Ars chats with cinematographer Hillary Fyfe Spera on bringing a 1970s film vibe to the Marvel series.
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Creating a distinctive aesthetic for Daredevil: Born Again
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I try not to comment before reading the article, but admit to stopping after two paragraphs to avoid spoilers.* I just started season two of the Netflix series and am enjoying it far more than I expected. I do appreciate Jennifer's articles on the thought that goes into the design of even "comic book" material. Story is all, as they say, and narrative elements have to take the lead, but how choices reinforce subtext is always fascinating to me.
*I know, I know--it has been long enough not to grump about spoilers. I'm taking my time because the show is visceral to the point I find myself tensing up if I don't space out the episodes.
*I know, I know--it has been long enough not to grump about spoilers. I'm taking my time because the show is visceral to the point I find myself tensing up if I don't space out the episodes.
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I don't want to start watching another series that Disney cancels like Netflix did when it's at the height of its popularity...
I need guarantees, damn it - assurances!
Edit: Messed up Disney/Netflix order
I need guarantees, damn it - assurances!
Edit: Messed up Disney/Netflix order
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Netflix canceled the Hells Kitchen series because of Disney, but the new series is on Disney.
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Havn't watched this series yet but eagerly awaiting doing so. I watched the DD movies not too long ago and found myself thinking, "ya, but how could you do the comics Daredevil any better in film" then I remembered that Netflix did exactly that and really want to watch this as it seems to be getting good reviews.
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Apologies to Ms. Fyfe Spera, but I'm not a big fan of the cinematography in Born Again. I actually love the cinematography of the 60s French New Wave and the gritty look of 70s American movies. But Born Again doesn't quite manage it.
It may have something to do with the equipment and workflow. The show has a very posterized look similar to the first couple generations of RED cameras. And the color grading can't seem to decide between blowing out highlights (which is a very legitimate stylistic choice and reminescent of old film stock), or trying to fit too many stops under the S-curve, resulting in a very washed out image. The bokeh shots (used in a lot of the street transition shots) don't look great, the bokeh is quite ugly (noisy, not full discs, sometimes aperture blade shapes distract from the scene).
The acting is great, the writing not so much, the directing and pacing have me convinced that Marvel doesn't know what they are doing for Phase 5, and the plan is to mumble, look at their shoes, and avoid eye contact in the hopes that fans just keep shoveling money at them.
It may have something to do with the equipment and workflow. The show has a very posterized look similar to the first couple generations of RED cameras. And the color grading can't seem to decide between blowing out highlights (which is a very legitimate stylistic choice and reminescent of old film stock), or trying to fit too many stops under the S-curve, resulting in a very washed out image. The bokeh shots (used in a lot of the street transition shots) don't look great, the bokeh is quite ugly (noisy, not full discs, sometimes aperture blade shapes distract from the scene).
The acting is great, the writing not so much, the directing and pacing have me convinced that Marvel doesn't know what they are doing for Phase 5, and the plan is to mumble, look at their shoes, and avoid eye contact in the hopes that fans just keep shoveling money at them.
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Honestly, one of the first things that occurred to me when watching Born Again was how dull the cinematography was compared to the moody, shadow-cloaked images of the Netflix series, which did such a great job of reflecting Frank Miller's brutal, noirish artwork. In comparison, Born Again just looks flat and...noncommital, I guess. and almost everything's shot at head height, with no interesting or expressive angles, to the point that it all just gets boring.
I really wanted to like Born Again, but have to admit going into it with trepidation - over time I've come to regard the 1st and 3rd seasons of the Netflix Daredevil as some of the best Marvel material outside of the comics. The acting was fantastic, the writing was great, the choreography knocked it out of the park, and the lighting and cinematography did a fantastic job of conveying the dirty, shadowy world of Daredevil. Sadly, Born Again for me is...it's okay, better than almost all the rest of the in-house Marvel series, but it doesn't really rise to the level of interesting. I really don't think it's up to the Netflix versions on any of those levels (although the actors are doing their best given what they have to work with).
I really wanted to like Born Again, but have to admit going into it with trepidation - over time I've come to regard the 1st and 3rd seasons of the Netflix Daredevil as some of the best Marvel material outside of the comics. The acting was fantastic, the writing was great, the choreography knocked it out of the park, and the lighting and cinematography did a fantastic job of conveying the dirty, shadowy world of Daredevil. Sadly, Born Again for me is...it's okay, better than almost all the rest of the in-house Marvel series, but it doesn't really rise to the level of interesting. I really don't think it's up to the Netflix versions on any of those levels (although the actors are doing their best given what they have to work with).
