Championed Images And Music Over Words: Film Analysis
“I think people talk too much” Antonioni. Write an essay on two films on the course that champion images and/or music over words
Film does not simply function to entertain; it is created to make suggestions about the wider society. Furthermore these suggestions and themes are not simply stated, but must be tactically revealed through filmic devices. Whilst traditionally, dialogue is the driving force of cinema functioning to reveal relationships and themes, some directors have gone against this tradition, and championed images and music over words as their primary filmic device. It should be noted, that although images and music can function alone, there are complementary devices, and when used in conjunction can often be more effective (Flinn, 2000). Vertov’s 1929 Man with a Movie Camera is a multi-linear documentary whilst Melville’s 1967 Le Samourai is a fictional crime thriller. Although completely contrasting narrative types, they both employ this idea of using images and music as their primary filmic device rather than words and dialogue. The central themes in Man with a Movie Camera are the progression of the Soviet Union, celebration of film, as well as the relationship between man and machine. Le Samourai similarly employs devices of images and …show more content…
He undergoes a unique relationship of exploration in which he uses camera and image to celebrate camera and image under the broader spectrum of film. Man with a Movie Camera often feels like a matryoshka doll, with it being a documentary on the documenting of film. Notably even the processes of editing and viewing the film appearing in the film itself. This is paramount in the usage of camera, as we are again positioned to trust and appreciate it. The film appears to show no bias, as he juxtaposes shots of shoe-shining and women at beauty salons, with shots of the editing process of
Film does not simply function to entertain; it is created to make suggestions about the wider society. Furthermore these suggestions and themes are not simply stated, but must be tactically revealed through filmic devices. Whilst traditionally, dialogue is the driving force of cinema functioning to reveal relationships and themes, some directors have gone against this tradition, and championed images and music over words as their primary filmic device. It should be noted, that although images and music can function alone, there are complementary devices, and when used in conjunction can often be more effective (Flinn, 2000). Vertov’s 1929 Man with a Movie Camera is a multi-linear documentary whilst Melville’s 1967 Le Samourai is a fictional crime thriller. Although completely contrasting narrative types, they both employ this idea of using images and music as their primary filmic device rather than words and dialogue. The central themes in Man with a Movie Camera are the progression of the Soviet Union, celebration of film, as well as the relationship between man and machine. Le Samourai similarly employs devices of images and …show more content…
He undergoes a unique relationship of exploration in which he uses camera and image to celebrate camera and image under the broader spectrum of film. Man with a Movie Camera often feels like a matryoshka doll, with it being a documentary on the documenting of film. Notably even the processes of editing and viewing the film appearing in the film itself. This is paramount in the usage of camera, as we are again positioned to trust and appreciate it. The film appears to show no bias, as he juxtaposes shots of shoe-shining and women at beauty salons, with shots of the editing process of