Films to watch out for
The acclaimed cinematographer Haskell Wexler (he’s shot films ranging from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to The Best Man to Coming Home to Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip to The Man Who Loved Women) is the subject of a new documentary directed by his son, Mark.
This, from Ebert’s review:
What Haskell is sure of is that he knows more about making documentaries than Mark does. He tells Mark he should have employed a sound man for some scenes shot at a party, and he turns out to be right. The two men get into a heated argument when Mark tries to set up a shot with his father standing in front of a sunset, and Haskell thinks his son is valuing form over content; forget the sunset, he says, because “I desperately want to say something.” On the other hand, he criticizes Mark for having him “say everything” instead of using the technique of telling through showing.
