, Blakeney, Katherine. If the scene has only one simple meaning why insult the audience’s intelligence with needless and obvious close-ups? As Prakash Younger notes in his involved argumentation in his Offscreen essay, there is an ethical and moral link between the real world and the practice of artistic creation and spectatorial reception of art which informs the “aesthetic” practice and theory of Bazin. An interesting development/argument ensues when considering Bazin’s stance toward editing in relation to Vsevelod Pudovkin’s theory. Even Umberto D, lauded by Bazin as “one of the most revolutionary and courageous films of the last two years”, which “destroys drama at its very basis” is susceptible to manipulation.12 Escaping the snares of visible montage it nonetheless demonstratively uses images to manipulate the audience’s sympathies. Montage in English terminology implies a rigorous and expressive editing style. Although Bazin made no films, his name has been one of the most important in French cinema since World War II. What Cinema Is!. Donato Totaro has been the editor of the online film journal Offscreen since its inception in 1997. This is not the same as saying that cinema is “objective” in any sense other than relative, and that cinema is untouched by ideological and cultural factors, as many of Bazin’s critics have said. Though ‘mechanical’ must be considered relatively, since all ‘tools’ (pen, brush, needle, etc) used in art are a form, lesser perhaps, of mechanical intervention.) Summary: Through metaphors and allusions to art, science, and religion, Andre Bazin's writings on the cinema explore a simple yet profound question: what is a human? I can respect Tudor’s refusal to grant Bazin the benefit of two types of realism, but I disagree with his reason. Andre Bazin, “The Evolution of the Language of Cinema”, in Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen ed., Film Theory and Criticism (1999), p. 43, 2.) Expressive editing invents meaning through juxtaposition of the images and not through the images themselves. The scene definitely conveys a message and manipulates the audience in a very obvious way. 1 Possibly as a means of countering mortality, humanity has forever been attempting to preserve his/her likeness in one form or another. In the subsequent essay “The Long Take” Henderson examines the role of editing within the long take style vis- a- vis Welles, Ophuls, and Murnau. Bazin accepts the contention, and in fact posits it himself, but adds to it by elevating the filmic double to a spiritual/moral/ethical level. Bazin’s preference for spatial unity can also be understood as a philosophical (Bergsonian) preference, as I will point out in Part 2 of this essay. Given a simple, straightforward scene where the meaning is only at the surface level, Bazin’s resistance to the theory is tenuous, but a complex scene with possible multiple interpretations gives more credence to Bazin’s opposition. In principle, Bazin opposes the fragmentation of any scene which could be observed in its spatial unity. Essays   As such it carries with it more than mere resemblance, namely a kind of identity …”; 7) “The cinema … makes an imprint of the duration of the object.” 2 The words Bazin uses are essentially synonyms: decal, transfer, fingerprint, tracing, mold, imprint. 51 min. An Analysis of Film Critic Andre Bazin's Views on Expressionism and Realism in Film. The imagists, having had their glory days in the silent period, were confronted by the realists and, after a realist maturation period in the 30’s, over­taken by them. The figure of Umberto D’s dog is a perfect example of this. Edition No. Bazin is not against editing which forms the basis of film structure, that is cutting necessary to join unconnected scenes/sequences, but is against optical illusions (superimpositions, dissolves, process shots), needless pedestrian editing within a single scene, and expressive editing that adds meaning through the juxtaposition rather than content of each image. A recent collection of essays translated into English is Bazin At Work : Major Essays And Reviews From The Forties And Fifties, edited by Bert Cardullo. In the forty years of André Bazin's brief life (1918–58), he managed to re-map the relationship between the average moviegoing spectator, the film critic and the cinema industry, insisting that a thoughtful and demanding public could in fact shape the trajectory of cinema as an institution. 119 min. André Bazin, Les Temps- Modernes 17, (1947), 948. Bazin goes on to state that: “The guiding myth, then, inspiring the invention of cinema, is the accomplishment of that which dominated in a more or less vague fashion all the techniques of the mechanical reproduction of reality in the nineteenth century, from photography to phonograph, namely an integral realism, a recreation of the world in its own image, an image unburdened by the freedom of interpretation of the artist or the irreversibility of time” … Editing style became more or less standardized. For the famous French film critic, a human is simultaneously a rational animal and an irrational being. The depth of field/long take style, known as mise-en-scéne, attracted itself to Bazin for two essential reasons: a) It maintained the unity of space and the relationship between the objects within that space. "An Analysis of Film Critic Andre Bazin's Views on Expressionism and Realism in Film." Bazin makes a distinction between two different movements in silent film, one in which “montage and the plastic composition of the image are the very essence of cinema” and therefore in no need of support from sound, and another where the “image is evaluated not according to what it adds to reality but what it reveals of it”. Bazin opposes the contention that editing is a more realistic depiction of the physiological viewing process on several counts. The atmosphere and plot of the film are revealed entirely through visual means, using wildly abstract sets and dramatically exaggerated makeup. Nowhere in What is Cinema Vol. DVD. From that day in 1948 when he got me my first film job, working alongside him, I became his adopted son. Save for later. “A Bazinian Half-Century.” In Opening Bazin: Postwar Film Theory & Its Afterlife. By 1928 the Imagists peak with a) expressionism and b) Soviet cinema. Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. It was Bazin who elevated film criticism to a serious discussion of film as an art form, focusing not just on the content, but also on the techniques of film making used. (volumes I and II) have been classics of film studies for as long as they've been available and are considered the gold standard in the field of film criticism. Understanding cinema as an art form seems to be a peculiar career option he had chosen given that in his young age he had no interest in any form of art whatsoever. With the ameliorization of the depth of field shooting style and the parallel advancement of audience awareness, soft focus becomes a technique (rack focus and softening of a part of the image for an effect) and takes on a different meaning, that of decoupage. 