Before you look at the title of this post and decide you don't really have to read it, because you love Eternal Sunshine as many people do, be warned that I probably won't even address the movie in this post. I think it is awesome, and if you want to learn about it wikipedia has a very detailed entry here. It features an amazing cast of actors (Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood (so what if he's a weiner), David Cross, etc), and won a much-deserved Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (which Charlie Kaufman contributed greatly to). It gets a full recommendation from me, and it being one of the only movies I own I stand strong behind it. As a whole the film really is a work of art, something not often achieved by a movie that was relatively commercially successful.
The mastermind behind Eternal Sunshine is director Michel Gondry, also known for his works Science of Sleep, Be Kind Rewind, and Human Behavior. What interests me most about the French director is his work outside of the feature-length film industry. Some of his best work comes in the form of short films, commercials, and a slew of music videos. I guarantee you've seen a LOT more of Gondry's work than you realize. My introduction to him outside of Eternal Sunshine came through this DVD called The Work of Director Michel Gondry (2003). It features many of his best music videos and a couple of really great commercials (I know, that is a weird thing to say) but they are worth checking out. In the music world he is most known for directing seven of Bjorks videos, in addition to David Chappelle's Block Party, and videos by the White Stripes, Beck, the Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters and Paul McCartney to name a few. Once again, Gondry makes real art in areas that don't always depend on such to be successful (music videos and commercials).
The best way to show his style, which is very original, is by example so I've included a few of my favorites. If you like them, it would be worth it to pick up the DVD mentioned above and go from there...it has a good representation of his work on it. I have included music videos of Beck's Cellphone's Dead, The White Stripes' Fell In Love (the lego stuff is awesome), and possibly his most well-known Bjork's Human Behavior (with the chasing bear). Also I've posted one example of his commercial work for Levis, but there are a ton more on youtube. Also, did anyone see the Science of Sleep? Was it worth a damn?
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4 comments:
Science of sleep was pretty good, but not great. But then again it's been a while since I've seen it. And I was really excited about it, so maybe my expectations were too high.
Did you watch the director's DVD with Laurance and I? Or am I making this up? I loved one of Bjork's videos but I don't know what song it was. And if you saw it, he had her make this paint thing (from this invention he created, it was like a splatter and spin toy) based on the music notes she was playing on the piano (I think) and that was pretty amazing.
maybe i am showing my general lack of criticism for quality films again... but i would say science of sleep was an amazing movie... so many elements... the tiny cities made out of cardboard tubes, the dream sequences, the humor... also i am partial to the angle of a young 20-something guy not knowing what he's supposed to be doing in life.
but for those of you who disagree with me about breakfast of champions being a great movie... then perhaps you should not heed my advice to see science of sleep.
i also enjoyed be kind rewind... though i would say not as much as science of sleep.
here is the making of the video heather is talking about. it's pretty pretty good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2H5w8MsPps
and yes, watched with you.
i liked science of sleep, but it was no eternal sunshine -- that's all i'm saying.
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