Stephen C Walsh Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 NOTE: I think this could be a broad question, and most people (I hope) will have something to say but admins feel free to relocate this thread if it doesn't belong here. I'm writing a paper temporarily entitled 'Aesthetics in the Absence of Light: Storytelling Through Shadows' and have purchased several books on the film noir and horror genres and on film lighting in general. I'm finding, however, that the films referred to in the books are either too obscure and not great films or the few obvious choices. I can't watch every film in existence looking for shots that utilise shadows effectively and originally but perhaps some users on here can steer me in the right direction and could recommend a film I might have missed that has a relevant scene in it somewhere, a film that doesn't necessarily fall into the noir or horror genres, but is recognised and respected. Any help would be much appreciated, Thanks, Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member George Ebersole Posted January 3, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted January 3, 2013 I can't think of any titles off the top of my head, but most of the noire genre from the 30s and 40s have lots of shadow play. Largely because most films were shot in black and white. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giray Izcan Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Look at Conrad Hall's films. He only lit what he wanted to show and left the rest in shadows. The Others had a good use of shadows. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giray Izcan Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Also Amityville Horror was pretty remarkable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted January 3, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted January 3, 2013 Night of the Hunter The Godfather or Klute Temple scene in last section of Apocalypse Now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Christopher Sheneman Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Sunset Boulevard. Especially when Joe is watching her old movies (Norma Desmond) with her in the "home theater", absolutely chilling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Murray Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 (edited) By what measure or standard are you using to dismiss films as too obscure? If they have the examples you need, don't worry if TCM doesn't show them on a regular basis, include them in your paper. Right off the top of my head, I love the way shadow is used to help tell the story in the original Scarface. In particular the symbol of a cross is shown whenever somebody is about to die. This is typicaly done with shadow and the scene that sticks out most for me is the Valentine's Day Massacre. The shadow of the Vampire creeping along the wall in Nosferatu. Edited January 4, 2013 by Pat Murray 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lary Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 You should take a look at Ivan's Childhood (Tarkovsky), particularly the scene where the main character is acting out a war mission in his room in the dark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Bill DiPietra Posted January 4, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted January 4, 2013 Ingmar Bergman's Persona is the one that jumps out at me... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen C Walsh Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Thanks for the tips so far. Pat, I suppose I just want to avoid copying and pasting the specific examples from the text. A lot of them do seem to be low budget independent films for some reason and I don't think I could ever find them on DVD or even online to watch the scenes for myself. I'd much rather see the film and write about it in my own words more for the sense of achievement than anything else. I hope that makes sense! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Steven Beverly Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I would probably go to the masters of light and shadow, German Expressionism and Film Noir. As for German Expressionism look at films like Nosferatu, Metropolis,The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. the Gollum, Frankenstein. Then there are Film Noir pictures like A Touch of Evil, The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, Rififi, The Third Man, Night and the City, The Asphalt Jungle. I also would recommend Citizen Kane also, just for fun of it, Shadows and Fog. . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Murray Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Thanks for the tips so far. Pat, I suppose I just want to avoid copying and pasting the specific examples from the text. A lot of them do seem to be low budget independent films for some reason and I don't think I could ever find them on DVD or even online to watch the scenes for myself. I'd much rather see the film and write about it in my own words more for the sense of achievement than anything else. I hope that makes sense! That makes perfect sense Stephen. I like James' follow up. If you're in a decent sized city, you should have access to a video store with the titles he listed. Also check out Netflix. I'm pretty sure the original Scarface I referenced is on Netflix. A few of those titles mentioned by James should be there as well. Very interesting topic, btw. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Simon Wyss Posted February 13, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted February 13, 2013 Gleißende Schatten Kamerapioniere der zwanziger Jahre Cinema Quadrat, Mannheim Henschel-Verlag, Berlin, 1994, 156 pages ISBN 3-89487-216-0 Perfect reading for the subject with a lot of illustrations A few historical and editorial errors but nevertheless a book I am glad to have Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juanita Rodriguez Onzaga Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Tetro has some amazing shot-reverse shots using shadows and reflections instead of the faces of the characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Bruce Southerland Posted March 11, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted March 11, 2013 "The Third Man" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Graybill Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bartok Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Schindler's list's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giray Izcan Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Road to Perdition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Clarke Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Manhattan - especially the Planetarium scene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Kennedy Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Rashomon (especially the scenes in the forest) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Selby Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Any film noir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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