Mise
en Scene is a very important part of filmmaking, without it there isn’t a
movie. It is all the elements placed in
front of the camera: setting, costumes, lighting, and figure gesture. When watching a movie, often time’s motifs of
mise en scene repeat themselves. This is because a director places everything
in a specific spot for the viewer to see, and it has meaning. Sergio Leone was
a masterful director, and brought new mise en scene techniques to a genre he
helped pioneer, the Spaghetti Western. This genre emerged in the late 1960s in
Italy, and was very different from the American Western. The mise en scene was
different, but still included some elements from traditional Westerns.
Perhaps the most groundbreaking
Spaghetti Western was A Fistful of
Dollars. It was released in 1964 to critical acclaim, and pioneered the
genre to the world, to which there would be many more films made in the same
way. The protagonist is Joe, “The Man with no Name,” (Clint Eastwood), arrives
in a Mexican border town, which is a ghost town. Unknowing of what he is
getting into, he is warned by a man that the town is full of trouble. However,
he goes in on horseback, and is greeted by something that will occur often
throughout the movie, gunshots.
Sergio Leone created a brutal, more
realistic Western with his camerawork.
Joe is unlike any Western movie “hero”. He emphasizes intense moments
with extreme close ups, but before these moments scenic shots occur. These
extreme close ups of the eyes of the characters show that Joe is no different
than any of the so called “bad guys”. He is an anti-hero, only doing what he
can to make money in the situation he came into. The mise en scene is set up to show the realistic
violence of the Western world.
The last fifteen minutes or so in
the movie is when it comes to a climatic ending. We see Joe alone in a
mineshaft, shooting his revolver. This revolver is perhaps his most famous
motif; as he always has it by his side. Unlike any other parts in the film, he
was just beaten up, so he is in rough shape. Attached shadows cover his face
and it is one of the only shots to appear like this. Most of the others are low
key, high contrast lighting. This is because the sun is always prominent in
most scenes, and provides much of the light. In Joes mouth is a cigar, which
was also a motif that appears throughout the movie. Rarely is smoke seen coming
from it; it is usually just in his mouth, in between his teeth. Joe remains in
the mineshaft for around 4 minutes running time, where he is building a bullet
proof vest, seemingly for his final showdown. All the shots are dark.
In the next scene, the low key high
contrast lighting returns. Silvanito (Jose Calvo) is being tortured by Ramon
(Gian Volonte), hanging from the same pole that Joe grabbed onto to hop off his
horse. The scene is brief, as Joe appears again in the mine, in the shadows
talking to Piripero (Joseph Egger), the coffin builder. He gives Joe dynamite,
something which appeared in the film earlier, used by Ramon. Silvanito is seen
again, in the same hanging position. Ramon puts a cigar in Silvanito’s mouth,
similar to those smoked by Joe. The men are all surrounding him, evenly spaced
out, laughing as they watch Ramon torture him. Ramon uses his rifle to strike
Silvanito. This is a motif, because Ramon is closely associated with the
Winchester rifle throughout the film.
In the same scene, the final minutes
come to a start. A big bang is heard from afar, and all the characters look
towards it. This is a wide scenic shot, which usually means something is about
to occur, a set up. Close ups occur of Ramon and his brothers, something which
happens throughout the movie quite often. All the characters know something is
about to occur, and fear is in their eyes. A shot of Ramon’s perspective
occurs, and smoke is in the air, and in comes Joe walking towards the center of
the town. This is the same way he entered the town in the beginning of the movie.
