The Man Who Wasn't There: Interview with Cinematographer Roger Deakins (2002 Video) User Reviews

A delightful chat with the great Roger Deakins

[Rodrigo_Amaro · 9/10 · 15 December 2023]

Now here's a kind of bonus material that should be done more in many other films out there. Academy Award winner cinematographer Roger Deakins shares a little about his wisdom and talent while working as director of photography in Coen brothers "The Man Who Wasn't There", an acclaimed work for everyone involved. Usually when we see someone from a film crew talking about a film it's always brief moments that still leaves us curious in knowing more. Here we have patient 47 minutes of pure delight, great details but not so excessive to the point it kills the magic of a movie or spoils the enjoyment. It's all very precise. Future cinematographers can learn a lot of insights and get plenty of film references with Deakins interview, which shines a great light in how certain shots were composed, his influences from classic films, and the whole process on working with contemporary black-and-white cinematography.

It's a pretty fascinating conversation he has with the interviewer and I'd like to know who was the man behind the camera conducting the interview as it appears he has plenty of knowledge about filmmaking and cinematography, and he also mentions that he was on some other film sets. Despite some awkwardness between both (there were times he kept apologizing to Deakins over certain questions), the interaction flows pretty well and it's always great to see when there's respect and admiration for the work of a talented and creative figure such as Mr. Deakins. 9/10.