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translletz C 1974 The modern cinema and narratlvity Language ~J
11 Taylor Oxford Uniyersity Press New York
8 The Modern Cinema and Narrativity
I
A deep pennancnt ambiguity L1nderlie~ the definition of the modshy
ern cinema Jt is often suggested and son]tillles even aJJinmxL that
tIle young cinema or the new cinema h1S
that dll modern film is lt1n absolute ObJect a
lws
work (0 be read in any direction allll that it has thrown off nlrrashy
the earmark of the classical fllm This is the preat n-pUlllent or the breakdowll of
nnf_lEni under a
frolll a deblte
For Ren6
which dclilled JVlarshy
ill turn associated with
Pierre Billard it was the idea of a more direct approach to realitv a
certain type of fUl1danlCl1tal realism which would morc or less Jis
place the old narrative hahits4 For
ema or
was a 111m-maKer S c111(111a which has takcn the place of thc
writers cincma6 Or it as a cincllla of the shot rCDlacin[1 the
185
186 THE 1IODERN CINEMA SOME TllEORET1CAL PHOBU2llS
directly narrative cinema where Olle galloped from shot to shot
ehe jllardore)7 Or finally it was a CillellJltl of Freedom open to Illulshya (inem] or contempJatiull and ohjcctivity which
authoritarian concatenatiolls of the classical film the theater substituting wise ell presellce for mise ell
who has rclleeted with
greal IHCClSIUIl Oil
cinem1 of pl)etrv silllulia
l1luativc
Finally for ill or the~( critics tbe recent pcriod has witnessed the
of a free eincllll ltl cincml perlllancntly 1ibcflttl([ fmlll the Sllp
rilles 0(
clCCOU III 0[
()r the movie spectacle in fmoJ
~()g( (rLlffaut) rejection of the too illlpcccahlc
ruILILlt aglill) rejection (IF the to() evident signlt that do violence
tu the allllligllity of fcllity CBai rejcctioil ()f the pseu(]oWlltactic
arsend dln t() the old theorctici111 S (Leell1wnIt) rejecti()1l of d IC
1S well as I he lIIuvic spectltk ill favur of a cinshy
d(crilllfCl a docile mel Hcxihle lllell1S of
JIv purpose ill tllis text is not III take up arllls my Olle 01
the(middot ltlllalyses~cspelidl) since cadI one of thclIl contains to my IlIlnd I grcll deal of truth~bl1l rather to confronl by Illlm of a
sliccessive (and never total) questioning of these different
a great libcrt(friall lIIyth which is nul fully cxpressed ill my olle of
the analvses bUl which underlies diem all mel aclt]lles them all (exshy
theatrical and hv extension fdmic term for the the crealio1 f lOts and til( 1 a
n more direct
THE MODEBN CINEMA AND NATIRATIVITY
cepl for the ideas of Pier Paolo raise difshyfcren t though lela ted I)roblcms will
Let 1I1e be clear 1lHse analyses I am about to (lllcstiull have the
gol mel the effect of supporting lilms that J like films that I still
view withollt boredom They art decply linked to the grldllll risc
and cventual t1iU11]])11-at least fur largc of the cultivated
cinema that is alilc toLla yen- Tu ignore Jeltln
10 excludc oJ]cself
able [0 aceOllllt fur tructurally----that in every period Jill] for every art the
lIord IS diversified as it may be is n(vcrtheless to he rOLlnd ill 1 sillshy
gle locus And even j I th is loclls GIl1 ll first he ]ec()gni7tlJ only hy t b(
it ra(lilt1tcs~glill1tl1cril1gs thM hcc()Jl1t larger llllj l110re
intense IS we lppn aell thei r SOil rcc~ it is dOll htles his pri Illl (vi
Ii [sl (xDcliencvli in Ihe (JlIotiulwl
our rellcctJoll incc
of this rdlcdioJ1 is to reduce the distall(( inili11 ellorlllOUS COll1l1Wllphlcc Illd Listressl I he emol iun or the CI
viction hom its clarilicatioJ1 the or 1i lin from its 1]]eta ]111shy
gUlge lIorcOHI one IIlLlst1]nt forget t1wt a critic is llCITr altogllhel
a theoretician but that he is dways something (II I miliulJl 111(1 tlmt
two cinenls left that call iutcrcsl liS
cillClIla to which t1~is article devoted lhe American
uninlcllcctual it lingers on
ftell in the form or the vanls1er [ihn
t) lt)
a great cinema a cinema without problems where onc was ncver bored The sllcC(si()n~to the extent that it is llo1 taken tip by the living cinema will one fean be assumed by a cinema burdened with ideologics anti dubiolls gOl)(1 will
Potato T1ro 10lt10 Dapid allll Lisa intellectual fIlms replete- with intentiolls based Oil the ielea that art cnl1 reach the human by elishy
wlwreas it can unly attnin it after a speCific cletour~nt any rate in like our own
188 THE MODEHN CINEMA SOIF TllEOnETICAL PROBLEMS
purpose is not to fi Il11s but also to he to this extent one eaJl say that cinshy
ema is
Nevertheless one will indeed one lmc to unuertl ke the theoshy
rctical it is on thlt1t level
if not 1]) the
at least 10 tlla
which too oFten lInderlies thelll
II
First remark agrees ill the new cinCIlll no- dc
lined bv the hlct tlla t it has beyond or rejecteu or hrukcll
hut the of thM slllllclhing---whcthcr spccshy
inflexihle significatioll devices of the script writer etc --varies considerahly frOill critic tt) critic as I
Iried to -ohmv in tbe hrieF summary or their ideas It dl( heginning or tllis text
VEATII of 1111 SPCTACU2 The c()ncept of the Slxcllcle has a
certain Ippcal) hut it is not tbe expression or In rigoruus though
Olle l11a tah il in its sociological scnse spectacle clJllltlls sociul
rill cllllsisling ill ~I Inllnan gathcring olielll(d townd a predominantly
vislId evellt In this (lSt 1 do not sec huw thc mudern 111m is ill any
way less of a specllteic than the tmtiitiolld lilm unci so the implied
rlvulutioll remains confined to the V()Cnblllan of the criliealmetahmshy
guagc 1m] doc 1101 affect the film ohjects for which it is supposeci to
aC((JUllt Did not the mrc as they were who were 1hlc to
sec -loris IOUS rtPlmflic1li at m lppnintcd hour It an insti shy
tutional place did they not pay for their scats J1ll1 tip the ushcr In
these crms ill tIuth it is not very dillicult to rCLnind the reader
the face of variolls cnthllsiaslic excesscs that the cinema will remain
a spectacle until olle forms of 111m distribution commershy
cialization and viewing that arc so ullusual that the method of imshy
leaps too asinvoked
THn IOIlEnN CINEM AND NAlmATIVITY
d Ihe variutioJ1S of the hearl) reminds us will
lip a valid llotion of them from what we IJrtsshy
To Sd that the modern CillCllW is I1U longeI a specLwk
in the luxury uf d chltll1ge that is in hct not a ckll1Yc
One may also take the conC(pl or spcc[lClc in a mUll pSlchologiC11
spectack is 111 essentinll vislId CTllt that PilSlllts
ilself to us in lllode (l excflwlity lntl In which VC IIT cllsli shy
tilted itn(ss( nut il tllis is so) wlwl pmlr spclllllc is thnc than i
IFolIl(1I is 17 H7oIl1l11l-1 III LIS iCClI (Ullllck SilllltitlJlCOllSJy undermincd
~IJld nourished b Ihe inlinilciv vlricd clrcets of sCIl-llrodv ami sl 1 IlIIlSicd cOlllldy
Th(ll is 11 dllllhl 11111 nOlwislial (ami vcrhal- 1shy
liers He 111U1l imp(lrtanl than cn ill the lllodern CilHllll that- -ahov(
lllthev 11]c ceased to he Ishalllcd or tiHJllsclns (le ill the
wllell iJlllt 1Ililvils were 10 all (lld neilL Clairs SUII luils Ie ins Horlcrn TilllcL or on
111
tnll hetter thm
he COIlClpt or clt Illlrihut il I
he In spcc1l-
1llfC spcdClclls
to deflnc Whlt the
nature thcrc[orl the CIlllccpl
ill the (IUlstion thaI COnCe111S us
DEATH 01 TlIl TlJEATEll Is it therefore the tllGllf er from which
the young cinema has heen FrectI That iSllt the case eirherFof beshy
fore cmtinuillg olle would to llsk Vhilt theater Jnd what cinshy
ema There hilS always been rI b8c1 cinema copied Fwm a had thelter
It alrerldy existed i 11 dlC age of the silent films mel despite Ihe silence
T I
190 THE 110DElN CINEllA SOME TllEOHETICAL rTIOBLEMS
since the advent or thc talking fillll we have bad the psychological comcdy and the dralllatic l(ll1lcdy--not tu be confused with the nllrican comedy-and they me still with llS To
mention unly the rrench cinema-which is admittedly particularly
favored ill r(sneet many hundreds of ] Illls have we not
to the genres rcci pe thc cake mix
or entertainmen tl Imiddot
II thc llludem cinema has tu a exten t freed itseH
from 111 while doing so avoid IJolllclanl I- (11shy
rather than tbe theatef and the grclt Ii Ims of the past
were ahle t() avuid it just as well a tiel Flaherty tl
be sure bUI also in a Hfy difrerent wav Eisenstein
t on the cOJllrary the good thcatcr and the IS
IlI111hing of nut how CJ11 one forget thal
) lJ1d
man VI$COJIll) vne mell til the theater in the full SlI1~C of the terlJJ
How can one forget all t1ut 1I iaill Hcsnais or ltIll
(0 the so called dWaler of distallce (thecire de la IiS((ICUltlOl) as
-em Carta has 511 revealedO Hovv can onc that evcryshy
of illlportance ill the thcater of is as far rClIJOcd froll1 the
practicc~ or clabowc intriglle as arc the film of Milos hlflllan
Bozier or Jcall Bouch And iF olle loob at the
Here j the fur the psychological (ur dWJIlalie
d )ciell)
etc 2 Olle PIrt
invents hut lim out to han
3 A dash or lrilliant 4 A few mmbers presence of
Mrs E F dnd Mr 1) 5 A touch of the nude vulgarity
melodrama and marital)
THE ]()DEI1N CINEMA INU NAHIIATIVITY 19 1
from a wider perspective if following the of certaill theoreti
dans of tile cinema 11 or of the theater - one
takes the position that the theater is oPI)osed to the epic to the
nove] tlHlt scculiir epic) a~ a Ilction caught in and in its cirshy
cllmstantial thrust is in contrast to that same fiction relHed in words
are not those of the proLIgonists one vill indeed have to conshy
clude that the CillCllW altllOugh an art very difFercllt From the theashy
ter is nevertheless not on the pojLlt-~ulllcss its nlture changes radishy
brcahng till very app~lrent ami basic hond that links it to
theater No lIlore than tile distinction between the spectacle
alld the nonspce[lcle willthc distinctioll hetween the thClll] and
the llolltlteater allow us to establish uur preferellces ill theon so
that we can uncerstallll Illore deadv middotwhv we like what we like or
wlwt is new about the Ilew (il1el11a
THE CINEMA OF IMPTIOVlSATION Is the answCJ I that the new cinema is a cincma of improvisation BUI there arc n Lll11efOllS
modern films that fall outside of this definitioll from Knife in 1111
lVaer to JlIles ll1ul Jilll passing through the works of Orson Dcwy llain Resl1ais etc It is true that whell he proposed
i1iehd Mardorc was cnrcful to 1]1ply it ollly to one
of the modem cinema hilt the idea is Clluel1l ltlnd one often
hears it expressed 1 IIllich more vanue and uCllcral way itb b
devoteltl to escribc
life under
OIle
cannot agree wil h twu forms among other 1dlnUI1S de Provence [(jG6 a book cler the title Cincmuturgic de Paris in 19(5 issue 011 Pmmol and Sacha to PI 43~44middot
P 111pound J[Ol1En C1NBMA SOjlE THEOHET1CJL lnODLEIS
only-alld cyell t11ell with some reservations-on the 01lC
Iwud til Jean-tnc Cudmd (bUl the man we know has a touch of enius mel ltcniLls is 1110rCUer it illljJlltJvilS Iiib gredl -1
CillClll1-ci 11( ui 711
is 1 dcnlllldil1(~ 115k 11lIS[Cr) 1lld (Ill the uther hlIld II) a 11ltll1lwr ()I
tCIlccIllics rchled to the dllellill direct its hroldest scnse tend-
C]1l]( for a
stlges oj 1
Claude Livi-Straus (lllt t rtllllrhdY The illshy
cinello ilired i too often the by-procilil or lazi
Ilotes lUI) oFtell it 1C11UUllCCS
(IF Ilw linishcd work witi1mlt
(11 Illsl IIlV 11101( t [lith [hlll 1 gJ()d d()CllIlllllLlf P)SshySlSSlS II is 11 ellough 101 IV Ih11 Illc orciillltlrv dirltTl fillll is 11111 pcrshy
fect ]1 il h1 -cal ii 11t1 evell htcil linisllld JIH] il is ll()1 jUl the histot) I 11]( lilllllll hUI till 11Iut hl~il Illtur (II till aesthelic h jccL ihllr lhlt will h1VL 10 Chlllgl 1)J()jflulldk hdulc l vvorl or afl is
ahll to ahsorb Ingc s(ltliolls oj Illtllll1S[orlllltl rcalilyilll() its own purshy
IlI)Slt l1d hcirc il (11 Iruths Iiln thall [he ()Ilt lrlIlspI-d 1lId rlrUrJllll lhM its illil PI l(cdlrcs hllc Jlut
lIl (II rlWh I he go)d hll
ill pillt it lctt ilqlJUyjsCls H is thl I()(w wher laziness ll1d till de
0 (iIeli direct itscll CltusI) m1 111(111lt1 tCIile (CIIJlli1111 1111 (k 1y lean lillIcl) hut ltIh the camlie[ Ill1Hl EIlII the Nlli)]))I [jIm lllrtl ltj
Calllllh ItlldcflCY speets 1 the sucliled f( Yor] d] or or Ih IiriliiJ free CillCllIil the lmcricCin icltllllclucuJI1Clltnies (LCleoC illlt JJilYslcs brthlrs tcmknLlcs u[ the televisiun (klein
All hvugll be spoke uf a Lll1Cll1(l ur middotJjlllnlfl(i )t inn lift in rull agreeIllent with the eilelfII direct much liLc H~) OWll But it is tbe COlllcpt 1[ thl cinema that seelllS ullclear to me
THE lIUnEHN CINElIA AND NilnnATlY1TY 93
each other
the
cil1(lI1a
TilE CINEilA 011 Is lhe allswer Bllt tllCTl arc no I(al dCld
~il1Cl a lilm is 1ll~1l1Ilraclllrll1Ilhi(lt on]v ill ]ik IIT
spaces 1l1011ICnl (Ill be dllll (llltld only ill JCLllioll
to Ill inter(~t The lifteellminute IvaiL hdnrc 1 decisive j IllCIIillV
hCCIUSI the pcrsoll J alll 10 s(c is Ill( is indccd a tind of dcad SplCl sincc it is 1](01 whetl I am ltlClltlillc III at the time But such
moments misc on]v hlClt1l1Slgt the OllUlTClllTS of life an nol
()llC ()I11 wi 11 tliey do nut ubey I he urge l() till akel ivc lrashyJ)(sI lIl which cOllsidercd most Jullillilw ( to flj)(at olle oi friclIlHgt
SOl ria lIS by an
as dead
of the iell al Wl S constructcd JIIinutes Ihe whole liFe ur till lilm Oldd he clJlltaincd ill dead spacc Th( (lilly Ical dCld spaces ill the cinclIlI arc the III dull 11111
whilc exlemal]v vicwer attcntioll whieh bccolllcs don Hmt it inllTllltdh the IlV condiliolls
fIJI Illlt tlcnd ~PCl- in life It is 011 the 1(ld oj culti)] 11lt is before the lilm lxishthal tile lkstill or till
dcad Sp~IlCS is dCtLrlllilllll Those Ihe lillll-lllakll lxplIicllCCS as
SIlCI arc hallisllld frolll the lilll1 and Ill willllc cr sec thcmmiddot-lor till likclill ill tbis respccl lilll IllIgt1 makc its choices or C()SC to cxist al
all Thw dl the lllonlellls th11 the Jilm-lllakcr has included in
I 1m wcre alivc cinema is a nCIV-and a prnfullllllll is lS lotwhat or a mcnt ill and it is J()t hased 011
dead innovation is 1l1
matter and Antonion] is far more
194 THE i
MODUHNH
CINE]IA ~OME TlIEOHETICAL PROBLEMS
hmmm substance of his films than became
excels in showing us the diffuse
I ife that Ire considered
most IlnpOrlltlllt U1mg about
the Cinel1111 (Nrect-is [hlt he was
skein of ltl mOle subtle Evell llIure
diem fro III that
S](ln
form of
fmc IlO Ijlll1 Or
very
llucve r
iricalcs of that shimlllering
he lost
He
ur
I iema I
itself 11 (srecls prullloshy
in the
widest scnse
cIlls 11 J(1Il Y
of the alTragc
dCCCll t dOllllllen taries
A FIlNDAIENTAL
TIlE ]IODERN CINEMA AND NARRATIVITY 95
contained a to
revert to a mythology that Jean NIitry hm rightly crHlClZCtl a my that conceals hehilld phenoIllenologica I
tial reidislll whose consequellce is the revival OJ] the level of the
of tl1il195 of the terroristic
noegt
in the name of am-aspects or Ildrc Bazins alld
Muniers theories It shuuld be noted illcidentally dwt ilichcl
11lt1rdorc Illd Pierre Bilhrd do llut conceive of he notion or realism in tlltH SCJlS( nor docs Mmccl some of It is (spresshyslOns
that 1 rc aJld tilL person
lor whUlll tlley me ill thl inelllctable adverse
I hell is
lcHlng cinema as 1 whole but rathcr 1 (erwin crazv
has sprung lip around the cilcllla verite the belief
(cnce or the illlge which is SOIl1e1lOw
as wclJ as-eVCIl as it lends
terns that the slightest dislocation
and
lei llalizcs
nol the
tll1t
Lind of in110shy
exempt from
discursive
introduces- shy
(oilled word derived from the Greek (01-lt0 Ccosmos) Hlllt] allELl ( to Thus it indicates the faculty to preshysen t the world in its entirety to show --TnANsLATOll
THE MODEHN CINE~I SOIE TllliORETlCAL PHOIlLEllS
from tbe enormous
of some
thcsinn terms 111 tile ell()rmou~
the few hcautiful alld the lllany botched works of the CilllIlW v()rile
one might recugnize I wayward slll and obstinale sister of the sel1lioshy
logicid appnKlch-at Icast iF the hitter is cOl1sidered in ils kilSl teclllli
cal aspccls and in its deepest ]tfecl in fOUlIlhlioll The is (me of distrust for bnglwge anJ Yunls i]Jeileillg C[llCSshy
Crcltcri in order t(J question the world spele11 it
[he ubicct ()l (jLlCSliolh fashiolled IS a lonl Im
it is heing asked 1l0VV to aCColillt for
of slispicioll mel l10hlc neurosis the
Incxshy
tnll discollrse is onh I true disc(lllISC the word COl1llt1iIlS I
than that which is conLlillcd ill ils cmJcc( ic usage
The cincllw 1eril( Ull the lolllr~lfy lltcllllts (0 Ioid (ilcoc diflicu (ies hy supp()sedly rejecting coherent di~colllSC mel the lise of iconic
atlls(ation (VCIl the spccch of the (flllll) llCHlCS is slljlPllSllIIU he 1I1lshy
IlltlSCCTlt--il is pint or the illllgc as iF it WlJl l)cing swept
vlsl circuit of villdl illJl()n~IHL Uhc prolifcra(i)ll 01 III
tcrvicws in tile cinclJliI-rcri( lillllS he1s no othcl SUllfcC It is a P]
thetic
InCOllllll- de Iii Ipoundrre
th11 havlt hel) 0111shy
~hltJll]d
whu lws problellls Iwo Iypes of ie1coiogy that of im1ge and wbich is a sort of curious behaviorism
THE jlODEllN C1NEimiddotlA AND NAnnATlV1TY H)
Jlccrthekss-ilild IS a1111 ell t at
the best works of Ibe llew cincllu
viewer with
in the
trcmciv dillicilit to ddinc
1tis the lXDctncss of an
llslincshy
vOice
oj I gestnre of I lulle Jt for example till marvelllls ltIbn)st
dal1ced scellt ill Pierrul Ie fult lIlllIllg the
ClII Iif II I Ie c1iIJ1CC bull Ia lifilIc de IlilIeles IVfy life line
Your llip Jint 1 highlv lilH(lIi~tic (Till Ilevcrtheicss
since it is I piece uf ch()nogcqlliy 1 rclcrcl1cc to lllcri(JIl Illllsical
-we IIC 1 1) F(JllI lhl simple-minded rcdi~lll ollhc
phil cuIlLlrist traditioll realism for libl socillics No
other film PISSlgC JHlweY(r--lll1icss (OI sset (el1t the sishy
lcn( SCdUcli()1l ccm durin the pamcc Struilcim Pcddillf
crltiltgtll IlJIL imiddot all t]wt emlin I tJLl llIClhd hC1l tlmiddot the hands I the l(lialisl mel nc tLlll witllltS pi ti icJlenl ((t(llt hUI 1 of g[Iled )ll(Hlcllcd jng al thltlll~ll(s ur ltIt ltlch ll1ller crjng chlttcring etc nIll Jl()talgi for the olLlllltJl()l11 Id (c111catl(lll hlld Oil HlnallIHlJ It 1 tnLi~ JeHU]]) siglliliclIt that d all thl Illkrn lllethod the Illy )lI Ihilt is reL tively )(glcctcd hy the ciJlJJI(( [crie i prccisdy the Ill that i lll like t
II ill ill which Ihe slcciilist ]C)rtllllllllllC be) lHccisc pc)al duts not jjlH tu cxprc- -ulnc truth (Jr illpr(s~~i()ll ~(l IliUcll ltI 1(
amI (llllrcHed rcsllit aCllwllyc]allaiysi Cl add II(llfl
con1 rihLltj()l1~ that (lP(Ille
I an urekrh- po-CrlUI the
198 THE l10DERN CTNElIA SOME THEOl1ETlCAL PHOBLElIS TIlE MODEHN CINEMA AND NAHHATlVITY 199
MorcfltL-had portrayed with an acclllacy 8S fundamentally direct
as superbly careless of the external probabilitics of timc amI place the
lllute corporeal agrecments that love produces and by which it is proshy
duced the ambiencc of gcstures and tbe thousand minor aeshy
ceplltH1ccs of a docile receptiveness that is no mere obcclicnce and that
mold the vvomans sunlly face in the ~uccccding directions her lovers
hallct of active amused and tendcrtlcss
I somc or the nshy
tonioni
variolls films hy cvcn say that
rllllains to he dcfinedli---arc for all their
till most precious comFlcsts or the CiJlCllll tlllt since 1966
we hlVC (Ilcd lllodern Jt is sllrch not SOllle principle of ohjecliv
ity SOlllC faultless IGllislll that call dcJJ]le tbis modern cinellEI but
rather the liability to certain truths or to certain 1cclifacics that
make the yuung cincm[1 more Hlult and the traditionll cinema ocshy
cCisiollJlly vcry youthFul Tile fll1l1s of the past evcn the Jllost heau
JI [ne fcncrllhshy a lillIe lJOvc themselves like t1lOSC
adolesccnts
THE OHDEflED CINEMA To thaI sHeb accuracies havc be
the dir(ct()r~ or the were
or Ic~s sensitive dl[lIl those of locby
but that exph1l1[ltion is ill1(cllw1tc-is to reshy
examil1c that ncw and subtler dramaturgy lhat ldmits Ilion ohjectivc
details details of the kind tblt the Iraditional plot film ~lcrificecl or
ovcrwhelmed Exactness of tunc I priccless COlHjUcst that renders a
whole arCl of the cinCllla obsolctemight well be in turn only a
consecjl1e)lcc
Sec passngcs of Jlurnaus DalllI Sjlistroms Willd (certain of Lilliall (the character o[ Marcus) etc And (except in Potemkill) and oj Pudovkill
Furthermore olle must not
wtlmiddotr70 all of the modern
with which one
of the films of
pIlt j and text is I grc[lt deal more it is 15 if the il1shy
realistic potcn tiD I or the [ilill ic veil ick formcrly the proper Y
of the (o11ention ur a Illoderate degree or discretcl thcltrical ITllislll
the CUlle-Preyert films) had no divided itclf Iw
twelll a cincllla of passion (in the scnse that Ollt spel](S of passhy
sionate l()( IS Hen6 Gilson correct) Jlo[CS)21 a cincllI or (xlIlxr
ltlncc and discolcry Cmcl it is this Cillllll thai is (lcc1siollalh able to
C[lpturc those so direct truths I hme iust s]loken ur Wl kilO tIll ill
terest Godard h1S sbown for
other ham a cinema or ALlin nesnai~ and his SllClCSsiyc
that beliCHS onl in rccollstrtlcled [fllths~- a
JJost critic ]lasled ioHlS Vardas 111m Lc HOllIeUr Thm was result dUe f kind llIisllnderstanlIing I did not like the Ellll (itllc1 bllt to attack it for it lack of realisll1 is to Illy mimI a serious miscollslruction Certainly thmiddot worlcrs of life as the Jil)ll presents it is lJuite falltalic Uut it had til be so For the is a philosophical talc such as the eighteenth ccnlm enjoyed or rather a militant ulopia in the gtlylc of the ninetecnth century (hut Ull-
In a Illor( Iucill ecUlmt of the actual sucial factorsalld the class factors-that enter into Ihe problel11 c(lnsiclercd) 1t js abo
ill ouc way an act of courage For although it is lrue that a few pers(J1ls in tile social envIronlllcnt where films arc produced dream of a worll in whi] luve would be truly frce a wurld both animal and human where the hudys carclessless would also be a genewsitv a and
of women and men a world in which monster of scntiwel1tlllis)II as il has come to he since
paganism will be lU1l1ecl-altbough it is true that a futurism of l10urishes some of the cOllversatiollS ill Pariss Left Danlc the filet is that aside from Pierre Kast ill La Morle-saisoJl Le Bel and La Bnllure des mille soleils no (lne besides Varda had gathered these scattered snch a holdlv l1IOVOCalie These human
conducted away from such futile sufferinQs of jealous exclusive emotiol1S are
existed as if the V were
TITE IODE) CIiEMA SO~IE H1EOJ(PIlCAL PHOULlJJ
Dr(cllli~l11 than i1 is awarc thill orders with meticulous patience I
cd ltllltl I (111shy
Clllltl 1shy
cariier at the limc (t the missed
vcar at Maricllhad Was the mnl1(siac OISCI1CC
tile llllshrrild or not) (Ic1 a cillema of tellSe 1Il1cltrtrllnlv tlwt ratllci
lhtm plescnting t1w Ipollas uF Illcllling ill 1 frl1l intended [) il1lutt
their Ippearann in daill experiellcc dclihcratcly ltltltlstructs 1
rinthint Il1(Jdel SOIll( hiztllTe Illodernistic ritual ithin
which th( pIdatllj will I()se hiLllselr bnt
ill ldvlLHT OLle could sav tllal bin Fksnlls
lack I rci1islil nlll is tkll not aho tile verv definilioll 0 plativ( tflllsllle([ into the IHClllt or the imlicaiivc
Ihesc frec feiatio)bhips are nlre)dy 1lllraquoC or k cirde but it gll(S Vardi had placed the actiu]) d her Ijlm ill such
