With 2011’s “Thor,” it’s quite possible that director Kenneth Branagh broke the record for the number of dutch angles — shots that are tilted at, you guessed it, an askew angle — in a single movie. It was a common knee-jerk complaint from many of the film’s detractors in the same way that J.J. Abrams got criticized for his use of lens flares. Despite what the snarky tweets would have you believe, and despite Branagh’s overuse, dutch angles have a had a long and storied place in cinema history and a new video essay seeks to illuminate you on the wide and varied use of the dutch angle.
The Jacob T. Swinney-edited video essay keeps track of the degree of tilt that every featured shot showcases, from 5 to 90 degrees off the normal axis. The dutch angle connects various eras and genres together, with many directors utilizing the technique: Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese, the Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino, Terry Gilliam, Spike Lee, Tim Burton and Michael Bay.
Watch “The Dutch Angle” video essay below and try to see how many shots you can recognize. [via Live For Films]
