Peter Bogdanovich is an adherent of the old black and white cinema

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

American director, actor, screenwriter, writer, film critic and producer Peter Bogdanovich was born in the summer of 1939 to a family of immigrants who fled Europe to Kingston, New York, fearing the Nazi threat. Peter began his creative film career in the film industry as an actor in the 1950s, after which he worked in the film department of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, writing critical articles about cinema and scripts. After 18 years, he, having decided to try on the role of a director, moved to Los Angeles. In 1968, Bogdanovich directed two films at once - "Journey to the Planet of Prehistoric Women" and "Target".

Journey to the prehistoric Amazons

The piquancy of the story of the origin of this picture lies in the fact that the basis for it was the casually assembled Soviet film “Planet of Storms” of 1961, crowned with laurels. It was previously used by Roger Corman, remade into Journey to a Prehistoric Planet. And Peter Bogdanovich, having shoveled the film material, populated the creation of Korman with the Amazons. As a result, the names of Soviet performers were cut from the credits, they were re-voiced by American actors. The original footage of Planet of Storms turned out to be something like a chronicle. In addition, the director took some special effects from another Soviet film "The Sky is Calling". Nevertheless, Bogdanovich's painting was named "US Public Domain" with an IMDb: 2.5 rating.

According to the storyline, the spaceship crashes on its way to Venus. A new expedition is sent to rescue the crew. The members of the safely landed crew discover John, a humanoid robot who was part of the first group. Astronauts encounter a variety of prehistoric creatures: giant insects, dinosaurs. In addition, it turns out that Venus is densely populated with sexy babes in skimpy bikinis.

Targets

When the now famous director Peter Bogdanovich was just starting his difficult and thorny path in Hollywood, he was patronized by the “king of B-movies” Roger Corman. With his participation, Peter's full-fledged directorial debut came out - the film "Targets", which is, in fact, a low-budget second-rate product, but seasoned with a good spicy sauce. It can be considered a paradoxical fact that in the late 60s. the movie was considered scary enough. "Target" turned out to be a real horror, the highlight of which was considered the scene of the massacre, two monsters intersected in it: an unknown monster in the flesh of Billy and Byron, embodying monsters on the screen.

Peter Bogdanovich, whose films would later become classics of the genre, shocked the audience of the 60s, not yet satiatedfilms about rampant maniacs. The picture was received favorably by critics and became a springboard for Bogdanovich to big cinema.

Breakthrough

The real breakthrough in the director's career should be considered a youth retro drama with existential undertones "The Last Picture Show", released in 1971. The film received worldwide recognition after it was nominated for an Oscar in 8 categories, and won in two of them. The film was called a furor of style, a triumph of respect for the old, black-and-white cinema, longing for irrevocably gone sentimental illusions, sensitive impulses, romantic desires. The title of the film "The Last Picture Show" seems to encode the joy of meeting with your favorite films (there are elements of Vincente Minnelli's melodrama "Father of the Bride", Allan Dwan's action movie "The Sands of Ivo Jima", Howard Hawks' adventure film "Red River") and the end of the era of the film industry, replaced by TV.

Unsurpassed director in creativity

32-year-old Bogdanovich, although he was nominated for an Oscar (Best Director), did not receive an award, although the film was brilliantly and masterfully staged. It is impossible not to admire the amazing, old-fashioned cinematography work of cinematographer Robert Surtees. According to the assessment of world film critics, "Kinoseans" remained unsurpassed, the best in the uneven creative heritage of the director. He fit perfectly into the initial cohort of woefully truthful and rebellious films shot in the period of the 60s and 70s. The film was highly appreciated by the audience,the original budget of the film after the release was surpassed by 20 times. Many viewers recognized their own destinies, exciting problems in a skillfully stylized retro narration about the youth of the 50s.

Fourth feature film

For the ex-film critic Bogdanovich, the beginning of the 70s was a time of global triumph. The retro-drama film The Last Picture Show and the eccentric comedy film What's the Matter, Professor? were highly acclaimed by audiences and film critics alike. In his fourth feature film, the director went further and mixed tones of bitter nostalgia with an element of comedy in the best Hollywood traditions of the 30s. While filming Paper Moon, Peter Bogdanovich was guided by the social comedies of Frank Capra, but made a clear emphasis on the authenticity and accuracy of the cruel environment surrounding the main characters. In the spirit of the creations of "Tobacco Road" and "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Ford, about which the director once wrote a book and created a documentary.

"Paper Moon" in every respect confirmed the director's commitment to the old black-and-white cinematography for the film community. Bogdanovich undoubtedly managed to capture on the screen the spirit of the era, its illusions and hopes. The skillful re-creation of the style of ancient times - the composition of the shots, the way of lighting, the imitation of a faded image with time - brought the film "Paper Moon" a huge success at the box office.

Further career

The director then continued his creative career in variousdirections, he himself acted in films, resumed writing critical articles and books, directed about 30 more films. The most famous, in addition to those listed, are "Mask", "Crazy Stage".