Anyone else agree? The way the angles of the buildings, stairs, railings etc. are used in each shot are amazing! This film should be studied for those who want to become involved in cinematography it's that good. I think it also heightens the feeling of the film becoming a real-life "labrynth" for the protagonist.
shareArresting.
I like the movie alright, but the film technique is vivd and memorable. All Welles movies have dynamic compelling visuals, often with exceptional camera movement also. If you thought this was eye-popping, you should rent The Visitor, and Lady from Shanghai.
shareI agree 100%. This is my favorite Welles' film, as well as one of my all time favorite films. My only disappointments are:
1. The opening scene should have been pitch black. Not only does the "pin screen" picture in the opening not hold up well (in contrast to the rest of the film), but I think a completely black screen (with Welles' voiceover) would have worked much better both in conjuring up the viewer's own imagination & in seguing to the first scene of Perkins in bed waking up.
2. The film really should have been black & white cinemascope. Most of my favorite films are in widescreen b&w. Even more detail for some of these scenes would have made this spectacular (esp. the indoor scene w/ the mirrors, the jazz scene...). It's really too bad that Welles didn't have a budget big enough to make it cinemascope (though thankfully it's not in color).
On the Optimum dvd release the opening scene of 'Before the Law' has been cut out, so naturally the movie gets under way with Joseph K waking up from his dream/nightmare.
shareCompletely engrossing and yet at the same time it creates the feeling that the camera is who is really judging him; as if the audience, too, is complicit in his fate. Genius!
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Indeed. Every shot is like an M.C. Escher illustration. Honestly, the cinematography kept me going more than the dialogue.
shareIt was a marvelous use of location shooting. Kafka could not have imagined that Eastern Europe under the Warsaw pact would come to resemble the landscapes in his mind. But Welles caught it....and the movie reflects it.
The last resort of one who cannot think is to argue that another cannot feel.
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I loved the cinematography! Perhaps you can help me sort something out. I took a film class approximately one million years ago. I vaguely recall a lecture on the importance of lines, but I don't quite remember what the lecturer had to say about them. The use of lines was particularly noticeable in this movie. I definitely get that the use of angled lines inferred the absurdity of the situation and that the mixture of angled and straight lines added to the confusion. There were also a lot of large lines and tall structures, which I believe were meant to convey how small and powerless our dear protagonist is in the grand scheme. However, I was a bit stuck on the use of horizontal versus vertical lines. In the scene where his small cousin came to visit (in particular) there were many, many vertical lines. It seemed to me that vertical lines were also predominant in scenes concerning the court. However, when K. was alone or especially when running there were a lot of horizontal lines. I have some ideas about what the director was trying to convey, but nothing fully formed. I would love to hear thoughts from someone that knows more about cinematography than I.
TL;DR - What's the dealeo with the use of horizontal vs. vertical lines in this film?
Yes. Even if you didn't care about the plot, you have to admire it on a technical level.
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