Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
ANIMALS
Walt Whitman, from Song of Myself
Walt Whitman, from Song of Myself
I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contain’d;
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition;
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins;
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God;
Not one is dissatisfied—not one is demented with the mania of owning things;
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago;
Not one is respectable or industrious over the whole earth.
So they show their relations to me and I accept them,
They bring me tokens of myself. . . .
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Edit Sample #17 (BEN-HUR)
BEN-HUR
IN THIS SCENE from Ben-Hur (William Wyler, 1959), Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston), a captive, is parched but not allowed water by the Roman soldiers (go here). He cries out, "God help me," and Jesus appears to give him water. A Roman soldier, unaware who Jesus is, warns him away, but a puzzled look appears in the soldier's face; he sees authority in Jesus beyond his own worldly understanding. Jesus rises up into the frame, now facing the soldier, who faces us. A cut shows the soldier's puzzled look. Defeated, the soldier turns away, now in weak position. The sound, at this moment, of a horse's neigh seems to mock the soldier's stupidity (they're both animals).
Jesus returns to Ben-Hur, who, previously looking down, is now looking up, at Jesus. Then he stands up and faces Jesus as equals ("face to face"). Jesus has restored this man's human dignity.
As Ben-Hur rejoins the other captives, he turns back to look at Jesus. Turning back creates a tension within the composition between the faces following orders and looking ahead and the single face following Jesus in the other direction. Ben-Hur is no longer a captive of Rome, but a free man of Christ.
The blue sky now dominates the frame behind Ben-Hur. The man whose face had been on the ground has been liberated by the Spirit. The blue sky represents Ben-Hur's open future, his spiritual freedom.
Consider also Miklos Rozsa's Oscar-winning score, one of the great epic scores. There are several themes woven into this brief sequence. Noteworthy is the "sostenuto" (slowly bowed) string theme that is scored for Jesus throughout the film and the five-note phrase identified with Ben-Hur, loudly sounded by the brass at the end of the sequence.
A clever device of the film was never to show Jesus' face, just his back, as in the introductory part of this segment, an example of studied framing within the shot. Though Jesus is in weak position (right), the strong vertical of his upright posture and his foreground position within the shot dominates the frame, while the powerful Roman soldiers, seen from his point-of-view and also in weak position, seem like toys (above right). In fact, the soldier on horseback is exactly vertical to Jesus' hand, as in the Spiritual, "He's got the whole world in his hand."
To view this segment, go here.
FILM, May 2008: The Sequence Shot and Subtext in Rope: Edit Sample #16
Rope: An Unedited Film
ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S Rope (1948) is famous for being the only unedited film commercial film ever made. With the exception of the opening cut there are no other cuts in the film*. Since film magazines hold only ten minutes of film, Hitchcock had to periodically stop the camera on a solid color to make the cut invisible. Because there are no cuts, Hitchcock could not use the resources of intercutting on dialogue, parallel editing, cuts on scale, action, etc. Instead, he had to use camera movement (dolly and pan shots), constant reframings, elaborate blocking, and off-screen sound to mark important moments in the film. He does this brilliantly, making this one of his greatest films.
This film is also a classic study in subtext, because the two young killers are coded as homosexual, but neither the word nor the idea was acceptable to Hollywood censorship codes of the time. So the relationship between the two killers was disguised in a subtext of dialogue, actions, and even set design.
For example, the phone in the bedroom suggests the two men use the phone while in bed. The woman remarks, "How cosy!" when she's told of the phone in the bedroom. The dominant-submissive relationship between the two killers suggests a homosexual male-female relationship.
Besides the absence of editing, in this segment note the brilliant use of a point-of-view camera as the teacher, Rupert (James Stewart), explains how he would have killed the dead boy, David. In the process, the POV shot makes him assume responsibility for a murder he himself was partly responsible for in his cynical teaching of Nietzsche's superman concept.
To view this film segment, click here. A study picture is attached.
*NOTE: There is dispute over how many many cuts are in the film and how many were invisiblly matched on a solid color. The segment here has one cut, after Rupert explains how he would have murdered David; but that cut may be from a television edit to allow a break for a commercial. It has been traditionally assumed there were no visible cuts in the film. Regardless, Rope is the only feature film constructed mainly of sequence shots. (A sequence shot is a lengthy shot with elaborate camera movement and complex blocking or movement of actors within the frame.)
