For Friday 28 December 2007

ELVIRA MADIGAN

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Elvira Madigan (Bo Widerberg, 1967) was one of the most popular of the art house films during the 1960s. (Art house films were foreign-language films with unusual narrative structures and visible stylistic devices.) Its theme of romantic abandon fit in with the free lifestyles of that period. Its gorgeous color cinematography and soft focus images were easy to appreciate, while the second movement andante from Mozart's piano concerto in C Major (#21) became an immediate hit with the movie-going public. To this day, Mozart's piano concerto is often called the "Elvira Madigan Concerto"!
    We'll explore this Swedish film in terms of mise-en-scene and framing, as well as through lighting and cinematography. Notice the use of rack focus in the two slide shows included here. See attached files.
    For those interested in hearing the beautiful andante from Mozart's "Elvira Madigan" Concerto, click here or here.

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