#cinematographer: Frederick Elmes

[shattereddteacup]

The Namesake (2006)

Dir. Mira Nair

Languages: Bengali, English

[bluevelvet-redroses]

Blue Velvet Links:

Blue Velvet (1986): The movie in its original runtime. Content warning for gore and rape.

Blue Velvet - Extended Cut: The original movie with the deleted scenes. Content warning for gore and rape.

Blue Velvet Soundtrack: The Blue Velvet soundtrack composed by Angelo Badalmenti featuring Bill Doggett, Bobby Vinton, Isabella Rossellini, Julee Cruise and Ketty Lester.

Blue Velvet Revisited (2016) Soundtrack: The music of the Blue Velvet documentary "Blue Velvet Revisited" done by Peter Braatz, featuring music by tuxedomoon, John Foxx and Cult With No Name.

No Frank In Lumberton (1988): The surrealist documentary David Lynch and Peter Braatz did of the behind the scenes of the movie.

Mysteries of Love (2002): A documentary about Blue Velvet featuring Angelo Badalamenti, David Lynch (in archival footage), Dennis Hopper, Fred Caruso (producer), Frederick Elmes (cinematographer), Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern.

IMPORTANT TAGS:

Behind the scenes: Images and videos from the production of Blue Velvet, that took place in North Carolina during the summer and fall of 1985.

[boardchairman-blog]

**Shots of the Movie**

The Ice Storm (1997)

Director: Ang Lee Cinematographer: Frederick Elmes

[sine-cinematography]

WILD AT HEART (1990) - The color of fire

DIRECTOR: David Lynch CINEMATOGRAPHER: Frederick Elmes

[purecinema]

Cinematographer Frederick Elmes with David Lynch.

[bigspoopygurl]

Blue Velvet (1986)

“Fuck you, you fucking fuck!”

Director: David Lynch

Cinematographer: Frederick Elmes

[awardseason]

34th American Society of Cinematographers Awards - Film Winners

Feature Film Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC for “1917” — WINNER Phedon Papamichael, ASC, GSC for “Ford v Ferrari” Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC for “The Irishman” Robert Richardson, ASC for “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” Lawrence Sher, ASC for “Joker”

Documentary Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma for “Honeyland” — WINNER Evangelia Kranioti for “Obscuro Barroco” Nicholas de Pencier for “Anthropocene: The Human Epoch”

Spotlight Award Jarin Blaschke for “The Lighthouse” — WINNER Natasha Braier, ASC, ADF for “Honey Boy” Jasper Wolf, NSC for “Monos”

ASC International Award Bruno Delbonnel, ASC, AFC

ASC Lifetime Achievement Award Frederick Elmes, ASC

[thecinematicshots]

Blue Velvet (1986) Cinematographer: Frederick Elmes

[pacificwanderer]

Hi did you watch the dead don't die? Is it good?

Hey Nonnie,

I really liked it! But I’m a Jim Jarmusch fan, so I generally end up liking his movies. I’m not normally a zombie movie fan, but it was silly and fun (but also dark and weirdly relevant). Kind of had a Lynchian vibe, too (and I just realized that Frederick Elmes is the cinematographer, who has also worked with Lynch, so lol) and a great cast who are quite obviously having a lot of fun working together on this. So it’s a bit of a mix. Kind of zombie, kind of irreverent, kind of socio-political commentary, wrapped up with some dark, Jim Jarmusch humor and an Adam Driver Cherry on top.

I don’t know what people are often looking for in movies, but I generally find what I’m looking for in Jim’s movies (one of my favories is Only Lovers Left Alive). Adam Driver was a major selling point for me considering I don’t normally do zombie movies, but he wasn’t the only aspect of the movie that I enjoyed.

If you like the rest of Jim’s catalog, I’d say give it a whirl. 

[brokehorrorfan]

Invasion of the Blood Farmers will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on February 26 via Severin Films. It has been scanned in high definition from the original negative for the first time.

Severin is offering an exclusive bundle for $30 that includes the Blu-ray, an 18x24 poster autographed by director/co-writer Ed Adlum (Shriek of the Mutilated), and a patch (pictured below).

The 1972 exploitation horror film is stars Norman Kelley, Tanna Hunter, and Bruce Detrick. Future cinematographer Frederick Elmes (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet) serves as assistant cameraman.

Special features are listed below.

Special features:

Audio commentary with director Ed Adlum and actress Ortrum Tippel, moderated by author Kier-La Janisse

Nothing You’d Show Your Mom: Eddie Adlum’s Journey through Exploitation, Coin-Op & Rock n’ Roll

Interview with actor Jack Neubeck

Interview with cinematographer Frederick Elmes

Trailer

In 1972, a team of New York City exploitation outlaws that included Ed Adlum, Ed Kelleher, and Michael & Roberta Findlay – along with first-time assistant cameraman and future award-winning cinematographer Frederick Elmes – descended on bucolic Westchester County with 8½ bottles of stage blood to make a movie about a Druid cult seeking to resurrect their dead queen. The budget was $24,000. The cast was paid in beer. And the result remains one of the greatest achievements in schlock/shock cinema history.

[thewailign]

Storytelling (2001)

Director: Todd Solondz

Cinematographer: Frederick Elmes

[tribeca]

“Cinematography is a job that can be either boringly technical or magical. I was never trained to be that technical, so for me, it has to be magical."

Happy birthday to the consummate cinematographer Frederick Elmes! Here are a collection of stunning shots from his lengthy career.

[sculpturesintime]

Eraserhead

1977

Director: David Lynch

Cinematographer: Frederick Elmes, Herbert Cardwell

[samwellpics]

This is a still from David Lynch’s ‘Wild at Heart’. The cinematographer is Frederick Elmes. 

