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John
Bailey, ASC to Fill the Screen
Bailey will preside over a tasty menu of diverse films from different genres, cultures and periods, which will be screened for students and movie aficionados. The films range from Sunrise, which earned the first Oscar for cinematography in 1927-28, to Wages of Fear, Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Battle of Algiers, Madamoiselle, Contempt, La Haine, Silverado, In the Line of Fire and China Moon. Bailey photographed Silverado, a classic Western in 1985 in wide-screen Super Technoscope format. Bailey also shot In the Line of Fire, a 1993 action-adventure story, and he directed China Moon in 1994, which was photographed by Willy Kurant, ASC, AFC. The festival was launched in 1986 by Gary Prebula. He and Rory Kelly are co-artistic directors of the five-day happening. Prebula initially envisioned a festival which focused on the aesthetics of wide-screen filmmaking that provided a platform for discussing creative issues. The festival broke the mold last year when artist-in-residence Steven Spielberg selected several films which weren’t produced in wide-screen format. This year, Bailey chose Sunrise and several other films composed in narrower gauges. “It was a difficult decision narrowing the field to 11 films,” Bailey confesses. “There were many other films I would have liked to include, Samurai, The Conformist and Night of the Hunter to name a few. I chose some films that I feel are historically important in terms of cinematography, which were produced before wide–screens formats were an option.” Bailey adds, “If it were up to me, most if not all contemporary films would be produced in anamorphic (2.4:1 aspect ratio) format.” The cinematographer notes that Karl Struss and Charles Rosher shared the first Oscar for cinematography for their work on Sunset. Struss was a still photographer in New York before he switched to cinematography. He and Rosher were in the front ranks of a second generation of Hollywood cinematographers who were integral influences on the art of telling stories with moving images. Preservationists Schawn Belston (20th Century-Fox) and Michael Pogorzelske (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) will discuss the restoration of Sunset. It is a side issue, but it is one which deserves attention and discussion. What does it take to ensure that yesterday’s and today’s films will endure for posterity? Rules of the Game was directed by Jean Renoir and photographed in 1939 by Jean Bichelot. Bailey believes, “It looms large in film history as humanist cinema…the choreographing of scenes with eight to 10 actors which play in one or two shots… is a template for any film which presumes to explore social strata and multiple relationships. Its chameleon-like blending of humor and sadness makes it amazingly contemporary.” He also cites Madamoiselle, “a very obscure (1964) Tony Richardson film, photographed by David Watkin… It’s a static film with no pans, tilts, zooms or dollies,” which he contrasts to The Battle of Algiers, directed by Gillo Pontecorvo and photographed by Marcello Gatti, “in gritty black-and-white in documentary style with a handheld camera.” Bailey also chose Contempt, a 1963 anamorphic film directed by Jean-Luc Godard and photographed by Raul Coutard. It was filmed with a rack-over Mitchell BNC camera, which the director and cinematographer used for 90 degree pans and tracking shots augmenting camera angles and lenses designed to draw the audience into the story. La Haine (Hate) is a 1996 French film which focuses on 24 hours in the life of three teenagers, a Jew, a Black Morrocan and an Arab, in a sterile Paris slum. They are waiting to see if their friend, who was shot in a demonstration, will live or die. Bailey notes that the camera is on a Steadicam which enables the audience to experience the story from the subjective perspective of a fourth character. Director Mathieu Kassovitz will participate in a question-and-answer conversation with Bailey following the screening. Aguirre: The Wrath of God, is a dream-like film set in the Amazon during the 1600s. It was directed by Werner Herzog and photographed by Thomas Mauch. “From Sunrise to La Haine (Hate) there is a full spectrum of camera styles and dramatic narrative working hand in hand to create a compelling emotional experience,” Bailey says. “It is the nature of this blending that I hope to explore with the audiences.” Bailey says that one of his goals is “to open a window” on how directors and cinematographers collaborate in choosing and employing different styles, techniques and formats to visually punctuate stories. He chose In the Line of Fire from his own body of work, because it mixes “hardcore, commercial story-telling with existential drama” in contrast to China Moon, which relies on a film noir aesthetic. He collaborated with director Larry Kasdan on Silverado. Bailey observes that many films he chose for the festival are only available to the public in festival and museum retrospectives or on home video. The festival opens on Sept. 17 with a 7 p.m. conversation with Bailey. Prof. Kelly will ask the cinematographer about the evolution of his career, his reasons for choosing the films featured at the festival, and probe his insights into the language of visual story-telling. Bailey will also orchestrate a lighting seminar for students, in addition to introducing and discussing various films and participating in a question-and-answer session following the screening of Aguirre: The Wrath of God and China Moon. Bailey traces his interest in cinema to 1962-63, when he spent his junior year at Loyola University studying in Europe, mainly in Innsbruck and Vienna, Austria. That experience sparked his interest in the “New Wave” films by Bergman, Fellini, Godard and others. Bailey says he spent much of his senior year watching art house films. He subsequently enrolled in the graduate program at USC, where he mainly focused on film theory. Bailey decided the most efficient way for him to learn film theory was by exploring the language and grammar by looking through the eyepiece and shooting other students’ projects. His first real-world jobs were in post-production, cutting negative and reversal films for dailies. His first camera job was as a loader on a low budget, horror film. By the early 1970s, Bailey was an assistant cameraman and occasional shooter of low budget and student films. He earned his first mainstream cinematography credit in 1979 for Boulevard Nights. Bailey has subsequently compiled an eclectic body of work, including American Gigolo, Ordinary People, Continental Divide, The Big Chill, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Mishima, Silverado, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Swimming to Cambodia, The Accidental Tourist, A Brief History of Time, Groundhog Day and In the Line of Fire. During recent years, he has authored a number of scholarly articles about film theory and the influence of motion pictures on contemporary culture in addition to lecturing and delivering keynote addresses at film schools and conferences. Passes to all screenings cost $50 and $35 for students. Tickets for individual screenings are priced at $8 each, and $6 for students and seniors. For the schedule and ticket information call (562) 985-7000 or visit www.widescreenfilmfestival.com. |
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Mark your calendar. John Bailey, ASC is the Artist-in-Residence at
the 9th Annual Wide Screen Film Festival. The festival is sponsored
by the Film and Electronic Arts Department at California State University,
Long Beach. The dates are Sept. 17-21. The places are the Carpenter
Center and University Theater in Long Beach.