Year: 2024

Mary Pickford Rediscovered Written by Kevin Brownlow Published by Harry N. Abrams 1999          This coffee table volume – written by the world’s preeminent film historian – will be of interest to everyone involved with cinematography.  Mary Pickford is mostly forgotten today, but for a period of about twenty years beginning in 1912, she was … Continue reading “READ THIS BOOK #9”

         Here’s one from the June 1972 issue of American Cinematographer regarding a conference held at USC to discuss the perilous state of the motion picture business.  Paneled by a selection of heavyweights and attended by crowds of young aspirants, some of its gloomy predictions and tales of woe seem to have set the template … Continue reading “A MATTER OF SURVIVAL…REALLY?”

         In keeping with his cinematic nickname – The Prince of Darkness – the great cinematographer Gordon Willis, ASC is widely known for his low-key work on such classics as The Godfather, The Godfather Part Two, Klute and The Parallax View.  I’ve never given much credence to that tag, as anyone who’s delved into the … Continue reading “MATCH GAME”

         The ingenuity shown by so many individuals associated with cinematography has always been something to marvel at.  This Angenieux zoom lens modification is merely one example.  A creation of the mid-’60’s, it was designed for use with the reigning camera of the day, the Mitchell BNC, which at that time was seen as hobbled … Continue reading “NO REFLEX? NO PROBLEM!”

         Looks cool, doesn’t it?  And while wearing a jacket and tie, no less!  The thought of lifting off in the KGO news copter to capture breaking action with the groovy CM16 must’ve been exciting for a SoCal reporter during the mid-60’s.          Or, maybe not…after a flight or two.          Beside that tiny demographic, … Continue reading “THE BECKMAN-WHITLEY CM16”

         Hot on the heels of Tuesday’s post, here’s another mid-’60’s camera that until now has been lost to the ages: the Sol-Lux Nomag 400.  Billed as “The Breakthrough You Have Been Waiting For,” I wonder who they were thinking of when they made that statement.  Certainly no one serious about what they were doing.  … Continue reading “OBSCURITY FOR SURETY”

         Just when I was beginning to think I’d seen it all, I recently learned of something I had no idea existed.          The mid-’60’s-vintage Doiflex 16 fits neatly into that category…and it would probably be best if it remained there.  Poised as something of a hybrid Arri S – Bolex H16 – Beaulieu R16, … Continue reading “SURPRISE, SURPRISE…”

         In a lifetime of tripping over weird movies, this one is perhaps the weirdest of them all.  Currently streaming on Amazon Prime, it’s not the hokey plot, Richard L. Bare’s ham-fisted direction, the terrible acting, cheesy sets or original organ score from the 1925 version of Phantom of the Opera that wrecked it for … Continue reading “WICKED, WICKED (1973)”

         In light of my recent fascination with Eclair’s 1960’s-vintage ads, here’s a little love for our good friends at Arriflex.  While not as stylish or clever as the French offerings, Arri is the only camera manufacturer I’m aware of to start their sales pitch with a Latin phrase.  Its meaning?  Let the buyer be … Continue reading “RESERVE THE READING ROOM!”

         The informal recording below shows a half-speed rehearsal for a fight scene that appears in a pilot I shot last year.  Though the writers’ strike and other issues have delayed its streaming debut, the complete first season will drop sometime in 2025.  For that reason, I’m not allowed to include the finished material.  But … Continue reading “ANATOMY OF A FIGHT SCENE, PART 1”