#dp: edward lachman

[se7enpixels]

A yearly tradition...

Carol (2015)

dir. Todd Haynes

[facesofcinema]

Dark Waters (2019)

[greensparty]

Movie Review: The Velvet Underground

Out of 1960s NYC, The Velvet Underground exploded. They never had the fame and album sales of The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, but they amassed a cult following and their influence was mammoth. The band’s 1967 debut The Velvet Underground & Nico is ground zero for art rock, garage rock, punk, and all things alt-rock. It’s an album I come back to frequently. They were going after more taboo and controversial subjects like drug use and prostitution unlike a lot of the music of that time period. While their music was beautiful and ahead of its time in many ways, the band, especially Lou Reed were not into the hippie movement or the concerned with being well-liked. As I started getting into music in my teens, I began to learn more about VU and picked up on a ton of artists I liked who were covering them: “Pale Blue Eyes” by Hole, “Here She Comes Now” by Nirvana, “Waiting for the Man” by David Bowie, “Sweet Jane” by The Cowboy Junkies, the list goes on. Of the filmmakers to tell the story of VU, Todd Haynes, who has never made a documentary before, is the perfect choice. Music has always been an integral part of many of his films, i.e. the glam rock epic Velvet Goldmine which was loosely based on Bowie’s relationship with both Iggy Pop and Reed (killer soundtrack FYI), the experimental Bob Dylan story I’m Not There where six different actors depict Dylan at various points in his life notably a time-capsule worthy performance from Cate Blanchett, and his music video for “Disappearer” by Sonic Youth. Now Haynes is diving into VU’s story with the new documentary film The Velvet Underground.

movie poster

Embedded into the story of VU is Andy Warhol’s art scene in the 60s. After Reed and John Cale connected and formed VU with Sterling Morrison and Moe Tucker, they became a part of the NYC music scene and eventually the house band for Warhol’s Factory. There is an insane amount of archival footage of the band, but there’s also a number of interviews with surviving members Cale and Tucker as well as a number of band associates including Jonathan Richman.

Nico and The Velvet Underground circa 1967

What made this doc work is that when you are watching this, it looked and felt like an art installation that could have played at Warhol’s Factory in the late 60s. Haynes and his team especially DP Edward Lachman have made something that is visually stunning to reinforce the group’s experimental art rock sound. This is a portrait of a band that made it work...until they didn’t. As a music geek, I was kind of curious about the era after Reed left the band in 1970. They actually carried on and even released an album in 1973. The classic line-up even reunited in the 90s for a few live performances and tours. But Haynes’ ending the band’s trajectory after Reed’s departure is a good swan song for the style of this film and ending it at that point and time. It would’ve been easy to just make a Behind The Music / visual Wikipedia of the band, but Haynes is hunting higher game, which is their creative essence. Amen! Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to listen to some VU now!

The Velvet Underground is opens in select theaters and is available on Apple+ TV today: https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/originals/the-velvet-underground/

4.5 out of 5 stars

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior 12/13/19: JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL, BLACK CHRISTMAS, RICHARD JEWELL, BOMBSHELL and more!

Woooooooo!!! We’re starting to get to the end of the year with only three more weekends of new movies before we’re into 2020, which on one hand, has to be better than 2019, but maybe not in terms of box office with no “Avengers” or “Star Wars” movie in sight.

Sony Pictures is releasing the second-to-last sequel of the weekend, JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL, which brings back all of your faves, including Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, and introduces a new character played by Awkwafina. I reviewed the movie over at The Beat, and also discussed its box office prospects

I also will have a review of Sophia Takal’s horror remake BLACK CHRISTMAS (Universal) over at The Beat, but that’s mainly interesting since it’s the second remake of the ‘70s horror movie, this one produced by Blumhouse.  I really liked Sophia Takal’s previous movie Always Shine, so I’m definitely interested to see what she does with a mainstream horror film.

You can read my reviews of both those movies over at The Beat, although the Black Christmas review is embargoed until Thursday night… make of that what you will. Plus you can read more about the three wide releases over at my weekly Box Office Preview.

One movie I haven’t reviewed over there is Clint Eastwood’s latest, RICHARD JEWELL (Warner Bros.), which stars Paul Walter Hauser as the famed Atlanta security guard who discovered a bomb in the city’s Centennial Park and was then accused of planting the bomb there to be seen as a hero. The movie also stars Sam Rockwell (as Richard’s lawyer), Kathy Bates (as Richard’s mother), Jon Hamm as the FBI guy who is after him and Olivia Wilde as the Atlanta reporter who first breaks the story about Jewell being a suspect. I’m going to try to write a mini-review for this one, but long and short of it, is that this is another really good movie from Eastwood, and if I get a chance, I will write more about it soon.

