CL: Absolutely. They just gasped.
BO: This is a classic example of less is more in a sex scene and how powerful that can be.
CL: Oh, yeah.
BO: Did you have some concerns about this scene?
CL: I think we were really concerned when we previewed the film, we thought well, if we can get by this scene, if the audience can buy this scene, we’ll be okay, but if there’s a laugh when he forces his way in by crashing through this French door, grabbing her and throwing her on the ground, and going through the love making scene and seduction the way he does.… Little did we know the scene after this was the one the audience laughed at.
BO: The post-coital scene of them in bed?
CL: Yes, the scene is in the movie but the dialogue is out; they laughed at the dialogue. Matty said something to the effect, if I can remember, “I didn’t want this to happen,” and the audience just — she did want it to happen of course, she wanted to be seduced. So we had to lose the dialogue, and they’re just in bed and she reaches for him and that’s it [shown in Frame grab #30].
And the shot of Ned Racine the next morning when he was walking across the little street, he’s sort of self-satisfied [the “in” frame of the shot is Frame grab #31]. We never saw that as being very funny, but it was a huge laugh. I think the audience was unbelievably uncomfortable with the last moment of the scene, where she’s groping him before, you don’t know how long it’s going to go on. Then we just cut to daylight and he’s walking across the street, and [the audience was] terribly relieved, I think.36
frame grab 30
frame grab 31
This is a classic example of the fact that an editor always has to be aware of the domino effect. What follows and precedes a scene definitely has an impact of the scene he is working on, and those results can be surprising. It should also be noted that, even though there is no nudity or graphic sex in this scene from Body Heat, this is arguably the most memorable. There are other sex scenes later in the movie that are much more explicit and show quite a bit of nudity, but this scene is the most erotic. There’s a powerful buildup of tension and then exhilaration, when Matty finally lets herself be taken by Ned. And then, once they finally connect, the audience is shown just enough to completely stimulate their sexual imagination.
THE MUSICAL
The musical genre, in its traditional form, is constraining for an editor, because he is basically locked in by the score. As music editor Suzana Peric says, “You have music that’s married to picture, and you have to cut with those two elements always tied together. Say you’re in a musical sequence, somebody’s singing on the stage, and now you’d like very much an angle of this performer at a certain point — you cannot cut in the middle of a song to another verse. The lips have to be in sync with the song.”37
In a conventional musical not only are the pictures and music joined, but also the story itself is told mostly through singing. And because the purely narrative scenes are shot in a different style from the musical ones, the director and editor can find it challenging to combine the two. This is much less of a problem if the leading character is a musical performer, because then the transitions are often not as abrupt. In fact, there’s a history of musicals that have starred famous singers rather than professional actors — movies usually written with minimal narrative and often created primarily as a vehicle to showcase the star. An example would be the Elvis Presley rock ’n’ roll movies from the fifties; their negligible plots were just a way to show off Presley’s talents and charisma. Within a decade of those movies, however, the musical took on a whole new form.
FRAME GRAB ILLUSTRATION: A HARD DAY’S NIGHT
Like earlier musicals, A Hard Day’s Night, made in the sixties, displayed the Beatles as performers and personalities. It, too, had a thin story: the filmmakers tracked the daily life of the Beatles, culminating in a television broadcast of them in concert before their adoring audience. In several musical numbers the Beatles sang on camera to songs pre-recorded either in rehearsal or in concert, and the editor was locked into showing them mouthing the words to their songs. However, they were usually shot from the unique movie-within-a-movie perspective, which gave the editor a chance to play with the multiple points of view of TV cameras, crew, and monitors. But it was when the Beatles’ music played over various sequences that A Hard Day’s Night dramatically broke away from the traditional musical.
The director of A Hard Day’s Night, Richard Lester, had done some avant-garde work in television commercials and short films. Strongly influenced by the cinema verité and New Wave movements, he used handheld shots, jump cuts, and the juxtaposition of extremes: slow motion and fast motion, close shots and long shots, realism and surrealism. The movie’s innovative shooting and editing style broke many rules, which reflected the liberating spirit of the Beatles themselves. The first third of the movie, as director Lester said, “was shot in real places with [the Beatles]…being hounded and told what to do and where to go, so there’s a certain moment when they break out and refuse and run down the fire escape and go into a field and just be idiots. That sense of relief was what we were trying to do. And that was cut with the music ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ and it’s when the film begins to take off. ”38
To reflect this energy and spirit, the director used more revolutionary film techniques here than in any other musical sequence in the movie. Although its style may seem commonplace now, at the time this sequence was groundbreaking. (The film was a precursor of the music videos that took off in the eighties, when the audience would come to expect a kind of anarchy and pace in both the shooting and editing.) But no matter how dizzying and absurd the visuals were, the editor was still tied to the emotions, continuity, and rhythm of the song.
