when the director is reeeally good at their job
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- čas přidán 23. 06. 2023
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The first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, isn't just a great movie. It's a brilliantly directed one. Steven Spielberg's skill at blocking and stages scenes is second to none. Today we'll take a look at some of the ways Spielberg implements blocking and staging using the same method that director Steven Soderbergh uses to analyze films: making the movie black and white, and taking away all of its score and dialogue... allowing us to focus only on the film's visual storytelling.
Written & Edited by Danny Boyd
Special Research by Simon Leftie
#StevenSpielberg #IndianaJones #VideoEssay
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Dude turned it into an “indie” film
The shot where Indy is chasing after Marion who's in the basket, and he stops dead, perplexed at the myriad of people carrying baskets, any other director would have cut from the close-up of his eyes to what he's seeing. Speilburg didn't cut, just stayed on his eyes, then swung the camera around as Indy starts tipping the baskets over. Genius.
It’s actually crazy how precisely composed every shot is and I didn’t even notice until seeing the black and white versions!
I love Spielberg's composed, unflashy oners. That sequence in Indy's apartment with Marcus is one of my all-time favorites.
I also like the desaturation, because it's a tribute to the films that inspired Indian Jones. All of those were in B&W, too, so it makes huge sense that you want to watch Indy in that tone, to see how well it holds to the ideals. This is very clever.
His compositions reduces the need for cutting and close ups. Makes the audience feel like they're in the room with the actors. Makes the audience feel like they're a part of the action. Spielberg puts his audience in the movie.
I didn’t know that this version of Raiders existed, or really that Soderbergh did this stuff but it’s a really cool insight (and great technique) into how directors study and learn from each other.
When watching these film analyses I often wonder if these directors actually put near as much thought into framing these scenes or if they just naturally do it the way they do because it’s a natural gift, and the scene plays out in such a way that it’s great because it seems natural, not because they dotted the i’s and crossed the T’s on every little thing.
I would love to see a black & white version of Raiders with the dialogue and score intact. This is visually gorgeous.
I think Spielberg once advised “if you want to learn about shooting just watch with the sound turned off”.
I love Steven Soderbergh, but every time I saw his name I found it a bit funny because you see “Steven S” and your mind immediately goes to Spielberg. But oh, nevermind, it’s just Soderbergh.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate how masterful Douglas Slocombe's cinematography is? It's even more apparent in the desaturated footage. Perfect light/dark composition.
I've always noticed the blocking in Raiders, the Casablanca nods, especially with the Belloq and Indy cafe convo. But my all time favourite blocking scene of his is from Jaws. After the 'mother's slap' scene, where the chief, wife, and youngest son are at home. No words. Just dad exhausted. The son following every move until dad picks up on it. And the beauty of the mom looking on, so tiny in the shot, yet ever watching her two boys bonding. Every time I see that scene I think, even then, he was putting in moments and shots that had no right being in what others were just considering a get-it-in-the-can b-flick. Hence my name.
As a casual audience member, we don't know WHY we are so amazed by Spielberg's work - until you make a great video explaining WHY we are so amazed by Spielberg's work. Thank you
This reminds me of the Criterion Collection release of THX-1138. There's an option in the special features to watch the film with only the sound effects turned on. The sound design is so amazing you don't even notice the music and dialogue are missing.
One of my favorite moments from Raiders is when Toht comes into the tent and opens up a coat hanger with more suspense than you could possibly imagine. Such mastery in film making there.
The commentary around Spielberg these days is fascinating. Oddly underrated and criticised given how scrutinising modern viewers like to think they are. But there is simply no one close to the consistent brilliance Spielberg has delivered for the last 40+ years. The output is extraordinary.
Finally someone talks about this hidden gem! When I tell people about this Raiders cut, no one believes me that Soderbergh would do something like that, but it’s a super valuable piece of exercise. I wish my film courses when I was studying were built around these experiments, there is so much to study here.