LIMITED RELEASES

There are a bunch of great movies coming out in limited release, some that will expand wider later in the month.

First and foremost is Jay Roach’s BOMBSHELL (Lionsgate), starring Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly and Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson, and if you know those names, then you might already realize that this film written by Charles Randolph (The Big Short) is about the Fox News sexual abuse scandal. Margot Robbie also stars in this one, as does John Lithgow as Roger Aisles, plus there’s lots of other great character actors in roles as people you might know from the news (both on camera and behind the scenes).  I was hoping to write a fuller review of this and maybe still will but didn’t have time before getting this column out. Regardless, this is a very intriguing and entertaining film (just like The Big Short) with fantastic performances by all. The movie will expand nationwide next Friday.

Josh and Ben Safdie are back with UNCUT GEMS (A24), starring Adam Sandler as a New York jewelry merchant who gets his hands on a rare South African gem, and then spends the entire movie trying to get it back after lending it out to star basketball player Kevin Garnett (playing himself). I wasn’t really a very big fan of the Safdies’ Good Time, which Millennial critics tend to cream all over, but Uncut Gems is definitely better even if it’s similarly manic. Sandler’s definitely good in the role, but awards-worthy? Not even close… I think this ia good movie being sold by people as a great movie, and I couldn’t disagree more. If you liked Good Time, you’ll probably like this, too. This will be nationwide on Christmas Day.

Terrence Malick is also back, continuing his amazingly prolific degree of filmmaking in his mid-70s with A HIDDEN LIFE (Fox SEarchlight), a three-hour drama about an Austrian farmer (August Diehl) who refuses to swear allegiance to Hitler as WWII begins, which first makes him a bit of a pariah in his rural community but eventually gets him thrown in prison for treason. Valerie Pachner is quite terrific as his wife, and the movie has some great smaller roles for Matthias Schoenaerts, the late Michael Nyqvist, Bruno Ganz and Jürgen Prochnow. If you’re a fan of Malick’s better films than

Kristen Stewart plays French New Wave actress Jean Seberg in Benedict Andrews’ SEBERG (Amazon), about how the actress got into a relationship with Hakim Jamal (played by Anthony Mackie), causing trouble for her career. The movie also stars Margaret Qualley (Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood), Jack O’Connell, Zazie Beetz and Stephen Root, and it will get a limited release this weekend.

Stephen and Robbie Amell star in Jeff Chan’s Code 8 (Elevation Pictures), Robbie playing Connor Reed, a guy with superpowers living in a world where those with powers are minimalized and living in poverty. In desperate need of money to help his ailing mother, Connor gets in with a powered thug named Garrett (played by his cousin, Stephen) to use his powers for elaborate heists. It’s a surprisingly good movie, mainly due to Jeff Chan’s ability to create a big movie on a seemingly limited budget.

You can check out the trailer and Chan’s original short film that inspired the feature below, and my interview with Robbie Amell will be on The Beat on Thursday sometime.

Steven Luke’s The Great War (Saban/Lionsgate), opening in select cities Fridays, takes place during the last days of WWI where a regiment of African-American “Buffalo Soldiers” are trapped behind enemy lines. When one escapes, he asked to join an all-white troop to find the survivors.s

An interesting doc, especially for lovers of dance, is Alla Kogvan’s documentary Cunningham (Magnolia), which uses 3D technology to explore the life and work of the late choreographer Merce Cunningham (who would be celebrating his centennial anniversary this year), combining archival footage with newly-created performances of Cunningham’s greatest work. This movie reminded me quite a bit of Wim Wenders’ doc Pina in that I enjoyed this, despite having zero to no interest in dance in general. It will open at the Film Forumin New York on Friday, as well as Film at Lincoln Centeruptown, the Royal in L.A, the Arclight in Sherman Oaks and Edwards Westpark 8 in Irvine.

Xavier Dolan’s latest film The Death and Life of John Donovan (Momentum), stars Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Thandie Newton, Jacob Tremblay and more. It’s about the relationship between a young actor and a TV star that takes place ten years after the latter’s death. It will open in select cities and On Demand.

