Thank you all for an amazing two years! This is a collection of 17 essays from my first year, for those who either weren’t around for them, or who might want to revisit them in a higher quality format. Virtually every single piece of footage across every video has been replaced with superior source footage, bound now mainly just by YT’s unfortunate compression (though you should be able to trigger a higher bit rate by viewing the video in “4K” via the gear icon. CinemaStix is a 100% independent film essay channel run entirely by me. If you have the means, consider supporting me directly through Patreon: www.patreon.com/CinemaStix Thank you again, and cheers to another year.

@rowanlivengood

3 ай бұрын

First vid I saw was the one about silence of the lambs winning all them oscars

@erikthompson1072

3 ай бұрын

You posted on reddit asking for feedback. I remember navigating to your channel and being immediately blown away by the quality and depth. Your success is not surprising and well earned. Congrats! You have also made me take a second look at Vin Diesel, never thought that would happen.

@zoel4891

3 ай бұрын

I believe the first one I saw was "When you only cast non-actors in your movies..." - and then I proceeded to watch everything else!

@jakelyon2262

3 ай бұрын

KZread algorithm recommended a video of yours last year (I'm sorry I can't remember which one) and you are one of only three people I subscribed to last year, your videos are thought-provoking and break down cinema in a way that gives me brain tinglies. Please keep moving forward. ❤

@confused_lefty

3 ай бұрын

first video I saw was the batman one

These essays are quick to prove the fact that we have so much to learn about cinema and cinematic technicalities that go forth behind the scenes.

@Barbabonbon

3 ай бұрын

I will also write a meaningless descriptive comment as to boost the KZread algorithm

@_jacopo_7397

3 ай бұрын

And still most people says: "FiLm ScHoOl ArE uSeLesS"

@AwesometownUSA

3 ай бұрын

We have so much to learn?? Speak for yourself; I already _know_ all the cinematic technicalities that go forth behind the scenes :)

@Woodsaras

3 ай бұрын

What a fkng surprise, couch experts arent experts after all??

@Woodsaras

3 ай бұрын

​@@AwesometownUSAyou dont know sht

Only two years in?! These feel so essential to video culture, even though they're about cinema. Congratulations and thank you!

@CinemaStix

3 ай бұрын

Thank YOU for being here and sharing this milestone with me :) Here’s to another two, I hope. -Danny

Hayden was doing a Vader impression, he purposefully made certain lines awkward and lacking in emotion, he was trying to keep in line with the hole “never really learned how to feel properly” thing, Anakin only shows pure real unfiltered emotion rarely, such as learning the love of his life is pregnant, or when he screams I hate you at Obi won. I know this is going to sound cheesy but Hayden’s performance is what was asked of him.

@hundredfireify

3 ай бұрын

Then directorial choice made the performance poop. Doesn't remove from the fact that it was poop

@MalnourishedGoat

3 ай бұрын

I feel like that's a misstep by Hayden though. As the audience, it's an easy leap to assume that the restrictive suit Vader wears, the dependence upon a vocal modulator for speech, and the effect of experiencing great trauma combined with the effect that the dark side itself has on it possessor, could all very easily alter Anakin/Vader's psychological state, vocal patterns, inflection, etc. Trying to emulate Vader's vocal patterns and tone to provide some minor consistency between the two trilogies isn't nearly as important as creating an emotional bond between the character of Anakin and the moviegoing audience. But Hayden/Anakin's overall stiffness throughout the prequel trilogy really puts a giant roadblock between the character and the audience, preventing that connection from occurring. Which is a shame... because for Anakin/Vader's entire character arc to work to its fullest, we would have to really be fond of Anakin as a character. If we did have that fondness/connection, then his descent into evil, as well as his eventual redemption, would carry with it a much greater emotional impact. Watching Anakin turn to the dark side at the end of Revenge of the Sith didn't move me in the slightest. Instead, it seemed a merely perfunctory storybeat. In contrast, Jake Lloyd, despite all the bashing he received (despite doing a fine job, the brunt of his acting missteps only occurring in ADR), presents us with an Anakin full of life, emotion, joy and spirit. It would have made more sense for Hayden to emulate Lloyd's performance than James Earl Jones's. Jedi Anakin still has much more in common with boyhood Anakin than he does with Sith Vader.

