[Download] "James Cameron's Cathedral: Avatar Revives the Religious Spectacle (Movie Review)" by Journal of Religion and Film # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: James Cameron's Cathedral: Avatar Revives the Religious Spectacle (Movie Review)
- Author : Journal of Religion and Film
- Release Date : January 01, 2010
- Genre: Religion & Spirituality,Books,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 188 KB
Description
[1] Filmmaker James Cameron knows how to get us off the couch and into the theater. Avatar was a genuine IMAX-worthy event. It required spectacles to get the truly special effect. It now plays so much smaller at home, even on a Blu-Ray equipped, large-screen TV. Yet, such substantive profits make it a canary in a cinematic coalmine. Avatar has been followed by underwhelming 3D versions of Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, and Shrek. Will more desperate and unimaginative studio pandering follow? Is Avatar an empty headed spectacle that will fade in critical estimation over time or the harbinger of more potent stories to come? [2] In its most exhilarating sequences, Avatar connects to the best of the silent film era. James Cameron extends the legacy of pioneering showmen like D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille. No dialogue was necessary to communicate the sweeping ideas of Intolerance (1916) or The Ten Commandments (1923). Like Avatar, they were easily translated across cultures and oceans. Pioneering cinema achieved an early Esperanto. Unfortunately, spectacles don't always age well. It is tough to recreate the shock of the new. The best picture Oscar won by Cecil B. DeMille for The Greatest Show on Earth looks regrettable fifty years on. The digital stick figures walking across the deck of the Titanic already look embarrassing.