What with the lavÂish attenÂtion he and his colÂlabÂoÂraÂtors pay to art, design, cosÂtumÂing, framÂing, comÂpoÂsiÂtion, and editÂing — and espeÂcialÂly conÂsidÂerÂing the pains he and his colÂlabÂoÂraÂtors take to refÂerÂence and adapt pieces of the art of cinÂeÂma that came before them — who does it surÂprise that Wes AnderÂson become such a fruitÂful subÂject for video essayÂists? His films, from the humÂble feaÂture debut BotÂtle RockÂet and sophoÂmore breakÂout RushÂmore to more recent extenÂsions of his project like MoonÂrise KingÂdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel, can seem made espeÂcialÂly for cinephiles handy with Final Cut to take apart, and put back togethÂer again.
“I will NOT be doing a Wes AnderÂson video essay,” says Tony Zhou, creÂator of the video essay series Every Frame a PaintÂing. “The marÂket is satÂuÂratÂed and I have nothÂing to add.” Those who have enjoyed Zhou’s astute breakÂdowns of the work of MarÂtin ScorsÂese, JackÂie Chan, Michael Bay, Edgar Wright, AkiÂra KuroÂsawa, David FinchÂer, Buster Keaton, and the Coen BrothÂers (as well as the use and abuse of his homeÂtown of VanÂcouÂver) preÂviÂousÂly feaÂtured here might conÂsidÂer that a shame. But he has put togethÂer a list of all the othÂer video essayÂists’ work on AnderÂson, which includes Matt Zoller Seitz’s thirÂteen pieces:
BotÂtle RockÂet
RushÂmore
The RoyÂal TenenÂbaums
The Life AquatÂic with Steve ZisÂsou
The DarÂjeelÂing LimÂitÂed
FanÂtasÂtic Mr. Fox
MoonÂrise KingÂdom
The Grand Budapest Hotel
[Note: All of the videos above are gathÂered here in one place.]
Wes AnderÂson: The SubÂstance of Style (five parts)
And Zhou’s list feaÂtures video essays from othÂer creÂators:
Wes AnderÂson // CenÂtered
Wes AnderÂson // From AboveJaume R. Lloret
Wes AnderÂson // VehiÂclesRishi KaneÂrÂia
Red & YelÂlow: A Wes AnderÂson SuperÂcutPaul Waters
Wes AnderÂson: A Mini DocÂuÂmenÂtaryWay Too Indie
Mise en Scène & The VisuÂal Themes of Wes AnderÂson
Zhou also includes three in-depth blog posts by film scholÂar David BorÂdÂwell on AnderÂsonÂ’s shot-conÂsciousÂness, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and MoonÂrise KingÂdom. “Now, nevÂer ask me about Wes AnderÂson again,” havÂing already re-emphaÂsized that he does not, in any case, take video essay requests. But if you’d like to conÂtinÂue seeÂing him make video essays on whichevÂer subÂjects he does choose going forÂward, have a look at Every Frame a PaintÂing’s PatreÂon page to find out how you can supÂport his always-stimÂuÂlatÂing examÂiÂnaÂtions of nevÂer-AnderÂson auteurs.
(And if you still can’t do withÂout more AnderÂson, spend some time with the relatÂed conÂtent below.)
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
Watch 7 New Video Essays on Wes Anderson’s Films: RushÂmore, The RoyÂal TenenÂbaums & More
The GeoÂmetÂric BeauÂty of AkiÂra KuroÂsawa and Wes Anderson’s Films
Watch a Super Cut of Wes Anderson’s SigÂnaÂture Slo-Mo Shots
Wes AnderÂson Likes the ColÂor Red (and YelÂlow)
The PerÂfect SymÂmeÂtry of Wes Anderson’s Movies
A Glimpse Into How Wes AnderÂson CreÂativeÂly Remixes/Recycles Scenes in His DifÂferÂent Films
Books in the Films of Wes AnderÂson: A SuperÂcut for BibÂlioÂphiles
Based in Seoul, ColÂin MarÂshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and style. He’s at work on a book about Los AngeÂles, A Los AngeÂles Primer, the video series The City in CinÂeÂma, the crowdÂfundÂed jourÂnalÂism project Where Is the City of the Future?, and the Los AngeÂles Review of Books’ Korea Blog. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.
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