Composer Elliot Goldenthal Honored by NYFA

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in Blu-ray, Events, Movies, Music | Leave a comment

Film composer and frequent Julie Taymor collaborator Elliot Goldenthal (Across the Universe, Heat) was recently inducted into the NYFA Hall of Fame with Michael Findlay, author and co-director of the Acquavella Gallery, filmmaker Mira Nair, and visual artist Fred Wilson. Read more

The Academy Salutes Mattes and Environmental VFX

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Animation, Below the Line, Clips, Events, Music, Oscar, performance capture, previs, Production Design, Tech, VFX, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

The Academy continued its informative “VFX Convergence” series last Tuesday at the Dunn Theater with “From Matte Paintings to Full Environments and Set Extensions,” which took us full circle from Méliès to Hugo and beyond. Read more

Trailering Third Man of Steel

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Movies, Music, performance capture, previs, Production Design, Tech, Trailers, VFX, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

After the eerie General Zod video warning comes the third and most emotional Man of Steel trailer: an existential journey to define the heart and soul of Kal-El/Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) and his role as outsider/savior. Read more

Trailering New Gatsby

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Below the Line, Books, Movies, Music, Tech, Trailers, VFX, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

The latest trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby (May 10) makes it look like a Jazz Age Romeo + Juliet, with the hot sounds of Beyonce, Andre 3000, Lana Del Ray, and Florence + The Machine with lots of help from rapper and exec producer Jay-Z.

Immersed in Blu-ray: Life of Pi

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Animation, Below the Line, Blu-ray, Cinematography, Clips, Home Entertainment, Movies, Music, Oscar, previs, Tech, VFX, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

Ang Lee’s multiple Oscar-winning Life of Pi goes Blu (Fox Home Ent.) and looks spectacular. Even viewed flat, I’m still entranced by the spirituality of the storytelling and the seduction of the imagery. And the 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio offers a thrilling soundscape. It truly is the 2001 of our time. Read more

Wachowski’s Jupiter Ascending Set for Summer 2014

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in Below the Line, Cinematography, Movies, Music, previs, Production Design, Tech, VFX, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

The Wachowski’s next movie, Jupiter Ascending, has just landed a July 25, 2014 release date from Warner Bros., which means another smart, genre-bending experience from Andy and Lana, who are obviously unfazed by the lackluster box office response to Cloud Atlas. Read more

Immersed in Blu-ray: Easter Parade

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in Blu-ray, Clips, Movies, Music | Leave a comment

Easter Parade comes to Blu-ray for its 65th anniversary from Warner Home Video looking its Technicolor finest and sounding superior in DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, as Judy Garland and Fred Astaire pair off nicely for their first and only time. Read more

Immersed in Blu-ray: Cabaret

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in Blu-ray, Cinematography, Clips, Home Entertainment, Movies, Music, Oscar, Tech | Leave a comment

Before Les Mis, there was Cabaret (1972), which redefined the musical and is now available on Blu-ray from Warner Home Video. There is no existing negative, so Warner MPI did the best it could with an IP, even repairing a vertical scratch that extends for a reel. The result is dazzling. It’s dark and dense yet warm in keeping with Geoffrey Unsworth’s alluring look and the original Technicolor dye transfer finish. The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio will have you believing you’re in the Kit Kat Klub. Read more

Life of Pi, Brave Earn BAFTA Honors

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Animation, Below the Line, Cinematography, Costume, Editing, Events, James Bond, Movies, Music, Production Design, Shorts, Sound, Tech, VFX, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

While Argo and Ben Affleck unsurprisingly took the top prizes for best film and director today at the BAFTA Awards in London, Pixar’s Scottish-flavored Brave won for best animated feature and Life of Pi for VFX (Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer). Life of Pi’s Claudio Miranda also scored the cinematography award; The Making of Longbird and Swimmer earned honors for best animated and live-action short, respectively. Read more

Trailering Inside Llewyn Davis

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Bill Desowitz in Below the Line, Cinematography, Movies, Music, Trailers | Leave a comment

The Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, return with something very different: Inside Llewyn Davis, a witty yet angst-ridden look back at the ’60s Greenwich Village folk scene, and the first trailer has a definite Bob Dylan vibe with “Farewell” playing throughout and a soft, surreal look from French cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel (Amélie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dark Shadows). Read more

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