Week 76: Socials Roundup
Posts from 17 June - 23 June 2024
Week 76 posts include shots from Watchmen (2019); The Manchurian Candidate (1962); Harper (1966); Clue (1985); and Point Blank (1967).
The Manchurian Candidate
Nobody accused the Manchurian Candidate films of being subtle!
As Eleanor (Angela Lansbury) watches Senator John Iselin on the TV set, we see him talking to the press behind her, facing the opposite way as his image.
Whether you read this as 'two-faced' or 'not as he appears' or 'easily managed' by Eleanor, the film makes clear he (and politicians in general) are not to be trusted.
Harper
Love this economic, cheeky scene transition from 1966's Harper.
As a drunk Fay Estabrook (Shelley Winters) staggers, it cuts before she finishes falling out of frame right into her falling on a sofa in a completely different room.
The move elides all the unnecessary bits of Harper (Paul Newman) getting her home, in favour of just *getting there.*
Point Blank
This sequence comes so early in Point Blank (1967) its meaning is hard to parse, but it really sets us up for the film's whole style and story ("shattered narrative" as Roger Ebert calls it) which follows.
Some of its effects:
- the inexorable clacking march of Walker (Lee Martin)'s dress shoes on marble becomes hypnotic
- shifting leading lines / angles in the hallway, outside the car, the oversized staircase
- the 'vanishing point' especially in the hallway and beauty salon, and even somewhat when Harper is driving and we see his car extending out behind him
- multiple reflections and mirrored effects
- parts soft-focused with other elements quite sharp, as in Chris's mirror
- play between brightly-multi-coloured shots (the hallway) and near-monochrome (the white-brick stairs), which will be a pattern throughout the film
Ultimately the sequence plays with both our sensibilities and expectations, the footsteps seemingly waking Chris (Angie Dickinson) only to continue not only as she goes about her day but after Walker leaves the hallway and until he's 'finished' his mission, albeit unfruitfully.
Clue
Clue's camera playfully follows Scarlett & Mustard through the scene:
When they bend down, pool table 'wipes' frame; instead of transitioning, it keeps our attention and eyes so on the cut our gaze is already on Green & Yvette, similarly framed between pillars . . . then hoooooooooooooooooooooooooolds for comedy.
Watchmen
Watchmen 1.07 "An Almost Religious Awe" is all about the windows to the soul - what they see or are blind to, what they seek or give away.
Keep your eyes peeled (what a saying . . .) and subscribe to this very Substack for a more indepth look at the symbolism in this episode, coming soon.