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An error has ocurred. Please try againHowever, the main image here is of Arnold as the Terminator on the famed motorcycle, and I believe this is a recreation -- whether on purpose or not -- of the predecessor to smoldering cinematic manliness, Marlon Brando in "The Wild One". (There might also be a parallel to Marcello Mastroianni). These kind of on-screen echoes and their bases in reason and/or chance are an intriguing aspect of studying film history: they occur all over the place, across cultures and on-camera republics. Consider Charlie Sheen in "Hot Shots", an echo of Sylvester Stallone in "Rambo", as an example of the purposeful parallel by comedy. The cinematic resonance via drama, however, is tougher, and offers more insight into the nature of drama itself. Suffice it to say that there is something inherently dramatic and comedic about Schwarzenegger, in a different ratio than it existed with Brando, and this unpredictability secured him a pivotal place in the cinematic imagination.
Pay attention to this with his most recent film, "Blue Jasmine". Not only does time seem to operate differently in the Woody Allen close-up compared to the work of other directors; in an incredible nuance, it seems to stand apart from how time is conveyed elsewhere in his own films. The Woody Allen close-up, quite simply, seems to have a mind and time of its own. This is a study for every film director, but it is especially intriguing when the director fuses comedy and drama in a unique, fast manner that thrives so much on words. The Woody Allen close-up, in general, seems to be taking place more slowly, in contrast to the witty quickness that the screenplay shows. Not many true close-ups were available, so just use this list to jog your memory; but it is undeniable that Woody Allen is a master of bringing important nuance to this specific form. The final close-up in "Blue Jasmine" is just so memorable: as Cate Blanchett's eyes slowly wander, confused by a haunting memory, our eyes stare directly ahead at yet another Woody Allen classic.
Reviews
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Fear and Pity in "Silence of the Lambs"
This movie has special meaning for me. It was the first scary movie that I ever saw -- and I wasn't supposed to see it. I was ten years old and performing the role of Patrick Dennis with Shani Wallis in "Mame" at The Candlewood Playhouse, when one night in the dorm where all the actors were staying, I convinced some of the older actors to let me watch it with them.
I've never been so scared in my life (a close second would be when, at the end of Sarah Connor's quiet and somber monologue that opens Terminator 2: Judgment Day, a cyborg's foot is seen and heard crushing a human skull).
Anthony Hopkins' acting throughout the movie is a master class in how to choose one, specific action to punctuate your lines. He does not do much standing there in his cell -- and in fact, at Jodie Foster's best moments, she is as still and specific as he is. It's almost that crisp commitment from both actors more than anything else (the plot in general) that induces both the fear and the pity we experience watching the movie. At the beginning, we fear Dr. Lecter, and we pity Clarice on her task to track down the current criminal Buffalo Bill from interviewing the evasive and experienced psychopath in his cell...but because of the specific and simple acting and a great script, that dynamic certainly shifts, and by the end, our original assumptions are perhaps tossed aside.