Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Lubtchansky


This week I was watching Jeanne la pucelle — I woke up today still unaware of course and during morning shower I thought about Lubtchansky who reduced the distance between the image and the emulsion — I was writing a piece on Kentucker Audley's Open Five and a long section turned out to be about Lubtchansky — dear Willy — alone in the mercantile world of technicians — Lubtchansky — ("a metaphor for something old") — an artisan — Willy Lubtchansky — ("knight errant") — the plumbline and tape — the lumens of the candle — the lamp and the mirror — impedimenta of this wise-man —

Tonight, William Lubtchansky too, the greatest of all cinematographers, sleeps the sleep of the just.







Five days ago from Andy Rector at Kino Slang here.




Elsa la rose

Les Créatures

Pourquoi Israël

L'An 01

Ici et ailleurs

Scènes de la vie parallèle: 2: Duelle (une quarantaine)

Scènes de la vie parallèle: 3: Noroît (une vengeance)

Numéro deux

Six fois deux, sur et sous la communication

Toute révolution est un coup de dés

France/tour/détour/deux/enfants

Comment ça va?

Merry-Go-Round

La Mémoire courte

Sauve qui peut (la vie)

Neige

La Femme d'à côté

Le Pont du Nord

Trop tôt trop tard / Zu früh zu spät / Too Early Too Late

Klassenverhältnisse

L'Amour par terre

Shoah

Les Saisons du plaisir

Nouvelle Vague

Le Petit criminel

La Belle noiseuse

La Belle noiseuse, divertimento

Die Antigone

Jeanne la pucelle

Du fond du cœur

Un vivant qui passe

Von heute auf morgen, Oper in einem Akt von Arnold Schönberg

Secret défense

Sicilia!

Il viandante (Le Chemineau)

Le Rémouleur

Va savoir

Lundi matin

Petites coupures

Histoire de Marie et Julien

Une visite au Louvre

Les Amants réguliers

Ne touchez pas la hache

La Frontière de l'aube

Itinéraire de Jean Bricard

36 vues du Pic Saint-Loup


===


MORE WILL BE SAID HERE IN THE DAYS AHEAD


===

3 comments:

  1. Beautiful piece, Craig, a wonderful tribute to a cinematographer whose obvious poetic, visual sensibility informed every film he shot, even though he worked mostly with directors with equally strong visions. I just saw Jeanne la pucelle recently myself, and was blown away by the low-key grandeur of it, how in seeming to take a laidback, naturalistic aesthetic, it actually has this flat, muted beauty. The outdoor night scenes especially, have this eerie, dark atmosphere that's unlike anything else I've seen.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The tribute Lubtchansky deserved: his filmography stands for him, with the most incredible variety AND adecuation for the purpose of each filmmaker. That's a true co-worker, instead of a diva, as more and more DP tend to become. We will see again and again his images, and therefore he'll live on... as one of the unsung greats.
    Miguel Marías

    ReplyDelete
  3. "...reduced the distance between the image and the emulsion"

    Well said.

    The light he helps bring in Rivette's films is wonderful. People tend to disregard Cinematographers (if they're aware of them at all) but Lubtchansky's skill is clear for all to see.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.