Love or hate him, you have to admit Zack Snyder knows how to make a beautiful looking picture. And his ever-present slow-motion shots, as repetitive as they’ve become of late, have become the epitome of his radiant, if sometime empty, style. And Snyder’s dilated, ravishing craftsmanship can be seen in all its 24-frames-per-second glory in Art of the Film’s bluntly-titled tribute, “Slow Motion in the Films of Zack Snyder.”
His Alan Moore adaptation “Watchmen” gets the heavy focus here, which is fitting as the 2009 film was when Snyder’s familiar style had gone past its apex and the slow-motion heaviness in-question started to become comical in its consistency. Thankfully, as made evident by this video, he’s restrained himself quite-a-bit by the time “Man of Steel” rolled onto the big screen in 2013. The editors were only able to grab one select shot from the recent superhero film to demonstrate how this artistic choice continues to be present. We’ll see how many additions can be included into this retrospect when Snyder’s latest, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” slides its way into theaters on March 25th.
“300,” of course, also gets some ample attention here, as do some choice moments in Snyder’s two flops: 2011’s much-mangled “Sucker Punch” and 2010’s largely-forgotten “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.” And while those latter two may not be worth revisiting on the whole, it’s certainly nice to see some of their prettiest aesthetics highlighted once again. It reminds you that maybe they weren’t quite as bad as you remembered. In any case, this two-minute tribute is worth watching in any right. Check it out below. [Live For Films]