The King's Speech

David Mullen ASC · December 6, 2010

Lovely recreation of the look of early color stocks without hitting you over the head with it. Some shots looked like recreations of early Kodachrome and Agfa snapshots of 1930's England.

Andrew Wheeler · December 8, 2010

I thought there some bold framing choices as well that really helped visually communicate his difficulty speaking.

January 16, 2011

I agree with both of you, beautifully shot indeed.

One question though *potential spoiler* if the King spoke perfectly with the head phones on while the music played in his ears. Why didn't he just wear the headphones & listen to the music when he gave the speech over the radio in the end?

I mean, no members of the public or the press could see him in that booth.

Oh well, I guess they didn't think of that?

R,

Brian Rose · January 16, 2011

I was quite amazed at their use of wide angle lenses, and what they were able to do in small spaces.

Does anyone know how much of the film was shot on soundstage, versus on location? I hope this film gets a nom for Best Art Direction, because I sure had trouble figuring out which were sets...everything look marvelously lived in and didn't have that feel of open space outside of the frame that usually betrays a set with no ceiling.

Brian Dzyak · January 16, 2011

I agree with both of you, beautifully shot indeed.

One question though *potential spoiler* if the King spoke perfectly with the head phones on while the music played in his ears. Why didn't he just wear the headphones & listen to the music when he gave the speech over the radio in the end?

I mean, no members of the public or the press could see him in that booth.

Oh well, I guess they didn't think of that?

R,

I wondered the exact same thing during the movie, actually anticipating that that would happen. But it never did. Hmm.

I also wondered about the purpose of the odd framing choices. I'm still not sure what was meant to be achieved. :unsure:

Brian Rose · January 16, 2011

I also wondered about the purpose of the odd framing choices. I'm still not sure what was meant to be achieved. :unsure:

Why, I was composing my shots like that in film school. My professors got on my case about it, but "the King's Speech" just goes to show I was ahead of my time! ;)

BR

Bill Totolo · January 16, 2011

I was curious about the approach to lighting the close ups, wasn't really my cup of tea.

Seemed a bit harsh and a bit uncomplimentary, though I suppose that could be the point.

Phil Rhodes · January 16, 2011

Weird framing didn't work for me either. Just seemed to be a cry of "look at me, I'm being unconventional."

Brian Drysdale · January 16, 2011

One question though *potential spoiler* if the King spoke perfectly with the head phones on while the music played in his ears. Why didn't he just wear the headphones & listen to the music when he gave the speech over the radio in the end?

I'd imagine it was because that would've only worked in a radio studio, when a king has to make public speeches at many venues. He couldn't wear headphones at the state opening of parliament for example. Not having yet seen the film, I'd assume the radio speech was the dramatic climax, but the future lies beyond that and having controlled his stammer he can fulfil his role during WW2 etc.

Jonathan Bowerbank · January 25, 2011

In regards to the framing, I'm sure it was just a choice between the director & DP to try and make conversations a bit more interesting to look at during the long sit down scenes. The performances were so great that conventional framing would have been fine, but I actually enjoyed the negative space in the frame and how it made me focus on the characters' faces.

John Sprung · January 25, 2011

Honestly, I didn't even notice the compositions. I was completely absorbed by the story and performances. But I come to this movie with a personal bias, having had the same thing, only nowhere nearly as severe. I probably blather away on this board as much as I do because it's easier than talking to you in person.

-- J.S.

Mark Dunn · January 25, 2011

Believe it or not, the left-wing papers here can't bring themselves to give it unreserved good reviews because it's too kind to the Royal Family.

Austin Serr · May 8, 2011

I just rented and rewatched this and while I still love the directing, performances, art direction and actual quality/color palette chosen in the cinematography, the framing did nothing for me. I'm all for interesting (even distracting) framing, but only if it serves a purpose. It was obvious early on in the film that the reverse lead room and large amounts of empty space in most of the framing was supposed to signify Birdie's disconnection with the rest of the world due to his inability to comfortably communicate. The reverse lead room was most apparent when Birdie and Lionel first met, which I thought was a good way to show that they were at odds with each other. The problem is that as they became more and more comfortable with each other, the framing never changed. Any possible interesting significance that could've been associated with the framing then got thrown out the window and basically became useless and served only to be "different" and "unique". Also, the scene where the empty space in the frame was most apparent was just a random scene when Lionel was at home with his family. There was a frame where Lionel's head was in the extreme lower right-hand corner of the frame and the rest of the frame was taken up by a wall that has a repetitive pattern on it. It's a really interesting frame but it serves no purpose - why would the DP and director want to convey a feeling of emptiness, loneliness, and a feeling that the family is at odds with each other? It's made obvious in the film that Lionel has a good family life; there's no need to suggest otherwise.

It's an overall very solid film but the majority of the framing choices bothered me to no end.

Justin Hayward · May 9, 2011

the framing did nothing for me.

Im sure the filmmakers will take this to heart, toss out the Oscar, and drastically rethink their future endeavors ;)

Mike Goldstein · May 9, 2011

Also, it's Bertie, not Birdie.

(I hate for that to be my first post, but I felt a strange need to point that out.)

Austin Serr · May 9, 2011

I’m sure the filmmakers will take this to heart, toss out the Oscar, and drastically rethink their future endeavors ;)

Haha yeah yeah. It was still a very good film and I commend them for taking a risk with the style in a film that's otherwise very conventional (don't mean that in a bad way). I'm still very intrigued to see what Hooper/Cohen do for their next project.

And yeah, thanks for pointing out "Bertie". That makes way more sense. I knew something was wrong with my spelling of it :P

Jason Reimer · May 11, 2011

I finally got a chance to see this, and loved it! I'm sure some will disagree, but I actually thought the asymmetric compositions served the story very well. To me, they underscored Bertie's discomfort with his surroundings, particularly his discomfort with people. The lighting was beautiful, the writing and the acting were great, and I just ate up those compositions. It was refreshing to see something that was different while at the same time clearly done with the intention of serving the story. If it made people a little ill at ease, then exactly! Welcome to his world. I thought it was brilliantly done.

To Mr. Sprung- stutter or not, I'm sure any conversation with you in person would be worth any working or aspiring cinematographer's time; you are definitely an asset to this forum! So thank you for your great input.

Brian Hulnick · October 20, 2011

Watched it 2 weeks ago and thought it was beautifully filmed. It really made you empathize with the King. His discomfort seemed so genuine. Great movie. Glad I finally decided to give it a shot.

Jerry Murrel · October 24, 2011

Lovely recreation of the look of early color stocks without hitting you over the head with it. Some shots looked like recreations of early Kodachrome and Agfa snapshots of 1930's England.

David,

Good point. Hate to admit it, but I didn't even realize that till you pointed

it out. But there it is.

There really should be a "like" button for posts on this newsgroup! :)

-Jerry Murrel

CineVision AR

Little Rock