For Cinephiles: David Bordwell's Blog Entries On LA LA LAND
Renowned film scholar David Bordwell's latest blog entry is his usual rigorous analysis. By looking at its structure he places it in film and Broadway tradition and notes its deviation from/innovations on that tradition. He uses as his reference a fascinating book on Broadway productions called The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built, by Jack Viertel.
As usual, he includes wonderful shots. (He typically chooses images from the films themselves rather than promotional stills, which is much more illuminating.)
http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2017/01/23/how-la-la-land-is-made/
"The formal method is fundamentally simple. It’s the return to craft (masterstvo)."
- Viktor Shkovsky, 1923
Not how it was made. We’ll get “The Making of La La Land” as a DVD bonus, and there are already behind-the-scenes promos.
No, this is about how it is made.
On this site, we mostly practice a criticism of enthusiasm. We write about what we like, or at least about films that intrigue us from the standpoint of history or aesthetics. Sometimes, what interests us intersects with a current controversy. Take La La Land.
Some of my cinephile friends disapprove of it. It swipes too much, they say, from classic studio musicals and the work of Demy, and it doesn’t live up to either model. But tastes change. I remember when the classic musicals that we venerate were considered fluff, and I recall how Demy’s films, especially Les Demoiselles de Rochefort, were held at arm’s length by many of my 60s pals. 'He tries too hard,' a friend remarked. Some say that about Chazelle, and perhaps in a few decades La La Land will be remembered fondly.
In any case, I’m not aiming to denounce this ambitious, agreeable film. I’m more interested in asking how La La Land accords with the craft of studio musicals and Demy’s efforts. I’m also interested in tracing its affinity with a third tradition of song-and-dance: the Broadway show.
Along all three dimensions, I hope to take Shklovsky’s advice and ask about craft. La La Land is both derivative and original. Actually, most movies are, though in various proportions...
[snip]
"The slimness of the plot can be taken as a point against the film, but focusing a musical so tightly on the couple was probably worth trying. If anybody cares, I enjoyed the film, and — to invoke the distinction between taste and judgment — I think it’s a solid, sometimes stirring effort. But what matters to me now is the way that thinking about craft traditions, particularly as they affect structure, allows us to plot some ways in which La La Land is both traditional and original. Evaluation is important, but it can be guided by analysis. An essential part of criticism involves studying how things are made."
"You must not judge what I know by what I find words for." - Marilynne Robinson share