μεταμορφώσεις

[Jeff Bernstein]

Zeros and Ones (2021), 14:36 / Oppenheimer (2023) trailer

[Jeff Bernstein]

At the Edge : Approximating the Celluoid Film Strip

Fargo, 1:23

EWS, 20:27

Sunset Boulevard, 20:49

[Jeff Bernstein]

Golden Ray

LIPPI, Fra Filippo, Coronation of the Virgin (detail), (1469)

(27:44) / (1:57:47)

[Jeff Bernstein]

BOTTICELLI, Coronation of the Virgin (detail), (1492)

[Jeff Bernstein]

Eyelights : 1500s

CARRACCI, Annibale, St Stephen (c.1597)

[Jeff Bernstein]

Technicity at the Outset : Fargo (1996)

(3:03) Fargo begins at the proverbial “τριπλαῖς ἁμαξιτοῖς” : “where three ways meet” (Sophocles, Oedipus, 716). The Protagonist has choices. He chooses his path, and then the film takes place as it does. Perhaps we might say he did not take the road less travelled—since he is in quest of narrow self-gratification?

 

King of Clubs : Life as game of chance. Is there cringeworthy humor here? The bar is evidently no “king” of clubs—it’s a dive on the smallest scale. This first post-credit shot sets up a theme of absurd self-confidence. Continuing the humor is the billboard : as it happens, the world stays cold throughout the entire film.

 

The streetlamps in the empty wasteland have a John Carpenter/Panavision–vibe to them, recalling Escape from New York (1981) :

(45:26) The Coen Brothers evoke Carpenter again in No Country for Old Men, which features two Carpenter vibes in one scene :

1:03:34 / Halloween (1978), 42:04. Also, at 1:04:33 :

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), 39:52; 1:26:47 / Big Trouble in Little China (1986), 1:21:08. // Let me tell you a story :

(3:15) “A person walks into a bar. . . .”

 Ali : Fear Eats the Soul (1974), 1:36; 1:46.

(3:23) Visual Association. Two pool tables / Two men = Two gambles in a world of gameplaying, brinksmanship, subterfuge, absurd confidence, error. A series of overhanging lamps lead the Spectator’s eye like a glowing pathway in toward the sight of Steve Buscemi. Is he glowing like a—fallen angel? A Satan? The color of his knitwear turtleneck recalls the sickly color we saw in Fassbinder’s Fear of Fear :

(36:14) Meanwhile, the color palette of glowing Buscemi and Blackness recalls these two examples :

VELÁZQUEZ, Portrait of Maria Luisa, Queen of Spain (c.1790)

GOYA, Dona Teresa Sureda (1806)

Born Out of the Radiance of Evil : Characters Of Their Times. The paraphernalia of Idle Tyranny is the alembic out of which the twisted characters of Fargo came to light. Our society itself brought them to birth : so who, finally, is to blame for their behavior? (A complex question with no easy answer—like anything else.) Consider, Kind Reader, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas : If America had been cool, the trip would have been cool, and Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo wouldn’t have freaked (e.g., “Somebody call the police. We need help! “We need help!” 11:45). The nihilism of the three characters in this scene reflects the time in which they live, the time of Anything Goes and Zero Responsibility. This way of seeing recalls :

Taxi Driver (1976), 5:28. These characters are “Poster Childs” for our Contemporary Inhuman Situation. And, for example, since I raised the issue of the Immersive Radiance of Inimical Society, recall the blinding dystopia of A.I. : Artificial Intelligence (2001) :

Characters. Does the arrangement of the beer bottles before Steve Buscemi evoke an image of prison bars? (Meanwhile, on the soundtrack a voice sings : “Set me free.”) The touch of blood-red—the candle—completes the first sight of the killer. Note how Peter Stormare, his partner in crime, cold nihilist of few words, blends in with the ambience of abyssal darkness. What radiance illuminates him seemingly flows from Buscemi.

Telephoto Tremendum. (4:13) / (5:14). Also Color Palette Anticipation? Example :

The Master (2012), 23:44; 32:15.

Also, for example :

Oppenheimer (2023) trailer.

The Fermata. (4:26) The vibe of Buscemi's silent two-second look recalls this silent three-second look in Blue Velvet :

(1:25:59) A “held breath” or “suspended moment”. Buscemi's silent two-second look also recalls Anton's silent two-second look from No Country for Old Men :

(21:33) “ . . . then I don’t know what else I can do for you.” // Moreover, Buscemi’s aggressive line, “You already said that" at 4:51 recalls Anton’s “Yeah, you said that.” (22:45)

(4:46) Cinematography Expressing Character. Stormare leans forward, revealing two blinking red lights close by his head—all visual approximations of his growing anger. Stormare’s character recalls a remark describing Perry Smith in In Cold Blood (1966) : “He might be ready to kill you, but you’d never know it, not to look at or listen to.” (2. Persons Unknown)

 

and

 

Eyelights. Of the three principals in this scene, only the bleak nihilist Stormare has no eyelights. His dark eyes are dark.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by Jeff Bernstein

[Jeff Bernstein]

Ali : Fear Eats the Soul, 1:35

[Jeff Bernstein]

Angel of Death.

(3:23). Note halo-like effect over Buscemi's head. A technique of the Old Masters. Example :

GOZZOLI, Benozzo, Madonna and Child Giving Blessings (1449)

 

 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by Jeff Bernstein

[Jeff Bernstein]

Eyelights : 1500s

TIZIANO, The Descent of the Holy Ghost (detail), (c.1545)

 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by Jeff Bernstein

[Jeff Bernstein]

Eyelights in Moving Car

Fargo (1996), 9:03

 

[Jeff Bernstein]

Fear of Fear, 7:22 / Fargo, 19:44

[Jeff Bernstein]

Pathways

(22:24) Another nexus point, another version of the τριπλαῖς ἁμαξιτοῖς, but the character is catatonic (so to speak) on his way toward his implacable fate—still well over an hour away.

[Jeff Bernstein]

Fargo, at 19:30-19:53, transits from Fassbinder to Hitchcock : the obverse of Fear of Fear.

[Jeff Bernstein]

Fate.

(16:45)

[Jeff Bernstein]

Red Overhead

Fargo, 3:57 / Wall Street (1987), 34:02

[Jeff Bernstein]

Blinking Red

(9:56) Multi-resonance : (1) enhancing aggression; (2) indicator of conspiracy in action.

[Jeff Bernstein]

Fargo, 23:40 / Taxi Driver, 43:50

[Jeff Bernstein]

Green. (40:53) / (41:26)

[Jeff Bernstein]

Unknown, Russian, The Holy Trinity (c.1710)

[Jeff Bernstein]

KULMBACH, The Ascension (1513)

[Jeff Bernstein]

Visual Motif : Characters Associated With Roads.

Fargo, 41:08 / The Color of Money, 34:24

[Jeff Bernstein]

Addition.

+

=

The Shining, 2:05:08 / Videodrome, 14:32 / Fargo, 24:48

[Jeff Bernstein]

Return of The Black

(27:06)

[Jeff Bernstein]

Lens Flare

over approaching cop, 27:24–27:30. During this moment, note the ambient sound effect apparently inspired by Full Metal Jacket; just as Burn After Reading begins with an “alarm sound” from 2001 : A Space Odyssey.

 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by Jeff Bernstein

[Jeff Bernstein]

The Short Pan.

(29:22)