@nearlydead7510

3 ай бұрын

doesn't change that he was the wrong guy to play a young Vader.

@slaphappybullet

3 ай бұрын

@@nearlydead7510doesn’t change that, that’s just your opinion.

@slaphappybullet

3 ай бұрын

@@MalnourishedGoat Jake Loyd unfortunately stopped acting because of how cruel people were to him because of Star Wars, in his life and from the media. He was later diagnosed with schizophrenia, and has had a hard life since. I’ve also seen videos of Hayden at a convention, where people were cheering endlessly for him. It made him so emotional, and it really got to me. I loved those movies, and I never understood the hate. But he received all that hate, and internalized it. Seeing him tear up at Star Wars fans who are actually happy to see him just….. puts it all into perspective. So keep criticizing strangers online about movies that are decades old to make yourself feel smart ❤

2 hours and 15 minutes of quality content. What a treat

Recently I purged my youtube account of hundreds of channels I had subscribed to. I had been addicted to youtube for years and I decided enough was finally enough. I only kept the 20 or so channels I knew I couldn't live without watching, and this is one of them. Thank you for what you do, I hope this is just the start of your long and celebrated youtube presence.

@raumerherr1057

3 ай бұрын

good luck

@Geordiecrafts

3 ай бұрын

Damn that's a big compliment! Well deserved though, I love these analysis videos

@sir_vix

3 ай бұрын

MINOR SPOILER ALERT FOR AHSOKA: It was quite startling how rich and nuanced Hayden's performance as Anakin was in his recent appearance in Ahsoka. I think he is overdue for a renaissance.

@HugoStiglitz88

3 ай бұрын

Probably a good idea tbh lol Though Internet Historian should also be one of the 20

@HugoStiglitz88

3 ай бұрын

​@@sir_vixhe was never a bad actor. The direction was bad. Even great actors like Natalie seemed terrible in the prequels.

It shocked me to see this channel is only two years old. I felt like I’ve been watching this videos for many years, but I guess that’s more about the impact they can have on me. So I guess all I can say now is thank you! Keep going with these, and I wish you all the best of luck, and hopefully many more years of these!

@CinemaStix

3 ай бұрын

Thank you for being a part of this community these past couple of years :) It’s been a wonderful experience for me; and hopefully many more indeed. -Danny

I liked your focus on the space between beats in the second clip. It reminds me of the principle of negative space in traditional art. What you leave blank or empty on the canvas is just as important as the colors and shapes you apply and contributes to the overall meaning of the piece.

@CinemaStix

3 ай бұрын

Totally! It’s such a simple concept, but takes such mastery to execute and execute well.

You made 2 hours feel like the normal run time of your videos. It’s amazing. Your look into cinema makes me appreciate it even more and makes me put more of an effort into looking into the art of film making

The Editing essay with the Godfather restaurant scene reminded me of the dvd commentary on Carlito's Way by Brian de Palma. IIRC, he said that the test audiences complained that the pool trick shot scene was too long. They wanted Pacino to just get on with it. Brian said that they were completely correct, and to fix the problem he made the scene much longer. This clarified the stakes, engaging the audience more and upping the tension.

