The Subversive Cinematography of Paper Moon

[@elizabethquinn8477]

Thank you for this video. I'm a screenwriting teacher and I always show this film to my students because it is a masterpiece in writing, directing, acting, and cinematography.

[@baptizednblood6813]

Here here

[@billyrichards8834]

Older, classic films, certainly do make for BETTER teaching tools when learning the craft of story-telling and film-making.

[@123demaio]

perfect conversation ..

[@michaelcastro6731]

I understand why Peter Bogdonavich shot the film in black and white as a film set in the great depression wouldn't have had the same effect if it had been filmed in colour. It's a masterpiece in film making.

[@beatricewoods8377]

Yes depression was a dark sad time I never get tired of watching the movie yes a masterpiece Tatum only best movie his only best movie he was overated

[@sderoski1]

Many of the scenes are like Dorothy Lange photos coming to life.

[@robcat2075]

Bonnie and Clyde. The Sting. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Road to Perdition. All effective "Depression" settings done in color.

[@jdecker9834]

One of the greatest movies of all time. Pulls you in from the opening scene and like Alex said, before you know it, you watched the whole thing...again.

[@beatricewoods8377]

His best movie ever Kahn should have gotten an award Addie's helper was brilliant 😊 Addie stole the movie

[@beatricewoods8377]

Can't get enough of this masterpiece even the non actors extras are perfect .

[@robertedwards5184]

The technicalities mentioned here are something I would never have noticed. Brilliantly explained. 😆

[@jannettekirwin4530]

You can watch the director's comment on how he directed filming if you get the DVD. What Bogdanovich delineates will blow you camera lense.

[@StellaWaldvogel]

I've always enjoyed watching the people in the background, and they do enhance the story and paint an in-depth picture. But I never consciously thought about it or compared it to films where the backgrounds are out of focus. I just watched (many times!) and enjoyed the ride. The way this movie was made is pure genius.

[@darylkik777]

I lived in Hays Ks for a few years and got to visit most of the movie places like the little train station. The locals always talked about how much fun getting the towns period correct.

[@catherinecrow5662]

Thought you might like my connection to this movie. I was born in a town in Kansas and my Father and Grandparents were, too. I saw the movie in 73 when it was first released, while living in Arizona where I grew up. At the close of the movie the song Sunny Side Up from 1929 was playing, and hearing the vocalist immediately made me feel like I was back in Kansas. I told my Dad about the familiarity of it and he told me, " That's your Great Uncle Frank Luther !" Yep. Francis Luther Crow my Grandfather's brother had a stellar career as a performer. He recorded hundreds of tunes, was in Hollywood movies, became a Decca Record Exec and more. Wikipedia him and there are KZbin channels with his recordings. He has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,p and is listed in Who's Who in America. I hope you check him out. Cheers

[@darylkik777]

Thank you for this. Such a great flick. Timeless with the black and white.

[@osborn.illustration]

Agreed, "Paper Moon" is much stronger artistically for being in black & white. The script & performances still would've been stellar if the film were in color but I'm glad the director chose the beautiful black & white - it stays true to the time period of the Great Depression. Love this movie!!

[@jannettekirwin4530]

Brilliant use of black and white when it cost far more than shooting in color. The guys a genious. And talk about casting! Happy Father's DAY. No better movie.

[@Captain-Cosmo]

I was six years old when this film played at my father's movie theatre. I probably saw it ten times, and new every line and frame; it remains one of my favorite films to this day. And yet you still gave me things to think about and inspired me to watch it a gain. Thank you!

[@TT-rz5td]

Guess what? This was the first movie I ever saw in the theater! My parents always took me along to movies instead of getting a babysitter. One of my earliest memories is seeing Tatum smoke that cigarette. I DO remember being absolutely shocked as a four year old seeing that. 😂 This and Some Like It Hot are my two favorite comedies. The girl who played Imogene should have won an Oscar too. It is a shame she never acted again because she was hilarious.

[@patldennis]

Released in 1973, the same year as I. Three of the actors in this went on to appear in Blazing Saddles the following year.

