In Search of Lost Magic

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Tamta Turmanidze

Abstract

The biggest advantage of Brother Lumières’ over the Thomas Edison was the invention called cinematography – this creature was focused on the big audience whereas Edison’s kinetoscope could be used only one person. But today quite different tendency is observed. The screen, through which a movie is entering our everyday lives, gets shorter and slimmer and has the size of our smart phones, that can be switched off, paused and rewind at any time.


If we skip diff erent electronic devices, invented through the centuries, like Camera Obscura, Laterna Magica and camcorder drawing in Leonardo da Vinci ’s album, the cinema would have never been in such a strange conditions in the last 125 years, no matter it has the crises earlier.


After appearing the sound fi lms there were considerations about the death of cinematography and disappearance of magic and a big number of actors as well as editors could not keep up with the times and were found outside the cinema world. The crises of cinema was discussed in every beginning of a new decade. At fi rst it was TV giving chance to observe shows without leaving homes, later step by step new technologies have improved that on the bases of their overwhelming abilities grasps the part of individualism from the cinema.


The majority of modern editors are craze cinephiles. They respect the ancient idols and at the same time their films are full of quotation of classical cinematography, but in recent years only quotation is not enough to express nostology towards the big cinema.


In 2016 the fi lm Hail, Caesar! by Coen brothers appeared where the American directors ironically revealed the end of big studios in Hollywood in 50-s and “hunting on the witches” dated on McCarthyism. Generally, beginning from the Billy Wilder’s “Sunset Boulevard” when the cinema has become responsible for shooting fi lms, it is always made with a slight sense of irony. Consequently, nobody expected from Tarantino to shot the nostalgic fi lm about the end of great age - the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is nothing but being in love with cinematography.


 

Keywords:
Cinema, Billy Wilder, Coen Brothers, Cinephile, Quentin Tarantino
Published: Dec 20, 2021

Article Details

Section
Film Studies