@aleksisuuronen5969

3 ай бұрын

I'm not saying it's not smart but clearly the end goal is the tension and cutting it down would make it just a quick action sequence. So with what they had, that's really mainly their only choice with trying to cut it differently.. as they one way did but just ended up noticing it needs More time. Still it's a kinda funny fact how obvious but not obvious the solution is and points away from the test-audience 😅 (Just in general I think test-audiences are fine but studios do pay waaay too much attention on them. Because people who get's to see it becomes easily a bit overtly critical, you never know with such small group what reception some banger will get and sometimes it's just not the demographig etc.)(It's a good tool that shouldn't be taken Too seriously, there is some legit criticizes that the director can only see thru others eyes for being so inbedded in the project)

I have an 8x11 Darth Vader photo signed by David Prowse. He signed it: “David Prowse is Darth Vader”….lol. I was probably like 12 at the time and still the sentiment he was trying to get across was pretty clear to me. Also, I actually think both of them did a great job. Prowse’s big movements and sometimes even being a little stiff added to the inhumanity of the evil character. Also, I guess he couldn’t really turn his head naturally in the helmet, so that’s a factor too. Either way I still love every bit of the character

Wow. The CinemaStix logo wipe at 25:16 is insane. Had to replay it multiple times, amazing editing style bro.

@CinemaStix

3 ай бұрын

:)

Without James E. Jones’s iconic and menacing voice performance Star Wars would have been a joke. The campy movie everyone, except George Lukas, thought they were originally making. That one change elevated the picture to the masterpiece that it is.

@dasamont8274

3 ай бұрын

The original voice fits the vibe of Space Balls, instead of the space opera that is Star Wars

@diegomo1413

3 ай бұрын

I still think it’s an incredibly campy movie

Happy 2 years man. I'll always appreciate your love of cinema.

@CinemaStix

3 ай бұрын

Two whole years. Finally learning to walk.

I dropped out of college (majoring in film) because of essays like this. I loved being in school but I realized the best thing it was good for was access to people and resources. I’ve learned so much from watching breakdowns like these and i’m saving a lot more money that I can use for projects. Proud student of youtube university 🏅

@jnnx

3 ай бұрын

You dropped out of college, because of KZread essays? I think you kind of missed the point of college.

@thepeanutbuttershow6005

3 ай бұрын

@@jnnx i think you missed the point of my comment, i finished my generals and got an associates degree but when i started film school i realized i didn’t need to spend the money on it when there’s resources online that do just as well

It’s like a day-long buffet of top-drawer room service being delivered at Hotel Cinema. Of course I quickly sampled the appetizer (the overture) and the dessert (the postlude), which were both fabulous, and I look forward to enjoying all 8 courses (movements) throughout the day. Thanks for your great work (and for allowing me to mix your metaphors). Cheers to your first two years! 🥂

@CinemaStix

3 ай бұрын

Hehe. Love everything about this comment. Hotel Cinema would’ve made a good channel name.

@Ezio999Auditore

3 ай бұрын

Damn dude just say you’re gay. Cringe

You've turned into a pretty good successor to Every Frame A Painting.

@dielaughing73

Ай бұрын

(RIP)

Omg every time the music draws up at the end of each segment I need a spotify playlist more and more.

@benaskrensintellect332

3 ай бұрын

foreal bro what's the song at 16:44??

Congrats on two years!! One of the best edited and written film video essays on the youtubes! (the writing is superb but my goodness the editing!!) Cheers to two more years everyone!

I've watched so many wonderful movies because of your channel and for that I can't thank you enough. Looking forward for more. Cheers, man.

Congratulations on two years! Thank you for your amazing essays.

Over a decade ago I stumbled across my first experience of really excellent film analysis. It was something along the lines of the Zen of Michael Mann in three parts. Sadly the site it was on is long defunct. A decade later I found Every Frame A Painting and knew I’d discovered something special. Sadly that too ceased creating new material some time ago now. I mean no offense to other creators but the space has become dominated by mediocre material and lipstick applied to pre existing material. Then 18 months ago I stumbled on your videos. You’ve rekindled my love for the space and the material you are creating consistently fills me with joy and the desire to explore and express my own creativity. Thank you. And congratulations on your anniversary.

I love watching your videos. They are just perfectly edited, written, and the score is always fits. Great job!

This channel is simply amazing. Thank you for all of this great content 🙏

Congrats on 2 years making brilliant content. All the best for the future.