[@Stan4535814]

Wonderful article. I had a job through HS for a middling theater corporation that inspired me, at the time, to study film criticism. Just to edify myself, as I designed ads & assisted in writing a column for the city's newspaper, never intended on making it a career, but BOY was it influential! [In fact, I copied one scene from *Paper Moon* to give my wayward daughter a birthday gift in foster care (short term, thankfully). Anyway, her "foster mother" called me, complaining that my kid STOLE $20 from her wallet. I casually pointed out that "mom" might wanna take a gander at said bank note, which clearly wished my daughter a Happy Birthday with her name.] Years later, my daughter & I sat down to watch this flick & she was utterly gobsmacked..."that's what YOU did, Mom!" My response, "where'd ya think I got the idea?"

[@martinsmith6342]

Masterpiece!RIP Peter Bogdonovich!

[@guybo27]

Paper Moon is a masterpiece in cinema . For sure my favourite movie of all time. Tatum, I would love to meet you and sign my Cremo cigar box x.💕 RIP Peter Bogdonavich 🙏 😢

Rest in Peace, Ryan O‘Neill. And thank you so much for wonderful movies. Paper Moon is a masterpiece!

[@beatricewoods8377]

He was overated that was his only best role Kahn should have gotten an award Addie's helper was brilliant ❤ Addie stole the movie ❤

[@stevefabian477]

Barry Lyndon was such a great performance by Ryan O,'neil.

[@erincaitlin1655]

Tatum actually held the main role from beginning to end, and with no acting experience at age 9 ! That's why she received an Oscar.

[@toneohm]

great work here.., i just watched this again yesterday.. first time in years... its always been a favorite of mine.. such a compelling film with a modest budget & plot.. but such great quality acting and seamless directing makes it one of the best.. its always been a very inspiring film to me

[@nationsquid]

This was so good!! Paper Moon is my favorite movie of all time. Make more of these! :)

[@sallybrown4947]

Saw it in the theater when new. Nothing like it.

[@osborn.illustration]

Such a wonderful movie! I proselytize about it, such an underappreciated & beautiful artwork!

[@gnolan4281]

Last night I'm in Colombia, South America at a pizza parlor with my buddy from London, UK when out of the blue he asks me if I've seen this flick. Here we are some 50 years after the picture was released still talking about it. Thanks for this tutorial. And to think this was directed by Melfi's shrink.

[@oldgroucho2203]

Bogdonavich had help from his friend Orson Welles with the cinematography and went uncredited.

[@gnolan4281]

I was wondering about that. Keeping the background in focus was a hallmark of Citizen Kane.

[@CURVEDGLASS123]

Brilliant. How you spotted those kids in the background is amazing!

[@flabbybum9562]

Great analysis of one of the best movies ever.

[@lotus65]

Good video of a sublime film. Thanks!

[@jannettekirwin4530]

Happy Father's DAY. Paper Moon is the best movie ever made about a father.

[@playinnpwnin]

saw this movie as a kid, talked about it with a friend the other day trying to fish for it's name. I was not disappointed in watching it again. It had a strong jaw when it came down to it's story. And the fact they really wanted to hone in a sense of reality... a sense of immersion for the time it was representing made it a bit liberal in value but digestible to someone that enjoys that type of performance. I'd recommend it to most people, though most people aren't into old movies anymore.

[@Lolabelle59]

I've loved this movie since I first saw it, over a half-century ago. Now I love it even more. Thank you.

[@dcdad556]

The greatest first (?) proponent of deep focus (a new tech then) was Citizen Kane; the scene where a young Kane plays in the snow with his sled Rosebud, his parents and Thatcher are in mid stage and the foreground are simultaneously all in focus.

[@StellaWaldvogel]

Paper Moon was heavily influenced by Citizen Kane. The man who shot it, Lazlo Kovacs, told this story: "Orson Welles and Peter (Bogdanovich) were very close friends and I got to meet my ‘god’ while we were preparing our film. I’d been testing black & white film with various filters but still hadn’t found the right look. Orson said, ‘Use red filters, my boy.’ And I did, because although the filters reduced the film speed and meant I had to use big arc-lights to achieve the deep-focus look Peter wanted, the red filters created incredibly beautiful, dramatic skies and gave us exactly the expressionistic look we were after.” And when Peter Bogdanovich was considering the music for the movie, he heard the 1933 song "It's Only a Paper Moon." When he shared the title with his good friend Orson Welles, Welles liked the title "Paper Moon" so much that he told him to forget making the movie and just release the title. Orson Welles has a strong presence in Paper Moon, even though we don't see him.

