Light, shadow, and crime
The link between lighting schemes and storytelling in The postman always rings twice, directed by Tay Garnett
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22475/rebeca.v14n1.1046Keywords:
Analysis, Cinematography, Narrative, The postman always rings twiceAbstract
The article presents an analysis of the relationship between cinematography and narrative in the feature film The postman always rings twice (Tay Garnett, 1946). We analyze the lighting schemes created by Sydney Wagner, director of photography, and their ability to highlight the structure proposed by screenwriters Harry Ruskin and Niven Busch. We start from the hypothesis that photographers working in Hollywood in the 1940’s also sought variations within the psychological thriller, drawing inspiration from narrative innovations that filled the literary and cinematographic panorama of that time. Methodologically, the research is anchored in the exoskeleton and functions of film style elaborated by Bordwell (2005, 2023) and in the neoformalist approach proposed by Thompson (1988), seeking to identify patterns and variations related to stylistic choices involving the use of stage lighting and also low-key and high-key schemes. As a result, we’ve found evidence that lighting in noir production can act alternately and that style in cinema, in addition to denoting, expressing, symbolizing and decorating, can also serve a structural function.
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