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The French New Wave is a fairly diverse collection of traits involving different elements about the movie-making craft. Your second paragraph digs into the artifacts of what I suspect is the source of the look you mention, which was in many cases a slavish insistence on natural light rather than the use of lighting equipment.
What the French New Wave mostly had in common was that the "auteurs" were critics of the genre first and movie-makers second, and they could claim aesthetics as their rationale rather than being too cheap and lazy to properly light and expose the film.
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This. I almost regret asking for it, because I spent a season squinting at the screen in Silo S2 and complaining that I couldn't see anything because it was too dark. But a Daredevil show with a paucity of darkly lit scenes is like a Batman show filmed completely in the daytime, or a Spider-Man movie set entirely in the suburbs.
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RickRoyLeonPrisZhoraRacha
Ars Scholae Palatinae
I just try to wrap my head around that the actor playing Fisk, was Edgar in the MiB movie.
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Whatever the cause*, it's hard to argue that Breathless, Jules and Jim, 400 Blows aren't visually and cinematically striking.
* I've heard that Breathless used a lot of jump cuts because film was too expensive, so they often simply didn't have any transition or establishing shots on film. But the sudden and jarring cuts totally conveyed the frantic feel of the movie.
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It is fairly well-established Godard knew he could get away with simply cutting out bits from scenes that were too long. Heck, he started the movie with a title card that all but said "You are about to watch a B-movie where we cut corners due to costs. Enjoy it for what it is."
That he cut those corners in a way that maximized the effect of what he was trying to do is to his credit, of course, and this won't be the first time that my tendency is always to try and watch a movie for what it is rather than for what I want it to be. I am a big fan of the art of the practical, while delighting in being shown the art of the possible when something improbable happens.
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I've been enjoying Born Again so far – it's not as good as the Netlfix show, and it feels like that is mostly from a lack of attention to detail. Often dialogue feels a bit thin compared to the deeply meaningful, characterful exchanges in the Netflix show.
A good example may be the Hector Ayela court-case – I'll avoid spoilers for anyone that hasn't seen it, but in the Netflix show we often saw Matt etc. putting in the work reviewing case files, precedents etc. looking for angles they could use, and the drama comes from what works and what doesn't, maybe with a rug-pull moment. They're not perfect by any means, but they worked well IMO.
In Born Again the court scenes feel much more like a string of gotcha moments without the setup to make them work, and there's a lot of obvious things that are simply missing. Like all Matt really needs to do is cast reasonable doubt, which should be easy since the prosecution doesn't seem to have any actual evidence, it should be a slam dunk to get most of the charges dismissed or downgraded outright, yet Matt goes for a really questionable move that makes him look way more desperate than competent.
Again, overall I'm enjoying the show - it's still good, and it's great to have more Daredevil even if it doesn't quite live up to the heights of what came before it. I just hope they tighten up the scripts in season 2.
A good example may be the Hector Ayela court-case – I'll avoid spoilers for anyone that hasn't seen it, but in the Netflix show we often saw Matt etc. putting in the work reviewing case files, precedents etc. looking for angles they could use, and the drama comes from what works and what doesn't, maybe with a rug-pull moment. They're not perfect by any means, but they worked well IMO.
In Born Again the court scenes feel much more like a string of gotcha moments without the setup to make them work, and there's a lot of obvious things that are simply missing. Like all Matt really needs to do is cast reasonable doubt, which should be easy since the prosecution doesn't seem to have any actual evidence, it should be a slam dunk to get most of the charges dismissed or downgraded outright, yet Matt goes for a really questionable move that makes him look way more desperate than competent.
Again, overall I'm enjoying the show - it's still good, and it's great to have more Daredevil even if it doesn't quite live up to the heights of what came before it. I just hope they tighten up the scripts in season 2.
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Yeah, there is no way in Hell's Kitchen that Hector walked away without at least a manslaughter conviction, especially given Matt's unsubstantive defense.
But on top of that, the whole White Tiger arc was another missed opportunity in contrasting how Hector's upbringing and faith (Puerto Rican Catholic) compelled him to act, in contrast with Matt's own loss of faith in both his own religion (Irish Catholic) and vigilantism.
There's just so much dead space and dead time in this show, where mood is not set, nuances are not made, characters are not explored, motivations left on the table, and there isn't even a superhero/action payoff most of the time. Instead, they tease us with future shows (ooo! look everyone! Punisher! member?) and future arcs (Ms Marvel in... West Coast Avengers?). Marvel took the Nick Fury teaser end credits and tried to stretch the concept out into entire franchises, and it's not working, because there's not enough meat left on the bone.
