Editors note: Deadline presents the 22nd episode of its video series in which Pete Hammond and Todd McCarthy tackle the artistry of films. Each has reviewed and written about the craft for decades and built a remarkable breadth of knowledge of films past and present. What we hoped for when we asked them to do this was a concise, mature and thoughtful conversation comparable to what we saw from Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel.
Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP
On Saturday the Cannes Film Festival’s 75th Anniversary edition came to a close with the Official Competition Jury’s awards handed out on stage at the Grand Theatre Lumiere. Following their first joint video report from Cannes on Tuesday where Chief Film Critic and Awards Columnist Pete Hammond and Deadline Film Critic Todd McCarthy gave their analysis of the best and worst of this Diamond anniversary edition of the world’s most famous film festival at the half way point, now the pair now wrap it all up with an indepth discussion of the winning films and the end of what both think overall was a very good selection of movies, but not without some head scratchers. Did Triangle Of Sadness deserve the Palme d’Or, the second Palme for director Ruben Ostlund. Hammond says yes, and find out why he’s so happy about Close one of the two movies that tied for the Grand Prix (second place) and why you may be hearing about both it and Triangle Of Sadness come Oscar time? Did French icon Claire Denis really deserve tying for that same Grand Prix for Stars At Noon? McCarthy says a definitive NO. Find out why, and what snubbed films they both think got robbed as they give you the final word on this year’s Cannes in a joint video with McCarthy coming directly from Cannes and Hammond still jet lagged and back in Los Angeles.
To watch our conversation, click on the video above. And below you can catch up on Part 1 from earlier in the week.
Hammond has been Deadline’s Awards Columnist for the past decade, covering what now seemingly is the year-round Oscar and Emmy seasons. He is also Deadline’s Chief Film Critic, having previously reviewed films for MovieLine, Boxoffice magazine, Backstage, Hollywood.com and Maxim, as well as Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide, for which he was a contributing editor. In addition to writing, Hammond also hosts KCET Cinema Series and the station’s weekly series Must See Movies.
McCarthy is a veteran trade publication film critic, columnist and reporter who has also written several acclaimed books and documentary films. He served two stints on the staffs of Variety and The Hollywood Reporter and extensively covered film festivals internationally for both publications. His film Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography won the best documentary prizes from the New York Film Critics and National Society of Film Critics associations, and he won an Emmy for writing the documentary Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer. He also directed the documentaries Man of Cinema: Pierre Rissient and Forever Hollywood.
Part I of Live From Cannes Two Shot with Pete Hammond and Todd McCarthy here:
Live From Cannes Part I: The Best And Worst Movies So Far At The World’s Most Famous Film Festival