Looking directly into the camera caught me off guard big time
Those eyes. My heart is still thumping from that stare...
Give him a gun and he's superman. Give him two and he thinks he's a god.
It was a great moment, and it completed a fantastic scene. Also, I can't think of another movie in which a character looks straight into the camera.
Mostly they (purposefully) appear to be looking straight into it, but are actually looking sideways, underneath or over it.
Yeah. She looked DEAD freaking at it. I was like Holy sh*...
And now it is my favorite scene of all time.
Give him a gun and he's superman. Give him two and he thinks he's a god.
Also, I can't think of another movie in which a character looks straight into the camera.It's not that uncommon is it? At any rate, two highly relevant cases:
(i) Karina recites poetry (What are they doing to you, men and women/You tender stones worn down too soon/Your appearances broken/My heart goes out at the sight of you/Things are what they are)directly to us on the train in Godard's Band of Outsiders
(ii) In Umbrellas of Cherbourg, there are a number of scenes in which Deneuve stares directly at us and the effect is stunning. I wrote a bit about those shots here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058450/board/flat/125762196
One of the shots from Umbrellas that I don;t discuss that much there actually uses Deneuve's fixing us with her stare as the match point for a cut. We cut from her looking directly at us while trying on a wedding veil to her looking directly at us from the wedding altar.
Anyhow, surely part of what we're all reflecting upon here is just that Karina and Deneuve in their primes are truly staggering beauties. Being fixed by *their* stares is almost blinding/electric/physically impacting. The same shots of more ordinary-looking people wouldn't have that impact. share
Bergman did this a lot.
A couple memorable ones:
Winter Light has at least five minutes of unflinching dialogue from Ingrid Thulin directly to the camera.
Summer with Monika has a particularly effective moment where Harriet Andersson suddenly turns and looks at you. It isn't as...sweet...as Vivre sa Vie for sure.
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Bergman for sure is the key reference here, I agree. Extremely powerful scene.
Among the most effective looks into the camera at a film's conclusion: "Nights of Cabiria" (Fellini) and "Magnolia" (P.T. Anderson).
Art's 111+ Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/e-VkvtHDDNQ/ - recommendations welcome!
I can't think of another movie in which a character looks straight into the camera.
Godard stole it from Truffaut!
I give my respect to those who have earned it; to everyone else, I'm civil.share