Today in film theory: A thoughtful critique of "Bayhem"

Michael Bay, love him or hate him, is an auteur, a director with a definitive and immediately recognizable style that overshadows every film he produces. Every moment of, say, Transformers or Armageddon is coated in Bay's fingerprints. His frenetic and explosive style has earned him an ignominious place in the film industry, but even more so than some acclaimed and successful directors, Bay's signature "Bayhem" is unmistakably his.

As befitting a director of such wide consumption and reputation, film analyst Tony Zhou has produced an eight-minute video dissecting how Michael Bay works. His sweeping camera shots, intense angles, and shaking intensity are no mistake; they find root in such classic films as Star Wars and West Side Story. Whatever you think of Bay's films, this video demonstrates that he is not a director who simply throws his movies together. His carnage is meticulous.

Michael Bay's only film in our collection is Pearl Harbor (HU DVD 752), which is featured throughout this video. It's not a terrific movie, but it's arguably a good example of how Bay operates.