Having recently consumed a buffet of Bertolucci films at the theatre (including the marathon that is “1900”, all five hours and ten minutes of it!), I noticed that the director has certain signatures in his films that become strikingly obvious (to me, at least) if you watch certain BB movies in quick succession. I went to IMDB to see if the ones I noticed were mention under Trademarks and perhaps others that I may have missed. All it says at IMDB is that Bernardo’s films are noted for lots of nudity and references to old classic films (geez, that could be pretty much anyone!).
Much like the “crazy face” that appears in numerous Stanley Kubrick movies (“The Shining”, “A Clockwork Orange”, “Full Metal Jacket”), Bernardo Bertolucci has his own little signatures that, even if you jumped into a movie halfway through, without knowing the director responsible, you just might figure (correctly) that you’re watching a BB film.
Two recurring trademarks that I noticed in several of Bernardo’s films, trademarks more oustanding to me than nudity and classic film references are as follows. Firstly, there is blindness, whether it is actual blindness, pretending to be without sight or people being blindfolded. The most famous example of this is the “dance of the blind” scene in “The Conformist”. Also there is a bit in “1900” where the character played by Dominique Sanda feigns loss of sight. I seem to recall blindness being highlighted in numerous other BB movies.
Secondly, Bernardo has a thing for either a single character repeating the same line several times in rapid succession, or two characters repeating the same snippet of dialogue (e.g. there is such a scene featuring John Malkovich playing opposite Debra Winger early in “The Sheltering Sky”). I believe this also happens in “La luna” and a few others. Also, did anyone else notice that Fred Gwynne’s bit in “La luna” about having a dream, but then not telling about it, is repeated right near the start of “The Sheltering Sky”? I’m not certain what influenced BB to do this but it jumped right out at me.
Watching all these BB films over the course of several days, sometimes one after another, and noticing these little trademarks, made viewing his films even more intriguing and fun.
Has anyone else noticed BB’s constant references to blindness and the snippets of repetitive monologue/dialogue, and indeed any other trademarks I may have missed, in his films? I think BB might also have something about people being unable to drink properly and spilling liquids from the corners of their lips (the drinking of the green ink in “The Last Emperor”, John Malkovich unable to take his medicine in “The Sheltering Sky”) but I might be stretching here and this one could be a coincidence.
I cannot allow this post to finish without mentioning BB’s impeccable taste in women. When Laura (Laura Morante) removes her top for Primo (Ugo Tognazzi) in “Tragedy of a Ridiculos Man”, my thoughts pretty much were similar to what Primo was thinking—what a moment (her Continental grooming habits, or lack thereof, was a welcome bonus). I didn’t recognise Miss Morante at the time, and after the film I did a little research and found that this is the same woman who starred in “Liscio” just a few years ago. I know it’s none of my business, but I prefer the earlier version of Laura—darker, hirsute, earthy, wih a natural quality increasingly rare in cinema. Nowadays she has something of a Madison Avenue quality that sort of makes her blend in with the rest of the movie star crowd. I think women in the movies were generally more attractive and lot more interesting in the 1970s and 1980s. Bernardo seems to find a lot of the best ones—even Eva Green in the much more recent “The Dreamers” was a find.
MARK IS SUSPENDED IN GAFFA
Having recently consumed a buffet of Bertolucci films at the theatre (including the marathon that is “1900”, all five hours and ten minutes of it!), I noticed that the director has certain signatures in his films that become strikingly obvious (to me, at least) if you watch certain BB movies in quick succession. I went to IMDB to see if the ones I noticed were mention under Trademarks and perhaps others that I may have missed. All it says at IMDB is that Bernardo’s films are noted for lots of nudity and references to old classic films (geez, that could be pretty much anyone!).
Much like the “crazy face” that appears in numerous Stanley Kubrick movies (“The Shining”, “A Clockwork Orange”, “Full Metal Jacket”), Bernardo Bertolucci has his own little signatures that, even if you jumped into a movie halfway through, without knowing the director responsible, you just might figure (correctly) that you’re watching a BB film.
Two recurring trademarks that I noticed in several of Bernardo’s films, trademarks more oustanding to me than nudity and classic film references are as follows. Firstly, there is blindness, whether it is actual blindness, pretending to be without sight or people being blindfolded. The most famous example of this is the “dance of the blind” scene in “The Conformist”. Also there is a bit in “1900” where the character played by Dominique Sanda feigns loss of sight. I seem to recall blindness being highlighted in numerous other BB movies.
Secondly, Bernardo has a thing for either a single character repeating the same line several times in rapid succession, or two characters repeating the same snippet of dialogue (e.g. there is such a scene featuring John Malkovich playing opposite Debra Winger early in “The Sheltering Sky”). I believe this also happens in “La luna” and a few others. Also, did anyone else notice that Fred Gwynne’s bit in “La luna” about having a dream, but then not telling about it, is repeated right near the start of “The Sheltering Sky”? I’m not certain what influenced BB to do this but it jumped right out at me.
Watching all these BB films over the course of several days, sometimes one after another, and noticing these little trademarks, made viewing his films even more intriguing and fun.
Has anyone else noticed BB’s constant references to blindness and the snippets of repetitive monologue/dialogue, and indeed any other trademarks I may have missed, in his films? I think BB might also have something about people being unable to drink properly and spilling liquids from the corners of their lips (the drinking of the green ink in “The Last Emperor”, John Malkovich unable to take his medicine in “The Sheltering Sky”) but I might be stretching here and this one could be a coincidence.
I cannot allow this post to finish without mentioning BB’s impeccable taste in women. When Laura (Laura Morante) removes her top for Primo (Ugo Tognazzi) in “Tragedy of a Ridiculos Man”, my thoughts pretty much were similar to what Primo was thinking—what a moment (her Continental grooming habits, or lack thereof, was a welcome bonus). I didn’t recognise Miss Morante at the time, and after the film I did a little research and found that this is the same woman who starred in “Liscio” just a few years ago. I know it’s none of my business, but I prefer the earlier version of Laura—darker, hirsute, earthy, wih a natural quality increasingly rare in cinema. Nowadays she has something of a Madison Avenue quality that sort of makes her blend in with the rest of the movie star crowd. I think women in the movies were generally more attractive and lot more interesting in the 1970s and 1980s. Bernardo seems to find a lot of the best ones—even Eva Green in the much more recent “The Dreamers” was a find.