FILM, May 2008: Sound in film (Edit sample #17): THE PUBLIC ENEMY
SOUND IN FILM:
"I'M FOREVER BLOWING BUBBLES"
and Public Enemy
THE SONG, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" was featured in The Public Enemy. The main chorus of the song can be heard here. "I'M FOREVER BLOWING BUBBLES"
and Public Enemy
As we study film editing and sound, notice how the source music (music from within the story) reflects the theme of the film as a whole, especially at the key moment at film's end when the public enemy's dreams, which once did "fly so high," now "fade and die" (check lyrics below).
Usually in a film the entire sound mix (including sound effects, natural sounds, source music, and score music) is keyed to the film's subject and theme. This is true even if only the melody of a song is played, because the viewer is expected to know the lyrics and fit them to the film's theme.
For example, just the melody of "Silent Night" will evoke religious feelings in a viewer based on the known lyric; while the melody from the famous church chant, "Dies Irae" ("Day of Wrath") instantly evokes the thought of death in a viewer. That's why it's used often in movies, as in the death scene in Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941). Check its use in the credit sequence of The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980) here. To hear the original church chant, click here.
I'M FOREVER BLOWING BUBBLES
CHORUS: I'm forever blowing bubbles, Pretty bubbles in the air, They fly so high, nearly reach the sky, Then like my dreams they fade and die. Fortune's always hiding, I've looked everywhere, I'm forever blowing bubbles, Pretty bubbles in the air. Film: May 2008: Sample Edit #15 (PARADISE, HAWAIIAN STYLE)
PARADISE, HAWAIIAN STYLE
IN THIS CLEVER sequence from an Elvis Presley movie, Paradise, Hawaiian Style (Michael D. Moore, 1966), the editor creates a freeze (stop) frame each time Presley sings "stop" or "freeze," just as the music stops on those words. (There seems to be another, nearly unnoticeable, freeze frame when Elvis sees one of his girlfriends (see picture left).
It's another example of deciding the editor's contribution: was this the editor's idea? was it written into the script? or was the song written specifically for this purpose?
For the sequence itself, the viewer will notice the editing rhythm slows down once the song and dance begins: the sequence begins on quick cuts to Elvis' girlfriends but the shots are longer for the song and dance. There's also an important cut just closer to Elvis just before he sings the words, "Don't come any closer."
To view this brief clip, go here. The lyrics are below, with each "stop" and "freeze" word highlighted. Notice the stops increase near the end of the song, to intensify the pattern.
STOP WHERE YOU ARE
Stop where you are Don't move an inch Don't come any closer now baby You'll be in a pinch Don't start what you can't finish I warn you what's in store If it's love you're looking to get You're gonna get what you're looking for Stop where you are You'd better freeze Don't pull the fire now baby Don't be a tease Don't start what you can't finish I told you once before If it's love you're looking to get You're gonna get what you're looking for. Don't you know, you're walking on dangerous ground Listen babe when I make love I just don't fool around, no I don't I just don't play around Stop where you are Just take it slow Once I put my hands on you baby I won't let you go Don't start what you can't finish One kiss and I want more If it's love you're looking to get You're gonna get what you're looking for Stop where you are Don't move an inch Stop where you are You're gonna be in a pinch Stop where you are You're gonna get what you're looking for.Film, May 2008: Edit clip #14 (BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID)
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID
TO STUDY THIS montage sequence from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969), view this clip here. A study picture is attached.Film, May 2008: Edit and Sound Sample #13 (BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S)
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S
VIEWING THIS CLIP will allow you to study how a song is used in a film to develop character and advance the plot, besides allowing a star to show off to best advantage her "star image." The song, "Moon River," won the Oscar for Best Song (1961) and has since become one of the most famous songs of the era. A study picture with analysis of the use of sound and editing in this sequence is attached.
