American Cinematographer - October 2007 - 8

Editor’s Note irector Sam Peckinpah famously maintained, “The Western is a universal frame within which it is possible to comment on today.” Over the decades, many filmmakers have embraced this notion, but recent years have been a fallow patch for the venerable Western. However, some upcoming releases promise a bonanza for fans of the genre (if you’ll pardon the pun). Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC has made his first two forays into Western terrain with Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Joel and Ethan Coen’s No Country for Old Men. The former, a stately tone poem, offers rich rewards for cinephiles who appreciate stunning widescreen cinematography, intriguing thematic subtext and period realism. The more contemporary No Country offers both action and thought-provoking drama, as well as a truly unforgettable villain, psychopathic hit man Anton Chigurh (played by Javier Bardem). Despite his hectic schedule, Deakins set aside time to share his thoughts about both of these fascinating films with Jean Oppenheimer and me (“Western Destinies,” page 30). Referring directly to Peckinpah’s Westerns, Deakins offers, “Those movies are much more than the sum of their stories. They address many different themes, and I feel Jesse James and No Country are in that same vein.” Phedon Papamichael, ASC also explores the Western’s timeless appeal in director James Mangold’s remake of the 1957 classic 3:10 to Yuma. While the cinematographer took full advantage of the widescreen Super 35 format, he says the filmmakers focused on generating drama with character-based conflict. “I was very much looking forward to the rare opportunity to shoot a Western, but this film isn’t a Western in the classical sense,” says Papamichael (“Unsafe Passage,” page 72). “It’s not about the land and the landscapes, it’s more about faces and dialogue and strong characters. It plays more as a modern psychological Western drama.” Psychological conflicts also form the core of Lust, Caution and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The former film, which reunited Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC with director Ang Lee, is set in China during World War II and follows the efforts of an alluring woman (Tang Wei) to seduce a sinister government official (Tony Leung) who has been targeted for assassination. While analyzing the film for New York correspondent Pat Thomson (“Emotional Betrayal,” page 48), Prieto notes that working in China was an eye-opening, sometimes harrowing experience: “Strangely enough, it felt like working with a crew in Mexico, in that you don’t have all the tools, but your crew will do anything. Sometimes it can get tricky and dangerous. If you want to adjust a light but don’t have a Condor or lift, someone will climb a wall or get a rickety ladder. I’d say, ‘Hey, you’re going to fall!’ And they’d say, ‘No, Hong Kong-style!’ I had to turn away several times because I just got too nervous, but they were truly amazing and completely committed.” On The Golden Age, the sequel to the acclaimed 1998 film Elizabeth, cinematographer Remi Adefarasin, BSC admired director Shekhar Kapur for staking out new creative terrain rather than simply trying to recapture the glories of the first film. “Far too many of today’s films are about instant gratification and leave you hollow at the end,” Adefarasin tells London correspondent Mark Hope-Jones (“Palace Intrigue,” page 60). “Shekhar has a very interesting and different approach to directing films; he wants to penetrate deeper.” In pursuing their respective goals, all of this month’s featured cinematographers tapped their skill with lighting, this issue’s special theme. We hope their collective wisdom will prove useful and illuminating. D Stephen Pizzello Executive Editor 8 Photo by Douglas Kirkland.

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American Cinematographer - October 2007

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