Photography and Cinema

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towardit.^15 Printedframesdenythis,howevermanyarereproduced.

AfullquartercenturyearlierBeaumontNewhallhadnotedthat‘some

ofthemoststrikingnewsphotographsareenlargementsfromnews

film’.^16 Todaytheframe-grabfromdigitalvideoiscommonplaceinnews-

papers.Nevertheless,Life’sexploitationoftheZapruderfootagewas

unusual.Newhallhadinmindtheisolationofsinglefilmframes,presented

asiftheywereuniquenewsphotographs.Life’slayoutsmadeavirtueof

theircinematicorigin.

BrianDePalma’sconspiracymovieBlow Out( 1980 )deftlyreworksall

this.JohnTravoltaplaysafilmsoundengineerrecordingabackground

wildtrackwhenheinadvertentlypicksupthenoiseofacarplunging

intoariver.Dayslaterheseesinamagazineafilm-stripsequenceofthe

eventcaughtbyanamateurfilmmaker.Hecutsouttheframesandturns

themintoarudimentaryflipbooktoseeiftheirmotioncanberecreated.

Thenherephotographsthemonebyoneontocinéfilm,reanimating

themasamovie.Hesynchronizeshisrecordedsoundwiththefilmand

discoversthatthe‘blowout’ofthecar’styrewastheresultofagunshot.

Itisaslickandknowingscene,blendingpopularhistory(theZapruder

filmandtheincidentof 1969 inwhichTedKennedy’scarcareeredoffa

bridgeintowater,killinghispassenger,MaryJoKopechne)andfilm

history(theeditsuitesequenceinVertov’sMan with a Movie Cameraand

theinvestigationofphotographsinAntonioni’sBlow-up).

MontageExpanded


Montagefundamentallyshapedthevanguardartandcultureofmainland

Europebetweenthewars.InBritainandNorthAmericaitsimpactwas

farlessovert,butitwasstillconsiderable.Thevariouspublicationsof

photographerBillBrandt’sworkinBritainareilluminatinghere.Atseveral

pointsBrandtconnecteddirectlywithcinema.ForPicture Postmagazine

heshotonthesetofMichaelPowell’sandEmericPressburger’swarsatire

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp( 1942 ).^17 HetookportraitsofBritish

filmdirectorsforLilliputmagazinein 1949.^18 Thetwopublicationswere

undertheeditorialinfluenceofStefanLorant,anemigréwhobrought 69

57 Blow Out(BriandePalma,1980),frames.

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