Just, Thank you, so much, for your high quality content, love and appreciation for the art of cinema x

Happy birthday cinemastix!! Thanks for the consistent quality and deep insight❤your videos are truly amazing and we love you

Thank you for your illuminating insight and analysis. Your love for cinema and storytelling is contagious and truly appreciated by your audience and community.

Thank you so much for your content, it’s always a pleasure to watch

Your channel feels as much like art as the work you cover. Its always enjoyable. Keep doing it your way.

Feels like I've been watching these forever but that's probably because you've hit a sweet spot of the reaction, review, and editorial content that I've been watching for years. Thank you for all the effort you put into your videos and congrats on working your way into the algorithm. (I normally say congrats on hitting the algorithm to youtubers I've been following that are starting to get huge but I can tell you worked hard for this.) Looking forward to all your future content! :)

This is a great watch. Thanks for putting this together.

Thanks for these fantastic videos Danny!

@CinemaStix

3 ай бұрын

Thank you for being here and for watching them!

Thanks for making these, they are well crafted, insightful and entertaining.

You have compelled me officially a bunch of times to watch movies, love your vids and love what you do

Thanks for taking the time for this labor of love, artistry, and perfectionism. As long as you didn't add any dewbacks, all else is forgiven.

I watch a lot of long video essays but never have I clicked on one as long as 2 hours 15 on as weak of a hook as "when the person does the thing". I can't wait

@CinemaStix

3 ай бұрын

:)

Constant love and quality for 2 years, for more years to come!

Wonderful work, I love watching your video essays

danny, you are a truly devoted, massively influential, and essential part of film critique on youtube and worldwide. the videos you make have been about diverse topics and beautiful perceptions of film that i had previously recognized in my own private viewing world, but i never vocalized or openly shared them in the way you do. sir, please continue your amazing work. also, i would very much enjoy having you on my podcast. i’m just getting started, but it would be a pleasure to converse with someone who sees film similar to some ways that i always have. thank you. if you’re unable to join me for an hour or two (over video chat or whatever you prefer), then just take the compliment - you are helping generations of moviegoers see movies in different ways. helping them (and me) to learn how filmmakers deliberately choose editorial/visual/auditory devices that elevate their story. ❤

I’m 37 this year and grew up with many of these films. This is both a nostalgic experience and falling in love with them all over again. Thank you for these essays and congrats on 2 years!

@CinemaStix

3 ай бұрын

:D

I love seeing the growth of your channel and content. I get most excited when I see content from you and Studio Binder in my timeline - and considering they have a whole company behind their production, makes what you do even more impressive.

2 hours ? boy i know today is gonna be a good day if i can start it with 2h of CinemaStix

@CinemaStix

3 ай бұрын

:)

Love your videos. This was a lovely surprise.

Whenever I watch your videos, I can't help but feel I'm going to see these on TCM in a manner of time. You're brilliant in the way you dissect and construct. Bravo. 👏🎬

Killing it with these videos. A++

Excellent work. I could not help but to be captivated

Thank you for all your effort and knowledge and magnanimity

I love this! We need more like them.

Dude, please keep doing what you do. In my eyes you are the foremost titan when it comes to cinema and film-related content on the platform right now. 2 years? Better make that 20! :)

commenting before i even start the video cuz never did i expect a 2hour long video, amazing. i see now why the claims and delay happened(unfortunately). so grateful for your videos/channel.

This channel is so integral to my youtube experience that there being only 2 years since its inception is absurd to me. I have decade+ long youtube subscriptions that this channel *feels* like its part of.

Such a killer first essay - solid method right out of the gate

Danny, I’ll admit, I was disappointed when you said it would be one long super cut. And sure enough it ended up being 2 1/2 hours. I assumed I’d see a few chapters, then it would get lost in all of the other videos I never got around to seeing or finishing. 10 days later I hear the final, “This has been CinemaStix” and it was worth coming back each day to watch a couple of chapters. And to top it off with Empire Strikes Back was the chef’s kiss and a bit tear inducing too. Thank You. It was worth it❣️

Hey Danny - I have found your perspective, insight, analyzation, subtle and clean approach, and your production quality and presentation to be absolutely top notch. Please don’t lose that. You don’t come across someone who’s really got a gift like this too often. I would very much like to see what you could with a full production of a movie. Also, side note - any chance you would share where you got the ambient synch music used in your video (the section in here as well) for The Batman? I love cinematic music, and something like that is just perfection. Cheers man. Love what you do.

