adventures in early film design- repetition

a nous la liberte 1931

directed by rene clair

art direction by lazare meerson

I know this film is already well known, maybe even because of the Charlie Chaplin controversy (thought personally, I think the antics in this film are derivitive of Buster Keaton- i guess all's fair in film criticism.) What impresses me is the architecture that relentlessly reinforces Rene Clair's themes.

A major theme is repetition, evidenced by the arrangement of the actors as well as the costumes, decor and lighting. There's often an asymmetrical placement of these visual cues, so it feels as though everything continues into infinity. The situation seems hopeless and impossible to change.

Its a visual restriction of movements, pointing out the direction for characters to move.

Another theme is conformity; the straight lines and occasional curves provide the templates.

Also: why is Rene Clair so mean to his female characters? Still, this film is far more toned down than Under The Roofs of Paris where the poor female protagonist is under attack throughout the film, either directly or indirectly.

Sheesh.

the beauty of the cotter pin

Mechanical Principles (1930)

directed by Ralph Steiner

This film is just a series of static shots of moving gears and pistons but also so much more. No still photo can do justice to the gentle wave of motion in each connection and subsequent parting.

There's something almost sensual in the willing manipulation of attractive parts by the attractive parts of another. Each movement is nothing less than graceful.

This is precisionism in motion.

film canon additions march 2007

1920
manhatta d. charles sheeler and paul strand
excellent framing of various shots around manhattan (manhatta being the original indian name for the island). the reflections off the water around the tugboats at night are hypnotic.




1929
woman in the moon (frau im mond) d. fritz lang
very long, but so beautiful. i don't think i could edit it down anymore myself if i had created this masterpiece. the first half takes place on earth and features the most modern of the moderne interior design. the lead has mastered the brooding stare. special effects and some directing was done by oskar fischinger.


allegretto- oskar fischinger



1943
lifeboat d. alfred hitchcock
i'm a little embarassed to have so many hitchcock movies in my canon, but each is included for a different reason. lifeboat is stylistically unique- its shows his german expressionism roots more than any other film i've see of his. limiting himself to a single set gave him the freedom to experiment with mis en scene, camera techniques, and editing. one character's soliloquy is punctuated by rapid cutting amongst different angles, close-ups, medium, long shots- all seemlessly connected to the speech patterns. just brilliant.