Start Over

Close Up (Mar-Dec 1931)

Page scan 000141 from Close Up

Record Details:

Title:
Close Up
Date:
Mar-Dec 1931
Publisher:
[London, etc., Pool]
Volume:
Close up ... devoted to the art of films
Leaf #:
000141
Language:
English
Subjects:
motion pictures, Motion pictures -- Periodicals
Collection:
Switzerland, Early Cinema, and Global Cinema
Format:
Periodicals
Contributor:
Library of Congress, MBRS, Moving Image Section
Sponsor:
Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:
As an active film magazine, CLOSE UP lasted only a short time, from 1927 to 1933. Yet the legacy of this English-language periodical, which was published in Switzerland, continues to matter. Edited by Bryher and her husband Kenneth Macpherson, CLOSE UP became THE magazine for energetic debates about the nature of cinema and manifestos imagining new forms of filmmaking and spectatorship. The magazine published articles by filmmakers, such as Sergei Eisenstein, and female literary modernists, such as H.D. and Gertrude Stein. As film scholar Anne Friedberg explains in the anthology CLOSE-UP, 1927-1933: CINEMA & MODERNISM, 'CLOSE UP became the model for a certain type of writing about film -- writing that was theoretically astute, politically incisive, critical of films that were simply 'entertainment.' For six and a half years, CLOSE UP maintained a forum for a broad variety of ideas about the cinema; it never advocated a single direction of development, but rather posed alternatives to existing modes of production, consumption, and film style.' Like Friedberg's own writing, CLOSE UP continues to be essential reading for anyone interested in the history of film and media theory. -- Eric Hoyt, 2014
Date Added:
June 20, 2024
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CLOSE UP 131 And the examining officials are left with the knowledge that they had condemned beforehand in their own thought, innocent people who were cleared merely by accidental chance. It is a well made film with some excellent moments but it has only to be compared with the Drei Groschen Oper for the difference in quality to become apparent. There are no undercurrents of motive. It is quite straightforward. But it does not possess the sincerity of say the earlier Russian films, no doubt because the " box office " had to be considered. Just where a scene might pass from mere story to indictment, the tension is weakened, and suggestion of a " happy ending " is brought forward. This is probably not the fault of the director. As far no doubt as he was allowed he used his material well and did not sacrifice his sense of cinema to sound. There is no reason why this should not be a popular success with English audiences. What can one write about Ariane? It is said to have made more money than most other films this year. It has popular appeal. The technique is appallingly old-fashioned, and one device, that of hearing dialogue whilst watching a blank screen, is repeated over and over in a most tiresome manner. The film depends entirely upon the reaction of the audience to Elizabeth Bergner. And this again depends upon the person being either very simple or an experienced psychological observer. Eor each of her gestures can be interpreted two ways; simply or as the reflex of an involved psychological process not to be understood unless the key to the language is known. She is the Colette of the screen. The apparent simplicity of the story will please many, a few will be amused at the slight suggestion of parody she contrives for those who understand it, and a great number will be irritated. From a purely cinematographic point of view the film is not important. " Ariane. " A Paul Czinner film with Elizabeth Bergner. Production : Nero-Film. " Ariane." Film de Paul Czinner avec Elizabeth Bergner. Production : Nero-Film. " Ariane." Film von Paul Czinner. Elizabeth Bergner als Ariane. Ein Nero-Film. Photo': Hans Casparius .