the story--which woull then be realistic rlliid hnve lost all tbe power 01 ih militant impact For what the film ]]lcans til say that workers to cuuld live like thaL In shurt the mislIJlderSIltllltling d(fivcs frulIl the Llct Ilal Ile fil)) wr viewed if nc wIgtuld sec a Glard Jilm as exalllpk ( thc ordered eiDem 1 rcpelt I did nut like tbe film Ilut at all in Lltt This was hr rc)ss [ the cnact11ll1l1 f the uto ill its details Dilt NIlo vould Inailltajn tlilt vas nut a celtllin llUollnt ot CtJurtlgc an~l ill Ill fnet that a ll1udcrn YOllJltm (all pcltlk or sud) lmusllal things rrc how Ciln ()Ill Llil to SVlllllathi7C wilh the sinccri of her
(- In nor Lll a 1 i[c
wnnt the him resentment
trll1sccndCnlal and a liollS (as at the moment of the cxccs~i( nHnantic l)S Bernard llwcerlles But he is aisu in uf tire French cinema
Goda Id represent the two film as opposed to a
as for we find it on one siele as on the
stance the triumph of mimesis and of the reconstruction
and in the second instance a
The lillll of the
til is
of
THE JIODEHN CINECgtIA AND NAHHATlVITY 201
modem Ii 1m is the cinematograph Ie one of dIOse great whose importance in ccr-
is well known
lield
A FILll-IIAKrms CINEMA Whnt 11 I1lIshyor a makers cinema as distinct from cinema Can it provide that criterion of
since n~ ils conS(jllellces hut lind il- so diflimiddot
cult lo ddillC There is doubt dial lodav cinema is very often 1
cineml while the old CiJl(~ml was so frcquently the ulterior
and secondary illustration of a worked-out Gocbrcls
the best exanm1es criticism like Michel COLlrshynots evel existence fro]]] tllis fact it vas the Ii Ims of the pasl ( and lot its prctext in thc sceLlario But all of Alain films art inshy
cript-writers lilms fhe SVSICLlltllic way ill which this di[ccshy
rdLlsing to imagine his works sccb out at the of thl
s(ell~Hio various colbhortltors of suJlicicnt weight to Iwvl their OWI1
of things leaves llS in llO dOl1bt as to his opiniolls on the
ie level that the lilm strati-ies and
Jilms derive their intcrest hOlll
lt- In lire ulel cinema there weTe of cmuse Jlonrealistic mrrvclOlb and fanshytastic films Bllt cunstitllted a marginal area at least iJ)ee the 1935- 4 0 period Hesnai is not descendant The ordered einellla is one of the two branches emerging Ollt III a snrl of common realistic trunt that bctween I940 amI 1950 approximately had become on the whole tlolllinant Irenel in relation to the various fantastic lenelcllcies
THE ~roDEnN CINEMA SOJIpound THEOnEJlCL PHUllLUIS
whole reflectioll on the of tlte ~ll1d of sol1tuclc a
dnt C11l0shy
of essell tially exlrashy
of Codnrd himself bear
witness (0 a narrltivc cl poundantlsy
docs llut automatshy
priority hut it cl[t8inly implies an eSSCllshy
(hat Cmbrd is (lllc of those mell
(Jill he ired clurillP tile lctua]
men Illli arc able to make IlIllIs throngll constant rdlecti()11 (cvell if
it is 11t ordered) ab()lIt the liIlC)llI~ lIlel who are ahle to creall
ill the hordcrLllld of 1 pocur tbat is also 111 e551 OJ] pO(trv (tile
rCHcr surly recognizes here onl of the lllost
Jll()dcrn litcratUlC) But even iF ur ~I director like Codard the cinshy
ellla IlllTI til Iv prescll t hcFore nisting becolllcs tllC nccessarv cat dyst
1m lillll creatioll- in the samc wal thM the idea or the h(lo]z is 81shy
ways in the minds uf modern even whell the hoolz
t hev lre is hardlv bCLlI1~thc Fact rellFlins that WILlt Collard
or ]the
mllmlilt of thelIarrative the
sea Pllis 1
hie with story
I do not see why the modem tban lJlvtbing else Eric
UIlC SIHll~titnes
point Iut t1wt the new prescnt ill the cineml
one forgets that between a cOllsidcrabl~ dilIcrence uf
In~lJ1 VJhu reached his maioritv The
all llew novel]
lcsclnblancc is Zl-S
At tbe vcry least nile sllUuld
narrative etc) cinema as
llovd is almust an
slllluid be lllore in Ln(icl1 certain Siln]
and the l1-W as
extent pheUOJ1lella as Too
such there exists old mlll lIJd the
and the same
THE ]IODERN CINEIA JND NAIHAl1VITY ~o
ever hroken and unfamiliar the 1ll8Y
line8r~this fact never is olle of the most proliJic of mudern remains true even when as is oftcn the scenario is horn in the midst of way only the COIlSCshy
(jUcnce or thc of the sccnario froll the modern cmelila or 10 t1wt the only scenarios me those that lrt IiC the of JUJenclH~ mlll Bust
A CINEMA OF TIlE SHOT Is the lllodem cinelli a ctlllll11
or the shot as distillgllishcd frum the old cincllw which WIS JJl(lrc cOllcerned with racing fwm shut to shot straisht to the
But jf that is the case what is (lJlC to say
the expressionist tendcllC~ CCrlllJll eXI )ressi)Jl iSIll the LIst Jilms or is 111 (lId OJH
that cOllnotations at
cinellla ~md not
ilctcristics of the Ilew cincma Is not the
of ~I kind of Vlst Cistclltiai failure
ohserves Cll]111IlIl11icJtcd
J1]Olltage) Is not Sa1alore GiuliallO a mOlltage lilill
lIiusie cinlma --and tllM was grounded to a hirgc extcnt OIl the
of inducing a IJorizolltal leading of tbe lihn that Iould COllSidcf cadi illla~c at length JlJd Wllltll on tIw olber Iwnd is OJlC to sal ~lj(lut the
grcllt f1llaisSIlII(( of wOllla) whicll after a period dominated hI the
from encl (0 end As for the yuuthflll dynamisllI (If Claude lcl()uchs [lUI Fillc des fusils is it not derived as lI1uch fWIll the of
the 111m as from the wonderful exuberance of its lllOlltlge nd Whll
of the imDortmc( (If SIOJlS
in the nd r
thought Tire fact j huwever vh~n SOlllC(le says H$ one hears that thc cincma is far of htcratllll one must C(lll shy
elude he nust never have read anvthiwgt at all
204 THE jVl(JDEI1N CINEMA S01JE THEORETICAL PROllLEMS
rative flow also confessions of 2 to 7 mel 111
Vivre sa vie And the and Ncver~ in
Hiroshima 11011 omour a counterpoint lhat despite its modern ac~
cent seems to emerge straight from the editing table of a Balilzs an
Arnheilll a Pudovlin or1 Tilllocilcnko And all the JIm
one sees
J CINEMA 01 POETPY remllIlO lmall y the lotiOIl IT
by Pier Paolo of a dislinction between
the cincma 01 and the cinema of poctry As attract inc as il
illay se(IIl the idea i~ nevertheless basicll1) fragile For llle
of prose and poclry arc too linked to lhe use of the verbal
to he cClsilv carricd over to the cinel1w Or elsc if ()Ill~ poetry
in
sense (gt1
whether llnessful or nOI
sidcrs poetl ill its tcdmical SC]lSC Ihe lise of Icrbal idiom
restrictions
a sC(JlHI code cappillg Ihl iirsl--()IlC
idi()m 1lsolini is
with
its I)f()adest SCI1Sl--as the illlllledill( Ilrcsenn of the world the
cncounshy
seems SIUll101ll1l1hlc The dlSlIHT or code ill (he cincma thll is the absCllce of
aware o[ Ihis ]lruh~
precisionl gut Ill believes
111 things c()nsidercd it can he circ1ilIlyltnted I helieve UIl tbe (()n~ md bter I will show wIn Furthershy
more t() these obstacles one must add still 1lOtlwr The
prose in Whl(c(r S(llSC it is gin)] has 11(1
the cincma and iF I pros( docs exist in the lexical
in distinction to poetrv and because a long rhetorical tradilioll has
divided into two a domain that is initially litemry (for prose prop~ that of a Chateaubriand or of a Stenshyspca
is aJshyand nol fromready the artistic use of language anu
IItiliti1rian language it creates ohjecls that have their own and
ilwt leads trulll Ihe
llTIlin av frolH
THE 1IODEnN CINEIA iTD NAm~TIVJrY US
at which lhrut or tor the it IS
lie Icr thCe CUllllllllnicHiul1 it lTCiltCS work The
poetr and prnsc J1JS IfIc1l1ing lt1nly within
(111( that 1cparatcs literallIre fmlll thl Ic
of idiom IS a to()1 nd it is this Lllimlrv distinfiOll (licit is ill
cinema S(I Ihat no 11111] Gill sIT iel sellse ll( Ir
Su oj Pas(lini- II
least for rdurn 10 tilC111 111lt1 let us lXl11J
ine Ilis Ihesis i(o]v ur til( lillllll If tJlcrc is sil]oc trelld
h IJ or Ihi histo it is indeed II1l Ule
eillCll]1 tu Jill J]((Ii1111I1ilmiddottl1al i II) Sci
the C11111111 f jllllr til till inlma o[
l)fose and 111 (he othn Va around Pasolini Itlllis
IhCIIIII-which arc nol rart in die modern CinellI]
struclllrts I1l lcnds also (0 CI)]ll~lrc tll( must hCllltifu
fillllS 10 (be dullest liddilil)])tl movies ltllId he tI( Iwl Lol)sidlT lhl
poeln il) 1 J)ollhle 0111
PUllr Iii Suile ill 111001ilc
or Dewier aloul
of
fillllS Olwj()lIsh lhere is more till iallo
Preside III ill( Cmu plirulI
C1l) onc
uf wh ich fur Olle l(l scc
fnr tl1C
Ill SLlhstII1CC lud Corm of cadI nnc
mel less ladie I h lIl~m (he older Ii djllers gtIll
be suilieiclltiv CCltlln tlla( IhL
Pasolin 1 sJl( ( b rClfCSCll ts ltl
in it il]( bCltillll
CillCIll12lti nd is it
Jillal 1ll]lys]s ((Infused with il111 inevilable slIbjedive lOIUmlioll oj
the filmie objccth its llming plrcCptjoll~whidl is ) ChllUCillilje
of aJI tillCmil-SO that the olliv real dilfercnce uuJcl Jillalv he tlw mel prose perceptions whith can only he dnrilicd hy d1C
ul eaeh film and docs no(
with Ihe existCJlcc of general restrictions
from
____ _
206 THE MODEHN ClNEIIj SOIE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS
further is it not alllong the liIllls that scem the must outmoded
todi1middotmiddotmiddotmiddotbut not always righth-middotthat one encounters the most cohercnt
and systcmatic attempts to COllstmct a hIm as one slrtletllr~s 1 poem
ilhat ahout Pudovlltins lvrical which Jean iVIitly has so well analyzed~7 iVlw ahollt the corOlWlion scene in [van lilC Terri shy
or th proccssion hefore Vakulintchllk amI the scelles of mist in
Poclllbll( What Iil()Ut Abel Ganee in Nupocoll and La Roue AmI ttlt attCII1Dts of the pllre cinema to substitute a einlll1ltl or tlzellles
And Jean Lpsteins enthusiastic analyses of the value of the c1ose-ujl shot And the lise of slow motion in the
seen(~ in Zero for Conduct And 111 the systems of montage
mentioned earlier vvhose aim vas to forlllalize the various ilmic 10 solidify the thematic depth in the normative pre
a formal svstcm Im] the accelerated
ing in the scene with the hlack coach ill N ()SfefUflI jnd the ineredmiddot
iblc Icrial traveling hot in
me ali indeed in$t1I1CeS of those gramlllatical elewellts IS
flillCtiom2B that PIsolini tellds to idclIt ifv wi th the new
cinema III trulh though tmlays cimmltl is at times rich in
resonances tl()[gh the had films of every I)criod hy definit elude the s(jclilcd puetry of thillgs llld the or their
zaliull the fact remain that the only attempt that havc been lInder
taken toward Ilut only a poetic eincnla bUlals() a cinema as organized
idiulII-sinec this is what Pasolini is talking about-were preshy
ill tllC old cinemamiddot Iml the fact is that since its hirth the
cinema has prltlctically ntVlr ceased to evolve ill the direction of an
ideal (technicallr prosaic) lIexihility and a freedOil I that arc
T mv mind these atlempts have culminated in a failure which 01 the level uf general CltlllllOt be overcome hy the few ll1uglliliccnt but isolated suceesses A Iilm may a poetic novel it C8l111ot be a (except in the case uf purely thematic nUJ1middotstory-telling short lilms like Berlill ur SucksdoriFs Rllyt111H of a Git) In a poem there is no fable amI nothing illmiddot trudes between the )uthO alld the reader The novelist draws up a world the Ioet of tIle work The fiction film still seems to me to be closer to the novel tu the poe111 And finally the period in which one believed that a film cuuld be a pOlm is that of the old cinema rather than that of the lIew cinC111a
_ ____ _bullbull__~ bullbullbull __ __bull_____bull____ ______________________~~_ __~
THE f-l0DERN CINEMA AND NARllATIVITY 207
WltlmiddotS tlH~ anIlvsc~ of Frallshy(tbe cinema s a modern suciological
novel) ndrc llazin lnd the
to the novcl rather than
or i
iou peCl lia r to mUll y
lISC or the powers of (he flbliIOlI~ within the framework of til( rclatiVllv
realistic lilms verisimilitude) middotMore gcnerally one will obcrvc
tIle sCHalied fantastic cinema whieh ill certain carlv periods
emile vcry close to merging with one of the ILIainstreams of the
cinema as a whole (Gcrmm-Swcdish expressioll ism hOlll 19 1 t()
1lt)3 0 the fantIstic lilms of the period 19jo5 sllch IS FraJlkeN
stein TlC J1HisilJlc 111(111 and Kill J(OIJ) eventually became I
Cllfe and a ralher special genre It that which even ill part over
vhat the French call the eil(11111-is horror films gmdcgtBltalian
sadistic Japanese lilms Soviet fantasy
etc As a tllC so called realistic film which has long
been contrasted to Ihe fantatie film or to the film or the marvclous
as ir were the two poles or the cinema laquomel this is
the famolls theme I ull1icre lS AJcIiJs) blS taken uver limosl the whole or modern film
Ihe new cinellIa lS the JIOiccaJic jJlCSltllcl
in traditional lill11s Oil the contrary the camcra tried to JIlake its prcsence unfelt to ll1llzc itselF invisible hcmiddot
rore tbe spectacle it was presenting But whilmiddotc it is true that this
may apl)l) to certain filllls or the 11(1I-s(Hlistant
classical Americall comedy for example and in III e films related to what called editing ciamiddot
was made to appear invisible-it cannot describe tllC
various tenclencies or the very cinema whose on the
were based on the presence of the call1era mOll
or Abel camera movcmcnts in
films the optical clistorriom and
L
TIlE IO[IEHJlt CINE[I St)H TJllUCETlC1 1 TIlE ]IODIlRN CINEiTi AND NAHnATIVITY
ii the lIS ()f dlc Trellch s cIoc-uplt in TI Pussioll of re ill (sthet ics
[kit th IITt i(ims Iike ] icllstcill
in lIiml whcll thel imisled
[illl1ed deri ItS hi the rilmimf Ild ((In )
verselv ilhill Ill( 111ltldcrn cinlma tiICIC is 1 lcndclHv Dill
ivis-JtdlJllCr SOIlIC I illj()l)iol1i F Dc StII
mel Ill the cil(lI(f ele Ilel thilt cardulh crilSCS lI1 CIIlICr
cI Fccs tilliS (Ill thiS 110im [ am ill ailccnwlll with l~lic nuillllcr
III
dUII1lIllali(HI
Ihcilll lIld I
11111
llld
Ihe invisihlc
f()r Ihe
the
dllSl Ulllllpluti pC found ill till lilills f
Licit
)[sul 11111
Ik rell
CIs (111(1111
t Illlml
hese
or I hc
[allln
lllti
ISll lel LIIJltr[Vancc [ihn makers
shut cillCllIltI ililel sequence (ilWllld prusc Cill(lllil
lhc Cillll(fl-inlICSllllt alld
tillcliOlls s(cms to me to ICCOUill
lIludern eillCJll~L
cLlililcd I Illodcm i too ollell
to 11(1i is bcLillg ill
l~l Wls PI(lps(d with (1(J](l II nr] IIiIlI 01 tll( 111
10 ClTlclill llIodClil lill]IS11ll1 hal
ruc-hut wilh lll drOll 1I111iCI1I
Ill)ssihk I1l1111IK1 01
l n d llempl is
lt( few pgcs III follow
t1VllIcC lhe inevitable
lui h Sill is iI til In (Ill( IC~
n()le lirsl tlwt il all lllll[llld 11)(
rC1S(lIJ Tllev 11( Sil
the cinCllW was IS S( l
is s( ltIt lc~lst 10 a much kSSCI extent I hdievl 11 til( the modern film is IllOle lllIIltitin ltInd IlWIT silli1
the main contribulion of the new cinema is lu have
flhllic narrative
cunlllry t1Jlt1t
so md thll
enriched the
lVlore or less lssociaLecl with this idcl of a presumed
ur wea kcu ing or 1I11TMi viI y is ltllllOJ] g lllmy critics Ihe 11 ()tion oJ a
hrcahlow11 or Ihe gramlllar ()r sVlltax uF the cineilla I wuuld s)
on the contrary that the cimlll) hilS lIe( hld cit her 1 gr~l1lJJl1U r or t
in tile prccise linguistic sense or thest tenliS (S()l1le Iheortli
that it did hut [I)M is allot her Illatter 1lt111(1 il
toela still a certaill IlllllllCI of rUllciulllLll
that pcrilin 10 the mosl profolilld necessities or ransmissiu11 of ~ll1V informI l11inl1 IIVS dl11 arc ex
arc to he sough in
and no ill tile glltll1llllill or 1a1lgUltlgls TIll wjl()1c Illutldll or til(
the fact tIl( Olle looks for ltl1l1()I1U the aud spcciJic V(TV rClllovcd rom rla Ii t ) i] iOIlI1 ti (
without laws all lliost prohahly bCOl1d the expects to lind thllll~th)1 is 10 sal Ull
a IIlllch ill some WllyS prior to lhe dilfciClllilti()1l or lcrbnl all il e idiOilis ) Frolll othcr lllllllan semiotic wstems
Vc ~Irc told was suited lltJ
sv 11 Lu llO [xists Iklt
the livilllt rJ11il s t() do with sllch iI hurden Bul
Ihml beiliU acllwIlv syntltlclir
articubliolls ralher
de SllISshy
CIIlCI1lH elll be VOlin )
excesses of raquosyllt~)( Ihat during the period of dill lInglleJ1 amI Cl1l
IaLer was considered to be as strict a the grammar of a verbal
gUJgc But the new more Hexiblc forms or the cinellld arc govshy
erned just as mllch the fundamental f~L1rls without wllich 110 information would be possible a discourse of SOIllC is alshy
wavs in olle way or another divisible The
-
these rule have llothilll to do (rab1lt little cleviees
(~octeau was on tile lm York 101 To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE IODETIN C1NEIIIA SOiIE THECmrrnCAL lHOBLEMS
it tried to he nOII11lt1shy
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwuwe the
ollr lilLlguages And we know the CXtlllt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative gtallllllariall hiel was illustratld ill
j()6 by the lXrlWllgC puhlished ill Arts hct(ll1 Elill1lhll llld Mn
tind Evcn the l1)ost allvltlnccd filllls still pertain to J
ltq11)]OdCh tlwugll ill order to apprclllI1l1 new ()Jjecb the 1lttlT llla
have () bccomc mure Hexiblc ns I will show ill s(veral
her (lll
hI hmt tW() crv llilTcfCI11 rules or the
cincma On derivcd irolll
a 1ullal irc hc considered outdated
or tbellSsl restrictivec 011 till other 11all1 there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of stJllctllralcol1liguratiulls thlt are ill illllll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving When OIlC SIV th~lt tbc Illlls (IF the
lllW wnc for cxmllplc have ullnplctclv dismantled the Ilarra
livc or thlt tbey hlC( Clltirel displaced Wlltlx OllC is fCIII takshy
illu 1 ven limited vicw of the
llalTlt ive lllt
vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11llOlogICl1 (lr COlllIlll Ud cudishy
to the
llimic vehick as I wh(1lc It is prlcisdv t() the extellt thlt tlll rllltl
Of the two the linguit Wlb Andre 11ntincl ltC jnother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing The ne cinema has
very rightly so-a lumber of mIlS sueh (lS the prohibition the 180shydegree angle shot (I the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a closeshyup with no change of axis or nltrainst the actor lo()kill~ at the camra etc
THE lIODEHN CfNEiIA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1oltuiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexistshy
(lJeC o[ lIlev Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc arc intelligihle IS is the
case tlmost tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse llllJiwlillc nnd Last Year at j1jorilllZ)(ld arc
still from one lnd to the other iIIllS and
lt1ny
lludes the (Icsniptivl SYlltagllla
til inl1mlltlW lid llld ill Paris rlt
least ill the present slatc or CillllllJt(lgraphic thniqucs) a 11(1I](lishy
cgltic illlltlgC must ill (lIlC way (If m()ther he linked t() a diqctic ill
n(l ()J it will not Ippear to he lllllldil(ctic etcY But sllcll
hml llcvcr l)(cil seri()tlsly triLd hy Ii I1ll-11mlcrs ulliess ]lcrllltljls--aml
CVCIl itlll OJll would han to (-ltImine the lIlatkr 1ll()lC
sUllie (SlrelllC aVlilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll understood Ci1](11IltItOmiddot
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln nd lilllllllakcrs IllYlI ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstlll(t stich
0 iJlJa~ill( thaI thc l1li~ht lxist is precisely
hCllllSC the llIain Ilglllls or cillclliatogrlphic illtclligihilitC illlllhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater lkllt than the arc nvarl oF Silllimiddot
Imh (he lIlost (lrigil1d critcr d()ls ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll 111 tllt
Ilew Llilguagc
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical an d from this
return to the d the Pa~oliniall tbcories which
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral imshy
pressions
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
186 THE 1IODERN CINEMA SOME TllEORET1CAL PHOBU2llS
directly narrative cinema where Olle galloped from shot to shot
ehe jllardore)7 Or finally it was a CillellJltl of Freedom open to Illulshya (inem] or contempJatiull and ohjcctivity which
authoritarian concatenatiolls of the classical film the theater substituting wise ell presellce for mise ell
who has rclleeted with
greal IHCClSIUIl Oil
cinem1 of pl)etrv silllulia
l1luativc
Finally for ill or the~( critics tbe recent pcriod has witnessed the
of a free eincllll ltl cincml perlllancntly 1ibcflttl([ fmlll the Sllp
rilles 0(
clCCOU III 0[
()r the movie spectacle in fmoJ
~()g( (rLlffaut) rejection of the too illlpcccahlc
ruILILlt aglill) rejection (IF the to() evident signlt that do violence
tu the allllligllity of fcllity CBai rejcctioil ()f the pseu(]oWlltactic
arsend dln t() the old theorctici111 S (Leell1wnIt) rejecti()1l of d IC
1S well as I he lIIuvic spectltk ill favur of a cinshy
d(crilllfCl a docile mel Hcxihle lllell1S of
JIv purpose ill tllis text is not III take up arllls my Olle 01
the(middot ltlllalyses~cspelidl) since cadI one of thclIl contains to my IlIlnd I grcll deal of truth~bl1l rather to confronl by Illlm of a
sliccessive (and never total) questioning of these different
a great libcrt(friall lIIyth which is nul fully cxpressed ill my olle of
the analvses bUl which underlies diem all mel aclt]lles them all (exshy
theatrical and hv extension fdmic term for the the crealio1 f lOts and til( 1 a
n more direct
THE MODEBN CINEMA AND NATIRATIVITY
cepl for the ideas of Pier Paolo raise difshyfcren t though lela ted I)roblcms will
Let 1I1e be clear 1lHse analyses I am about to (lllcstiull have the
gol mel the effect of supporting lilms that J like films that I still
view withollt boredom They art decply linked to the grldllll risc
and cventual t1iU11]])11-at least fur largc of the cultivated
cinema that is alilc toLla yen- Tu ignore Jeltln
10 excludc oJ]cself
able [0 aceOllllt fur tructurally----that in every period Jill] for every art the
lIord IS diversified as it may be is n(vcrtheless to he rOLlnd ill 1 sillshy
gle locus And even j I th is loclls GIl1 ll first he ]ec()gni7tlJ only hy t b(
it ra(lilt1tcs~glill1tl1cril1gs thM hcc()Jl1t larger llllj l110re
intense IS we lppn aell thei r SOil rcc~ it is dOll htles his pri Illl (vi
Ii [sl (xDcliencvli in Ihe (JlIotiulwl
our rellcctJoll incc
of this rdlcdioJ1 is to reduce the distall(( inili11 ellorlllOUS COll1l1Wllphlcc Illd Listressl I he emol iun or the CI
viction hom its clarilicatioJ1 the or 1i lin from its 1]]eta ]111shy
gUlge lIorcOHI one IIlLlst1]nt forget t1wt a critic is llCITr altogllhel
a theoretician but that he is dways something (II I miliulJl 111(1 tlmt
two cinenls left that call iutcrcsl liS
cillClIla to which t1~is article devoted lhe American
uninlcllcctual it lingers on
ftell in the form or the vanls1er [ihn
t) lt)
a great cinema a cinema without problems where onc was ncver bored The sllcC(si()n~to the extent that it is llo1 taken tip by the living cinema will one fean be assumed by a cinema burdened with ideologics anti dubiolls gOl)(1 will
Potato T1ro 10lt10 Dapid allll Lisa intellectual fIlms replete- with intentiolls based Oil the ielea that art cnl1 reach the human by elishy
wlwreas it can unly attnin it after a speCific cletour~nt any rate in like our own
188 THE MODEHN CINEMA SOIF TllEOnETICAL PROBLEMS
purpose is not to fi Il11s but also to he to this extent one eaJl say that cinshy
ema is