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was waiting to watch this in a "pay disney for a month" block of TV watching, (once Andor drops as well) and somehow I missed the spoiler alert (fatigue probably) and discovering that a key part of the Netflix series had been killed in the first ten minutes (the character dynamic between the three was exceptional in the Netflix Daredevil IMHO) has me thinking "Ummm. maybe not"
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I've found it a poor imitation of the Netflix series overall. Some wonky CGI and Matt's new super powers lift it out of the street level realism that the original had. I'll see how it goes but even the iconic fight sequences seem to have lost their touch, with more cuts and less realism.
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I think the other commentators must have been watching a different version of the show than the Born Again that I saw. I watched all of the Netflix show, to remind me of the characters and story lines, about a week before watching the 2/3 of an episode of the new series, that I managed to make my way through.
Two things stuck out to me about Born Again that I really didn't like, one being the cinematography, which had an odd, overly slick and saturated look, as did the characters to some extent, the rough awkward edges seemed to have been shorn off the originals.
The second thing was the appalling CG of Daredevil, especially when swinging onto a rooftop. It's been a while since I've seen CG that unrealistic and it looked so out of place. It was especially so, given the ground, physicallity of the action in the Netflix show, which was a welcome reprieve from that in most superhero shows and movies.
Those two things felt like they were jabbing me in the eyes and just served to reminded my of the strengths of the Netflix original in comparison to its successor, so I gave up on watching it. If you like what you saw, great, it's something you can enjoy, but I saw little in it for me.
Two things stuck out to me about Born Again that I really didn't like, one being the cinematography, which had an odd, overly slick and saturated look, as did the characters to some extent, the rough awkward edges seemed to have been shorn off the originals.
The second thing was the appalling CG of Daredevil, especially when swinging onto a rooftop. It's been a while since I've seen CG that unrealistic and it looked so out of place. It was especially so, given the ground, physicallity of the action in the Netflix show, which was a welcome reprieve from that in most superhero shows and movies.
Those two things felt like they were jabbing me in the eyes and just served to reminded my of the strengths of the Netflix original in comparison to its successor, so I gave up on watching it. If you like what you saw, great, it's something you can enjoy, but I saw little in it for me.
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I had a similar issue, so didn't get too far into Series 2 of either Daredevil or Jessica Jones. Part of the problem I had was trying to watch them on an iPad while lying in bed, which made it a little too intense**. Putting this new show on the TV has helped, and if I can be organised enough, I may go back to watching the Netflix shows this way.
* Depression and/or Neurodivergence is a hell of a drug.
** See above.
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I love this version of daredevil. Netflix nailed the actor with Charlie Cox.
And the writting is also very good (not perfect, but still).
I'm very happy that Disney decided to continue the series and also made it very relevant to current American events.
Plus the action scenes are very very good.
Imo its one if not the best Marvel MCU serie.
And the writting is also very good (not perfect, but still).
I'm very happy that Disney decided to continue the series and also made it very relevant to current American events.
Plus the action scenes are very very good.
Imo its one if not the best Marvel MCU serie.
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HuntingManatees
Ars Centurion
He'll always be the psychotic Officer Steckler from "Strange Days" to me.
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Excellent work on Law and Order, also, and if you saw Full Metal Jacket you will remember the character--but only now are thinking "That was him?!!!!?"
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It's a shame that he had some serious issues while filming L&O:CI. Although, bringing Jeff Goldblum in as an alternate was genius. Chris Noth, less so.
Still, I remember him in some weird film by Nicolas Roeg where he was handcuffed naked to a bed with Theresa Russell (obvs). I still don't know what the film was about, but the image of a naked D'Onofrio stuck in my head.
Oddly enough, I think Theresa Russell was clothed the whole way through.
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For real. The original show had that distinctive look. This version is as generic as it gets in every aspect.
