The Untouchables, 1987 (Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRJ539f5Ugc)
This scene is a direct homage to Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin (1925). The original clip was famous for its montage. 45 seconds in there's a point-of-view shot from Eliot Ness' perspective looking down on the station waiting for Al Capone's accountant. The scene cuts from his POV to the clock tower, signifying the importance of time, in this scenario every second counts and if they waste time then they risk losing the accountant which is key to taking down Capone, time is on Ness' mind both literally and metaphorically. Previously, the shot also cut from Ness to a mother and her baby, this shot with no dialogue is powerful as Ness is not sure whether to help the mother with her child or to leave her and focus on his target which is ultimately more important to him but his conscience overrules him. There's also a point-of-view shot 5 minutes into the scene where Ness sees members of the Capone gang who are also waiting for the accountant but the shot also focuses on the baby, this conveys Ness' fears that the innocent baby and mother may get in the way of the impending 'battle' between the police and the Capone gang as the Capone gang will most likely stop at nothing to get the accountant, they don't care if it takes a baby to get the accountant, as long as they get him, before the shootout begins there is a close up of the Capone gang member while the shot also cuts to Ness' seemingly stares down at him, indicating that the shootout is close to kicking off.
Inglorious Basterds, 2009 (Clip: https://vimeo.com/24676836)
This scene takes place in a bar in Nazi occupied France and for context: the Basterds are meeting their contact for an upcoming mission. Near the end of the scene the Basterds' cover are blown and then a shoot out occurs, the shootout scene is hectic but features a lot of flash cutting. We see everyone in the tavern shooting in a short space of time, this creates 'tension' as throughout the entire scene before this we as the audience have been expecting the situation to boil over as the SS general has been on the Basterds' case throughout and finally it got to its boiling point and then the shootout. Because IB is a war film the shootout links in with the tropes of a war film, one main trope is excessive violence, the shootout is excessive as Hugo Stigliz viciously stabs the Nazi despite the Nazi already being dead, however this is also classic Tarantino, he is known for the over-the-top violence and times has been criticized for such. The purpose of this was to create tension and suspense, but the other purpose is for Tarantino to include a common trope that he himself is known for and the final purpose is to advance the plot while also being entertaining for the audience, because film audiences enjoy violence and will cry for blood, the editing gives the audience a thrill.
The Godfather, 1972 (Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfbYp9oaIT8)
This scene takes place during two key events (The Christening of Michael Corleone's grandchild and the murder of the enemies of the Corleone family), one immediate technique in this scene is parallel editing which is when two events are happening simultaneously but in different locations. This technique is used to build tension for the audience, as we're seeing two events on two different moral scales, the first: a mass murder which is a negative event compared to the more positive christening with the family and we as the audience wonder whether these two contrasting events change the main character, this shows how parallel editing was used to create tension with the audience as these two events which are binary opposites evoke a reaction from the audience, you don't expect those two events to occur side by side, the editing provides the audience with a bit of irony also, before the murders begin Michael is asked if he renounces Satan, and Michael replies that he does. The choice to edit this before the killings shows a sense of irony, as Michael claims to denounce Satan yet what he's going to do makes him no better than him.
Raging Bull, 1980 (Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx-kB1KKLJ0)
This scene takes place in a boxing ring where Jake LaMotta is fighting. The use of close-ups that follow create effect as we see a close-up of LaMotta taking a torrid beating, it creates effect with the audience as we wonder just how much more LaMotta can take, the editing cuts from LaMotta to his opponent Sugar Ray Robinson to contrast just how different the fight is going for these two, we see Robinson pounding LaMotta's face and we see the impact that these punches are having on LaMotta, we also see Robinson's close-up and his face shows almost a sickening smirk, almost as if he enjoys inflicting pain on his opponent but also we see that LaMotta is completely defenseless and it's almost tragic that he's allowed to continue the fight, but it shows his resilience and refusal to be hit to the ground by Robinson. The editing used conveys meaning to the audience as this shot alone shows that LaMotta has strength and he'd rather be battered and bruised than ever go down as it conveys pride as despite losing the fight, he was never floored.
Hot Fuzz, 2007 (Clip:
The Battle of Sandford begins with close-ups of all the citizens of Sandford reacting to the news that their nemesis Nicholas Angel is back in the village. The close-ups show the majority of Sandford looking visibly horrified and confused as they thought that Angel was dead, this creates tension within the scene and the audience as we know that something massive is about to go down, and combined with their reaction it implies that they know that Angel has come back with everything he's got and the usage of close-ups convey this shock perfectly, this technique has also been used to 'stretch' the scene to one minute which again manages to imply tension as the audience are not wondering if something will happen, they're wondering when something is going to happen and it causes anxiety for audiences. Following this, there's a long shot of Angel on the horse as he enters the village, the LS is used to show the viewers that Angel is the main focus of the shot and that our full attention should be on him and him alone, it also gives him an aura of superiority over the other people in the village. The shootout includes a birds-eye shot of the shopkeeper shooting down at Angel which creates suspense as the shopkeeper has the upper edge (both literally and figuratively) over Nicholas and we wonder whether this may be the end for him as he is exposed and he hasn't long to react.
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