Visually I’m influenced and nudged by the work of others, sometimes in non-visual arts even. The debt Lost In Translation owes to La Dolce Vita (Fellini 1960) is pretty clear, of course. In one scene the main characters are watching it in a hotel room on television.
The very first shot of the film (see below) made me wonder. The composition, the color of her see-thru underwear. It’s a John Kacere painting – his ‘Jutta’ hangs in Charlotte’s hotel room. Here his ribald innuendo has been replaced by something more elusive.
What is it telling us about Charlotte and the manner in which the film will unfold?
I’ll leave that up to you. Sofia Coppola acknowledges her debts and influences.
Amanda
Quotes of the Day
Quote of the Day – February 4 2021
“The behavior of a human being in sexual matters is often a prototype for the whole of his other modes of reaction in life.” Sigmund Freud, Sexuality and the Psychology of Love [...]
Quote of the Day – February 3 2021
“In this land some of us fuck more than we die but most of us die better than we fuck” Charles Bukowski, Love Is a Dog from Hell An evolutionary arms race? Biology fascinates me [...]
Quote of the Day – February 2 2021
Whether he is an artist or not, the photographer is a joyous sensualist, for the simple reason that the eye traffics in feelings, not in thoughts. Walker Evans Quotes for Lovers who talk [...]
On Photography
Why I like low key lighting…
Low key lighting is a style of cinematography and photography where you create images featuring mainly dark tones to create a dramatic, contrasty looking image. Personally I find myself working a lot in this style. [...]
Famous photographers photographing themselves…
Autorretratos de Fotógrafos Famosos The term " selfie " has become part of our lexicon and self-portraits have never been so popular as of late. But teachers photographers did it first and did it better. [...]
Photographers I Admire
Photographers I Admire – Lutz Dille
From The Compassionate Eye of Lutz Dille by Vincenzo Pietropaolo: The street is like a stage of everyday life, the public sphere of much of our existence, especially in larger cities where the critical mass of [...]
Photographers I admire: Terry O’Neill
From Wikipedia: Terry O'Neill (born 30 July 1938) is an English photographer. He gained renown documenting the fashions, styles, and celebrities of the 1960s. O'Neill's photographs display his knack for capturing his [...]
Photographers I Admire – Phillip Townsend
Bio from the Morrison Hotel Gallery: The British panorama of the 1960s was photographed by a young worldly gentleman who worked as a photojournalist for Tatler Magazine. As the cultural movements of the 60s swung [...]
Photographers I admire – Astrid Kirchherr
Astrid Kirchherr (born 20 May 1938) is a German photographer and artist and is well known for her association with the Beatles (along with her friends Klaus Voormann and Jürgen Vollmer), and [...]
Photographers I Admire – Herb Ritts
You're trying to get to one moment with one frame that eventually may speak for your generation. Herb Ritts, 1999 Herbert "Herb" Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952 – December 26, 2002) was an American fashion [...]
Photographers I Admire – Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson (August 22, 1908 – August 3, 2004) was a French photographer considered the master of candid photography, and an early user of 35 mm film. He helped develop street photography, and approvingly cited a notion [...]
What I’m Watching
What I’m Watching… ’Masters of Sex – Season 3′
According to Robert Lloyd, the Los Angeles Times television critic, the show is a "handsome thing, another well-dressed romp through the American mid-century, when things (we imagine) were simpler and (so we like [...]
What I’m watching…François Truffaut documentary: ‘La Leçon de Cinema’
The documentary examines Truffaut’s life and career in astonishing totality, highlighting selected clips from many of his best and most-loved films, including under-appreciated gems like his crackerjack movie-within-a-movie, Day for Night, and [...]
What I’m Watching… ‘Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht’
Nosferatu the Vampyre is a 1979 West German art house vampire film written and directed by Werner Herzog. Its original German title is Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht ("Nosferatu: Phantom of the Night"). The film is [...]
What I’m Watching…’Three Colors: Red’ Krzysztof Kieślowski
An incandescent meditation on fate and chance, starring Irène Jacob as a sweet-souled yet somber runway model in Geneva whose life intersects with that of a bitter retired judge, played by Jean‑Louis Trintignant. [...]
What I’m Watching… ‘Trois Couleurs : Bleu’
Another film I revisit often. This time to closely observe the cinematography by Slawomir Idziak. Amanda http://www.amazon.com/Three-Colors-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray Most Popular Posts in 2016 Recent Comments 'This [...]
What I’m Watching – ‘Blow Up’ Dir. Michelangelo Antonioni 1966
From an article by Roger Ebert: Michelangelo Antonioni's "Blow-Up" opened in America two months before I became a film critic, and colored my first years on the job with its lingering influence. It [...]
What I’m Reading
What I’m reading – ‘The Greatest Wisdom – A Philosopher, Poet and Athlete’ by Zac Scy
Excerpt from her post: "This morning I woke up to the news that the greatest of all time, Muhammad Ali, had passed away. I’d like to share some of his quotes and thoughts with you [...]
What I’m reading – Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World
“This extraordinary, wildly entertaining book sheds new light on the Age of Disruption. What does it take to make a meaningful difference? And how can you apply this insight to your own life? By debunking [...]
What I’m reading… Joy St James aka ‘The Scholarly Slut’
Her latest post: Trumpschmerz She describes herself as a postmodern Moll Flanders. Adventuress, transgressor, verbal ecdysiast, and yogini. Recovering prude, former nerd, brainy bimbo. Her essays and erotica have appeared in various print anthologies and [...]
What I’m reading… Sexuality in Western Art
The book covers art from the so-called "prehistoric Venuses," cave paintings and carvings and takes the reader on a fascinating tour of the whole of western art (with a few diversions to eastern art such [...]
What I’m reading: Two Decades Naked by Leigh Hopkinson
From the article in The Guardian Is working as a stripper honestly empowering? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself since I quit stripping 18 months ago, after spending two decades naked. It’s also a [...]
What I’m reading… ‘David Bailey’s Democracy’
From An Introduction by Desmond Morris... When viewing these portraits it is important to make a distinction between nudity and nakedness. To me, these are naked bodies but they are not nudes. Traditionally the nude [...]