This was a turning point in the film, as Nicolas Cage’s character reluctantly makes a shady deal. He’s almost letting himself fade away. 

I think the shot was achieved in the reflection of a mirror. The result is super disorientating and puts us in the character’s disturbed mental state.

Lynch, David. ‘Wild at Heart’ 1990.

[dannyreviews]

Wild At Heart (1990)

The lineup for 1990 Cannes Film Award seemed no different than in previous years. Films for every cinephile’s taste and preference. The snobby French spectators were most likely gunning for Jean-Luc Godard’s “Nouvelle Vague” or Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Everrybody’s Fine” among other European films vying for the Palme D’or that year. When jury President Bernardo Bertolucci announced that year’s winner; David Lynch’s “Wild At Heart”, a mixture of cheers and boos ensued (the link for that moment can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypGSgPCL-F8). The gratifying reason for this unexpected victory was that a film that pushed the boundaries in story, cinematic genius and amount of spilled blood upset the European playing field, plus it was the 2nd of 3 American films in a row to win the Palme D’or (the others being “Sex Lies and Videotape” and “Barton Fink”). Lynch follows up the underbelly of suburban living that played such a predominant role in “Blue Velvet” and expanded on that notion twofold. It’s a world of more dimwitted and homicidal derelicts of different trait varieties. 

The centerpiece of the plot is the undying romance of protagonists Sailor (Nicolas Cage) and Lula (Laura Dern). The first scene shows Sailor knifing a would be assassin hired by Luna’s unhinged mother Marietta (Diane Ladd) to kill Sailor. He is imprisoned for 2 years and once released on parole, he still has a price on his head. The two lovebirds go on the run and Marietta resumes her goal to kill Sailor. She has her detective boyfriend Johnny Farragut (Harry Dean Stanton) to search for them. At the same time Marietta has hired Marcello Santos (J.E. Freeman) to finish the job. Meanwhile, Sailor and Lula run into more seedy persons, most notably Bobby Peru (Willem Dafoe) who convinces Sailor to go back to his criminal ways and jeopardize his future with Lula.

While not on the masterpiece scale of “Blue Velvet”, “Wild At Heart” is nonetheless a pinnacle in the Lynch repertoire. He assembled the same bunch of actors as in his previous projects in featured and cameo roles. For example, Laura Dern was promoted to lead role after being supporting in “Blue Velvet” and the reverse was the case for Isabella Rosselini who went from the damsel in distress to a 10 minute presence. This film also played at the same time as “Twin Peaks” so some of the actors got cameos, most notably Sherilyn Fenn playing the victim of a car accident. Lynch also kept the same technical people like cinematographer Frederick Elmes (who won the Spirit Award) and editor Duwayne Dunham, both of which worked on “Blue Velvet” and reinforced Lynch’s seedy underbelly theme. The music was done by Angelo Badalementi, most famous for his Grammy Award winning theme to “Twin Peaks” to coat the scenes with Bernard Herrmann-esque suspenseful tempos. “Wild At Heart” would not have worked if one or more of these individuals was missing from the overall production.

Surprisingly, “Wild At Heart” which was met with mixed reviews, resulted in an unexpected Oscar nomination for Diane Ladd and when you see her performance, how could she not have been nominated. Her over the top “soap opera” like melodramatics was beautifully portrayed and it only added to her character’s pathetic evilness. This film also proves that Nicolas Cage is deep down a great actor. I wish he did more sophisticated and serious roles like this, “Leaving Las Vegas” and “Adaptation”. His talent is wasted on garbage like “The Wicker Man” and “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” when he should be in Lynch’s next film or having a role written for him by the Coen Brothers. As Sailor, he is an exaggerated bad boy figure, speaking and singing like Elvis. He might be a convicted felon, but is the only likable male character in the entire picture. Laura Dern as always shines as she speaks Lynch’s offbeat yet meaningful dialogue. Her and Cage are the perfect duo, much like her and Kyle MacLachlan in “Blue Velvet”. Other standout performances included Willem Dafoe’s mysterious Bobby Peru which netted him a nomination for Supporting Actor at the Independent Spirit Awards, J.E. Freeman’s fearless Marcello and Crispin Glover’s brief stint as Luna’s mentally unstable brother Dell.

“Wild At Heart” did not receive a warm embrace from critics when it was first released, but has since received renewed interest, like a lot of Lynch’s underrated films. I find that despite the subliminal messages that are found in his films and in “Twin Peaks”, his distinct style can be appreciated just by how complex and intricate the plots are. “Wild At Heart” stands out in that respect and hopefully those French snobs at Cannes that heartlessly booed the film will have changed their minds.

8/10

[bigspoopygurl]

Synecdoche, New York (2008)

“Everything is more complicated than you think. You only see a tenth of what is true. There are a million little strings attached to every choice you make; you can destroy your life every time you choose. But maybe you won't know for twenty years. And you may never ever trace it to its source. And you only get one chance to play it out. Just try and figure out your own divorce. And they say there is no fate, but there is: it's what you create. And even though the world goes on for eons and eons, you are only here for a fraction of a fraction of a second. Most of your time is spent being dead or not yet born. But while alive, you wait in vain, wasting years, for a phone call or a letter or a look from someone or something to make it all right. And it never comes or it seems to but it doesn't really. And so you spend your time in vague regret or vaguer hope that something good will come along. Something to make you feel connected, something to make you feel whole, something to make you feel loved. And the truth is I feel so angry, and the truth is I feel so fucking sad, and the truth is I've felt so fucking hurt for so fucking long and for just as long I've been pretending I'm OK, just to get along, just for, I don't know why, maybe because no one wants to hear about my misery, because they have their own. Well, fuck everybody. Amen.”

Director: Charlie Kaufman

Cinematographer: Frederick Elmes