Comments on: I’m Ready for My Closeup . . .

By: GarethB

GarethB — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:53:28 +0000

I love the close-ups in The Dog Problem where there are twinkling coloured light in the background. It is never revealsed what the lights actually are as they are out of focus but I think that adds a bit of mystery. It is a very unusual effect which makes the moment feel special and it also connects the two characters together as they connect in a very personal way for the first time in the movie. This works very well with the extreme close-up which never show both faces in the same frame.

By: Helen

Helen — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:37:58 +0000

I’m not really a person who pays much attention to the direction of a movie, but I’m convinced Jodie Foster won her 2nd Oscar due to one closeup in Silence of the Lambs. She talking to Lecter in his cell and he encourages to tell the story about growing up and the lambs. It’s a very powerful scene. Not that she’s not good in the film, but that one scene is great.

By: Thivai

Thivai — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:20:35 +0000

Once Upon a Time in the West is amazing in that it defied the traditional solitary individual struggling in the vast landscape dominated perspective of the traditional Western. The tension is almost unbearable as Leone holds the close-up on his characters in confontational moments… and it expressed the industrial closing/control of the American West in its claustrophobic interiors and long close-ups.

By: debbe

debbe — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:23:19 +0000

wow. i saw frost nixon yesterday. I agree with you suzidoll, it did make nixon a very sympathetic character. but the close up where, as you describe at the end where all is going on in nixon’s face where he realized what he did and what it meant… brilliant.
I liked the movie. I thought it was a good movie, perhaps not a great movie, but the two stars were amazing. I thought frost with all his tics in his close ups- like you mention where he knew his credibility was on the line felt like a chess match. I like the way you describe the power of the close up. It makes me think about the movie in a different way. well done. again.

By: Stooge

Stooge — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:27:06 +0000

Knockout post! Fascinating stuff

By: Robert Davenport

Robert Davenport — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:47:29 +0000

I agree that close-ups can be very powerful and convey more than is evident in a story than words, but think that they need to be used discreetly. Sometimes inexperienced directors seem to overuse them–especially today.

Using largely medium and long shots in his early movies at Fox, Otto Preminger was one director who focused the viewers attention by slipping a close-up into a film almost seamlessly, as he did in one scene near the end of “Where the Sidewalk Ends” (1950), showing the impassive mask slipping that tough guy cop Dana Andrews tried to project to the world only when he was alone.

When Cinemascope and other technical achievements were being invested in quite heavily by the dying studio system, there was a dearth of close-ups in many films. I was reminded of this very strongly when watching “Night People” (1954), directed by Nunnally Johnson recently. A cold war story that should have been filmed in black and white to emphasize the bleakness of the setting in post-war Berlin, the movie would have benefited from seeing Gregory Peck’s anxious face in close-up, but the cinemascope process negated the use of that tool for this film at the time. I did not see one closeup throughout the entire movie!

This was a good blog and a thoughtful subject.

By: medusamorlock

medusamorlock — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:08:35 +0000

Glad to hear that you enjoyed “Frost/Nixon” — I also was very impressed with it especially for the reasons you mention in terms of illustrating the power of the media and television specifically. Stayed with me and all performances are terrific. Even someone with little interest in history would find the movie a compelling experience.

In terms of great close-ups, aren’t there some great back and forth shots of Bonnie and Clyde at the end of the movie when they realize they are about to die in the ambush? I should go back and look at the movie right now but I think that’s how it goes.

Classic television shows — especially beautifully photographed shows like “Outer Limits” — were a haven for amazing close-ups, too!

Great post, SuziD — as always!