Favorite Forgotten Films

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John Dykstra, ASC

 

Sir Peter Brook directed Marat/Sade in 1966, cinematography by David Watkin, BSC, a film adapted from the stage production. This musical set in a mad house was, for me, an introduction to a completely new way of looking at film. I saw this film as a student and it's surrealism instilled in me a sense of license to the interpretation of story and image.

As to contemporary film, I liked The City of Lost Children,1995, a French production directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro; the director of photography was Darius Khondji.

A baroque story that I sometimes found hard to follow is made enjoyable by the rich and nonconformist vision of this fantasy world. The vibrant color and deep contrast lent extra dimensionality to the image.