Film, April 2008: Edit Sample #12 (NORTH BY NORTHWEST)
NORTH BY NORTHWEST
THE FINAL SEQUENCE from Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959) is a brilliant example of intercutting, ellipsis, and symbolic editing. Intercutting between the agonized faces of Eve and Roger suggests how distant they are from each other, though she clings to his hand as they hang from the top of Mount Rushmore. A match cut takes the couple from the mountain to a train after marriage, condensing time while showing how their agonized struggle together insured their marriage. A final cut shows their train entering a tunnel—a symbol of the couple's sexual consummation. To view this sequence, click on the slide show (above left). FILM, April 2008: Montage Sample #11: The Art of Montage in THE GOLD RUSH
The Art of Montage in The Gold Rush
MONTAGE CAN BE studied in the famous cliff-hanging cabin sequence from Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush (Chaplin, 1925). To view this sequence, click here. Also view two attached files, one from p. 15 of your textbook, the other mine.April 2008: Edit sample, #10: Form Cuts in Buster Keaton's SHERLOCK, JR.
Form Cuts in Buster Keaton's Sherlock, Jr.
To view this clip from Buster Keaton's Sherlock, Jr. go here.
To view this clip from Buster Keaton's Sherlock, Jr. go here.
Film: April 2008: Editing samples 8 & 9 (Chaplin)
THE OCEANA ROLL
THIS SEQUENCE IS from Charlie Chaplin's classic comedy, The Gold Rush (1925). It begins in segment 6 (click here), starts at 8:52 and ends at 9:41 (use the control bar), at 49 seconds. Chaplin used lengthy shots to showcase his pantomime. Another example is the skating sequence from Modern Times (1936), which requires a unity of space (that is "real" space) for its comic effect (view here).
Film: Montage Samples #6 & #7: THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
The Art of Montage in
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
TWO SEQUENCES FROM The Man Who Knew Too Much (Alfred Hitchcock, 1956) are models of montage, intercutting, sound, and music editing to build suspense.THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
In the story, a couple's son has been kidnapped to prevent the couple from stopping an assassination of a diplomat in London's Albert Hall.
The viewer knows at what part in the music the diplomat will be killed. The son's mother is torn between her son's life and the life of the diplomat.
The scene is built on a sequence of intercutting showing a mother's moral choice, the concert as the music advances to the part where the gun will be fired, and the husband trying to warn the police.
The sequence is worth careful study not only for its montage, but also for the blending of sound and editing, and the careful use of camera framing and movement, such as before the gun is fired and the tilt shot down to the diplomat's heart.
To view this sequence, go here.
The second montage sequence follows the aborted assassination. But the child is still a hostage.
Luckily, in appreciation, the spared diplomat invites the mother to the residence where her son, unknown to the others, is hostage. The mother sings her son's favorite song hoping he will hear and shout for help.
In a montage sequence of still shots, the distance between the mother and her son is shown, as the father tries to locate his child. Intercutting also shows invited guests enjoying the mother's performance at the piano.
But the mother must sing unmusically loud way to make her voice heard by her son. This compromise with her talent and the subtle reactions of her audience add tension to the sequence.
The film is a model of the artistic compromises involved in a Hollywood studio production, which, given a great director, work for the best.
The director, Alfred Hitchcock, didn't want singing in the film. But since Doris Day, a popular singer, played the role of the mother, her star image required her to sing.
(Years later, Doris Day co-starred with Rock Hudson in Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back, films where she also sang.)
Hitchcock caved in to studio pressure. Luckily the song, "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be") became Doris Day's biggest hit and went on to win an Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Song.
To view this sequence, go here.
Film: Edit examples: Sabotage
SABOTAGE
THIS IS ANOTHER example of a montage sequence, from Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage (1936). To view the sequence (dubbed in a foreign language), click here. A study picture is attached.There is another brief sequence from Sabotage, with a voice-over lecture, for study. I disagree with the lecture about the effectiveness of the musical underscore. The crescendi (musical climaxes) are banal and distract from the suspense of the montage. Perhaps here's a chance for students to voice their opinions about the musical cue in this sequence. To see the clip, go here.
Film: Montage (two samples): POTEMKIN/PSYCHO
MONTAGE
MONTAGE IN THE European sense means editing. But in the American cinema montage is a sequence of relatively brief shots to convey a mood or theme. In the classical Hollywood cinema "montage" also referred to an optical montage sequence, usually with lap dissolves, that showed a quick passage of time (also known as "American montage").
The most famous montage sequence in the silent cinema is the "Odessa Steps" sequence in the Soviet (Russian) film, Potemkin (Sergei Eisentein, 1925), where an attack by Cossack soldiers is shown in numerous "shock" or impact cuts that both extends and intensifies the moment. (To view, click here.) (The music score, using Dmitri Shostakovitch's Fifth Symphony, was added later.) By cutting the sequence up in this way, from different angles and points of view, the director, Eisenstein added to the horror of the attack.
