The Scruggs Buster Ballade: Coens went digital on Netflix Western

Joel and Ethan Coen finally went digital for their anthology "The Buster Scruggs Ballad" by Netflix Western, but it was more out of necessity than aesthetics. Director Bruno Delbonnel did a second amazing feat with Coens ("Inside Llewyn Davis", Oscar nominee), who convinced him that it was the only cost-effective way to make his film.

"Because it was for Netflix and there was no theater, they wanted to try it," Delbonnel said, "especially after learning just how digital was fantastic, including Roger Deakins, who does not want to film anymore. "

Read more:"Buster Scruggs": 25 snapshots that prove that the first film shot in digital by the Coen brothers is a visual stunner

Delbonnel, who toured with Alexa Studio, invited the Coens to take a look at "Darkest Hour". They also admired her ability to capture light and shadows with digital tools. "But it was difficult at first," he said. "They are not used to watching the dailies and seeing what they will look like."

"The Buster Scruggs Ballad"

Netflix

Joel Coen told the director of photography: "When I look at the dailies, the film speaks to me and I can see where I'm going," said Delbonnel. "With digital, he knows the way and does not have to think about it, so he was overwhelmed, but when we were done, they told us that it was impossible for us to film this film. It was too expensive, it took too much time and we had a lot of visual effects, it was cheap and you could take it after the other and we did a lot of stunts, Joel and Ethan did not change: they had always say "roll" and "cut."

Adapted from a collection of short stories written by the Coen throughout their career, "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" was conceived as a six-part series. During development, they turned the material into a film anthology unfolding as chapters in a book. In fact, each segment opens with manual rotation of the pages preceded by image images, and the visual appearance was inspired by these illustrations. However, in the typical Coen style, death becomes the unifying theme of these great tales of the old frontier, alternating between the comic absurd and the tragic morbid.

It begins with "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs", in which Tim Blake Nelson plays a singing bandit, who disarms his songs before sending any opponent with grisly violence. "It was the most colorful and exhilarating short film," said Delbonnel. "But when I turned it on, Joel and Ethan came in and said it was too dark. They wanted it more like "Singin" in the rain and I was trying to be in a bad mood. They told me not to be so serious.

"The Buster Scruggs Ballad"

Netflix

To make it more loud, the director of photography pushed the red layer into the digital medium while reducing the yellow layer. "We looked 25% less, 35% less, it was very delicate," Delbonnel said. But then he had to retire to "All Gold Canyon," in which Tom Waits plays a thriving prosperous who hits the mother's charge until he is trapped by a thief. "I pushed the colors and it was too much," he added. "We had to go back to the" National Geographic "look, but keeping this picture in mind. This should not be too real but still credible. "

Delbonnel criticized Sergio Leone's "Once upon a time in the West" for the opening of "Near Algodones", in which bank robber James Franco gets caught in a trap by a cashier (Stephen Root ) armed with pots and pans containing weapons. "I started with the bank in the middle of the frame and Franco in front of the well on the right side," he said. "Then I went too far."

In the macabre "Meal Ticket", in which the driver of Liam Neeson's car exploits a memberless actor (Harry Melling) who recites Shakespeare and "The Gettysburg Speech" from town to town, Delbonnel was able to make himself very dark and morose. But in the most direct romantic drama, "The Gal Who Got Rattled," in which Zoe Kazan tries to cope with adversity along the Oregon Trail, he opted for Remington's beauty .

Then, in the existential finale, "The Mortal Remains", with the matron, Tyne Daily, sharing a diligence with Brendan Gleeson and Saul Rubinek, the director of photography has become scary. "The entire scene lasted 20 minutes and lasted three days, and we shot all the shots in depth, which would have been impossible in a movie," said Delbonnel. "It was great for the actors, and to that end, the digital was fantastic."

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