Monday 10 April 2017

Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1984: Tsutomu Yamazaki in Farewell to the Ark

Tsutomu Yamazaki did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Sutekichi Tokito in Farewell to the Ark.

Farewell to the Ark is a strange film about a village losing their old traditions and gradually moving to a modern mindset.

After Kurosawa's final epic, Ran, few non-animated Japanese films have made an international impact. This lack of notoriety has left a mystery of sorts in the careers of two of the greatest living Japanese actors Tatsuya Nakadai and Tsutomu Yamazaki who have consistently worked since their notable collaborations with Kurosawa. Although Nakadai's post-80's career still is entirely a mystery for me I have seen a handful of films featuring Yamazaki where it seems like he became the go to actor for a supporting or leading role in dramedies such as in Go, Tampopo, and Departures. That brings me to his two performances from 1984. The first being in The Funeral, directed by Juzo Itami the same man who would later make Tampopo. That film is in a similar, yet less farcical vein about a family holding a traditional Japanese funeral where there are serious undertones yet the whole film has a certain levity. This is included in Yamazaki's performance as the husband of the bereaved daughter who is particularly detached from the whole affair since he's mainly there to comfort his wife who really isn't too broken up by her father's death.

Yamazaki in that film has a low key role yet is effortless in realizing both the dramatic and comedic realities of the situation. In that Yamazaki very honestly presents just a man going through the motions of the event and there is something darkly amusing as his greatest unease comes at the thought of having to give a speech at the funeral. Yamazaki appropriately plays it very close to the chest offering just that sort of solemn grace of a man respecting the funeral even while technically not treating it with the proper sincerity internally. Although he is just barely lead, Yamazaki's work is largely reactionary and effectively so, as his performance often highlights a mistake or a faux pas just through his humorous understated glances. His only major action is when his character's mistress pops up and he has a dalliance in the forest surrounding the funeral home. Even this scene is handled with the care of non-melodramatic everyday life, and again Yamazaki's work thrives in seeming just to be so natural to life. It's funny yet never tries to be finding the humor entirely through natural interactions within the situation.

Well that brings me to his second performance from 1984 which I have classified as supporting. Yamazaki's scenes are from his perspective and he seems the most important figure for the first half of the film. His last scene comes with still a good forty minutes left in the film though, and even then his proceeding scenes were broken up by the various vignettes featuring the other villagers. I will say this is rather unfortunate since the film's wavering focus is problematic as it attempts to cover too much forcing the narrative to become overstuffed and there is only a single character I became invested in. Of course that is Sutekichi played by Yamazaki, and in large part it is due to the role being played by Yamazaki. Again Yamazaki is called upon for a balance of drama and comedy though this time it is skewed given the far more insane storytelling present in this film. Yamazaki's Sutekichi's main story is about his inability to sexually perform with his wife/cousin Sue for the unfortunate reason that she has been fastened with a locked, seemingly impregnable (no pun intended) chastity belt.

Again Yamazaki excels within this rather bizarrely challenging role. This time, even though the tone itself is perhaps a bit more absurd to begin with, Yamazaki takes things all the more seriously, which is the right approach since he's one of the few actors who does not turn his character into a caricature. Yamazaki gives Sutekichi's situation an earnest gravity as he does not hold back in portraying the intensity of the man's frustrations particularly in the moment of attempted consummation. Again though Yamazaki knows exactly what he is doing as his approach makes the emotion real yet all the same funny in a very cruel way because how honest he allows it to be. Poor Sutekichi's life is only made worse as gossip spreads that his difficultly is due to impotence which leaves him ostracized and isolated from the rest of the community. Yamazaki brings an even greater intensity as he internalizes these frustrations, showing the way Sutekichi's pent up...well everything only gradually grows until he is about to burst. When it does happen, in the form of killing a relative for mocking his problems. Yamazaki in the moment grants the madness of such pent up anger, yet I also burst out laughing when the act happened I must admit. Yamazaki knows exactly how to maneuver the absurd tone and instead of becoming lost in it he amplifies its best assets. This forces Sutekichi to leave with his wife where he falls into this crisis as he sees the dead man but also believes forgetting everything to the point that he makes written reminders of what is around him as well even who he is. Due to the film's excessive subplotting this portion is a bit oddly paced especially with the wrap up that almost entirely forgets the character exists. Yamazaki again to his credit makes the most of this in developing the mental collapse which avoids making Sutekichi being a merely a symbol of the old, but actually makes him a credible man despite the situation. Yamazaki renders honesty to mess of fear, anger, and horror that haunt the man until he loses himself entirely. With his work in this film and The Funeral Yamazaki masters the tone of each finding both the humor and the drama in the material and through his characters.