The setup:
The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr) were being pestered by their manager and especially by the TV director they were working with, who didn’t like them improvising and generally clowning around during rehearsal. The following sequence starts with them running away from the tedious work in the studio. The building’s door bursts open, and the Beatles appear outside, at the top of the fire escape, with Ringo yelling “We’re out!”
The song “Can’t Buy Me Love” kicks off with a series of shots showing the Beatles flying down the stairs. The next shot shows them running away from the camera, like children, into an open field.
EXT. FIELD — DAY
Long shot from helicopter of the Beatles running around.
“I may not have a lot to give,
but what I’ve got I’ll give to you.
I don’t care too much for money,
Money can’t buy me love.
Can’t buy me lo-ove
Everybody tells me so.
Can’t buy me lo-ove, No, no, no, no!
Say you don’t need no diamond rings, and I’ll be sa-…
FRAME GRAB #1
CUT TO:
Medium long shot of Beatles kneeling on field, in starting position.
FRAME GRAB #2
“…tisfied. Tell me that you want the kind of things that money…
They set off running — and then fall down.
CUT BACK TO:
Helicopter shot of Beatles running around.
“ …just can’t buy. I don’t care too…”
FRAME GRAB #3
CUT TO:
Medium long shot of Beatles, continuation of them goofing around.
FRAME GRAB #4
“…much for money, money can’t buy me love.”
CUT TO:
Close shot of Paul, making faces.
FRAME GRAB #5
(A scream, then instrumentals)
Handheld camera pans over to Ringo and George.
FRAME GRAB #6
CUT TO:
Close shot of ground.
FRAME GRAB #7
Camera pans over to a shadow and boots and legs, then up to Ringo, who runs toward camera, which pans dow
n again to show his legs and boots, ending with an empty shot of cement ground.
CUT TO:
Medium handheld shot of the Beatles; they bump together and then run apart.
FRAME GRAB #8
CUT TO:
Long shot from helicopter with continued action of the Beatles running apart.
FRAME GRAB #9
CUT TO:
Medium long shot of the Beatles still clowning around.
“Can’t buy me lo-ove, everybody tells me so.
Can’t buy me lo-ove, no no…”
They run out of the frame, the last one being John.
FRAME GRAB #10
CUT TO:
Medium long shot from helicopter of the Beatles running.
Camera pulls up higher as the Beatles continue to run.
“…no, no!
Say you don’t need no diamond ring
And I’ll be satis-…”
FRAME GRAB #11
CUT TO:
Medium shot of John, jumping down from sky.
FRAME GRAB #12
“…fied.”
CUT TO:
Medium shot of George, jumping down from sky.
FRAME GRAB #13
“Tell me that you…”
CUT TO:
Medium shot of Paul, jumping down from sky.
“ … want the…”
FRAME GRAB #14
CUT TO:
Medium long shot of Ringo, standing with bent knees.
FRAME GRAB #15
He barely jumps up and down.
“… kind of things that money just can’t…”
CUT TO:
Long shot from helicopter of the Beatles, with George running around, tangled in jacket.
“…buy. I don’t care too much for money, money…”
FRAME GRAB #16
CUT TO:
Close shot, shooting down at Paul, Ringo, and George’s faces as they chatter away.
FRAME GRAB #17
“…can’t buy me love. Can’t buy me lo-…”
CUT TO:
Medium long shot from helicopter of the Beatles running around.
“…o-ove, Lo-”
FRAME GRAB #18
CUT TO:
“…o-ove, Lo-”
Long shot from helicopter, another angle of the Beatles.
FRAME GRAB #19
“…o-ove. Buy me lo-ove. Ohh.”
CUT TO:
Close shot of a farmer’s rubber boots.
FRAME GRAB #20
(Last musical beat.)
Camera pans up to a medium long shot of the farmer with the Beatles in background.
FARMER
I suppose you realize this is private property!
The Beatles walk off the field, moving past him.
GEORGE
Sorry we hurt your field, mister.
Ringo taps his hat in mock salute and as the Beatles exit frame, the farmer turns to look after them in disgust.