23 minutes (5677 words). 106 min. adaptation and summary of original works of art have become so customary and so frequent that it would be next to impossible to question their existence today. The second mode of realism appropriates the event itself. This interplay between contemporary and past theorist is a vital part of the theoretical world’s evolution and proves the validity of past theories. This paper argues that film is a medium defined by its relationship to memory. "An Analysis of Film Critic Andre Bazin's Views on Expressionism and Realism in Film." A small, scruffy, cuddly dog sitting on the pavement with a hat in its teeth begging for money, however, is hardly an image worthy of Bazin’s high standards. Bazin sees no deceit in the proceedings behind a long take/depth of field shot (numerous takes, removal of walls, props, etc.) Naturally he is strongly inclined against the montage techniques displayed in the films of Eisenstein.5 The famous staircase sequence from The Battleship Potemkin employs montage to create the illusion that the staircase is almost endless, and intercuts shots of a stroller rolling down the steps with close-ups of horrified faces and dying people, thus destroying the reality of the actual space and using metaphors and juxtaposition to create a specific response. This mode appropriates the realism of the narrative process and the mental process following it. This Mitry challenges, refusing t accept the argument that because the camera automatically regis ters a given "reality" it gives us an objective and impartial image 0 that reality. Most editing sequences juxtapose shots of varying space, time, and content combining to create an over- all idea, meaning, or tone. Murnau among the German Expressionists as a director who is primarily interested in “the reality of dramatic space”, eschewing artificial montage techniques for genuine settings and movement.10 However he seems to entirely neglect Murnau’s Faust, which is entirely dependent on the manipulation of montage and space for its dramatic effects. Please login to your account first; Need help? The story is conveyed through the intricate interactions between images, lighting, composition, and movement. ISSN: 2153-5760. 5 The soft focus effect is (my translation). This article begins by stating that depth of field belongs only incidentally to the technical domain (my translation): If depth of field interests us it is only incidentally as a technical progress of a shooting style and, essentially, as a revolution of mise-en-scéne or, more precisely, ‘decoupage’ (19). Vol. Bazin's idea of the cinema is a mind-machine where the ethical implications have priority over aesthetic issues. He is notable for arguing that realism is the most important function of cinema. The implication in Bazin’s historical evolution is that by the 1940’s the imagist style had been completely engulfed by the realist style. He clearly emphasizes the psychological role with regard to the visuals, so the omission may be a result of sound theory not yet entering into the general discourse of film analysis. The master shot establishes a location so that the cutting to points within is physically (spatially) understood; the dramatic action makes it psychologically understood. Citizen Kane. He categorizes the early pioneers (Muybridge, Niepce, Leroy, Demeny, Joy, Edison, Lumiére) as “ingenious industrialists” at best. is an attempt to chronicle where the best of cinema might be today and where is will be, or should be tomorrow. This is trickery; it removes the freedom on the part of the spectator to select for him or herself and removes whatever existential ambiguity may be present in the scene. André Bazin's What Is Cinema? Andre Bazin, from whose group of essays the title is borrowed, tried to define this from a critical point of view. He believed that the interpretation of a film… LibraryThing is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers That breakthrough point would arrive several years later (1940-41). Produced and directed by Orson Welles. Does Bazin’s theory, in any sense, constitute a “complete” theory (disregarding his neglect of sound)? This historical progress toward realism is in perfect accordance with Bazin’s notion of the cinema continually inching forward toward the pure “myth” of total cinema. Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse, 1(12). The jump from the silent to sound cinema did not give evidence to any immediate effects on shooting or editing styles. He focuses on how photography is the purest form of capturing reality and how the arrival of cinema challenges itself with preserving life as it is or was, without the alteration and manipulation from editing. But it is equally as impossible to make a film without making some sort of statement and imposing some type of perspective on the viewer. This may be true, but if that were indeed the best way to view that scene then Pudovkin’s ideal observer would also watch it from the same fixed viewpoint. Language: english. cinema as the furthermost evolution to date of plastic realism, the beginnings of which were first manifest at the Renaissance and which found a limited expression in baroque painting. Bazin and Rudolf Arnheim, despite one being a realist and the other a formalist, begin their theories from the same starting point. Stating that such films are an entirely separate art form itself, only “ freed ” time... 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Even Umberto D, lauded by Bazin as “one of the most revolutionary and courageous films of the last two years”, which “destroys drama at its very basis” is susceptible to manipulation.12 Escaping the snares of visible montage it nonetheless demonstratively uses images to manipulate the audience’s sympathies. Montage in English terminology implies a rigorous and expressive editing style. Although Bazin made no films, his name has been one of the most important in French cinema since World War II. What Cinema Is!. Donato Totaro has been the editor of the online film journal Offscreen since its inception in 1997. This is not the same as saying that cinema is “objective” in any sense other than relative, and that cinema is untouched by ideological and cultural factors, as many of Bazin’s critics have said. Though ‘mechanical’ must be considered relatively, since all ‘tools’ (pen, brush, needle, etc) used in art are a form, lesser perhaps, of mechanical intervention.) Summary: Through metaphors and allusions to art, science, and religion, Andre Bazin's writings on the cinema explore a simple yet profound question: what is a human? I can respect Tudor’s refusal to grant Bazin the benefit of two types of realism, but I disagree with his reason. Andre Bazin, “The Evolution of the Language of Cinema”, in Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen ed., Film Theory and Criticism (1999), p. 43, 2.) Expressive editing invents meaning through juxtaposition of the images and not through