95 comments:

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your rating for Yamazaki in The Funeral.

Charles H said...

I really expected a 5 for him considering your love for his work in 1963. But then again i haven't seen this.

Would you recommend this film, Louis?

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

4.5

Charles:

No but it is certainly unique. I would recommend The Funeral, though it's a little slow.

Charles H said...

Tahmeed: And in response to your last comment on the last review, i'm very glad you have Stanton tied for your winner of 1984, i thought of giving a tie of him with Abraham too, but Abraham's work is too strong for me. I'd give Stanton the overall win for Paris, Texas in nearly any other year of the 80's though.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Your thoughts on the cast of this film?

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Could John Hurt go a little higher in the Lead ranking for '1984'.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Your thoughts on Emmanuel Lubezki, Vittorio Storaro, Kazuo Mitagawa, Tonino Delli Colli and Gordon Willis as cinematographers.

Calvin Law said...

Looks like Hurt is taking this.

Calvin Law said...

Also, re-watched Free Fire, here's my revised thoughts and ratings on the cast:
Cilenti - 3 (good in a limited role, liked his chemistry with Riley and was amusingly ineffectual as the inadequate muscle who's way in over his head)

Riley - 4 (playing the most despicable character in the film and he milks it for all its worth, the intensity to his hateful remarks and the glee he takes in the bloodshed are wonderfully played)

Smiley - 3.5 (good as one of the true professionals on board, but also suggests the underlying hatred for his adversaries that comes out when the shooting begins)

Larson - 3.5 (she was an effective enough straight woman to the proceedings for the most part, and I particularly liked how she played Justine's opportunist angle as something that tied in perfectly with her amiable attitude to the others)

Murphy - 4 (this role is right in Murphy's ballpark as he takes the simple role of the no-nonsense IRA fella and makes him quite the understatedly funny and snarky chap, he has a good dynamic with almost every cast member and even managed to bring a bit of dramatic heft to his character's more emotional moments. Can imagine this sort of role being played by Stephen Rea in the 1990s)

Hammer - 3.5 (also in his ballpark as the smug suave middle man who is really most concerned with himself, and was enjoyable in playing into this one note to the extreme as he seems more exasperated than anything by the night's events)

Copley - 4 (hilarious with just about every line, the accent helps a lot of course, but Copley makes everything about the cowardly slimeball Vernon extremely funny without compromising the psychopathic tendencies brimming beneath the surface. I particularly liked his dynamic with Hammer)

Ceesay - 3 (thankless role as he's more of a plot device than anything, but I did rather enjoy his sudden 'resurrection' scene)

Taylor - 2.5 (the most thankless role since he never has a scene or really even a moment to himself, though the talented Taylor does all he can to add a bit of character to the role)

Reynor - 4 (went up on re-watch as he makes his character rather endearing in his own unique and twisted way, even though he's just as despicable as the rest of them technically. Really enjoyed the pure manic energy he brought to his character's pursuit of vengeance, contrasted to his humorous indifference to the other characters' plights)

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Charles: I love both their performances, and it's really impossible to choose. I've watched each film 3 times now, and I'd say they're neck and neck on every level. I do hope Stanton rises in the overall above Ngor, although that might be unlikely.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Luke: Also, these would be my wins from 2010 to 2017-

2010: Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network
2011: Ryan Gosling in Drive
2012: Joaquin Phoenix in The Master
2013: James McAvoy in Filth
2014: Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler
2015: Jacob Tremblay in Room (although I love Tom Hardy's work and Jason Segel's work around equally)
2016: Andrew Garfield in Silence
2017 (so far): Hugh Jackman in Logan

Calvin Law said...

