"We effectively see our lives as a series of Steadicam shots. The brain processes out even the rising and falling and sideways lurching of our steps...even when we're flat out running. So why should audiences of your handheld shots see your movie world with less stability than your actors see each other? I think the default 'operating' choice should be smooth. Let the content itself supply the excitement, not the whimsical vibratory excursions of the frame. We operate on eyes with godlike precision all our lives...That's the default: great operating."


The above quote is from a recent "Film Comment" interview with cameraman Garrett Brown. Brown has obviously spent a lot of time thinking about vision and images; how we see the world and how it is projected on-screen. About forty years ago, Brown invented the Steadicam. Because it is strapped on to the cameraperson, the Steadicam can follow actors just about anywhere and stabilizers allow it to record the action smoothly (unlike handheld camera shots). Remember little Danny on his big-wheel in "The Shining"? Those shots were accomplished with the Steadicam.

The Steadicam allows the director to put the viewer in the middle of the action and identify with the character's point-of-view and state-of-mind. "La Scorta", which is this week's featured film, makes excellent use of the Steadicam and demonstrates how the camera can itself become a character. Another reason I watched "La Scorta" is that it stars Claudio Amendola. He played the memorable title character in the BBC adaptation of Joseph Conrad's novel "Nostromo". It aired on PBS and is one of the few English-language roles the Italian actor has done. Amendola in no physical way resembles Al Pacino, but has the same explosive energy that can materialize in an instant.

The entertainment press is buzzing about "Wonder Woman" and the fact that it achieved the highest-grossing opening weekend ever for a female-directed film. I've tried, but I just cannot get excited about another blockbuster comic-book movie (no matter who is behind the camera). There are a number of character-driven dramas that will be released this summer however, including a new Marion Cotillard film "From the Land of the Moon". Directed by Nicole Garcia ("Balcony on the Sea"), Cotillard stars as a free-spirited young woman trapped in a loveless marriage in the 1950s.


Here's the latest article from the Drama Movies site at BellaOnline.com.

La Scorta Film Review
Ricky Tognazzi's film tells a story of corruption and Mafia violence from the viewpoint of a fearless judge and his four bodyguards. Starring Claudio Amendola and Enrico Lo Verso, "La Scorta" will appeal to fans of "Serpico" and "Chinatown".

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art44186.asp

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