American Cinematographer - November 2007 - (Page 8)

Editor’s Note ob Dylan’s chameleonic career has made him an enduring icon of the musical pantheon. The enigmatic, elusive troubadour has fascinated — and occasionally infuriated — fans and journalists for more than four decades. Along the way, he has built a legacy that presents a daunting gauntlet to anyone attempting a biographical portrait. (Martin Scorsese needed 3½ hours just to cover the man’s formative years in the PBS documentary No Direction Home: Bob Dylan.) Director Todd Haynes takes a different, decidedly unique tack in I’m Not There, a prismatic look at facets of Dylan’s persona. Abetted by Ed Lachman, ASC (and six actors portraying Dylan), Haynes captures the essence of a figure who has famously thwarted easy assessments of his character. The result is a visually compelling, nonlinear experience that will enthrall some viewers and quite possibly confound others. (It helps to enter the theater with a working knowledge of the Dylan mythos and a taste for experimental cinema.) Without question, the film represents a high-water mark for Lachman, who has previously demonstrated his skill in indie classics that include Desperately Seeking Susan, Mississippi Masala, The Limey, The Virgin Suicides and Haynes’ Far From Heaven. In serving Dylan’s mutable feast, Lachman crafts a variety of striking looks in color and black-and-white that reflect a delirious blend of visual influences: Fellini, the French New Wave, and Westerns of the 1970s. The cinematographer “brings it all back home” in a detailed interview with Jon Silberg (“Deconstructing Bob Dylan,” page 38). Some rock stars never survive the chaos of fame, a point poignantly made in director Anton Corbijn’s artful, emotionally devastating Control. Shot in brooding blackand-white by Martin Ruhe, the film tracks the rise and fall of Ian Curtis, lead singer of the influential British band Joy Division. Ruhe discusses the filmmakers’ meticulous, authenticity-driven approach to the project with Bob Davis (“Losing Control,” page 74). Emotions also fly in The Kite Runner, an adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s bestselling novel that director Marc Forster describes as “an intimate epic.” Forster and longtime collaborator Roberto Schaefer, ASC based their approach partly on Sergio Leone’s widescreen Western Once Upon a Time in the West. Schaefer explains their strategy to New York correspondent Pat Thomson (“Honoring a Lost Friend,” page 52). If you’d prefer to abandon subtler emotions for sheer terror, the vampire chiller 30 Days of Night is just the ticket. The movie’s intriguing concept allows fanged fiends to run amok in a remote Alaskan town that sees no sun for one month each year. Cinematographer Jo Willems and director David Slade, who previously teamed on the Sundance shocker Hard Candy, explain the show’s logistics to Australian scribe Simon Gray (“Night Terrors,” page 62). Topping off this issue is a pictorial salute to this year’s Emmy-nominated cinematographers (“TV’s Top-Rated,” page 82), who have created vivid images that can be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home. B Stephen Pizzello Executive Editor 8 Photo by Douglas Kirkland. http://www.theasc.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - November 2007

American Cinematographer - November 2007 Contents Editor’s Note Global Village DVD Playback Production Slate Deconstructing Bob Dylan Honoring a Lost Friend Night Terrors Losing Control TV’s Top-Rated Short Takes Post Focus New Products & Services Points East International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up

American Cinematographer - November 2007

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