I fell in love with Elvis Mitchell listening to his thoughtful inside-out analysis of film on The Treatment for National Public Radio's KCRW 89.9 FM in my daily commuting.
Mitchell is also the main critic for NPR's Weekend Edition with Scott Simon, a position he has held since that show's debut in 1985, and hosts Independent Focus for the Independent Film Channel.
In a sea of people who seemingly scratch the surface of film in their reviews, with most never going below the surface to laude the integral craftspeople behind the scenes, it is something that Mitchell nearly always weaves into his coverage, and it is appreciated.
TCM has Mitchell for the month of July in “Under the Influence,” where each half-hour episode of this series will see Mitchell holding court with celebrity guests who reveal how classic film has influenced their lives.
Pollack
The series with Mitchell features the late Sydney Pollack’s revealing interview before his death, and Mitchell is then joined in later shows by reclusive Bill Murray, Quentin Tarantino, Laurence Fishburne, Joan Allen, Edward Norton, Richard Gere, and John Leguizamo.
Mitchell’s genuine sincerity, underlined by his authority of the medium and all it entails makes his interviews more revelatory. His savory conversation satisfies hardcore film junkies with what he harvests from each one-on-one.
Mitchell’s hope is that a younger audience who may want to be future filmmakers will see all these movies that they know nothing about, and learn.
Elvis spoke to Monsters and Critics about his new TV show, TCM Presents Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence, which premieres on Turner Classic Movies this Monday, July 7.
The premise of Under the Influence is interesting, what have you learned from each subject you interviewed that was perhaps a common passion or thread that ignited their creative careers?
Elvis Mitchell: I'm not sure there was a common passion, though there seemed to be that moment of awakening from almost everybody when they saw a certain film or scene and were inspired by it.
And, as they spoke of that catalyst, there was often reflection on that transition from emulation to finding the ability to evoke enduring moments on their own -- that is, internalizing what they loved about their influences and moving through to finding their own ways. So, though it wasn't expressed with that kind of specificity, a similar note was struck in most of the episodes.
Filmmaking to me is as much guts and instinct as it is intellectual process, what makes a great filmmaker, in your estimation?
Elvis Mitchell: Guts and instincts are key, and having the guts to trust your instincts. Warren Beatty recognized there was a film in the story of a hairdresser lothario and stuck with it for nearly a decade until he got to make "Shampoo." It's also important to know how to put a team of craftspeople -- DP, production designer, etc -- in order to get the film made.
The amount of concentration, eye for detail and patience required of a director strikes me as being Olympian and brings to mind that great observation from Francois Truffaut about the trek from excitement over the idea to make a movie to being sick of it by the time you're finished.
Mitchell
And you've got to stick it out -- as so many filmmakers have told me, no one sets out to make a bad movie and it takes much energy to complete a bad one as it does to finish a good one. It's a colossal combination of elements, including the will to move on to another project after having so much taken out of you.
Tell me about the actors and pivotal roles or scenes that over the years knocked you out as a film goer, and a critic.
Elvis Mitchell: So many films come to mind that the onslaught has almost left me blank. The last decade alone has produced so many great ones. I think about the terrific roles that have allowed Tony Leung to show his range, from "In the Mood for Love" to "Infernal Affairs."
Or Naomi Watts' protean quality which is so potent that in "21 Grams" and "Mulholland Drive," she looks like a different person and that's without makeup or prosthetics.
How much Don Cheadle's performances are informed by wit and vulnerability. What I've seen in this century is that final, glorious marriage of movie star charisma and character actor chops -- like seeing Leonardo Dicaprio bringing all of that together in "Blood Diamond."
And Kerry Washington has managed without getting the big role that would put over the top -- she deserved more attention that she received for her complex, magnetic and comic turn in "I Think I Love My Wife."
One of the things that drives me crazy in this town is Ryan Seacrest gets a star on Hollywood's walk of fame, and DP Gordon Willis does not. You appreciate the collaborative nature of filmmaking more than any other critic I read or listen to. What are some of the Below the Line crafts you admire, iconic key players and their films in your opinion?
