The editing techniques in in Casablanca and Battleship Potemkin and the film noir genre in Bound and Double Indemnity

Thèmes abordés

Editing techniques, Casablanca, Battleship Potemkin, Hollywood, mise en scène, effect on the viewer, film noir, Bound, Doble Indemnity, narrative structure, cinematographic movement

Résumé du document

It should first be remembered what editing is before defining its principal functions. To do this, I will make close references to Casablanca, to illustrate Hollywood continuity editing on one hand and to The Battleship Potemkin, as an example of Soviet Montage on the other hand. Indeed, the two films are strongly contrastive as far as editing techniques are concerned. Even if in both films, editing participates in the creation of meaning (along with mise-en-scène and sound) the effect on the viewer will be totally different.

Extraits

[...] Convoluted and disjointed story lines for example, involving flashbacks or flashforwards and other techniques that disrupt the coherence and the logic of the narrative and obscure the structure. The whole film of Double Indemnity moves backwards for instance. It starts in the present and works back to the past. Voiceover narration can also be used as a structuring device. Double Indemnity was written in the first person narrative for instance. It makes the audience understand better how Neff experiences the different situations. Besides they feel like they are being included into the film personally. [...]

[...] This way, the editing definitely has an emotional impact on the viewer. As opposed to classical Hollywood, Soviet Montage offers discontinuity in graphic qualities and violates the 180 degree rule. It draws attention to temporal and spatial ellipses because the editing is visible and not flowing. To conclude, editing (along with other elements of the form) strongly contributes to the film's organization and to its effects on the viewer. It creates meaning, it guides and shapes spectators' experiences even if they are not aware of it. [...]

[...] EDITING in Casablanca and Battleship Potemkin It should first be remembered what editing is before defining its principal functions. To do this, I will make close references to Casablanca, to illustrate Hollywood continuity editing on one hand and to The Battleship Potemkin, as an example of Soviet Montage on the other hand. Indeed, the two films are strongly contrastive as far as editing techniques are concerned. Even if in both films, editing participates in the creation of meaning (along with mise-en-scène and sound) the effect on the viewer will be totally different. [...]

[...] This idea of doomed fate therefore heightens the sense of anxiety and alienation. Neff's involvement in the murder of Phyllis' husband for instance, ruins his career. Everything is expected to go badly, no matter what happens. As it portrays the underworld of crime and corruption, film noirs generally take place in a moral vacuum. The world surrounding the characters is devoid of any sense of right and wrong and no one acts in anything but their own interest. If we now turn our attention to Bound (Andy Wachowski, 1996), we can see how film noir conventions can be modified: Bound is a neo-noir film which has borrowed from the past film noirs incorporating most of their conventions. [...]

[...] The lighting is often used to connote something about the characters to the audience. For instance, a face half shrouded in shadow is often not to be trusted. Phyllis' face in Double Indemnity is partially obscured by shadow when she appears for the first time. The Venetian blinds casting shadows upon the characters or upon the entire set, are probably one of the stylistic convention the most characteristic of film noir. An example of this is in Walter Neff's office and apartment which are only partially lit. [...]