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I think the original series was a masterpiece and criminally underrated and dismissed as a “comic book show.” The cinematography on the original series is some of my favorite of all time, and actually does evoke TaxI Driver and French Connection. Is this cinematographer delusional? The difference between her words and the finished result is staggering. I have to give her credit for some truly nice moments, but I found the whole thing to be wildly frustrating and I assumed they switched cinematographers in the reboot because there was no cohesive artistic vision for the shots, and the technical side was all over the place. It felt completely schizophrenic. It was a miserable journey between being boring, contrived, fake, mundane, over-stylized, and truly beautiful. I am genuinely shocked it was one cinematographer. One impression I never got? Anything about the 70’s! What?! Maybe Episode 2. That had some really nice moments with clarity and technique. To me, the whole thing so far was like space opera meets the cheapest court drama meets a music video meets the 2000s. The first episode alone makes little sense to me. To me, it just read that no one could decide what the hell this was supposed to feel like. The combination of harshness, dreamy watercolors, science fiction modernity, stark grit, minimalism, maximalism, and then the hardest edges of realism, did not marry whatsoever. Pick one. Hell, pick two. Extreme cold, extreme warmth, white outs, overbearing saturation, then these forays into being down to earth. What the actual hell. And I liked many of the styles, despite some technical complaints sometimes. It just made no sense!
I have tried not to compare it to the original series too much despite the fact that I have studied every single old episode with loving reverence. However, it is hard not to think back to the sober, expertly crafted, technically satisfying, and totally cohesive vision from all 3 seasons. Each one built on the last, and told the story in a way that transported the viewer to a world that felt as real as this one and like it belonged only to Daredevil at the same time. It’s all art. Any minor technical mistakes in editing or stunts only add to their charm, but the cinematography is truly a joy in itself. This wildly veered between abject depression, frustrated disgust, and the occasional delight. What the hell was going on here?! Granted, the scripts here were not even close to the quality of the old ones, but it felt like more than 2 shows spliced together. Visually, it was more like 10. I am so confused. I have studied this to try to decide on what the vision is supposed to convey, and I find it to be a soul-killing mess in a lot of ways. The jarring difference in visions was annoying as hell. It’s a shame, because there are some genuinely awesome moments, despite weird artifacts.
Also, what the hell is that nasty sidewalk scene where everything is traffic cone orange? Was it trying to incorporate the orange jumpsuit or something? It just highlighted how it felt like 10 different shows being filmed. There is no reason to it. The whole palette was so ugly and displeasing, or else…lovely. And the way it rocketed between this sepia dreamscape into ice white death felt really aggravating. I don’t get it. I wish someone would explain the visual threads. It’s very uncomfortable as a viewer. It felt very fake and contrived.
The lens flaring made me RAGE. Why you’d take a living artwork like Charlie Cox and wipe him out of so many scenes is a mystery. Sometimes he’s lit like a god and sometimes he’s annihilated to the point of destroying his performance. I felt the stupid flaring most when he was being wiped out. It hurt my heart. I could find positives in a lot of the choices throughout, but the lens flaring? Infuriating. Cheesy. I’d find my shoulders relaxing as I watched and then I’d get blasted with stupid flare again. Yuck.
The opening sequence was a visual disaster of epic proportions that was worse than a video game from 2005. It was downright destructive to the storytelling and Daredevil brand, IMO. I am an insane fan of the original TV show, not into comics or superhero stuff, and not objective about this show or these characters, but the darkness was a literal blackout that RUINED performances. I studied cinematography and have a really nice TV that is perfectly adjusted for my hobby of studying cinema. The old show is dark - darker, actually - but this literally wiped out characters until they were invisible in a muddled mess. It looked fake and ugly. I loved the first shot, and that nice blue reflection. Man, I really wish this had just chosen a look and committed. That urban look was nice. The video game watercolor was a disaster. The CGI was another disaster that should be eliminated and actually ruined the impression of Matt as a real person and the overall quality of the whole thing. It doesn’t mix. Be down to earth or don’t.
This series had some nice moments like the halo/crown reflection shot she described - I call that “happy accidents” - and the cinematography is not an epic failure, but it wounded my soul a little because of my deep admiration for the original series, but I am SO GLAD she is not returning for S2. Phew.
This was a failure for filming darkness in so many ways, and a dreamy success in many others. And daylight was actually worse, now that I think about it. I think this cinematographer is capable of cool stuff. Just commit to an actual goddamn vision, not fifteen competing styles, and if you ever think lens flaring is cool, rethink. Ugh.
I have tried not to compare it to the original series too much despite the fact that I have studied every single old episode with loving reverence. However, it is hard not to think back to the sober, expertly crafted, technically satisfying, and totally cohesive vision from all 3 seasons. Each one built on the last, and told the story in a way that transported the viewer to a world that felt as real as this one and like it belonged only to Daredevil at the same time. It’s all art. Any minor technical mistakes in editing or stunts only add to their charm, but the cinematography is truly a joy in itself. This wildly veered between abject depression, frustrated disgust, and the occasional delight. What the hell was going on here?! Granted, the scripts here were not even close to the quality of the old ones, but it felt like more than 2 shows spliced together. Visually, it was more like 10. I am so confused. I have studied this to try to decide on what the vision is supposed to convey, and I find it to be a soul-killing mess in a lot of ways. The jarring difference in visions was annoying as hell. It’s a shame, because there are some genuinely awesome moments, despite weird artifacts.