The most famous montage sequence in the modern cinema is the shower sequence from Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960). This montage sequence (click here to view) lasts about 45 seconds and consists of dozens of brief shots from numerous angles.
Besides its visual construction, note also Bernard Herrmann's music cue for this sequence, scored only for strings. Until the shower curtain is opened, there is no music.
In fact, the director, Hitchcock did not plan to use a music cue for this sequence at all. But the film's composer, Bernard Herrmann prepared a rough cut with his cue to show how effective a music underscore for this sequence would be. Hitchcock was convinced, and the result is the most famous audio-visual sequence in modern cinema.
By scoring only for strings played staccato (discontinuously) at a high pitch, Herrmann created an eerie sound that complemented the slashing of the knife. Note too how effective is the silence that follows the murder, a silence heightened by the sound of the shower. Also observe the form cut/dissolve from the shower drain to the woman's eye (see picture, left).
In terms of mise-en-scene, notice how Hitchcock stages the shower itself to seem like a moral cleansing (notice the self-satisfied look on the woman's face, right).
In terms of cinematography, notice how the murderer is backlit (left), both to heighten the terror and to conceal the killer's identity from the audience, a key plot device due to the surprise ending.
FILM: Sudden Impact (Edit Sample)
SUDDEN IMPACT
THIS BRIEF sequence (three minutes and thirty-six seconds) from Sudden Impact (Clint Eastwood, 1983; editor, Joel Cox) demonstrates how an ordinary scene (a cop, "Dirty Harry," faces armed robbers) can be "constructed," rather than filmed, with emphasis on an intercutting of shots rather than on the mise-en-scene (what is within the shot). (To view the sequence, go here.) This is not to minimize what goes on in the shot, which is well staged with both humor and drama; but clearly the impact of this sequence is due to its editing.Comments related to LOVER COME BACK
1. Art Carney played Ed Norton on The Honeymooners TV show (he later won an Oscar for Best Actor, though his movie career was limited). Tony Randall played the part of Peter Ramsey in Lover Come Back (and also, Jonathan in Pillow Talk). Randall also played in other Rock Hudson and/or Doris Day comedies, but he was mainly a supporting actor. His character in Lover Come Back was basically a reprise of his character in Pillow Talk (millionaires who feel like failures and mainly support the main star).
2. Any student can see Pillow Talk in the library; there's no need for us to see it as a class. (Click on image, right, to hear the title song and see some clever split-screen cinematography.) Contrary to what one student said in a previous week's commentary, I try for as wide a vareity of film experiences as possible, the only exception being "genre," which of course can only be studied with at least two films. That explains why we have two gangster films scheduled in the next two weeks.
3. "Sex comedy" does not mean the viewer has to see the sex. The chief difference between a sex comedy and a romantic comedy is that in a romantic comedy the main goal is marriage (or romance in between); in a sex comedy, the main goal is sex. That's the point of a comedy like Pillow Talk or Love Come Back! Otherwise there would be no laughs! Jerry wants to bed as many women as possible. There's no need to show this, since it's assumed; and at the time censorship (or studio self-censorship) would have prevented such sex scenes, or included them at great cost at the box office (it would no longer have been considered a "decent" picture and suffered losses at the box office). And in Hollywood, the Box Office is always King.
4. As for the fish scene, that was a process shot. In other words, the fish were projected on a screen behind the couple, then timed for the exact moment to match the dialogue.
Film: FRANKENSTEIN ("It's alive!")
IT'S ALIVE!
The "It's Alive!" scene from Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931) is one of the most famous in movie history (click on slide show, left, to view). The phrase ("It's Alive!") ranked high on a recent list of the most famous dialogue in movie history. A book was written titled It's Alive and a movie was made with the same title.In terms of mise-en-scene (that is, the action within the shot), notice actor Colin Clive's erect posture and his look upwards, because the film is very much about finding superior power within himself and therefore reaching above himself, to the heights.
The set design (the tower; the windmill; the laboratory table that is raised up), as well as camera movements (the tilt shots) emphasize this upward motion.
Nor is this theme at odds with the other theme pointed out in handouts: the flight from normal sexual relations (namely with his intended bride, Elizabeth). In fact, the two themes go together.