Lastly, there’s Danny Abeckaser’s MAFIA drama Mob Town (Saban Films), starring David Arquette, Jennifer Esposito, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and PJ Byrne.

Also, next Monday, Trafalgar Releasing is releasing Gorillaz: Reject False Icons, a new concert doc about Damon Alban’s Blur spin-off group with comic artist Jamie Hewett.

STREAMING AND CABLE

Michael Bay’s action-comedy 6 UNDERGROUND (Netflix), starring Ryan Reynolds, will get a very limited release Weds. before debuting on the service on Friday. I really don’t know much about it other than it’s about six specialists come together to do stuff.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

This weekend, the Metrograph begins a fairly self-explanatory series called “Malick: The First Four Films” to coincide with the release of A Hidden Life (see above), although 2005’s The New World won’t screen until next weekend. Also, the theater also continues its annual “Holidays at Metrograph” series with Billy Wilder’s 1960 Oscar winner The Apartment screening Saturday and Sunday. Welcome To Metrograph: Redux continues with David Lean’s Brief Encounter  (1945) on Wednesday and Otto Premingers’ Bunny Lake is Missing  (1965) on Friday and Saturday. This week’s Late Nites at Metrograph  is David Lynch’s Dune (1984) while Playtime: Family Matinees is the 1992 The Muppet Christmas Carol.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

Tonight’s “Weird Wednesday” is Blue Vengeance from 1989, while the weekend’s “Kids Camp” is last year’s animated The Grinch. On Monday evening is a 10thanniversary screening of Vernon Chatman’s Final Flesh. Tuesday’s “Terror Tuesday” is the original Black Christmas from 1974 (already sold out), and “Weird Wednesday” is the 1985 thriller Trancers, hosted by John Torrani.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

The Weds. Afternoon Classics matinee is The Thin Man (1934), starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, while Friday’s “Freaky Fridays” offering is the original 1933 James Whale movie The Invisible Man. The Weds/Thurs double feature is Todd Haynes’ Carol (2015) and Far from Heaven (2002) with DP Ed Lachman appearing on Weds (sorry, sold out!). Saturday and Sunday offers the Kiddee Matinee of A Christmas Story, as well as a special “Holiday Edition” of the New Bev’s Cartoon Club. Friday’s midnight is Tarantino’s own Reservoir Dogs, while Saturday midnight is the holiday horror film Don’t Open Till Christmas (1984). Monday’s Matinee is Bad Santa, starring Billy Bob Thornton and Monday night’s screening is Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander (1982).

FILM FORUM (NYC):

“Scorsese Non-Fiction” will continue through December 17 with screenings this week of Rolling Thunder Revue and Shine a Light, as well as another screening of A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese through American MoviesFriday, and screenings of the classics The Last Waltz and No Direction Home: Bob Dylan on Sunday.The 70th anniversary 4k restoration of Alec Guinness’ Kind Hearts and Coronets will continue through December 19 with screenings at 12:30 and 6:10pm each day. This weekend’s Film Forum Jr. is the Disney animated film The Aristocrats (1970).

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

After an encore screening of Auntie Mame (1958) on Thursday, the Egyptian will screen a David O. Russell hosted screening of Tourneur’s 1919 film The Broken Butterfly with musical accompaniment on Friday. Saturday night is “Retroformat 10thAnniversary” sponsored by the George Lucas Family Foundation, showing two hours of movies from the early 20thCentury with musical accompaniment. Saturday night is a Spike Jonze double feature of Being John Malkovich and Three Kings, while Adam Driver will continue his awards campaign run by appearing for a double feature of Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Storywith Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson.

AERO  (LA):

Terry Gilliam will be appearing in person on Friday night for a TRIPLE FEATURE (!!!) of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Time Banditsand The Adventures of Baron Munchausen… which makes me really wish I lived in L.A. On Saturday, screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski will screen their new movie My Name is Dolemite along with Tim Burton’s Ed Wood  (1994). Edward Norton and Primal Fear  (1995) producer Hawk Koch will appear on Sunday afternoon for a double feature of the latter (in which Norton stars) along with Norton’s own new film, Motherless Brooklyn. Tuesday’s “Christmas Noir” Is Nicholas Ray’s debut TheyLive By Night (1949).