Also, what the hell is that nasty sidewalk scene where everything is traffic cone orange? Was it trying to incorporate the orange jumpsuit or something? It just highlighted how it felt like 10 different shows being filmed. There is no reason to it. The whole palette was so ugly and displeasing, or else…lovely. And the way it rocketed between this sepia dreamscape into ice white death felt really aggravating. I don’t get it. I wish someone would explain the visual threads. It’s very uncomfortable as a viewer. It felt very fake and contrived.
The lens flaring made me RAGE. Why you’d take a living artwork like Charlie Cox and wipe him out of so many scenes is a mystery. Sometimes he’s lit like a god and sometimes he’s annihilated to the point of destroying his performance. I felt the stupid flaring most when he was being wiped out. It hurt my heart. I could find positives in a lot of the choices throughout, but the lens flaring? Infuriating. Cheesy. I’d find my shoulders relaxing as I watched and then I’d get blasted with stupid flare again. Yuck.
The opening sequence was a visual disaster of epic proportions that was worse than a video game from 2005. It was downright destructive to the storytelling and Daredevil brand, IMO. I am an insane fan of the original TV show, not into comics or superhero stuff, and not objective about this show or these characters, but the darkness was a literal blackout that RUINED performances. I studied cinematography and have a really nice TV that is perfectly adjusted for my hobby of studying cinema. The old show is dark - darker, actually - but this literally wiped out characters until they were invisible in a muddled mess. It looked fake and ugly. I loved the first shot, and that nice blue reflection. Man, I really wish this had just chosen a look and committed. That urban look was nice. The video game watercolor was a disaster. The CGI was another disaster that should be eliminated and actually ruined the impression of Matt as a real person and the overall quality of the whole thing. It doesn’t mix. Be down to earth or don’t.
This series had some nice moments like the halo/crown reflection shot she described - I call that “happy accidents” - and the cinematography is not an epic failure, but it wounded my soul a little because of my deep admiration for the original series, but I am SO GLAD she is not returning for S2. Phew.
This was a failure for filming darkness in so many ways, and a dreamy success in many others. And daylight was actually worse, now that I think about it. I think this cinematographer is capable of cool stuff. Just commit to an actual goddamn vision, not fifteen competing styles, and if you ever think lens flaring is cool, rethink. Ugh.
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I'm very torn on DD BA. For one thing, they spend an awful lot of time just world-building in the first four episodes. But here's the thing: the original series had a world of characters that everyone loved and wanted to see more of. The brief Foggy and Karen storyline didn't feel like an homage to the original series; it felt like a rug pull. "Oh, you want the original characters to return? Guess what? Fuck you!"
Oh, you're watching to see Daredevil in action? There's so little DD in the first four episodes that it feels like episode 5 was thrown in there to remind you that, yes, you're still watching a DD show.
I still have episode 7 to watch, but so far there's no one else in this show that I really care about other than Matt and Wilson. It even feels like they messed up the character of Vanessa by making her the new Kingpin.
I hope this show is going somewhere interesting, because they haven't hooked me yet.
Oh, you're watching to see Daredevil in action? There's so little DD in the first four episodes that it feels like episode 5 was thrown in there to remind you that, yes, you're still watching a DD show.
I still have episode 7 to watch, but so far there's no one else in this show that I really care about other than Matt and Wilson. It even feels like they messed up the character of Vanessa by making her the new Kingpin.
I hope this show is going somewhere interesting, because they haven't hooked me yet.
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He was great as Robert E. Howard in The Whole Wide World.
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Have to admit I have no mental image of Robert E. Howard. I'm pretty sure he doesn't look like a Boris Valejo drawing, but then again who does?
Anyway, I have no idea if D'Onofrio is good casting here. Curious.
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It was a great movie -- I highly recommend it. Renee Zellweger plays the woman he falls in love with, based on the book that the real woman wrote.
Also, for reference, real Robert E. Howard:
D'Onofrio as Robert E. Howard:
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He looks more like a gangster than someone who wrote weirdly homo-erotic* fantasy fiction.
* I'm kidding, of course. Kind of. I mean...
* I'm kidding, of course. Kind of. I mean...
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