Download (12MB) - University of Salford Institutional Repository
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portraying Alfredo and Ada's first physical encounter, is characterized by a similar, earthy realism to counterpoint the artifice that is discernible elsewhere in 1900. The sequence also possesses a strong affective charge, initially designed to elicit arousal as viewers are aligned with Alfredo's desire, first through POV shots showing parts of Ada's body as she is rapidly undressed by him, and then by shot/reverse shot montage between Alfredo's gaze and Ada. The erotic tension is graphically maintained during the couple's sexual act through repeated rear close-ups of Alfredo's thrusts, which nonetheless give rise also to a sense of unease because of the peculiar high angle framing which endows the sequence with a voyeuristic perspective. Unlike the sexual scenes, a more complex discourse lies behind the techniques used to construct several violent scenes, as the style of realism appears enriched with horror and/or gothic aesthetics, whereas in one later sequence, influences from Soviet Cinema are visible. These different mechanisms provide an emotional charge which is nevertheless tempered by intellectual resonances, an approach which underpins Bertolucci's film-making. Horror film devices are evoked by the elaborate, ritualistic cruelty of the deaths of some of the victims - a kitten, the young Fabrizio, and his mother killed by Attila - are all crushed like insects; by the slowed down pace of each scene, so that the length of the take becomes unbearable; and finally through the way each scene elicits a rising level of affective engagement that intensifies the viewers' emotional experience until a final explosion of horror releases the accumulated tension. Some scenes, such as the murder of Fabrizio, feature a built-in, emoting diegetic audience, and this mechanism has strong resonances. A reaction shot of Regina's horror as Attila repeatedly crashes the boy's head against the wall is the sort of 'facial feedback' that will draw affective mimicry from viewers (Plantinga, 1999: 240) but there is also a strong sense of the theatrical which endows the scene with an almost didactic distancing effect. As occurred in The Conformist during Quadri's execution, the viewer's 214
engagement will again change from emotional concern for the boy's welfare to a more defensive, perceptual form of participation in the scene when it is clear that he is doomed (Grodal, 1997: 158). The scene depicting the mass murder of peasants by Fascists in a field moves away from a direct personification of the evil embodied by Attila - although he does appear in the scene - as it is designed to represent a broader view of the state of dehumanization reached by the Fascist regime in its late period. The graphic ferocity of the massacre evokes the visual representations of the Russian Revolution to be found in early Soviet Cinema, in particular the techniques seen in Sergei Eisenstein's Strike and Battleship Potemkin; these films contain scenes in which, according to David Gillespie, 'the violence employed by the police and army is shocking [...] but it is also highly stylized" (Gillespie, 2000: 39). The same method of representation applies to the stylized way in which Bertolucci depicts the Fascists' cruelty. Aspects of Gillespie's aesthetic analysis of early Soviet films resurface in 1900, in particular the enormous disproportion between the two opposing forces - a key method of highlighting the oppressor's brutality. The murderers' faceless anonymity creates the sense of an evil that has become all-pervading and institutionalized, while the victims' individuality is accentuated by emphatic close-ups, making 'the masses become real people' (Gillespie, 2000: 42), an effect which creates both alignment and allegiance with them. The viewers' empathic absorption in the events is doubtless punctuated by an occasional awareness that the real past is being enacted on screen, and this extra-diegetic knowledge will intensify the disturbing nature of the violence. Yet the peasants" execution scene is articulated differently from Eisenstein's method of cross-cutting the images of atrocities with visual metaphors, such as images of a bull having its throat cut. By contrast, Bertolucci aestheticizes the violence by an idiosyncratic use of elements of mise-en-scene. The colour scheme is characterized by an unnatural omission of the red of bloodshed; the palette is restricted to 215
- Page 167 and 168: easoned, 'great movies of the past,
- Page 169 and 170: it towards the images being splashe
- Page 171 and 172: when, in voiceover, he recollects:
- Page 173 and 174: to one of the character's parents a
- Page 175 and 176: Sexuality and shifts of subjectivit
- Page 177 and 178: nudity, commodified on to celluloid
- Page 179 and 180: notion that 'Decadence cultivates a
- Page 181 and 182: engaging. Unfortunately the core of
- Page 183 and 184: Section Three: Between History and
