PRESS
Palm Royale Episode 8
“And the season’s eighth episode, titled “Maxine Saves the Whale,” is truly the best of the bunch. Featuring an incredible performance between star Allison Janney and a hilariously unexpected scene partner alongside the usual heartfelt and soapy antics, this episode is not one to miss.” - To read the article visit pastemagazine.com
The Americans Season Premiere Recap: Don’t Dream It’s Over
Nothing is said in the remarkable pre-credits montage that opens this episode, but it’s immediately clear that the dissolution of their working relationship has, to paraphrase the Crowded House song that’s played over the sequence, built a wall between them… The song selection on The Americans has always been excellent, but “Dead Hand” is a standout. - To read the article visit vulture.com
The Americans’ final season begins with the realization of its greatest fear.
The show conveys the terror and the severity of the situation through three Americans signatures: ’80s pop, subtitled Russian, and the slow burn. It’s a sterling partnership of acting, direction, and picture and sound editing.... In terms of mood, tapping into the themes of the moment and the series overall, and telling the emotional story of a major turning point in Elizabeth’s narrative, this is one of the most effective uses of music in The Americans’ history. And that’s saying a lot considering how skillfully this show uses music. - To read the article visit the avclub.com
How The Americans Orchestrated This Season’s Key Interrogation Scene.
“Amanda has been editing ‘The Americans’ for a while. She’s also responsible for ‘Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep,’ the other episode this one’s been compared to. She is so thoughtful in her editing technique, looking for the truth in expression, down to the eyebrow twitches. Just very deliberate in cutting around melodrama and finding truly poignant dramatic moments. ‘The Americans’ is a show that works with very thoughtful restraint as a guiding principle. If it doesn’t need music, don’t put it there. If it doesn’t need quick cuts, stay on the image, stay on the character, don’t cut away. I think it’s a show that forces you to sit with complicated ideas, and I give a lot of credit to the [editing] for really asking you to look carefully and feel fully what’s going on.” To read the article visit variety.com.
How to make great TV as explained by FX spy drama,
The Americans.
Weisberg and Fields talked at length about how they're consistently surprised and impressed by the first cut they receive. It's almost always different from what they expected — and often better. "I'm surprised at the degree to which problems can be fixed and solutions found in editing," said Weisberg. "If a scene's not funny, you can make it funny with little snips and cuts. You can change the rhythm. You can change the tone." As one of three editors on The Americans, Pollack was tasked with editing four episodes of season four, including "Clark's Place." With the script at her side, she whittles down anywhere from 20 to 30 hours of footage, working off notes from the director and script supervisor on which takes they thought were best, but also her own instincts and judgment on how the rhythms of the scene should play out. Some scenes are a matter of just getting the structure right, like the assembly of those abbreviated shots and moments that go into making an action sequence flow. Longer, more dialogue-heavy scenes take a little more emotional consideration. "I try to get an idea of what the scene is about," Pollack said. "And not just what they're saying — what's really going on." Once the episode is stitched together, the editor starts layering in the visual and sound effects, in collaboration with the sound and visual effects artists. Said Pollack, "The best visual effects you don't notice."... To read the article visit vox.com.
THE AMERICANS: "PASTOR TIM" REVIEW
"Let me cut to the chase and talk about that amazing bus scene. What an expertly crafted sequence, with “Tainted Love” now given an extra-ominous vibe, as Philip killed some poor security guy who was in the wrong place..." to read the article visit IGN.com
Americans values:
Spy, lie, die, destroy everything else on TV
While the narrative twists and turns with every new revelation and compounded lie, the series’ phenomenal visual schema remains remarkably consistent. Simply put, The Americans is one of the very best directed, photographed, and edited shows on television"... to read the article visit avclub.com
The Americans - 'Open House'
Season 3 - Episode 3
It helps that the [tooth] extraction scene comes after an emotional ordeal for both spouses, after Elizabeth barely escapes a combined FBI/CIA tail on her car. We're still very early in the season, and she's almost gotten caught twice already, which makes their position feel even more precarious than it was a season ago, when she was walking wounded and he was killing innocent bystanders left and right. That sequence is marvelously edited..." To read the article visit Hitfix.com
Lights Out - 'The Shot'
Season 1 - Episode 3
"The high point of the episode is the last act — the finest 12 minutes I’ve seen on TV in years, and about as strong an illustration of the power of cross-cutting as you’ll ever see. Every minute, every second, every frame is held as long as it should be and not a moment longer; the filmmakers and actors attain an economy of gesture that’s truly transporting. What’s on-screen at first seems plain, simple, even corny. But if you watch it all again, you start to grasp the intricacies of its construction, and see how one shot or moment mirrors or intensifies another..." To read the article visit Salon.com