Most perfectly composed shot in movie history

Started by Just Withnail, May 22, 2003, 12:32:14 PM

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MacGuffin

The party scene in Hitchcock's "Notorious." Shot starts at the top of the stairs in a WIDE overview of the entire room and all the guests. Slowly the camera cranes down and across to the other side of the room to find Ingrid Bergman; slowly zooming in and landing in an Extreme Close-Up that Holds on the key that is in her hand. Beautiful shot.
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godardian

Quote from: MacGuffinThe party scene in Hitchcock's "Notorious." Shot starts at the top of the stairs in a WIDE overview of the entire room and all the guests. Slowly the camera cranes down and across to the other side of the room to find Ingrid Bergman; slowly zooming in and landing in an Extreme Close-Up that Holds on the key that is in her hand. Beautiful shot.

I just saw this for the first time this week, and I fully agree. The more films you see, the fewer shots surprise or awe you, but this one is absolutely brilliant. Utilitarian and graceful and beautiful to look at. That's Hitch for you, and what more could you ask for?
""Money doesn't come into it. It never has. I do what I do because it's all that I am." - Morrissey

"Lacan stressed more and more in his work the power and organizing principle of the symbolic, understood as the networks, social, cultural, and linguistic, into which a child is born. These precede the birth of a child, which is why Lacan can say that language is there from before the actual moment of birth. It is there in the social structures which are at play in the family and, of course, in the ideals, goals, and histories of the parents. This world of language can hardly be grasped by the newborn and yet it will act on the whole of the child's existence."

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dufresne

perfectly composed, huh?

i'd say the intro of The Godfather and the slow push on Tom Regan that ends Miller's Crossing.
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soixante

Hard to pick just one.  Kubrick certainly composes great shots.  But I'll have to go with Scorsese.  Mean Streets DVD, Chapter 8, 6:33 -- a bunch of guys are lined up against two pool tables by New York's finest.  Then, Scorsese pans away from the shot immediately, rather than showing it off the way other directors would.
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godardian

Quote from: soixanteHard to pick just one.  Kubrick certainly composes great shots.  But I'll have to go with Scorsese.  Mean Streets DVD, Chapter 8, 6:33 -- a bunch of guys are lined up against two pool tables by New York's finest.  Then, Scorsese pans away from the shot immediately, rather than showing it off the way other directors would.

This is what I mean about the difficulty, though. You can take any of your favorite films and find dozens of "perfectly" composed shots. Kubrick, for one... I couldn't begin to isolate just one perfect composition. Those films are chock-full of them. The very first cut from the red title sequence to Alex staring you down, then very, very slow zoom out at the beginning of Clockwork Orange... the final scene of 2001... and on and on.

It's also difficult because sometimes a scene feels perfectly composed in CONTEXT. Like, I think the next-to-last shot of Mulholland Dr.- the superimposition of "Betty" and "Rita" from earlier in the film, over a swooning, sparkling L.A. cityscape- is just stunningly beautiful and incredibly rich with significance, a "perfect" composition, but only if you've seen everything that came before...
""Money doesn't come into it. It never has. I do what I do because it's all that I am." - Morrissey

"Lacan stressed more and more in his work the power and organizing principle of the symbolic, understood as the networks, social, cultural, and linguistic, into which a child is born. These precede the birth of a child, which is why Lacan can say that language is there from before the actual moment of birth. It is there in the social structures which are at play in the family and, of course, in the ideals, goals, and histories of the parents. This world of language can hardly be grasped by the newborn and yet it will act on the whole of the child's existence."

Stay informed on protecting your freedom of speech and civil rights.

godardian

Quote from: XixaxDon't wanna jump on a bandwagon here, but I have to give props to the man once again.

Greatest shot in my (somewhat limited) film experience.

No question whatsoever.

Floyd Gondolli's entrance.

Absolute Perfection
    Absolute Perfection
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              Absolute Perfection
                   Absolute Perfection
[/quote]

Especially with the music and the editing. That strumming acoustic and the rapid fades. It is a very nice moment of filmmaking.
""Money doesn't come into it. It never has. I do what I do because it's all that I am." - Morrissey

"Lacan stressed more and more in his work the power and organizing principle of the symbolic, understood as the networks, social, cultural, and linguistic, into which a child is born. These precede the birth of a child, which is why Lacan can say that language is there from before the actual moment of birth. It is there in the social structures which are at play in the family and, of course, in the ideals, goals, and histories of the parents. This world of language can hardly be grasped by the newborn and yet it will act on the whole of the child's existence."

Stay informed on protecting your freedom of speech and civil rights.

SoNowThen

Then the whip over and push in, then Burt walks into frame. Yeah, that's sweet.
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When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

chainsmoking insomniac

Absolutely folks.  Brings tears to my eyes.
Let us not forget the pool party in Boogie Nights.....skipping in and out of conversations, then that luscious dive into the pool, you come out dripping wet, almost feeling the fucking sun on your wet hair and skin.....and the music.....ahhhhhhhhh  8)
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ShanghaiOrange

The sounds of the blasters firing in Star Wars are very well composed shots.
Last five films (theater)
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-Thank You For Smoking: ***
-Silent Hill: ***1/2 (high)
-Happy Together: ***1/2
-Slither: **

Last five films (video)
-Solaris: ***1/2
-Cobra Verde: ***1/2
-My Best Fiend: **1/2
-Days of Heaven: ****
-The Thin Red Line: ***

Duck Sauce

Quote from: punchdrunk23Absolutely folks.  Brings tears to my eyes.
Let us not forget the pool party in Boogie Nights.....skipping in and out of conversations, then that luscious dive into the pool, you come out dripping wet, almost feeling the fucking sun on your wet hair and skin.....and the music.....ahhhhhhhhh  8)

Im going to pull a Ratner here when i say that the one in I Am Cuba is even more composed

brockly

Quote from: Duck SauceIm going to pull a Ratner here when i say that the one in I Am Cuba is even more composed

I agree.

Recce

Well, this isn't my favorite and its not picture compositionnaly sound, but it kinda stuck with me and i liked it. That shot in 'Confessions of a dangerous mind' where the characters head is in the lower left corner and the rest of the shot looks up at the ceiling(for no particular reason. Stylish). I liked it.
As for a good sequence, the scene in se7en where Summerset and Mills meet for the first time and they walik down the street. I didnt even realize it was one shot until i watched the dvd commentary. Great stuff.
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Pubrick

i thought composed meant, like as a picture, the way it looks.

for example:


the way kane is towering and u can see the ceiling.



or stuff from well designed films like:


bah, there's too many.
under the paving stones.

brockly

i like the bit in BN where Dirk gets in that guys car (who asks him to jack off) and there is a shot of the carpark and the car coming to a stop at the left side of the screen. I just love the way it all fits in the frame. The lamp post and all.

soixante

There are plenty of wonderfully composed shots in Barry Lyndon.  Kubrick often starts with a close up, then pulls back for shots that are like landscape paintings.
Music is your best entertainment value.