Dear Readers,
As many of you undoubtedly know, a deep focus in filmmaking creates a large depth of field by presenting the fore, middle, and background of the image in sharp clarity.
When I launched Deep Focus Review (DFR) in 2007, I set out to do something similar when writing about movies. In addition to a textual analysis of what appears onscreen, nearly every review or appreciation on DFR will contain some extratextual consideration of a movie’s production, its makers, or its relevant place in culture or history.
Some would argue that this approach is counterintuitive to watching a movie—that movies should be watched for nothing else besides what we see before us. However, another philosophy, one I subscribe to, considers movies, and indeed all art, to be multi-textual. Factors such as technique, artistic intent, box-office performance, the auteur theory, or the culture in which the movie was made can inform a reading, layering it from beyond the screen.
Through DFR’s reviews and essays, I hope to stimulate critical thinking about films and foster an increased appreciation for the art form in general. My objective is to enable readers to think about movies as something more than just entertainment. To be sure, all movies, whether they are high or low examples of the art, are also texts for aesthetics, history, politics, culture, and multiple other disciplines.
To properly analyze and thoroughly write about a movie, I sometimes engage in spoilers. My reviews are intended to meet at the intersection of the traditional movie review and critical analysis. I am interested in more than just a star rating or a recommendation, and for that reason, I will often discuss films in detail. When I discuss the particulars in a new release review, you will be forewarned if I reference a plot twist. Elsewhere, The Definitives column regularly summarizes the complete story in detail, as those critical essays contain more comprehensive analyses of well-established films.
My objective goes beyond providing a recommendation; I hope to enhance your viewing experience. If someone discovers a great film because I have written about it, I have done my job. If a budding movie fan visits DFR and starts to look at cinema from new and varied perspectives, then I have done my job. If a longtime cinéphile reads a critical essay in The Definitives about one of their favorite films, and it helps them see the movie from a new perspective, I have done my job.
These are not modest ambitions for an independent film critic and film historian, I realize. And admittedly, I sometimes fail to reach these lofty motivations when writing a review. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy DFR and, after visiting, find that you think more about movies and feel more engaged in your moviegoing experiences.
Thank you for your readership, and happy viewing!
Brian Eggert
Critic, Essayist, Founder
brian@deepfocusreview.com
Brenda Harvieux
Editor
Brian is a Tomatometer-Approved Critic and belongs to the Society For Cinema and Media Studies, Minnesota Film Critics Association, Online Film & Television Association, International Film Society Critics, The Critics Circle, Independent Film Critics of America, National Coalition of Independent Scholars, and the Large Association of Movie Blogs. He is also an occasional programmer and regularly appears on the NBC affiliate in the Twin Cities, KARE 11, to review and talk about movies.
A lifelong cinéphile, he earned his BA in 2006 from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, where he studied Art History, Studies in Cinema & Media Culture, and Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature. Brian received a Master’s degree in Film Studies from Tiffin University, where he was the 2018 winner of the Award of Excellence in Graduate