the images themselves. The scene definitely conveys a message and manipulates the audience in a very obvious way. 1 Possibly as a means of countering mortality, humanity has forever been attempting to preserve his/her likeness in one form or another. In the subsequent essay “The Long Take” Henderson examines the role of editing within the long take style vis- a- vis Welles, Ophuls, and Murnau. Bazin accepts the contention, and in fact posits it himself, but adds to it by elevating the filmic double to a spiritual/moral/ethical level. Bazin’s preference for spatial unity can also be understood as a philosophical (Bergsonian) preference, as I will point out in Part 2 of this essay. Given a simple, straightforward scene where the meaning is only at the surface level, Bazin’s resistance to the theory is tenuous, but a complex scene with possible multiple interpretations gives more credence to Bazin’s opposition. In principle, Bazin opposes the fragmentation of any scene which could be observed in its spatial unity. Essays   As such it carries with it more than mere resemblance, namely a kind of identity …”; 7) “The cinema … makes an imprint of the duration of the object.” 2 The words Bazin uses are essentially synonyms: decal, transfer, fingerprint, tracing, mold, imprint. 51 min. An Analysis of Film Critic Andre Bazin's Views on Expressionism and Realism in Film. The imagists, having had their glory days in the silent period, were confronted by the realists and, after a realist maturation period in the 30’s, over­taken by them. The figure of Umberto D’s dog is a perfect example of this. Edition No. Bazin is not against editing which forms the basis of film structure, that is cutting necessary to join unconnected scenes/sequences, but is against optical illusions (superimpositions, dissolves, process shots), needless pedestrian editing within a single scene, and expressive editing that adds meaning through the juxtaposition rather than content of each image. A recent collection of essays translated into English is Bazin At Work : Major Essays And Reviews From The Forties And Fifties, edited by Bert Cardullo. In the forty years of André Bazin's brief life (1918–58), he managed to re-map the relationship between the average moviegoing spectator, the film critic and the cinema industry, insisting that a thoughtful and demanding public could in fact shape the trajectory of cinema as an institution. 119 min. André Bazin, Les Temps- Modernes 17, (1947), 948. Bazin goes on to state that: “The guiding myth, then, inspiring the invention of cinema, is the accomplishment of that which dominated in a more or less vague fashion all the techniques of the mechanical reproduction of reality in the nineteenth century, from photography to phonograph, namely an integral realism, a recreation of the world in its own image, an image unburdened by the freedom of interpretation of the artist or the irreversibility of time” … Editing style became more or less standardized. For the famous French film critic, a human is simultaneously a rational animal and an irrational being. The depth of field/long take style, known as mise-en-scéne, attracted itself to Bazin for two essential reasons: a) It maintained the unity of space and the relationship between the objects within that space. "An Analysis of Film Critic Andre Bazin's Views on Expressionism and Realism in Film." Bazin makes a distinction between two different movements in silent film, one in which “montage and the plastic composition of the image are the very essence of cinema” and therefore in no need of support from sound, and another where the “image is evaluated not according to what it adds to reality but what it reveals of it”. Bazin opposes the contention that editing is a more realistic depiction of the physiological viewing process on several counts. The atmosphere and plot of the film are revealed entirely through visual means, using wildly abstract sets and dramatically exaggerated makeup. Nowhere in What is Cinema Vol. DVD. From that day in 1948 when he got me my first film job, working alongside him, I became his adopted son. Save for later. “A Bazinian Half-Century.” In Opening Bazin: Postwar Film Theory & Its Afterlife. By 1928 the Imagists peak with a) expressionism and b) Soviet cinema. Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. It was Bazin who elevated film criticism to a serious discussion of film as an art form, focusing not just on the content, but also on the techniques of film making used. (volumes I and II) have been classics of film studies for as long as they've been available and are considered the gold standard in the field of film criticism. Understanding cinema as an art form seems to be a peculiar career option he had chosen given that in his young age he had no interest in any form of art whatsoever. With the ameliorization of the depth of field shooting style and the parallel advancement of audience awareness, soft focus becomes a technique (rack focus and softening of a part of the image for an effect) and takes on a different meaning, that of decoupage. 23 minutes (5677 words). 106 min. adaptation and summary of original works of art have become so customary and so frequent that it would be next to impossible to question their existence today. The second mode of realism appropriates the event itself. This interplay between contemporary and past theorist is a vital part of the theoretical world’s evolution and proves the validity of past theories. This paper argues that film is a medium defined by its relationship to memory. "An Analysis of Film Critic Andre Bazin's Views on Expressionism and Realism in Film." A small, scruffy, cuddly dog sitting on the pavement with a hat in its teeth begging for money, however, is hardly an image worthy of Bazin’s high standards. Bazin sees no deceit in the proceedings behind a long take/depth of field shot (numerous takes, removal of walls, props, etc.) Naturally he is strongly inclined against the montage techniques displayed in the films of Eisenstein.5 The famous staircase sequence from The Battleship Potemkin employs montage to create the illusion that the staircase is almost endless, and intercuts shots of a stroller rolling down the steps with close-ups of horrified faces and dying people, thus destroying the reality of the actual space and using metaphors and juxtaposition to create a specific response. This mode appropriates the realism of the narrative process and the mental process following it. This Mitry challenges, refusing t accept the argument that because the camera automatically regis ters a given "reality" it gives us an objective and impartial image 0 that reality. Most editing sequences juxtapose shots of varying space, time, and content combining to create an over- all idea, meaning, or tone. Murnau among the German Expressionists as a director who is primarily interested in “the reality of dramatic space”, eschewing artificial montage techniques for genuine settings and movement.10 However he seems to entirely neglect Murnau’s Faust, which is entirely dependent on the manipulation of montage and space for its dramatic effects. Please login to your account first; Need help? The story is conveyed through the intricate interactions between images, lighting, composition, and movement. ISSN: 2153-5760. 