Nevertheless one will indeed one lmc to unuertl ke the theoshy
rctical it is on thlt1t level
if not 1]) the
at least 10 tlla
which too oFten lInderlies thelll
II
First remark agrees ill the new cinCIlll no- dc
lined bv the hlct tlla t it has beyond or rejecteu or hrukcll
hut the of thM slllllclhing---whcthcr spccshy
inflexihle significatioll devices of the script writer etc --varies considerahly frOill critic tt) critic as I
Iried to -ohmv in tbe hrieF summary or their ideas It dl( heginning or tllis text
VEATII of 1111 SPCTACU2 The c()ncept of the Slxcllcle has a
certain Ippcal) hut it is not tbe expression or In rigoruus though
Olle l11a tah il in its sociological scnse spectacle clJllltlls sociul
rill cllllsisling ill ~I Inllnan gathcring olielll(d townd a predominantly
vislId evellt In this (lSt 1 do not sec huw thc mudern 111m is ill any
way less of a specllteic than the tmtiitiolld lilm unci so the implied
rlvulutioll remains confined to the V()Cnblllan of the criliealmetahmshy
guagc 1m] doc 1101 affect the film ohjects for which it is supposeci to
aC((JUllt Did not the mrc as they were who were 1hlc to
sec -loris IOUS rtPlmflic1li at m lppnintcd hour It an insti shy
tutional place did they not pay for their scats J1ll1 tip the ushcr In
these crms ill tIuth it is not very dillicult to rCLnind the reader
the face of variolls cnthllsiaslic excesscs that the cinema will remain
a spectacle until olle forms of 111m distribution commershy
cialization and viewing that arc so ullusual that the method of imshy
leaps too asinvoked
THn IOIlEnN CINEM AND NAlmATIVITY
d Ihe variutioJ1S of the hearl) reminds us will
lip a valid llotion of them from what we IJrtsshy
To Sd that the modern CillCllW is I1U longeI a specLwk
in the luxury uf d chltll1ge that is in hct not a ckll1Yc
One may also take the conC(pl or spcc[lClc in a mUll pSlchologiC11
spectack is 111 essentinll vislId CTllt that PilSlllts
ilself to us in lllode (l excflwlity lntl In which VC IIT cllsli shy
tilted itn(ss( nut il tllis is so) wlwl pmlr spclllllc is thnc than i
IFolIl(1I is 17 H7oIl1l11l-1 III LIS iCClI (Ullllck SilllltitlJlCOllSJy undermincd
~IJld nourished b Ihe inlinilciv vlricd clrcets of sCIl-llrodv ami sl 1 IlIIlSicd cOlllldy
Th(ll is 11 dllllhl 11111 nOlwislial (ami vcrhal- 1shy
liers He 111U1l imp(lrtanl than cn ill the lllodern CilHllll that- -ahov(
lllthev 11]c ceased to he Ishalllcd or tiHJllsclns (le ill the
wllell iJlllt 1Ililvils were 10 all (lld neilL Clairs SUII luils Ie ins Horlcrn TilllcL or on
111
tnll hetter thm
he COIlClpt or clt Illlrihut il I
he In spcc1l-
1llfC spcdClclls
to deflnc Whlt the
nature thcrc[orl the CIlllccpl
ill the (IUlstion thaI COnCe111S us
DEATH 01 TlIl TlJEATEll Is it therefore the tllGllf er from which
the young cinema has heen FrectI That iSllt the case eirherFof beshy
fore cmtinuillg olle would to llsk Vhilt theater Jnd what cinshy
ema There hilS always been rI b8c1 cinema copied Fwm a had thelter
It alrerldy existed i 11 dlC age of the silent films mel despite Ihe silence
T I
190 THE 110DElN CINEllA SOME TllEOHETICAL rTIOBLEMS
since the advent or thc talking fillll we have bad the psychological comcdy and the dralllatic l(ll1lcdy--not tu be confused with the nllrican comedy-and they me still with llS To
mention unly the rrench cinema-which is admittedly particularly
favored ill r(sneet many hundreds of ] Illls have we not
to the genres rcci pe thc cake mix
or entertainmen tl Imiddot
II thc llludem cinema has tu a exten t freed itseH
from 111 while doing so avoid IJolllclanl I- (11shy
rather than tbe theatef and the grclt Ii Ims of the past
were ahle t() avuid it just as well a tiel Flaherty tl
be sure bUI also in a Hfy difrerent wav Eisenstein
t on the cOJllrary the good thcatcr and the IS
IlI111hing of nut how CJ11 one forget thal
) lJ1d
man VI$COJIll) vne mell til the theater in the full SlI1~C of the terlJJ
How can one forget all t1ut 1I iaill Hcsnais or ltIll
(0 the so called dWaler of distallce (thecire de la IiS((ICUltlOl) as
-em Carta has 511 revealedO Hovv can onc that evcryshy
of illlportance ill the thcater of is as far rClIJOcd froll1 the
practicc~ or clabowc intriglle as arc the film of Milos hlflllan
Bozier or Jcall Bouch And iF olle loob at the
Here j the fur the psychological (ur dWJIlalie
d )ciell)
etc 2 Olle PIrt
invents hut lim out to han
3 A dash or lrilliant 4 A few mmbers presence of
Mrs E F dnd Mr 1) 5 A touch of the nude vulgarity
melodrama and marital)
THE ]()DEI1N CINEMA INU NAHIIATIVITY 19 1
from a wider perspective if following the of certaill theoreti
dans of tile cinema 11 or of the theater - one
takes the position that the theater is oPI)osed to the epic to the
nove] tlHlt scculiir epic) a~ a Ilction caught in and in its cirshy
cllmstantial thrust is in contrast to that same fiction relHed in words
are not those of the proLIgonists one vill indeed have to conshy
clude that the CillCllW altllOugh an art very difFercllt From the theashy
ter is nevertheless not on the pojLlt-~ulllcss its nlture changes radishy
brcahng till very app~lrent ami basic hond that links it to
theater No lIlore than tile distinction between the spectacle
alld the nonspce[lcle willthc distinctioll hetween the thClll] and
the llolltlteater allow us to establish uur preferellces ill theon so
that we can uncerstallll Illore deadv middotwhv we like what we like or
wlwt is new about the Ilew (il1el11a
THE CINEMA OF IMPTIOVlSATION Is the answCJ I that the new cinema is a cincma of improvisation BUI there arc n Lll11efOllS
modern films that fall outside of this definitioll from Knife in 1111
lVaer to JlIles ll1ul Jilll passing through the works of Orson Dcwy llain Resl1ais etc It is true that whell he proposed
i1iehd Mardorc was cnrcful to 1]1ply it ollly to one
of the modem cinema hilt the idea is Clluel1l ltlnd one often
hears it expressed 1 IIllich more vanue and uCllcral way itb b
devoteltl to escribc
life under
OIle
cannot agree wil h twu forms among other 1dlnUI1S de Provence [(jG6 a book cler the title Cincmuturgic de Paris in 19(5 issue 011 Pmmol and Sacha to PI 43~44middot
P 111pound J[Ol1En C1NBMA SOjlE THEOHET1CJL lnODLEIS
only-alld cyell t11ell with some reservations-on the 01lC
Iwud til Jean-tnc Cudmd (bUl the man we know has a touch of enius mel ltcniLls is 1110rCUer it illljJlltJvilS Iiib gredl -1
CillClll1-ci 11( ui 711
is 1 dcnlllldil1(~ 115k 11lIS[Cr) 1lld (Ill the uther hlIld II) a 11ltll1lwr ()I
tCIlccIllics rchled to the dllellill direct its hroldest scnse tend-
C]1l]( for a
stlges oj 1
Claude Livi-Straus (lllt t rtllllrhdY The illshy
cinello ilired i too often the by-procilil or lazi
Ilotes lUI) oFtell it 1C11UUllCCS
(IF Ilw linishcd work witi1mlt
(11 Illsl IIlV 11101( t [lith [hlll 1 gJ()d d()CllIlllllLlf P)SshySlSSlS II is 11 ellough 101 IV Ih11 Illc orciillltlrv dirltTl fillll is 11111 pcrshy
fect ]1 il h1 -cal ii 11t1 evell htcil linisllld JIH] il is ll()1 jUl the histot) I 11]( lilllllll hUI till 11Iut hl~il Illtur (II till aesthelic h jccL ihllr lhlt will h1VL 10 Chlllgl 1)J()jflulldk hdulc l vvorl or afl is
ahll to ahsorb Ingc s(ltliolls oj Illtllll1S[orlllltl rcalilyilll() its own purshy
IlI)Slt l1d hcirc il (11 Iruths Iiln thall [he ()Ilt lrlIlspI-d 1lId rlrUrJllll lhM its illil PI l(cdlrcs hllc Jlut
lIl (II rlWh I he go)d hll
ill pillt it lctt ilqlJUyjsCls H is thl I()(w wher laziness ll1d till de
0 (iIeli direct itscll CltusI) m1 111(111lt1 tCIile (CIIJlli1111 1111 (k 1y lean lillIcl) hut ltIh the camlie[ Ill1Hl EIlII the Nlli)]))I [jIm lllrtl ltj
Calllllh ItlldcflCY speets 1 the sucliled f( Yor] d] or or Ih IiriliiJ free CillCllIil the lmcricCin icltllllclucuJI1Clltnies (LCleoC illlt JJilYslcs brthlrs tcmknLlcs u[ the televisiun (klein
All hvugll be spoke uf a Lll1Cll1(l ur middotJjlllnlfl(i )t inn lift in rull agreeIllent with the eilelfII direct much liLc H~) OWll But it is tbe COlllcpt 1[ thl cinema that seelllS ullclear to me
THE lIUnEHN CINElIA AND NilnnATlY1TY 93
each other
the
cil1(lI1a
TilE CINEilA 011 Is lhe allswer Bllt tllCTl arc no I(al dCld
~il1Cl a lilm is 1ll~1l1Ilraclllrll1Ilhi(lt on]v ill ]ik IIT
spaces 1l1011ICnl (Ill be dllll (llltld only ill JCLllioll
to Ill inter(~t The lifteellminute IvaiL hdnrc 1 decisive j IllCIIillV
hCCIUSI the pcrsoll J alll 10 s(c is Ill( is indccd a tind of dcad SplCl sincc it is 1](01 whetl I am ltlClltlillc III at the time But such
moments misc on]v hlClt1l1Slgt the OllUlTClllTS of life an nol
()llC ()I11 wi 11 tliey do nut ubey I he urge l() till akel ivc lrashyJ)(sI lIl which cOllsidercd most Jullillilw ( to flj)(at olle oi friclIlHgt
SOl ria lIS by an
as dead
of the iell al Wl S constructcd JIIinutes Ihe whole liFe ur till lilm Oldd he clJlltaincd ill dead spacc Th( (lilly Ical dCld spaces ill the cinclIlI arc the III dull 11111
whilc exlemal]v vicwer attcntioll whieh bccolllcs don Hmt it inllTllltdh the IlV condiliolls
fIJI Illlt tlcnd ~PCl- in life It is 011 the 1(ld oj culti)] 11lt is before the lilm lxishthal tile lkstill or till
dcad Sp~IlCS is dCtLrlllilllll Those Ihe lillll-lllakll lxplIicllCCS as
SIlCI arc hallisllld frolll the lilll1 and Ill willllc cr sec thcmmiddot-lor till likclill ill tbis respccl lilll IllIgt1 makc its choices or C()SC to cxist al
all Thw dl the lllonlellls th11 the Jilm-lllakcr has included in
I 1m wcre alivc cinema is a nCIV-and a prnfullllllll is lS lotwhat or a mcnt ill and it is J()t hased 011
dead innovation is 1l1
matter and Antonion] is far more
194 THE i
MODUHNH
CINE]IA ~OME TlIEOHETICAL PROBLEMS
hmmm substance of his films than became
excels in showing us the diffuse
I ife that Ire considered
most IlnpOrlltlllt U1mg about
the Cinel1111 (Nrect-is [hlt he was
skein of ltl mOle subtle Evell llIure
diem fro III that
S](ln
form of
fmc IlO Ijlll1 Or
very
llucve r
iricalcs of that shimlllering
he lost
He
ur
I iema I
itself 11 (srecls prullloshy
in the
widest scnse
cIlls 11 J(1Il Y
of the alTragc
dCCCll t dOllllllen taries
A FIlNDAIENTAL
TIlE ]IODERN CINEMA AND NARRATIVITY 95
contained a to
revert to a mythology that Jean NIitry hm rightly crHlClZCtl a my that conceals hehilld phenoIllenologica I
tial reidislll whose consequellce is the revival OJ] the level of the
of tl1il195 of the terroristic
noegt
in the name of am-aspects or Ildrc Bazins alld
Muniers theories It shuuld be noted illcidentally dwt ilichcl
11lt1rdorc Illd Pierre Bilhrd do llut conceive of he notion or realism in tlltH SCJlS( nor docs Mmccl some of It is (spresshyslOns
that 1 rc aJld tilL person
lor whUlll tlley me ill thl inelllctable adverse
I hell is
lcHlng cinema as 1 whole but rathcr 1 (erwin crazv
has sprung lip around the cilcllla verite the belief
(cnce or the illlge which is SOIl1e1lOw
as wclJ as-eVCIl as it lends
terns that the slightest dislocation
and
lei llalizcs
nol the
tll1t
Lind of in110shy
exempt from
discursive
introduces- shy
(oilled word derived from the Greek (01-lt0 Ccosmos) Hlllt] allELl ( to Thus it indicates the faculty to preshysen t the world in its entirety to show --TnANsLATOll
THE MODEHN CINE~I SOIE TllliORETlCAL PHOIlLEllS
from tbe enormous
of some
thcsinn terms 111 tile ell()rmou~
the few hcautiful alld the lllany botched works of the CilllIlW v()rile
one might recugnize I wayward slll and obstinale sister of the sel1lioshy
logicid appnKlch-at Icast iF the hitter is cOl1sidered in ils kilSl teclllli
cal aspccls and in its deepest ]tfecl in fOUlIlhlioll The is (me of distrust for bnglwge anJ Yunls i]Jeileillg C[llCSshy
Crcltcri in order t(J question the world spele11 it
[he ubicct ()l (jLlCSliolh fashiolled IS a lonl Im
it is heing asked 1l0VV to aCColillt for
of slispicioll mel l10hlc neurosis the
Incxshy
tnll discollrse is onh I true disc(lllISC the word COl1llt1iIlS I
than that which is conLlillcd ill ils cmJcc( ic usage
The cincllw 1eril( Ull the lolllr~lfy lltcllllts (0 Ioid (ilcoc diflicu (ies hy supp()sedly rejecting coherent di~colllSC mel the lise of iconic
atlls(ation (VCIl the spccch of the (flllll) llCHlCS is slljlPllSllIIU he 1I1lshy
IlltlSCCTlt--il is pint or the illllgc as iF it WlJl l)cing swept
vlsl circuit of villdl illJl()n~IHL Uhc prolifcra(i)ll 01 III
tcrvicws in tile cinclJliI-rcri( lillllS he1s no othcl SUllfcC It is a P]
thetic
InCOllllll- de Iii Ipoundrre
th11 havlt hel) 0111shy
~hltJll]d
whu lws problellls Iwo Iypes of ie1coiogy that of im1ge and wbich is a sort of curious behaviorism
THE jlODEllN C1NEimiddotlA AND NAnnATlV1TY H)
Jlccrthekss-ilild IS a1111 ell t at
the best works of Ibe llew cincllu
viewer with
in the
trcmciv dillicilit to ddinc
1tis the lXDctncss of an
llslincshy
vOice
oj I gestnre of I lulle Jt for example till marvelllls ltIbn)st
dal1ced scellt ill Pierrul Ie fult lIlllIllg the
ClII Iif II I Ie c1iIJ1CC bull Ia lifilIc de IlilIeles IVfy life line
Your llip Jint 1 highlv lilH(lIi~tic (Till Ilevcrtheicss
since it is I piece uf ch()nogcqlliy 1 rclcrcl1cc to lllcri(JIl Illllsical
-we IIC 1 1) F(JllI lhl simple-minded rcdi~lll ollhc
phil cuIlLlrist traditioll realism for libl socillics No
other film PISSlgC JHlweY(r--lll1icss (OI sset (el1t the sishy
lcn( SCdUcli()1l ccm durin the pamcc Struilcim Pcddillf
crltiltgtll IlJIL imiddot all t]wt emlin I tJLl llIClhd hC1l tlmiddot the hands I the l(lialisl mel nc tLlll witllltS pi ti icJlenl ((t(llt hUI 1 of g[Iled )ll(Hlcllcd jng al thltlll~ll(s ur ltIt ltlch ll1ller crjng chlttcring etc nIll Jl()talgi for the olLlllltJl()l11 Id (c111catl(lll hlld Oil HlnallIHlJ It 1 tnLi~ JeHU]]) siglliliclIt that d all thl Illkrn lllethod the Illy )lI Ihilt is reL tively )(glcctcd hy the ciJlJJI(( [crie i prccisdy the Ill that i lll like t
II ill ill which Ihe slcciilist ]C)rtllllllllllC be) lHccisc pc)al duts not jjlH tu cxprc- -ulnc truth (Jr illpr(s~~i()ll ~(l IliUcll ltI 1(
amI (llllrcHed rcsllit aCllwllyc]allaiysi Cl add II(llfl
con1 rihLltj()l1~ that (lP(Ille
I an urekrh- po-CrlUI the
198 THE l10DERN CTNElIA SOME THEOl1ETlCAL PHOBLElIS TIlE MODEHN CINEMA AND NAHHATlVITY 199
MorcfltL-had portrayed with an acclllacy 8S fundamentally direct
as superbly careless of the external probabilitics of timc amI place the
lllute corporeal agrecments that love produces and by which it is proshy
duced the ambiencc of gcstures and tbe thousand minor aeshy
ceplltH1ccs of a docile receptiveness that is no mere obcclicnce and that
mold the vvomans sunlly face in the ~uccccding directions her lovers
hallct of active amused and tendcrtlcss
I somc or the nshy
tonioni
variolls films hy cvcn say that
rllllains to he dcfinedli---arc for all their
till most precious comFlcsts or the CiJlCllll tlllt since 1966
we hlVC (Ilcd lllodern Jt is sllrch not SOllle principle of ohjecliv
ity SOlllC faultless IGllislll that call dcJJ]le tbis modern cinellEI but
rather the liability to certain truths or to certain 1cclifacics that
make the yuung cincm[1 more Hlult and the traditionll cinema ocshy
cCisiollJlly vcry youthFul Tile fll1l1s of the past evcn the Jllost heau
JI [ne fcncrllhshy a lillIe lJOvc themselves like t1lOSC
adolesccnts
THE OHDEflED CINEMA To thaI sHeb accuracies havc be
the dir(ct()r~ or the were
or Ic~s sensitive dl[lIl those of locby
but that exph1l1[ltion is ill1(cllw1tc-is to reshy
examil1c that ncw and subtler dramaturgy lhat ldmits Ilion ohjectivc
details details of the kind tblt the Iraditional plot film ~lcrificecl or
ovcrwhelmed Exactness of tunc I priccless COlHjUcst that renders a
whole arCl of the cinCllla obsolctemight well be in turn only a
consecjl1e)lcc
Sec passngcs of Jlurnaus DalllI Sjlistroms Willd (certain of Lilliall (the character o[ Marcus) etc And (except in Potemkill) and oj Pudovkill
Furthermore olle must not
wtlmiddotr70 all of the modern
with which one
of the films of
pIlt j and text is I grc[lt deal more it is 15 if the il1shy
realistic potcn tiD I or the [ilill ic veil ick formcrly the proper Y
of the (o11ention ur a Illoderate degree or discretcl thcltrical ITllislll
the CUlle-Preyert films) had no divided itclf Iw
twelll a cincllla of passion (in the scnse that Ollt spel](S of passhy
sionate l()( IS Hen6 Gilson correct) Jlo[CS)21 a cincllI or (xlIlxr
ltlncc and discolcry Cmcl it is this Cillllll thai is (lcc1siollalh able to
C[lpturc those so direct truths I hme iust s]loken ur Wl kilO tIll ill
terest Godard h1S sbown for
other ham a cinema or ALlin nesnai~ and his SllClCSsiyc
that beliCHS onl in rccollstrtlcled [fllths~- a
JJost critic ]lasled ioHlS Vardas 111m Lc HOllIeUr Thm was result dUe f kind llIisllnderstanlIing I did not like the Ellll (itllc1 bllt to attack it for it lack of realisll1 is to Illy mimI a serious miscollslruction Certainly thmiddot worlcrs of life as the Jil)ll presents it is lJuite falltalic Uut it had til be so For the is a philosophical talc such as the eighteenth ccnlm enjoyed or rather a militant ulopia in the gtlylc of the ninetecnth century (hut Ull-
In a Illor( Iucill ecUlmt of the actual sucial factorsalld the class factors-that enter into Ihe problel11 c(lnsiclercd) 1t js abo
ill ouc way an act of courage For although it is lrue that a few pers(J1ls in tile social envIronlllcnt where films arc produced dream of a worll in whi] luve would be truly frce a wurld both animal and human where the hudys carclessless would also be a genewsitv a and
of women and men a world in which monster of scntiwel1tlllis)II as il has come to he since
paganism will be lU1l1ecl-altbough it is true that a futurism of l10urishes some of the cOllversatiollS ill Pariss Left Danlc the filet is that aside from Pierre Kast ill La Morle-saisoJl Le Bel and La Bnllure des mille soleils no (lne besides Varda had gathered these scattered snch a holdlv l1IOVOCalie These human
conducted away from such futile sufferinQs of jealous exclusive emotiol1S are
existed as if the V were
TITE IODE) CIiEMA SO~IE H1EOJ(PIlCAL PHOULlJJ
Dr(cllli~l11 than i1 is awarc thill orders with meticulous patience I
cd ltllltl I (111shy
Clllltl 1shy
cariier at the limc (t the missed
vcar at Maricllhad Was the mnl1(siac OISCI1CC
tile llllshrrild or not) (Ic1 a cillema of tellSe 1Il1cltrtrllnlv tlwt ratllci
lhtm plescnting t1w Ipollas uF Illcllling ill 1 frl1l intended [) il1lutt
their Ippearann in daill experiellcc dclihcratcly ltltltlstructs 1
rinthint Il1(Jdel SOIll( hiztllTe Illodernistic ritual ithin
which th( pIdatllj will I()se hiLllselr bnt
ill ldvlLHT OLle could sav tllal bin Fksnlls
lack I rci1islil nlll is tkll not aho tile verv definilioll 0 plativ( tflllsllle([ into the IHClllt or the imlicaiivc
Ihesc frec feiatio)bhips are nlre)dy 1lllraquoC or k cirde but it gll(S Vardi had placed the actiu]) d her Ijlm ill such
the story--which woull then be realistic rlliid hnve lost all tbe power 01 ih militant impact For what the film ]]lcans til say that workers to cuuld live like thaL In shurt the mislIJlderSIltllltling d(fivcs frulIl the Llct Ilal Ile fil)) wr viewed if nc wIgtuld sec a Glard Jilm as exalllpk ( thc ordered eiDem 1 rcpelt I did nut like tbe film Ilut at all in Lltt This was hr rc)ss [ the cnact11ll1l1 f the uto ill its details Dilt NIlo vould Inailltajn tlilt vas nut a celtllin llUollnt ot CtJurtlgc an~l ill Ill fnet that a ll1udcrn YOllJltm (all pcltlk or sud) lmusllal things rrc how Ciln ()Ill Llil to SVlllllathi7C wilh the sinccri of her
(- In nor Lll a 1 i[c
wnnt the him resentment
trll1sccndCnlal and a liollS (as at the moment of the cxccs~i( nHnantic l)S Bernard llwcerlles But he is aisu in uf tire French cinema
Goda Id represent the two film as opposed to a
as for we find it on one siele as on the
stance the triumph of mimesis and of the reconstruction
and in the second instance a
The lillll of the
til is
of
THE JIODEHN CINECgtIA AND NAHHATlVITY 201
modem Ii 1m is the cinematograph Ie one of dIOse great whose importance in ccr-
is well known
lield
A FILll-IIAKrms CINEMA Whnt 11 I1lIshyor a makers cinema as distinct from cinema Can it provide that criterion of
since n~ ils conS(jllellces hut lind il- so diflimiddot
cult lo ddillC There is doubt dial lodav cinema is very often 1
cineml while the old CiJl(~ml was so frcquently the ulterior
and secondary illustration of a worked-out Gocbrcls
the best exanm1es criticism like Michel COLlrshynots evel existence fro]]] tllis fact it vas the Ii Ims of the pasl ( and lot its prctext in thc sceLlario But all of Alain films art inshy
cript-writers lilms fhe SVSICLlltllic way ill which this di[ccshy
rdLlsing to imagine his works sccb out at the of thl
s(ell~Hio various colbhortltors of suJlicicnt weight to Iwvl their OWI1
of things leaves llS in llO dOl1bt as to his opiniolls on the
ie level that the lilm strati-ies and
Jilms derive their intcrest hOlll
lt- In lire ulel cinema there weTe of cmuse Jlonrealistic mrrvclOlb and fanshytastic films Bllt cunstitllted a marginal area at least iJ)ee the 1935- 4 0 period Hesnai is not descendant The ordered einellla is one of the two branches emerging Ollt III a snrl of common realistic trunt that bctween I940 amI 1950 approximately had become on the whole tlolllinant Irenel in relation to the various fantastic lenelcllcies
THE ~roDEnN CINEMA SOJIpound THEOnEJlCL PHUllLUIS
whole reflectioll on the of tlte ~ll1d of sol1tuclc a
dnt C11l0shy
of essell tially exlrashy
of Codnrd himself bear
witness (0 a narrltivc cl poundantlsy
docs llut automatshy
priority hut it cl[t8inly implies an eSSCllshy
(hat Cmbrd is (lllc of those mell
(Jill he ired clurillP tile lctua]
men Illli arc able to make IlIllIs throngll constant rdlecti()11 (cvell if
it is 11t ordered) ab()lIt the liIlC)llI~ lIlel who are ahle to creall
ill the hordcrLllld of 1 pocur tbat is also 111 e551 OJ] pO(trv (tile
rCHcr surly recognizes here onl of the lllost
Jll()dcrn litcratUlC) But even iF ur ~I director like Codard the cinshy
ellla IlllTI til Iv prescll t hcFore nisting becolllcs tllC nccessarv cat dyst
1m lillll creatioll- in the samc wal thM the idea or the h(lo]z is 81shy
ways in the minds uf modern even whell the hoolz
t hev lre is hardlv bCLlI1~thc Fact rellFlins that WILlt Collard
or ]the
mllmlilt of thelIarrative the
sea Pllis 1
hie with story
I do not see why the modem tban lJlvtbing else Eric
UIlC SIHll~titnes
point Iut t1wt the new prescnt ill the cineml
one forgets that between a cOllsidcrabl~ dilIcrence uf
In~lJ1 VJhu reached his maioritv The
all llew novel]
lcsclnblancc is Zl-S
At tbe vcry least nile sllUuld
narrative etc) cinema as
llovd is almust an
slllluid be lllore in Ln(icl1 certain Siln]
and the l1-W as
extent pheUOJ1lella as Too
such there exists old mlll lIJd the
and the same
THE ]IODERN CINEIA JND NAIHAl1VITY ~o
ever hroken and unfamiliar the 1ll8Y
line8r~this fact never is olle of the most proliJic of mudern remains true even when as is oftcn the scenario is horn in the midst of way only the COIlSCshy
(jUcnce or thc of the sccnario froll the modern cmelila or 10 t1wt the only scenarios me those that lrt IiC the of JUJenclH~ mlll Bust
A CINEMA OF TIlE SHOT Is the lllodem cinelli a ctlllll11
or the shot as distillgllishcd frum the old cincllw which WIS JJl(lrc cOllcerned with racing fwm shut to shot straisht to the
