From passive to active

Jazmyn 2022-01-12 08:01:09

In the early silent film era, due to technical limitations, the sound and picture in the film could not be synchronized. It is for this reason that silent films entered another road where the narrative was completely dominated by the picture without the addition of sound. At that time, many directors and theorists believed that film was a purely visual art. Although when the film was shown in the cinema, the theater would show ready-made music for the film and even later create music specifically for the film, but at the beginning of the sound film, it was opposed and resisted by countless directors and theorists.
The 1926 film "Don Juan" already has a sound, but this sound is limited to some music. In October 1927, the appearance of "The King of Jazz Singer" marked the birth of the first real sound film in film history. The dialogue of the characters in the film made the audience fascinated at that time, and the later "Light of New York" was a film with full dialogue. Although the plot was vulgar, it was still a huge success. By the end of 1929, almost all urban and rural movie theaters in the United States had installed sound installations. For a time, the number of audiences in movie theaters has greatly increased. Although sound films have brought audiences a series of more realistic and accurate viewing experience, directors are also worried that the emergence of sound will bring about a terrible problem, that is, many films are adapted from literary or dramatic works. This may allow literature and drama to invade the film, replacing the performance of montage with dialogue. Therefore, Eisenstein, Pudovkin, and Aleksandrov proposed "acoustic-painting montage" in a statement. The concept that sound is a factor of montage is an inevitable and effective way to express and solve complex problems.
Liu Bieqian’s famous comedy "to be or not to be" was produced in 1942. At this time, the use of sound in movies has been quite mature. Sound is no longer used as a decoration for the film, but has become an active participant in the film, revealing the characters Inner emotions, an important expression tool that enriches the expressiveness of works. In fact, apart from the compact and exciting plot, the film's success should be largely attributed to its lines and excellent use of music and sound.
First, let's analyze the character dialogue in the movie. In the early silent films, due to the lack of sound, subtitles must be used to explain the plot in some last resort. Even so, the plot of the film should not be too complicated, otherwise it will affect the audience’s understanding, and the subtitles can solve part of it. However, it takes up the time of the film, interrupts the rhythm of the film, and affects the narrative. Therefore, the emergence of dialogue in the play first solves the problem of plot interpretation. Furthermore, the expressions, timbre, and tone of the actors in the dialogue are all important tools to show the character, psychology and emotions of the characters. For example, in the film Joseph Dura often calls himself "the greatest Polish actor" and asks if anyone has heard of his title. This shows that he is extremely confident in his performance; another example is the real one in the film. Colonel Ahart, he always imposes his own mistakes on his subordinates, and uses "who else can I trust" to excuse responsibility, every time he sees him yelling his subordinates' names and he blows his beard and stares at him. The audience knows what he is doing. Therefore, his character is to let himself take the credit, and let the subordinates take the fault. Finally, the most important role of the dialogue in this film is its potentially rich connotation. The most classic in the film is the line in "Hamlet": "to be or not to be", This is the name of the entire movie. In the play, it is a line that the actor Joseph Dura often reads. This line has a black humor in it, such as the first time Joseph read this line in a theater. , I saw a person standing up and leaving. At that time, he showed surprise and incomprehension. In the following lines, he paused to try to attract the attention of the person who left, and his eyes always followed the person's figure. Since then, this line has become a symbol with special meaning, symbolizing the secret code of his wife and Lieutenant Sobinski's meeting, and for him it is a hint that others are not interested in his performance. There are also some hilarious lines, such as Bronsky, who plays Hitler, said: "Long live myself." This is a mockery and a mockery of the drama in the play. This is the line they used when filming, but it is also Liu Bieqian. A mockery of Hitler. Also, when Bronsky was on the streets of Warsaw, when the little girl said to him: "Can you sign me? Bronsky", it created a comedic effect because he was recognized at a glance. . For another example, Ahart said to Joseph who pretended to be Silitsky: "What he did to Shakespeare is what we are going to do to Poland." This sentence said that Colonel Ahart did not know why it was funny, but the audience knew , Joseph is most proud of his performance in Shakespeare's plays, but he was judged to be destroying Shakespeare's play. His immediately stiff expression made the audience laugh. This whole movie is won by lines. Many humorous jokes are expressed in lines. Imagine if this is a silent film, then it is estimated that audiences in many places don't understand it, let alone laugh. From silent films that require the audience to guess the plot by themselves to later use dialogue to promote the development of plot characters, the status of voice in the film is gradually increasing.
Secondly, I want to talk about the narration of this film. For example, the narration at the beginning of the film is an objective narration. The opening scene is the third party's narration of the performance of the picture, describing the streets, scenes, expressions, movements and psychology of the characters. The audience does not understand it very well, but as the plot develops, the scene that appeared at the beginning is explained again later. The role of this narration is mainly in the narrative, just like others are telling a story. There is a little suspense. First, tell the back of the story. After turning the head around, explain the reason for the opening scene. Use the narration to flashback. Things that arouse the interest of the audience. Initially, live commentary in movie theaters was optional, but now the narration has taken on an important narrative and other aspects, and the development of the voice status can be seen.
