filmmaking Archives - Hammer to Nail https://www.hammertonail.com/tag/filmmaking/ What to Watch Tue, 04 Nov 2025 19:35:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://www.hammertonail.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/cropped-logo02-1-32x32.png filmmaking Archives - Hammer to Nail https://www.hammertonail.com/tag/filmmaking/ 32 32 A Conversation with Kleber Mendonça Filho (THE SECRET AGENT) https://www.hammertonail.com/interviews/mendonca-filho/ Tue, 04 Nov 2025 15:37:20 +0000 https://www.hammertonail.com/?p=54353

Winner of the Best Director and Best Actor awards at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, The Secret Agent, from Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho (Bacurau), takes place in 1977 during Brazil’s military dictatorship. It was a time of violence and […]

The post A Conversation with Kleber Mendonça Filho (THE SECRET AGENT) appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

]]> SENTIMENTAL VALUE https://www.hammertonail.com/reviews/sentimental-value/ Thu, 22 May 2025 18:37:32 +0000 https://www.hammertonail.com/?p=53212

(Check out Savina Petkova’s Sentimental Value movie review. The film just had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.) Renate Reinsve has once again captured Cannes audiences’ hearts, four years […]

The post SENTIMENTAL VALUE appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

]]> A Conversation with Arnaud Desplechin (SPECTATEURS!) https://www.hammertonail.com/interviews/arnaud-desplechin/ Thu, 27 Feb 2025 19:07:04 +0000 https://www.hammertonail.com/?p=52692

“You know, you’re Irish, so when I’m saying Dédalus you’re probably thinking Joyce.” It’s early December in Avelino and Arnaud Desplechin isn’t really talking  A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. The French director’s latest, Spectateurs!, reintroduces the […]

The post A Conversation with Arnaud Desplechin (SPECTATEURS!) appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

]]> BURDEN OF DREAMS Restoration Trailer: Les Blank’s BTS Look of Werner Herzog’s ‘Fitzcarraldo’ Gets the 4K Treatment https://www.hammertonail.com/trailer/burden-of-dreams-restoration/ Thu, 20 Jun 2024 19:51:06 +0000 https://www.hammertonail.com/?p=51072 Werner Herzog in Les Blank's BURDEN OF DREAMS

If you thought Heart of Darkness gave you a hard enough look into the challenges of making a masterpiece of cinema in the jungle, try experiencing the frenzied making of Werner Herzog’s 1982 epic Fitzcarraldo. Iconic documentary filmmaker Les Blank’s […]

The post BURDEN OF DREAMS Restoration Trailer: Les Blank’s BTS Look of Werner Herzog’s ‘Fitzcarraldo’ Gets the 4K Treatment appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

]]> Qualities Of Better Films #32 of 32: IMPASSIONED POINT OF VIEW https://www.hammertonail.com/better-films/qualities-of-better-films-32-of-32-impassioned-point-of-view/ Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:50:13 +0000 http://www.hammertonail.com/?p=1464 Filmmaking should be a scary proposition for anyone who undertakes it. To project your feelings, your attitude, your hopes and your horrors up on a large screen to a big audience is very brave. Cinema is made to be a […]

The post Qualities Of Better Films #32 of 32: IMPASSIONED POINT OF VIEW appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

]]> Qualities Of Better Film #31 of 32: DEPTH OF CHARACTER / DEPTH OF CHARACTERS https://www.hammertonail.com/better-films/qualities-of-better-film-31-of-32-depth-of-character-depth-of-characters/ Mon, 07 Sep 2009 20:18:23 +0000 http://www.hammertonail.com/?p=1092 I don’t like characters to be solely in service to the plot. To relegate characters to this secondary position, values actions over the people who take them. Audiences will not recognize these characters as real people if they feel everyone […]

The post Qualities Of Better Film #31 of 32: DEPTH OF CHARACTER / DEPTH OF CHARACTERS appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

]]> Qualities Of Better Film #30 of 32: EMOTIONAL USE OF TECHNIQUE https://www.hammertonail.com/better-films/qualities-of-better-film-30-of-32-emotional-use-of-technique/ Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:36:00 +0000 http://www.hammertonail.com/?p=1432 There is an emotional quality inherent in camera placement and lens choice. There is a similar effect with color palate and fabric texture. I don’t think anyone would argue that editing style and pacing also qualifies for this honor. As […]

The post Qualities Of Better Film #30 of 32: EMOTIONAL USE OF TECHNIQUE appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

]]> Qualities Of Better Film #29 of 32: LEAVING SOME THINGS UNEXPLAINED https://www.hammertonail.com/better-films/qualities-of-better-film-29-of-32-leaving-some-things-unexplained/ Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:33:15 +0000 http://www.hammertonail.com/?p=1428 When did American movies start trying to clarify absolutely everything? What is our national obsession with trying to provide a psychological explanation for all characters’ behavior? If you ask me, I think we have gone overboard. Way overboard. Time to […]

The post Qualities Of Better Film #29 of 32: LEAVING SOME THINGS UNEXPLAINED appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

]]> Qualities Of Better Films #28 of 32: DIFFERENTATION AMONG CHARACTERS AND ENVIRONMENTS https://www.hammertonail.com/better-films/qualities-of-better-films-28-of-32-differentation-among-characters-and-environments/ Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:05:03 +0000 http://www.hammertonail.com/?p=1492 Does everyone talk in the same voice with the same cadence and vernacular? They don’t in my world and they shouldn’t in any filmic world either. Does the filmmaker understand or look to exploit this difference, and if not, then, […]

The post Qualities Of Better Films #28 of 32: DIFFERENTATION AMONG CHARACTERS AND ENVIRONMENTS appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

]]> Qualities Of Better Films #27 of 31: ACCESS TO THE SUBCONSCIOUS https://www.hammertonail.com/better-films/qualities-of-better-films-27-of-31-access-to-the-subconscious/ Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:48:38 +0000 http://www.hammertonail.com/?p=1460 As film combines so many diverse elements, it has a profound ability to access what lies beneath. We experience emotions and sensations in a way with cinema that we do nowhere else. David Lynch is certainly the leader among contemporary […]

The post Qualities Of Better Films #27 of 31: ACCESS TO THE SUBCONSCIOUS appeared first on Hammer to Nail.

]]>