2008 July 30 | Coosa Creek Cinema

The Devil’s Backbone

By Rick, on July 30th, 2008 |

This is not John Wayne

We see the ghost in the opening scene of Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone. There’s no slow reveal, no build-up, no ratcheting-up of suspense. And it liberates us to pay attention, and pay attention we should. As in any good opening sequence, del Toro tells us all [...]

Art of the Tracking Shot II: The Passion of Joan

By Rick, on July 30th, 2008 |

Marie Falconetti as Joan

No early film maker used tracking shots with more intelligence and originality than Carl Theodor Dreyer. Far from being simply a way to move the camera, or a way of showing off (yes, I’m talking about you, Atonement), in Dreyer’s work they they are integral to the design of [...]