My wins

2010 - Choi
2011 - Oldman
2012 - Mikkelsen
2013 - Isaac
2014 - Gyllenhaal/Keaton/Hardy
2015 - McKellen
2016 - Garfield (Silence)
2017 so far - Jackman/Kaluuya

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Has anyone watched 13 Reasons Why on Netflix? I'm halfway through it, and despite thinking of the premise as.....rather unconventional, I think it's very compelling with fascinating performances. Given the source material though, I wouldn't be surprised by anyone being turned off it.

RatedRStar said...

Luke: Baftas have been announced

Best Actor
Adeel Akhtar – Murdered By My Father (BBC3)
Babou Ceesay – Damilola, Our Loved Boy (BBC1)
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Hollow Crown: The War of the Roses (BBC2)
Robbie Coltrane – National Treasure (Channel 4)

Supporting actor
Daniel Mays – Line of Duty (BBC2)
Jared Harris – The Crown (Netflix)
John Lithgow – The Crown (Netflix)
Tom Hollander – The Night Manager (BBC1)

Calvin Law said...

Robert won't like that Hollander nom haha

RatedRStar said...

Calvin: What did he say about him? lol

Robert MacFarlane said...

Hollander was the worst part of Night Manager. I don't even know what he was going for.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: I'm very pleased about the Cumberbatch, Harris and Coltrane noms. A foreigner finally got nominated (Lithgow), yet I'm upset that they didn't nominate Paul Dano in War & Peace.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: And War & Peace did manage to get a nomination for Drama Series, that makes Dano's snub even worse. :(

Lead Actor should've been:
Coltrane
Cumberbatch
Dano
Hiddleston

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: And if they had 5 nominees, James Nesbitt in The Secret.

RatedRStar said...

I always find ceremonies weird with just 4 nominees, I am glad the Tonys and the Golden Horse awards all changed it to 5 eventually.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: The NTAs are just as bad, if not worse.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your top 5 Cillian Murphy moments.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your thoughts on Clive Owen.

Luke Higham said...

RatedRStar: Who would've been your 4 or 5 choices for (TV BAFTA) Lead and Supporting Actor.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your rating for Ian Holm in The Fixer.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Is Jinnah eligible for 1998. It's Christopher Lee's best performance according to him.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Louis: Your top ten favorite acting moments of all time in film and television (two separate lists)

Charles H said...

I don't mind the Bafta choices past the Dano snub, they did fairly well.

Luke Higham said...

Charles: What did you think of Paul Dano in War & Peace and if you could, a rating as well.

RatedRStar said...

Luke: I have hardly watched any tv if I am honest lol.

Charles H said...

Luke: I'd give him a 4.5, he was once on the border of a 5 though.

Dano(His performance really relied on chemistry for me, his chemistry with Radcliffe was just intriguing and all of there scenes together were fun. He brings out the desperation in his character very well. It's something to watch to say the least.

Charles H said...

RatedRStar: It's a lot to keep up with. What's new with anime for you?

Luke Higham said...

Charles: Did you see War & Peace, because your thoughts are about his work in Swiss Army Man.

Charles H said...

Luke: I misread your comment, sorry. I'll give my thoughts after for him. I'm a tad busy now.

Luke Higham said...

Charles: That's alright, take as long as you need. :)

Anonymous said...

Louis: Your thoughts on James Mason in Age of Consent.

Luke Higham said...

Mason - 3(From what I've seen this is James Mason's worst performance. I still did not think he was bad I still have yet to see a truly bad performance from him, but it's a major step down from what I've come to expect from the usually extremely consistent Mason. His accent is way too all over the place and he just never quite seems to find his character in this one. He still bring a nice bit of charm, and he's still watchable)

Charles H said...

Luke:

Dano(Although the pacing of the show bothered me just a bit, Dano never did, as he's cast immensely well as Pierre, particularly in his well practised range (from meek and mild to a raging temper) as seen in, to name one example, There Will Be Blood. After it sat with me a bit i found it to be a sensitive performance that had its own merits, and deserves praise. It's quite a shame that he continues to be underrated and underseen even in baity roles like this.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Could you update your thoughts on Kit Harington in Game Of Thrones. You wrote it about 3 years ago now and these last 2 seasons have been fantastic for him.

