Studying Cinema

David Bordwell defines film criticism and film studies in his article. I still can’t decide whether I am on a path to film studies according to what I am doing, reading, watching or am I belonging to a film fan subculture (Fans are also highly evaluative in their talk (“Wasn’t the lightsabre duel cool?”) or someone who wants to produce films.
Yeah, it seems like I am quite lost, no?
Here’s the link.
And, hey, I just want to add one more thing. Eric Rohmer recently died and Fatih Ozguven wrote a wonderful article about it. Ozguven was my teacher during my film studies in Bilgi University and he was the only one who recommended me that I have to see Rohmer films as much as I can.
Here’s the link.
And what I though about Rohmer was in the 60’s and 70’s, filmmakers were also film writers and film critiques. Today, it seems to me that very few people who practice filmmaking write about films comparing to the New Wave directors like Truffaut, Godard or Rohmer. Today, film practice and film studies seems quite broke away with each other.

Godard & Allen

I just found a conversation between legendary filmmakers Jean-Luc Godard and Woody Allen. Godard asks Woody his relationship with cinematographers and this is what Woody feels about Gordon Willis’s style which I find very close to what I like and what I expect. Let the shots tell the story!

Well, Gordon is a very American style cameraman. He is very comfortable with a very clean American style. He feels most at home when the shots are spacious not concentrating on the individual but concentrating on the whole composition of the room rather than individual. And he feels very much at home with cutting, with a simple not too much movement, simple cutting and telling the story in cuts.

The interview is here.

Nana Fait de la Philosophie Sans le Savoir