(flicker)
(flicker)
(flicker)
(flicker)
(flicker, this whole sequence looks like tony conrad shot it)
(looks like cassavetes)
(flicker)
john cassavetes: the killing of a chinese bookie, 1976 (long version)cinematography: john cassavetes, al ruban, mitch breit, frederick elmes
these are abstractions from the killing of a chinese bookie, purely from the lens/camera.
i found from doing this entry; to understand a film's visual composition, it helps to watch it silent.
i recommend right-clicking the images to get them big (so the page doesn't have to reload each time). many of the details are to difficult to see small.
(this entry is dedicated to jeremy blake)
10 comments:
i actually cranked the cd: "jgrzinich/mnortham: the absurd evidence" while looking for the light abstractions, this certainly hightened them.
Amazing post!
Beautiful post and such an amazing film! There are some beautiful sequences of flares and flickers in Lovestreams, as I remember (nightclub as well)... I like the idea of watching these without the dialogue, M...
thank you both,
without the dialogue and sound, it is a different movie.
esp. when you watch it on an analytical projector (my computer!)
When I'm really diving into a film, I always watch it at least once without sound. It frequently opens up a whole new set of details and a deeper intuition of editing, composition, and lighting, among other things.
I've never just listened to a film, though; I wonder if, for some films, that might be equally illuminating.
I agree that this post is spectacular. I love how these stills bring out the visuality of the film in a way that sometimes gets lost when viewing the frames 24 per second (or the 3:2 pulldown approximation thereof).
Just to echo what's already been written here, this is an extraordinary post. And your comments remind me of a friend of mine who told me that he was encouraged to watch films without sound once in a production course, when the class was studying editing. It reminds me of a similar technique that the film-sound theorist Michel Chion recommends (only for sound)--experiencing a film with one's eyes closed.
thank you both for the comments.
i am glad i am not the only one to look at films silent. i do put on movies and just listen. headphones also reveal many subtleties.
the complexities in the cinematography are just staggering here. as advanced as cassavetes was as a story teller, director and actor, the formal elements of his films are revolutionary as well. this film seems to be the one where he really pulled out all the stops.
i love the way he blends abstraction with good old fashioned classic film-making.
here is another nice flare study
great post, revealing of the richness I've always seen in the film.
Always one of my favorites.
Just found your blog...and I have been enjoying it immensely.
So, thank you.
Watching films silently is a hobby of mine as well. Also, watching them with alternate soundtrack.
it is a great film, this flare study really helped me get a better feel for it as well, it sure gets better each time.
thanks alot for looking.
matthew
This is one of the most beautiful films ever shot. Thank you for sequencing these frames. It perhaps intensifies the film's power.
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