Charles: Thanks. I think it's his best work to date and I'm happy that someone on the blog, apart from myself has seen it.

RatedRStar said...

Charles: I tend to wait for summer/fall before I start watching Anime because then there is usually a bunch to watch, Hero Academia season 2 is the only one I was currently watching, havent watch new AOT yet.

Charles H said...

RatedRStar: Yeah, i basically have the same schedule when it comes to anime, although i rewatch some older stuff here and there between times.

Luke Higham said...

Charles: Have you seen Pokemon, Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh. If you have, could you rank them from best to worst, as well as your favourite and least favourite characters and storylines.

Charles H said...

Luke: Screw Pokemon, it gets on my nerves. It's never ending.

Digimon
Pokemon
Haven't seen much of Yu-Gi-Oh to judge.

Do you mean my overall favorites and least favorites? or just out of the 3 you mentioned?

Luke Higham said...

Charles: I'm glad we're on the same page. I fucking hate that shit too. The most repetitive show in existence. :)

Both Overall and Least favourites.

Luke Higham said...

Charles:
My ranking is:
1. Digimon
2. Yu-Gi-Oh






3. Pokemon

Anonymous said...

I was never a big fan of Digimon and Yu-gi-Oh, but they're at least more tolerable than Pokemon. When it comes to anime, I like Cowboy Bebop (best dub of all time), Black Lagoon, Death Note, DBZ, Gundam, Yu Yu Hakusho and Fullmetal Alchemist.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: They were the only ones I really saw as a kid, whereas now, I don't have the time to really invest in anime shows but I'll watch films like Grave Of The Fireflies or Spirited Away.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Digimon >>>>> Those other two. Come one, this isn't hard. Digimon had actual plot and characters.

Anonymous said...

Luke: Haven't seen Akira? If not, I highly recommend it to you.

Anonymous said...

*Have you seen Akira?

Luke Higham said...

Robert: And the characters had progression and aged as well unlike Ash Ketchum.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: No I haven't, but I will watch it eventually. 1988 was certainly a landmark year for Anime.

Luke Higham said...

Robert: I do have a soft spot for Yu-Gi-Oh, but I didn't have to think twice about Digimon as my favourite of the 3.

Charles H said...

Luke: My #1 and #2 are locked, i could basically mix the rest of my 3-10 anyway and i'd be fine with it.

1. L from Death Note
2. Light Yagami from Death Note
3. Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist(2003)
4. Lelouch from Code Geass
5. Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist(2003)
6. Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist(2003)
7. Nagisa Hazuki from Free!
8. Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop
9. Alucard from Hellsing
10. Ryuk - Death Note

I could name a lot of storylines that intrigued me, mostly coming from the shows that i listed above.

__________________________________________________

I don't have a lot of anime characters which i 'hate' that i have seen but here's 5 that annoy me the most.

1. Ash Ketchum - Pokemon
2. Nina Einstein - Code Geass
3. Shou Tucker - Fullmetal Alchemist
4. Ragyo Kiryuin - Kill la Kill
5. Misty - Pokemon
Honorable mention to 'Pikachu'

Luke Higham said...

Perhaps I should watch Death Note, at least it's a single season and I've seen quite a few clips of it.

Anonymous said...

Luke: You know, I really should watch Avatar: The Last Airbender at some point. People keep saying it's just as great as the DCAU.
By the way, I'd also recommend watching Cowboy Bebop. It's like 26 episodes.

Charles H said...

Luke: The show intrigued me greatly, possibly my favorite anime. No character archetypes to be found there. A true psychological thriller.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I'll get around to that at some point.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is easily accessible and enjoyable. It has 3 seasons, yet it's structured as a trilogy. Unfortunately, they continued/expanded the story in Comics. I haven't seen The Legend Of Korra though.

Luke Higham said...

Charles: Can I have your thoughts on Ash Ketchum, Pikachu, Misty and Brock. :)

Luke Higham said...

I've also played Shadow Of The Colossus and The Last Guardian.

Luke Higham said...

Charles: The only Pokemon character I ever liked was Mewtwo.

