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.