I finally got around to seeing this film, being spurred on to do so after seeing a documentary about Arthur Miller.
I liked the movie, but I noticed that alot of the shots seemed to be slightly out of focus.
Am I the only person to notice this?
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Nope. Never did. I did note that they sometimes seemed to shoot Monroe in a soft focus, etherealizing her already considerable beauty.
"I'm a lover of beauty--and a beauty of a lover!"--The Court Jester
Nope. Never did. I did note that they sometimes seemed to shoot Monroe in a soft focus, etherealizing her already considerable beauty.
I am watching it right now, and it does appear that most of the Marilyn shots purposely used soft-focus, probably to cover her age.
I just finished watching it. The scene where Gable and Monroe talking near the window looks "fishbowlly".
Did anyone else see in the scene where Thelma,Isabelle,Guido and Gay first get acquainted with the house,it looks like somebody is messing around behind the refrigerator?
...........No, Marilyn was not filmed in "soft focus". Photographer Eve Arnold who photographed her on the set and wrote a book about her has pointed out that Marilyn actually had a fine "peach fuzz" of blonde facial hair which reflected light and created the illusion of a glow about her face which was most noticeable in black and white. Ms. Arnold's book was just re-released. You can buy it on AMAZON.COM
shareJohn Hustoner who is the director of the film said that they shot her in soft focus for some scenes as she was incredibly tired some days from lack of sleep and looked haggard from pills and booze.
shareThis last answer makes the most sense. Some shots of her are remarkably sharp and in focus... others not. The scene between she and Gable over breakfast is the most noticable and bothersome. Something was certainly 'up' when filming that scene, and Marilyn's condition seems the most logical answer.
shareI agree. This is especially noticeable at about 1:05 into the movie. Monroe & Clift are having a long conversation (Clift on his back, laying in Monroe's lap) The camera switches back & forth between them at least 20 times. Watch the peach-print on Monroe's dress, In every shot of Clift, the pattern is in sharp focus. In every shot of Monroe, the pattern is fuzzy.
And yeah, I've always thought Marylin looked pretty bad in parts of this movie. Old & drugged-out.
Good performance, though.
And yeah, I've always thought Marylin looked pretty bad in parts of this movie. Old & drugged-out.
I notice in older Black and White movies, they tend to do the "vaseline on the lens" look for STAR close ups. I'm watching a 1933 movie with Joan Crawford right now and they keep doing that when her face fills the screen. It's noticable because her male is shot with a standard camera lens. Plus he doesn't get nearly as many solo close-ups.
Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed. --Law of Probable Dispersal
You are correct about some of the techniques used in those older films, in close ups. The style you are referring to was intentional for a 'glamorous' effect... most effective when seeing the films on the large screen. That's not whats happening in The Misfits though... it's a 'realistic' 'gritty' type of film of it's era... making the 'fuzzing' of Marilyn in that scene even more out of place with the tone of the film.
shareThat's not whats happening in The Misfits though... it's a 'realistic' 'gritty' type of film of it's era... making the 'fuzzing' of Marilyn in that scene even more out of place with the tone of the film.
Not necessarily. Monroe's character is the film's "guiding light," the one who attracts the men, brings them together, and reveals the misguided cruelty that marks their outdated machismo. She's like a flawed angel.
I particularly was annoyed by it when Monroe and Gable are sitting across from each other in a diner, I think. They would show him in sharp forcus and then show her in "soft focus", and then back to him in sharp focus. To me, it just looks blurry it it is distracting. I understand that it is a technique to soften the features, I just don't like it.
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Watching the Blu-ray last night, it seemed to me that there are indeed a lot of soft-focus shots in the film, but there are at least a couple of scenes (including the breakfast scene) where a shot seems to suffer from damage to the negative rather than being filmed in soft-focus. I wonder if this is the case.
'What does it matter what you say about people?'
Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958).
Marilyn actually had a fine "peach fuzz" of blonde facial hair which reflected light and created the illusion of a glow about her face
I noticed this too on MM on inside shots. Especially during the breakfast scene between MM and CG.
share