On this week’s episode of The Filmography, Bjorn Olson and I take a deep dive into Paul Schrader’s adaptation of Russell Banks’ harrowing account of the fallout from an abusive father-son relationship, featuring Oscar-nominated turns from Nick Nolte (who has only ever been better in Neil Jordan’s “The Good Thief“), and James Coburn. As the abusive father, Coburn won the Oscar.
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Watch the trailer for “Affliction” here:
Nick Nolte was Oscar-nominated, and James Coburn won, for their portrayals of an embattled father and son on a collision course.
See what Siskel& Ebert had to say about “Affliction” here:
Siskel & Ebert raise their thumbs for Schrader’s picture.
Nic Cage in Martin Scorsese’s criminally underrated “Bringing Out The Dead.”
Brian Doyle Murray as Jack Ruby in Oliver Stone’s “JFK.”
Adrian Brody & Jennifer Esposito in Spike Lee’s “Summer of Sam,”shot by Ellen Kuras (in the Bob Richardson style).
Isiah Washington in Spike Lee’s “Clockers,” shot by Malik Hassan Sayeed (in the Bob Richardson style).
Teaching myself lighting for camera, this is my first attempt at recreating the Robert Richardson look from Oliver Stone’s“JFK,” and Martin Scorsese’s“Bringing Out The Dead,” shooting on my iPhone 15 Pro Max. Also inspired by Malik Hassan Sayeed’s work on Spike Lee’s“Clockers,” and Ellen Kuras’ work on “Summer of Sam,” also for Spike Lee.
The Bob Richardson look: halo effect from top light, heavy backlight, blown out afterglow.
I didn’t quite nail it (not enough fill and bounce, too much top light) but I’ll continue to tweak, aided by back issues of American Cinematographer featuring interviews with Richardson and Kuras.
Back issues of American Cinematographer (right to left, top to bottom: “Clockers,”“Summer of Sam,” “Natural Born Killers,” “Casino,”“JFK,” and “Nixon.”
Special thank you to my Dad, who allowed me to interrupt his morning coffee to sit for this.
Next up, I’ll attempt to recreate the look of Janusz Kaminski’s photography on Steven Spielberg’s“Minority Report.”
The “Film Bleu” look of Janusz Kaminski’s photography for Steven Spielberg’s“Minority Report.”
Watch the trailer for “Bringing Out The Dead” here:
Featuring 9 bonus tracks, this 2018 Dagored limited edition (500 copies) of Morricone’s score to the 1966 Italian crime thriller “Svegliati E Uccidi” (aka “Wake Up & Die,” aka “Wake Up & Kill,” aka “Too Soon To Die”) is the first time the complete soundtrack has been available on vinyl. Described as “dark and powerful,” this early work from Morricone showcases his mastery of not just film scores, but pop songs, too, as evidenced by the stirring, mournful opening track “Una Stanza Vuota” (“An Empty Room”) sung by the film’s lead actress, Lisa Gastoni, who also starred in the Morricone-scored films “Grazie Zia,”“Maddalena,” and “I Pugni In Tasca” (aka “Fists In The Pocket”).
Elmore Leonard and two of his finest novels, "La Brava," and "Cuba Libre."
Somewhere along the way, I heard a story that one of Elmore Leonard’s fans asked him how he writes such effortless opening and closing lines. His answer says a lot about what it takes to be a writer of his calibre.
“It only seems effortless. That line took me three weeks!”
Although CamSugar pressed a new LP in 2021, as the third in their “MorriconeSegretto” collection, I sourced the original 1982 vinyl from Discogs, primarily for the excellent cover art.
Italian theatrical poster.The Maestro in 1980, the year he composed the score for “The Blue-Eyed Bandit.“
Released in 1980, The Blue-Eyed Bandit (aka Il Bandito Dagli Occhi Azzurri) is an amusing Italian poliziottesco picture. Written and directed by Alfredo Giannetti, it stars Franco Nero and Dalila Di Lazzaro, and features Morricone’s jazziest score.
The Maestro’s screen credit 1.Screen credit 2.
The Album:
Cover-art for “The Blue-Eyed Bandit“
Side 1.
Side 2.
Reverse album cover.
Other Editions:
2013 Italian CD release.2021 CAMSUGAR release.Lato B.Inner-sleeve.Reverse inner-sleeve.Reverse album cover.
The Film:
From MUBI.com:
The male-pattern baldness bandit.
