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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 19, 2019 22:50:25 GMT
The Lady in the Lake (1947) With the Hero Seen ONLY in the Mirror gimmick
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Post by london777 on Mar 20, 2019 16:51:48 GMT
Repulsion (1965) dir: Roman Polanski contains a famous "jump scare" when the paranoid Catherine Deneuve thinks that she glimpses her menacing landlord (Patrick Wymark) in her bathroom as she closes the mirrored door of the cabinet. Perhaps our film historians here could tell me if this was the first usage of this trope? I have seen it copied a million times since.
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Post by london777 on Mar 20, 2019 16:58:51 GMT
This image from Wild Strawberries (1957) dir: Ingmar Bergman encapsulates the theme of the movie, as aged and eminent physician Isak Borg (Victor Sjöström) reflects on his life and behaviour during a road trip across Sweden and does not much like what he sees. The greatest of all road movies.
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Post by london777 on Mar 20, 2019 17:13:22 GMT
I love when a character is introduced by a reflection in a window, or water.
Dick Powell is startled by Mike Mazurki's reflection in his office window in Murder My Sweet (1944) dir: Edward Dmytryk.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Mar 20, 2019 17:16:54 GMT
Mirror movie magic: some basics - Sunset BlvdNorma primps before speaking to Joe. From that angle, of course, what Swanson saw in the mirror was the camera, not herself, and in this way, makes direct eye contact with viewers...just as she would again at the film's fadeout. Norma is now completely 'round the bend, and Swanson skillfully angles the hand mirror to illuminate those lost-in-delusion eyes. A mirror at the bottom of the pool was used to capture this "underwater" shot of William Holden.
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Post by delon on Mar 20, 2019 18:25:29 GMT
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Post by delon on Mar 20, 2019 20:46:34 GMT
Richard Harris punches the mirror in This Sporting Life (1963)
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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 20, 2019 23:08:37 GMT
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
great, now I have to keep a notebook handy to jot down movies with mirror scenes and hope to find images of same … thanks a bunch spiderwort !
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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 20, 2019 23:15:28 GMT
Still more on that shot of ever adorable MM (Mike Mazurki) in MURDER MY SWEET
"For Moose Malloy's first appearance, reflected in the window of Marlowe's office, Edward Dmytryk couldn't get Mike Mazurki to appear large enough because the window was too far from the camera. Instead, he had a plate of glass placed between the camera and Marlowe's desk, then reflected Mazurki's image in that. On screen, the plate glass is undetectable, making the large reflection seem to be farther from the camera."
unrelated but cool …. "It was hard to get Mike Mazurki to tower over Dick Powell, because the former singer stood 6' 2", with Mazurki only slightly taller at 6' 4 1/2". For many scenes, Powell had to stand in a trench."
While watching the film, I kept noticing their incredible height difference and it was only later that I found the explanation.
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Post by london777 on Mar 21, 2019 2:06:48 GMT
Still more on that shot of ever adorable MM (Mike Mazurki) in MURDER MY SWEET " For Moose Malloy's first appearance, reflected in the window of Marlowe's office, Edward Dmytryk couldn't get Mike Mazurki to appear large enough because the window was too far from the camera. Instead, he had a plate of glass placed between the camera and Marlowe's desk, then reflected Mazurki's image in that. On screen, the plate glass is undetectable, making the large reflection seem to be farther from the camera." I cannot even begin to visualize how that actually worked, but then I am the most unpractical person on earth (I have to call in a plumber to fix a dripping faucet). I just call all that stuff "movie magic". And thereby hangs a tale ... ... there is a reason this thread on mirrors, and our threads on carnivals (etc) and on confidence tricksters all received so many nominated films. These topics are all related at a deeper level with the very nature of cinema itself.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Mar 21, 2019 14:10:58 GMT
Still more on that shot of ever adorable MM (Mike Mazurki) in MURDER MY SWEET " For Moose Malloy's first appearance, reflected in the window of Marlowe's office, Edward Dmytryk couldn't get Mike Mazurki to appear large enough because the window was too far from the camera. Instead, he had a plate of glass placed between the camera and Marlowe's desk, then reflected Mazurki's image in that. On screen, the plate glass is undetectable, making the large reflection seem to be farther from the camera." This is just the sort of how-they-did-it stuff I love to learn about. And now that I look at the shot with that knowledge in mind... ...I'm having one of those "Of course!" moments. As many times as I've seen the film, it never occurred to me that it was physically impossible for Mazurki's reflection to be larger than Powell's if reflected by the same surface. Both are strongly lit - Powell from two sources, Marzurki from one - so each one's reflection will register in his individual pane, but the panes are angled differently so that an additional Mazurki reflection won't show up in Powell's. Clever. After nearly a decade photographing shorts and undistinguished second features, cinematographer Harry Wild must have been having a great time coming up with such ideas for this visually rich project. Thanks, BATouttaheck !