At the end of the film, the monster throws Frankenstein down from the windmill, and the two last shots we see of him are shots of him laying down, first on the ground below the windmill, then in the family's bed, semi-conscious, perhaps on his wedding night. But even if it is not on his wedding night, since this sequence directly follows the windmill sequence (with no indication of time in between), it is as if it were on his wedding night.
This is the way the classical Hollywood cinema produces meanings, in elliptical or indirect ways. This is due mainly to censorship problems (no major studio would have released the film with an explicit sexual theme), commercial pressure (audiences would have avoided a film with such a theme), and also artistic economy (it is the nature of the artist to hide as much as to show).
The ending itself is ambiguous. In one sense, Frankenstein has failed; this illustrates the biblical proverb, "Pride goes before a fall." In another sense, his failure is his success; he has avoided normal sexual relations with his intended bride, the motive for his mad doctor experiments in the first place (experiements which, tellingly, he revealed to Elizabeth on the night of their engagement).
Is it any wonder that the sequel to Frankenstein was The Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935), with even more explicit sexual imagery?
FILM: Frankenstein and camera movement
FRANKENSTEIN
Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931) has become a legendary film, while Boris Karloff, as the monster, has become an iconic Hollywood image, equalled only by Mickey Mouse. The film's expressionistic cinematography (by Arthur Edeson), influenced by the German cinema (such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari), set standards for Hollywood films, at first in the horror genre but later in other films.
Some cinematographic effects can only be captured in slide shows. Notice the way the skeleton moves as it's bumped (top, left), advancing the film's theme of revival from the dead. Combined mise-en-scene (the turn of the monster to face us) and jump editing (three discontinuous closeups) introduce us to the monster in a startling way (top, right). Finally a dolly shot increases tension in the scene where Elizabeth expresses her anxiety to her intended husband, Henry Frankenstein (bottom, left).
Saturday, August 18, 2007
FILM / THE CIRCUS (Edit Sample #21: In the Lion's Cage)
Edit Sample #21
The Unity of Space:
The Circus
AS YOU STUDY editing, consider that it is not an act (cutting) but an art (montage). The editor does not merely shorten scenes, cut them out entirely, or select the best takes in terms of acting or lighting (though these are parts of an editor's job). But at best an editor interprets film footage and imposes an ideal rhythm and spatial coherence on it. Sometimes this involves intercutting or cross-cutting. But other The Unity of Space:
The Circus
To view the film clip from The Circus (Charles Chaplin, 1928), go here.
Film: THE GODFATHER (Edit Sample #22)
PARALLEL MONTAGE in
The Godfather
THE PARALLEL MONTAGE sequence at the end of The Godfather (not to be confused with Godfather II or Godfather III) is one of the most famous examples of parallel montage in the modern cinema. The Godfather
The mafioso (mob gangster, Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino in his first big role) is acting as a godfather to his sister's child, as the newborn infant is being baptized in church. The sequence, part of Catholic church ritual (beginning, "Do you renounce Satan and all his works?") is intercut, with great irony, with images of members of Corleone's "family" (mob) killing members of another gang family, to the accompaniment of church words and church organ music (Bach).
It's a model in how to use parallel montage, along with the sound track (including dialogue, music, and sound bridges) to build a sequence with significance.
To view the film clip, go here. The clip includes an earlier scene from the film. To get to the main part of the parallel montage sequence, go here, then move the time bar to 3:44; the parallel montage sequence ends at around 6:35.
Otherwise, the film is available in our library. You can view the sequence near the end of the film in the library.
Film (A Christmas Carol) Edit/Sound Sample #24
The Symbolic Use of Source Music in
A Christmas Carol
A GOOD EXAMPLE of how source music can be effectively used, both as source music and as underscore ("extra-diegetic music," heard by the viewer but not the characters) is the use of the well-known folk song, "Barbara Allen" in the Christmas classic, A Christmas Carol (Brian Desmond Hurst, 1951). A Christmas Carol
You can use the work (time) bar to study this sequence.
At 6:19 the orchestra plays the folk song, "Barbara Allen" as diegetic music (underscore). This theme has been associated with Scrooge's denial of life throughout the movie.
