On Jul 20, 9:06 pm, Okierazorbacker wrote:
> On Jul 20, 5:48 pm, "David Matthews" wrote:
>
> > >>also moments in the film that are unusually poetic, such as the kids
> > >>up in the barn watching Mitchum's silhouette on horseback crossing the
> > >>rim of the horizon singing, "Leaning" and the boy saying to Pearl,
> > >>"Doesn't he EVER sleep?"
>
> > Apparently this great scene was shot entirely in the studio with a very
> > clever use of perspective design in the scenery. The man on the horse isn't
> > Mitchum it's a dwarf and the horse is a pony.
.....
> Another stagey, non-realistic moment is the preacher's shadow
> menacingly cast into the children's bedroom. It bothered me on first
> viewing because it was so obviously not natural, but once the modern
> viewer gets past the tedious POV that "everything must be
> scientifically accurate" it's a powerful image and an unforgettable
> moment. As a previous post stated, it's not meant to necessarily
> reflect reality but to reflect a child's perspective of his/her
> terror. Very effective and a timeless film.
The modern viewer HAS come to expect that "scientifcally accurate"
approach. Even more so in TV drama (though I guess that might be
changing a bit now with CSI, etc.) Curiously, as the viewer has come
to expect this scientific accuracy, said viewer has also come to
expect highly UNrealistic characters doing highly unrealistic things
against a super realistic backdrop. You see this more in crime films,
but it also happens in comedy. In Hunter, the realism of Winters's
confusion and total deflation when Mitchum talks hell and damnation as
a way of refusing to sleep with her on their wedding night is
unmistakable. To follow that with the shadow of the knife on the
ceiling of the bedroom is incredible--and pure Americana. |