Anonymous said...

Luke: I'll give you my thoughts on them. Some of the most annoying characters in anime that should die a horrible death. Period.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: The feeling's mutual. :)

Charles H said...

Luke:

Misty(Most anime's stumble with female characters, most don't seem to know what to do with them and they seem just there to be there, and it's certainly the case here. Yes, she's with Ash but i feel their relationship lacks any chemistry or decent dialogue. All she did in the beginning was follow Ash around and never did anything productive. If any case Ash is always saving her although she was never in 'real danger'. When she got more attention from the show she was doing something but always rude and loud for the most part.

Ash(An underdeveloped character, he has no likeable qualities. He has no personality, no difficulties to overcome. He is nothing more than a avatar for people to project themselves onto. I don't buy his relationships with the annoying Misty or many others. Overall, Ash lacks obstacles and goals. He wants to be a Pokemon master, but awkward focus is out on this and the story progresses at such a glacial speed you lose interest in Ash and the show.

Pikachu(I gave him an 'honorable mention' because he deserves his own category of bad, every time he's doing something 'important' it feels like a gag. People give him the pass by calling him 'cute' and the show thrives on that. He's one of the most filler characters in TV history.

Brock(I have nothing to say about a nothing character. He's there, he does something, he has a different eye design, i wasn't that interested in him. He's not overly annoying, which is not saying much.

Luke Higham said...

Charles: Your thoughts on Mewtwo and Team Rocket.

Luke Higham said...

Charles: Can I have your thoughts on Roman Reigns as a professional wrestler.

Charles H said...

Luke:

Roman Reigns(Is there a better time to turn him heel? But overall i'll say he's somewhat bad, he has little charisma and little to poor mic skills. His in ring work feels incomplete, he only has 2 main moves that are easy to do, i feel he could do more but he's obviously limited by the bookies and writers or whoever. In The Shield i felt he had something going on for him and i felt like he should have been the one to break it up instead of Rollins, cause at least Rollins has a leg to stand on(No pun intended) And i think Roman could be a good silent heel, he has some potential. He's just extremely limited and overused in main events.

Mewtwo(I'm obviously not big on Pokemon, and this character doesn't change my opinion on anything. It's not a bad character, it just didn't really help anything for me. I guess he's good. Nothing negative, i wish i could give more positive answers about him.

TeamRocket(I don't find them to be 'imposing' very much, and i don't find their stories overly interesting although sometimes they could be a little entertaining, i'd be lying if i didn't say i got sick a few times from them. Sometimes i wonder what the writers really want to do with Team Rocket.

Luke Higham said...

Charles: What did you think of the Post-Mania Raw segment with Reigns.

Charles H said...

Luke: Fantastic, i wonder if Roman was actually supposed to give a full promo. And i'm surprised they allowed the 'Fuck You Roman' chants and whatever else to be fully heard and not edited out. I just loved the segment.

Luke Higham said...

Everyone: Have you read the gender-less awards article that came about this past week. If you have, do you think it's a good or bad idea, when it comes to the Oscars.

Calvin Law said...

Good idea that I don't think will work out, will probably cause even more snubs/category frauds.

Charles H said...

I agree with Calvin.

Álex Marqués said...

Where can I find that article?

Luke Higham said...

It's a good idea in theory, but the only change that really needs to happen is change Actress in a Leading/Supporting role to Best Female Actor in a Leading/Supporting role. If the awards were gender-neutral, Men would mostly dominate every year and men have had far more opportunities than Women, whereas with the Emmys, Women have been getting more opportunities in Television.

Luke Higham said...

Alex:

https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2017/04/11/oscars-so-gender-neutral-dont-count-on-it.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39513543

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Luke: Great idea, although it'd be damn near impossible to implement.
Without there being 10 guaranteed slots for female actors, I really doubt great performances by women, cisgender or not, would be recognized. And you can't fix that unless one sets a quota on the max number of performances per gender, which would also get backlash when deserving performances get screwed over. Also, with the median age of the average Academy voter being in the 60s,I don't see how this idea would get support.

Luke Higham said...