Franco Nero stars as a mild mannered, elderly bank clerk, who shuffles in and out of the bank everyday, unnoticed by his co-workers, or anyone else for that matter.
Franco Nero disguised as an old, balding, dark-eyed bank clerk.
But this is quickly revealed to be a facade. The balding hairline is a wig. The dark eyes, contact lenses. The shuffle, an affectation.
Some hairpiece.The bandit’s bald wig.His dark eyes……are contacts.
The disguise is in aid of Nero’sreal job, robbing banks as “The Blue-eyed Bandit” of the title.
Not Sean Connery in “The Untouchables.”
Complicating things at work is his attraction to (and attention from) his beautiful co-worker, played by DalilaDi Larraro, who also starred in the Morricone-scored “StarkSystem” the same year (co-starring GianMariaVolonte, star of many Morricone-scored films himself).
“StarkSystem” album cover art.
The Director:
Giannetti with the Oscar he won for his screenplay for “Divorce Italian Style.“Giannetti with Italian film icon, AnnaMagnani.
One of my most prized records is this original 1972 vinyl for the soundtrack to the crime film “Un Uomo Da Rispettare” (aka “A Man To Respect,” aka “The Master Touch”) directed by Michele Lupo, starring Kirk Douglas and Florinda Bolkan and Giuliano Gemma.
The Maestro’s on-screen credit.
With stunning cover art by Ermanno Iaia, Morricone’s moody, atmospheric, trumpet-infused score greatly enhances an otherwise mediocre Italian crime picture.
The Album:
Other Editions:
1973 French pressing.Face 1.Face 2.1995 Japanese CD release.U.S. 2017 pressing front album cover.Inner sleeve.Side 1.Side 2.Reverse album cover.
The Film:
Posters:
German theatrical trailer.U.S. theatrical poster.DVD cover art.
Lobby Cards:
Ermanno Iaia Posters:
Italian “Serpico” poster.Italian “Psycho” poster.“The Fury” poster {detail).Italian theatrical poster for “TheFifthCord.”Alternate Italian poster for “TheFifthCord.”French poster for “TheConformist.”Alternate poster for “TheConformist.”“BillyJack” poster.“The Marseille Contract” poster.“The Master & Margaret” poster (detail).“Un Ragazzo di Calabria” poster. “L’idolo della città” poster (detail).Italian theatrical poster for “DeathWish3.”“DELITTO IN SILENZIO” poster (detail).Italian poster for BillyWilder’s “AceInTheHole,” also starring KirkDouglas.Poster detail for Walter Hill’s “TheDriver.”Alternate poster (detail) for “TheDriver.”Italian poster for “Badge373.”“Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry” Italian theatrical poster.“DIrty Mary, Crazy Larry” poster (detail).“The Nada Gang” Italian poster.“The Nada Game: poster (detail.)“Una stagione all’inferno” poster (detail).
Paul Schrader’s 1997 adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s “Touch.”
Happy Filmography Friday! In this week’s episode, Bjorn Olson and I are joined by returning special guest, Noah Taylor, for a discussion of Paul Schrader’s adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s strangest novel, “Touch,” the first of two films Schrader released in 1997 (followed by Affliction). Thank you for listening!
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Since upgrading to the new iPhone 15 Pro Max, I have been hunting for the ultimate mobile filmmaking camera rig. Searching YouTube yielded many interesting results, but nothing that satisfied all of my practical needs and aesthetic preferences. With the new USB-C interface, and the ability to shoot ProRes LOG, the iPhone is now compatible with a host of accessories that make it a formidable filmmaking tool. To fully exploit these possibilities, the rig needs to support external storage, microphones, lights, a monitor, and a matte box. Through much research (and trial and error), I have configured what I believe to be the greatest possible setup. I will be recording a YouTube video on the rig’s construction (with links to all of the components) very soon.
On this week’s episode of The Filmography podcast, Bjorn and I discuss Paul Schrader’s 1994 HBO original film, Witch Hunt, a strange, comic, supernatural noir, starring Dennis Hopper as a 1950s private dick surrounded by magic and murder.
In the coming weeks, I will be launching a YouTube channel on topics such as “How To Use Scrivener To Write Your Non-Fiction Book,” “Building The Ultimate Mobile Filmmaking Rig,” “Producing and Releasing Your First Podcast (Using GarageBand and Spotify For Podcasters),” “How To Self-Publish On Amazon,” “How To Write A Screenplay Using Final Draft,” “Getting Started In Final Cut Pro,” and other videos on writing, filmmaking, creativity, etc.
