"Style over Substance"
Vložit
- čas přidán 22. 10. 2021
- That0therGeorge discusses the topic of "Style over Substance" whilst using Birds of Prey (2020), Nobody (2021) and Baby Driver (2017) to explain his points.
Letterboxd - letterboxd.com/That0therGeorge
Instagram - / that0thergeorge - Zábava
The point of film is the style, the visual style! So to me style _is_ substance... Intricate stories/characters are for novellas/novels; clever dialogue is for plays (theatre); touching music is for musical artists and concerts/opera! Not to say film can't utilise the aforementioned... film has always been experimental and that's what we love so much about it. But at the same time.. we shouldn't discredit films that are unapologetically being what it is: _a moving picture!_
Most movies do try to incorporate complex plots, characters, dialogue, or music... and rightfully invites criticism on whether or not they'd successfully conveyed and utilised those. But unfortunately these kind of films had completely overshadowed films that aren't offering such bonuses but merely trying to be a visual medium.
Yeah exactly, I think as long as you can cleverly incorporate visual storytelling into your film, then the style can absolutely be the substance too.
A good example of this is in an earlier episode of "Better Call Saul" (bit of a weird one but if you just search "Better Call Saul Breadstick Impact" into CZcams then you'll see the clip of what I mean) and there's just two minutes of Saul talking to a random woman, in the original scene there was written and performed dialogue, but they scrapped the dialogue and just had music running for the 2 minute duration. The point is just that you can establish the tone and emotion through other ways that characters describing the tone and emotion to eachother, and film/TV lets you execute those ideas however you would like to
5:28 Buddy didn’t presumably steal a random iPod just for the sake of the scene, he took it off Baby in the diner when he says “Song’s over Baby, but you still have to face the music”.
Ughhhh damn it really? I actually re-watched the film before making this video so it's kind of annoying that I somehow missed that detail, thank you for pointing it out though.
I still think that scene is a little goofy, but getting that reference wrong is defiantly an error that weakens the point my end. Still though, at least I was arguing in favour of "Baby Driver" anyway so hopefully that doesn't devalue the overall point. Thanks again though
your welcome man, I think Baby Driver is an absolute masterpiece and I can't wait for Edgar Wright's new film Last Night in Soho this coming week!
@@filmmakermorgan7705 Yeah I'm always looking to improve, I'm happy with the quality of the videos I'm currently putting out, but there are always ways to improve so I always appreciate the feedback.
It is indeed yeah! I'm very much looking forward to seeing "Last Night in Soho" next week, I doubt it'll reach "Hot Fuzz levels for me, but my expectations are still high for it.
I also wanna see "Dune" very soon as well, have you by any chance seen it yet?
Yeah your videos are great man, love any videos essays on film, as I wanna be a filmmaker, as long as the videos are good and educational, which is what your videos are. And I’m actually seeing Dune tomorrow in IMAX, super excited for that was well!
@@filmmakermorgan7705 Thank you dude I appreciate the kind words. And let me know what you think of "Dune" I'd be very curious to hear.
Have you seen any other good films lately?
That ending quote sums up perfectly how I feel about the phrase “Style over Substance”. I appreciate when movies try to have a visual style, but I believe it has to compliment something within the story and not exist for the sake of flashy visuals. Zack Snyder to me is the worst perpetrator of this. I can never get into any of his films, because his over abundance of his style seems to have a higher precedence than the script and character development.
Yep exactly dude, it should be either "okay we have this really flashy scene, now how do we write this approximately for the story" or "okay we have this scene all written out well, now how do we had a visual flair to it".
It doesn't matter which idea spawns first, as long as you're willing to put the effort in and succeed at both then I'm happy.
Also, I must admit, I don't even really like the style in Snyder's movies haha.
How you been tho dude? Seen anything good lately?
@@That0therGeorge Uh.... I haven't actually seen much lately. Too much school work. Off the top of my head I saw Malignant. It was.... meh. Some creepy visuals and an interesting idea, but I didn't find it particularly scary.
I binged all the Studio Ghibli films about a month ago. Mostly solid movies. Some really bad ones though.
@@Bouncy_Ball_Studios I don't think James Wan is a brilliant director, but I find most of his films enjoyable. They're often sludge, but fun sludge at the very least. I've heard that recent one is a huge downgrade from stuff like "The Conjuring".