There are more close ups of all the “bad” guys, as they peer at Joe. Joe
appears in the center of the next shot, and he is in closer range, standing
still. He walks in closer to them all. The camera is shooting from a very low
perspective, as we see only the boots and legs of Joe walking forward. Ramon’s
feet are seen, a close up of his spurs occur. Ramon and his gang spread out
with Ramon in the center. Extreme close ups of each member are seen. Ramon
points his rifle at Joe, yet he is still seen from afar. Ramon shoots Joe, who
falls to the ground. Close ups of each of the characters is shown. They for the
first time are relieved, because seemingly Joe cannot be alive. But Joe does stumble up, and another close up
of Ramon occurs, and he seems to be in shock. Joe continues to trot towards
Silvanito, taking shot after shot from the rifle of Ramon. It is revealed that
Joe had a bulletproof vest on, and he takes it off in front of them all. Thus
begins the final draw in the movie.
All the characters stand stoically,
and begin a stare down. This also is a motif in westerns. Characters are trying
to determine when to draw their guns. Joe
is always alone in these situations. Whereas the men he is facing always have
multiple men who also have a chance to draw their guns. A close up of Joes
holster is seen, then a perspective shot of all the men. Then it cuts back to
Joe’s gun, and the camera comes from the angle near the gun holster. Joe
quickly kills all the men surrounding Ramon. A shot of his revolver is seen,
looking right at the barrel of it. The final standoff between Joe and Ramon
builds up. Joe uses his trusty pistol, and Ramon his rifle. Again the lower
halves of the men are shown, usually from behind the back of Joe. Quick shots occur showing both extreme close
ups of each of their guns being loaded up. Then another extreme close up of
their eyes is next, in the tense moment before the final shot. Joe reacts
quickest, and his shot is seen fired from behind the back of him. Ramon stumbles, and many perspective shots
occur. It seems to be a handheld, because it is very shaky and even looks up to
the sun above. This is drastically different camera work that has not occurred
in the film prior to this. The camera comes back down to Ramon’s face, and cuts
back to him falling over onto a fountain from his perspective. Joe begins to
walk towards him, but a close up of a rifle from above is seen. Joe appears to
know something is wrong and begins to look to his side, but Silvanito fires his
rifle first, and kills the last brother of Ramon. Blood is more visible from
this final scene than in any other part of the movie.
The man who greeted Joe upon his
arrival rings the bell of the town. Prior to this it was rung as a sign of
death, but now it is for a joyous occasion. Joe gets his things from Silvanitos
bar, and says goodbye. He gets onto his horse and rides out of town the
opposite way he came in. The camera pans up and creates a landscape shot of the
town.
One may infer that Joe is the hero
of this movie. He strolls into town, and fixes a problem of two families at
war. The war caused the townspeople to stay inside at all times. But Joe is an
anti-hero. Because he gets a lot of money out of exploiting the situation. It
is the costume of Joe that makes him seem like a hero. He is dressed up as an
American cowboy, and seemingly is there in town to get rid of all the chaos,
which he does. Although Joe kills in cold blood, he never hurts anyone outside
of the families. He also frees Ramons captive girlfriend, and returns her to
her son and husband. But the viewer is never sure if Joe does this because he
wants to help, or just because it benefits him. Deep down he may be a hero, but
his ways have been distorted over the years.
The camera work shows the brutality
of the West. The victims are shot within the same frame. The intensity of each character is shown with
their eyes. This is something that is not seen in most movies. One can see the
fear and intensity in each of the characters eyes. Often times Joe and Ramon
have the same look on their faces. This may give apathy to Ramon for some
viewers. Joe walked into a situation he knew nothing about, and took it into
his own hands. Joe killed people to gain money. Leone created a film that would birth many
more Spaghetti Westerns. His plot was based on a Japanese movie, but certainly
translated well. It is perhaps because he created a mise en scene that was not
yet seen as he displayed it.
A
When applied to the cinema, mise-en-scène seems to refer to everything that appears before the camera. Perhaps that is why it is so important in theater and film. It is valued for helping set the tone, emotion and meaning of the shot. I think I particularly remember it's importance from the role it played in the movie Citizen Kane.
ReplyDeleteYes, That is a great film to watch in general, especially in terms of mise en scene.
ReplyDelete