In the film "Troubles in Heaven", we can easily glimpse the relationship between money and lust, which is also the ill of high society. We can think of jewelry as a symbol of lust, and in this film, stealing is the way to satisfy that lust. The firewood of the male thief and the female thief, you and I, between them, stealing has become a way of flirting. The comic technique used by Lubitsch in this film is similar to the line drawing technique commonly used in literature. At the beginning of the film, the night scene of Venice, a cleaner singing Italian opera, and the interesting idle strokes outline the artistic mood of the Venetians. It also hints that there is some unexpected chaos and disgust lurking under the glossy shell of this society.
At first, the male thief and the female thief appeared in the audience's field of vision as counts, and the two inevitably had an ambiguity of love between men and women. The male thief is as polite as a gentleman, and the female thief is like a lady who refuses and welcomes him. The most interesting is the romantic details, the moon reflected in the wine. While the male thief and the female thief were enjoying this romantic dinner, news of theft frequently came from next door, and the identities of the two were gradually emerging. These few shots outline the secrets of high-class trysts, the unrestrained love of men and women, and the exposure and competition of thieves' identities. Lubitsch blends these three distinct moods together with a simple set of shots, which doesn't make people feel the hidden evil behind singing and dancing, but more of an unexpected fun.
The feelings between the male thief and the female thief also heated up rapidly at this time. Due to the similarity of identities, the mutual admiration and appreciation of each other's stealing skills gradually turned into a kind of lust. Here, Lubitsch uses a very clever lens to explain the two. Personal behavior, after hugging each other, there is only one idle sofa in the shot. This shot successfully created a "sex" expression that Hollywood has used to this day. Jean Renoir once said: Modern Hollywood cinema was founded by Lubitsch, and from this ingenious erotic shot, it is not difficult to understand why Jean Renoir praised Lubiechen so much.
Liu Bichen strives to be compact, coherent, and indirect in the narrative, so when describing the life of the rich woman, he uses only a few shots to quickly edit the rich woman's living space, interpersonal range, and social hobbies together. Among them, the rich woman's emotional state, personal life, and economic situation are clearly explained, and the wise editing method has also been more perfectly interpreted in Hitchcock's "Psycho". In addition, there is another shot that can show Lubitsch's sophistication and wisdom in editing. The shot is always aimed at the alarm clock. According to the change of the alarm clock pointer, the change of light, and a small amount of narration, it shows the relationship between the rich woman and the male thief. relationship and emotional changes. The clichés and tedious passages of the film that Lubitsch uses a simple shot to omit is enough to convey the wisdom of Lubitsch's editing. This shooting technique of Lubitsch influenced many later directors, including Wilder, Ozu and so on. The stationary photography, which Lubitsch made good use of, also became a style that Yasujiro Ozu followed.
Lubitsch's urban comedies like to set the background of the story abroad. The story of "Problems in Paradise" is set in Paris, the background of "Street Shop" is Budapest, etc., and this kind of urban style and exotic atmosphere are in Lubiechen's story. Just a means, not an end. His shots focus on the characters' emotions, behavior, and changes in expression, a way of shooting that is common in his silent films. Another interesting phenomenon in "The Troubles in Heaven" is that Italian, Russian, German, Spanish, etc. are interspersed during the period. This way of expressing comedy has been borrowed by many movies, especially domestic comedy movies. Drawing on this approach to achieve the effect of comedy.
The mental state and emotional state of the characters in Metropolis are inseparable from financial interests, and Lubitsch's comedy that took place in Metropolis is ultimately resolved because of the identity of the characters. The plot of the whole film develops with the identity of the male thief. On the last night, Lubitz still used simple shots, two doors, two windows, and two rooms to interpret this witty love triangle. In the end, the male thief and the female thief successfully embarked on the road of happiness and happiness. They used theft to show their intimacy and flirt with their own superb professional means according to the original method.
"Troubles in Heaven" has influenced many films in later generations. Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief" and "The Beautiful Thief" are all inspired by this film.
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