Day 74- Elevator to the Gallows
Saturday, November 18, 2006
The re-release trailer for Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (Elevator to the Gallows). I saw it this afternoon. It's a great little film noir: short, suspenseful, moody. It was the first-time effort for Louis Malle, now most associated with the French New Wave.
It was a very good film, both structurally and on the artistic level. But what I really liked about it, though, was the photography. The black and white was almost pure. I felt as if I could touch it, rest my head upon it, wrap myself in it. The light/dark contrast was startling, and the natural lighting throughout the film--which takes place in the frame of a single night--is beyond cool. If you like visuals and appreciate classic film, the movie is a definite recommendation. The photography in "Elevator..." was heads (and tails) above almost any modern film I've seen in a while. It just looked amazing.
Miles Davis's score is worth mentioning. Improvised entirely in one take, it foreshadows the direction he (and late Coltrane) would go with the music. It's classy jazz, and fits snuggly into the film's atmosphere.
If you can deal with YouTube's grainy transfer, someone posted the entire movie over there in 10 segments.
posted, with grace and poise, by Jason @ 11/18/2006 03:41:00 PM,
1 Comments:
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At 10:09 PM,
Buddy Chamberlain said...
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Speaking of movies, saw "Casino Royale" last night. Spectacular. I think I might have a new favorite Bond. Even if it weren't a Bond film, it's a great action movie. Go see it.