Love this -- nothing touches me more as a person than when I see human greatness achieved, be it in an art form, a sport-- you get it. Sometimes I feel surrounded by people who don't quite see that kind of thing the way that I do. After walking out of Spider-man 2, for example, I was like... "That was the coolest Doctor Octopus will ever be, and I don't even know that actor's name! What a great thing they just did!" And I'm not sure that everyone around me felt quite the same thing. This kind of video is affirmation that my senses were on point and that in fact I wasn't just wowed by something shiny, but that I did see something special there. When it comes to cinema, there are those unmistakable moments where either a person or a production is firing on all cylinders, when things are set up and then allowed (or forced!) to come together in this savory, satisfactory, moving moment that will never be forgotten. This is a nice compilation-- but only a slice-- of those moments. Thanks for putting it out there.

When the person does the thing... this I gotta see!!

This is excellent! Thank you!

Thank you so much for your content

Watching your content helps me feel a passion for cinema the same way TotallyNotMark’s channel reinterpreted all of Dragonball Z for me, by using it to demonstrate the mechanics of character arcs and how characterization works. Thank you so much for sharing.

hi, really love your channel and really happy to see this celebration of it's content. i particularlly liked the one about baby driver so i would love to see an essay centered around costume design and my recommendation in that field is 'dangerous liaisons'

I've always seen CinemaStix as "Every frame a Painting's sequel"

I love Jones as the voice of Darth Vader, but what always struck me about Vader was how he would act when things went wrong, when heroes escaped he never screamed or raged, he just stared forward for a bit and then turned around and walked off. You could sense the inner monologue going on in his head, but never knew what he was thinking, I always thought that was cool for a villain. That's pretty hard to get across without speaking and wearing a mask.

In the very best way possible, I am falling to sleep to this. I love your content! (Also awake)

Just want to say thank you! I always enjoy and look forward to your videos.

This video is phenomenal!

@CinemaStix

3 ай бұрын

You’re phenomenal.

Your content is amazing.

What makes film so special is something Quentin Tarantino said if you love cinema with all your heart, you can't help but make a good movie. Films can make us personal for wanting more or wanting less so it's perfect. The inspirations are so clear from many directors as Quentin Tarantino is a film geek to Christopher Nolan being inspired by Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey. My favorite films that made film so special are Napoleon Dynamite, Twister, Baby Driver, The Batman, and many more. This is what's helping keep film alive.

@Finn959

3 ай бұрын

Have you watched non Hollywood films?

I love this because I get a break down but also some new movies to watch haha

Why yes Danny, I do remember. I had just watched tennet and was scrolling around because I had to know more about this awesome film I had just seen. I stumbled upon “when your protagonist has no name” (still probably my favorite video you’ve put out to date) been hooked on your videos ever since. There’s a lot of film analysis channels out there but you’ve always brought some new perspective or spin. Congrats on 2 years, man! Keep that shit coming.

Love your channel.

I left this video with a huge list of movies to rewatch, thanks

@CinemaStix

3 ай бұрын

Hehe. It’s what I’m here for :)

This was really good.

