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Post by spiderwort on Apr 3, 2017 18:23:37 GMT
James Wong Howe was truly one of the great American cinematographers. And although his black-and-white films are perhaps his most famous, I particularly love his beautiful color cinematography for the Midwestern melodrama shot on location in Kansas: Picnic, starring William Holden and Kim Novak.
I also love his B & W work in Hud - so spare, lyrical, and evocative. The scene where Paul Newman attacks Patricia Neal was shot hand-held (I believe by Howe himself, a short man, when cameras weren't that small). And in the scene where they find Melvyn Douglas by the side of the road at night it was Howe's idea to construct the scene so that he could use the truck headlights as a light source. Brilliant idea, and how great that the director, Martin Ritt, concurred - the perfect example of the perfect collaboration between director and cinematographer.
Another of his exceptional films that I think pushed the envelope was John Frankenheimer's Seconds. If memory serves, that had a lot of hand-held work in it. And certainly it had a lot of experimentation with wide angle lenses, quasi-surrealism, and other visual effects.
Your thoughts?
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Post by hi224 on Apr 3, 2017 18:26:17 GMT
James Wong Howe was truly one of the great American cinematographers. And although his black-and-white films are perhaps his most famous, I particularly love his beautiful color cinematography for the Midwestern melodrama shot on location in Kansas: Picnic, starring William Holden and Kim Novak. I also love his B & W work in Hud - so spare, lyrical, and evocative. The scene where Paul Newman attacks Patricia Neal was shot hand-held (I believe by Howe himself, a short man, when cameras weren't that small). And in the scene where they find Melvyn Douglas by the side of the road at night it was Howe's idea to construct the scene so that he could use the truck headlights as a light source. Brilliant idea, and how great that the director, Martin Ritt, concurred - the perfect example of the perfect collaboration between director and cinematographer. Another of his exceptional films that I think pushed the envelope was John Frankenheimer's Seconds. If memory serves, that had a lot of hand-held work in it. And certainly it had a lot of experimentation with wide angle lenses, quasi-surrealism, and other visual effects. Please share your thoughts about James Wong Howe. I love Seconds. |
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Post by gadolinium on Apr 3, 2017 20:56:56 GMT
I recommend a nice little documentary called Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography (1992). Some DPs say great things about James Wong Howe in there.
My favorite Wong Howe work is Hud. I like his work in Picnic and Seconds as well.
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Post by spiderwort on Apr 3, 2017 22:17:01 GMT
I recommend a nice little documentary called Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography (1992). Some DPs say great things about James Wong Howe in there. I think I saw this when it was new, gado, though I don't remember it as well as I would like. I'd love to see it again. And I'm not surprised that Howe was complimented. He had such a long career, from 1923 to 1970, received 10 Oscar nominations and won two, and was a pioneer in so many techniques, including the use of deep focus cinematography. In 2003 he was voted one of the top 10 most influential cinematographers in film history by the International Cinematographers Guild, along with Billy Bitzer, Jordan Cronenweth, Conrad Hall, Sven Nykvist, Vittorio Storaro, Gregg Toland, Haskell Wexler, Gordon Willis, Freddie Young, and Vilmos Zsigmond.
Here's an interesting excerpt from wikipedia regarding his innovations:
"Howe's earliest discovery was the use of black velvet to make blue eyes show up better on the orthochromatic film stock in use until the early 1920s. Orthochromatic film was "blue blind"; it was sensitive to blue and green light, which showed as white on the developed film. Reds and yellows were darkened. Faced with the problem of actors' eyes appearing washed out or even stark white on film, Howe developed a technique of mounting a frame swathed with black velvet around his camera so that the reflections darkened the actors' eyes enough for them to appear more natural in the developed film.
Howe earned the nickname 'Low-Key' because of his penchant for dramatic lighting and deep shadows, a technique that came to be associated with film noir. Later in his career, as film-stocks became faster and more sensitive, Howe would continue to experiment with his photography and lighting techniques, such as shooting one scene in The Molly Maguires solely by candlelight.
Howe also was known for his use of unusual lenses, film stocks, and shooting techniques. In the 1920s, he was an early adopter of the crab dolly, a form of camera dolly with four independent wheels and a movable arm to which the camera is attached. For the boxing scenes of Body and Soul (1947), he entered the boxing ring on roller-skates, carrying an early hand-held camera. Picnic (1955) features a very early example of the helicopter shot, filmed by the second-unit cinematographer, Haskell Wexler, and planned by Wexler and Howe.
Although the innovation of deep focus cinematography is usually associated with Gregg Toland, Howe used it in his first sound film, Transatlantic, ten years before Toland used the technique on Citizen Kane. For deep focus, the cinematographer narrows the aperture of the camera lens, and floods the set with light, so that elements in both the foreground and background remain in sharp focus. The technique requires highly sensitive film and was difficult to achieve with early film stocks; Toland, Howe, and Arthur Edeson were among the earliest cinematographers to successfully use it."
A real master. |
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Post by manfromplanetx on Apr 3, 2017 22:57:13 GMT
Thanks for the great post spiderwort... James Wong Howe, a name when seen in the credit role always excites, knowing that the cinematography is going to be exceptional.
A truly wonderful success story of immigration and integration in which we all are enriched by the collective melding of cultural backgrounds.
