In the comments section of my post from last Monday about wide-screen cinematography, someone who signed off as "JM" opined that "the idea of perceptual freedom due to wide-screen/depth-of-field seems sort-of misapplied to [The Vikings] and a lot of other films (even [Otto Preminger's] Bonjour Tristesse).I think that observation has become cliche in film criticism, not there isn't ever any truth to it." I'm glad to have read that comment; on numerous occasions I've fallen back on the cliche in question, and it was high time I examined my instincts.…
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