It now leads up to the reconciliation scene with Scrooge's nephew (part of the miser, Scrooge's redemption as a person). The extra-diegetic music becomes a source music cue at 6:36, when the song is sung as a parlor ballad around the piano at the nephew's home.
The silence at this moment is part of the music editor's choice (he might have used underscore), the way a sequence shot is part of an editor's choice. (In both cases, each has decided when not to cut or when not to use underscore.)
Who decided to stop the music at just the moment when the singer is about to sing the words, "you're dying" (see lyrics below) is guesswork. Probably the composer knew more about music than the director or scriptwriter and suggested the song, giving his reasons. But the general idea may have been the director's: "I would like a song played in that scene that somehow suggests an important change in Scrooge's destiny. It could be a pop song, classical piece, whatever. Any ideas?" Of course most composers have an encyclopedic knowledge of music history and would have no problems coming up with the right song for the ocassion (the way composer, Marvin Hamlisch may have come up with the idea for using Scott Joplin's music in The Sting).
Regardless, we generally credit the composer for the moment. And it's a good moment: For Scrooge is no longer dying, but (redeemed by three ghosts) has begun to live for the first time since his youth. The silence emphasizes this key moment in the film.
The source music ends at 7:29, the ballad picked up again by the orchestra as underscore ("extra-diegetic music") at 7:42, finally stopping at 8:16. The sequence concludes with a polka as source ("diegetic") music.
Incidentally, the transformation of diegetic music into extra-diegetic music as here is a long-standing convention in the Hollywood musical. In other words, the singer usually starts singing (maybe strumming a guitar or playing the piano) and soon a symphony orchestra replaces the diegetic music, which now becomes extra-diegetic. A screening of any musical will show how it's done.
To view the video clip of A Christmas Carol (Scrooge), go here. You may choose to use your work bar and choose the exact minute and second. To hear the complete ballad, go here.
BARBARA ALLEN
In Scarlet Town where I was born, there was a fair maid dwelling, made every youth cry, "Well, a day!" her name was Barbara Allan. All in the merry month of May, when green buds they were swelling, sweet William on his deathbed lay for love of Barbara Allen. So slowly, slowly she came up and slowly she came nigh him and all she said when she there she came, "Young man, I think . . . "Film: CASABLANCA (Edit/Sound Sample #25)
CASABLANCA
IN ONE OF the most famous scenes in movie history, Rick (Humphrey Bogart) sacrifices his own interests and allows an espionage agent to escape from German-occupied Casablanca to a plane with Rick's former lover, even though he knows he will lose her forever. In this classic sequence, we'll study a few seconds of underscore, after the agent, Victor Laszlo's words: "Thanks. I appreciate it. Welcome back to the fight. This time I know our side will win."
The scene would fall flat, except for a single percussive chord as the airplane propeller begins to spin. In fact, originally there was no underscore for this moment. But viewing the final edit, the producer felt the moment lacked excitement. Composer Max Steiner (King Kong, Gone with the Wind, The Searchers, A Summer Place) said he could "fix it": he added a single percussive chord at the moment the airplane propeller begins to spin and that single chord gave the scene the emotional impact it had lacked.
The sequence begins at 4:12 (use the work/time bar) and ends at 4:25, Study also the montage of close-ups beginning at 4:32 and ending at 4:43. The actors probably had no idea what those close-ups were for or how they would fit into the final sequence. Only the editor and director knew how to use them to convey great tension and emotion. This is what the art of editing is all about.
Max Steiner's score, which we don't have time to study, is also noteworthy, based mainly on romantic variations on the Broadway song, "As Time Goes By" and nationalistic source music (the national anthems associated with Germany and France).
To view the two sequences, go here. A study picture is attached.
FILM: High Noon (Edit/Sound Sample #26)
HIGH NOON
High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952) is ranked among the great Westerns and as one of the first "adult Westerns" (concerned with social or psychological issues). Much of the success of the film is credited to the Oscar-winning editing (Elmo Williams and Harry W. Gerstad) and the song and score by Dimitri Tiomkin, awarded two Oscars. The song ("Do Not Forsake Me"), a Western ballad, was a hit in 1952 and started a trend, with Hollywood movies using theme songs, with hit records in mind. Westerns also started using cowboy ballads in credit sequences. At the same time, great film composers, such as Bernard Herrmann, were neglected because they were unwilling to write pop songs into their scores. Complex musical scores were replaced by tuneful scores likely to appeal to record buyers and thus promote the film.
