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Okay, this apparently is musicals week (what can I say, Outfest just opened). One of the most remade stories ever is A Star is Born. Just as seismologists warn us we are overdue for a Los Angeles earthquake, likewise, by interpreting past occurrences, we can clearly see we're way overdue for another A Star is Born:  Janet

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There are two amazing shots, both using the same technique, in this sequence from William Wyler's Funny Girl.  But I'm mostly impressed today with the man who actually shot them, Nelson Tyler. Not only did he run the camera but from what I can tell in all my research, he invented the camera mount that allowed for

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This is a quick shot by David Lean, a real favorite of mine. He famously did two letter-perfect adaptations of Dickens' work - Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, and today's shot shows what a great visualist he was. Lean loved to figure out ways to visually express complex ideas in his films. For instance, when making A Passage

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I just watched this film again last night on the big screen. What an experience. It really is a vividly realized descent.  In the gut-wrenching documentary on the film's creation, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (man, do I dig what Coppola has to say here), we learn that Francis Ford Coppola and most everyone involved went a