Week 25.35 - Socials Roundup
25 Aug - 31 Aug 2025: Dead Presidents, None Shall Escape, Thief, Mo’ Better Blues, Romeo Must Die
Week 25.35 posts include shots from Dead Presidents (1995); None Shall Escape (1944); Thief (1981); Mo’ Better Blues (1990); and Romeo Must Die (2000).
Romeo Must Die
Look at how movement is used through these scenes and transitions, constantly propelling us from the moment Han (Jet Li) sees Trish (Aaliyah) to him entering her apartment.
(0:00) The camera moves down as the cab drives into frame; this also calls our attention to the colour, establishing the bright blue clearly so we immediately recognise when it pulls into a shot later.
(0:29) From Han’s POV shot, the bus ‘wipes’ the screen from a wide to a medium of Trish: Han’s locking in.
(0:37-0:44) The camera follows Trish’s car Right-to-Left, then Han’s taxi comes from Frame Left. The cab’s movement motivates the camera to switch directions, moving Left-to-Right so we can see both cars drive off into traffic.
(0:45) Trish walks into screen Left-to-Right, continuing the ultimate camera motion from the last scene, and then (0:54) enters her apartment going the same direction.
Once the movements and transitions have shown and told Han is following Trish, brought us into and established Trish’s her apartment, Han entering is not a surprise to us, and they can get right into the new scene.
Thief
A beautiful split diopter shot which shows a closeup of Detective Boreksco (Gavin MacFadyen) in a phone booth, and far behind the lights on the water, with the illusion being that’s what he’s also looking at.
Mo’ Better Blues
The first time we meet brothers Moe and Josh Flatbush (played by real-life brothers John and Nicholas Turturro), the scene sits in this wide shot for their entire conversation.
Why would it do this? Was it a reshoot scene to establish the characters? To save time and money? Possibly that’s why they didn’t get closeups.
But it seems as likely this shot was chosen to give us a life overview of two characters we don’t spend much individual time with.
Frame Left shows their dynamic and interests: similar-to-indistinguishable outfits, surrounded by books, tapping away on the computer, nattering away at each other.
Meanwhile, Frame Right gives the idea they’ve got a little money (or like to pretend they do), likely live in a Black neighbourhood (we find out soon they do), and try to hobnob with political and famous athletes and musicians.
Dead Presidents
There wasn’t room in our Fave 5 for this shot, but just look at how wonderful that cigarette glows, and what a fun little way to show time has passed without ever leaving the room or these two characters.
None Shall Escape
In a similar way to biopic Misbehaviour ending with a call to action, this film ends with multiple characters breaking the fourth wall, using the technique only in their final moments.
First, war criminal Wilhelm Grimm looks into the camera and says he waits for the people to ‘come to their senses’ and support the Nazi cause. Then the judge looks to the camera in a direct response and asks the audience to decide what they think should be done.
While some films have a character look to the audience silently or for a brief moment, None Shall Escape holds our gaze for nearly a minute, with characters directly challenging the viewer.
The film predated the Nuremberg trials, but the people’s response came about a year later: nazis should be tried for crimes against humanity.