Stand and Deliver, Part II
Jul 13th, 2008 | By Rick | Category: Great Clips, Wong Kar WaiYesterday, I posted a clip from Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959) that showed the dialog scene from a classic Hollywood perspective. The conversants are established half-facing each other, and after a master shot, the dialog proceeds in shot/reverse-shot fashion, with alternating takes shot over the shoulder of the actors. The lighting is smooth and even with little shadow, and the actors act with their faces, rather than their whole bodies.
Here’s a clip from Wong Kar Wai’s My Blueberry Nights (2007). Although there are some similarities (note the over-the-shoulder shots), it’s overall quite different in style and effect. The lack of a master shot means we are not sure exactly where in geographic space the scene is situated, and Wong pretty-much ignores the 180-degree rule, which specifies that the camera remain on one side of an imaginary line running through his two actors. Finally, the scene is shot largely in close-up, which intensifies the effect of dislocation and lack of geographic grounding.
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I really am annoyed with all this rule breaking.
I mean, it was cool when Godard did it. But after a while it just looks stupid.
Am I lame for saying that? I’m only 24 and I’m preaching formalism. I think I just answered my own question!
Nah, you’re not stupid for saying that … these arguments have been going on for the better part of a century, and they’ll still go on after you and I are gone. In my not-so-humble opinion, it really depends on the purposes of the filmmakers what’s appropriate.
Although, I wouldn’t call following the Hollywood Style formalism … Wong is a formalist par excellance, valuing form/style over substance as he does.
Watching this clip I was reminded how irritating it is to watch a hack like Peter Berg implement this technique… especially in the dinner table scene in his latest film Hancock.
When Berg uses it there is simply a “hey look at me guys” showy-ness, versus when Wong uses it there is fluidity and appropriateness. Like you said, Rick, Wong is communicating emotion & story through visuals here, and that makes him special to me. That’s what makes him a classical filmmaker to me. He’s in tune with the real power of the medium.
Good posts.
Yeah, Berg’s kind of a hack, all right. You’ve said it better than I did … Wong communicates emotion — both Elizabeth’s uncertainty and ours — through this uncertain style. Good comment!
I have to sheepishly claim ignorance on the historical use of these techniques, but I can say one thing for certain: this was an awesome little two-part post. If you know this kind of thing well enough you should make a habit of it, maybe teach me a thing or two!
Thanks, Daniel. I appreciate it. I’m gonna do more of these, I like to do shot analyses and they’re easier than reviews at which, by the by, you have the edge on me.