Extreme ways are back! In pog form! This week we’ve got a wonderful little discussion about the evolution of the Jason Bourne film series. In particular, we’re here to dissect how Paul Greengrass transformed it into the 21st century’s foremost example of Chaos Cinema. Handheld camerawork, fast editing, questionable focus? It’s all here, and we’re here to sift through the wreckage.
In this episode, we discuss:
Shaky handheld camerawork: good, evil, or neither?
Rapid cutting: good, great, or greatest?
The specific methodologies and effects of these techniques in Paul Greengrass’s Bourne films
The influence of The Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum on subsequent action cinema
If you’d like to support the show, here’s a link to our Patreon.
Media:
Matthias Stork’s Video Essay on Chaos Cinema
David Bordwell’s Jason Bourne Blog Posts: 1 2
Patrick Willems’s breakdown of the car chase in Quantum of Solace, includes discussion of Supremacy’s car chase.
Visual illustration of the “Elbow Flip” moment discussed in this episode:
Relevant clip starts at 2:13
Works discussed during this episode:
Bloody Sunday (2002)
The Bourne Identity (2002)
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Speed Racer (2008)
Jason Bourne (2016)