Chloe Zhao's approach to filmmaking is so fascinating. Thank you for covering her work

Absolute masterpiece. Well worth waiting another day for. You're the first person to show the trinity of It Happened One Night One Flew Over The Cookoo Nest And The Silence Of The Lambs Ive been banging on about them for yonks. Thank you. I was starting to believe i was making it up. The scene in Rocky that kills me is the one where he kicks his old trainer out and then runs after him. Bahhhhh man. It gets me just thinking about it. I always thought True Romance was a perfect film. Very cool Gary Oldman cameo and uncredited Samuel L Jackson and a quote i use almost daily. (Though a little bastardised) 'Its better to have a Gun and not need it than need one and not have it" Francis Dormand should be sainted. The Rider is just incredibly underrated and scalp shreddingly raw. 👏👏👏👏 Why do English make the best American Baddies? Alfred Molina was in a film made in Liverpool UK (My home town) called 'A Letter To Bresnev' He played a Russian Sailor who's only English line of script was "Chicken" They filmed parts of 'The Batman' here too. At the Pier Head, which is a two minute drive from the dock scene from the beginning of 'Captain America'. What youve done here should be on the School curriculum. It's beautiful mate. Year 2 is something to look forward to. You did 'Unbreakable'. Wow. I have a real soft spot for Shyamalan. Though my Artsy friends will shout me down, i have 'Signs' down as one of my top 3 films. Well realistically theres 3 best films...maybe 5. Theres about 10 in my top 3. 30 in the top 10. Ahh mate. What you've done here is incredible. It's so rare to watch something that i have no disagreement with. Thank you. Nice one Danny.

Based on the title and the thumbnail I thought I was coming in here to see a 2 hour video of movies where an actor says the name of the movie in the movie.

There are few channels that I have watched almost everything from, this is one of them I seriously enjoy your content. Other channels I've binged the daylights out of, maybe check some of them out?: Sideways (Musicals and movie music), Caryn & Connie (sims 4 building) & Media processing (film analysis, Mamma Mia insanity). Most of which I've watched video several times!

Best KZread title ever

Wow! time goes so fast HAHA! Congrats!

Great piece. Love the length also. I did love Christiensen as young Vader, he did an amazing job in both studying a new character and bringing in what has been so iconic, I don't get all the hate. But in any case, a classic is a classic and there's a reason for that!

Happy 2 years and 440k subs!

@CinemaStix

3 ай бұрын

Thank you!

Long may it continue, Danny!

I legit want a playlist of all the background music in these videos.

Love that last line from Harrison Ford. Sometimes you just gotta play it cool.

love you mr stix

I quite love the “casting” chapter.

"I think of my part in this movie, as Norman Osborne First.". Wilem Dafoe This is the reason why His Goblin is Iconic, and it is also why Christopher Reeves continues to be the best Superman. Reeves wasn't playing Superman, Reeves was playing nerdy, insecure milk-toast Clark Kent, cosplaying as Superman. His dorkyness even shows through in moments where he is Superman "I hope this mishap hasn't soured your opinion of flying, it is still, statistically the safest way to Travel". That's the Dorky Clark Kent showing through.

I love your videos

God I love this channel

“Take Five” goes with everything 👍🏽👍🏽

lets go man!!!!

U might be the best to ever do it

holy! this was a surprise

The Lighthouse was *so* good. Truly artistic & *that's* what we should *expect* from film. Although i know if they were *all* great, they wouldn't be as special, but i still HAATE 99.9% of everything released.

Honestly the more I watch Dr. Oc’s limbs moving around and having practical uses, the more I think it could be a possible solution to paralysis victims

The safdie brothers are amazing film makers. Everyone of their films ive enjoyed, to the point it makes you think long after the film.

i clicked on this video high to wash dishes and thought it was a 15 min video and i was so confused why he kept saying goodbye and then i checked the description -_-

I thought i was having crazy deja vu in the first minute of watching this bc I was like “haven’t I’ve seen this EXACT video before, but it was only uploaded 13 days ago!?” But saw the pinned comment lol😆 awesome videos!!🖤

i started watching this video assuming it was a 10 minute piece on James Earl Jones' vader. Then the video didn't stop. BROO. I hope you never feel burnout and get paid well these videos that are long fuel days when all I wanna do is hid away from College work and eat (drink?) hot soup!

This was a feel good movie on its own. Thank you 🤍🤍🤍