But jf that is the case what is (lJlC to say
the expressionist tendcllC~ CCrlllJll eXI )ressi)Jl iSIll the LIst Jilms or is 111 (lId OJH
that cOllnotations at
cinellla ~md not
ilctcristics of the Ilew cincma Is not the
of ~I kind of Vlst Cistclltiai failure
ohserves Cll]111IlIl11icJtcd
J1]Olltage) Is not Sa1alore GiuliallO a mOlltage lilill
lIiusie cinlma --and tllM was grounded to a hirgc extcnt OIl the
of inducing a IJorizolltal leading of tbe lihn that Iould COllSidcf cadi illla~c at length JlJd Wllltll on tIw olber Iwnd is OJlC to sal ~lj(lut the
grcllt f1llaisSIlII(( of wOllla) whicll after a period dominated hI the
from encl (0 end As for the yuuthflll dynamisllI (If Claude lcl()uchs [lUI Fillc des fusils is it not derived as lI1uch fWIll the of
the 111m as from the wonderful exuberance of its lllOlltlge nd Whll
of the imDortmc( (If SIOJlS
in the nd r
thought Tire fact j huwever vh~n SOlllC(le says H$ one hears that thc cincma is far of htcratllll one must C(lll shy
elude he nust never have read anvthiwgt at all
204 THE jVl(JDEI1N CINEMA S01JE THEORETICAL PROllLEMS
rative flow also confessions of 2 to 7 mel 111
Vivre sa vie And the and Ncver~ in
Hiroshima 11011 omour a counterpoint lhat despite its modern ac~
cent seems to emerge straight from the editing table of a Balilzs an
Arnheilll a Pudovlin or1 Tilllocilcnko And all the JIm
one sees
J CINEMA 01 POETPY remllIlO lmall y the lotiOIl IT
by Pier Paolo of a dislinction between
the cincma 01 and the cinema of poctry As attract inc as il
illay se(IIl the idea i~ nevertheless basicll1) fragile For llle
of prose and poclry arc too linked to lhe use of the verbal
to he cClsilv carricd over to the cinel1w Or elsc if ()Ill~ poetry
in
sense (gt1
whether llnessful or nOI
sidcrs poetl ill its tcdmical SC]lSC Ihe lise of Icrbal idiom
restrictions
a sC(JlHI code cappillg Ihl iirsl--()IlC
idi()m 1lsolini is
with
its I)f()adest SCI1Sl--as the illlllledill( Ilrcsenn of the world the
cncounshy
seems SIUll101ll1l1hlc The dlSlIHT or code ill (he cincma thll is the absCllce of
aware o[ Ihis ]lruh~
precisionl gut Ill believes
111 things c()nsidercd it can he circ1ilIlyltnted I helieve UIl tbe (()n~ md bter I will show wIn Furthershy
more t() these obstacles one must add still 1lOtlwr The
prose in Whl(c(r S(llSC it is gin)] has 11(1
the cincma and iF I pros( docs exist in the lexical
in distinction to poetrv and because a long rhetorical tradilioll has
divided into two a domain that is initially litemry (for prose prop~ that of a Chateaubriand or of a Stenshyspca
is aJshyand nol fromready the artistic use of language anu
IItiliti1rian language it creates ohjecls that have their own and
ilwt leads trulll Ihe
llTIlin av frolH
THE 1IODEnN CINEIA iTD NAm~TIVJrY US
at which lhrut or tor the it IS
lie Icr thCe CUllllllllnicHiul1 it lTCiltCS work The
poetr and prnsc J1JS IfIc1l1ing lt1nly within
(111( that 1cparatcs literallIre fmlll thl Ic
of idiom IS a to()1 nd it is this Lllimlrv distinfiOll (licit is ill
cinema S(I Ihat no 11111] Gill sIT iel sellse ll( Ir
Su oj Pas(lini- II
least for rdurn 10 tilC111 111lt1 let us lXl11J
ine Ilis Ihesis i(o]v ur til( lillllll If tJlcrc is sil]oc trelld
h IJ or Ihi histo it is indeed II1l Ule
eillCll]1 tu Jill J]((Ii1111I1ilmiddottl1al i II) Sci
the C11111111 f jllllr til till inlma o[
l)fose and 111 (he othn Va around Pasolini Itlllis
IhCIIIII-which arc nol rart in die modern CinellI]
struclllrts I1l lcnds also (0 CI)]ll~lrc tll( must hCllltifu
fillllS 10 (be dullest liddilil)])tl movies ltllId he tI( Iwl Lol)sidlT lhl
poeln il) 1 J)ollhle 0111
PUllr Iii Suile ill 111001ilc
or Dewier aloul
of
fillllS Olwj()lIsh lhere is more till iallo
Preside III ill( Cmu plirulI
C1l) onc
uf wh ich fur Olle l(l scc
fnr tl1C
Ill SLlhstII1CC lud Corm of cadI nnc
mel less ladie I h lIl~m (he older Ii djllers gtIll
be suilieiclltiv CCltlln tlla( IhL
Pasolin 1 sJl( ( b rClfCSCll ts ltl
in it il]( bCltillll
CillCIll12lti nd is it
Jillal 1ll]lys]s ((Infused with il111 inevilable slIbjedive lOIUmlioll oj
the filmie objccth its llming plrcCptjoll~whidl is ) ChllUCillilje
of aJI tillCmil-SO that the olliv real dilfercnce uuJcl Jillalv he tlw mel prose perceptions whith can only he dnrilicd hy d1C
ul eaeh film and docs no(
with Ihe existCJlcc of general restrictions
from
____ _
206 THE MODEHN ClNEIIj SOIE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS
further is it not alllong the liIllls that scem the must outmoded
todi1middotmiddotmiddotmiddotbut not always righth-middotthat one encounters the most cohercnt
and systcmatic attempts to COllstmct a hIm as one slrtletllr~s 1 poem
ilhat ahout Pudovlltins lvrical which Jean iVIitly has so well analyzed~7 iVlw ahollt the corOlWlion scene in [van lilC Terri shy
or th proccssion hefore Vakulintchllk amI the scelles of mist in
Poclllbll( What Iil()Ut Abel Ganee in Nupocoll and La Roue AmI ttlt attCII1Dts of the pllre cinema to substitute a einlll1ltl or tlzellles
And Jean Lpsteins enthusiastic analyses of the value of the c1ose-ujl shot And the lise of slow motion in the
seen(~ in Zero for Conduct And 111 the systems of montage
mentioned earlier vvhose aim vas to forlllalize the various ilmic 10 solidify the thematic depth in the normative pre
a formal svstcm Im] the accelerated
ing in the scene with the hlack coach ill N ()SfefUflI jnd the ineredmiddot
iblc Icrial traveling hot in
me ali indeed in$t1I1CeS of those gramlllatical elewellts IS
flillCtiom2B that PIsolini tellds to idclIt ifv wi th the new
cinema III trulh though tmlays cimmltl is at times rich in
resonances tl()[gh the had films of every I)criod hy definit elude the s(jclilcd puetry of thillgs llld the or their
zaliull the fact remain that the only attempt that havc been lInder
taken toward Ilut only a poetic eincnla bUlals() a cinema as organized
idiulII-sinec this is what Pasolini is talking about-were preshy
ill tllC old cinemamiddot Iml the fact is that since its hirth the
cinema has prltlctically ntVlr ceased to evolve ill the direction of an
ideal (technicallr prosaic) lIexihility and a freedOil I that arc
T mv mind these atlempts have culminated in a failure which 01 the level uf general CltlllllOt be overcome hy the few ll1uglliliccnt but isolated suceesses A Iilm may a poetic novel it C8l111ot be a (except in the case uf purely thematic nUJ1middotstory-telling short lilms like Berlill ur SucksdoriFs Rllyt111H of a Git) In a poem there is no fable amI nothing illmiddot trudes between the )uthO alld the reader The novelist draws up a world the Ioet of tIle work The fiction film still seems to me to be closer to the novel tu the poe111 And finally the period in which one believed that a film cuuld be a pOlm is that of the old cinema rather than that of the lIew cinC111a
_ ____ _bullbull__~ bullbullbull __ __bull_____bull____ ______________________~~_ __~
THE f-l0DERN CINEMA AND NARllATIVITY 207
WltlmiddotS tlH~ anIlvsc~ of Frallshy(tbe cinema s a modern suciological
novel) ndrc llazin lnd the
to the novcl rather than
or i
iou peCl lia r to mUll y
lISC or the powers of (he flbliIOlI~ within the framework of til( rclatiVllv
realistic lilms verisimilitude) middotMore gcnerally one will obcrvc
tIle sCHalied fantastic cinema whieh ill certain carlv periods
emile vcry close to merging with one of the ILIainstreams of the
cinema as a whole (Gcrmm-Swcdish expressioll ism hOlll 19 1 t()
1lt)3 0 the fantIstic lilms of the period 19jo5 sllch IS FraJlkeN
stein TlC J1HisilJlc 111(111 and Kill J(OIJ) eventually became I
Cllfe and a ralher special genre It that which even ill part over
vhat the French call the eil(11111-is horror films gmdcgtBltalian
sadistic Japanese lilms Soviet fantasy
etc As a tllC so called realistic film which has long
been contrasted to Ihe fantatie film or to the film or the marvclous
as ir were the two poles or the cinema laquomel this is
the famolls theme I ull1icre lS AJcIiJs) blS taken uver limosl the whole or modern film
Ihe new cinellIa lS the JIOiccaJic jJlCSltllcl
in traditional lill11s Oil the contrary the camcra tried to JIlake its prcsence unfelt to ll1llzc itselF invisible hcmiddot
rore tbe spectacle it was presenting But whilmiddotc it is true that this
may apl)l) to certain filllls or the 11(1I-s(Hlistant
classical Americall comedy for example and in III e films related to what called editing ciamiddot
was made to appear invisible-it cannot describe tllC
various tenclencies or the very cinema whose on the
were based on the presence of the call1era mOll
or Abel camera movcmcnts in
films the optical clistorriom and
L
TIlE IO[IEHJlt CINE[I St)H TJllUCETlC1 1 TIlE ]IODIlRN CINEiTi AND NAHnATIVITY
ii the lIS ()f dlc Trellch s cIoc-uplt in TI Pussioll of re ill (sthet ics
[kit th IITt i(ims Iike ] icllstcill
in lIiml whcll thel imisled
[illl1ed deri ItS hi the rilmimf Ild ((In )
verselv ilhill Ill( 111ltldcrn cinlma tiICIC is 1 lcndclHv Dill
ivis-JtdlJllCr SOIlIC I illj()l)iol1i F Dc StII
mel Ill the cil(lI(f ele Ilel thilt cardulh crilSCS lI1 CIIlICr
cI Fccs tilliS (Ill thiS 110im [ am ill ailccnwlll with l~lic nuillllcr
III
dUII1lIllali(HI
Ihcilll lIld I
11111
llld
Ihe invisihlc
f()r Ihe
the
dllSl Ulllllpluti pC found ill till lilills f
Licit
)[sul 11111
Ik rell
CIs (111(1111
t Illlml
hese
or I hc
[allln
lllti
ISll lel LIIJltr[Vancc [ihn makers
shut cillCllIltI ililel sequence (ilWllld prusc Cill(lllil
lhc Cillll(fl-inlICSllllt alld
tillcliOlls s(cms to me to ICCOUill
lIludern eillCJll~L
cLlililcd I Illodcm i too ollell
to 11(1i is bcLillg ill
l~l Wls PI(lps(d with (1(J](l II nr] IIiIlI 01 tll( 111
10 ClTlclill llIodClil lill]IS11ll1 hal
ruc-hut wilh lll drOll 1I111iCI1I
Ill)ssihk I1l1111IK1 01
l n d llempl is
lt( few pgcs III follow
t1VllIcC lhe inevitable
lui h Sill is iI til In (Ill( IC~
n()le lirsl tlwt il all lllll[llld 11)(
rC1S(lIJ Tllev 11( Sil
the cinCllW was IS S( l
is s( ltIt lc~lst 10 a much kSSCI extent I hdievl 11 til( the modern film is IllOle lllIIltitin ltInd IlWIT silli1
the main contribulion of the new cinema is lu have
flhllic narrative
cunlllry t1Jlt1t
so md thll
enriched the
lVlore or less lssociaLecl with this idcl of a presumed
ur wea kcu ing or 1I11TMi viI y is ltllllOJ] g lllmy critics Ihe 11 ()tion oJ a
hrcahlow11 or Ihe gramlllar ()r sVlltax uF the cineilla I wuuld s)
on the contrary that the cimlll) hilS lIe( hld cit her 1 gr~l1lJJl1U r or t
in tile prccise linguistic sense or thest tenliS (S()l1le Iheortli
that it did hut [I)M is allot her Illatter 1lt111(1 il
toela still a certaill IlllllllCI of rUllciulllLll
that pcrilin 10 the mosl profolilld necessities or ransmissiu11 of ~ll1V informI l11inl1 IIVS dl11 arc ex
arc to he sough in
and no ill tile glltll1llllill or 1a1lgUltlgls TIll wjl()1c Illutldll or til(
the fact tIl( Olle looks for ltl1l1()I1U the aud spcciJic V(TV rClllovcd rom rla Ii t ) i] iOIlI1 ti (
without laws all lliost prohahly bCOl1d the expects to lind thllll~th)1 is 10 sal Ull
a IIlllch ill some WllyS prior to lhe dilfciClllilti()1l or lcrbnl all il e idiOilis ) Frolll othcr lllllllan semiotic wstems
Vc ~Irc told was suited lltJ
sv 11 Lu llO [xists Iklt
the livilllt rJ11il s t() do with sllch iI hurden Bul
Ihml beiliU acllwIlv syntltlclir
articubliolls ralher
de SllISshy
CIIlCI1lH elll be VOlin )
excesses of raquosyllt~)( Ihat during the period of dill lInglleJ1 amI Cl1l
IaLer was considered to be as strict a the grammar of a verbal
gUJgc But the new more Hexiblc forms or the cinellld arc govshy
erned just as mllch the fundamental f~L1rls without wllich 110 information would be possible a discourse of SOIllC is alshy
wavs in olle way or another divisible The
-
these rule have llothilll to do (rab1lt little cleviees
(~octeau was on tile lm York 101 To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE IODETIN C1NEIIIA SOiIE THECmrrnCAL lHOBLEMS
it tried to he nOII11lt1shy
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwuwe the
ollr lilLlguages And we know the CXtlllt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative gtallllllariall hiel was illustratld ill
j()6 by the lXrlWllgC puhlished ill Arts hct(ll1 Elill1lhll llld Mn
tind Evcn the l1)ost allvltlnccd filllls still pertain to J
ltq11)]OdCh tlwugll ill order to apprclllI1l1 new ()Jjecb the 1lttlT llla
have () bccomc mure Hexiblc ns I will show ill s(veral
her (lll
hI hmt tW() crv llilTcfCI11 rules or the
cincma On derivcd irolll
a 1ullal irc hc considered outdated
or tbellSsl restrictivec 011 till other 11all1 there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of stJllctllralcol1liguratiulls thlt are ill illllll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving When OIlC SIV th~lt tbc Illlls (IF the
lllW wnc for cxmllplc have ullnplctclv dismantled the Ilarra
livc or thlt tbey hlC( Clltirel displaced Wlltlx OllC is fCIII takshy
illu 1 ven limited vicw of the
llalTlt ive lllt
vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11llOlogICl1 (lr COlllIlll Ud cudishy
to the
llimic vehick as I wh(1lc It is prlcisdv t() the extellt thlt tlll rllltl
Of the two the linguit Wlb Andre 11ntincl ltC jnother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing The ne cinema has
very rightly so-a lumber of mIlS sueh (lS the prohibition the 180shydegree angle shot (I the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a closeshyup with no change of axis or nltrainst the actor lo()kill~ at the camra etc
THE lIODEHN CfNEiIA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1oltuiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexistshy
(lJeC o[ lIlev Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc arc intelligihle IS is the
case tlmost tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse llllJiwlillc nnd Last Year at j1jorilllZ)(ld arc
still from one lnd to the other iIIllS and
lt1ny
lludes the (Icsniptivl SYlltagllla
til inl1mlltlW lid llld ill Paris rlt
least ill the present slatc or CillllllJt(lgraphic thniqucs) a 11(1I](lishy
cgltic illlltlgC must ill (lIlC way (If m()ther he linked t() a diqctic ill
n(l ()J it will not Ippear to he lllllldil(ctic etcY But sllcll
hml llcvcr l)(cil seri()tlsly triLd hy Ii I1ll-11mlcrs ulliess ]lcrllltljls--aml
CVCIl itlll OJll would han to (-ltImine the lIlatkr 1ll()lC
sUllie (SlrelllC aVlilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll understood Ci1](11IltItOmiddot
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln nd lilllllllakcrs IllYlI ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstlll(t stich
0 iJlJa~ill( thaI thc l1li~ht lxist is precisely
hCllllSC the llIain Ilglllls or cillclliatogrlphic illtclligihilitC illlllhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater lkllt than the arc nvarl oF Silllimiddot
Imh (he lIlost (lrigil1d critcr d()ls ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll 111 tllt
Ilew Llilguagc
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical an d from this
return to the d the Pa~oliniall tbcories which
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral imshy
pressions
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
188 THE MODEHN CINEMA SOIF TllEOnETICAL PROBLEMS
purpose is not to fi Il11s but also to he to this extent one eaJl say that cinshy
ema is
Nevertheless one will indeed one lmc to unuertl ke the theoshy
rctical it is on thlt1t level
if not 1]) the
at least 10 tlla
which too oFten lInderlies thelll
II
First remark agrees ill the new cinCIlll no- dc
lined bv the hlct tlla t it has beyond or rejecteu or hrukcll
hut the of thM slllllclhing---whcthcr spccshy
inflexihle significatioll devices of the script writer etc --varies considerahly frOill critic tt) critic as I
Iried to -ohmv in tbe hrieF summary or their ideas It dl( heginning or tllis text
VEATII of 1111 SPCTACU2 The c()ncept of the Slxcllcle has a
certain Ippcal) hut it is not tbe expression or In rigoruus though
Olle l11a tah il in its sociological scnse spectacle clJllltlls sociul
rill cllllsisling ill ~I Inllnan gathcring olielll(d townd a predominantly
vislId evellt In this (lSt 1 do not sec huw thc mudern 111m is ill any
way less of a specllteic than the tmtiitiolld lilm unci so the implied
rlvulutioll remains confined to the V()Cnblllan of the criliealmetahmshy
guagc 1m] doc 1101 affect the film ohjects for which it is supposeci to
aC((JUllt Did not the mrc as they were who were 1hlc to
sec -loris IOUS rtPlmflic1li at m lppnintcd hour It an insti shy
tutional place did they not pay for their scats J1ll1 tip the ushcr In
these crms ill tIuth it is not very dillicult to rCLnind the reader
the face of variolls cnthllsiaslic excesscs that the cinema will remain
a spectacle until olle forms of 111m distribution commershy
cialization and viewing that arc so ullusual that the method of imshy
leaps too asinvoked
THn IOIlEnN CINEM AND NAlmATIVITY
d Ihe variutioJ1S of the hearl) reminds us will
lip a valid llotion of them from what we IJrtsshy
To Sd that the modern CillCllW is I1U longeI a specLwk
in the luxury uf d chltll1ge that is in hct not a ckll1Yc
One may also take the conC(pl or spcc[lClc in a mUll pSlchologiC11
spectack is 111 essentinll vislId CTllt that PilSlllts
ilself to us in lllode (l excflwlity lntl In which VC IIT cllsli shy
tilted itn(ss( nut il tllis is so) wlwl pmlr spclllllc is thnc than i
IFolIl(1I is 17 H7oIl1l11l-1 III LIS iCClI (Ullllck SilllltitlJlCOllSJy undermincd
~IJld nourished b Ihe inlinilciv vlricd clrcets of sCIl-llrodv ami sl 1 IlIIlSicd cOlllldy
Th(ll is 11 dllllhl 11111 nOlwislial (ami vcrhal- 1shy
liers He 111U1l imp(lrtanl than cn ill the lllodern CilHllll that- -ahov(
lllthev 11]c ceased to he Ishalllcd or tiHJllsclns (le ill the
wllell iJlllt 1Ililvils were 10 all (lld neilL Clairs SUII luils Ie ins Horlcrn TilllcL or on
111
tnll hetter thm
he COIlClpt or clt Illlrihut il I
he In spcc1l-
1llfC spcdClclls
to deflnc Whlt the
nature thcrc[orl the CIlllccpl
ill the (IUlstion thaI COnCe111S us
DEATH 01 TlIl TlJEATEll Is it therefore the tllGllf er from which
the young cinema has heen FrectI That iSllt the case eirherFof beshy
fore cmtinuillg olle would to llsk Vhilt theater Jnd what cinshy
ema There hilS always been rI b8c1 cinema copied Fwm a had thelter
It alrerldy existed i 11 dlC age of the silent films mel despite Ihe silence
T I
190 THE 110DElN CINEllA SOME TllEOHETICAL rTIOBLEMS
since the advent or thc talking fillll we have bad the psychological comcdy and the dralllatic l(ll1lcdy--not tu be confused with the nllrican comedy-and they me still with llS To
mention unly the rrench cinema-which is admittedly particularly
favored ill r(sneet many hundreds of ] Illls have we not
to the genres rcci pe thc cake mix
or entertainmen tl Imiddot
II thc llludem cinema has tu a exten t freed itseH
from 111 while doing so avoid IJolllclanl I- (11shy
rather than tbe theatef and the grclt Ii Ims of the past
were ahle t() avuid it just as well a tiel Flaherty tl
be sure bUI also in a Hfy difrerent wav Eisenstein
t on the cOJllrary the good thcatcr and the IS
IlI111hing of nut how CJ11 one forget thal
) lJ1d
man VI$COJIll) vne mell til the theater in the full SlI1~C of the terlJJ
How can one forget all t1ut 1I iaill Hcsnais or ltIll
(0 the so called dWaler of distallce (thecire de la IiS((ICUltlOl) as
-em Carta has 511 revealedO Hovv can onc that evcryshy
of illlportance ill the thcater of is as far rClIJOcd froll1 the
practicc~ or clabowc intriglle as arc the film of Milos hlflllan
Bozier or Jcall Bouch And iF olle loob at the
Here j the fur the psychological (ur dWJIlalie
d )ciell)
etc 2 Olle PIrt
invents hut lim out to han
3 A dash or lrilliant 4 A few mmbers presence of
Mrs E F dnd Mr 1) 5 A touch of the nude vulgarity
melodrama and marital)
THE ]()DEI1N CINEMA INU NAHIIATIVITY 19 1
from a wider perspective if following the of certaill theoreti
dans of tile cinema 11 or of the theater - one
takes the position that the theater is oPI)osed to the epic to the
nove] tlHlt scculiir epic) a~ a Ilction caught in and in its cirshy
cllmstantial thrust is in contrast to that same fiction relHed in words
are not those of the proLIgonists one vill indeed have to conshy
clude that the CillCllW altllOugh an art very difFercllt From the theashy
ter is nevertheless not on the pojLlt-~ulllcss its nlture changes radishy
brcahng till very app~lrent ami basic hond that links it to
theater No lIlore than tile distinction between the spectacle
alld the nonspce[lcle willthc distinctioll hetween the thClll] and
the llolltlteater allow us to establish uur preferellces ill theon so
that we can uncerstallll Illore deadv middotwhv we like what we like or
wlwt is new about the Ilew (il1el11a
THE CINEMA OF IMPTIOVlSATION Is the answCJ I that the new cinema is a cincma of improvisation BUI there arc n Lll11efOllS
modern films that fall outside of this definitioll from Knife in 1111
lVaer to JlIles ll1ul Jilll passing through the works of Orson Dcwy llain Resl1ais etc It is true that whell he proposed
i1iehd Mardorc was cnrcful to 1]1ply it ollly to one
of the modem cinema hilt the idea is Clluel1l ltlnd one often
hears it expressed 1 IIllich more vanue and uCllcral way itb b
devoteltl to escribc
life under
OIle
cannot agree wil h twu forms among other 1dlnUI1S de Provence [(jG6 a book cler the title Cincmuturgic de Paris in 19(5 issue 011 Pmmol and Sacha to PI 43~44middot
P 111pound J[Ol1En C1NBMA SOjlE THEOHET1CJL lnODLEIS
only-alld cyell t11ell with some reservations-on the 01lC
Iwud til Jean-tnc Cudmd (bUl the man we know has a touch of enius mel ltcniLls is 1110rCUer it illljJlltJvilS Iiib gredl -1
CillClll1-ci 11( ui 711
is 1 dcnlllldil1(~ 115k 11lIS[Cr) 1lld (Ill the uther hlIld II) a 11ltll1lwr ()I
tCIlccIllics rchled to the dllellill direct its hroldest scnse tend-
C]1l]( for a
stlges oj 1
Claude Livi-Straus (lllt t rtllllrhdY The illshy
cinello ilired i too often the by-procilil or lazi
Ilotes lUI) oFtell it 1C11UUllCCS
(IF Ilw linishcd work witi1mlt
(11 Illsl IIlV 11101( t [lith [hlll 1 gJ()d d()CllIlllllLlf P)SshySlSSlS II is 11 ellough 101 IV Ih11 Illc orciillltlrv dirltTl fillll is 11111 pcrshy
fect ]1 il h1 -cal ii 11t1 evell htcil linisllld JIH] il is ll()1 jUl the histot) I 11]( lilllllll hUI till 11Iut hl~il Illtur (II till aesthelic h jccL ihllr lhlt will h1VL 10 Chlllgl 1)J()jflulldk hdulc l vvorl or afl is
ahll to ahsorb Ingc s(ltliolls oj Illtllll1S[orlllltl rcalilyilll() its own purshy
IlI)Slt l1d hcirc il (11 Iruths Iiln thall [he ()Ilt lrlIlspI-d 1lId rlrUrJllll lhM its illil PI l(cdlrcs hllc Jlut
lIl (II rlWh I he go)d hll
ill pillt it lctt ilqlJUyjsCls H is thl I()(w wher laziness ll1d till de
0 (iIeli direct itscll CltusI) m1 111(111lt1 tCIile (CIIJlli1111 1111 (k 1y lean lillIcl) hut ltIh the camlie[ Ill1Hl EIlII the Nlli)]))I [jIm lllrtl ltj
Calllllh ItlldcflCY speets 1 the sucliled f( Yor] d] or or Ih IiriliiJ free CillCllIil the lmcricCin icltllllclucuJI1Clltnies (LCleoC illlt JJilYslcs brthlrs tcmknLlcs u[ the televisiun (klein
All hvugll be spoke uf a Lll1Cll1(l ur middotJjlllnlfl(i )t inn lift in rull agreeIllent with the eilelfII direct much liLc H~) OWll But it is tbe COlllcpt 1[ thl cinema that seelllS ullclear to me
