Posted by ElliotLavine
on 11/6/2009, 11:18 am, in reply to "Surreal images in The Lineup and elsewhere"
69.104.57.92
Hi Solomon - I suppose the notion of surreal images in noir films should be taken for granted, but often they are either unintentional or so skillfully integrated into the whole that they seem initially to be invisible.
One of my favorite surreal noir images is found in Ulmer's minimalist masterpiece DETOUR. Early on, while Al Roberts muses internally about his fate in that lonely diner, we see a coffee mug that sits before him on the counter--only it appears to be much larger than it possibly could be. Lost in the enormity of the image, Roberts' descending tale of depravity seems to be floating hopelessly and aimlessly in that absurdly distorted mug, compelling us to listen and wonder.
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