Timokin's ballad was the film's only theme, used throughout (with lyrics and without) to bind the film into a coherent whole, and often (through the lyrics) guiding the viewer.
The ballad, sung by Country singer Tex Ritter, was introduced in the opening credits and was heard sung or arranged for orchestra in the story. When sung, it functioned as a Greek chorus, commenting on the action.
When arranged for orchestra without words, an attentive film viewer nonetheless links a musical phrase to the words sung to it. For example, the opening notes of "Silent Night" will evoke the words "silent night" (along with other associations, such as "peace"), even though the carol is not sung in the underscore of a film.
So when phrases from the High Noon ballad are played as underscore, the viewer attaches the unsung words, such as, "Oh to be torn 'twixt love and duty." Its most memorable use was in the famous montage sequence just before the arrival of the noon train which brings killer, Frank Miller, to town (see attached file). To view this film clip, go here. See attached study picture.
To hear Frankie Laine sing the Oscar-winning High Noon ballad ("Do Not Forsake Me"), go here. (Laine had the biggest hit with the song, but the live performance here is years after his hit record.)
To hear pop singer Andy Williams sing the song, go here.
To hear Tex Ritter's original recording, go here.
Lyrics are below. Note the clever rhyme on "prison" and "his'n" (dialect for "his and").
Do not forsake me, oh my darlin' on this our wedding day. Do not forsake me, oh my darlin, wait, wait along. I do not know what Fate awaits me, I only know I must be brave and I must face a man who hates me, or lie a coward, a craven coward, or lie a coward in my grave. Oh, to be torn 'twixt love and duty, supposing I lose my fair-haired beauty? Look at that big hand move along, nearing high noon. He made a vow while in state prison, vowed it would be my life or his'n I'm not afraid of death, but, oh, what will I do if you leave me? Do not forsake me, oh my darlin', you made that promise as a bride. Do not forsake me, oh my darling, although you're grieving, don't think of leaving, now that I need you by my side. Wait along, wait along, wait along, wait along.
Film: RED RIVER music cues for Wednesday 11 June 2008
Red River Music Cues
1. Cattle Call (unison horn motif)2. Burial (Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie)
3. Burial (variation)
4. Burial (variation) Revenge (augmented: slower notes)
5. Cattle Theme (Augmented)
6. Cattle Theme Variations (Lumbering/Comic/Lyrical/Sprightly)
7. Cattle Theme (Cocky)
8. Cattle Theme (Dance)
9. Cattle Theme (Wordless Chorus and orchestra; wordless chorus)
10. Cattle Theme (Lyrical)
11. Matthew-Survivor (Cattle Theme)
12. Settle Down (Chorus)
13. Cattle Theme (Strong)
14. Stampede
15. Fen's Theme
16. Fen Theme (variation)
17. Indian Theme / Fen Theme
18. Fen (Wordless Chorus)
19. Responsibility/Dreams
20. Revenge Theme (Lyrical; Cattle Theme)
21. Revenge Theme; Cattle Theme
22. Revenge Theme (Closing In)/red River Theme/Cattle Theme)
23. Revenge Theme (variation)
24. Revenge Theme (low Brass; flutes; spooky)
25. Red River Theme (Romance)/Responsibility/Red River (Scherzo)/Revenge
26. Red River Theme (Tentative; Resolution)
27. "My Rifle, Pony, and Me" (Red River Theme used in Rio Bravo)
28. "Old Paint" (Cowboy song)
29. "Oh Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie" (Cowboy song)
30. "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" (Folk song)
31. Ave Verum (Mozart) and The Lion King cues
32. "Dixie" (Civil War era song)
33. "O Maryland" (US state song)
34. "Old Folks at Home" (state song of Florida)
35. "Taps" (US Miltary bugle dirge)
36. Gone with the Wind (Crane sequence (midi)
37. Gone with the Wind (Crane sequence)
Film: BAMBI / Final Film for Last Class of Semester on Wednesday, 18 JUNE 2008
BAMBI
For Wednesday, we'll discuss the Walt Disney animated film, Bambi (David Hand, 1942). The film is just over an hour. It's easily available in Taiwan at little cost for students who wish to study the film at home. Study pictures are attached that focus mainly on underscore and editing.
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