Tahmeed: The Older Male demographic will block any change but if there's gonna be any progress, they need to change Actress to Female Actor.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Luke: I agree, and the 90th Academy Awards are as good a time as any to bring forth real change.

Also, my previous comment, I mean *max number of nominees.

Calvin Law said...

The Detroit trailer looks brilliant.

Calvin Law said...

Jude Law has been cast as Albus Dumbledore.

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: I like it, though I just wish it was Jared. Law's been doing well as of late with The Young Pope and it's nice to see him in a very important role so I wish all the best for him.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your thoughts on this casting choice.

Luke Higham said...

Many on twitter are pissed off though that Harris didn't get it.

Calvin Law said...

Luke: Agreed.

Also, Josh Brolin is now Cable.

Anonymous said...

Calvin: I wanted Perlman, but Brolin is a good choice.

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: I'm very pleased about that. Perlman would've been great too, though I doubt he was on Fox's radar.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your rating for Rooney Mara in Her.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: And Viola Davis in Antwone Fisher.

Luke Higham said...

Everyone: What would you say is Colin Firth's best performance. My pick is The Railway Man.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: One more thing, could either one of Hamill's performances in the Original Star Wars trilogy go up.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

No one else stands out well mostly devolving into the Japanese style of histrionics.

Luke:

Yes.

Murphy:

1. The Execution - The Wind That Shakes the Barley
2. The Inception - Inception
3. Finding about his parents - 28 Days Later
4. Kitty visits his mother - Breakfast on Pluto
5. Rippner reveals his intentions - Red Eye

Clive Owen is sort of the leading man that never was as they attempted him for a few years from around 04 to 09 right after his Oscar nomination. Flop after flop, with only the rare minor success in between, which has sent him to prestige television I suppose, which I have not seen. Owen's lack of success seems a little strange, and perhaps the problem for him was he was the James Bond that never was. Now I say strange because in that brief period he proved himself to be a charismatic lead but also with some considerable dramatic chops as well. He could carry a film but it seems it just wasn't meant to be for whatever reason, which is a shame in that he's kind of a old school leading man with his considerable screen presence.

Holm - 4

Reading about the film it sounds like Jinnah had some sort of public release somewhere 1998, even though it's not listed on imdb, so I say he's eligible.

Harington - (Well technically my thoughts haven't change all that much as his path has only continued. That being so brilliant that it has to be accidental but it seems somehow intentional. In that Harington progressively becoming a better actor, at least I assume, throughout every season perfectly matches Jon Snow's journey from boy to man. Harington is indeed whiny in the first season lacking the confidence to be a proper lead, but was that truly the case? I don't know it feels too convenient. Again I say that because his progression has been so natural. As in each season he's become a more convincing and stronger leading man, matching Jon's own journey to being a hero. In addition his work wears everything from every season. Harington brings the maturity of a man as he portrays Jon becoming more cynical in ways yet more sensible in others. If Jon Snow in the first season, as portrayed by Harington, was named King of the North, no one would have approved. Now you not only don't give it a second thought you cheer the title yourself by the way Harington's acting actually has slowly earned his place as true hero for the series. As required by law though I must again mention his reaction at the end of Hardhome which again is perfection truly, but his whole performance is filled with those moments now as he's come to so effectively realize the character in such a powerful often internalized fashion.)

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Lubezki - (A master of the tracking as he manages such smooth movement while retaining his compositions throughout. Past his ease of movement though his imagery is remarkable in his own way that is separate from Deakins's style. Lubezki having sort of Rembrandt style to his own landscapes so to speak. Not just the focus often on the single light source, usually from a distance so often caught in frame, but in a way Lubezki is able to so often find the beauty in the grays, and the shades off the primaries one usually doesn't always define as beautiful. This technique gives his work a particularly unique and daring appearance that is so often entrancing.)

Vittorio Storaro - (Storaro's work at the very least always tries to be remarkable, even with Bulworth you can see him trying to create some interesting shots out what I would imagine were some very straight forward shots as designed by Warren Beatty as the director. Storaro's work also often focuses on his light source though for him it is to achieve an often ethereal effect. There is no lighting quite like his that you see in his masterful work in Apocalypse Now, The Conformist, and The Last Emperor. Of course that is always carefully with such refined compositions, and what is so remarkable is, in terms of as you watch the film, it can feel accidental in that it never feels artificial.)