DECONSTRUCTION
Scene edited by John Jympson
This freewheeling sequence is technically a montage, since the Beatles don’t sing on camera and the song plays over a series of shots, but it plays like a musical number. The editor, John Jympson, times out the Beatles’ movements within the shots and from cut to cut, so they seem to be dancing to the rhythm and tempo of the song, even when they’re doing pratfalls or just running around like goofy children. The editor sometimes starts a shot on a downbeat or on an emphatic word, but the cuts don’t present themselves the way they might in a more traditional montage. The style of shooting and editing appear spontaneous, reflecting the Beatles playful, manic energy. As music editor Peric says, “The sequence is very percussive, and it kind of goes with their running and their freedom. There’s something that feels random, not structured, but it’s random on purpose; everything’s on purpose.”39
The cuts are motivated not only by the movement of the Beatles and their music, but by the dynamic camera as well. The entire sequence is shot in sped-up motion with no dialogue, even when the Beatles are talking, which creates a feeling reminiscent of silent movies and slapstick. The editor uses dizzying, handheld shots and swooping helicopter shots for momentum, and contrasting camera distances and angles to surprise and shake up the audience. He stays on the first helicopter shot for over twenty-six seconds, so the audience could get into the spirit of fun by watching the Beatles scamper around crazily (the “out” frame is Frame grab #1). The editor sets up a contrast of movement in the transition from the unsteady helicopter camera and Beatles running to the next shot where the four of them are motionless at first, shot from the ground in a kneeling position, as if getting ready for a race (the “in” frame is Frame grab #2).
frame grab 1
frame grab 2
Also, there is no attempt to match coverage by the two cameras in the next two shots: from the helicopter shot, where each of the four Beatles stands at a distant corner of the cement square (the “out” frame is Frame grab #3) to the medium long shot covering the same action, showing them closer together (that “in” frame is Frame grab #4).
frame grab 3
frame grab 4
frame grab 5
frame grab 6
The next transition is unpredictable, starting with a distorted close angle of Paul (the “in” frame is Frame grab #5). The camera ends up moving unsteadily closer, then away from him over to a blurry shot of Ringo and George (the “out” frame is Frame grab #6).
frame grab 7
The editor again confounded the audience’s expectations by cutting to a shot of the cement pavement (the “in” frame is Frame grab #7). Next the camera pans down to Ringo’s boots and legs, then up Ringo, and down to more boots and legs, ending with another empty frame of concrete pavement.
frame grab 8
The next dizzying, handheld shot has the four Beatles running into each other and bumping apart, almost leaving the shot in Frame grab #8.
In the subsequent shot the action is continuous as three of the band members push away from each other, shown now from the perspective of the helicopter shot (the “in” frame is Frame grab #9).
frame grab 9
The action continues in the next shot (Frame grab #10, which is the same angle as seen in Frame grab #4) until all four Beatles have run out of it, clearing the frame.
frame grab 10
The editor then used another helicopter shot, but this one starts closer on the four, who are running full bore, the camera moving with them and then pulling back and swooping around (the “out” frame is Frame grab #11). This is one of the most euphoric moments of the sequence because of the way the editor cut in and out on the dramatic camera moves, and timed the joyful racing of the Beatles to coincide with the second half of the spirited lyrics “no, no… no … no!!”
frame grab 11
frame grab 12
The next cut takes the audience by surprise as John absurdly jumps down from the sky (the “in” frame is Frame grab #12) followed by similar zany leaps by Paul and George (Frame grabs #13 and #14). The shot after that creates a contrast in movement again, by cutting to Ringo standing with bent knees (the “in” is Frame grab #15), who holds the pose so that he barely moves within the shot.
frame grab 13
frame grab 14
frame grab 15
There’s even greater change from fast motion to no motion, and from distance to closeness, in the next two shots: from a helicopter shot (the “out” frame is Frame grab #16) to the very close shot of all four Beatles lying still on their backs, heads together (the “in” frame is Frame grab # 17).
frame grab 16
frame grab 17
The latter half of the word “lo-ove” motivates the cut to another helicopter shot, which starts close on one Beatle; then the camera pulls up and swoops around, showing all of them clustered together (the “out” frame is Frame grab #18). The next helicopter shot (the “in” frame is Frame grab #19) shows them
from a higher angle in a totally different position, all lined up. Though this action is mismatched, it transitions smoothly because, again, the second half of the spirited “lo-ove” is the impetus to cut, and the clockwise swoop that started in that first shot continues around in the same circular direction when the editor cuts to this second helicopter angle. And, once again, the editor created a feeling of elation by combining that camera motion with the gleeful running of the Beatles.
The Invisible Cut Page 20