Scorsese used montage to break up the narrative, and to provide more information about a character or events without using chronological narrative or even dialogue.
My favourite use of this was in Raging Bull, where a montage in colour separated the first half of the black and white film from the second.
There is also an amazing use of montage in Shutter Island, in Teddy's dream sequence. He sees himself back at Auschwitz, and elements of the present, such as the escaped prisoner he is supposed to be looking for, and her daughter, combine with the bodies that he saw at the concentration camp. He is then back on Shutter Island, and the prisoner and her daughter enter the room after a scream. Slow motion, reverse (of the smoke into his cigarette) and shots in time with the music all separate this scene from the reality of the film, emphasising that it is a dream sequence and also breaking up the narrative of the film - both future elements and elements of the past are addressed.
(from 1:30)
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Use of Camera moving into Close Ups
This is an interesting technique that Scorsese uses in nearly all of his films - rather than cutting from a mid shot to a close up, the camera moves forward until the item that is in close up is in the correct frame.
We see this in Raging Bull, when the camera moves into a close up of the 8th round sign, in Jake's fight with Sugar Ray Robinson. This is used as a way of showing time passing, but the use of a moving camera exaggerates the use of close up, rather than a simple cut. The audience can see the close up coming, and are therefore paying more attention to what is shown in the close up.
The camera moves into a close up of Travis and his infatuation, Betsy, having lunch, in Taxi Driver. This time the camera moves more slowly, which gives the audience time to see some of their surroundings on the way to the close up of Travis and Betsy. Scorsese communicates the way that Travis sees Betsy - as if nothing else around them matters, which is shows by the camera slowly cutting off everything else until all we see is them at the table.
This was also used extensively in the 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ. For example, when we first see Judas enter Christ's house, the camera moves quickly into a close up of his face. This shows both that he is an important character, and also foreshadows his betrayl of Jesus, as his face is shrouded in black. This is also used in a different way in this film, not to show a close up, but to disconcert the audience with the camera's movement. Jesus points over a cliff and the camera swings out, making the audience feel as if they are falling over the edge. This is used to show Jesus' confusion, and Martin Scorsese effectively communicates his struggle with his connection to God.
We see this in Raging Bull, when the camera moves into a close up of the 8th round sign, in Jake's fight with Sugar Ray Robinson. This is used as a way of showing time passing, but the use of a moving camera exaggerates the use of close up, rather than a simple cut. The audience can see the close up coming, and are therefore paying more attention to what is shown in the close up.
The camera moves into a close up of Travis and his infatuation, Betsy, having lunch, in Taxi Driver. This time the camera moves more slowly, which gives the audience time to see some of their surroundings on the way to the close up of Travis and Betsy. Scorsese communicates the way that Travis sees Betsy - as if nothing else around them matters, which is shows by the camera slowly cutting off everything else until all we see is them at the table.
This was also used extensively in the 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ. For example, when we first see Judas enter Christ's house, the camera moves quickly into a close up of his face. This shows both that he is an important character, and also foreshadows his betrayl of Jesus, as his face is shrouded in black. This is also used in a different way in this film, not to show a close up, but to disconcert the audience with the camera's movement. Jesus points over a cliff and the camera swings out, making the audience feel as if they are falling over the edge. This is used to show Jesus' confusion, and Martin Scorsese effectively communicates his struggle with his connection to God.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Use of Slow Motion
The three movies that I've chosen, out of the five Scorsese films that I watched, are Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980) and Shutter Island (2010). These were the standout films of Scorsese's for me, and all exhibit his unique director's techniques.
The first of these techniques is SLOW MOTION. The frequent use of slow motion in his films takes events out of their natural, realitstic context, and blur the line between reality and the film. For example, in Taxi Driver, slow motion is used when Travis, the protagonist whose descent into madness and violence is the focus of the film, first sees Betsy, his first infatuation of the film. The slow motion adds emphasis to the event, and also alters the natural passing of time in the film. This technique is repeated in Raging Bull, when the central character Jake, has water squeezed onto him by his trainers during an important fight. Again, this alters the natural time of the film, but it also builds tension, as the speed is much slower than previous slow motion sequences in the film. Because the fight is so important, and it is going badly for Jake, the audience is eager to see how it will end. The use of super slow motion increases this tension.
My favourite use of slow motion was in Shutter Island, when there is a flashback of Teddy, the protagonist, in military service in WWII. This enhances the flashback by showing that to Teddy, it is a separate reality, and communicates to the audience the importance that he places on this period of his life in his memory.
The first of these techniques is SLOW MOTION. The frequent use of slow motion in his films takes events out of their natural, realitstic context, and blur the line between reality and the film. For example, in Taxi Driver, slow motion is used when Travis, the protagonist whose descent into madness and violence is the focus of the film, first sees Betsy, his first infatuation of the film. The slow motion adds emphasis to the event, and also alters the natural passing of time in the film. This technique is repeated in Raging Bull, when the central character Jake, has water squeezed onto him by his trainers during an important fight. Again, this alters the natural time of the film, but it also builds tension, as the speed is much slower than previous slow motion sequences in the film. Because the fight is so important, and it is going badly for Jake, the audience is eager to see how it will end. The use of super slow motion increases this tension.
My favourite use of slow motion was in Shutter Island, when there is a flashback of Teddy, the protagonist, in military service in WWII. This enhances the flashback by showing that to Teddy, it is a separate reality, and communicates to the audience the importance that he places on this period of his life in his memory.
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