[Konvas] Haskell Wexler RIP

[colcam at aim.com]

 Movies are nothing more than a high tech version of the book, and books have a life of their own.  We might be transient, or we might live in our work.

The problem with the visual aspect of today's movies is that we are no longer pushing against an impossible wall, trying to show something that cannot be shown, which is what Wexler and many others did then-- and we quit telling stories, we began selling this, selling that, tie this to that, double your money, don't take chances, just milk the system.  In days gone by a huge investment was required to make a huge image, but today?  We can create the huge image, then find a product to attach it to, sell that product, and forget the story. 

There are a lot of great screenplays, but with the rise of the director as the auteur the story went away, the image became secondary to the product, and diarrhea hit the big screen. 





 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Speedbird at acousticturtle.plus.com <speedbird at acousticturtle.plus.com> 


Sad news.  "In the heat of the night"  is one of my favourites and of Ofcourse "Cuckoo Nest" too. That nurse still haunts me to this day and the Indian chief's first spoken words knocked me over.

Today's cinematographer's do not seem to have the flair or the system they work under will not allow them to shine!  They now rely on the editor and digital toys to make images come alive.

Isn't it funny, films have more longevity than humans!

Rita