Often seen following James Wong Howe's name the letters A.S.C, he was a member of the... The American Society of Cinematographers which was founded in Hollywood in 1919 with the dual purpose of advancing the art and science of cinematography and bringing cinematographers together to exchange ideas, discuss techniques and promote the motion picture as an art form.
Members can put the letters A.S.C. after their names, membership has become one of the highest honours that can be bestowed upon a professional cinematographer, a mark of prestige and distinction.
ASC membership is by invitation and is extended only to directors of photography and special effects experts with distinguished credits in the film industry.
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Post by wmcclain on Apr 4, 2017 0:59:34 GMT
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Post by wmcclain on Apr 4, 2017 1:00:41 GMT
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Post by london777 on Apr 4, 2017 5:43:26 GMT
... they had separate apartments in the same building. How sad. I have been married three times. It sounds a bloody good idea to me. |
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Post by Richard Kimble on Apr 4, 2017 9:05:59 GMT
Hud is a special film for me. I saw it when I was about 12, and it made quite an impact. I suppose I identified with Brandon de Wilde's character. In addition to Howe's great photography Hud also has my all time favorite film score, by Elmer Bernstein. Hud opening creditsPeter Bodganovich would later imitate the look of Hud for The Last Picture Show. But how many are aware of this little-known Fox programmer, which anticipates Hud's opening credits? Like McMurtry's Hud and TLPS, it's set in a small Texas town, where the local diner and the movie theater are the centers of social activity.
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Post by wmcclain on Apr 4, 2017 14:47:01 GMT
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Post by wmcclain on Apr 4, 2017 14:47:58 GMT
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Post by neurosturgeon on Apr 4, 2017 15:30:45 GMT
Howe did my favorite film, "Yankee Doodle Dandy.
About 12 years ago, I found myself at a party with cinematographer Haskell Wexler. I struck up a conversation with him about one of his B&W films and I commented how much his work reminded me Of JWH. As soon as I said it, I realized that he may not take kindly to the comparison. But to my delight, he said that it was very observant of me for good reason. He said that he learned everything from JWH.
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Post by neurosturgeon on Apr 4, 2017 15:30:58 GMT
Howe did my favorite film, "Yankee Doodle Dandy.
About 12 years ago, I found myself at a party with cinematographer Haskell Wexler. I struck up a conversation with him about one of his B&W films and I commented how much his work reminded me Of JWH. As soon as I said it, I realized that he may not take kindly to the comparison. But to my delight, he said that it was very observant of me for good reason. He said that he learned everything from JWH.
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Post by teleadm on Apr 4, 2017 18:38:27 GMT
Somehow I had gotten in my head that James Wong Howe was the cinematographer of Stagecoach 1939, but I was apparently wrong.
So I had to look him up and recognized a lot of movies I've seen, and those I like for various different reasons i've listed here below.
The Thin Man 1934
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 1938
They Made Me a Criminal 1939
King's Row 1942
Yankee Doodle Dandy 1942
Objective Burma 1945
Confidential Agent 1945
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House 1948
Come Back Little Sheba 1952
The Rose Tatoo 1955
Picnic 1955
Bell, Book and Candle 1958
Hud 1963
Seconds 1966
Hombre 1967
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter 1968
The Molly Maguires 1970
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Post by manfromplanetx on Apr 4, 2017 21:19:32 GMT
Members can put the letters A.S.C. after their names, membership has become one of the highest honours that can be bestowed upon a professional cinematographer, a mark of prestige and distinction. ASC membership is by invitation and is extended only to directors of photography and special effects experts with distinguished credits in the film industry. Oh, so true, mfpx. I have many friends who have that membership, and they cherish it. And I so appreciate this, which you wrote: "A truly wonderful success story of immigration and integration in which we all are enriched by the collective melding of cultural backgrounds." I have to say that Hollywood indeed is a profound example of the multi-cultural phenomenon (and blessing). I also wanted to share this: Howe's wife was Sanora Babb, whom he met before World War II. [from Widipedia] "They traveled to Paris in 1937 to marry, but their marriage was not recognized by California until 1948, after the law banning racial intermarriage was abolished. Due to the ban, Howe's studio contract 'morals clause' prohibited him from publicly acknowledging their marriage. They would not cohabit due to his traditional Chinese views, so they had separate apartments in the same building." How sad. But there's more to Babb that's quite interesting. During the Depression she wrote a novel about growing up in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. At the time it was overshadowed by Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" and didn't get published until 2004 when she was in her 90s. It's called "Whose Names are Unknown," and it received much critical acclaim. Babb grew up in Oklahoma in the Dust Bowl, so she probably had an intimate sense of the experience. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanora_BabbWhat a family! Unbelievable, I'll leave it there... thanks for sharing the story of Sanora Babb & James Wong Howe |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Apr 4, 2017 22:15:20 GMT
manfromplanetxThanks especially for the explanation of A.S.C. I have often seen and wondered about those initials.
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Post by wmcclain on Apr 5, 2017 11:31:05 GMT
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Post by wmcclain on Apr 5, 2017 11:32:09 GMT
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Post by wmcclain on Apr 7, 2017 1:07:26 GMT
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Post by wmcclain on Apr 7, 2017 1:08:45 GMT
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