- Page 185 and 186: II conformista/The Conformist: The
- Page 187 and 188: to the female protagonists Severine
- Page 189 and 190: constitute an example of the femme
- Page 191 and 192: despises, ranging from Fascist offi
- Page 193 and 194: the closed doors, his sense of soli
- Page 195 and 196: lying on. Bearing in mind the manne
- Page 197 and 198: Bertolucci seemed aware of the film
- Page 199 and 200: illuminated as if to imply the brig
- Page 201 and 202: hues of bluish-grey colouring are d
- Page 203 and 204: a narrative focus means that the de
- Page 205 and 206: Notes 1. They Live by Night (1948)
- Page 207 and 208: 1985: 73) should be contextualized
- Page 209 and 210: The film's cognitive structure and
- Page 211 and 212: daily life elicits nostalgia for a
- Page 213 and 214: that periodically distances viewers
- Page 215 and 216: followers), sensitive (she relates
- Page 217: part of the film depicting the peas
- Page 221 and 222: leadership, which is arguably assum
- Page 223 and 224: References Bachmann, G. (1973) 'Eve
- Page 225 and 226: The success of The Last Emperor ena
- Page 227 and 228: L 'ultimo imperatore/The Last Emper
- Page 229 and 230: out; the red of a notice on the wal
- Page 231 and 232: The intellectual implications of th
- Page 233 and 234: the Forbidden City. This, combined
- Page 235 and 236: Japanese. His personality fits the
- Page 237 and 238: the belief that whereas language ma
- Page 239 and 240: In addition, the presence of a hist
- Page 241 and 242: (2009) is one recent, successful ex
- Page 243 and 244: Gaut, B. (1999) 'Identification and
- Page 245 and 246: working class people depicted in th
- Page 247 and 248: strengthening viewers' alignment wi
- Page 249 and 250: experience of being out of clock ti
- Page 251 and 252: where the contemplation of this inf
- Page 253 and 254: infinite. In his discussion of sour
- Page 255 and 256: camera's 'symbiotic fusion' with th
- Page 257 and 258: criticism of contemporary Western i
- Page 259 and 260: is conveyed by Port's bleak awarene
- Page 261 and 262: Piccolo Buddha /Little Buddha: A Jo
- Page 263 and 264: concludes that all three children a
- Page 265 and 266: intensity created by stylized light
- Page 267 and 268: of a children's book, takes on a pr
engagement will again change from emotional concern for the boy's welfare to a more<br />
defensive, perceptual form <strong>of</strong> participation in the scene when it is clear that he is doomed<br />
(Grodal, 1997: 158).<br />
The scene depicting the mass murder <strong>of</strong> peasants by Fascists in a field moves away<br />
from a direct personification <strong>of</strong> the evil embodied by Attila - although he does appear in the<br />
scene - as it is designed to represent a broader view <strong>of</strong> the state <strong>of</strong> dehumanization reached<br />
by the Fascist regime in its late period. The graphic ferocity <strong>of</strong> the massacre evokes the visual<br />
representations <strong>of</strong> the Russian Revolution to be found in early Soviet Cinema, in particular<br />
the techniques seen in Sergei Eisenstein's Strike and Battleship Potemkin; these films contain<br />
scenes in which, according to David Gillespie, 'the violence employed by the police and<br />
army is shocking [...] but it is also highly stylized" (Gillespie, 2000: 39). The same method <strong>of</strong><br />
representation applies to the stylized way in which Bertolucci depicts the Fascists' cruelty.<br />
Aspects <strong>of</strong> Gillespie's aesthetic analysis <strong>of</strong> early Soviet films resurface in 1900, in particular<br />
the enormous disproportion between the two opposing forces - a key method <strong>of</strong> highlighting<br />
the oppressor's brutality. The murderers' faceless anonymity creates the sense <strong>of</strong> an evil that<br />
has become all-pervading and institutionalized, while the victims' individuality is<br />
accentuated by emphatic close-ups, making 'the masses become real people' (Gillespie,<br />
2000: 42), an effect which creates both alignment and allegiance with them. The viewers'<br />
empathic absorption in the events is doubtless punctuated by an occasional awareness that the<br />
real past is being enacted on screen, and this extra-diegetic knowledge will intensify the<br />
disturbing nature <strong>of</strong> the violence. Yet the peasants" execution scene is articulated differently<br />
from Eisenstein's method <strong>of</strong> cross-cutting the images <strong>of</strong> atrocities with visual metaphors,<br />
such as images <strong>of</strong> a bull having its throat cut. By contrast, Bertolucci aestheticizes the<br />
violence by an idiosyncratic use <strong>of</strong> elements <strong>of</strong> mise-en-scene. The colour scheme is<br />
characterized by an unnatural omission <strong>of</strong> the red <strong>of</strong> bloodshed; the palette is restricted to<br />
215
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