[@dannysmith1396]

A perfect film... impossible to resist

[@mollyfilms]

I was a cameraman for over 30 years and only recently stopped. I also took a masters in why we as humans look at cinema and tv and get either a good feel or an ok feel after watching a film. The main thing is this: If you shout a shallow depth of field throughout the film your brain is devoid of context and is distracted by lack of understanding of the situation. Todays obsession of shallow depth of field goes to show the ignorance of how the interpretation of a scene is so important to any story. You come out of the theatre totally devoid of love for the film. Wide shots put things in context.. wall paper, photographs on the wall, what they are standing by, sitting on, carpets, wall colours, exteriors of street scenes etc etc. all this out your brain at east trying to figure it out.

[@billboucher1348]

Merci. Toujours très instructif et intéressant. Je vais trouver et visionner ce film ce soir. 👍❤🙂

[@shannontaylor1849]

I hate watching a YT video and not finding any criticisms for the comments. I love it when that happens. Good job.

[@andisworld5774]

I had the honor of meeting the then retired cinematographer for this movie, Clifford Poland. He would have been pleased with this appreciation of his work.

[@sbolger5336]

I have seen the movie 3 or 4 times. I never noticed any of those techniques. Brilliant. Thank you!

[@wjglll340]

Such a charming pair. I thought the Trixie/ maid characters dragged on too long and weren't that interesting. But Ryan and Tatum have that Irish warmth.

[@mariedewitt5033]

Not in real life,sadly

[@StellaWaldvogel]

I loved that part! And the way Addie and Imogene set Trixie up with that oily desk clerk. It was a little suspenseful and very funny!

[@beatricewoods8377]

Addie's helper was brilliant Kahn should have gotten an award addie stole the movie Ryan always overated his only best movie

[@dimplesd8931]

I love this movie. Thanks for reminding me

[@djlunaticdreyfuss7562]

Thank you Sarah for reminding me about this superb film x

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

When you speak of Deep Focus, it only makes sense that Bogdanovich and Orson Welles were such great friends.

[@sderoski1]

When you talked about this 'road movie' as a series of events that are just unfolding randomly, you underlined the brilliance of the story and the dialogue, because all that appears to be chaos or happenstance is well planned.

[@yvettefilgo5383]

Thankyou..One of my favorite creative movies of all time

[@johnbarrile2095]

Thanks, this has been one of my favorite movies for years.

[@jeffreysokal7264]

Good analysis; you brought to light things I hadn't noticed. Great movie.

[@rickijimenez2386]

If you notice the spinner radiator cap they put on the car looks just like the one Mary Cooms steals at the swap meet in the movie dirty Mary crazy Larry !

[@electrojones]

Tremendous movie for sure. Another great video!

[@usctrojans001]

I wasn't Fortunate to watch Paper Moon in the Theaters. I was about the same age as Tatum in the 70's. The Movie came out on TV Years Later. I had the Biggest Crush on Tatum since She was My Age in the Movie.

[@julienielsen3746]

I remember seeing this movie the first time it was shown on TV. Maybe they showed it in 1974, before the ABC TV series Paper Moon was on. Starred Christopher Connolly and Jodie Foster.

[@erincaitlin1655]

Tatum is magic on film. She certainly deserved the Oscar.

[@kallen868]

Young Ryan O'Neal😍

[@beatricewoods8377]

His best movie anything else over rated

[@marufunegra1148]

I believe this film contains every thing that a classic should have...excellence Al all levels and...achieves what every film should aim at...to feel a realm of sensations that embraces our humanity our aspirations our right wrongs and overall our own vulnerability and the strength that we can derive from it. Brilliant. A must.

[@shannontaylor1849]

I recently watched this and commented it was one of the very few I've watched straight through, now I know why.

[@julienielsen3746]

I remember seeing this movie the first time it was shown on TV. Maybe they showed it in 1974, before the ABC TV series Paper Moon was on in '74. Starred Christopher Connolly and Jodie Foster.

[@7p7m7]

Watched this this morning and loved it

[@rssell]

Love this movie! I've heard most scenes required many takes because Tatum would forget her lines and bust out laughing or just behave badly.

[@billyrichards8834]

Or the fact that her ABUSIVE father (wanna-be) kept demanding re-takes.

[@karenwelch7232]

Great film; excellent analysis! One thing I didn't get, though, is the title phrase "subversive cinematography." It seems like it should be "submersive" instead.