THE lIUnEHN CINElIA AND NilnnATlY1TY 93
each other
the
cil1(lI1a
TilE CINEilA 011 Is lhe allswer Bllt tllCTl arc no I(al dCld
~il1Cl a lilm is 1ll~1l1Ilraclllrll1Ilhi(lt on]v ill ]ik IIT
spaces 1l1011ICnl (Ill be dllll (llltld only ill JCLllioll
to Ill inter(~t The lifteellminute IvaiL hdnrc 1 decisive j IllCIIillV
hCCIUSI the pcrsoll J alll 10 s(c is Ill( is indccd a tind of dcad SplCl sincc it is 1](01 whetl I am ltlClltlillc III at the time But such
moments misc on]v hlClt1l1Slgt the OllUlTClllTS of life an nol
()llC ()I11 wi 11 tliey do nut ubey I he urge l() till akel ivc lrashyJ)(sI lIl which cOllsidercd most Jullillilw ( to flj)(at olle oi friclIlHgt
SOl ria lIS by an
as dead
of the iell al Wl S constructcd JIIinutes Ihe whole liFe ur till lilm Oldd he clJlltaincd ill dead spacc Th( (lilly Ical dCld spaces ill the cinclIlI arc the III dull 11111
whilc exlemal]v vicwer attcntioll whieh bccolllcs don Hmt it inllTllltdh the IlV condiliolls
fIJI Illlt tlcnd ~PCl- in life It is 011 the 1(ld oj culti)] 11lt is before the lilm lxishthal tile lkstill or till
dcad Sp~IlCS is dCtLrlllilllll Those Ihe lillll-lllakll lxplIicllCCS as
SIlCI arc hallisllld frolll the lilll1 and Ill willllc cr sec thcmmiddot-lor till likclill ill tbis respccl lilll IllIgt1 makc its choices or C()SC to cxist al
all Thw dl the lllonlellls th11 the Jilm-lllakcr has included in
I 1m wcre alivc cinema is a nCIV-and a prnfullllllll is lS lotwhat or a mcnt ill and it is J()t hased 011
dead innovation is 1l1
matter and Antonion] is far more
194 THE i
MODUHNH
CINE]IA ~OME TlIEOHETICAL PROBLEMS
hmmm substance of his films than became
excels in showing us the diffuse
I ife that Ire considered
most IlnpOrlltlllt U1mg about
the Cinel1111 (Nrect-is [hlt he was
skein of ltl mOle subtle Evell llIure
diem fro III that
S](ln
form of
fmc IlO Ijlll1 Or
very
llucve r
iricalcs of that shimlllering
he lost
He
ur
I iema I
itself 11 (srecls prullloshy
in the
widest scnse
cIlls 11 J(1Il Y
of the alTragc
dCCCll t dOllllllen taries
A FIlNDAIENTAL
TIlE ]IODERN CINEMA AND NARRATIVITY 95
contained a to
revert to a mythology that Jean NIitry hm rightly crHlClZCtl a my that conceals hehilld phenoIllenologica I
tial reidislll whose consequellce is the revival OJ] the level of the
of tl1il195 of the terroristic
noegt
in the name of am-aspects or Ildrc Bazins alld
Muniers theories It shuuld be noted illcidentally dwt ilichcl
11lt1rdorc Illd Pierre Bilhrd do llut conceive of he notion or realism in tlltH SCJlS( nor docs Mmccl some of It is (spresshyslOns
that 1 rc aJld tilL person
lor whUlll tlley me ill thl inelllctable adverse
I hell is
lcHlng cinema as 1 whole but rathcr 1 (erwin crazv
has sprung lip around the cilcllla verite the belief
(cnce or the illlge which is SOIl1e1lOw
as wclJ as-eVCIl as it lends
terns that the slightest dislocation
and
lei llalizcs
nol the
tll1t
Lind of in110shy
exempt from
discursive
introduces- shy
(oilled word derived from the Greek (01-lt0 Ccosmos) Hlllt] allELl ( to Thus it indicates the faculty to preshysen t the world in its entirety to show --TnANsLATOll
THE MODEHN CINE~I SOIE TllliORETlCAL PHOIlLEllS
from tbe enormous
of some
thcsinn terms 111 tile ell()rmou~
the few hcautiful alld the lllany botched works of the CilllIlW v()rile
one might recugnize I wayward slll and obstinale sister of the sel1lioshy
logicid appnKlch-at Icast iF the hitter is cOl1sidered in ils kilSl teclllli
cal aspccls and in its deepest ]tfecl in fOUlIlhlioll The is (me of distrust for bnglwge anJ Yunls i]Jeileillg C[llCSshy
Crcltcri in order t(J question the world spele11 it
[he ubicct ()l (jLlCSliolh fashiolled IS a lonl Im
it is heing asked 1l0VV to aCColillt for
of slispicioll mel l10hlc neurosis the
Incxshy
tnll discollrse is onh I true disc(lllISC the word COl1llt1iIlS I
than that which is conLlillcd ill ils cmJcc( ic usage
The cincllw 1eril( Ull the lolllr~lfy lltcllllts (0 Ioid (ilcoc diflicu (ies hy supp()sedly rejecting coherent di~colllSC mel the lise of iconic
atlls(ation (VCIl the spccch of the (flllll) llCHlCS is slljlPllSllIIU he 1I1lshy
IlltlSCCTlt--il is pint or the illllgc as iF it WlJl l)cing swept
vlsl circuit of villdl illJl()n~IHL Uhc prolifcra(i)ll 01 III
tcrvicws in tile cinclJliI-rcri( lillllS he1s no othcl SUllfcC It is a P]
thetic
InCOllllll- de Iii Ipoundrre
th11 havlt hel) 0111shy
~hltJll]d
whu lws problellls Iwo Iypes of ie1coiogy that of im1ge and wbich is a sort of curious behaviorism
THE jlODEllN C1NEimiddotlA AND NAnnATlV1TY H)
Jlccrthekss-ilild IS a1111 ell t at
the best works of Ibe llew cincllu
viewer with
in the
trcmciv dillicilit to ddinc
1tis the lXDctncss of an
llslincshy
vOice
oj I gestnre of I lulle Jt for example till marvelllls ltIbn)st
dal1ced scellt ill Pierrul Ie fult lIlllIllg the
ClII Iif II I Ie c1iIJ1CC bull Ia lifilIc de IlilIeles IVfy life line
Your llip Jint 1 highlv lilH(lIi~tic (Till Ilevcrtheicss
since it is I piece uf ch()nogcqlliy 1 rclcrcl1cc to lllcri(JIl Illllsical
-we IIC 1 1) F(JllI lhl simple-minded rcdi~lll ollhc
phil cuIlLlrist traditioll realism for libl socillics No
other film PISSlgC JHlweY(r--lll1icss (OI sset (el1t the sishy
lcn( SCdUcli()1l ccm durin the pamcc Struilcim Pcddillf
crltiltgtll IlJIL imiddot all t]wt emlin I tJLl llIClhd hC1l tlmiddot the hands I the l(lialisl mel nc tLlll witllltS pi ti icJlenl ((t(llt hUI 1 of g[Iled )ll(Hlcllcd jng al thltlll~ll(s ur ltIt ltlch ll1ller crjng chlttcring etc nIll Jl()talgi for the olLlllltJl()l11 Id (c111catl(lll hlld Oil HlnallIHlJ It 1 tnLi~ JeHU]]) siglliliclIt that d all thl Illkrn lllethod the Illy )lI Ihilt is reL tively )(glcctcd hy the ciJlJJI(( [crie i prccisdy the Ill that i lll like t
II ill ill which Ihe slcciilist ]C)rtllllllllllC be) lHccisc pc)al duts not jjlH tu cxprc- -ulnc truth (Jr illpr(s~~i()ll ~(l IliUcll ltI 1(
amI (llllrcHed rcsllit aCllwllyc]allaiysi Cl add II(llfl
con1 rihLltj()l1~ that (lP(Ille
I an urekrh- po-CrlUI the
198 THE l10DERN CTNElIA SOME THEOl1ETlCAL PHOBLElIS TIlE MODEHN CINEMA AND NAHHATlVITY 199
MorcfltL-had portrayed with an acclllacy 8S fundamentally direct
as superbly careless of the external probabilitics of timc amI place the
lllute corporeal agrecments that love produces and by which it is proshy
duced the ambiencc of gcstures and tbe thousand minor aeshy
ceplltH1ccs of a docile receptiveness that is no mere obcclicnce and that
mold the vvomans sunlly face in the ~uccccding directions her lovers
hallct of active amused and tendcrtlcss
I somc or the nshy
tonioni
variolls films hy cvcn say that
rllllains to he dcfinedli---arc for all their
till most precious comFlcsts or the CiJlCllll tlllt since 1966
we hlVC (Ilcd lllodern Jt is sllrch not SOllle principle of ohjecliv
ity SOlllC faultless IGllislll that call dcJJ]le tbis modern cinellEI but
rather the liability to certain truths or to certain 1cclifacics that
make the yuung cincm[1 more Hlult and the traditionll cinema ocshy
cCisiollJlly vcry youthFul Tile fll1l1s of the past evcn the Jllost heau
JI [ne fcncrllhshy a lillIe lJOvc themselves like t1lOSC
adolesccnts
THE OHDEflED CINEMA To thaI sHeb accuracies havc be
the dir(ct()r~ or the were
or Ic~s sensitive dl[lIl those of locby
but that exph1l1[ltion is ill1(cllw1tc-is to reshy
examil1c that ncw and subtler dramaturgy lhat ldmits Ilion ohjectivc
details details of the kind tblt the Iraditional plot film ~lcrificecl or
ovcrwhelmed Exactness of tunc I priccless COlHjUcst that renders a
whole arCl of the cinCllla obsolctemight well be in turn only a
consecjl1e)lcc
Sec passngcs of Jlurnaus DalllI Sjlistroms Willd (certain of Lilliall (the character o[ Marcus) etc And (except in Potemkill) and oj Pudovkill
Furthermore olle must not
wtlmiddotr70 all of the modern
with which one
of the films of
pIlt j and text is I grc[lt deal more it is 15 if the il1shy
realistic potcn tiD I or the [ilill ic veil ick formcrly the proper Y
of the (o11ention ur a Illoderate degree or discretcl thcltrical ITllislll
the CUlle-Preyert films) had no divided itclf Iw
twelll a cincllla of passion (in the scnse that Ollt spel](S of passhy
sionate l()( IS Hen6 Gilson correct) Jlo[CS)21 a cincllI or (xlIlxr
ltlncc and discolcry Cmcl it is this Cillllll thai is (lcc1siollalh able to
C[lpturc those so direct truths I hme iust s]loken ur Wl kilO tIll ill
terest Godard h1S sbown for
other ham a cinema or ALlin nesnai~ and his SllClCSsiyc
that beliCHS onl in rccollstrtlcled [fllths~- a
JJost critic ]lasled ioHlS Vardas 111m Lc HOllIeUr Thm was result dUe f kind llIisllnderstanlIing I did not like the Ellll (itllc1 bllt to attack it for it lack of realisll1 is to Illy mimI a serious miscollslruction Certainly thmiddot worlcrs of life as the Jil)ll presents it is lJuite falltalic Uut it had til be so For the is a philosophical talc such as the eighteenth ccnlm enjoyed or rather a militant ulopia in the gtlylc of the ninetecnth century (hut Ull-
In a Illor( Iucill ecUlmt of the actual sucial factorsalld the class factors-that enter into Ihe problel11 c(lnsiclercd) 1t js abo
ill ouc way an act of courage For although it is lrue that a few pers(J1ls in tile social envIronlllcnt where films arc produced dream of a worll in whi] luve would be truly frce a wurld both animal and human where the hudys carclessless would also be a genewsitv a and
of women and men a world in which monster of scntiwel1tlllis)II as il has come to he since
paganism will be lU1l1ecl-altbough it is true that a futurism of l10urishes some of the cOllversatiollS ill Pariss Left Danlc the filet is that aside from Pierre Kast ill La Morle-saisoJl Le Bel and La Bnllure des mille soleils no (lne besides Varda had gathered these scattered snch a holdlv l1IOVOCalie These human
conducted away from such futile sufferinQs of jealous exclusive emotiol1S are
existed as if the V were
TITE IODE) CIiEMA SO~IE H1EOJ(PIlCAL PHOULlJJ
Dr(cllli~l11 than i1 is awarc thill orders with meticulous patience I
cd ltllltl I (111shy
Clllltl 1shy
cariier at the limc (t the missed
vcar at Maricllhad Was the mnl1(siac OISCI1CC
tile llllshrrild or not) (Ic1 a cillema of tellSe 1Il1cltrtrllnlv tlwt ratllci
lhtm plescnting t1w Ipollas uF Illcllling ill 1 frl1l intended [) il1lutt
their Ippearann in daill experiellcc dclihcratcly ltltltlstructs 1
rinthint Il1(Jdel SOIll( hiztllTe Illodernistic ritual ithin
which th( pIdatllj will I()se hiLllselr bnt
ill ldvlLHT OLle could sav tllal bin Fksnlls
lack I rci1islil nlll is tkll not aho tile verv definilioll 0 plativ( tflllsllle([ into the IHClllt or the imlicaiivc
Ihesc frec feiatio)bhips are nlre)dy 1lllraquoC or k cirde but it gll(S Vardi had placed the actiu]) d her Ijlm ill such
the story--which woull then be realistic rlliid hnve lost all tbe power 01 ih militant impact For what the film ]]lcans til say that workers to cuuld live like thaL In shurt the mislIJlderSIltllltling d(fivcs frulIl the Llct Ilal Ile fil)) wr viewed if nc wIgtuld sec a Glard Jilm as exalllpk ( thc ordered eiDem 1 rcpelt I did nut like tbe film Ilut at all in Lltt This was hr rc)ss [ the cnact11ll1l1 f the uto ill its details Dilt NIlo vould Inailltajn tlilt vas nut a celtllin llUollnt ot CtJurtlgc an~l ill Ill fnet that a ll1udcrn YOllJltm (all pcltlk or sud) lmusllal things rrc how Ciln ()Ill Llil to SVlllllathi7C wilh the sinccri of her
(- In nor Lll a 1 i[c
wnnt the him resentment
trll1sccndCnlal and a liollS (as at the moment of the cxccs~i( nHnantic l)S Bernard llwcerlles But he is aisu in uf tire French cinema
Goda Id represent the two film as opposed to a
as for we find it on one siele as on the
stance the triumph of mimesis and of the reconstruction
and in the second instance a
The lillll of the
til is
of
THE JIODEHN CINECgtIA AND NAHHATlVITY 201
modem Ii 1m is the cinematograph Ie one of dIOse great whose importance in ccr-
is well known
lield
A FILll-IIAKrms CINEMA Whnt 11 I1lIshyor a makers cinema as distinct from cinema Can it provide that criterion of
since n~ ils conS(jllellces hut lind il- so diflimiddot
cult lo ddillC There is doubt dial lodav cinema is very often 1
cineml while the old CiJl(~ml was so frcquently the ulterior
and secondary illustration of a worked-out Gocbrcls
the best exanm1es criticism like Michel COLlrshynots evel existence fro]]] tllis fact it vas the Ii Ims of the pasl ( and lot its prctext in thc sceLlario But all of Alain films art inshy
cript-writers lilms fhe SVSICLlltllic way ill which this di[ccshy
rdLlsing to imagine his works sccb out at the of thl
s(ell~Hio various colbhortltors of suJlicicnt weight to Iwvl their OWI1
of things leaves llS in llO dOl1bt as to his opiniolls on the
ie level that the lilm strati-ies and
Jilms derive their intcrest hOlll
lt- In lire ulel cinema there weTe of cmuse Jlonrealistic mrrvclOlb and fanshytastic films Bllt cunstitllted a marginal area at least iJ)ee the 1935- 4 0 period Hesnai is not descendant The ordered einellla is one of the two branches emerging Ollt III a snrl of common realistic trunt that bctween I940 amI 1950 approximately had become on the whole tlolllinant Irenel in relation to the various fantastic lenelcllcies
THE ~roDEnN CINEMA SOJIpound THEOnEJlCL PHUllLUIS
whole reflectioll on the of tlte ~ll1d of sol1tuclc a
dnt C11l0shy
of essell tially exlrashy
of Codnrd himself bear
witness (0 a narrltivc cl poundantlsy
docs llut automatshy
priority hut it cl[t8inly implies an eSSCllshy
(hat Cmbrd is (lllc of those mell
(Jill he ired clurillP tile lctua]
men Illli arc able to make IlIllIs throngll constant rdlecti()11 (cvell if
it is 11t ordered) ab()lIt the liIlC)llI~ lIlel who are ahle to creall
ill the hordcrLllld of 1 pocur tbat is also 111 e551 OJ] pO(trv (tile
rCHcr surly recognizes here onl of the lllost
Jll()dcrn litcratUlC) But even iF ur ~I director like Codard the cinshy
ellla IlllTI til Iv prescll t hcFore nisting becolllcs tllC nccessarv cat dyst
1m lillll creatioll- in the samc wal thM the idea or the h(lo]z is 81shy
ways in the minds uf modern even whell the hoolz
t hev lre is hardlv bCLlI1~thc Fact rellFlins that WILlt Collard
or ]the
mllmlilt of thelIarrative the
sea Pllis 1
hie with story
I do not see why the modem tban lJlvtbing else Eric
UIlC SIHll~titnes
point Iut t1wt the new prescnt ill the cineml
one forgets that between a cOllsidcrabl~ dilIcrence uf
In~lJ1 VJhu reached his maioritv The
all llew novel]
lcsclnblancc is Zl-S
At tbe vcry least nile sllUuld
narrative etc) cinema as
llovd is almust an
slllluid be lllore in Ln(icl1 certain Siln]
and the l1-W as
extent pheUOJ1lella as Too
such there exists old mlll lIJd the
and the same
THE ]IODERN CINEIA JND NAIHAl1VITY ~o
ever hroken and unfamiliar the 1ll8Y
line8r~this fact never is olle of the most proliJic of mudern remains true even when as is oftcn the scenario is horn in the midst of way only the COIlSCshy
(jUcnce or thc of the sccnario froll the modern cmelila or 10 t1wt the only scenarios me those that lrt IiC the of JUJenclH~ mlll Bust
A CINEMA OF TIlE SHOT Is the lllodem cinelli a ctlllll11
or the shot as distillgllishcd frum the old cincllw which WIS JJl(lrc cOllcerned with racing fwm shut to shot straisht to the
But jf that is the case what is (lJlC to say
the expressionist tendcllC~ CCrlllJll eXI )ressi)Jl iSIll the LIst Jilms or is 111 (lId OJH
that cOllnotations at
cinellla ~md not
ilctcristics of the Ilew cincma Is not the
of ~I kind of Vlst Cistclltiai failure
ohserves Cll]111IlIl11icJtcd
J1]Olltage) Is not Sa1alore GiuliallO a mOlltage lilill
lIiusie cinlma --and tllM was grounded to a hirgc extcnt OIl the
of inducing a IJorizolltal leading of tbe lihn that Iould COllSidcf cadi illla~c at length JlJd Wllltll on tIw olber Iwnd is OJlC to sal ~lj(lut the
grcllt f1llaisSIlII(( of wOllla) whicll after a period dominated hI the
from encl (0 end As for the yuuthflll dynamisllI (If Claude lcl()uchs [lUI Fillc des fusils is it not derived as lI1uch fWIll the of
the 111m as from the wonderful exuberance of its lllOlltlge nd Whll
of the imDortmc( (If SIOJlS
in the nd r
thought Tire fact j huwever vh~n SOlllC(le says H$ one hears that thc cincma is far of htcratllll one must C(lll shy
elude he nust never have read anvthiwgt at all
204 THE jVl(JDEI1N CINEMA S01JE THEORETICAL PROllLEMS
rative flow also confessions of 2 to 7 mel 111
Vivre sa vie And the and Ncver~ in
Hiroshima 11011 omour a counterpoint lhat despite its modern ac~
cent seems to emerge straight from the editing table of a Balilzs an
Arnheilll a Pudovlin or1 Tilllocilcnko And all the JIm
one sees
J CINEMA 01 POETPY remllIlO lmall y the lotiOIl IT
by Pier Paolo of a dislinction between
the cincma 01 and the cinema of poctry As attract inc as il
illay se(IIl the idea i~ nevertheless basicll1) fragile For llle
of prose and poclry arc too linked to lhe use of the verbal
to he cClsilv carricd over to the cinel1w Or elsc if ()Ill~ poetry
in
sense (gt1
whether llnessful or nOI
sidcrs poetl ill its tcdmical SC]lSC Ihe lise of Icrbal idiom
restrictions
a sC(JlHI code cappillg Ihl iirsl--()IlC
idi()m 1lsolini is
with
its I)f()adest SCI1Sl--as the illlllledill( Ilrcsenn of the world the
cncounshy
seems SIUll101ll1l1hlc The dlSlIHT or code ill (he cincma thll is the absCllce of
aware o[ Ihis ]lruh~
precisionl gut Ill believes
111 things c()nsidercd it can he circ1ilIlyltnted I helieve UIl tbe (()n~ md bter I will show wIn Furthershy
more t() these obstacles one must add still 1lOtlwr The
prose in Whl(c(r S(llSC it is gin)] has 11(1
the cincma and iF I pros( docs exist in the lexical
in distinction to poetrv and because a long rhetorical tradilioll has
divided into two a domain that is initially litemry (for prose prop~ that of a Chateaubriand or of a Stenshyspca
is aJshyand nol fromready the artistic use of language anu
IItiliti1rian language it creates ohjecls that have their own and
ilwt leads trulll Ihe
llTIlin av frolH
THE 1IODEnN CINEIA iTD NAm~TIVJrY US
at which lhrut or tor the it IS
lie Icr thCe CUllllllllnicHiul1 it lTCiltCS work The
poetr and prnsc J1JS IfIc1l1ing lt1nly within
(111( that 1cparatcs literallIre fmlll thl Ic
of idiom IS a to()1 nd it is this Lllimlrv distinfiOll (licit is ill
cinema S(I Ihat no 11111] Gill sIT iel sellse ll( Ir
Su oj Pas(lini- II
least for rdurn 10 tilC111 111lt1 let us lXl11J
ine Ilis Ihesis i(o]v ur til( lillllll If tJlcrc is sil]oc trelld
h IJ or Ihi histo it is indeed II1l Ule
eillCll]1 tu Jill J]((Ii1111I1ilmiddottl1al i II) Sci
the C11111111 f jllllr til till inlma o[
l)fose and 111 (he othn Va around Pasolini Itlllis
IhCIIIII-which arc nol rart in die modern CinellI]
struclllrts I1l lcnds also (0 CI)]ll~lrc tll( must hCllltifu
fillllS 10 (be dullest liddilil)])tl movies ltllId he tI( Iwl Lol)sidlT lhl
poeln il) 1 J)ollhle 0111
PUllr Iii Suile ill 111001ilc
or Dewier aloul
of
fillllS Olwj()lIsh lhere is more till iallo
Preside III ill( Cmu plirulI
C1l) onc
uf wh ich fur Olle l(l scc
fnr tl1C
Ill SLlhstII1CC lud Corm of cadI nnc
mel less ladie I h lIl~m (he older Ii djllers gtIll
be suilieiclltiv CCltlln tlla( IhL
Pasolin 1 sJl( ( b rClfCSCll ts ltl
in it il]( bCltillll
CillCIll12lti nd is it
Jillal 1ll]lys]s ((Infused with il111 inevilable slIbjedive lOIUmlioll oj
the filmie objccth its llming plrcCptjoll~whidl is ) ChllUCillilje
of aJI tillCmil-SO that the olliv real dilfercnce uuJcl Jillalv he tlw mel prose perceptions whith can only he dnrilicd hy d1C
ul eaeh film and docs no(
with Ihe existCJlcc of general restrictions
from
____ _
206 THE MODEHN ClNEIIj SOIE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS
further is it not alllong the liIllls that scem the must outmoded
todi1middotmiddotmiddotmiddotbut not always righth-middotthat one encounters the most cohercnt
and systcmatic attempts to COllstmct a hIm as one slrtletllr~s 1 poem
ilhat ahout Pudovlltins lvrical which Jean iVIitly has so well analyzed~7 iVlw ahollt the corOlWlion scene in [van lilC Terri shy
or th proccssion hefore Vakulintchllk amI the scelles of mist in
Poclllbll( What Iil()Ut Abel Ganee in Nupocoll and La Roue AmI ttlt attCII1Dts of the pllre cinema to substitute a einlll1ltl or tlzellles
And Jean Lpsteins enthusiastic analyses of the value of the c1ose-ujl shot And the lise of slow motion in the
seen(~ in Zero for Conduct And 111 the systems of montage
mentioned earlier vvhose aim vas to forlllalize the various ilmic 10 solidify the thematic depth in the normative pre
a formal svstcm Im] the accelerated
ing in the scene with the hlack coach ill N ()SfefUflI jnd the ineredmiddot
iblc Icrial traveling hot in
me ali indeed in$t1I1CeS of those gramlllatical elewellts IS
flillCtiom2B that PIsolini tellds to idclIt ifv wi th the new
cinema III trulh though tmlays cimmltl is at times rich in
resonances tl()[gh the had films of every I)criod hy definit elude the s(jclilcd puetry of thillgs llld the or their
zaliull the fact remain that the only attempt that havc been lInder
taken toward Ilut only a poetic eincnla bUlals() a cinema as organized
idiulII-sinec this is what Pasolini is talking about-were preshy
ill tllC old cinemamiddot Iml the fact is that since its hirth the
cinema has prltlctically ntVlr ceased to evolve ill the direction of an
ideal (technicallr prosaic) lIexihility and a freedOil I that arc
T mv mind these atlempts have culminated in a failure which 01 the level uf general CltlllllOt be overcome hy the few ll1uglliliccnt but isolated suceesses A Iilm may a poetic novel it C8l111ot be a (except in the case uf purely thematic nUJ1middotstory-telling short lilms like Berlill ur SucksdoriFs Rllyt111H of a Git) In a poem there is no fable amI nothing illmiddot trudes between the )uthO alld the reader The novelist draws up a world the Ioet of tIle work The fiction film still seems to me to be closer to the novel tu the poe111 And finally the period in which one believed that a film cuuld be a pOlm is that of the old cinema rather than that of the lIew cinC111a
_ ____ _bullbull__~ bullbullbull __ __bull_____bull____ ______________________~~_ __~
THE f-l0DERN CINEMA AND NARllATIVITY 207
WltlmiddotS tlH~ anIlvsc~ of Frallshy(tbe cinema s a modern suciological
novel) ndrc llazin lnd the
to the novcl rather than
or i
iou peCl lia r to mUll y
lISC or the powers of (he flbliIOlI~ within the framework of til( rclatiVllv
realistic lilms verisimilitude) middotMore gcnerally one will obcrvc
tIle sCHalied fantastic cinema whieh ill certain carlv periods
emile vcry close to merging with one of the ILIainstreams of the
cinema as a whole (Gcrmm-Swcdish expressioll ism hOlll 19 1 t()
1lt)3 0 the fantIstic lilms of the period 19jo5 sllch IS FraJlkeN
stein TlC J1HisilJlc 111(111 and Kill J(OIJ) eventually became I
Cllfe and a ralher special genre It that which even ill part over
vhat the French call the eil(11111-is horror films gmdcgtBltalian
sadistic Japanese lilms Soviet fantasy
etc As a tllC so called realistic film which has long
been contrasted to Ihe fantatie film or to the film or the marvclous