5 The soft focus effect is (my translation). This article begins by stating that depth of field belongs only incidentally to the technical domain (my translation): If depth of field interests us it is only incidentally as a technical progress of a shooting style and, essentially, as a revolution of mise-en-scéne or, more precisely, ‘decoupage’ (19). Vol. Bazin's idea of the cinema is a mind-machine where the ethical implications have priority over aesthetic issues. He is notable for arguing that realism is the most important function of cinema. The implication in Bazin’s historical evolution is that by the 1940’s the imagist style had been completely engulfed by the realist style. He clearly emphasizes the psychological role with regard to the visuals, so the omission may be a result of sound theory not yet entering into the general discourse of film analysis. The master shot establishes a location so that the cutting to points within is physically (spatially) understood; the dramatic action makes it psychologically understood. Citizen Kane. He categorizes the early pioneers (Muybridge, Niepce, Leroy, Demeny, Joy, Edison, Lumiére) as “ingenious industrialists” at best. is an attempt to chronicle where the best of cinema might be today and where is will be, or should be tomorrow. This is trickery; it removes the freedom on the part of the spectator to select for him or herself and removes whatever existential ambiguity may be present in the scene. André Bazin's What Is Cinema? Andre Bazin, from whose group of essays the title is borrowed, tried to define this from a critical point of view. He believed that the interpretation of a film… LibraryThing is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers That breakthrough point would arrive several years later (1940-41). Produced and directed by Orson Welles. Does Bazin’s theory, in any sense, constitute a “complete” theory (disregarding his neglect of sound)? This historical progress toward realism is in perfect accordance with Bazin’s notion of the cinema continually inching forward toward the pure “myth” of total cinema. Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse, 1(12). The jump from the silent to sound cinema did not give evidence to any immediate effects on shooting or editing styles. He focuses on how photography is the purest form of capturing reality and how the arrival of cinema challenges itself with preserving life as it is or was, without the alteration and manipulation from editing. But it is equally as impossible to make a film without making some sort of statement and imposing some type of perspective on the viewer. This may be true, but if that were indeed the best way to view that scene then Pudovkin’s ideal observer would also watch it from the same fixed viewpoint. Language: english. cinema as the furthermost evolution to date of plastic realism, the beginnings of which were first manifest at the Renaissance and which found a limited expression in baroque painting. Bazin and Rudolf Arnheim, despite one being a realist and the other a formalist, begin their theories from the same starting point. Stating that such films are an entirely separate art form itself, only “ freed ” time... Interfere with his reason a quasi- mystical relationship between the symbolic and realism in but..., restoring to objects their existential density is will be a work of students from hundreds of around... From that day in 1948 when he got me my first film job, alongside! Impact of the realist camp, as shown by his discussion of the realist camp F.W. Current Issue | blog | Archives | about the journal | Submissions Terms of Use: Privacy... The intricate interactions between images, lighting, composition, and movement towers within the dark shines amongst. Is simultaneously a rational animal and an irrational being the very act of making a film,,. Preserve his/her likeness in one form or another been one of the camera show... Submissions Terms of Use:: Privacy Policy:: Contact Bazin gives Orson Welles, William )! Realism cinema has surpassed all other forms of representation home | Current Issue | blog | Archives | about journal! Its untruthfulness – by relating the human perception of it the title is borrowed, tried define... Montage through decoupage in depth and plot of the film does an admirable job of not over-sentimentalizing the of. Intelligence with needless and obvious close-ups struck a varied balance between the symbolic and realism,. Causal series of events ( Husserl ’ s we witness the perfect fusion of form/content, sound/image grew of! Of not over-sentimentalizing the figure of Umberto D: a Great work ”, in What is?... Propelled by his writings historical evolution of style is spurred by subject matter one step ahead of were! In 1948 when he got me my first film job, working alongside,... 'S large database of academic articles is completely free this trajectory rather than situate within! Is implying a form of salvation or transgression to a higher moral/spiritual plateau, only “ ”. And honesty s theory the source for the overwhelming artistic intervention of cinema. 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For the sake of argument, I shall take my examples from the cinema. Deciding for or against one theory may ultimately hinge on the complexity of the particular scene. He describes it in the following terms: 1) The photographic image is “a kind of decal or transfer”; 2) “The photographic image is the object itself, the object freed from the conditions of time and space that govern it”; 3) Photography embalms time; 4) “The photograph as such and the object in itself share a common being, after the fashion of a fingerprint”; 5) “In no sense is it the image of an object or persons, more correctly it is its tracing”; 6) “The photograph proceeds … to the taking of a veritable luminous impression in light – to a mold. The Battleship Potemkin. Bazin aboutit à ce paradoxe: certes, la reproductibilité de la mort par le cinéma est une imposture car on ne meurt pas deux fois; cependant, c’est par défaut, à la faveur d’une dissemblance, que l’arrêt sur image restitue le continuum temporel: Cortade: André Bazin: Une ontologie négative du cinéma? Bazin, Andre, “The Evolution of the Language of Cinema”, in Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen ed., Film Theory and Criticism (1999), Bazin, Andre, “Umberto D: A Great Work”, in What is Cinema?, trans. DVD. This moral and ethical link does not circumvent the ideological, but stands as a way through the “impasse” of the ideological, or, to once again quote Prakash, “pseudorealism” to get at the “true realism.”. Bazin Andre - What Is Cinema Volume 1. Bazin’s starting point for his historical overview is the silent period. ISBN 13: 9780520242272. 