The Queen of Versailles (HU DVD 4553) is one of the more popular and unusual documentaries in our collection. It chronicles the lifestyle of Florida billionaires Jackie and David Siegel as they attempt to build an impossibly massive mansion during the height of the recent economic downturn. As the film explains, a variety of economic […]
Continue readingTag Archives: video
“Fitzcardboardaldo” will make any Herzog fan’s week
This might be best to share without much context. Experimental artist and puppeteer Robin Frohardt recreated Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo in cardboard. We see creative tributes to movies all the time, but the sheer audacity of this project and its unusual choice of subject are laudable. And ironic, given Herzog’s tendency to make movies about impossible […]
Continue readingWatch Steven Soderbergh’s extra-long speech about the state of film
It looks like filmmaker Steven Soderbergh wasn’t kidding when he said he was retiring. A few day ago, Soderbergh gave a keynote speech at the San Francisco Film Festival. It was exactly as upbeat as you might expect from an auteur who left Hollywood in disillusionment. For nearly 40 minutes, Soderbergh delivered a rambling assault […]
Continue readingA salute to “breaking the fourth wall”
“Breaking the fourth wall” is one of the riskiest tools in a filmmaker’s bag. As recently exemplified in Netflix’s version of House of Cards, taking a moment to recognize the audience or the limitations of the visual medium can work like gangbusters for comic or dramatic effect. It can also backfire and distract the audience […]
Continue readingLearn Photoshop like a preschooler — with puppets!
The end of the semester is upon us, which means that term projects and presentations are rearing their ugly heads. If the activity in the New Media Center is anything to go by, professors from across campus are now expecting students to use media in their presentations. This is expected for graphic design, film, and […]
Continue readingTeddy gets his own documentary
[UPDATE: Oh no, the video is down! It looks like it was put online without permission.] Poor Teddy. As Nationals fans are keenly aware, Teddy Roosevelt has not won a single Presidents Race since the mid-game event event started in 2006. We can all agree that this is a terrible injustice to the legendary Rough […]
Continue readingThe Criterion Collection, abridged
The Criterion Collection is an assemblage of some of the most significant films of all time, preserved in great quality with exceptional special features and commentary. Their collection is as prestigious as it is large; assuming each movie is about two hours long, it would take nearly two solid months to work through all of […]
Continue reading