film language
The most absurd assumption about saying films “transcend genre” is that works of genre are somehow so trivial that they are apolitical.
If done right, a Grand Theft Auto adaptation would be thrilling, hilarious, and could be one of the most ambitious adaptations ever produced.
If we can accept aesthetic subversion as a form of commentary or aesthetic, why do we still consider trash films as some sort of failures?
In Andrew Davis’ brilliant 1993 thriller The Fugitive, the filmmakers use a variety of techniques to lead the viewer through the story. They drop hints with color and lighting that viewers are not necessarily trained to consciously notice while they’re watching, and employ a gripping editing style that effectively supports the cat-and-mouse game that embroils the film’s two main characters. Every movie has content, which is what is seen and heard on screen, and what is referred to as form, which is the way in which the film’s creators manipulate that content to their own ends and present it to the viewer.