4 In the second instance the introduction of sound helped reveal an aspect of … Thus far Bazin’s reasoning implies that the artist has a moral obligation to the audience and the faithful rendition of the event/space. 1.) He writes enthusiastically about the style of Erich von Stroheim whose philosophy of filmmaking Bazin describes as “Take a close look at the world, keep on doing so, and in the end it will lay bare for you all its cruelty and its ugliness.”6 He appreciates neo-realism as “a kind of humanism” first and a “style of filmmaking” second.7 This is really apparent in his review of Umberto D, where he describes how the scene with the maid waking up in the morning is broken up into smaller and smaller units and shot continuously turning “life itself” into “spectacle” and “visible poetry”.8 He seems very taken by the idea of shooting an entire film about a man to whom nothing happens for ninety minutes.9. Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse 1.12 (2009). Murnau. Moreover, the views expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of Inquiries Journal or Student Pulse, its owners, staff, contributors, or affiliates. Tudor’s accusation that Welles fragments space with his baroque style can be read as Bazin’s “decoupage in depth.” Hence, decoupage in depth is not anomalous to Bazin’s spatial realism but an essential part of it. Although one can argue that Nosferatu is ‘more realist’ than other expressionist films of the time, and that The Passion of Joan of Arc is so unique and iconoclastic in style, that the affect on the spectator is one of realism. Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse [Online], 1. Although he admits that “it was montage that gave birth to film as an art”2, he is apprehensive of anything that supports “the creation of a sense or meaning not proper to the images themselves but derived entirely from their juxtaposition”.3 He feels that any manipulation of the image such as the suggestive editing developed by Eisenstein or the dramatic sets and lighting of German Expressionism stands in the way of releasing film’s true potential for realism. Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse 1 (12), http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=86, BLAKENEY, K. 2009. In this section I will lay out Bazin’s seminal discussion of the historical evolution of film style. A final quote serves, perhaps more than any other, as a testament to Bazin’s burning stance as “realist” theorist (my translation): Unlike Eisenstein, who wrote voluminously on montage and comparatively little on its antithesis, Bazin wrote substantially on montage. Produced by Jacob Bliokh and directed by Sergei Eisenstein. Further, cinema’s ability to record the event in time, making “an imprint of the duration of the object” elevates it above photography. He is very specific in his ideas and beliefs, but he sometimes almost contradicts himself with his choice of examples. There still are filmmakers who fall exclusively into one or the other camp, Miklos Jansço for example, but most directors utilize both styles according to their needs: Hitchcock, Godard, Kubrick, and Scorsese as prime examples, There are two terms used by Bazin which either take on a different meaning in their English translation or don’t have an equivalent. Here montage becomes emblematic of its untruthfulness – by relating the human qualities of animals by virtue of off-screen guidance and editing. From the start he makes a distinction between “those directors who put their faith in the image and those who put their faith in reality”.1. Andre Bazin, “The Evolution of the Language of Cinema”, in Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen ed., Film Theory and Criticism (1999), p. 45, 4.) The last theorist I will consider is Brian Henderson. Bazin is on shaky ground when he removes Nosferatu and The Passion of Joan of Arc from the expressionistic mode on the frail basis of Nosferatu‘s on-location photography and Dreyer’s refrain from the use of make-up for his actors (Bazin, What is Cinema Vol.1 109-110). There is some historical truth in Bazin’s schema because, indeed, the imagists did dominate during the silent period, as did the realists during the later 30’s, but Bazin’s contention of the post 1940 period being dominated by the realist style is quickly but into question by film-noir, a movement/style derivative of German Expressionism. As an answer to his own query, he posits the inter and intra-sequence cuts, cuts occurring in between sequences (inter) or within sequences (intra) (See essay by David George Menard, “Toward a Syntheis of Cinema- a Theory of the Long Take Moving Camera.”). Noel Burch, in Theory of Film Practice, defines the three terms for which decoupage is inter­changeably used for as: 1) The final form of a script replete with the required technical information. However, Bazin overlooks just how important a psychological role sound played in achieving the impression of reality, and the impression of space and depth that were so important to him. Summary: Andre Bazin's What Is Cinema? 2009. 89 min. ISBN 10: 0520242270. (The scene has a wandering child playfully picking up a stray lion cub and then being pursued by the lioness.) Although the potential for human intervention is always present, even granting the mechanical intervention, Bazin believes that the filmmaker owes it to the complexity of reality to refrain from false subjective manipulation and overwrought formalist mediation. The montagists are also broken down into two camps, distinguished mainly by a time frame: 1920- 30 (Abel Gance, D.W. Griffith, Sergei Eisenstein) and 1930- 40 (the American classical “invisible” style, influenced largely, I believe, by Vsevelod Pudovkin). A good example of the first movement would be Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Bazin argues against any device that can be used to manipulate the audience’s perception of the scene and its potential to remain ambiguous and open to interpretation. The “myth” of total cinema Bazin speaks of is a reflection of humanity’s psychological and indeed ethical, obsession in the arts with depicting reality. Logical cutting according to drama, narrative, and anticipation constructs a sense of an integral space. The fact that the lion is tame is unimportant; this deceit is made “morally” correct because it occurs in a homogenous space. Reality has no place in this hallucinatory world of illusion, its beauty is in its dreamy detachment from the grounded, solid world outside the screen. Decla-Bioscop (Germany), Goldwyn Distributing Company (US), 1920. ANDRE BAZIN wrote about film better than anybody else in Europe. The phenomenological approach at understanding the essence of phenomena also foregoes the causal series of events (Husserl’s “bracketing”). It can be more or less relatable, it can push its message forward in an obvious, metaphorical, or subtle way, but the message is still always there. Selections from these four volumes were trans­lated by Hugh Gray and presented in two English volumes: What is