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”
Abandon All Bond, Ye Who Enter Here
For James Bond aficionados, there’s always been an obvious choice for “Worst Bond Film Ever.”
Following Sean Connery’s “retirement” after the box office smash You Only Live Twice, the film series’ producer Albert Broccoli had to look for a new Bond. It’s said he considered over Continue Reading “Abandon All Bond, Ye Who Enter Here”