One of the most celebrated cinematographers in the seventies is Gordon Willis. His work was described as “if there was a conspiracy against Willis, it was one of the artistic conservatism rather than industry politics, because Willis’s dark and brooding style violated the rules of classical Hollywood cinematography more than that of any of the other new DPs” (Cook, 359). Two of the films being analyzed through our photographs were actual works of Willis’s. We decided to analyze The Godfather (1972) and All the Presidents Men (1976). Willis also shot Annie Hall (1977), another film screened in class, but that film is more credible for it’s unique narrative style and screenplay rather than its cinematography. Willis was known for “perfectionism [that] made him the most respected cinematographer of his generation” (Cook 359).
The image of Marlon Brando having a discussion is extremely dark. The only light in the scene appears to be coming from the blinds behind them, yet the front of the characters is also lit with a slight shine coming off of Brando’s head. We attempted to recreate the scene by dulling the surroundings, making the space equally dark, resulting in the characters to almost appear to be in black and white. The image is not super sharp, but rather grainy to make the space and the characters within the shot to appear more raw. The other options of our photographs were not composed as tightly, and we eventually worked our way into a closer shot to establish the feeling of secrecy that was the result in the actual film. We also tried hiding the other characters face in order for the scene to feel more deceptive, however, the end result made the shot seem confusing and unrealistic. Therefore, the original shot composed in The Godfather by Gordon Willis was dead on perfect. Through our multiple attempts we were able to understand every choice he made to establish the power within the office and around Marlon Brando’s character.
The scene from All the President’s Men is very mysterious and has a feeling of discovery and crisis to it. The look of intrigue under the faint lighting allows for the mysterious feeling. The crisis feeling comes from downward looking faces and also the medium shot of the characters.
Robert Redford’s face is lit but Dustin Hoffman’s character remains in the shadow with only a streak of light across his face. The typewriter remains to be in the center of the shot, stealing not only the focus of the characters, but the audience as well. We chose to take the desk lamp out because we feel that the object was distracting but also because we decided to modernize the image by using a computer. If this film were shot today, the illumination from the computer screen would serve as the light on the face from the desk lamp instead. Some of our other attempts involved different body contours. We found that by keeping the body of the character on screen left twisted at the torso helped the feel of the scene. Having the body sitting back or looking up or even with the typewriter did not create the same look of intrigue from the characters. We also tried the shot from further out but that created less mystery and destroyed any feeling of crisis within the scene. Also, we tried to do the shots with less light to create a darker feeling, but rather than creating suspense it created a drastic feel of corruption within those characters, making them appear as the bad guys. Again, through all of our multiple attempts, the decisions by Gordon Willis prove to be the proper selections in terms of framing and lighting for the overall outcome and effect throughout All the President’s Men.John Alcott served as Stanley Kubrick’s Director of Photography for many films and assisted him with many newfound inventions for the camera. Kubrick shot a lot of A Clockwork Orange (1971) with the use of a wide-angle lenses. Alcott designed a lot of these lenses and also certain viewfinders to allow them to shoot scenes in such lowlight to establish the awkward silhouettes and shadows. Action sequences in Clockwork are typically from further out, in more establishing shots while most character conflict comes through intense close ups (Cook 363).
The shot we chose from Clockwork is one of Alex up close in an almost pitch black background with a strange powerful light glowing to his left. He is lit from an unknown source directly in front of him that does not spill anywhere on the background. The image is very unrealistic that almost makes the scene feel dreamlike. The image relies heavily on the subject’s composition. We moved our model around in various positions to change his relation to the light in terms of distance. This had very strange effects, making the light its own character rather than part of Alex like in the film. We also tried changing the facial expression/head tilt to see if slight movement would impair the scene as well. Of course, there is only one possible look that would create the same feel that Kubrick and Alcott accomplished. We discovered the power of the zoom lens in our shoot. Kubrick needs to use that lens to create the darkness in the scene. By zooming in, he made the close up happen while flattening the background making distant objects seem up close as well, establishing a more claustrophobic feeling in the scene.
John Alonzo is also one of the seventies most influential cinematographers. “His most remarkable work of the decade was as cinematographer for Roamn Polanski’s period film noir Chinatown (1974), for which he won an Academy Award” (Cook 360). His style in that movie was very dreamy and had the nostalgic look of Hollywood but also had the feel of classic Hollywood.
