MovieChat Forums > Porgy and Bess (1959) Discussion > No close-up shots!

No close-up shots!

posted 12 years ago by paulench
6 replies | jump to latest

I have watched the bootleg prints online. Although the grainy, crude quality of these prints take a little time to get used to, you can imagine what a proper transfer would do to make it a beautiful image. Also, you can see the cinematography techniques used in the filming.

The cinematography is a throwback to the silent movie days: practically static cameras with wide shots of the set with people walking in and out of the scenes.
Medium shots are about the best we get towards close-ups. There were plenty of opportunities, especially in the duets. Not one close-up of Sammy Davis, Jr. or Sidney Poitier, and the others.

Why did they shoot it like this?

Maybe they thought the 70mm large-screen, theater format would make the image large enough. (Very weak argument.)

Or it could be the budget. Just shoot only the cover shots (wide angle) and forget about shooting close-ups as it would take much longer to accomplish, increasing costs of cast and crew. Even if Goldwyn was a meddler with editing (as has been suggested) Preminger surely would have persisted if he cared about a high quality product.

At any rate, if you get a chance to see this film be ready for a possible disappointment in not seeing faces up close.

[–] justoldbill 12 years ago

Otto Preminger used an "objective" technique of letting the story tell itself with a minimum of cinematic "tricks". This can be seen in such films as CARMEN JONES and IN HARM'S WAY. Oddly, this works well in PORGY AND BESS for such scenes as "Bess, You Is My Woman" and "What You Want Wid Bess?", where he wants you to concentrate on the music more than anything else. If one sees an unedited print, "My Man's Gone Now" is done in one uninterrupted take, and it's stunning.

[–] bradford-1 12 years ago

I have a VHS bootleg copy. And the "no close-ups" technique drives me crazy. It's too static for me. Maybe for a one-scene experiment, but why the whole movie? With such expressive performers, why stay away from them? I wonder why Goldwyn let Preminger get away with it? Surely he must've seen early rushes. If I'd been Goldwyn and seen that "far-away" stuff Preminger was shooting, I'da kicked his #@**$ from Pasadena to San Diego!

"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."

[–] critic-2 12 years ago

Director Otto Preminger shot it like that because he knew Samuel Goldwyn liked to "play with the film" himself and meddle with the editing. So, to prevent him from doing so, Preminger shot the film entirely in medium and long shots.

If you want to see a great "Porgy and Bess" that does use lots of closeups, rent or buy the DVD of the 1993 PBS version. I think maybe that's the version one commenter was thinking of when he said "My Man's Gone Now" was shot in one take.

[–] bradford-1 11 years ago

Yes, I finally saw that 1993 film and was mightily impressed. Never realized Damon (The Other Lionel) Evans was so musically inclined.

"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"

[–] felipenor 9 years ago

To me that looked like lazy directing. It just seemed like a taped version of a live play instead of a film.

[–] punkrockgirl (1153) 9 months ago

I noticed it too. Would've been nice had it been more clear to see.