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

MOMI’s own Terrence Malick series ends this weekend with screenings of Voyage of Time: Life’s Journey on Friday and Sunday, The New World: Limited Releas Version on Saturday, as well as The Thin Red Line on Sunday evening. Monday, there is a free screening of Martin Scorsese’s Casino (1995) as part of “Martin Scorsese: Four Movies over Four Decades.” Saturday’s family matinee is Hiroyuki Morita’s 2002 film The Cat Returns, while John Cassavetes’ Gloria (1980) will screen on Sunday afternoon as part of the ongoing “Always on Sunday: Greek Film Series.”

MOMA  (NYC):

This week’s new series is called “The Wonders” and it’s the first American retrospective of writer-director Alice Rohrwacher and the actress Alba Rohrwacher. I’m really not that familiar with either although Rohrwacher’s Happy as Lazzaro last year was fairly well-received.Modern Matinees: Iris Barry’s History of Filmal so continues this week with Hamlet  (1920) today, Greed  (1924) tomorrow and a program called “Great Actresses of the Past 1911 – 1916” on Friday.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Weekend Classics: May All Your Christmases be Noir will be screening Charles Laughton’s 1955 film The Night of the Hunter, starring Robert Mitchum;  Waverly Midnights: Spy Games will screen Hitchcock’s North by Northwest; and Late Night Favorites: Autumn 2019 will show Aliens and Eraserhead.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

Not much to report except that there will be an encore screening of the 2001 Korean blockbuster My Sassy Girl on Thursday afternoon.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

Continuing its Nicolas Cage vintage series with 1991’s Zandalee on Wednesday, Barbet Schroeder’s Kiss of Death (1995) on Thursday and Sunday.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

[secret-san]

Favourite Shot(s) From: The Limey, 1999. Dir. Steven Soderbergh. DP. Edward Lachman.

“Cause you gotta make a choice: when to do something, and when to let it go. When it matters, and when it don't.”

[njawaidofficial]

How a Polish Cinematography Festival Became a Bellwether for Oscar Season

http://styleveryday.com/2017/08/29/how-a-polish-cinematography-festival-became-a-bellwether-for-oscar-season/

How a Polish Cinematography Festival Became a Bellwether for Oscar Season

Twenty-five years ago, a small group of movie enthusiasts in Torun, a city in northern Poland, decided that not enough attention was paid to cinematographers, the men and women responsible for capturing images on film. So they approached two icons of the craft — Sven Nykvist, who had shot many films for Ingmar Bergman, and Vittorio Storaro, who had worked frequently with Bernardo Bertolucci — to see if they would be willing to take part in a new film festival.

Marek Zydowicz, the founder and current director of what has become Camerimage, laid out a manifesto: “The role of cinematographers and their importance as contributors to the visual effect of the whole construction — the final shape of the film picture — is usually underappreciated. Yet the creation of moving pictures by means of a camera goes back to the sources of the cinema and camera storytelling, in which a picture, equally with the plot, accumulates the meaning. This would not be possible without the great art of cinematographers.”

And so the first Camerimage was held Nov. 22 to 28, 1993, in Torun. Nykvist, an Oscar winner for Cries & Whispers and Fanny and Alexander, attended, and he received the first Golden Frog Award for Lifetime Achievement in cinematography. (While Berlin hands out a Golden Bear, and Venice, a Golden Lion, Camerimage chose an amphibian as its standard-bearer.) Three-time Oscar winner Storaro (Apocalypse Now) agreed to be a member of the jury, alongside then-president of the American Society of Cinematographers Victor Kemper (Emmy nominee for Kojak: The Price of Justice). The jury voted to give its first Golden Frog for best cinematography to Stuart Dryburgh for Jane Campion’s The Piano.

A quarter of a century later, Camerimage has become so established that, on the week of Nov. 11, any name cinematographer who isn’t working is likely to be found in Bydgoszcz, Poland, where the festival — this year’s edition is officially dubbed the 25th International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage — now takes place. (Bydgoszcz lured it away from Lodz in 2010, when plans for a new theater in Lodz hit an impasse.) The fest doesn’t focus on premieres or red carpets; instead it screens programs in 10 competitive categories, which includes a main lineup of new feature films as well as documentaries, music videos and TV pilots, while also hosting panel discussions, workshops and product demonstrations. Last year, it attracted 72,000 attendees, featuring 610 cinematographers from 45 countries.

The event has emerged as a bellwether for what’s to come during Oscar season. In three of the past four years, the winners of Camerimage’s Golden Frog in the main competition have gone on to earn Oscar nominations. That includes 2013 winner Ida, which won the Oscar for best foreign-language film and earned a nom for cinematographers Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski; 2015 winner Carol, which collected six Oscar nominations, among them one for cinematographer Edward Lachman; and 2016 winner Lion, which earlier this year earned six Oscar nominations, including one for cinematographer Greig Fraser. (The 2014 Golden Frog winner, Leviathan, was nominated for a foreign-language film Oscar.)