What would you say is the best and worst film from Studio Ghibli?
@@That0therGeorge Yeah, that's true about James Wan.
The best and worst Studio Ghibli film is a tough question. I'd say that the best one was "Grave of the Fireflies". Seems like a cheap choice, but it was expertly told and animated. It balances telling this tragic story while keeping it from the perspective of children.
My personal favorite was "Whisper of the Heart". I like the angle it takes with it's love story. It delves into the idea of proving you're good enough for another person in a way that really hits close to home for me. Would highly recommend that one.
Although it's not my least favorite, "Earwig and the Witch" is a huge downgrade compared to the rest of the bunch. It was SG's first shot at 3D animation, but they are so obviously 20 years behind in terms of the quality. Also, the film feels so incomplete. It ends on a "cliffhanger" of sorts, and it's not the least bit satisfying or charming as the rest.
Also "Ocean Waves" sucks. I hate that film more than I care to admit. One character in specific is super unlikable and the "chemistry" between the two main leads never feels that well developed by the end.
George!!! Happy Saturday!! Super nice to see you again!! Really enjoyed this video essay you pulled off! Style over substance is a very interesting case to make in film criticism! We watch a lot of movies and recognize when directors overuse their styles in telling their stories 🎬🎥 It’s a very interesting thing to analyze and I’m sure it’s great to see. Great job on explaining the films and always happy to see new videos!! 🎬😌
On that last point, your visual editing is absolutely appreciated. Your visuals are extremely well done and i rarely see any repeated clips unless done for emphasis or a joke (like lalo pointing at himself every other time he's mentioned, not sure if that's intentional or not but it's hilarious)
Thank you so much for saying this! I feel like my content has still got a long way to go through the script, voiceover etc - But the editing is pretty much how I want it to be haha
I want to thank you for showing some great dedication to one of my favorite movies of all time. Edgar Wright has proven time and time again that he can put extreme effort in both his scripts and his direction, I think he's the most talented filmmaker to have ever lived. I'm assuming that critics didn't want to believe that when he does something other than a comedy, it means he can't put equal amount of dedication into it, which I find to be extremely unfair because Baby Driver shows more subtle and intellectual storytelling than any of his movies combined.
You're very much welcome and thank you for watching!
My personal favourite of his is still "Hot Fuzz". However, "Baby Driver" is a very close second for me and I completely agree with you, even though most people like it, it should be getting praised more for being the masterpiece that it is.
@@That0therGeorge that's perfectly understandable. Both are 10/10 movies for me anyway
@@LOEKASH Completely agree with that take!
You seen any other good movies or TV shows recently?
@@That0therGeorge An underrated sci-fi gem from a couple of years ago called Upgrade. It's not a 10/10 film, but I thought it was extremely underrated for a lot of reasons and probably even worth making a video about
@@LOEKASH I've heard about that one, I shall definitely check it out!
I just got done watching "Fresh" - it was a pretty meh thriller
I fell asleep watching baby driver when it was in theaters (before anything important happened) so I can’t really fairly judge it.
Would highly recommend you giving it another shot at some point. It's a really great film & like with all of Edgar Wright's catalogue, it only benefits from re-watches for me
Oooo another video.
@@That0therGeorge Good to hear!
Great video!
Thank you so much dude I appreciate that! What do you think of the topic?
@@That0therGeorge I totally agree with your video. But if you want to know my opinion on this subject, I will say I love stylish films because they're fun and very well made. But, I think most of them aren't masterpieces because they don't feel complete, if that makes sense. Great movies combine both style and substance, fun movies are stylish.
@@newwave26 Thanks again dude. Are you a fan of "Baby Driver" then?
@@That0therGeorge Nah I haven't watched it, maybe I'll watch it today?
@@newwave26 I would highly recommend it, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Have you seen any good films lately?
Watchmen (2009) is the best representation of style over substance. Actually, every Zack Snyder movie ever are style over substance.
Yeah someone else mentioned about Snyder's work being style over substance. I'm inclined to agree but I'm not even a fan of his style. What would you say is your least favourite movie of his?
@@That0therGeorge BVS
@@nont18411 Interesting, I think it's a bad film too but I much prefer it to Man of Steel
@@That0therGeorge hopefully you will at least like all Snyder films as simply, good 6/10 films in general.
LOL you ruin your own video by calling BOP style over substance.