Thor Cinematographer Reveals the Reasoning Behind a Key Creative Decision
Thor cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos breaks down the driving factors behind a creative decision which informed the MCU film’s visual style.
Thor Cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos has revealed why the God of Thunder's debut MCU film uses so many Dutch angle shots, where the camera is at a slant.
While speaking with The Direct, Zambarloukos admitted that choosing to so heavily use Dutch angle shots throughout 2011's Thor “was a hard decision to make." He then began to unpack the nuance of Thor's tilted frames: "But it seemed to be a very simple way of showing kind of the difference between dissonance and harmony in a character or a landscape, and without much, and it seemed to work in that graphic world that the comic books had come from. And it also seemed to trace back to the German expressionist idea of delving deep into the soul and into the psyche."
Zambarloukos also drew a connection to Thor's original roots. "And Thor is a kind of mythological, modern-day interpretation of mythology. And mythology has always delved into the human condition and the human psyche," he noted. "And it's dissonant, and it goes back to creating and earning a kind of harmony or dissonance."
"So that play when you use it, and when you don't, I think, is a very useful and interesting tool," the cinematographer added. Zambarloukos went on to talk about the personal significance of the Dutch angle technique to him. "I think we've never used it - we've never used it as much with [Kenneth Branagh] as we had in Thor. But it always comes back to us. We always feel like there's a certain moment in some films that we need to - it has its place.”
Thor's MCU Journey
Directed by Kenneth Branagh, Thor delves into the titular Asgardian's origin story. After being banished from Asgard by his father Odin, Thor adjusts to a new life on Earth, developing a strong connection with scientist Jane Foster. But before long, Thor finds out about Loki's sinister conspiracy to take over Asgard and learns the lesson of humility, as he becomes worthy of wielding the hammer, Mjolnir.
Looking ahead, Thor actor Chris Hemsworth has expressed uncertainty about when he will be reprising his role in the MCU. "I've got to be careful how I word that because I have no idea what's happening in the next phase," he revealed. "There's always conversations [...] But officially, I don't know."
"I don't want to continue to do it until people are so exhausted that they roll their eyes when they see me come on the screen as that character," Hemsworth noted. He emphasized the importance of taking Thor into the next stage of his evolution for any future appearances. He said, "I've loved being able to reinvent that character a few times. I don't have the answer yet, but I would love to try and [figure out] how we can do that again and keep it a little unpredictable."
All of the MCU's Thor movies are available to stream on Disney+.