Over the course of his 30-plus-year career, audiences all over the world have come to know and love David Fincher, the acclaimed director of cinematic classics like Fight Club and House of Cards, as well as Gone Girl, which hits US theaters tomorrow. Aside from the fact that his body of work includes some of our favorite electronic film scores, Fincher’s masterful directing skills have brought us top notch cinematorgraphy, generation-defining narratives, and masterful mise en scène, all of which Tony Zhou points out in his latest video essay, David Fincher – And the Other Way is Wrong.
Spread throughout se7en-and-a-half highly watchable minutes, Zhou picks apart Fincher’s ideas about framing, blocking, dialogue, character development, and pretty much every other aspect film directors have say over. Sampling well-known scenes from Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network, and more, the film essayist offers the well-thought out, well-articulated, well-supported analyses that made his Every Frame A Painting short film series an internet treasure. This time around, his overarching theme questions, “What does David Fincher not do?” And explores the values of subtlety, moderation, and restraint in Fincher’s cinematic storytelling.
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After you’ve fully taken Zhou’s analysis in (and perhaps even discussed it with nearby film buffs), watch a few more of our favorite Tony Zhou joints below, that address the comedy of Edgar Wright, the energy of Robin Williams, and the mystery of Michael Bay’s popularity.
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