Kazuo Mitagawa - (Well I have seen three of the film he was cinematographer for in Black and White film, and since Yojimbo, Ugetsu and Rashomon are three of the best shot black and white films, it is rather notable. Each present a bit of a different style yet each are just as incredible. Whether that is Ugetsu's haunting expressionism, Rashomon unassuming intimate beauty, or the grand yet harshness of Yojimbo, the lighting and composition is incredible for each. All three it amplifies each film's style so elegantly and so effectively. The stamp of Mitagawa's work is how astonishing the appearance of the films are.)

Louis Morgan said...

Tonino Delli Colli - (Well not to discount his other work, which include Life is Beautiful, and In The Name of the Rose, but his best known work is through his five collaborations with Sergio Leone. Interestingly it begins with Fistful of Dollars where it feels as though Colli is attempting to replicate Mitagawa as Leone was replicating Kurosawa. In that it seems to attempt a color version of the Yojimbo style, and like the film itself it is quite the effective replication and slight alteration. Fitting they both become even more daring as the films became grander perhaps the slow rise over the town in West Upon A Time in The West being the pinnacle of their collaboration. Colli's work is very notable in the light he works with in these films. Colli's is defined most often by intense unwavering sun, yet he is able to create such subtle contrasts that quietly created a new look within the western setting.)

Gordon Willis - (The prince of darkness indeed. Willis's whole approach is rather fascinating given that so little lighting can often make something look simply poorly lit. There are a couple modern cinematographers that seem as though they are attempting to replicate the Willis style, but their middling success suggests just how amazing Willis's work truly was. Again Willis never felt like he was showboating with the darkness, unless it was needed. Of course that indeed feels like an understatement in that also those "lit" parts created those beautiful images that are so distinctly Willis yet never feel overly stylized. Willis work seemed to show you exactly what you needed to see, and in such a compelling fashion. One should not focus so heavily upon his moniker though because that would cause one to forget he also help to create some of the most memorable moving shots of all time, including the tracking of Vito over the buildings in Godfather Part II and the slow pan out above Woodward and Bernstein in All the President's Men.)

Tahmeed:

Film:

1. Writing the Requiem - Amadeus
2. Indianapolis - Jaws
3. Audition - Mulholland Drive
4. Russian Roulette - The Deer Hunter
5. Rhett and Scarlett's first kiss - Gone with the Wind
6. "I hated Rebecca" - Rebecca
7. The ending confrontations - The Hill
8. The story of their lives - Paris, Texas
9. "Yes I did Lyle" - The Straight Story
10. First Processing scene - The Master

TV:

1. Crawl Space madness - Breaking Bad
2. Cromwell v Moore - Wolf Hall
3. Smiley and the mole - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
4. The D.E.N.N.I.S. system breakdown - It's Always Sunny
5. "They can't see the things that hurt them" - Westworld
6. "I've gone too far" - Game of Thrones
7. ACTING - The Honeymooners
8. Confrontation after poisoning - Breaking Bad
9. Teaching Dodd to be nice - Fargo
10. Sacrifice - Game of Thrones

Luke:

I have to say I feel it's a bad idea. In speaking purely in Oscar political reasoning, though there are additional problematic factors as well, it would prove disastrous for all "smaller" contenders. Viggo Mortensen and Isabelle Huppert would have never stood a chance if they were all forced into a five. If it was switched to ten, then the question would be why break them up at all. That would lead a constant backlash whenever it is not a clean five for each, and it would likely favor male performers given that their films tend to do better nomination wise overall to begin with. The actual winner would be absurdly controversial every time, I mean imagine if Casey Affleck had won in such circumstances. With the winner it would make even less about the performance, and probably result in a tit-for-tat year by year.

I would have preferred Harris as well. Law though is far from a terrible choice as long as he brings his a-game.

2.5/3.5, maybe in regards to Hamill

Calvin:

Brolin's a great choice.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: I hope Harris said no, as he was approached for the role of Dumbledore. If not, I'll be somewhat frustrated about the decision until I see Law's performance.