Blog post #2 - 5 Film scenes

Here are five scenes that I have stowed away in my mind, ones that keep reappearing and I draw inspiration from. These scenes, and their respective films, don't necessarily rank as my favorites, although most of them do fall somewhere on that list; they serve as fantastic nuggets of effective story telling; if they happen to be part of a picture that is phenomenal as whole, even better.

Lawrence of Arabia: I can't pull myself away from this film. Time and time again, I come back to it for inspiration. Regarding the use of environment, not only as a defining element for the narrative, but as a character of its own, it is difficult to find many films that do it at the caliber of Lawrence of Arabia. This is one of my favorite scenes within the film, and one of the most significant turning points. For context: the tribe that Lawrence has been attached to has lost a man to the unforgiving terrain as they make their journey. Although distraught by the loss of one of the fellows, the tribe continues, knowing the unlikelihood of the mans survival. Lawrence, cannot bear the thought of leaving the man in the wasteland; he readily faces the challenge, and embarks on the rescue. This scene shows his return from the desert with the man in tow--both alive. This defiant act sets his path for the remainder of the film. "Nothing is written."

Here is a particular shot that may be familiar. Why? It has been repeated about million times in film at this point. It comes from a fairly popular director who had a proclivity for western narratives: John Ford. This isn't to say he created it. He did have a hand in cementing it in popular cinema. Here he uses it best in his film, The Searchers. Open doorway frame, tight silhouette framed in the doorway, dolly in, frame expands wide into the open American West. Gotta love it.

I'm not a big fan of Zach Snyder; I think a lot of his films suffer from poor writing, or revisions to the text that don't seem to work. Still, he does a fantastic job aesthetically. His adaptation of Alan Moore's, The Watchmen, was a great watch in my eyes. I still have my criticisms, but on a whole, I believe he did a fine job capturing the pulpy feel of the graphic novel. Here is one of my favorite scenes. I was on the edge of my seat when I saw this in theatres; it was such a thrill to see this fight jump from the page, and play out of the big screen.

Seriously though, check out the graphic novel. It is an amazing read.

Hans Landa, what a bastard. Still, he ranks among one of the best villains I have seen in cinema. I love seeing Christopher Waltz bring life to this vile character with his chilling performance in this scene. Tarantino and Robert Richardson show no subtlety in the lighting in this scene. Monsieur LaPadite is on the hook; the light is spotted hard onto the table; Landa is not fooled by the charade, and he will get the answer he seeks. The acting, in contrast to the lighting, is subtle. Simply fading his smile, Waltz carries so much power with it. The tension is no longer held at bay the light conversation, it can't be escaped. The tightening framing shows it.

Hmm, there's that door frame again.

Speaking of characters you love to hate, here is Daniel Plainview. There Will Be Blood is among my favorite films. Period. There are so many scenes to choose from in this master piece; it has it all: oceans of oil, threatening colleagues, baskets, bowling, milkshakes, and over course a quaint revival. I would choose all of them if I could. Instead, I will pick a simpler one; Daniel Plainview is a nuanced character, but if he needed to be summed up, here he is; and, here is the amazing Daniel Day Lewis.