Wonder Wheel and Café Society
People say that if you want to educate yourself in photography you have to watch the classic BnW films. I fully agree. However, there are contemporary films that have a lot to teach us on photography. I am talking about the two latest films of Woody Allen: Café Society (2016) and Wonder Wheel (2017).
It is, of course because of Allen, but also because of the three-time Oscar awarded Vittorio Storaro who has taken care of the photography. He did another award-worthy job. In the Café Society, he managed greatly the sheen colours, in the Wonder Wheel he gave us super saturated colours and achieved a vivid and equally melancholic recreation of 1950s Coney Island. He prepared carefully each individual scene, lighting and frames. Whether it be in golden sunlight, off-season greys or the reflected neon lights, it very nicely done.
At his 77 years, he filmed digitally. Does it say something about the analogue photography?
I read the critical reviews, in particular about the Wonder Wheel, aiming Allen not Storaro. I do not agree. Critics are not always right. Go and see both films. They are worth of every second you will spend on them.