samson and delilah not quite the greatest
June 6th 2009 13:16
David Stratton's fifth star appears only slightly more often than Haley's Comet. For him to leap out and claim that Samson and Delilah is the greatest ever Australian film caused me to spit take my energy drink all over the coffee table. Allow me to illluminate.
Samson and Delilah is a great film. To strip the script of most all it's dialogue and still deliver a gut wrenching tale of heartbreak and heart bleed is a major achievement.
But to defrock Gallipolli, Breaker Morant, Mad Max 2 and Lantana and others of their riteful place as our greatest films for me was a bridge too far.
There were two areas that might have given the film the gravity it would need to topple those films from the altar of Australian greatness.
The first is the musical score; it's virtually non-existant. I understand the psychology of forcing the viewer to emote objectively, rather than have the score seduce them down this path or that. But for a film as sparsely spoken as this one, I felt it needed a score of some sort. For a guide think of Thomas Newman's American Beauty, Peter Gabriel's Rabbit Proof Fence, or Ry Cooder's Paris, Texas. I wanted to embrace the film, yet the lack of a score kept me beyond arm's length.
The second area I wanted differently was the camera work. I understand the practicality of having the director operate his own camera, for an economy of communication and finance.
But as operator there were choices he made that I found jarring. Many of the establishing shots are hand held. When you should be thinking "Oh, that's we are now" I found myself thinking "It can't be that hard to drag a tripod up to the hilltop, can it?" instead.
Also there was some strong images that would have been much more powerful if the tripod had been used and some postcard frame composition used. Think Woody Allen's Manhattan, or The Coen Bros. Blood Simple.
Take the scene where Samson rolls past Delilah and her Nana in the wheel chair. Instead of walking beside them with camera, set it up across from them and have them roll into and out of frame.
And having this style of camera work would lend itself more towards having a stronger score. Make the score third character in the film.
Try those areas and then I think you've really got something.
For me Samson and Delilah gets
9/10
Eric Mandrake
Samson and Delilah is a great film. To strip the script of most all it's dialogue and still deliver a gut wrenching tale of heartbreak and heart bleed is a major achievement.
But to defrock Gallipolli, Breaker Morant, Mad Max 2 and Lantana and others of their riteful place as our greatest films for me was a bridge too far.
There were two areas that might have given the film the gravity it would need to topple those films from the altar of Australian greatness.
The first is the musical score; it's virtually non-existant. I understand the psychology of forcing the viewer to emote objectively, rather than have the score seduce them down this path or that. But for a film as sparsely spoken as this one, I felt it needed a score of some sort. For a guide think of Thomas Newman's American Beauty, Peter Gabriel's Rabbit Proof Fence, or Ry Cooder's Paris, Texas. I wanted to embrace the film, yet the lack of a score kept me beyond arm's length.
The second area I wanted differently was the camera work. I understand the practicality of having the director operate his own camera, for an economy of communication and finance.
But as operator there were choices he made that I found jarring. Many of the establishing shots are hand held. When you should be thinking "Oh, that's we are now" I found myself thinking "It can't be that hard to drag a tripod up to the hilltop, can it?" instead.
Also there was some strong images that would have been much more powerful if the tripod had been used and some postcard frame composition used. Think Woody Allen's Manhattan, or The Coen Bros. Blood Simple.
Take the scene where Samson rolls past Delilah and her Nana in the wheel chair. Instead of walking beside them with camera, set it up across from them and have them roll into and out of frame.
And having this style of camera work would lend itself more towards having a stronger score. Make the score third character in the film.
Try those areas and then I think you've really got something.
For me Samson and Delilah gets
9/10
Eric Mandrake
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