[@Nim4321]

If you like this one, it reminds me a lot of down by law. It's a slow burn at first but I really recommend it

[@peterlemieux7614]

I used to mention Addie's obsession with "Franky Roosevelt" in my political science classes. Bet we can guess how she voted in 1948 or 1960.

[@greggartrell7790]

great commentary on a great film. thank you

[@horatio655]

What’s the song playing right at the start? “I always knew someday I’d…”

[@wallywallace7410]

Dick Powell "Flirtation Walk" is the tune.

[@horatio655]

@@wallywallace7410 Thank you kindly.

[@lilaccilla]

Yes ! ty

[@lilaccilla]

One of my fav movies Ever !!! thank you . Never knew any of this ! Awesome

[@stephaniestanley8041]

This is an amazing review of the cinematography. You are brilliant.

[@robertedwards5184]

I totally agree. I would never have noticed some subtle things till brilliantly explained. Best wishes from Wales. 😆

[@ccwoodlands1565]

One of my favorite films

[@atilamatamoros7499]

Marvelous video. Congratulations

[@camdenwise5816]

Awesome! One of the best movies ever.

[@marvinjones2145]

What went wrong with, " The Tatum " ? She should have went on to become one of the worlds greatest actors

[@aprylrittenhouse4562]

Tatum and I were born 4 days apart. In 1963. Didn't know who she was till the bad news bears

[@gbgary]

"staring at the credits with a stupid smile." made me bust out 😄! it's true. this is a great movie!

[@troynov1965]

One of the few perfect films ever made.

[@DarrellLancaster-l5q]

Paper Moon is my secret favorite.

[@345mrse]

Nice letterforms for your titles.

[@iverburl]

Thanks for the spoilers warning, but there really were none of consequence. Your analysis was as well-crafted as the film.

[@50shadesofgayy]

Honey you wrote this script like a high school book report

[@sderoski1]

The Coen bros must have watched this before they conceived of Oh Brother Where Art Thou

[@giorgissaratsis3565]

fine, man!

[@Spud773]

Ryan was so handsome! Tatum a fantastic young actress!😍

[@fmphotooffice5513]

The film draws you in. You go on an adventure. The ending affects you in retrospect. I don't know how much of all that is intentional but it's a rare thing to accomplish. Also that cinematography takes an expert to pull off. You had to get the shot and watch the rushes later. That demands expert camera work, exposure/contrast, focus, depth of field, holy moly, combined with the story elements I list at first. You know there were knowing grins all around when the project was fresh in the can.

[@svenleeuwen]

Wes Anderson took notes.

[@iancampbell3202]

Great thanks

[@franciscosaldana5186]

All I know of this film was the Mad magazine satire, I 've never seen the film itself

[@julienielsen3746]

I remember that. I had a subscription in the 70s.

[@snarflatful]

Over analyzation is a dangerous thing.

[@Ralphie5023]

ALL THAT ?

[@tubbers20]

I have scruples.

[@debarjo]

The kid smokes

[@jannettekirwin4530]

I want my $200

[@beatricewoods8377]

Never want it to end

[@beatricewoods8377]

Best movie he ever made rest was overated

[@beatricewoods8377]

A Masterpiece

[@jannettekirwin4530]

@@beatricewoods8377 Would you happen to be THE Beatrice Woods?

[@jannettekirwin4530]

@@beatricewoods8377 I'm sorry or possibly related to her. There is a true paper paper moon connection.

[@v1-vr-rotatev2-vy_vx31]

Addie,is my daughter's name,,was able to convince my wife to name our 1st and had some of the movies character, with our Addie also...

[@sluttycouncil7059]

Oh, those Jewish American Princesses and their daddies.

[@tanyaspringer5219]

One of my all time favorite movies. Hate all these vulgar movies made today. I wish this world was still living as they were in this movie. Except for the treatment of the black community. Another movie I liked was Pretty baby with Brooke Shields when she was a young girl.

[@bones007able]

Back when they knew how to make cinema .... today is all comic book crap....

[@phillipseifert694]

Tatum O’Neal wasted a once in a generation talent Instead, Meryl Streep stepped and took up the challenge

[@bobcarter4763]

like all great films it is the characters that carry the day. We want to see how mose and addie react to different situations. the situations are interchangeable, entirely different things could have happened to them. and the binding central issue of the "200 dollars" enabled the film to have a satisfying end.

[@DarrellLancaster-l5q]

Paper Moon is my secret favorite.