Romance peaked that day
Breathless (1960), dir. Jean-Luc Godard
Academy Award Winners for Best Cinematography: 2002 — Andrew Lesnie, ACS, ASC The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Directed by Peter Jackson Aspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1
Andrew Lesnie immersed himself in the project by rereading the books and going through hundreds of sketches and paintings created by Tolkien artists Ted Nasmith, Alan Lee and John Howe. “The art department was a constant source of inspiration for me,” Lesnie recalls. “In the main hallway was a huge mural that was a condensed visual interpretation of the narrative for the trilogy. It consisted of conceptual drawings, set designs, costume designs, location photos and so forth. It was a matter of throwing everything into one great big pot and letting it simmer.” A big pot it certainly was, for the three films entailed 274 days of principal photography encompassing 600 scenes, 350 sets and more than 4 million feet of exposed negative. “The Lord of the Rings trilogy deals with such a staggering number of issues and takes so many directions that it’s better to let the process operate subliminally. That way, your work starts springing out of a different place than you might normally anticipate.” While Lesnie and Jackson viewed other films for elements such as staging or stylistic treatment, both knew that the books were the obvious source of inspiration. As Lesnie declares, “Tolkien’s writing is exceptionally eloquent in its depiction of feeling and mood.” — American Cinematographer, December 2001
The Eagles are coming! And many voices answered crying: The Eagles are coming! The Eagles are coming! The hosts of Mordor looked up and wondered what this sign might mean. There came Gwaihir the Windlord, and Landroval his brother, greatest of all the Eagles of the North, mightiest of the descendants of old Thorondor, who built his eyries in the inaccessible peaks of the Encircling Mountains when Middle-Earth was young. - J.R.R. Tolkien
“Well no one’s gonna fix it for us,
no one can.
You say that ‘No one’s gonna listen,
no one understands.’”
Ian Felice (American, 1982) - Last Dance (2021)
The Three Princesses of Whiteland - The Queen Did Not Know Him, 1914 (Kay Nielsen)
Silver Jews - Honk If You’re Lonely (1998)
I know it seems sad to be so damn blue