flashback could. We see a hint of it when she first enters Rick’s Café Américain, a popular casino. There, she’s introduced to Captain Renault.
But it is the extended close-up when Ilsa asks Sam to “play it for me.” There, the lens embraces the wholesome beauty of Ingrid Bergman and the sweet alluring yet Continue Reading “A Hero Has Fallen”
‘How Do I Know I’m Truly Free?’ What’s Your Answer?
But do you ever wonder about what went into that independence you so enthusiastically celebrate? What are its vital elements? More importantly, how do you know those ingredients haven’t passed their expiration date?
It begins with freedom. Or does it begin with liberty?
Thomas Jefferson doesn’t even use the word “freedom” in his Declaration of Independence. He does refer to “Free and Independent States” twice and to “free people” once. Of course, the one time he uses the word “liberty,” Jefferson gives it top billing in his phrase “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
This latter triumvirate of terms goes back to classic times (see “How to Live the Good Life with No Regrets,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, August 25, 2022). Aristotle said the Continue Reading “‘How Do I Know I’m Truly Free?’ What’s Your Answer?”