as ir were the two poles or the cinema laquomel this is
the famolls theme I ull1icre lS AJcIiJs) blS taken uver limosl the whole or modern film
Ihe new cinellIa lS the JIOiccaJic jJlCSltllcl
in traditional lill11s Oil the contrary the camcra tried to JIlake its prcsence unfelt to ll1llzc itselF invisible hcmiddot
rore tbe spectacle it was presenting But whilmiddotc it is true that this
may apl)l) to certain filllls or the 11(1I-s(Hlistant
classical Americall comedy for example and in III e films related to what called editing ciamiddot
was made to appear invisible-it cannot describe tllC
various tenclencies or the very cinema whose on the
were based on the presence of the call1era mOll
or Abel camera movcmcnts in
films the optical clistorriom and
L
TIlE IO[IEHJlt CINE[I St)H TJllUCETlC1 1 TIlE ]IODIlRN CINEiTi AND NAHnATIVITY
ii the lIS ()f dlc Trellch s cIoc-uplt in TI Pussioll of re ill (sthet ics
[kit th IITt i(ims Iike ] icllstcill
in lIiml whcll thel imisled
[illl1ed deri ItS hi the rilmimf Ild ((In )
verselv ilhill Ill( 111ltldcrn cinlma tiICIC is 1 lcndclHv Dill
ivis-JtdlJllCr SOIlIC I illj()l)iol1i F Dc StII
mel Ill the cil(lI(f ele Ilel thilt cardulh crilSCS lI1 CIIlICr
cI Fccs tilliS (Ill thiS 110im [ am ill ailccnwlll with l~lic nuillllcr
III
dUII1lIllali(HI
Ihcilll lIld I
11111
llld
Ihe invisihlc
f()r Ihe
the
dllSl Ulllllpluti pC found ill till lilills f
Licit
)[sul 11111
Ik rell
CIs (111(1111
t Illlml
hese
or I hc
[allln
lllti
ISll lel LIIJltr[Vancc [ihn makers
shut cillCllIltI ililel sequence (ilWllld prusc Cill(lllil
lhc Cillll(fl-inlICSllllt alld
tillcliOlls s(cms to me to ICCOUill
lIludern eillCJll~L
cLlililcd I Illodcm i too ollell
to 11(1i is bcLillg ill
l~l Wls PI(lps(d with (1(J](l II nr] IIiIlI 01 tll( 111
10 ClTlclill llIodClil lill]IS11ll1 hal
ruc-hut wilh lll drOll 1I111iCI1I
Ill)ssihk I1l1111IK1 01
l n d llempl is
lt( few pgcs III follow
t1VllIcC lhe inevitable
lui h Sill is iI til In (Ill( IC~
n()le lirsl tlwt il all lllll[llld 11)(
rC1S(lIJ Tllev 11( Sil
the cinCllW was IS S( l
is s( ltIt lc~lst 10 a much kSSCI extent I hdievl 11 til( the modern film is IllOle lllIIltitin ltInd IlWIT silli1
the main contribulion of the new cinema is lu have
flhllic narrative
cunlllry t1Jlt1t
so md thll
enriched the
lVlore or less lssociaLecl with this idcl of a presumed
ur wea kcu ing or 1I11TMi viI y is ltllllOJ] g lllmy critics Ihe 11 ()tion oJ a
hrcahlow11 or Ihe gramlllar ()r sVlltax uF the cineilla I wuuld s)
on the contrary that the cimlll) hilS lIe( hld cit her 1 gr~l1lJJl1U r or t
in tile prccise linguistic sense or thest tenliS (S()l1le Iheortli
that it did hut [I)M is allot her Illatter 1lt111(1 il
toela still a certaill IlllllllCI of rUllciulllLll
that pcrilin 10 the mosl profolilld necessities or ransmissiu11 of ~ll1V informI l11inl1 IIVS dl11 arc ex
arc to he sough in
and no ill tile glltll1llllill or 1a1lgUltlgls TIll wjl()1c Illutldll or til(
the fact tIl( Olle looks for ltl1l1()I1U the aud spcciJic V(TV rClllovcd rom rla Ii t ) i] iOIlI1 ti (
without laws all lliost prohahly bCOl1d the expects to lind thllll~th)1 is 10 sal Ull
a IIlllch ill some WllyS prior to lhe dilfciClllilti()1l or lcrbnl all il e idiOilis ) Frolll othcr lllllllan semiotic wstems
Vc ~Irc told was suited lltJ
sv 11 Lu llO [xists Iklt
the livilllt rJ11il s t() do with sllch iI hurden Bul
Ihml beiliU acllwIlv syntltlclir
articubliolls ralher
de SllISshy
CIIlCI1lH elll be VOlin )
excesses of raquosyllt~)( Ihat during the period of dill lInglleJ1 amI Cl1l
IaLer was considered to be as strict a the grammar of a verbal
gUJgc But the new more Hexiblc forms or the cinellld arc govshy
erned just as mllch the fundamental f~L1rls without wllich 110 information would be possible a discourse of SOIllC is alshy
wavs in olle way or another divisible The
-
these rule have llothilll to do (rab1lt little cleviees
(~octeau was on tile lm York 101 To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE IODETIN C1NEIIIA SOiIE THECmrrnCAL lHOBLEMS
it tried to he nOII11lt1shy
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwuwe the
ollr lilLlguages And we know the CXtlllt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative gtallllllariall hiel was illustratld ill
j()6 by the lXrlWllgC puhlished ill Arts hct(ll1 Elill1lhll llld Mn
tind Evcn the l1)ost allvltlnccd filllls still pertain to J
ltq11)]OdCh tlwugll ill order to apprclllI1l1 new ()Jjecb the 1lttlT llla
have () bccomc mure Hexiblc ns I will show ill s(veral
her (lll
hI hmt tW() crv llilTcfCI11 rules or the
cincma On derivcd irolll
a 1ullal irc hc considered outdated
or tbellSsl restrictivec 011 till other 11all1 there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of stJllctllralcol1liguratiulls thlt are ill illllll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving When OIlC SIV th~lt tbc Illlls (IF the
lllW wnc for cxmllplc have ullnplctclv dismantled the Ilarra
livc or thlt tbey hlC( Clltirel displaced Wlltlx OllC is fCIII takshy
illu 1 ven limited vicw of the
llalTlt ive lllt
vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11llOlogICl1 (lr COlllIlll Ud cudishy
to the
llimic vehick as I wh(1lc It is prlcisdv t() the extellt thlt tlll rllltl
Of the two the linguit Wlb Andre 11ntincl ltC jnother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing The ne cinema has
very rightly so-a lumber of mIlS sueh (lS the prohibition the 180shydegree angle shot (I the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a closeshyup with no change of axis or nltrainst the actor lo()kill~ at the camra etc
THE lIODEHN CfNEiIA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1oltuiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexistshy
(lJeC o[ lIlev Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc arc intelligihle IS is the
case tlmost tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse llllJiwlillc nnd Last Year at j1jorilllZ)(ld arc
still from one lnd to the other iIIllS and
lt1ny
lludes the (Icsniptivl SYlltagllla
til inl1mlltlW lid llld ill Paris rlt
least ill the present slatc or CillllllJt(lgraphic thniqucs) a 11(1I](lishy
cgltic illlltlgC must ill (lIlC way (If m()ther he linked t() a diqctic ill
n(l ()J it will not Ippear to he lllllldil(ctic etcY But sllcll
hml llcvcr l)(cil seri()tlsly triLd hy Ii I1ll-11mlcrs ulliess ]lcrllltljls--aml
CVCIl itlll OJll would han to (-ltImine the lIlatkr 1ll()lC
sUllie (SlrelllC aVlilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll understood Ci1](11IltItOmiddot
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln nd lilllllllakcrs IllYlI ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstlll(t stich
0 iJlJa~ill( thaI thc l1li~ht lxist is precisely
hCllllSC the llIain Ilglllls or cillclliatogrlphic illtclligihilitC illlllhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater lkllt than the arc nvarl oF Silllimiddot
Imh (he lIlost (lrigil1d critcr d()ls ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll 111 tllt
Ilew Llilguagc
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical an d from this
return to the d the Pa~oliniall tbcories which
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral imshy
pressions
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
T I
190 THE 110DElN CINEllA SOME TllEOHETICAL rTIOBLEMS
since the advent or thc talking fillll we have bad the psychological comcdy and the dralllatic l(ll1lcdy--not tu be confused with the nllrican comedy-and they me still with llS To
mention unly the rrench cinema-which is admittedly particularly
favored ill r(sneet many hundreds of ] Illls have we not
to the genres rcci pe thc cake mix
or entertainmen tl Imiddot
II thc llludem cinema has tu a exten t freed itseH
from 111 while doing so avoid IJolllclanl I- (11shy
rather than tbe theatef and the grclt Ii Ims of the past
were ahle t() avuid it just as well a tiel Flaherty tl
be sure bUI also in a Hfy difrerent wav Eisenstein
t on the cOJllrary the good thcatcr and the IS
IlI111hing of nut how CJ11 one forget thal
) lJ1d
man VI$COJIll) vne mell til the theater in the full SlI1~C of the terlJJ
How can one forget all t1ut 1I iaill Hcsnais or ltIll
(0 the so called dWaler of distallce (thecire de la IiS((ICUltlOl) as
-em Carta has 511 revealedO Hovv can onc that evcryshy
of illlportance ill the thcater of is as far rClIJOcd froll1 the
practicc~ or clabowc intriglle as arc the film of Milos hlflllan
Bozier or Jcall Bouch And iF olle loob at the
Here j the fur the psychological (ur dWJIlalie
d )ciell)
etc 2 Olle PIrt
invents hut lim out to han
3 A dash or lrilliant 4 A few mmbers presence of
Mrs E F dnd Mr 1) 5 A touch of the nude vulgarity
melodrama and marital)
THE ]()DEI1N CINEMA INU NAHIIATIVITY 19 1
from a wider perspective if following the of certaill theoreti
dans of tile cinema 11 or of the theater - one
takes the position that the theater is oPI)osed to the epic to the
nove] tlHlt scculiir epic) a~ a Ilction caught in and in its cirshy
cllmstantial thrust is in contrast to that same fiction relHed in words
are not those of the proLIgonists one vill indeed have to conshy
clude that the CillCllW altllOugh an art very difFercllt From the theashy
ter is nevertheless not on the pojLlt-~ulllcss its nlture changes radishy
brcahng till very app~lrent ami basic hond that links it to
theater No lIlore than tile distinction between the spectacle
alld the nonspce[lcle willthc distinctioll hetween the thClll] and
the llolltlteater allow us to establish uur preferellces ill theon so
that we can uncerstallll Illore deadv middotwhv we like what we like or
wlwt is new about the Ilew (il1el11a
THE CINEMA OF IMPTIOVlSATION Is the answCJ I that the new cinema is a cincma of improvisation BUI there arc n Lll11efOllS
modern films that fall outside of this definitioll from Knife in 1111
lVaer to JlIles ll1ul Jilll passing through the works of Orson Dcwy llain Resl1ais etc It is true that whell he proposed
i1iehd Mardorc was cnrcful to 1]1ply it ollly to one
of the modem cinema hilt the idea is Clluel1l ltlnd one often
hears it expressed 1 IIllich more vanue and uCllcral way itb b
devoteltl to escribc
life under
OIle
cannot agree wil h twu forms among other 1dlnUI1S de Provence [(jG6 a book cler the title Cincmuturgic de Paris in 19(5 issue 011 Pmmol and Sacha to PI 43~44middot
P 111pound J[Ol1En C1NBMA SOjlE THEOHET1CJL lnODLEIS
only-alld cyell t11ell with some reservations-on the 01lC
Iwud til Jean-tnc Cudmd (bUl the man we know has a touch of enius mel ltcniLls is 1110rCUer it illljJlltJvilS Iiib gredl -1
CillClll1-ci 11( ui 711
is 1 dcnlllldil1(~ 115k 11lIS[Cr) 1lld (Ill the uther hlIld II) a 11ltll1lwr ()I
tCIlccIllics rchled to the dllellill direct its hroldest scnse tend-
C]1l]( for a
stlges oj 1
Claude Livi-Straus (lllt t rtllllrhdY The illshy
cinello ilired i too often the by-procilil or lazi
Ilotes lUI) oFtell it 1C11UUllCCS
(IF Ilw linishcd work witi1mlt
(11 Illsl IIlV 11101( t [lith [hlll 1 gJ()d d()CllIlllllLlf P)SshySlSSlS II is 11 ellough 101 IV Ih11 Illc orciillltlrv dirltTl fillll is 11111 pcrshy
fect ]1 il h1 -cal ii 11t1 evell htcil linisllld JIH] il is ll()1 jUl the histot) I 11]( lilllllll hUI till 11Iut hl~il Illtur (II till aesthelic h jccL ihllr lhlt will h1VL 10 Chlllgl 1)J()jflulldk hdulc l vvorl or afl is
ahll to ahsorb Ingc s(ltliolls oj Illtllll1S[orlllltl rcalilyilll() its own purshy
IlI)Slt l1d hcirc il (11 Iruths Iiln thall [he ()Ilt lrlIlspI-d 1lId rlrUrJllll lhM its illil PI l(cdlrcs hllc Jlut
lIl (II rlWh I he go)d hll
ill pillt it lctt ilqlJUyjsCls H is thl I()(w wher laziness ll1d till de
0 (iIeli direct itscll CltusI) m1 111(111lt1 tCIile (CIIJlli1111 1111 (k 1y lean lillIcl) hut ltIh the camlie[ Ill1Hl EIlII the Nlli)]))I [jIm lllrtl ltj
Calllllh ItlldcflCY speets 1 the sucliled f( Yor] d] or or Ih IiriliiJ free CillCllIil the lmcricCin icltllllclucuJI1Clltnies (LCleoC illlt JJilYslcs brthlrs tcmknLlcs u[ the televisiun (klein
All hvugll be spoke uf a Lll1Cll1(l ur middotJjlllnlfl(i )t inn lift in rull agreeIllent with the eilelfII direct much liLc H~) OWll But it is tbe COlllcpt 1[ thl cinema that seelllS ullclear to me
THE lIUnEHN CINElIA AND NilnnATlY1TY 93
each other
the
cil1(lI1a
TilE CINEilA 011 Is lhe allswer Bllt tllCTl arc no I(al dCld
~il1Cl a lilm is 1ll~1l1Ilraclllrll1Ilhi(lt on]v ill ]ik IIT
spaces 1l1011ICnl (Ill be dllll (llltld only ill JCLllioll
to Ill inter(~t The lifteellminute IvaiL hdnrc 1 decisive j IllCIIillV
hCCIUSI the pcrsoll J alll 10 s(c is Ill( is indccd a tind of dcad SplCl sincc it is 1](01 whetl I am ltlClltlillc III at the time But such
moments misc on]v hlClt1l1Slgt the OllUlTClllTS of life an nol
()llC ()I11 wi 11 tliey do nut ubey I he urge l() till akel ivc lrashyJ)(sI lIl which cOllsidercd most Jullillilw ( to flj)(at olle oi friclIlHgt
SOl ria lIS by an
as dead
of the iell al Wl S constructcd JIIinutes Ihe whole liFe ur till lilm Oldd he clJlltaincd ill dead spacc Th( (lilly Ical dCld spaces ill the cinclIlI arc the III dull 11111
whilc exlemal]v vicwer attcntioll whieh bccolllcs don Hmt it inllTllltdh the IlV condiliolls
fIJI Illlt tlcnd ~PCl- in life It is 011 the 1(ld oj culti)] 11lt is before the lilm lxishthal tile lkstill or till
dcad Sp~IlCS is dCtLrlllilllll Those Ihe lillll-lllakll lxplIicllCCS as
SIlCI arc hallisllld frolll the lilll1 and Ill willllc cr sec thcmmiddot-lor till likclill ill tbis respccl lilll IllIgt1 makc its choices or C()SC to cxist al
all Thw dl the lllonlellls th11 the Jilm-lllakcr has included in
I 1m wcre alivc cinema is a nCIV-and a prnfullllllll is lS lotwhat or a mcnt ill and it is J()t hased 011
dead innovation is 1l1
matter and Antonion] is far more
194 THE i
MODUHNH
CINE]IA ~OME TlIEOHETICAL PROBLEMS
hmmm substance of his films than became
excels in showing us the diffuse
I ife that Ire considered
most IlnpOrlltlllt U1mg about
the Cinel1111 (Nrect-is [hlt he was
skein of ltl mOle subtle Evell llIure
diem fro III that
S](ln
form of
fmc IlO Ijlll1 Or
very
llucve r
iricalcs of that shimlllering
he lost
He
ur
I iema I
itself 11 (srecls prullloshy
in the
widest scnse
cIlls 11 J(1Il Y
of the alTragc
dCCCll t dOllllllen taries
A FIlNDAIENTAL
TIlE ]IODERN CINEMA AND NARRATIVITY 95
contained a to
revert to a mythology that Jean NIitry hm rightly crHlClZCtl a my that conceals hehilld phenoIllenologica I
tial reidislll whose consequellce is the revival OJ] the level of the
of tl1il195 of the terroristic
noegt
in the name of am-aspects or Ildrc Bazins alld
Muniers theories It shuuld be noted illcidentally dwt ilichcl
11lt1rdorc Illd Pierre Bilhrd do llut conceive of he notion or realism in tlltH SCJlS( nor docs Mmccl some of It is (spresshyslOns
that 1 rc aJld tilL person
lor whUlll tlley me ill thl inelllctable adverse
I hell is
lcHlng cinema as 1 whole but rathcr 1 (erwin crazv
has sprung lip around the cilcllla verite the belief
(cnce or the illlge which is SOIl1e1lOw
as wclJ as-eVCIl as it lends
terns that the slightest dislocation
and
lei llalizcs
nol the
tll1t
Lind of in110shy
exempt from
discursive
introduces- shy
(oilled word derived from the Greek (01-lt0 Ccosmos) Hlllt] allELl ( to Thus it indicates the faculty to preshysen t the world in its entirety to show --TnANsLATOll
THE MODEHN CINE~I SOIE TllliORETlCAL PHOIlLEllS
from tbe enormous
of some
thcsinn terms 111 tile ell()rmou~
the few hcautiful alld the lllany botched works of the CilllIlW v()rile
one might recugnize I wayward slll and obstinale sister of the sel1lioshy
logicid appnKlch-at Icast iF the hitter is cOl1sidered in ils kilSl teclllli
cal aspccls and in its deepest ]tfecl in fOUlIlhlioll The is (me of distrust for bnglwge anJ Yunls i]Jeileillg C[llCSshy
Crcltcri in order t(J question the world spele11 it
[he ubicct ()l (jLlCSliolh fashiolled IS a lonl Im
it is heing asked 1l0VV to aCColillt for
of slispicioll mel l10hlc neurosis the
Incxshy
tnll discollrse is onh I true disc(lllISC the word COl1llt1iIlS I
than that which is conLlillcd ill ils cmJcc( ic usage
The cincllw 1eril( Ull the lolllr~lfy lltcllllts (0 Ioid (ilcoc diflicu (ies hy supp()sedly rejecting coherent di~colllSC mel the lise of iconic
atlls(ation (VCIl the spccch of the (flllll) llCHlCS is slljlPllSllIIU he 1I1lshy
IlltlSCCTlt--il is pint or the illllgc as iF it WlJl l)cing swept
vlsl circuit of villdl illJl()n~IHL Uhc prolifcra(i)ll 01 III
tcrvicws in tile cinclJliI-rcri( lillllS he1s no othcl SUllfcC It is a P]
thetic
InCOllllll- de Iii Ipoundrre
th11 havlt hel) 0111shy
~hltJll]d
whu lws problellls Iwo Iypes of ie1coiogy that of im1ge and wbich is a sort of curious behaviorism
THE jlODEllN C1NEimiddotlA AND NAnnATlV1TY H)
Jlccrthekss-ilild IS a1111 ell t at
the best works of Ibe llew cincllu
viewer with
in the
trcmciv dillicilit to ddinc
1tis the lXDctncss of an
llslincshy
vOice
oj I gestnre of I lulle Jt for example till marvelllls ltIbn)st
dal1ced scellt ill Pierrul Ie fult lIlllIllg the
ClII Iif II I Ie c1iIJ1CC bull Ia lifilIc de IlilIeles IVfy life line
Your llip Jint 1 highlv lilH(lIi~tic (Till Ilevcrtheicss
since it is I piece uf ch()nogcqlliy 1 rclcrcl1cc to lllcri(JIl Illllsical
-we IIC 1 1) F(JllI lhl simple-minded rcdi~lll ollhc
phil cuIlLlrist traditioll realism for libl socillics No
other film PISSlgC JHlweY(r--lll1icss (OI sset (el1t the sishy
lcn( SCdUcli()1l ccm durin the pamcc Struilcim Pcddillf
crltiltgtll IlJIL imiddot all t]wt emlin I tJLl llIClhd hC1l tlmiddot the hands I the l(lialisl mel nc tLlll witllltS pi ti icJlenl ((t(llt hUI 1 of g[Iled )ll(Hlcllcd jng al thltlll~ll(s ur ltIt ltlch ll1ller crjng chlttcring etc nIll Jl()talgi for the olLlllltJl()l11 Id (c111catl(lll hlld Oil HlnallIHlJ It 1 tnLi~ JeHU]]) siglliliclIt that d all thl Illkrn lllethod the Illy )lI Ihilt is reL tively )(glcctcd hy the ciJlJJI(( [crie i prccisdy the Ill that i lll like t
II ill ill which Ihe slcciilist ]C)rtllllllllllC be) lHccisc pc)al duts not jjlH tu cxprc- -ulnc truth (Jr illpr(s~~i()ll ~(l IliUcll ltI 1(
amI (llllrcHed rcsllit aCllwllyc]allaiysi Cl add II(llfl
con1 rihLltj()l1~ that (lP(Ille
I an urekrh- po-CrlUI the
198 THE l10DERN CTNElIA SOME THEOl1ETlCAL PHOBLElIS TIlE MODEHN CINEMA AND NAHHATlVITY 199
MorcfltL-had portrayed with an acclllacy 8S fundamentally direct
as superbly careless of the external probabilitics of timc amI place the
lllute corporeal agrecments that love produces and by which it is proshy
duced the ambiencc of gcstures and tbe thousand minor aeshy
ceplltH1ccs of a docile receptiveness that is no mere obcclicnce and that
mold the vvomans sunlly face in the ~uccccding directions her lovers
hallct of active amused and tendcrtlcss
I somc or the nshy
tonioni
variolls films hy cvcn say that
rllllains to he dcfinedli---arc for all their
till most precious comFlcsts or the CiJlCllll tlllt since 1966
we hlVC (Ilcd lllodern Jt is sllrch not SOllle principle of ohjecliv
ity SOlllC faultless IGllislll that call dcJJ]le tbis modern cinellEI but
rather the liability to certain truths or to certain 1cclifacics that
make the yuung cincm[1 more Hlult and the traditionll cinema ocshy
cCisiollJlly vcry youthFul Tile fll1l1s of the past evcn the Jllost heau
JI [ne fcncrllhshy a lillIe lJOvc themselves like t1lOSC
adolesccnts
THE OHDEflED CINEMA To thaI sHeb accuracies havc be
the dir(ct()r~ or the were
or Ic~s sensitive dl[lIl those of locby
but that exph1l1[ltion is ill1(cllw1tc-is to reshy
examil1c that ncw and subtler dramaturgy lhat ldmits Ilion ohjectivc
details details of the kind tblt the Iraditional plot film ~lcrificecl or
ovcrwhelmed Exactness of tunc I priccless COlHjUcst that renders a
whole arCl of the cinCllla obsolctemight well be in turn only a
consecjl1e)lcc
Sec passngcs of Jlurnaus DalllI Sjlistroms Willd (certain of Lilliall (the character o[ Marcus) etc And (except in Potemkill) and oj Pudovkill
Furthermore olle must not
wtlmiddotr70 all of the modern
with which one
of the films of
pIlt j and text is I grc[lt deal more it is 15 if the il1shy
realistic potcn tiD I or the [ilill ic veil ick formcrly the proper Y
of the (o11ention ur a Illoderate degree or discretcl thcltrical ITllislll
the CUlle-Preyert films) had no divided itclf Iw
twelll a cincllla of passion (in the scnse that Ollt spel](S of passhy
sionate l()( IS Hen6 Gilson correct) Jlo[CS)21 a cincllI or (xlIlxr
ltlncc and discolcry Cmcl it is this Cillllll thai is (lcc1siollalh able to
C[lpturc those so direct truths I hme iust s]loken ur Wl kilO tIll ill
terest Godard h1S sbown for
other ham a cinema or ALlin nesnai~ and his SllClCSsiyc
that beliCHS onl in rccollstrtlcled [fllths~- a
JJost critic ]lasled ioHlS Vardas 111m Lc HOllIeUr Thm was result dUe f kind llIisllnderstanlIing I did not like the Ellll (itllc1 bllt to attack it for it lack of realisll1 is to Illy mimI a serious miscollslruction Certainly thmiddot worlcrs of life as the Jil)ll presents it is lJuite falltalic Uut it had til be so For the is a philosophical talc such as the eighteenth ccnlm enjoyed or rather a militant ulopia in the gtlylc of the ninetecnth century (hut Ull-
In a Illor( Iucill ecUlmt of the actual sucial factorsalld the class factors-that enter into Ihe problel11 c(lnsiclercd) 1t js abo
ill ouc way an act of courage For although it is lrue that a few pers(J1ls in tile social envIronlllcnt where films arc produced dream of a worll in whi] luve would be truly frce a wurld both animal and human where the hudys carclessless would also be a genewsitv a and
of women and men a world in which monster of scntiwel1tlllis)II as il has come to he since
paganism will be lU1l1ecl-altbough it is true that a futurism of l10urishes some of the cOllversatiollS ill Pariss Left Danlc the filet is that aside from Pierre Kast ill La Morle-saisoJl Le Bel and La Bnllure des mille soleils no (lne besides Varda had gathered these scattered snch a holdlv l1IOVOCalie These human
conducted away from such futile sufferinQs of jealous exclusive emotiol1S are
existed as if the V were
TITE IODE) CIiEMA SO~IE H1EOJ(PIlCAL PHOULlJJ
Dr(cllli~l11 than i1 is awarc thill orders with meticulous patience I
cd ltllltl I (111shy
Clllltl 1shy
cariier at the limc (t the missed
vcar at Maricllhad Was the mnl1(siac OISCI1CC
tile llllshrrild or not) (Ic1 a cillema of tellSe 1Il1cltrtrllnlv tlwt ratllci
lhtm plescnting t1w Ipollas uF Illcllling ill 1 frl1l intended [) il1lutt
their Ippearann in daill experiellcc dclihcratcly ltltltlstructs 1
rinthint Il1(Jdel SOIll( hiztllTe Illodernistic ritual ithin
which th( pIdatllj will I()se hiLllselr bnt
ill ldvlLHT OLle could sav tllal bin Fksnlls
lack I rci1islil nlll is tkll not aho tile verv definilioll 0 plativ( tflllsllle([ into the IHClllt or the imlicaiivc
Ihesc frec feiatio)bhips are nlre)dy 1lllraquoC or k cirde but it gll(S Vardi had placed the actiu]) d her Ijlm ill such