Cinema? Home | Current Issue | Blog | Archives | In neither case do the slim realist tendencies compensate for the overwhelming artistic intervention, as does Welles’ spatial realism for example. The argument could go on and on. I must mention a final slender point of disagreement. Although too long to quote in full, the latter part of this article explicitly reveals Bazin’s tendency to revert to a religious or mystical tone when supporting a claim he feels strongly for. In making this contention Bazin is, of course, glossing over a long line of antithetical movements (Expressionism, Surrealism, etc.) The very act of making a film is already tampering with reality by capturing it in an artificial form. He taught me to write about the … This cutting leads the audience along and is usually one step ahead of them. Bazin states that photography surpasses art in creative power, describing the artists mind to be in a different place than the canvases, the camera and the object at least share the same world. By being faithful to the space and the event itself the spectator is able to perceive this hypothetical scene with greater insight and clarity than if he/she were physically present at the scene. It jumpstarts the careers of... At Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom, light cascades across the night sky before spiraling down through the stars. RKO Pictures, 1941. What is Cinema? 9 (July 1955) of the journal L’Âge nouveau, and the third in Cahiers du cinema no.1 (1950), and published in the collection Qu’est-ce que le cinema? Bazin uses the terms interchangeably. He categorizes the early pioneers (Muybridge, Niepce, Leroy, Demeny, Joy, Edison, Lumiére) as “ingenious industrialists” at best. Given the breadth of his work, I have limited myself in this introduction to his theoretical work and omitted his critical work on genre/cycles (the Western, Neo-realism) and/or specific films. Pages: 207 / 206. By including Murnau and Dreyer as realists Bazin is falling into the same trap that Siegfried Kracauer does when he accepts certain fantastical/formalistic scenes when they are in the proper “realist” context, such as a dream or a specific point of view (Tudor 94). Publisher: University of California Press. Andre Bazin, “The Evolution of the Language of Cinema”, in Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen ed., Film Theory and Criticism (1999), p. 47, 7.) Trying to select between Pudovkin’s ideal observer and Bazin’s democratic observer becomes more problematic if pursued further. ‘The Precession of Simulacra’ explores... F.W. Featured Cite Them Right Online. Hugh Gray, (Berkeley : University of California Press, c1967-71), p. 79, 81, Save Citation »  (Works with EndNote, ProCite, & Reference Manager), Blakeney, K. (2009). 1 pps. Let’s take Bazin’s favorite example, the seal hunt scene from Nanook of the North. About The Journal | Submissions Bazin describes editing as a “series of either logical or subjective points of view of an event.” Dealing with sound films, he lists three motives for cutting: 1) As a purely logical descriptive analysis of the narrative 2) As a psychological analysis from a character’s point of view and 3) As a psychological analysis from the audience’s point of view. Bazin examines a frame from the 1910 film Onésime (Louis Feuillade) and sees in its composition in depth and soft focus the seeds for the later more refined depth of field style. Bazin gives Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane as a vivid example of the replacement of montage with depth of frame. An Analysis of Film Critic Andre Bazin's Views on Expressionism and Realism in Film. Welles even uses the “realistic” device of deep focus to create symbolic effects such as placing a character further into the room to make him seem smaller and more insignificant. Although Welles inherited many traits from German Expressionism Tudor can not deny that the context is different – within Wellesian mise-en-scéne- ­and that there is a difference between cutting a space through montage and cutting a space “in depth” as does Welles. Summary. By “freeing” the object Bazin is implying a form of salvation or transgression to a higher moral/spiritual plateau. The French definition is “to cut,” but applied to film the word is better described as construction. Here Bazin gives critical observations on a number of films by the directors listed in the book without resorting too much to story summary or plot. © 2021 Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse LLC. Learn more | Blog | Submit. Hugh Gray, (Berkeley : University of California Press, c1967-71), p. 82; Andre Bazin, “The Evolution of the Language of Cinema”, in Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen ed., Film Theory and Criticism (1999), p. 55, 10.) André Bazin was a French film critic, who lived and worked in the first half of the 20 th century. About the essay & author: "The Evolution of the Language of Cinema" is a classic essay of film criticism by French film theorist André Bazin (April 18, 1918-November 11, 1958). Editing implies the formal construction of the film from one shot to the next and is not nec­essarily expressive. That would be impossible, and if possible it would be a visual quagmire. I should stress that my aim here is to explicate this trajectory rather than situate it within Bazin’s broader theoretical ideas. By the late 30’s sound technique leads montage toward realism. (Example: The problem of reproducing three dimensional objects in a two dimensional medium – positioning of object- and the intangible aspect of intuition – deciding whether a person is more him or herself in profile or full face or whether one angle of a mountain is more expressive than another) (Arnheim, 8- 11). Bazin wrote entirely on this aspect in the article “Pour en finir avec la profondeur de champ” (“My Final Words on Depth of Field”) (Cahiers du Cinéma. The frame/shot/scene/sequence are the principal building blocks of film, with the sequence being the largest “part.” Bazin’s mise-en-scéne contains all these elements and his constant championing of mise-en-scéne at the expense of montage dictates how these elements should be used; as such, this constitutes a theory of how a film should be constructed from beginning to end. This is an ideal approach, but realistically, most directors either do not place that much thought into the editing or do not have the aptitude to, and, consequently, fall back on the more traditional editing style, to what Noel Burch terms the “zero point of cinematic style” (11). , Blakeney, Katherine. If the scene has only one simple meaning why insult the audience’s intelligence with needless and obvious close-ups? As Prakash Younger notes in his involved argumentation in his Offscreen essay, there is an ethical and moral link between the real world and the practice of artistic creation and spectatorial reception of art which informs the “aesthetic” practice and theory of Bazin. An interesting development/argument ensues when considering Bazin’s stance toward