I thought the Guardian piece on There Will Be Blood was interesting. I wanted to link an earlier Slate review (here) that discusses why the film missed the opportunity to really critique American capitalism, as Upton Sinclair's Oil does so effectively. It's worth reading for the contrast with Clarence's article.
PS. Clarence, as soon as Mike finishes looking at the Alternative Oscars book, you should get it from him -- I think you'd enjoy reading it. I don't need it back until the end of the semester. I doubt very seriously its still in print, but it's one of my favorite books on film.
3 comments:
Guess that Guardian article was right about NCFOM beating TWBB.
And for the record, I still think it's a travesty that TWBB beat out Jesse James in cinematography. Sure, Deakins (and Dominic) were channeling Malick, but to this day I still think about Jesse James' cinematography, some of the most beautiful shots I've seen, especially Deakins' work in the later scenes, playing James off these massive western expanses, a man cracking under the pressure created by his own legend; a man aware that he's being swallowed up by something much bigger than him.
Don't get me wrong, Elswit's work on TWBB was great, but I found it far more simpler, save for the oil rig explosion and the opening sequence, an opening sequence reminiscent of the majority of Jesse James. Much credit for TWBB should go to production design, beautiful sets and expansive locations only amplified by magnificent performances.
The scene in Jesse James in the theater in the latter half is absolutely breathtaking, not to mention the train robbery in the film's early minutes, one of the best constructed and carried out sequences of last year, a sequences still ingrained in my mind.
Just had to get that off my chest. Most underrated film of the year, bar none.
this year the competition was great due to the high art standard qualities of the movies.
For instance, how to choose best cinematography between jesse james and TWBB?... I guess what made the difference at the end was the better combination with production design in TWBB... and the extra wide scope image and composition of that movie.
I'm hardly the one to criticize "overstatement," but I think travesty is a bit strong in this case.
And for the record, Zodiac might edge out Assassination as most underrated film -- it made many top ten lists (even the top position in many cases, yet didn't get a single nomination. Now that's a travesty.
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