Film Lessons
Big Machine Hugo — MOVIECLIPS.com This scene from Martin Scorsese’s latest film, Hugo (2011), can stand in for the mixed success of the whole. The lighting and visual production are breathtaking. The cut to the obviously phony skyline of Paris under that big yellow moon is audacious and charming. But what’s with the [...]
In: childhood, contemporary, film · Tagged with: 3D, film history, Hugo, Martin Scorsese, Paris
Another Vanishing
Irving Penn died last week and there is a very nice audiovisual homage to him on The New York Times website, which itself commemorates an exhibit of his work now at the Getty Museum through January 10th. Penn was best known for his fashion photography, but the portrait at right shows another side. Taken in [...]
In: contemporary, documentary, fashion, photography · Tagged with: George Orwell, Irving Penn, Paris
Angles of Motion
I was led to Denise Bellon’s work through a documentary by her daughter, Yannick Bellon, and Chris Marker, the experimental French filmmaker. Called Remembrance of Things To Come, it is a fascinating film-essay filled with Bellon’s still photographs. Rather than chronicling her life or documenting her “subjects” year by year, the film evokes a mixture [...]
In: documentary, photography · Tagged with: Denise Bellon, Paris, Remembrance of Things To Come