the story--which woull then be realistic rlliid hnve lost all tbe power 01 ih militant impact For what the film ]]lcans til say that workers to cuuld live like thaL In shurt the mislIJlderSIltllltling d(fivcs frulIl the Llct Ilal Ile fil)) wr viewed if nc wIgtuld sec a Glard Jilm as exalllpk ( thc ordered eiDem 1 rcpelt I did nut like tbe film Ilut at all in Lltt This was hr rc)ss [ the cnact11ll1l1 f the uto ill its details Dilt NIlo vould Inailltajn tlilt vas nut a celtllin llUollnt ot CtJurtlgc an~l ill Ill fnet that a ll1udcrn YOllJltm (all pcltlk or sud) lmusllal things rrc how Ciln ()Ill Llil to SVlllllathi7C wilh the sinccri of her
(- In nor Lll a 1 i[c
wnnt the him resentment
trll1sccndCnlal and a liollS (as at the moment of the cxccs~i( nHnantic l)S Bernard llwcerlles But he is aisu in uf tire French cinema
Goda Id represent the two film as opposed to a
as for we find it on one siele as on the
stance the triumph of mimesis and of the reconstruction
and in the second instance a
The lillll of the
til is
of
THE JIODEHN CINECgtIA AND NAHHATlVITY 201
modem Ii 1m is the cinematograph Ie one of dIOse great whose importance in ccr-
is well known
lield
A FILll-IIAKrms CINEMA Whnt 11 I1lIshyor a makers cinema as distinct from cinema Can it provide that criterion of
since n~ ils conS(jllellces hut lind il- so diflimiddot
cult lo ddillC There is doubt dial lodav cinema is very often 1
cineml while the old CiJl(~ml was so frcquently the ulterior
and secondary illustration of a worked-out Gocbrcls
the best exanm1es criticism like Michel COLlrshynots evel existence fro]]] tllis fact it vas the Ii Ims of the pasl ( and lot its prctext in thc sceLlario But all of Alain films art inshy
cript-writers lilms fhe SVSICLlltllic way ill which this di[ccshy
rdLlsing to imagine his works sccb out at the of thl
s(ell~Hio various colbhortltors of suJlicicnt weight to Iwvl their OWI1
of things leaves llS in llO dOl1bt as to his opiniolls on the
ie level that the lilm strati-ies and
Jilms derive their intcrest hOlll
lt- In lire ulel cinema there weTe of cmuse Jlonrealistic mrrvclOlb and fanshytastic films Bllt cunstitllted a marginal area at least iJ)ee the 1935- 4 0 period Hesnai is not descendant The ordered einellla is one of the two branches emerging Ollt III a snrl of common realistic trunt that bctween I940 amI 1950 approximately had become on the whole tlolllinant Irenel in relation to the various fantastic lenelcllcies
THE ~roDEnN CINEMA SOJIpound THEOnEJlCL PHUllLUIS
whole reflectioll on the of tlte ~ll1d of sol1tuclc a
dnt C11l0shy
of essell tially exlrashy
of Codnrd himself bear
witness (0 a narrltivc cl poundantlsy
docs llut automatshy
priority hut it cl[t8inly implies an eSSCllshy
(hat Cmbrd is (lllc of those mell
(Jill he ired clurillP tile lctua]
men Illli arc able to make IlIllIs throngll constant rdlecti()11 (cvell if
it is 11t ordered) ab()lIt the liIlC)llI~ lIlel who are ahle to creall
ill the hordcrLllld of 1 pocur tbat is also 111 e551 OJ] pO(trv (tile
rCHcr surly recognizes here onl of the lllost
Jll()dcrn litcratUlC) But even iF ur ~I director like Codard the cinshy
ellla IlllTI til Iv prescll t hcFore nisting becolllcs tllC nccessarv cat dyst
1m lillll creatioll- in the samc wal thM the idea or the h(lo]z is 81shy
ways in the minds uf modern even whell the hoolz
t hev lre is hardlv bCLlI1~thc Fact rellFlins that WILlt Collard
or ]the
mllmlilt of thelIarrative the
sea Pllis 1
hie with story
I do not see why the modem tban lJlvtbing else Eric
UIlC SIHll~titnes
point Iut t1wt the new prescnt ill the cineml
one forgets that between a cOllsidcrabl~ dilIcrence uf
In~lJ1 VJhu reached his maioritv The
all llew novel]
lcsclnblancc is Zl-S
At tbe vcry least nile sllUuld
narrative etc) cinema as
llovd is almust an
slllluid be lllore in Ln(icl1 certain Siln]
and the l1-W as
extent pheUOJ1lella as Too
such there exists old mlll lIJd the
and the same
THE ]IODERN CINEIA JND NAIHAl1VITY ~o
ever hroken and unfamiliar the 1ll8Y
line8r~this fact never is olle of the most proliJic of mudern remains true even when as is oftcn the scenario is horn in the midst of way only the COIlSCshy
(jUcnce or thc of the sccnario froll the modern cmelila or 10 t1wt the only scenarios me those that lrt IiC the of JUJenclH~ mlll Bust
A CINEMA OF TIlE SHOT Is the lllodem cinelli a ctlllll11
or the shot as distillgllishcd frum the old cincllw which WIS JJl(lrc cOllcerned with racing fwm shut to shot straisht to the
But jf that is the case what is (lJlC to say
the expressionist tendcllC~ CCrlllJll eXI )ressi)Jl iSIll the LIst Jilms or is 111 (lId OJH
that cOllnotations at
cinellla ~md not
ilctcristics of the Ilew cincma Is not the
of ~I kind of Vlst Cistclltiai failure
ohserves Cll]111IlIl11icJtcd
J1]Olltage) Is not Sa1alore GiuliallO a mOlltage lilill
lIiusie cinlma --and tllM was grounded to a hirgc extcnt OIl the
of inducing a IJorizolltal leading of tbe lihn that Iould COllSidcf cadi illla~c at length JlJd Wllltll on tIw olber Iwnd is OJlC to sal ~lj(lut the
grcllt f1llaisSIlII(( of wOllla) whicll after a period dominated hI the
from encl (0 end As for the yuuthflll dynamisllI (If Claude lcl()uchs [lUI Fillc des fusils is it not derived as lI1uch fWIll the of
the 111m as from the wonderful exuberance of its lllOlltlge nd Whll
of the imDortmc( (If SIOJlS
in the nd r
thought Tire fact j huwever vh~n SOlllC(le says H$ one hears that thc cincma is far of htcratllll one must C(lll shy
elude he nust never have read anvthiwgt at all
204 THE jVl(JDEI1N CINEMA S01JE THEORETICAL PROllLEMS
rative flow also confessions of 2 to 7 mel 111
Vivre sa vie And the and Ncver~ in
Hiroshima 11011 omour a counterpoint lhat despite its modern ac~
cent seems to emerge straight from the editing table of a Balilzs an
Arnheilll a Pudovlin or1 Tilllocilcnko And all the JIm
one sees
J CINEMA 01 POETPY remllIlO lmall y the lotiOIl IT
by Pier Paolo of a dislinction between
the cincma 01 and the cinema of poctry As attract inc as il
illay se(IIl the idea i~ nevertheless basicll1) fragile For llle
of prose and poclry arc too linked to lhe use of the verbal
to he cClsilv carricd over to the cinel1w Or elsc if ()Ill~ poetry
in
sense (gt1
whether llnessful or nOI
sidcrs poetl ill its tcdmical SC]lSC Ihe lise of Icrbal idiom
restrictions
a sC(JlHI code cappillg Ihl iirsl--()IlC
idi()m 1lsolini is
with
its I)f()adest SCI1Sl--as the illlllledill( Ilrcsenn of the world the
cncounshy
seems SIUll101ll1l1hlc The dlSlIHT or code ill (he cincma thll is the absCllce of
aware o[ Ihis ]lruh~
precisionl gut Ill believes
111 things c()nsidercd it can he circ1ilIlyltnted I helieve UIl tbe (()n~ md bter I will show wIn Furthershy
more t() these obstacles one must add still 1lOtlwr The
prose in Whl(c(r S(llSC it is gin)] has 11(1
the cincma and iF I pros( docs exist in the lexical
in distinction to poetrv and because a long rhetorical tradilioll has
divided into two a domain that is initially litemry (for prose prop~ that of a Chateaubriand or of a Stenshyspca
is aJshyand nol fromready the artistic use of language anu
IItiliti1rian language it creates ohjecls that have their own and
ilwt leads trulll Ihe
llTIlin av frolH
THE 1IODEnN CINEIA iTD NAm~TIVJrY US
at which lhrut or tor the it IS
lie Icr thCe CUllllllllnicHiul1 it lTCiltCS work The
poetr and prnsc J1JS IfIc1l1ing lt1nly within
(111( that 1cparatcs literallIre fmlll thl Ic
of idiom IS a to()1 nd it is this Lllimlrv distinfiOll (licit is ill
cinema S(I Ihat no 11111] Gill sIT iel sellse ll( Ir
Su oj Pas(lini- II
least for rdurn 10 tilC111 111lt1 let us lXl11J
ine Ilis Ihesis i(o]v ur til( lillllll If tJlcrc is sil]oc trelld
h IJ or Ihi histo it is indeed II1l Ule
eillCll]1 tu Jill J]((Ii1111I1ilmiddottl1al i II) Sci
the C11111111 f jllllr til till inlma o[
l)fose and 111 (he othn Va around Pasolini Itlllis
IhCIIIII-which arc nol rart in die modern CinellI]
struclllrts I1l lcnds also (0 CI)]ll~lrc tll( must hCllltifu
fillllS 10 (be dullest liddilil)])tl movies ltllId he tI( Iwl Lol)sidlT lhl
poeln il) 1 J)ollhle 0111
PUllr Iii Suile ill 111001ilc
or Dewier aloul
of
fillllS Olwj()lIsh lhere is more till iallo
Preside III ill( Cmu plirulI
C1l) onc
uf wh ich fur Olle l(l scc
fnr tl1C
Ill SLlhstII1CC lud Corm of cadI nnc
mel less ladie I h lIl~m (he older Ii djllers gtIll
be suilieiclltiv CCltlln tlla( IhL
Pasolin 1 sJl( ( b rClfCSCll ts ltl
in it il]( bCltillll
CillCIll12lti nd is it
Jillal 1ll]lys]s ((Infused with il111 inevilable slIbjedive lOIUmlioll oj
the filmie objccth its llming plrcCptjoll~whidl is ) ChllUCillilje
of aJI tillCmil-SO that the olliv real dilfercnce uuJcl Jillalv he tlw mel prose perceptions whith can only he dnrilicd hy d1C
ul eaeh film and docs no(
with Ihe existCJlcc of general restrictions
from
____ _
206 THE MODEHN ClNEIIj SOIE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS
further is it not alllong the liIllls that scem the must outmoded
todi1middotmiddotmiddotmiddotbut not always righth-middotthat one encounters the most cohercnt
and systcmatic attempts to COllstmct a hIm as one slrtletllr~s 1 poem
ilhat ahout Pudovlltins lvrical which Jean iVIitly has so well analyzed~7 iVlw ahollt the corOlWlion scene in [van lilC Terri shy
or th proccssion hefore Vakulintchllk amI the scelles of mist in
Poclllbll( What Iil()Ut Abel Ganee in Nupocoll and La Roue AmI ttlt attCII1Dts of the pllre cinema to substitute a einlll1ltl or tlzellles
And Jean Lpsteins enthusiastic analyses of the value of the c1ose-ujl shot And the lise of slow motion in the
seen(~ in Zero for Conduct And 111 the systems of montage
mentioned earlier vvhose aim vas to forlllalize the various ilmic 10 solidify the thematic depth in the normative pre
a formal svstcm Im] the accelerated
ing in the scene with the hlack coach ill N ()SfefUflI jnd the ineredmiddot
iblc Icrial traveling hot in
me ali indeed in$t1I1CeS of those gramlllatical elewellts IS
flillCtiom2B that PIsolini tellds to idclIt ifv wi th the new
cinema III trulh though tmlays cimmltl is at times rich in
resonances tl()[gh the had films of every I)criod hy definit elude the s(jclilcd puetry of thillgs llld the or their
zaliull the fact remain that the only attempt that havc been lInder
taken toward Ilut only a poetic eincnla bUlals() a cinema as organized
idiulII-sinec this is what Pasolini is talking about-were preshy
ill tllC old cinemamiddot Iml the fact is that since its hirth the
cinema has prltlctically ntVlr ceased to evolve ill the direction of an
ideal (technicallr prosaic) lIexihility and a freedOil I that arc
T mv mind these atlempts have culminated in a failure which 01 the level uf general CltlllllOt be overcome hy the few ll1uglliliccnt but isolated suceesses A Iilm may a poetic novel it C8l111ot be a (except in the case uf purely thematic nUJ1middotstory-telling short lilms like Berlill ur SucksdoriFs Rllyt111H of a Git) In a poem there is no fable amI nothing illmiddot trudes between the )uthO alld the reader The novelist draws up a world the Ioet of tIle work The fiction film still seems to me to be closer to the novel tu the poe111 And finally the period in which one believed that a film cuuld be a pOlm is that of the old cinema rather than that of the lIew cinC111a
_ ____ _bullbull__~ bullbullbull __ __bull_____bull____ ______________________~~_ __~
THE f-l0DERN CINEMA AND NARllATIVITY 207
WltlmiddotS tlH~ anIlvsc~ of Frallshy(tbe cinema s a modern suciological
novel) ndrc llazin lnd the
to the novcl rather than
or i
iou peCl lia r to mUll y
lISC or the powers of (he flbliIOlI~ within the framework of til( rclatiVllv
realistic lilms verisimilitude) middotMore gcnerally one will obcrvc
tIle sCHalied fantastic cinema whieh ill certain carlv periods
emile vcry close to merging with one of the ILIainstreams of the
cinema as a whole (Gcrmm-Swcdish expressioll ism hOlll 19 1 t()
1lt)3 0 the fantIstic lilms of the period 19jo5 sllch IS FraJlkeN
stein TlC J1HisilJlc 111(111 and Kill J(OIJ) eventually became I
Cllfe and a ralher special genre It that which even ill part over
vhat the French call the eil(11111-is horror films gmdcgtBltalian
sadistic Japanese lilms Soviet fantasy
etc As a tllC so called realistic film which has long
been contrasted to Ihe fantatie film or to the film or the marvclous
as ir were the two poles or the cinema laquomel this is
the famolls theme I ull1icre lS AJcIiJs) blS taken uver limosl the whole or modern film
Ihe new cinellIa lS the JIOiccaJic jJlCSltllcl
in traditional lill11s Oil the contrary the camcra tried to JIlake its prcsence unfelt to ll1llzc itselF invisible hcmiddot
rore tbe spectacle it was presenting But whilmiddotc it is true that this
may apl)l) to certain filllls or the 11(1I-s(Hlistant
classical Americall comedy for example and in III e films related to what called editing ciamiddot
was made to appear invisible-it cannot describe tllC
various tenclencies or the very cinema whose on the
were based on the presence of the call1era mOll
or Abel camera movcmcnts in
films the optical clistorriom and
L
TIlE IO[IEHJlt CINE[I St)H TJllUCETlC1 1 TIlE ]IODIlRN CINEiTi AND NAHnATIVITY
ii the lIS ()f dlc Trellch s cIoc-uplt in TI Pussioll of re ill (sthet ics
[kit th IITt i(ims Iike ] icllstcill
in lIiml whcll thel imisled
[illl1ed deri ItS hi the rilmimf Ild ((In )
verselv ilhill Ill( 111ltldcrn cinlma tiICIC is 1 lcndclHv Dill
ivis-JtdlJllCr SOIlIC I illj()l)iol1i F Dc StII
mel Ill the cil(lI(f ele Ilel thilt cardulh crilSCS lI1 CIIlICr
cI Fccs tilliS (Ill thiS 110im [ am ill ailccnwlll with l~lic nuillllcr
III
dUII1lIllali(HI
Ihcilll lIld I
11111
llld
Ihe invisihlc
f()r Ihe
the
dllSl Ulllllpluti pC found ill till lilills f
Licit
)[sul 11111
Ik rell
CIs (111(1111
t Illlml
hese
or I hc
[allln
lllti
ISll lel LIIJltr[Vancc [ihn makers
shut cillCllIltI ililel sequence (ilWllld prusc Cill(lllil
lhc Cillll(fl-inlICSllllt alld
tillcliOlls s(cms to me to ICCOUill
lIludern eillCJll~L
cLlililcd I Illodcm i too ollell
to 11(1i is bcLillg ill
l~l Wls PI(lps(d with (1(J](l II nr] IIiIlI 01 tll( 111
10 ClTlclill llIodClil lill]IS11ll1 hal
ruc-hut wilh lll drOll 1I111iCI1I
Ill)ssihk I1l1111IK1 01
l n d llempl is
lt( few pgcs III follow
t1VllIcC lhe inevitable
lui h Sill is iI til In (Ill( IC~
n()le lirsl tlwt il all lllll[llld 11)(
rC1S(lIJ Tllev 11( Sil
the cinCllW was IS S( l
is s( ltIt lc~lst 10 a much kSSCI extent I hdievl 11 til( the modern film is IllOle lllIIltitin ltInd IlWIT silli1
the main contribulion of the new cinema is lu have
flhllic narrative
cunlllry t1Jlt1t
so md thll
enriched the
lVlore or less lssociaLecl with this idcl of a presumed
ur wea kcu ing or 1I11TMi viI y is ltllllOJ] g lllmy critics Ihe 11 ()tion oJ a
hrcahlow11 or Ihe gramlllar ()r sVlltax uF the cineilla I wuuld s)
on the contrary that the cimlll) hilS lIe( hld cit her 1 gr~l1lJJl1U r or t
in tile prccise linguistic sense or thest tenliS (S()l1le Iheortli
that it did hut [I)M is allot her Illatter 1lt111(1 il
toela still a certaill IlllllllCI of rUllciulllLll
that pcrilin 10 the mosl profolilld necessities or ransmissiu11 of ~ll1V informI l11inl1 IIVS dl11 arc ex
arc to he sough in
and no ill tile glltll1llllill or 1a1lgUltlgls TIll wjl()1c Illutldll or til(
the fact tIl( Olle looks for ltl1l1()I1U the aud spcciJic V(TV rClllovcd rom rla Ii t ) i] iOIlI1 ti (
without laws all lliost prohahly bCOl1d the expects to lind thllll~th)1 is 10 sal Ull
a IIlllch ill some WllyS prior to lhe dilfciClllilti()1l or lcrbnl all il e idiOilis ) Frolll othcr lllllllan semiotic wstems
Vc ~Irc told was suited lltJ
sv 11 Lu llO [xists Iklt
the livilllt rJ11il s t() do with sllch iI hurden Bul
Ihml beiliU acllwIlv syntltlclir
articubliolls ralher
de SllISshy
CIIlCI1lH elll be VOlin )
excesses of raquosyllt~)( Ihat during the period of dill lInglleJ1 amI Cl1l
IaLer was considered to be as strict a the grammar of a verbal
gUJgc But the new more Hexiblc forms or the cinellld arc govshy
erned just as mllch the fundamental f~L1rls without wllich 110 information would be possible a discourse of SOIllC is alshy
wavs in olle way or another divisible The
-
these rule have llothilll to do (rab1lt little cleviees
(~octeau was on tile lm York 101 To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE IODETIN C1NEIIIA SOiIE THECmrrnCAL lHOBLEMS
it tried to he nOII11lt1shy
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwuwe the
ollr lilLlguages And we know the CXtlllt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative gtallllllariall hiel was illustratld ill
j()6 by the lXrlWllgC puhlished ill Arts hct(ll1 Elill1lhll llld Mn
tind Evcn the l1)ost allvltlnccd filllls still pertain to J
ltq11)]OdCh tlwugll ill order to apprclllI1l1 new ()Jjecb the 1lttlT llla
have () bccomc mure Hexiblc ns I will show ill s(veral
her (lll
hI hmt tW() crv llilTcfCI11 rules or the
cincma On derivcd irolll
a 1ullal irc hc considered outdated
or tbellSsl restrictivec 011 till other 11all1 there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of stJllctllralcol1liguratiulls thlt are ill illllll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving When OIlC SIV th~lt tbc Illlls (IF the
lllW wnc for cxmllplc have ullnplctclv dismantled the Ilarra
livc or thlt tbey hlC( Clltirel displaced Wlltlx OllC is fCIII takshy
illu 1 ven limited vicw of the
llalTlt ive lllt
vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11llOlogICl1 (lr COlllIlll Ud cudishy
to the
llimic vehick as I wh(1lc It is prlcisdv t() the extellt thlt tlll rllltl
Of the two the linguit Wlb Andre 11ntincl ltC jnother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing The ne cinema has
very rightly so-a lumber of mIlS sueh (lS the prohibition the 180shydegree angle shot (I the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a closeshyup with no change of axis or nltrainst the actor lo()kill~ at the camra etc
THE lIODEHN CfNEiIA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1oltuiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexistshy
(lJeC o[ lIlev Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc arc intelligihle IS is the
case tlmost tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse llllJiwlillc nnd Last Year at j1jorilllZ)(ld arc
still from one lnd to the other iIIllS and
lt1ny
lludes the (Icsniptivl SYlltagllla
til inl1mlltlW lid llld ill Paris rlt
least ill the present slatc or CillllllJt(lgraphic thniqucs) a 11(1I](lishy
cgltic illlltlgC must ill (lIlC way (If m()ther he linked t() a diqctic ill
n(l ()J it will not Ippear to he lllllldil(ctic etcY But sllcll
hml llcvcr l)(cil seri()tlsly triLd hy Ii I1ll-11mlcrs ulliess ]lcrllltljls--aml
CVCIl itlll OJll would han to (-ltImine the lIlatkr 1ll()lC
sUllie (SlrelllC aVlilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll understood Ci1](11IltItOmiddot
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln nd lilllllllakcrs IllYlI ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstlll(t stich
0 iJlJa~ill( thaI thc l1li~ht lxist is precisely
hCllllSC the llIain Ilglllls or cillclliatogrlphic illtclligihilitC illlllhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater lkllt than the arc nvarl oF Silllimiddot
Imh (he lIlost (lrigil1d critcr d()ls ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll 111 tllt
Ilew Llilguagc
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical an d from this
return to the d the Pa~oliniall tbcories which
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral imshy
pressions
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
P 111pound J[Ol1En C1NBMA SOjlE THEOHET1CJL lnODLEIS
only-alld cyell t11ell with some reservations-on the 01lC
Iwud til Jean-tnc Cudmd (bUl the man we know has a touch of enius mel ltcniLls is 1110rCUer it illljJlltJvilS Iiib gredl -1
CillClll1-ci 11( ui 711
is 1 dcnlllldil1(~ 115k 11lIS[Cr) 1lld (Ill the uther hlIld II) a 11ltll1lwr ()I
tCIlccIllics rchled to the dllellill direct its hroldest scnse tend-
C]1l]( for a
stlges oj 1
Claude Livi-Straus (lllt t rtllllrhdY The illshy
cinello ilired i too often the by-procilil or lazi
Ilotes lUI) oFtell it 1C11UUllCCS
(IF Ilw linishcd work witi1mlt
(11 Illsl IIlV 11101( t [lith [hlll 1 gJ()d d()CllIlllllLlf P)SshySlSSlS II is 11 ellough 101 IV Ih11 Illc orciillltlrv dirltTl fillll is 11111 pcrshy
fect ]1 il h1 -cal ii 11t1 evell htcil linisllld JIH] il is ll()1 jUl the histot) I 11]( lilllllll hUI till 11Iut hl~il Illtur (II till aesthelic h jccL ihllr lhlt will h1VL 10 Chlllgl 1)J()jflulldk hdulc l vvorl or afl is
ahll to ahsorb Ingc s(ltliolls oj Illtllll1S[orlllltl rcalilyilll() its own purshy
IlI)Slt l1d hcirc il (11 Iruths Iiln thall [he ()Ilt lrlIlspI-d 1lId rlrUrJllll lhM its illil PI l(cdlrcs hllc Jlut
lIl (II rlWh I he go)d hll
ill pillt it lctt ilqlJUyjsCls H is thl I()(w wher laziness ll1d till de
0 (iIeli direct itscll CltusI) m1 111(111lt1 tCIile (CIIJlli1111 1111 (k 1y lean lillIcl) hut ltIh the camlie[ Ill1Hl EIlII the Nlli)]))I [jIm lllrtl ltj
Calllllh ItlldcflCY speets 1 the sucliled f( Yor] d] or or Ih IiriliiJ free CillCllIil the lmcricCin icltllllclucuJI1Clltnies (LCleoC illlt JJilYslcs brthlrs tcmknLlcs u[ the televisiun (klein
All hvugll be spoke uf a Lll1Cll1(l ur middotJjlllnlfl(i )t inn lift in rull agreeIllent with the eilelfII direct much liLc H~) OWll But it is tbe COlllcpt 1[ thl cinema that seelllS ullclear to me
THE lIUnEHN CINElIA AND NilnnATlY1TY 93
each other
the
cil1(lI1a
TilE CINEilA 011 Is lhe allswer Bllt tllCTl arc no I(al dCld
~il1Cl a lilm is 1ll~1l1Ilraclllrll1Ilhi(lt on]v ill ]ik IIT
spaces 1l1011ICnl (Ill be dllll (llltld only ill JCLllioll
to Ill inter(~t The lifteellminute IvaiL hdnrc 1 decisive j IllCIIillV
hCCIUSI the pcrsoll J alll 10 s(c is Ill( is indccd a tind of dcad SplCl sincc it is 1](01 whetl I am ltlClltlillc III at the time But such
moments misc on]v hlClt1l1Slgt the OllUlTClllTS of life an nol
()llC ()I11 wi 11 tliey do nut ubey I he urge l() till akel ivc lrashyJ)(sI lIl which cOllsidercd most Jullillilw ( to flj)(at olle oi friclIlHgt
SOl ria lIS by an
as dead
of the iell al Wl S constructcd JIIinutes Ihe whole liFe ur till lilm Oldd he clJlltaincd ill dead spacc Th( (lilly Ical dCld spaces ill the cinclIlI arc the III dull 11111
whilc exlemal]v vicwer attcntioll whieh bccolllcs don Hmt it inllTllltdh the IlV condiliolls
fIJI Illlt tlcnd ~PCl- in life It is 011 the 1(ld oj culti)] 11lt is before the lilm lxishthal tile lkstill or till
dcad Sp~IlCS is dCtLrlllilllll Those Ihe lillll-lllakll lxplIicllCCS as
SIlCI arc hallisllld frolll the lilll1 and Ill willllc cr sec thcmmiddot-lor till likclill ill tbis respccl lilll IllIgt1 makc its choices or C()SC to cxist al
all Thw dl the lllonlellls th11 the Jilm-lllakcr has included in
I 1m wcre alivc cinema is a nCIV-and a prnfullllllll is lS lotwhat or a mcnt ill and it is J()t hased 011
dead innovation is 1l1
matter and Antonion] is far more
194 THE i
MODUHNH
CINE]IA ~OME TlIEOHETICAL PROBLEMS
hmmm substance of his films than became
excels in showing us the diffuse
I ife that Ire considered
most IlnpOrlltlllt U1mg about
the Cinel1111 (Nrect-is [hlt he was
skein of ltl mOle subtle Evell llIure
diem fro III that
S](ln
form of
fmc IlO Ijlll1 Or
very
llucve r
iricalcs of that shimlllering
he lost
He
ur
I iema I
itself 11 (srecls prullloshy
in the