In this film, the use of music is also a bright spot. The first thing to mention is that after Warsaw was occupied by the German Nazis, notices were posted on the screen, accompanied by a serious and cruel music, accompanied by notices such as the death penalty, and wind blowing. The rainy weather shows that the people of Warsaw under Nazi occupation are being slaughtered and ravaged. Similarly, when Greenberg was reading Sherlock's lines with a shovel in the snow, it was accompanied by miserable music. The lines were originally desolate, and when they were paired with music to beat the hearts of the people, it also showed the deep waters of the people of Warsaw. The Polish Air Force sang this paragraph together, which is the film's use of sound sourced music. The high-pitched and passionate singing reflects the passion of the young soldiers for defending their homes and the humorous and cheerful state they maintained under the war. During the parachuting period of Lieutenant Sobinski, the music was tense and rhythmic. Sobinski was fleeing and the Nazis were chasing. When the two sides were about to meet, the music immediately became tense. When Sobinski escaped the Nazis, the music It also tends to be gentle, as if a person can finally breathe after holding their breath for a long time, showing the kind of instant relaxation and comfort. The most noticeable part of the whole film's music is probably the scene in which Joseph found Sobinski sleeping in his bed. The sound of music began to remind of Joseph when he found the man’s pants on the stool. At first, the music revealed a hint of doubt. Then Joseph walked to the bed. The music revealed cautiousness and searching, knowing that he turned on the light and saw the man lying on the bed. , The sound of the music turned into shock, Joseph quickly put his head on the bed and then straightened up again. The music also changed up and down with the speed of his movements. It was matched by Joseph's probing and suspicious gaze of the person in front of him. Recognizing Sobinski as the one who left halfway through his performances twice, the music stopped abruptly. The whole music is carried out in accordance with Joseph's psychological changes. The music is like Joseph's externalized emotions, and it is directly exposed to the audience. And the music used by the actors in the hunt for Silitsky in the theater also created a tense atmosphere.
Finally, there is the use of audio in this film. A fake Hitler was about to leave the theater, leading a team of real Nazi officers to go out, stepping in a uniform pace, following in a rhythmic footstep. It was a serious and neat army, but the leader was a fake leader. The sonorous and neat footsteps seemed absurd, because the object of their strict protection was actually a fake. The officers themselves did not know, but the audience seemed to be It feels funny and ironic. The other place was in Joseph’s house. When Colonel Ahart was about to assault Madame Dura, the fake Hitler rushed in again. Madame Dura followed him. The door was closed. We heard a gunshot. Ah Te committed suicide. On the surface, this gunshot only illustrates this point, but it also contains other meanings. For example, Ahart was very afraid of Hitler, so when he learned that he had offended the Führer, he chose to self-discipline. He felt very tragic and strong, but he seemed very absurd and funny in the eyes of the audience. This gunshot is actually both a narrative and a metaphorical meaning, achieving a satirical effect.
Since the early silent films, sound has been in use, but the status of sound in movies is always improving. It depends on what role it plays, whether it plays an active role or passively, and what is the role? How big. The earliest silent films used the ready-made music of Beethoven and others. This music has no effect at all. It can be done or not. Later, the film was specially equipped with some accompaniment music, which at best was to break the dull atmosphere in the theater. For the film, it was to make the plot more compact. These music are passively working. Later, when the sound film was born, the use of dialogue really turned the sound into an active tool for narrative and artistic expression in coordination with the picture. Through the organic mobilization of human voice, music and sound, it forms a complementary relationship with the picture, closely combining vision and hearing, and using two-way penetration to achieve the maximum and optimal performance of art. Through the above analysis of this film, it can be seen that sound has become an indispensable factor in the step-by-step development, and generations of directors continue to develop the application of sound technology in order to play a bigger role. The role of.

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Extended Reading
  • Ryder 2022-03-20 09:02:23

    The humor and humor of this film is really uncontrollable, and the way of expression is really shocking. The play is really too imaginative, in the interlocking amusing plot, dizzying character changes and the play in the play. In the constant transformation, it has completed its entertainment meaning and practical meaning at the same time, which is great.

  • Lesley 2022-03-26 09:01:10

    The first time I saw it when I was a kid was the color version, and I didn't get laughed at at the time (especially the part where "Hitler" was dropped in the UK at the end). Lubitsch is ruthless when he spoofs his motherland... (The "We also need to eat food..." in the play should be the first anti-racist thought I came into contact with.)

To Be or Not to Be quotes

  • Joseph Tura: [disguised as Professor Siletsky] I didn't like the way Captain Schultz shifted the responsibility back to you.

    Colonel Ehrhardt: Neither did I. You know there's always something wrong with a man who doesn't drink or smoke, doesn't eat meat.

    Joseph Tura: You mean our Führer?

    Colonel Ehrhardt: Oh, no! No, please, Professor! I hope you don't...

  • Maria Tura: Colonel, whatever you decide. If you want me...

    Colonel Ehrhardt: Naturally, I would have to know you a little better. That is my duty and, if I may say, my pleasure.