Mike Frank wrote:
>surprising that no one has --so far as i can tell -- mentioned
>bergman's PERSONA, the only theatrical narrative film i know
>of that includes images of the chemical processes of the film
>medium itself
>
Another "surprising omission" is Dziga Vertov's incredible "Man with a
Movie Camera" -- an early Russian film that works on several levels, one
of which is to explain without words the nature of the filmmaking
process in great detail. You see the risks incurred by the filmmaker
(or one of them, the other is filming the filmmaker) in getting some of
the shots you later see in the film; you see images that encourage
reflection on the relation between the camera and the eye (e.g. a man
blinks and a shutter closes); the film explicitly calls attention to the
distinction between the implied presence and implied absence of the
filmmaker's voice; you see the editing process; you see the individual
frames, and then the finished pieces; you see the audience of the film, etc.
You might also consider Bunuel's Land Without Bread, which is both a
documentary on poverty stricken rural peoples in Spain and a
self-reflexive mockery of the contrivances involved in creating
so-called "primitivist" or anthropological documentary -- e.g. there is
a scene that builds tension around the precariousness of a mountain
goat's trek on a rocky cliff face, and then a dramatic moment in which
he plummets to his death to the anticipated shock of the audience,
followed by an image of smoke, obviously coming from the rifle which was
fired at the filmmaker's behest.
--
Nathan Andersen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Director, International Cinema at Eckerd College
Collegium of Letters
Eckerd College
4200 54th Ave. S. Phone: (727) 864-7551
St. Petersburg, FL 33712 Fax: (727) 864-8354
U.S.A. E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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