Thanks for sharing and creating a video essay that perfectly frames what it was like coming of age with VHS. So much of this is true for me as well. Right down to being looked after by the local punk rockers. Captain Sensible!
Quick question, as it's rare that I find someone who shares aspects of my upbringing. I was struck by the memories you had of Driller Killer. You remember the gore and yet because the outer lifestyle matched your own at the time you don't recall it's extremity. Perhaps we mostly remember the extremes? As I share the same interpretation of the film. I saw it when I was 12 and I recall the gore. Which brings me to the larger question. If you grow up in chaos do you seek order? Does order become an extreme? This order seems to be a theme in your other video essay on DE. I have a pet theory that if you grow up in chaos you seek order and if you grow up in order you'll seek chaos. It's a binary assumption I'll admit. Yet I see it in education where I work. The "at risk youth" often join the military or go to jail. While the "privileged" kids go to post secondary and take to post structuralist theories. Thanks for the standout work on these essays.
@@shortminute So I 100% believe we remember the extremes, whatever they might be. A lot of my very very earliest memories are what you would definitely call extreme moments. And I do lean towards the idea that we seek/embody the opposite of whatever it was we grew up in. It's definitely not as binary as that, like you say - because lord knows, even though I'm bound up in order I can still chaos like a boss - but in general I do go along with that. Thank you so much too, I really appreciate this🕯🙌
@@BenWoodiwiss Thanks for the confirmation. I teach in post secondary and have also taught in the extremes of the prison systems. It seems to bear out. It's great that you're out there making quality work. I'll share your content. Especially with students.
The show was groundbreaking for it's time Seeing long haired weirdos on tv, with a lot of in depth humor Head is a deep film and if it was made by another band probably would have been accepted more, but it was not for their core fans, and the people that would have appreciated it didn't go see it because of who the band were. They couldn't escape their image, though they tried.
It's interesting you took away such a positive message. I find this to be a very tragic film, in its own way. To me, it's about The Monkees discovering that it's impossible to stop being The Monkees. They live in a world of pure unreality. It's not merely that life is an illusion, but *they* are illusion and therefore inseparable from it. Enlightenment/escape is impossible for the unreal. Which is not to shut down your interpretation, of course. One of the fun things about Head is that I doubt any two people ever see it the same way. From what I understand, even the Monkees themselves disagreed over its actual meaning (if any).
Hello again, update on this - no spoilers, but there's about 120 seconds or so of footage/visuals I need for the Magnolia story which I 100% can't find anywhere on the internet, so I may have to put a pin in that one, chase up a few old friends, see what I can find, and come back to this idea - please bear with
I never saw the movie though I was a fan of the TV show. However, it was the first thing my mond went to from the title, so I cliked. And now I'm subscribed. so that's fun.
@@BenWoodiwiss generally, there are fewer typos, but I like to include a few so you feel like this comment is left by an authentic human... (or I forgot to proofread again, so it goes)
@@BenWoodiwiss Yeah basically. I think there's a cut in the blank frames between the throw (which doesn't seem very directional) and the roll (which does). Not a hill I'm willing to die on, but it kinda looks that way to me.
@@verybutton You could be right here, I keep watching it and it's hard to tell - Antonioni *did* love going to extra (hidden) effort - hey, the roll is my hill, so we're all cool, this is just a super interesting possibility 🤝
Hey man! Clicked on this by chance and glad that I did. Yes, it may be difficult to get over the failures or loss of loved one, but let's not forget that there is joy in being alive and being a part of this show called Life. Keep on keeping on!