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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 21, 2019 14:20:32 GMT
Doghouse6once upon a time in a distant land, there was a thread about pre cgi movie "tricks" … wonder if it would fly again.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Mar 21, 2019 14:46:46 GMT
Doghouse6 once upon a time in a distant land, there was a thread about pre cgi movie "tricks" … wonder if it would fly again. Can't imagine why not. With roughly 90 years of film history before CGI became the "go to" FX technology, I feel safe in saying there are thousands of unexplored old-school examples of cinematic sleight of hand.
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Post by tommyrockarolla on Mar 21, 2019 15:41:34 GMT
Mirrors and reflected images in films.
I'll stick first with a reflected image that I've always thought was brilliant:
In Spielberg's first feature, Sugarland Express (1974), Goldie Hawn and William Atherton, on the run from the law, are holed up at night in a trailer next to a drive-in theatre where a violent cartoon plays on the movie screen. We see this not from their point of view, but reflected on the window of their trailer as they look through it to watch. They laugh and laugh while the violence of the cartoon characters plays over, then merges with, their faces until they appear to be the ones taking the beating. A foreshadowing of their own demise that’s entirely lost upon them. The purely cinematic symbolism is stunning to me.
Do you have other suggestions (with or without symbolism) for the use of mirrors or reflections that impress you?
Brando, as directed by Huston, in the weird Southern Gothic "Reflections In A Golden Eye". About repressed homosexuality, extramarital affairs, etc, etc. Considering the subject matter and time (mid 60's), so much a verbose 'adult drama', it's almost unwatchable today. Still, a good effort. Direction is outstanding, with one of the best assembled casts of the 1960's. This scene has been mentioned by Martin Scorsese as the scene which helped berth the "You Lookin At Me?" scene in "Taxi Driver".
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Post by tommyrockarolla on Mar 22, 2019 2:42:05 GMT
Brando, as directed by Huston, in the weird Southern Gothic "Reflections In A Golden Eye". About repressed homosexuality, extramarital affairs, etc, etc. Considering the subject matter and time (mid 60's), so much a verbose 'adult drama', it's almost unwatchable today. Still, a good effort. Direction is outstanding, with one of the best assembled casts of the 1960's. This scene has been mentioned by Martin Scorsese as the scene which helped berth the "You Lookin At Me?" scene in "Taxi Driver". Love your comments and the clip, tommy. I haven't seen that film since it was released and didn't think much of it then, but I do believe the mirror scene is very impressive. Thanks for the post. And now you've got me wanting to take another look at the film; never understood quite why it didn't seem to work with that cast and that director. I remember wanting to like it. Could have been a bad adaptation of the Carson McCullers novel. She's a tough one to do.
I can tell you, having watched it 2-3x in the last 10+ years? It's somewhat dated, largely because of the film censorships attitude toward 'gay'. Huston took on a tough story here, and whatever misgivings one might have about Brando? As usual for his mid career, he takes on the 'unlikeable' role, and does it well. Young Robert Forster as the handsome young 'buck', Liz Taylor in a more modern version of Maggie (She's too pissed off to wait on 'Brick', here) is perfect. Add Brian Keith and Julie Harris? What can you say. But it's definitely a slow burn. Like I said, for 1967s? It was a risky picture. I don't know how many WWII vets were crazy about seeing 'the gay major', if you know what I mean. Tough subject matter to work with. Huston, at times, was one of the bravest auteur directors working in Hollywood, very forward thinking guy, IMO. Robert Ebert's review from 1967.
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Post by teleadm on Mar 22, 2019 18:14:04 GMT
Since I just watched You Only Live Once 1937, and in the early lighter moments of the movie there was this reflected in a small frog pond (the pic is not uppside down): Sorry if it's been sent before!
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Post by bravomailer on Mar 22, 2019 18:50:09 GMT
Brando, as directed by Huston, in the weird Southern Gothic "Reflections In A Golden Eye". About repressed homosexuality, extramarital affairs, etc, etc. Considering the subject matter and time (mid 60's), so much a verbose 'adult drama', it's almost unwatchable today. Still, a good effort. Direction is outstanding, with one of the best assembled casts of the 1960's. This scene has been mentioned by Martin Scorsese as the scene which helped berth the "You Lookin At Me?" scene in "Taxi Driver". Love your comments and the clip, tommy. I haven't seen that film since it was released and didn't think much of it then, but I do believe the mirror scene is very impressive. Thanks for the post. And now you've got me wanting to take another look at the film; never understood quite why it didn't seem to work with that cast and that director. I remember wanting to like it. Could have been a bad adaptation of the Carson McCullers novel. She's a tough one to do.
A still from that film was doctored for Colonel Kurtz's file in Apocalypse Now.
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Post by bravomailer on Mar 23, 2019 19:21:06 GMT
I looked for a photo of signal mirrors in The Comancheros but to no avail.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Mar 23, 2019 19:52:44 GMT
Reflection in a legal eye: Witness For the Prosecution Charles Laughton applies the monocle test... ...to Marlene Dietrich.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Mar 23, 2019 20:08:00 GMT
Orpheus (1950) Jean Cocteau , A stylish variation of the classic Greek myth of Orpheus with a contemporary Paris setting. The mirror a gateway to the underworld... Similar Cocteau imagery from The Blood of a Poet (1932) The representation of a "gateway" is then added by way of this startling visual:
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