“It’s already started.” Everyone interviewed for this article echoed some version of this same sentiment, and the word revolutionize was used by all but one person.
“The Light Ranger 2 is going to revolutionize this piece of the industry,” Silano says. That is, if not for a focus-calibrating device called the Light Ranger 2, which has amassed a cult following among Hollywood’s camera crews. The combination of unpredictable choreography and a depth of field flattened by distance would’ve made focusing these scenes impossible. 'Uncut Gems' cinematographer Darius Khondji Courtesy of A24 “The margin of error in these extreme closeups is less than an inch,” says Chris Silano, Khondji’s A-camera assistant on Uncut Gems. They also believe that actors work best when hulking machines aren’t all up in their faces, so they prefer to situate their cameras far from a scene’s action and shoot using super-long zoom lenses.
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The co-directors get some of their best material by fostering a sense of spontaneity, so they eschew marks - electrical-tape X’s on the floor tipping off actors on where to stand - and encourage free movement about the set. That sensation of constant propulsive force was a tonal must for the film, but the Safdie brothers’ particular filmmaking methods made that a unique challenge. That the film’s cinematographer, Darius Khondji, won’t get any recognition at the Oscars this Sunday is yet another reason to cast doubt on the Academy’s judgment. Harried jeweler–slash–gambling addict Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) hustles through midtown Manhattan’s Diamond District, up and down Sixth Avenue, back and forth from his home on Long Island to his philandering-pad in the city.Įven the closeups have a jittery sort of kinetic energy to them Howard is always rocking back and forth, pacing, at times seemingly vibrating in place.
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If you’re looking for a new Sandler movie to watch on Netflix today, make it Uncut Gems, not Murder Mystery.Josh and Benny Safdie’s Uncut Gems is a film of relentless, unceasing motion. And you don’t have to be a degenerate gambler to know the feeling any sports fan understands, because what is our favorite sports team if not our very own lying, philandering scumbag who we’ve tethered ourselves to arbitrarily and imbued with unearned loyalty and hope that may never be repaid, and whose feelings we’ll never feel reciprocated? The point is that you’ve become an emotional hostage. Whereas a conventional sports movie throws what feels like insurmountable challenges at the protagonists, only to resolve them neatly, in Uncut Gems, the outcome is unnecessary. This may be the most accurate sports movie I have ever seen. As Louis Bien wrote at SB Nation in December 2019: Personally speaking, Uncut Gems also does a phenomenal job of accurately portraying what it’s like to be a basketball - or any sports - fan. The anxiety-inducing film also helped cement the Safdie brothers as two of the most ambitious filmmakers working today, following their success with Good Time in 2017 and Heaven Knows What in 2014. Uncut Gems was named one of 2019’s best films by a number of critics, and many considered the lack of recognition by award bodies for Sandler as a major snub. Uncut Gems was available to stream on Netflix in international territories prior to today. The streamer is a co-producer of the film alongside indie hit maker, A24. Josh and Benny Safdie’s critically acclaimed independent film, which stars Sandler as Howard Ratner, New York City jeweler with a gambling addiction who risks it all on a rare stone, Kevin Garnett, and a 2012 Celtics game, is now streaming on Netflix in the United States. Adam Sandler hasn’t acted in many dramas, but those he stars in tend to exceed expectations.