In the photograph we selected, there is very little emotion conveyed. A lot of the scene revolves
around mystery and clue. The Venetian blinds represent a an opening into the truth, which is exactly what Jack Nicholson’s character is attempting to accomplish. We noticed that Nicholson’s character is seated in what appears to be a rather uncomfortable position. His arm looks forced unnatural. Therefore, in our generation of the image, we decided to have the arm more lax. Now looking at the image, perhaps the stiffness represents an eager moment but even then, we feel that the body would have lounged forward rather than the arm sticking out. What is great about this scene is that it is not a close up on the face or even the head and shoulders. Instead it shows the representation of the full character. That element we decided to keep. We also noticed that the main light source for the scene was the blinds in the afternoon so the light should be pretty bright. However, we noticed that there is not a present shadow in the composition. We decided to attempt the shot with a shadow but noticed that a drastic shadow steals the intensity of the character. Therefore, we left the shadow out and now we understand that by leaving the shadow out we can see the dreamy look of the image that Alonzo is known for during the seventies.
Also during the seventies came the rise of even younger cinematographers. During the seventies, Micheal Chapman served as a camera for major motion pictures like The Godfather and Jaws. He then worked on The Invasion of the Body Snatchers and then started working with Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver which lead them to work together again on Raging Bull (Cook 360). When working in Jaws, Chapman favored the use of handheld camera techniques, which definitely influenced his work on Raging Bull. But he also utilized things like major cranes and steadicams. He started to utilize the new inventions of the seventies. Also, by the time Raging Bull was shot, it was the very end of the seventies and new, lighter cameras had become available. This allowed for his handheld and low shots to be composed with a great amount of ease. He was also able to use the faster, new stocks of Kodak to get the brighter lights. These new techniques lead to him being nominated for Academy Awards and Critic awards (IMDB).
In the images we selected, there is a lot of over exposure. This shot lasts for maybe a third of a second in the film, it just flashes, like it was still in the film. It renders almost useless. However, the image is so powerful, that just a flash will stick with the viewers, which was a newer convention for the seventies cinema. Unfortuanetly, we did not have boxing gloves, so thick leather gloves were the next best option to create the almost undefined boxing gloves. We discovered that to replicate this image is extremely hard and the composition is actually very complex. The low angle is pretty straightforward to symbolize power, but the angle the body is at is new. The face does not address the camera and there is a big bright light staring into the camera instead. We knew that the light could not be replaced, that it helps set the feeling of dominance in the image. The washed out aspects on De Niro’s body were really hard to create. There must be multiple light sources at different ratios to light his body that drastically because we used three lights and were still very unsuccessful in creating the same flesh tones that are present. Also, we did not have a black ceiling to shoot off of that would give us a solid light to stare back into the camera.
We noticed that facial expression plays a key roll in the image as well. De Niro’s face does not show excitement or anger but instead it is very plain. We decided to see what would happen if he twisted his face in multiple ways and discovered that any form of facial expression would change the mood. The most important factor is the arms being upright with the head looking down. We tried the head looking straight forward, as if it was the crowd, but the feeling of victory was diminished as well. Our final test involved moving the camera further away to get more of the body, and closer to hide the stomach and get only the face. Further away shots made the character feel less dominating and shots up close made the scene more personal and possibly express character conflict. One thing we noticed about the original is that it does not express direct character conflict, but character control. The shot by Chapman is perfect and expresses every aspect properly. The use of a lightweight camera and faster shot allowed him to conquer great tasks in late seventies cinema, especially since he was trained all throughout major pictures in the seventies.
Through our multiple trials, we discovered that each cinematographer was able to grasp new technology in a way that benefited their artistic views the most. Whether it was zooms lenses, faster film stock, or better ways to move the camera, each image is composed perfectly and lighting became a new art form in films. It was no longer about proper exposure, but what was more intriguing and message conveying. Seventies cinema allowed for greater images in story telling and more freedom from corporations as new talent began selecting their own projects and demanded their own freedom. All together, seventies influence is still scene in films today. Each of these cinematographers, whether dead or alive, continues to be referenced and skills still applied to the works of modern day photographers and cinematographers.
Bibliography
Brown, Blain. Motion Picture and Video Lighting. Oxford: Focal Press, 2007.
Cook, David A. Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam 1970-1979. New York: Univeristy of Califronia Press, 2000.
Internet Movie Database. “Michael Chapman”. 1 December 2007. 1990.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0152469/
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