J. Stephen McDonald |
June 14th, 2006 03:35 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim Goldman
I think hitchcock did the same thing in Saboteur. Which is a ver good hitchcokc film. Sorta an inturesting idea for filming some sttuff
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One good example of the stealth-zoom shots of unsuspecting actors, was the one of JoAnn Pflug as she lifted off in the chopper after her contribution to the restoration of John Schuck. She was looking very somber and then flashed a big smile, perhaps because she suddenly realized that she was being nailed by a closeup with a distant camera. It was explained that Robert Altman fought to maintain an active presence during the editing. I think that he included many such scenes, not because they fit neatly into the story line, but because they showed amusing shots of the actors that likely would have become outtakes in other movies.
I found the enhanced comments so interesting, I watched the whole movie on AMC twice in a row, as they were on the second showing only. In this movie and others by Altman, the characters and the actors that play them, seem blended into mostly indistinguishable singular entities. These open-ended roles give great opportunities for ambitious actors to advance their careers. Pflug was surprisingly subdued in her portrayel of "Lt. Dish", as she has struck me as rarely passing up an opportunity to take over a scene, throughout her career.
It seems that Fox did its best to sabotage the unique success of this movie and only because of its undeserved luck, did it fail in this regard. Lucky also for the countless millions of viewers who undoubtedly have enjoyed it over the years. It makes you wonder how many other great movies the "Suits" from the studios have cheated us from seeing.
The disdain that most of the actors who were in the movie have shown for the long-running TV version, is mostly shared by me. I have watched more than a few of its episodes, but usually only when there was nothing else playing in my pre-VCR and DVR days.
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