“Camerimage has become a trendsetter for the Academy Awards,” says Kees van Oostrum (Return to Lonesome Dove), president of the American Society of Cinematographers. “Because of the large concentration of great work and the exposure it gets, it seems to solidify great cinematography.”

“Marek and [festival office director] Kazik Suwala contacted the ASC very early on for support,” recalls ASC’s former president Richard Crudo (American Pie). ASC responded by inviting them to its own awards show and associated events each year. “They have done a tremendous service to cinematography,” adds Crudo. “Everyone makes the effort to go.”

A list of past attendees and honorees features some of cinema’s most influential cinematographers: Among those honored with Camerimage’s Lifetime Achievement Award are Owen Roizman (The French Connection) and Michael Chapman (Raging Bull), in addition to the late Laszlo Kovacs (Easy Rider), Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), Conrad Hall (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), William Fraker (Bullitt), Haskell Wexler (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) and Michael Ballhaus (Goodfellas).

For many attendees, the event begins at Warsaw Chopin Airport, followed by a drive of several hours to Bydgoszcz. Cinematographer Rachel Morrison (the upcoming Mudbound) says of her first Camerimage: “I was there with a short film in the student competition, and I shared the shuttle with [Uruguay-born cinematographer] Cesar Charlone. Actors don’t intimidate me, but Cesar Charlone — I was totally starstruck. City of God is one of my favorite films. We chatted the whole way to the festival. I picked his brain on everything from 16mm film to how one managed to have a family as a working DP.”

A year ago, Fraser was in Italy shooting Mary Magdelene for his Lion director, Garth Davis, when he received word that Lion had won the Golden Frog. Unable to attend, he quickly recorded remarks from the set, which were played during the ceremony. “I’m a huge fan of Camerimage, and I was glad I was able to give a speech,” he says, adding that it was important for him to be able to talk about the entire team, from the crew to the equipment suppliers. “At general awards shows, you don’t have time to talk about your [crew], but at Camerimage you can discuss how they all helped contribute to the look of the movie. Also, suppliers like Panavision and ARRI are often overlooked, but they are tireless in working to make our tools better.”

Though all of the details for this year’s fest haven’t been revealed, Paul Hirsch, who cut the original 1977 Star Wars, will receive the Editors Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to John Toll, who has earned consecutive Oscars for Legends of the Fall and Braveheart. Reflecting on Camerimage, Toll says, “Since there is usually only one cinematographer working on a film, the festival is a unique opportunity for cinematographers to meet one another and share ideas.”

•••

THE TOWN THAT HOSTS THE FEST Founded in the 14th century, the Polish city of Bydgoszcz, home to Camerimage since 2010, offers appropriately picturesque charms.

Słoneczny Młyn Hotel  The four-star hotel, which boasts art nouveau and art deco decor, occupies what once was a 19th century mill on the banks of the Brda River.

Weranda Restaurant Located in the Bohema Hotel & Spa, it is celebrating its 10th anniversary and offers dishes like goose leg on a bed of carrots with lentil dumplings.

Old Market Square Cafes and restaurants, ideal for quick meetups or casual people-watching, line this landmark at the center of the city, which was established in 1346.

To Toast the Awards Want to drink like the Polish locals? Favorite libations include Zubrowka and Wyborowa vodkas and Zywiec beer.

This story first appeared in the Aug. 23 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

#Bellwether #Cinematography #Festival #Oscar #Polish #Season

[human-relationships-stuff]

The Honorees at the 2017 ASC Awards

The Honorees at the 2017 ASC Awards

Here’s a rundown of the honorees at the 2017 ASC Awards. Edward Lachman Lifetime Achievement Award ASC’s Lifetime Achievement Award is tailor-made for the award-winning DP who’s shot more than 90 titles in narrative, experimental, and documentary forms, and collaborated with such directors as Todd Haynes, Steven Soderbergh, Robert Altman, and Jean-Luc Godard. Lachman’s work… Read more »

[sevenpixels]

Carol (2015)

dir. Todd Haynes

[facesofcinema]

Far From Heaven (2002)

[facesofcinema]

Carol (2015)

[facesofcinema]

Wonderstruck (2017)