At 4:04 pm +0000 2/4/2001, [log in to unmask] wrote:
>the project proposed by daniel frampton, to respond to "the 'thinking' of
>the films' formal actions (movement, framing, colours, shifts, etc.) . . ."
>seems of great interest . . . but for many of us there's no way to
>see how precisely it plays out in practice since we don't have access
>to these films . . .
Mike,
Thanks for your response (sorry for the delay in replying).
Perhaps an example from _Casablanca_, when we are first meet Rick. The film
teases us by initially resting on his hand which has just signed a slip,
and then moves up to reveal his face and at that very moment almost recoils
a little, stepping back to reveal the man we have been expecting to meet,
or perhaps the film thinks like a customer, who with initial intrigue first
meets him and suddenly realises they should not be staring so close to such
a figure as Rick. (If the film had wanted to show him and the chess board
in one frame it could have done so in a single straight shot.) It's such a
slight subtle movement, but seems to 'say' so much (perhaps more to our
subconscious).
The film has a *belief* about its characters, and thinks this revelation or
reaction. (Films don't think meanings, they think formal events through
which we feel meaning -- and importantly, I am not saying that film is
analogous with *our* thinking, but that film can be seen as another, new
kind of thinking.)
But perhaps other salon members have seen any of the films I mentioned
(_Damnation_ and _Last Resort_ are currently showing in London) and can
comment on whether my 'thoughtful' interpretation illuminated the films for
them?
Daniel.
http://www.filmosophy.org
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