Batman carries on beginning in ... The Dark Knight

Funny that he does a shot-by-shot breakdown of what doesn't work in the sequence and he's still called an idiot.

In fairness, the video is blocked by my work so I can't watch it

However, I didn't think there was anything the least bit baffling or confusing about that chase sequence so I don't really expect to be enlightened as to all the ways it was confusing or didn't since, for me, it did.

I don't think it's a question of whether the sequence works for you or not, but there are significant issues if you're looking for them. Or more accurately, if something about it didn't work for you, the video might be a good explanation of why. The SWAT van has always bothered me, and I was never sure why. Even if you don't care about where Dent is sitting in the police van or where the cop cars are positioned, that fall into the river really makes no sense at all.

there are significant issues if you're looking for them

this seems like a critical statement to consider

I mean, we're not really talking about Rob Liefeld and his tenuous grasp of human physiology here, we're talking about minor continuity gaffes that happen in every single movie ever made.

Shut up man Jango Fett was just clumsy

i don't know much about comics but damn ppl must really hate this rob liefeld guy, his name comes up all the time, always negative context

he is the worst

The SWAT van is a pretty major continuity gaffe, but I take your point. He mentions in the essay that this isn't about a car being put back together for a few frames after it's been exploded, or a headlight is out in shot and on the next, it's a cumulative effect of shot composition and editing being spatially confusing. Ronin's chase sequences are rightly lauded because Frankenheimer got all those little things right, and when they get put together they add up to a very satisfying, sensible chase scene when your'e watching it, even if you're not aware of exactly why.

There's a good bit in the video where he talks about the scene in the script where the Batmobile charges down the lane and runs underneath the garbage truck, and he talks about how the shots as filmed could have made sense and fit in but they added some confusing inserts (the Joker looking forward as though the Batmobile was in his lane, a shot of the cop driver swerving, etc).

the Joker looking forward as though the Batmobile was in his lane

rmde

re: Liefeld, I can't verify that this link works because my job blocks it, but: http://progressiveboink.com/archive/robliefeld.html

more to the point, here is his infamous Captain America and a rendition of the necessary anatomy for the pic to make any goddamn sense:

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li1bbyY9AC1qgl2lfo1_400.jpg

sigh xpost

Okay, I watched the video. It's actually pretty good and gives you a lot to chew on - anyone who hates how little clarity is prized in today's action movies should get something out of it. He walks you through some of the technical aspects that are treated differently in an action scene versus say a dialogue scene, aspects of blocking and composition like the 180 rule. I think he makes a mistake in not attempting to understand why Nolan was crossing the line wrt stuff like the truck t-boning the SWAT van - the disorienting effect there is clearly intentional! And some of the nitpicks don't hold up, like 4 minutes in he clamors for an interior two-shot to establish the geography of the scene, but the reverse shot has already established that the SWAT guy is sitting across from Harvey, and the movie never contradicts that by revealing that he's sitting next to him or anything like that. He's right that the way the truck recovers is clearly impossible, but I can chalk that up to movie magic. And some of the information that the scene fails to convey with visual storytelling is still present for the audience via context. The scene still works.

But this is all technical stuff - the truck chase works because he understands that the things that make for a good action scene are the same things that make for any other kind of good scene - the audience understanding and caring about what's happening, what's at stake, why characters are doing what they're doing, and the scene serving some narrative purpose in moving things from the scene before it to the scene after it. This is why crystal clear visual storytelling should be an action filmmaker's best friend - it's just a physical dramatization of the movie's conflicts! If you had some epic verbal confrontation in a script you were shooting, you wouldn't have the actors mumble the whole thing and then blare techno music over it to make it even more confusing, would you? OK, some directors would. But it'd be a bad idea if what you want is for the audience to care about what's happening.

Wrt Nolan I'm not sure what to think. I'll take it in good faith that in certain instances he's breaking rules he's familiar with to achieve a certain effect. But I do sorta wonder if shooting his own action means he stretches himself too thin, because in Inception there's a lot of papering over of geographical incoherence with nonsense cutting. Avid is seriously the worst thing to ever happen to action movies. I really think most directors are just lazy and this new school of action directing - handheld, tight close-ups, constant cutting - is a way for them to dispense with putting effort into staging interesting scenes. Great scenes have been done in this style, but it takes effort to set yourself apart.

i really love this pinefox post btw:

- I just really liked Batman! with his great virtue, realiability, proficiency, infinite skill, Batmobile, motorbike, incorrigibility - he was terrific to watch! and every time he shows up in a scene (including suddenly the one where Jokes is interrogated), it's really exciting!

― the pinefox, Monday, July 21, 2008 8:23 PM (3 years ago) Bookmark

tamtam otm as usual

Joseph Kahn (Torque - yeah, I know...) offers a rebuttal.

So that and the original piece cancel each other out and the rest of us can just enjoy shit crashing into each other as it stands, yes?

no you're enjoying it wrong

lol Ned OTM

also that second piece seems to be a long, drawn out riff on my "You're an idiot?" question

on TNT right now

just watched heathers and j.d. kinda reminded me of ledger as the joker

Love the South Park parody of this with Butters threatening to blow up a hospital, in his own way.

AMH is hella corny in this movie

A lot about this movie is very corny once the initial dazzle has subsided. Same goes for all Nolan's movies really.

https://youtu.be/VKpQgEyjNdM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKpQgEyjNdM

LOL amazing

Hahaha

That's the funniest sketch I've seen in a long time.