tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post9037593468607271688..comments2023-11-03T12:43:57.791+00:00Comments on Night On Planet Earth: In Defence of the Close-Up of the Human FaceAlex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-12493919751265575822009-06-22T13:13:08.562+01:002009-06-22T13:13:08.562+01:00Thanks for that Mike - I agree very much with your...Thanks for that Mike - I agree very much with your comment. I've recently written an article about Dreyer and transcendence, which I'm trying to get published somewhere. If you're interested, keeping checking my blog as I'll post about it once it is (or just post the whole essay up if no one takes it!). Best, Alex.Alex Barretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-31730333125932922442009-06-21T06:02:29.412+01:002009-06-21T06:02:29.412+01:00Great post! I have never seen it commented on, bu...Great post! I have never seen it commented on, but I think Dreyer's close-up of Inger's face in Ordet, as she lies on the birthing table that is covered with a checkerboard cloth (not the upside-down close-up, but the right-side up close-up, which occurs right after her father-in-law prays, "God, do not send death to us"), is one of the most transcendental moments in cinema. The shot only lasts about twenty seconds. Our view is from underneath Inger's face, and perhaps it is partly this unusual angle that makes her face appear utterly different than in any other scene. In her face, and in her breathing, we see pain, of course, but more than that, we see life itself. And not just that, but life beholding life, as expressed so beautifully in the saying of Irenaeus, "For the glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God." The shot is sublime; Carl Dreyer and Birgitte Federspiel were artists of the highest rank.Michael McIntyrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01294929089322964727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-68804864328497077672008-10-20T13:36:00.000+01:002008-10-20T13:36:00.000+01:00That scene in Birth is superb. I have always loved...That scene in Birth is superb. I have always loved Demme's use of the close up, especially in Silence of the Lambs. But then, I love everything about that movie.Dan Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15425931294440761410noreply@blogger.com