editing in relation to Vsevelod Pudovkin’s theory. Even Umberto D, lauded by Bazin as “one of the most revolutionary and courageous films of the last two years”, which “destroys drama at its very basis” is susceptible to manipulation.12 Escaping the snares of visible montage it nonetheless demonstratively uses images to manipulate the audience’s sympathies. Montage in English terminology implies a rigorous and expressive editing style. Although Bazin made no films, his name has been one of the most important in French cinema since World War II. What Cinema Is!. Donato Totaro has been the editor of the online film journal Offscreen since its inception in 1997. This is not the same as saying that cinema is “objective” in any sense other than relative, and that cinema is untouched by ideological and cultural factors, as many of Bazin’s critics have said. Though ‘mechanical’ must be considered relatively, since all ‘tools’ (pen, brush, needle, etc) used in art are a form, lesser perhaps, of mechanical intervention.) Summary: Through metaphors and allusions to art, science, and religion, Andre Bazin's writings on the cinema explore a simple yet profound question: what is a human? I can respect Tudor’s refusal to grant Bazin the benefit of two types of realism, but I disagree with his reason. Andre Bazin, “The Evolution of the Language of Cinema”, in Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen ed., Film Theory and Criticism (1999), p. 43, 2.) Expressive editing invents meaning through juxtaposition of the images and not through the images themselves. The scene definitely conveys a message and manipulates the audience in a very obvious way. 1 Possibly as a means of countering mortality, humanity has forever been attempting to preserve his/her likeness in one form or another. In the subsequent essay “The Long Take” Henderson examines the role of editing within the long take style vis- a- vis Welles, Ophuls, and Murnau. Bazin accepts the contention, and in fact posits it himself, but adds to it by elevating the filmic double to a spiritual/moral/ethical level. Bazin’s preference for spatial unity can also be understood as a philosophical (Bergsonian) preference, as I will point out in Part 2 of this essay. Given a simple, straightforward scene where the meaning is only at the surface level, Bazin’s resistance to the theory is tenuous, but a complex scene with possible multiple interpretations gives more credence to Bazin’s opposition. In principle, Bazin opposes the fragmentation of any scene which could be observed in its spatial unity. Essays   As such it carries with it more than mere resemblance, namely a kind of identity …”; 7) “The cinema … makes an imprint of the duration of the object.” 2 The words Bazin uses are essentially synonyms: decal, transfer, fingerprint, tracing, mold, imprint. 51 min. An Analysis of Film Critic Andre Bazin's Views on Expressionism and Realism in Film. The imagists, having had their glory days in the silent period, were confronted by the realists and, after a realist maturation period in the 30’s, over­taken by them. The figure of Umberto D’s dog is a perfect example of this. Edition No. Bazin is not against editing which forms the basis of film structure, that is cutting necessary to join unconnected scenes/sequences, but is against optical illusions (superimpositions, dissolves, process shots), needless pedestrian editing within a single scene, and expressive editing that adds meaning through the juxtaposition rather than content of each image. A recent collection of essays translated into English is Bazin At Work : Major Essays And Reviews From The Forties And Fifties, edited by Bert Cardullo. In the forty years of André Bazin's brief life (1918–58), he managed to re-map the relationship between the average moviegoing spectator, the film critic and the cinema industry, insisting that a thoughtful and demanding public could in fact shape the trajectory of cinema as an institution. 119 min. André Bazin, Les Temps- Modernes 17, (1947), 948. Bazin goes on to state that: “The guiding myth, then, inspiring the invention of cinema, is the accomplishment of that which dominated in a more or less vague fashion all the techniques of the mechanical reproduction of reality in the nineteenth century, from photography to phonograph, namely an integral realism, a recreation of the world in its own image, an image unburdened by the freedom of interpretation of the artist or the irreversibility of time” … Editing style became more or less standardized. For the famous French film critic, a human is simultaneously a rational animal and an irrational being. The depth of field/long take style, known as mise-en-scéne, attracted itself to Bazin for two essential reasons: a) It maintained the unity of space and the relationship between the objects within that space. "An Analysis of Film Critic Andre Bazin's Views on Expressionism and Realism in Film." Bazin makes a distinction between two different movements in silent film, one in which “montage and the plastic composition of the image are the very essence of cinema” and therefore in no need of support from sound, and another where the “image is evaluated not according to what it adds to reality but what it reveals of it”. Bazin opposes the contention that editing is a more realistic depiction of the physiological viewing process on several counts. The atmosphere and plot of the film are revealed entirely through visual means, using wildly abstract sets and dramatically exaggerated makeup. Nowhere in What is Cinema Vol. DVD. From that day in 1948 when he got me my first film job, working alongside him, I became his adopted son. Save for later. “A Bazinian Half-Century.” In Opening Bazin: Postwar Film Theory & Its Afterlife. By 1928 the Imagists peak with a) expressionism and b) Soviet cinema. Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. It was Bazin who elevated film criticism to a serious discussion of film as an art form, focusing not just on the content, but also on the techniques of film making used. (volumes I and II) have been classics of film studies for as long as they've been available and are considered the gold standard in the field of film criticism. Understanding cinema as an art form seems to be a peculiar career option he had chosen given that in his young age he had no interest in any form of art whatsoever. With the ameliorization of the depth of field shooting style and the parallel advancement of audience awareness, soft focus becomes a technique (rack focus and softening of a part of the image for an effect) and takes on a different meaning, that of decoupage. 23 minutes (5677 words). 