| The Finals For Excellence in the Field of Cinematography: |
| The crowd is gathering once more to hear which of these great technical artists will advance to the finals. Looking over the nominations, it appears that it would be a major upset if Billy Bitzer doesn't score at least one medal, but the French are holding out medal hopes for their own team of innovators on Abel Gance's J'Accuse. There are three other countries in the hunt as well, so a lot of hopes are resting on this announcement. Here are the finalists: |
| � Augusto Battagliotti, Eugenio Bava, Natale Chiusano, Carlo Franzeri, Giovanni Tomatis & Segundo De Chomon: Cabiria (1914) (Italy): Cabiria continues to receive its chops for historical importance, but it is far from a relic as it remains a compelling visual document. D.W. Griffith and Billy Bitzer eagerly watched the camera work in this film as they embarked on their own efforts in epic innovation. � G. W. Bitzer: The Birth of a Nation (1915) (USA): Bitzer combined the knowledge from directing hundreds of short films and shooting hundreds more for Griffith to work with the master and combine all previous knowledge into a single document of what the camera could do. The importance of his work here can't be overstated. � G. W. Bitzer: Broken Blossoms (1919) (USA): Billy Bitzer and Lillian Gish were born to work together, and this is the ultimate of their collaborations. This is what happens when you combine a peerless actress whose mannerisms and expressions are perfectly suited for the camera and a master cinematographer who knows exactly how to shoot her. � G. W. Bitzer & Karl Brown: Intolerance (1916) (USA): The ultimate fruition of Bitzer and Griffith's creative ambitions. They took the work they did on The Birth of a Nation to a whole new level. This is what happens when two huge talents decide to throw caution to the wind and pull out all of the stops. � Marc Bujard, Leonce-Henri Burel, Maurice Forster: J�Accuse (1919) (France): The jubilant French are primed to see their countrymen crash "Bitzer Fest" and this is just the film to do it. Many think Abel Gance and his team took the technical innovations of Griffith and Bitzer to a new level of artistry. The powerful anti-war images on the screen make a solid case for this viewpoint. � Julius Jaenzon: The Outlaw and His Wife (1918) (Sweden): This is one of the most powerful examples of outdoor location shooting ever put on screen. Jaenzon shoots awe-inspiring images of the natural world that overpower the human characters, and turn the forces of nature into a leading character in the film. |
| This is an extremely strong slate of finalists and a case could be made for each to medal. Will we see a Billy Bitzer sweep? Will the Italians, who strongly influenced his work, find their way to the podium? Will the hometown crowd be belting out a rousing rendition of " La Marseillaise?" Will Sweden make its first trip to the medal stand on the back of Julius Jaenzon's awesome location shooting? It's time to find out. And the medals go to... |
| Bronze: G. W. Bitzer: Broken Blossoms (1919) (USA): Here we celebrate the collaborative effort of filmmaking with an example of a director, a cinematography and a star working together flawlessly. Arguably the best in each of their fields, they are on the same page throughout. Bitzer's close-ups of Lillian Gish are perhaps the most moving shots seen to date. Silver: Marc Bujard, Leonce-Henri Burel, Maurice Forster: J�Accuse (1919) (France): Combining technology and art, Abel Gance's team provided a major advance for European cinema, and the medal gives the French crowd more to cheer about in the face of a U.S. landslide. The images combine beauty and terror, and help make this film a major artistic accomplishment. Gold: G. W. Bitzer & Karl Brown: Intolerance (1916) (USA): Is there no stopping Intolerance? The film appears to be building an insurmountable lead in the Best Picture competition. If another film is going to step in as a contender, it had better happen soon. There is no denying the awesome technical achievement of this film however, and the gold for Bitzer is well deserved. |
| The big winner from day six is Billy Bitzer. He is a pioneer and his two medals, three films in the finals and four nominations confirm that as of 1920, he is the greatest cinematographer to ever live. The host nation has plenty to cheer about as well, as the silver for the J' Accuse team, combined with Alice Guy-Blache's special medal from earlier in the day, moves them solidly into second place in the medal count. Yes, wine will be thrown-back in the cafes tonight. The over-all medal count currently stands as: United States 12, France 4, Great Britain 2, Italy 1, Russia 1. |