It’s our second SEASON BREAK SPECTACULAR! You sent us some great questions, and we answered them.
Per our answer early in the pod, you can check out https://native-land.ca/ to see which indigenous territory you might live on (bear in mind it’s not comprehensive or “official”). There’s a good explanation of land acknowledgments there, too. If you’d like to support the show, here’s a link to our Patreon.
Your questions:
How did you get started in film?
Prognosticate on where micro-budget filmmaking in Canada is going. Wild speculations are encouraged.
What trends in recent cinema do you like? What do you dislike?
You seem to be open-minded about cinematic techniques as long as there is a contextual justification, but are there any common (or not so common) techniques or aesthetics that you just can’t connect with?
How fruitful do you think it is to discuss montage, camera movement and visual composition as discrete elements? What do you think are the appropriate limits for separation, or requirements for conciliation of these elements in analysis and discussion?
Any thoughts on the authorship of posthumously released films that were completed after the directors death such as the other side of the wind or eyes wide shut?
More of a prompt, but I’d like Devan to wax poetic about 1.66 for a few minutes.
What was the last movie you watched and was it good?
What plans do you have for upcoming seasons?
Additional Resources:
Works discussed during this episode:
1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
Crimson Tide (1995)
The Snowman (2017)
Speed Racer (2008)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
The Other Side of the Wind (2018)
An Elephant Sitting Still (2018)
Touch of Evil (1958)
The Thief and the Cobbler (unfinished)
Dream Machines (unfinished)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
Vitalina Varela (2019)
Wild Mountain Thyme (2020)
The opening shot of Barry Lyndon in its correct aspect ratio of 1.66:1 (left) and the ratio of 1.78:1 that was incorrectly used for years (right).