Film History
During Hollywood time period, cinematographers believed that the aesthetic elements of a film should be maximized with a goal of beautiful pictures and beautiful people. At this point in time, movies were produced quickly and often with a smaller production cost. The goal of the movie was to provide the eager American audiences with entertainment and often the creative elements of cinematography such as photography, mise en scene, editing, and movement to do this.
Shanghai Express
The film Shanghai Express concerns a prostitute named Shanghai Lily and a throng of other characters traveling on a train from Peking to Shanghai during a Chinese civil war. One of the characters is an English military doctor who was a former love of Lily's. The train must stop several times, if not for animals blocking the tracks, then for soldiers to search the train for rebel spies. At one point, a spy captures them and holds the doctor hostage. Lily must then decide whether to take action or save herself. This first film is a classic example of the Hollywood Cinematography style because beautiful is not a big enough word enough to describe the cinematography in Shanghai Express.
This train ride and the adventure that ensues were filmed with distinct elements of photography. The use of light is the most evident as it follows the star of the movie, Marlene Dietrich, and highlights not only her beauty but the mystery lurking behind her coquettish innocence that forms her star power. At one point, while Shanghai Lily' is speaking to the Doctor outdoors on the train caboose, Marlene Dietrich's face blooms like a white flower out of the shadows, then closes again. The use of light between these two characters becomes interesting as the audience is allowed an up close shot of Dietrich's face under a spotlight. Here, the light casts a soft glow on her facial expressions as the fur cascading around her fair hair takes up the entire shot.
Mise en...
View Full Essay