Unsung Heroes: The Editing of Exit Through the Gift Shop

Michael C. back again from Serious Film. It's time to wrap up the first season of Unsung Heroes and I thought what better way to do that than to focus on a film that's still in the 2010 conversation while there's a chance to upgrade its status from "unsung" to "frequently honored".The editing of Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop would be a long shot even if it didn’t come from a documentary.

Unsung Heroes: Kirk Douglas for Producing Paths of Glory

Hey everybody. Michael C. from Serious Film back again. This week is all about Kirk Douglas, and although his acting career has enough high points to fill this blog for a month, today we're here to honor the hand he had in launching one of the most important directorial careers of the last century. One fact everyone in the film business seems to agree on is that it is incredibly difficult to get

Unsung Heroes: The Sound Design of Punch-Drunk Love

Michael C here from Serious Film.The opening moments of Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love feature a prolonged stretch of silence broken by the crash of a truck doing flips down the street. In most movies this would be the cheapest trick in the book, giving the audience a jolt by hitting them with a loud noise out of nowhere. It doesn't feel that way here. The sound design in this scene,

Unsung Heroes: Vladimir Tytla for Dumbo

Michael C here from Serious Film. It's going to be tough not to get carried away this week since the subject of this episode is one I feel very strongly about. If I had only been given the opportunity to write one episode of Unsung Heroes it probably would have been about this man.Even the most casual moviegoer can pinpoint a favorite animated moment, but I'd be surprised to find that one in a

Unsung Heroes: The Direction of Duck Soup

Michael C. here from Serious Film. So far in this series we've most often covered the types of cinematic achievements that go unappreciated because they are so convincing that they render themselves invisible. Yet there is also the case of the artist who goes overlooked because they do their work in the shadow of personalities so big that they suck up all the attention. That is certainly the case

Unsung Heroes: The Cinematography of In Bruges

Hi, everybody. This is Michael C here from Serious Film and this week I'm excited to be writing about one of my very favorite films of the last decade, one that improves dramatically which each repeated viewing. So lets get to the overlooked element of this largely overlooked gem.One could argue that a lot of work was done for Eigil Bryld when director Martin McDonagh decided to shoot on location

Unsung Heroes: The Production Design of The Descent

Michael C. here from Serious Film for another episode of Unsung Heroes. With Halloween fast approaching I thought now would be a great time to shine the spotlight on my pick for the best horror movie of the last decade.I was researching Neil Marshall's The Descent for a post I was writing about horror movies when I was surprised to stumble upon this trivia item:No real caves appear anywhere in

Unsung Heroes: Tom Stoppard for Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade

Michael C. here from Serious Film for another episode of Unsung Heroes. This week why don't we hand out some credit for some "uncredited" writing.All directors, no matter how great, have a few blind spots. Even someone as indisputably great as Alfred Hitchcock could become leaden and stilted when he attempted farce. Similarly, one would not be too far out on a limb if he or she accused Steven

Unsung Heroes: The Costumes of The Big Lebowski

Michael C from Serious Film back again, this time with a Little Lebowski Urban Achiever whose work is already iconic even if few know her name.I'd like to dedicate this one to the costume designers that don't do movies about dead monarchs or glittery musicals.-Sandy Powell collecting her third OscarIt's a common refrain among film lovers that flashier work may win the awards, but the subtler,

Unsung Heroes: The Chefs of Ratatouille

Hi everybody. Michael C from Serious Film back again with another unsung contribution to cinematic brilliance. This week it's an achievement I'm sure most of you will recognize -- just don't read it on an empty stomach.I have always been a little taken aback by the depth of Brad Bird and Jim Capobianco's screenplay for Ratatouille. I mean, here is a big-budget family film starring a talking rat

Unsung Heroes - The Students of "Election"

This is Michael C. from Serious Film  back again to shine a light on a cinematic achievement that has been hidden for too long in the shadows. This week it is a film I've been an evangelist for since it's release over a decade ago: Alexander Payne's Election (1999). Pick Flick!Is there any setting more misrepresented in movies than high school? Courtrooms, maybe, or hospitals with their staffs

Unsung Heroes: The Editing of 25th Hour

Hello again, Film Experiencers. Michael C here from Serious Film with another episode of Unsung Heroes. This week it is a tribute to one of my favorite of modern films and one of the most chronically under-appreciated of film professions.Spike Lee's 25th Hour (2002) is a film that feels wired to the psyche of its main character. Working itself up into fits of rage and down into long, disconsolate

Unsung Heroes: The Fight Choreography of Rob Roy

Hey, folks. Michael C. here from Serious Film with another overlooked contribution to film greatness. This time out let's look at a favorite of mine going back to my teenage years: the fight choreography of Rob Roy (1995).William Hobbs is the Marlon Brando of movie sword fighting. He is the guy who blasted away years of mannered and artificial fight choreography and brought it down to Earth. A

Unsung Heroes: The Special Effects of Eternal Sunshine

Hey everybody. It's Michael C. here from Serious Film introducing my new series for The Film Experience: Unsung Heroes. Each week we will celebrate a previously unheralded contribution to film greatness.This week it's the special effects work on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.Special Effects: Mark Bero, Brent Ekstrand, Drew Jeritano, Thomas VivianoVisual Effects: Wizards from Custom Film