Elvis Mitchell: Wow. Great question. I'm glad you mentioned Willis, because there wouldn't be "Godfather" movies without that team that Coppola assembled -- and he and Willis did more than their share of fighting, as well. Coppola's genius was in assembling such a group.
Think about Walter Murch and his genius for recognizing sound, which in turn led to Ben Burtt, and brings us right up to "Wall-E."
It's hard to think of a technical craft that has improved more than sound in the last twenty years or so, and Sergio Leone and his collaborators on his films are responsible for that. "Once Upon a Time in the West" is, for me, one of the first modern sound films -- and that all came out of the fact that Italian films didn't record live sound while being shot, so Leone and his squad were able to employ a post-production creativity that had been ignored until that point.
Until then, films were seen more than heard, and the images were often diminished by the dinkiness of the sound. With all of the notice given to the Italian westerns of that era, I think that aspect was given short shrift.
But visually, move are interesting as well, as Fassbinder helped by bringing Sirkian gloss to intimate melodramas, and filmmakers such as Michael Mann are still applying those standards.
Jon Favreau recognized how important a DP is, and chose Matthew Libatique for "Iron Man," which gives the film an immediacy we don't often see in big budget action films. And Favreau was turned on to Libatique through the DP’s work on Darren Aronovsky's adaptation of "Requiem for A Dream."
Given how much cinematographers brings to film -- and Pauline Kael made note of that when she said what may of us think is directing is actually cinematography -- it's shocking how often their work is ignored.
What your feelings are about "Margot at the Beach," Harris Savides' filming was original and provocative – and suffered in terms of regard because it wasn't conventionally pretty.
Mitchell's extensive, in-depth interview with Pollack, among the last interviews Pollack ever gave, airs Monday, July 7, at 8 p.m. as the premiere episode of TCM Presents Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence. It will be followed by a presentation of Tootsie, as well as by the Gene Kelly classic An American in Paris, one of the films Pollack claimed as a strong influence on his life and work.
July’s featured guests include:
Sydney Pollack
Monday, July 7, 8 p.m. (ET)
With deep respect, TCM presents this interview, which turned out to be one of the last interviews Pollack gave before succumbing to cancer at the age of 73.
Mitchell said of Pollack:“Sydney doesn’t just lecture about what movies are supposed to be. You can feel his abiding passion and affection for film.”
Sydney Pollack gave Mitchell great insight: “I’ll tell you the thing that makes a film director the happiest is a film living on for a while. The Way We Were still gets played. That’s an old movie. Tootsie still gets played. That’s an old movie – that’s 25 years old.”
Bill Murray
Monday, July 14, 8 p.m. (ET)
“Bill doesn’t like doing interviews very often, so people don’t always have a sense of how complex and thoughtful he is,” shared Mitchell.
Bill Murray talks about some of his comedy icons: “With the Marx Brothers, you’re surrounded by murderer’s row – Harpo, Chico, Zeppo, all these brothers are comedy assassins. They’re just killer.”
Laurence Fishburne
Monday, July 21, 8 p.m. (ET)
“When Laurence Fishburne talks about film, you realize he’s talking about movies that have some weight in his life,” said Mitchell.
Laurence Fishburne shares his own starstruck memories: “When I met Dennis Hopper, I was 15. I had no idea who this cat was. He was like no other person I had ever experienced. He was completely free and in the moment, and he was bound by no rules at all. So I thought, “I want to know how you do that. HOW do you do THAT?”
Quentin Tarantino
Monday, July 28, 8 p.m. (ET)
“There is no living person who knows movies better than he does,” reveals Mitchell.
Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino talks about passion for film: “It’s easy for a normal audience to see any kind of B-movie from any era with the many cheesy elements and put themselves above a movie.
When in this crazy, weird, sleazy little exploitation movie did you start caring? The fact that now you care and are invested: that’s one of my favorite things that can happen in cinema.”
The series returns in November with guests Joan Allen, Edward Norton, John Leguizamo and Richard Gere.
Turner Classic Movies presents the greatest motion pictures of all time from the largest film library in the world, the combined Time Warner and Turner film libraries, from the 1920s through the 1990s, commercial-free and without interruption.
The network also offers solid original documentaries and specials, including the Emmy-winning Stardust: The Bette Davis Story, Brando and Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story