Antonioni's main thematic trope was isolation. Often times the languid pace of certain shots deals with externalizing visually what the characters might be going through internally. He's like an impressionistic painter who uses visuals versus dialogue to express character development and move story forward. Often times he's extremely subtle like Lavventura or La Notte, and others he's very overt and almost cartoonish about it like Zabriskie. I think you could've used Children of Men instead of the Dardennes. Much more widely known and probably better example, at least in invisibility. I think long takes tend to get ruined when they're noticeable, because it becomes just an ego thing of a filmmaker showing off. If you're already AWARE that you haven't changed the shot you're probably boring people more than building tension. A lot of European and Asian arthouse handicap themselves from getting more mainstream audiences in the West for their work when they disregard pacing for the sake of a longer shot language. That's why I think Cuaron happens to be more interesting as a long take filmmaker than most people we relate to the technique because you almost never reach that point of noticing the long take, it's all just about blocking and processing events in real time not extending shots for no reason. In Roma, one of the most devastating scenes is her getting stood up at the cinemas after telling her boyfriend she's pregnant. She steps outside to look for him and there's like this minute where she's just desperate and relizing what's happening, no dialogue, no camera move, just her alone getting drowned by the crowd noise and the street vendors. It's not only emotionally and cinematically perfect, it's a freaking time machine because almost every latin person of a certain age who grew up down there is TRANSPORTED in that mini scene. It's soooooo realisitc and just, amazing. Compared to certain blocking decisions in The Revenant or Birdman for example (same DP different director), where the camera scenes constantly feel like they're "acted" and "performed" because the camera has to swoop and circle around the characters reaction to the over the shoulders and swoop back, it's all just very noticeable and you'd save so much by simply editing. It became too much like VR as opposed to seeing a majestic long shot. Bi Gan's Long Day's Journey also gave me that same feeling. Masterful craft and inspiring to watch, but also quite dull and ultimately ineffective at creating lasting emotional impact. Very good hybrid directors who use long takes to frame specific scenes and moments of their films are Scorsese (Irishman, that PHONE CALL), Spielberg and Steve McQueen. In fact, Joe Walker always says that Steve has that innate ability to hold JUST until the shot makes its point, then we cut not before. Check out Twin Peak The Return for a filmmaker that is in complete control of film language and uses pacing almost as a thematic element. This entire video reminds me of that one episode ending where the barkeep is literally sweeping at the end of the night for 3 minutes in silence. Most episodes actually tend to end in atmospheric long takes as credits roll. Haunting.
Have you seen The Passenger by Antonionni? The penultimate shot in that one lasts 7 minutes or so before the next cut. That film is full of long take shots.
As you showed, ZP was not the first film to make use of time lapse and extended scenes. When I saw this film for the first time, I definitely did not spend time on the gas canister scene. I was enthralled by the opening student rebellion conversation, the sex/love scene in the desert, and of course the grand finale. But I think that the extended scene is a generally a "lost art" in cinema today. You mention the average length is 8 seconds. What's the average length today? The attention span has been compressed even further. We don't get the luxury of lingering in a particular scene, although some director still do make the effort to be generous to their viewers, I suppose. Your insight was ok but nothing monumental or revelatory for me. But hey, I watched your vid from start to end. And that was much longer than 8 seconds. ;-)
Hah, thanks! I think the mean average for English language ASL is down to around 2.5 seconds now - but that data's a few years old. Not sure how that ties in with increasing length of films too. Always nice to meet a fellow ZP stan 🙌
@@BenWoodiwiss Will most definitely do! I'd also love to do an analysis/video essay on Benny Loves Killing, but besides streaming it is hard to obtain footage/the whole film. I wonder if theres any way to purchase the film for a digital copy. Thank you so much for the reply and am eagerly working on both videos very soon! :D
@@TheManilaMile I don't know whether it's accessible from The Philippines, but it is available from a streaming platform called Spamflix - also wow 🤩 thank you so much! 🙏
After watching The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, I wanted more of Bunuel and went for the shortest movie. And that is how I got to watch Simon in the desert. I really like the moral spirituality of it and am way absolutely pleased by the ending. I was not expecting it.
I love absolutely everything about this. Everything. It's brilliant as a video essay, it's brilliant as a performance, it's brilliant as a short film. The tone you've nailed here, I haven't the words at this time of night to describe it, but it's just perfect, even aside from the specifics of what you're communicating, the way you've used your voice and the layering of the voice and the pace of it and the pace of the imagery alongside (your editing I mean, not just, like, the pace of the film whizzing by or crawling), it's intimate and feels conversational or maybe even like an overheard conversation in a strange way but it's also incredibly striking and compelling as a piece of sound design. I'm really glad I caught the mention of these video essays on twitter earlier tonight, for right from the off it's obvious you've hit something in this format this is just perfectly suited to your unique brand of analysis.
I mean... dude... thank you so much 🙏 It sounds arrogant to say 'I made these for people who love cinema' but I made these for people who love cinema, and you're one of them, so it really is for you 😀 really glad you got it, and thanks so much for the kind words above - I've been spinning these into the void, with nothing but rumination on how they might be landing, so it's just lovely to see some of how this one is landing 🚀
Fascinating video essay Ben. Would be interested in seeing you develop these thoughts in further video essays. For example - the whole ‘slow cinema’ idea, where these extended shots are applied to a whole film, and you get a completely different pacing and cinema experience. I’m thinking of Bela Tarr’s films, particularly Werchmeister Harmonies. I wouldn’t want all films to be like that, but it does give it a special quality.
Clive! Thanks so much, and yeah slow cinema is a whole thing - changes the dynamic/tone of what a film is completely. I don't know if I'll keep talking about the same thing or spiral out into different areas, either way every element of cinema folds into every other element, so it'll all be related somehow :)
Dominic! As I live and breathe. Thanks so much, and yes - time-lapse is very much tied into this. In fact, if I ever manage to finish this difficult 'second film essay' you'll see some of that included 😃
