Press Play

"The best video essay source on the web." (Roger Ebert) This is a web site built around original video essays and critical, personal writing about movies, TV, music, comics and whatever else interests its contributors. Co-founded by Matt Zoller Seitz, TV critic for New York Magazine, and Ken Cancelosi, it is published by Seitz and Cancelosi and overseen by editor-in-chief Kevin B. Lee and managing editor Max Winter.

THE REGULARS

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IN THE CUT: From THE LINEUP to THE FRENCH CONNECTION

EDITOR'S NOTE: Today, Press Play features Part III of Jim Emerson's In The Cut series. This video essay compares Hollywood's current approach to cinematic action as typified by Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight to what came before it: Don Siegel's The Lineup, Peter Yates' Bullitt and William Friedkin's The French Connection. In The Cut Part III: I Left My Heart in My Throat in San Francisco delves deep into the history of the car chase scene itself, tracing how the visual language of such scenes developed and thrived, eventually smashing its way into America's cultural consciousness. Next week, Press Play will further examine the evolution of the cinematic car chase through its golden age, from The French Connection to that other Friedkin classic To Live and Die In L.A. To view Jim's piece about the police caravan scene in The Dark Knight, click here. To watch his video essay about the freeway sequence in Salt, click here.

By Matthew Seitz
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September 16, 2011 4:11 AM
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4 Comments

IN THE CUT: SALT, directed by Phillip Noyce

EDITOR'S NOTE: Press Play is proud to present Part II of Jim Emerson's In The Cut series. In this piece he deconstructs an action sequence from Phillip Noyce's 2010 hit Salt to highlight compositions, camera movements, editing and spatial awareness. We have included the full, uninterrupted scene so the viewer can compare Jim's analysis with the finished product.

By Matthew Seitz
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September 13, 2011 12:19 PM
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21 Comments

IN THE CUT: The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan

EDITOR'S NOTE: Today, Press Play debuts a new genre of video essay we are calling In The Cut. These video essays will zero in on a crucial scene in a film and they will deconstruct, study and evaluate it for its technical merits and its cinematic effectiveness. Given the recent arguments emanating from this site and others about the state of action filmmaking, Press Play contributor Jim Emerson felt compelled to produce a series of three In The Cut video essays. When taken cumulatively, these commentaries explain once and for all what a successful action sequence looks like and how such a scene should influence the viewer. His forensic analysis of the truck chase from Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight is Part I of these essays. Part II is Phillip Noyce's Salt and Part III is Don Siegel's The Line Up. We have included the full uninterrupted sequence from The Dark Knight so the viewer can compare Jim's analysis with the finished product.

By Matthew Seitz
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September 9, 2011 11:15 AM
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89 Comments

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