Tak Fujimoto

Over the weekend I caught a glimpse of Caged Heat—an old Roger Corman-produced women-in-prison flick. Shot by Tak Fujimoto, this was the directorial debut of Jonathon Demme (both of them have collaborated on a number of films including Silence of the Lambs). Caged Heat's really odd, like an exploitation art film. You could see the enormous amount of care that went into it. Here and there some shots really stick out, like the iconic image of caged heat—a blazing electric bulb behind bars, or the beautifully lit claustrophobic solitary prison cell. It's almost like a trademark of Fujimoto's—an image will pop out at you and grab your attention. There was a shot like that in Silence of the Lambs—the smoky, backlit shot during Hannibal's escape scene. I always thought it was a bit too much, too arty for its own good. Interestingly, Demme has said that he never looks in the camera when Fujimoto shoots. He enjoys being surprised watching dailies. I also caught a bit of Beloved (Danny Glover) tonight to see how they handled some of the flashbacks. Interesting projection-on-the-wall spatial montage approach in one sequence done via CGI. Fujimoto's career spans a number of iconic films, everything from Deathrace 2000 and 2nd unit on Star Wars to Pretty in Pink, Gladiator and The Sixth Sense.