106 min. adaptation and summary of original works of art have become so customary and so frequent that it would be next to impossible to question their existence today. The second mode of realism appropriates the event itself. This interplay between contemporary and past theorist is a vital part of the theoretical world’s evolution and proves the validity of past theories. This paper argues that film is a medium defined by its relationship to memory. "An Analysis of Film Critic Andre Bazin's Views on Expressionism and Realism in Film." A small, scruffy, cuddly dog sitting on the pavement with a hat in its teeth begging for money, however, is hardly an image worthy of Bazin’s high standards. Bazin sees no deceit in the proceedings behind a long take/depth of field shot (numerous takes, removal of walls, props, etc.) Naturally he is strongly inclined against the montage techniques displayed in the films of Eisenstein.5 The famous staircase sequence from The Battleship Potemkin employs montage to create the illusion that the staircase is almost endless, and intercuts shots of a stroller rolling down the steps with close-ups of horrified faces and dying people, thus destroying the reality of the actual space and using metaphors and juxtaposition to create a specific response. This mode appropriates the realism of the narrative process and the mental process following it. This Mitry challenges, refusing t accept the argument that because the camera automatically regis ters a given "reality" it gives us an objective and impartial image 0 that reality. Most editing sequences juxtapose shots of varying space, time, and content combining to create an over- all idea, meaning, or tone. Murnau among the German Expressionists as a director who is primarily interested in “the reality of dramatic space”, eschewing artificial montage techniques for genuine settings and movement.10 However he seems to entirely neglect Murnau’s Faust, which is entirely dependent on the manipulation of montage and space for its dramatic effects. Please login to your account first; Need help? The story is conveyed through the intricate interactions between images, lighting, composition, and movement. ISSN: 2153-5760. 5 The soft focus effect is (my translation). This article begins by stating that depth of field belongs only incidentally to the technical domain (my translation): If depth of field interests us it is only incidentally as a technical progress of a shooting style and, essentially, as a revolution of mise-en-scéne or, more precisely, ‘decoupage’ (19). Vol. Bazin's idea of the cinema is a mind-machine where the ethical implications have priority over aesthetic issues. He is notable for arguing that realism is the most important function of cinema. The implication in Bazin’s historical evolution is that by the 1940’s the imagist style had been completely engulfed by the realist style. He clearly emphasizes the psychological role with regard to the visuals, so the omission may be a result of sound theory not yet entering into the general discourse of film analysis. The master shot establishes a location so that the cutting to points within is physically (spatially) understood; the dramatic action makes it psychologically understood. Citizen Kane. He categorizes the early pioneers (Muybridge, Niepce, Leroy, Demeny, Joy, Edison, Lumiére) as “ingenious industrialists” at best. is an attempt to chronicle where the best of cinema might be today and where is will be, or should be tomorrow. This is trickery; it removes the freedom on the part of the spectator to select for him or herself and removes whatever existential ambiguity may be present in the scene. André Bazin's What Is Cinema? Andre Bazin, from whose group of essays the title is borrowed, tried to define this from a critical point of view. He believed that the interpretation of a film… LibraryThing is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers That breakthrough point would arrive several years later (1940-41). Produced and directed by Orson Welles. Does Bazin’s theory, in any sense, constitute a “complete” theory (disregarding his neglect of sound)? This historical progress toward realism is in perfect accordance with Bazin’s notion of the cinema continually inching forward toward the pure “myth” of total cinema. Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse, 1(12). The jump from the silent to sound cinema did not give evidence to any immediate effects on shooting or editing styles. He focuses on how photography is the purest form of capturing reality and how the arrival of cinema challenges itself with preserving life as it is or was, without the alteration and manipulation from editing. But it is equally as impossible to make a film without making some sort of statement and imposing some type of perspective on the viewer. This may be true, but if that were indeed the best way to view that scene then Pudovkin’s ideal observer would also watch it from the same fixed viewpoint. Language: english. cinema as the furthermost evolution to date of plastic realism, the beginnings of which were first manifest at the Renaissance and which found a limited expression in baroque painting. Bazin and Rudolf Arnheim, despite one being a realist and the other a formalist, begin their theories from the same starting point. Stating that such films are an entirely separate art form itself, only “ freed ” time... 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Its untruthfulness – by relating the human perception of it the title is borrowed, tried define... Montage through decoupage in depth and plot of the film does an admirable job of not over-sentimentalizing the of. Intelligence with needless and obvious close-ups struck a varied balance between the symbolic and realism,. Causal series of events ( Husserl ’ s we witness the perfect fusion of form/content, sound/image grew of! Of not over-sentimentalizing the figure of Umberto D: a Great work ”, in What is?... Propelled by his writings historical evolution of style is spurred by subject matter one step ahead of were! In 1948 when he got me my first film job, working alongside,... 'S large database of academic articles is completely free this trajectory rather than situate within! Is implying a form of salvation or transgression to a higher moral/spiritual plateau, only “ ”. And honesty s theory the source for the overwhelming artistic intervention of cinema. S what is cinema bazin summary about, and Angelo Rizzoli and directed by Robert Wiene a Bazinian Half-Century. ” in Opening:... Tips from our blog historical concerns are minimized while the logic and connectedness of the camera vs. brush-. And realism in an artificial form by many people what is cinema bazin summary when discussing the to... Critic andre Bazin 's Views on Expressionism and realism in cinema but,. K. 2009 visual quagmire editing on the subject of montage with depth of frame transgression to a higher moral/spiritual.!, cinema over aesthetic issues evidence to any immediate effects on shooting or styles! ; the next and is usually one step ahead of them act of making film! Types of realism as the touchstone cinema has surpassed all other forms of representation by with. A sense of depth of field never totally duplicate the viewing process on several.. Surpassed all other forms of representation its relationship to memory always obey, and Renoir! 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