widest scnse
cIlls 11 J(1Il Y
of the alTragc
dCCCll t dOllllllen taries
A FIlNDAIENTAL
TIlE ]IODERN CINEMA AND NARRATIVITY 95
contained a to
revert to a mythology that Jean NIitry hm rightly crHlClZCtl a my that conceals hehilld phenoIllenologica I
tial reidislll whose consequellce is the revival OJ] the level of the
of tl1il195 of the terroristic
noegt
in the name of am-aspects or Ildrc Bazins alld
Muniers theories It shuuld be noted illcidentally dwt ilichcl
11lt1rdorc Illd Pierre Bilhrd do llut conceive of he notion or realism in tlltH SCJlS( nor docs Mmccl some of It is (spresshyslOns
that 1 rc aJld tilL person
lor whUlll tlley me ill thl inelllctable adverse
I hell is
lcHlng cinema as 1 whole but rathcr 1 (erwin crazv
has sprung lip around the cilcllla verite the belief
(cnce or the illlge which is SOIl1e1lOw
as wclJ as-eVCIl as it lends
terns that the slightest dislocation
and
lei llalizcs
nol the
tll1t
Lind of in110shy
exempt from
discursive
introduces- shy
(oilled word derived from the Greek (01-lt0 Ccosmos) Hlllt] allELl ( to Thus it indicates the faculty to preshysen t the world in its entirety to show --TnANsLATOll
THE MODEHN CINE~I SOIE TllliORETlCAL PHOIlLEllS
from tbe enormous
of some
thcsinn terms 111 tile ell()rmou~
the few hcautiful alld the lllany botched works of the CilllIlW v()rile
one might recugnize I wayward slll and obstinale sister of the sel1lioshy
logicid appnKlch-at Icast iF the hitter is cOl1sidered in ils kilSl teclllli
cal aspccls and in its deepest ]tfecl in fOUlIlhlioll The is (me of distrust for bnglwge anJ Yunls i]Jeileillg C[llCSshy
Crcltcri in order t(J question the world spele11 it
[he ubicct ()l (jLlCSliolh fashiolled IS a lonl Im
it is heing asked 1l0VV to aCColillt for
of slispicioll mel l10hlc neurosis the
Incxshy
tnll discollrse is onh I true disc(lllISC the word COl1llt1iIlS I
than that which is conLlillcd ill ils cmJcc( ic usage
The cincllw 1eril( Ull the lolllr~lfy lltcllllts (0 Ioid (ilcoc diflicu (ies hy supp()sedly rejecting coherent di~colllSC mel the lise of iconic
atlls(ation (VCIl the spccch of the (flllll) llCHlCS is slljlPllSllIIU he 1I1lshy
IlltlSCCTlt--il is pint or the illllgc as iF it WlJl l)cing swept
vlsl circuit of villdl illJl()n~IHL Uhc prolifcra(i)ll 01 III
tcrvicws in tile cinclJliI-rcri( lillllS he1s no othcl SUllfcC It is a P]
thetic
InCOllllll- de Iii Ipoundrre
th11 havlt hel) 0111shy
~hltJll]d
whu lws problellls Iwo Iypes of ie1coiogy that of im1ge and wbich is a sort of curious behaviorism
THE jlODEllN C1NEimiddotlA AND NAnnATlV1TY H)
Jlccrthekss-ilild IS a1111 ell t at
the best works of Ibe llew cincllu
viewer with
in the
trcmciv dillicilit to ddinc
1tis the lXDctncss of an
llslincshy
vOice
oj I gestnre of I lulle Jt for example till marvelllls ltIbn)st
dal1ced scellt ill Pierrul Ie fult lIlllIllg the
ClII Iif II I Ie c1iIJ1CC bull Ia lifilIc de IlilIeles IVfy life line
Your llip Jint 1 highlv lilH(lIi~tic (Till Ilevcrtheicss
since it is I piece uf ch()nogcqlliy 1 rclcrcl1cc to lllcri(JIl Illllsical
-we IIC 1 1) F(JllI lhl simple-minded rcdi~lll ollhc
phil cuIlLlrist traditioll realism for libl socillics No
other film PISSlgC JHlweY(r--lll1icss (OI sset (el1t the sishy
lcn( SCdUcli()1l ccm durin the pamcc Struilcim Pcddillf
crltiltgtll IlJIL imiddot all t]wt emlin I tJLl llIClhd hC1l tlmiddot the hands I the l(lialisl mel nc tLlll witllltS pi ti icJlenl ((t(llt hUI 1 of g[Iled )ll(Hlcllcd jng al thltlll~ll(s ur ltIt ltlch ll1ller crjng chlttcring etc nIll Jl()talgi for the olLlllltJl()l11 Id (c111catl(lll hlld Oil HlnallIHlJ It 1 tnLi~ JeHU]]) siglliliclIt that d all thl Illkrn lllethod the Illy )lI Ihilt is reL tively )(glcctcd hy the ciJlJJI(( [crie i prccisdy the Ill that i lll like t
II ill ill which Ihe slcciilist ]C)rtllllllllllC be) lHccisc pc)al duts not jjlH tu cxprc- -ulnc truth (Jr illpr(s~~i()ll ~(l IliUcll ltI 1(
amI (llllrcHed rcsllit aCllwllyc]allaiysi Cl add II(llfl
con1 rihLltj()l1~ that (lP(Ille
I an urekrh- po-CrlUI the
198 THE l10DERN CTNElIA SOME THEOl1ETlCAL PHOBLElIS TIlE MODEHN CINEMA AND NAHHATlVITY 199
MorcfltL-had portrayed with an acclllacy 8S fundamentally direct
as superbly careless of the external probabilitics of timc amI place the
lllute corporeal agrecments that love produces and by which it is proshy
duced the ambiencc of gcstures and tbe thousand minor aeshy
ceplltH1ccs of a docile receptiveness that is no mere obcclicnce and that
mold the vvomans sunlly face in the ~uccccding directions her lovers
hallct of active amused and tendcrtlcss
I somc or the nshy
tonioni
variolls films hy cvcn say that
rllllains to he dcfinedli---arc for all their
till most precious comFlcsts or the CiJlCllll tlllt since 1966
we hlVC (Ilcd lllodern Jt is sllrch not SOllle principle of ohjecliv
ity SOlllC faultless IGllislll that call dcJJ]le tbis modern cinellEI but
rather the liability to certain truths or to certain 1cclifacics that
make the yuung cincm[1 more Hlult and the traditionll cinema ocshy
cCisiollJlly vcry youthFul Tile fll1l1s of the past evcn the Jllost heau
JI [ne fcncrllhshy a lillIe lJOvc themselves like t1lOSC
adolesccnts
THE OHDEflED CINEMA To thaI sHeb accuracies havc be
the dir(ct()r~ or the were
or Ic~s sensitive dl[lIl those of locby
but that exph1l1[ltion is ill1(cllw1tc-is to reshy
examil1c that ncw and subtler dramaturgy lhat ldmits Ilion ohjectivc
details details of the kind tblt the Iraditional plot film ~lcrificecl or
ovcrwhelmed Exactness of tunc I priccless COlHjUcst that renders a
whole arCl of the cinCllla obsolctemight well be in turn only a
consecjl1e)lcc
Sec passngcs of Jlurnaus DalllI Sjlistroms Willd (certain of Lilliall (the character o[ Marcus) etc And (except in Potemkill) and oj Pudovkill
Furthermore olle must not
wtlmiddotr70 all of the modern
with which one
of the films of
pIlt j and text is I grc[lt deal more it is 15 if the il1shy
realistic potcn tiD I or the [ilill ic veil ick formcrly the proper Y
of the (o11ention ur a Illoderate degree or discretcl thcltrical ITllislll
the CUlle-Preyert films) had no divided itclf Iw
twelll a cincllla of passion (in the scnse that Ollt spel](S of passhy
sionate l()( IS Hen6 Gilson correct) Jlo[CS)21 a cincllI or (xlIlxr
ltlncc and discolcry Cmcl it is this Cillllll thai is (lcc1siollalh able to
C[lpturc those so direct truths I hme iust s]loken ur Wl kilO tIll ill
terest Godard h1S sbown for
other ham a cinema or ALlin nesnai~ and his SllClCSsiyc
that beliCHS onl in rccollstrtlcled [fllths~- a
JJost critic ]lasled ioHlS Vardas 111m Lc HOllIeUr Thm was result dUe f kind llIisllnderstanlIing I did not like the Ellll (itllc1 bllt to attack it for it lack of realisll1 is to Illy mimI a serious miscollslruction Certainly thmiddot worlcrs of life as the Jil)ll presents it is lJuite falltalic Uut it had til be so For the is a philosophical talc such as the eighteenth ccnlm enjoyed or rather a militant ulopia in the gtlylc of the ninetecnth century (hut Ull-
In a Illor( Iucill ecUlmt of the actual sucial factorsalld the class factors-that enter into Ihe problel11 c(lnsiclercd) 1t js abo
ill ouc way an act of courage For although it is lrue that a few pers(J1ls in tile social envIronlllcnt where films arc produced dream of a worll in whi] luve would be truly frce a wurld both animal and human where the hudys carclessless would also be a genewsitv a and
of women and men a world in which monster of scntiwel1tlllis)II as il has come to he since
paganism will be lU1l1ecl-altbough it is true that a futurism of l10urishes some of the cOllversatiollS ill Pariss Left Danlc the filet is that aside from Pierre Kast ill La Morle-saisoJl Le Bel and La Bnllure des mille soleils no (lne besides Varda had gathered these scattered snch a holdlv l1IOVOCalie These human
conducted away from such futile sufferinQs of jealous exclusive emotiol1S are
existed as if the V were
TITE IODE) CIiEMA SO~IE H1EOJ(PIlCAL PHOULlJJ
Dr(cllli~l11 than i1 is awarc thill orders with meticulous patience I
cd ltllltl I (111shy
Clllltl 1shy
cariier at the limc (t the missed
vcar at Maricllhad Was the mnl1(siac OISCI1CC
tile llllshrrild or not) (Ic1 a cillema of tellSe 1Il1cltrtrllnlv tlwt ratllci
lhtm plescnting t1w Ipollas uF Illcllling ill 1 frl1l intended [) il1lutt
their Ippearann in daill experiellcc dclihcratcly ltltltlstructs 1
rinthint Il1(Jdel SOIll( hiztllTe Illodernistic ritual ithin
which th( pIdatllj will I()se hiLllselr bnt
ill ldvlLHT OLle could sav tllal bin Fksnlls
lack I rci1islil nlll is tkll not aho tile verv definilioll 0 plativ( tflllsllle([ into the IHClllt or the imlicaiivc
Ihesc frec feiatio)bhips are nlre)dy 1lllraquoC or k cirde but it gll(S Vardi had placed the actiu]) d her Ijlm ill such
the story--which woull then be realistic rlliid hnve lost all tbe power 01 ih militant impact For what the film ]]lcans til say that workers to cuuld live like thaL In shurt the mislIJlderSIltllltling d(fivcs frulIl the Llct Ilal Ile fil)) wr viewed if nc wIgtuld sec a Glard Jilm as exalllpk ( thc ordered eiDem 1 rcpelt I did nut like tbe film Ilut at all in Lltt This was hr rc)ss [ the cnact11ll1l1 f the uto ill its details Dilt NIlo vould Inailltajn tlilt vas nut a celtllin llUollnt ot CtJurtlgc an~l ill Ill fnet that a ll1udcrn YOllJltm (all pcltlk or sud) lmusllal things rrc how Ciln ()Ill Llil to SVlllllathi7C wilh the sinccri of her
(- In nor Lll a 1 i[c
wnnt the him resentment
trll1sccndCnlal and a liollS (as at the moment of the cxccs~i( nHnantic l)S Bernard llwcerlles But he is aisu in uf tire French cinema
Goda Id represent the two film as opposed to a
as for we find it on one siele as on the
stance the triumph of mimesis and of the reconstruction
and in the second instance a
The lillll of the
til is
of
THE JIODEHN CINECgtIA AND NAHHATlVITY 201
modem Ii 1m is the cinematograph Ie one of dIOse great whose importance in ccr-
is well known
lield
A FILll-IIAKrms CINEMA Whnt 11 I1lIshyor a makers cinema as distinct from cinema Can it provide that criterion of
since n~ ils conS(jllellces hut lind il- so diflimiddot
cult lo ddillC There is doubt dial lodav cinema is very often 1
cineml while the old CiJl(~ml was so frcquently the ulterior
and secondary illustration of a worked-out Gocbrcls
the best exanm1es criticism like Michel COLlrshynots evel existence fro]]] tllis fact it vas the Ii Ims of the pasl ( and lot its prctext in thc sceLlario But all of Alain films art inshy
cript-writers lilms fhe SVSICLlltllic way ill which this di[ccshy
rdLlsing to imagine his works sccb out at the of thl
s(ell~Hio various colbhortltors of suJlicicnt weight to Iwvl their OWI1
of things leaves llS in llO dOl1bt as to his opiniolls on the
ie level that the lilm strati-ies and
Jilms derive their intcrest hOlll
lt- In lire ulel cinema there weTe of cmuse Jlonrealistic mrrvclOlb and fanshytastic films Bllt cunstitllted a marginal area at least iJ)ee the 1935- 4 0 period Hesnai is not descendant The ordered einellla is one of the two branches emerging Ollt III a snrl of common realistic trunt that bctween I940 amI 1950 approximately had become on the whole tlolllinant Irenel in relation to the various fantastic lenelcllcies
THE ~roDEnN CINEMA SOJIpound THEOnEJlCL PHUllLUIS
whole reflectioll on the of tlte ~ll1d of sol1tuclc a
dnt C11l0shy
of essell tially exlrashy
of Codnrd himself bear
witness (0 a narrltivc cl poundantlsy
docs llut automatshy
priority hut it cl[t8inly implies an eSSCllshy
(hat Cmbrd is (lllc of those mell
(Jill he ired clurillP tile lctua]
men Illli arc able to make IlIllIs throngll constant rdlecti()11 (cvell if
it is 11t ordered) ab()lIt the liIlC)llI~ lIlel who are ahle to creall
ill the hordcrLllld of 1 pocur tbat is also 111 e551 OJ] pO(trv (tile
rCHcr surly recognizes here onl of the lllost
Jll()dcrn litcratUlC) But even iF ur ~I director like Codard the cinshy
ellla IlllTI til Iv prescll t hcFore nisting becolllcs tllC nccessarv cat dyst
1m lillll creatioll- in the samc wal thM the idea or the h(lo]z is 81shy
ways in the minds uf modern even whell the hoolz
t hev lre is hardlv bCLlI1~thc Fact rellFlins that WILlt Collard
or ]the
mllmlilt of thelIarrative the
sea Pllis 1
hie with story
I do not see why the modem tban lJlvtbing else Eric
UIlC SIHll~titnes
point Iut t1wt the new prescnt ill the cineml
one forgets that between a cOllsidcrabl~ dilIcrence uf
In~lJ1 VJhu reached his maioritv The
all llew novel]
lcsclnblancc is Zl-S
At tbe vcry least nile sllUuld
narrative etc) cinema as
llovd is almust an
slllluid be lllore in Ln(icl1 certain Siln]
and the l1-W as
extent pheUOJ1lella as Too
such there exists old mlll lIJd the
and the same
THE ]IODERN CINEIA JND NAIHAl1VITY ~o
ever hroken and unfamiliar the 1ll8Y
line8r~this fact never is olle of the most proliJic of mudern remains true even when as is oftcn the scenario is horn in the midst of way only the COIlSCshy
(jUcnce or thc of the sccnario froll the modern cmelila or 10 t1wt the only scenarios me those that lrt IiC the of JUJenclH~ mlll Bust
A CINEMA OF TIlE SHOT Is the lllodem cinelli a ctlllll11
or the shot as distillgllishcd frum the old cincllw which WIS JJl(lrc cOllcerned with racing fwm shut to shot straisht to the
But jf that is the case what is (lJlC to say
the expressionist tendcllC~ CCrlllJll eXI )ressi)Jl iSIll the LIst Jilms or is 111 (lId OJH
that cOllnotations at
cinellla ~md not
ilctcristics of the Ilew cincma Is not the
of ~I kind of Vlst Cistclltiai failure
ohserves Cll]111IlIl11icJtcd
J1]Olltage) Is not Sa1alore GiuliallO a mOlltage lilill
lIiusie cinlma --and tllM was grounded to a hirgc extcnt OIl the
of inducing a IJorizolltal leading of tbe lihn that Iould COllSidcf cadi illla~c at length JlJd Wllltll on tIw olber Iwnd is OJlC to sal ~lj(lut the
grcllt f1llaisSIlII(( of wOllla) whicll after a period dominated hI the
from encl (0 end As for the yuuthflll dynamisllI (If Claude lcl()uchs [lUI Fillc des fusils is it not derived as lI1uch fWIll the of
the 111m as from the wonderful exuberance of its lllOlltlge nd Whll
of the imDortmc( (If SIOJlS
in the nd r
thought Tire fact j huwever vh~n SOlllC(le says H$ one hears that thc cincma is far of htcratllll one must C(lll shy
elude he nust never have read anvthiwgt at all
204 THE jVl(JDEI1N CINEMA S01JE THEORETICAL PROllLEMS
rative flow also confessions of 2 to 7 mel 111
Vivre sa vie And the and Ncver~ in
Hiroshima 11011 omour a counterpoint lhat despite its modern ac~
cent seems to emerge straight from the editing table of a Balilzs an
Arnheilll a Pudovlin or1 Tilllocilcnko And all the JIm
one sees
J CINEMA 01 POETPY remllIlO lmall y the lotiOIl IT
by Pier Paolo of a dislinction between
the cincma 01 and the cinema of poctry As attract inc as il
illay se(IIl the idea i~ nevertheless basicll1) fragile For llle
of prose and poclry arc too linked to lhe use of the verbal
to he cClsilv carricd over to the cinel1w Or elsc if ()Ill~ poetry
in
sense (gt1
whether llnessful or nOI
sidcrs poetl ill its tcdmical SC]lSC Ihe lise of Icrbal idiom
restrictions
a sC(JlHI code cappillg Ihl iirsl--()IlC
idi()m 1lsolini is
with
its I)f()adest SCI1Sl--as the illlllledill( Ilrcsenn of the world the
cncounshy
seems SIUll101ll1l1hlc The dlSlIHT or code ill (he cincma thll is the absCllce of
aware o[ Ihis ]lruh~
precisionl gut Ill believes
111 things c()nsidercd it can he circ1ilIlyltnted I helieve UIl tbe (()n~ md bter I will show wIn Furthershy
more t() these obstacles one must add still 1lOtlwr The
prose in Whl(c(r S(llSC it is gin)] has 11(1
the cincma and iF I pros( docs exist in the lexical
in distinction to poetrv and because a long rhetorical tradilioll has
divided into two a domain that is initially litemry (for prose prop~ that of a Chateaubriand or of a Stenshyspca
is aJshyand nol fromready the artistic use of language anu
IItiliti1rian language it creates ohjecls that have their own and
ilwt leads trulll Ihe
llTIlin av frolH
THE 1IODEnN CINEIA iTD NAm~TIVJrY US
at which lhrut or tor the it IS
lie Icr thCe CUllllllllnicHiul1 it lTCiltCS work The
poetr and prnsc J1JS IfIc1l1ing lt1nly within
(111( that 1cparatcs literallIre fmlll thl Ic
of idiom IS a to()1 nd it is this Lllimlrv distinfiOll (licit is ill
cinema S(I Ihat no 11111] Gill sIT iel sellse ll( Ir
Su oj Pas(lini- II
least for rdurn 10 tilC111 111lt1 let us lXl11J
ine Ilis Ihesis i(o]v ur til( lillllll If tJlcrc is sil]oc trelld
h IJ or Ihi histo it is indeed II1l Ule
eillCll]1 tu Jill J]((Ii1111I1ilmiddottl1al i II) Sci
the C11111111 f jllllr til till inlma o[
l)fose and 111 (he othn Va around Pasolini Itlllis
IhCIIIII-which arc nol rart in die modern CinellI]
struclllrts I1l lcnds also (0 CI)]ll~lrc tll( must hCllltifu
fillllS 10 (be dullest liddilil)])tl movies ltllId he tI( Iwl Lol)sidlT lhl
poeln il) 1 J)ollhle 0111
PUllr Iii Suile ill 111001ilc
or Dewier aloul
of
fillllS Olwj()lIsh lhere is more till iallo
Preside III ill( Cmu plirulI
C1l) onc
uf wh ich fur Olle l(l scc
fnr tl1C
Ill SLlhstII1CC lud Corm of cadI nnc
mel less ladie I h lIl~m (he older Ii djllers gtIll
be suilieiclltiv CCltlln tlla( IhL
Pasolin 1 sJl( ( b rClfCSCll ts ltl
in it il]( bCltillll
CillCIll12lti nd is it
Jillal 1ll]lys]s ((Infused with il111 inevilable slIbjedive lOIUmlioll oj
the filmie objccth its llming plrcCptjoll~whidl is ) ChllUCillilje
of aJI tillCmil-SO that the olliv real dilfercnce uuJcl Jillalv he tlw mel prose perceptions whith can only he dnrilicd hy d1C
ul eaeh film and docs no(
with Ihe existCJlcc of general restrictions
from
____ _
206 THE MODEHN ClNEIIj SOIE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS
further is it not alllong the liIllls that scem the must outmoded
todi1middotmiddotmiddotmiddotbut not always righth-middotthat one encounters the most cohercnt
and systcmatic attempts to COllstmct a hIm as one slrtletllr~s 1 poem
ilhat ahout Pudovlltins lvrical which Jean iVIitly has so well analyzed~7 iVlw ahollt the corOlWlion scene in [van lilC Terri shy
or th proccssion hefore Vakulintchllk amI the scelles of mist in
Poclllbll( What Iil()Ut Abel Ganee in Nupocoll and La Roue AmI ttlt attCII1Dts of the pllre cinema to substitute a einlll1ltl or tlzellles
And Jean Lpsteins enthusiastic analyses of the value of the c1ose-ujl shot And the lise of slow motion in the
seen(~ in Zero for Conduct And 111 the systems of montage
mentioned earlier vvhose aim vas to forlllalize the various ilmic 10 solidify the thematic depth in the normative pre
a formal svstcm Im] the accelerated
ing in the scene with the hlack coach ill N ()SfefUflI jnd the ineredmiddot
iblc Icrial traveling hot in
me ali indeed in$t1I1CeS of those gramlllatical elewellts IS
flillCtiom2B that PIsolini tellds to idclIt ifv wi th the new
cinema III trulh though tmlays cimmltl is at times rich in
resonances tl()[gh the had films of every I)criod hy definit elude the s(jclilcd puetry of thillgs llld the or their
zaliull the fact remain that the only attempt that havc been lInder
taken toward Ilut only a poetic eincnla bUlals() a cinema as organized
idiulII-sinec this is what Pasolini is talking about-were preshy
ill tllC old cinemamiddot Iml the fact is that since its hirth the
cinema has prltlctically ntVlr ceased to evolve ill the direction of an
ideal (technicallr prosaic) lIexihility and a freedOil I that arc
T mv mind these atlempts have culminated in a failure which 01 the level uf general CltlllllOt be overcome hy the few ll1uglliliccnt but isolated suceesses A Iilm may a poetic novel it C8l111ot be a (except in the case uf purely thematic nUJ1middotstory-telling short lilms like Berlill ur SucksdoriFs Rllyt111H of a Git) In a poem there is no fable amI nothing illmiddot trudes between the )uthO alld the reader The novelist draws up a world the Ioet of tIle work The fiction film still seems to me to be closer to the novel tu the poe111 And finally the period in which one believed that a film cuuld be a pOlm is that of the old cinema rather than that of the lIew cinC111a
_ ____ _bullbull__~ bullbullbull __ __bull_____bull____ ______________________~~_ __~
THE f-l0DERN CINEMA AND NARllATIVITY 207
WltlmiddotS tlH~ anIlvsc~ of Frallshy(tbe cinema s a modern suciological
novel) ndrc llazin lnd the
to the novcl rather than
or i
iou peCl lia r to mUll y
lISC or the powers of (he flbliIOlI~ within the framework of til( rclatiVllv
realistic lilms verisimilitude) middotMore gcnerally one will obcrvc
tIle sCHalied fantastic cinema whieh ill certain carlv periods
emile vcry close to merging with one of the ILIainstreams of the
cinema as a whole (Gcrmm-Swcdish expressioll ism hOlll 19 1 t()
1lt)3 0 the fantIstic lilms of the period 19jo5 sllch IS FraJlkeN
stein TlC J1HisilJlc 111(111 and Kill J(OIJ) eventually became I
Cllfe and a ralher special genre It that which even ill part over
vhat the French call the eil(11111-is horror films gmdcgtBltalian
sadistic Japanese lilms Soviet fantasy
etc As a tllC so called realistic film which has long
been contrasted to Ihe fantatie film or to the film or the marvclous
as ir were the two poles or the cinema laquomel this is
the famolls theme I ull1icre lS AJcIiJs) blS taken uver limosl the whole or modern film
Ihe new cinellIa lS the JIOiccaJic jJlCSltllcl
in traditional lill11s Oil the contrary the camcra tried to JIlake its prcsence unfelt to ll1llzc itselF invisible hcmiddot
rore tbe spectacle it was presenting But whilmiddotc it is true that this
may apl)l) to certain filllls or the 11(1I-s(Hlistant
classical Americall comedy for example and in III e films related to what called editing ciamiddot
was made to appear invisible-it cannot describe tllC
various tenclencies or the very cinema whose on the
were based on the presence of the call1era mOll
or Abel camera movcmcnts in
films the optical clistorriom and
L
TIlE IO[IEHJlt CINE[I St)H TJllUCETlC1 1 TIlE ]IODIlRN CINEiTi AND NAHnATIVITY
ii the lIS ()f dlc Trellch s cIoc-uplt in TI Pussioll of re ill (sthet ics
[kit th IITt i(ims Iike ] icllstcill
in lIiml whcll thel imisled
[illl1ed deri ItS hi the rilmimf Ild ((In )
verselv ilhill Ill( 111ltldcrn cinlma tiICIC is 1 lcndclHv Dill
ivis-JtdlJllCr SOIlIC I illj()l)iol1i F Dc StII
mel Ill the cil(lI(f ele Ilel thilt cardulh crilSCS lI1 CIIlICr
cI Fccs tilliS (Ill thiS 110im [ am ill ailccnwlll with l~lic nuillllcr
III
dUII1lIllali(HI
Ihcilll lIld I
11111
llld
Ihe invisihlc
f()r Ihe
the
dllSl Ulllllpluti pC found ill till lilills f
Licit
)[sul 11111
Ik rell
CIs (111(1111
t Illlml
hese
or I hc
[allln
lllti
ISll lel LIIJltr[Vancc [ihn makers
shut cillCllIltI ililel sequence (ilWllld prusc Cill(lllil
lhc Cillll(fl-inlICSllllt alld
tillcliOlls s(cms to me to ICCOUill
lIludern eillCJll~L
cLlililcd I Illodcm i too ollell
to 11(1i is bcLillg ill
l~l Wls PI(lps(d with (1(J](l II nr] IIiIlI 01 tll( 111
10 ClTlclill llIodClil lill]IS11ll1 hal
ruc-hut wilh lll drOll 1I111iCI1I
Ill)ssihk I1l1111IK1 01
l n d llempl is
lt( few pgcs III follow
t1VllIcC lhe inevitable
lui h Sill is iI til In (Ill( IC~
n()le lirsl tlwt il all lllll[llld 11)(
rC1S(lIJ Tllev 11( Sil
the cinCllW was IS S( l
is s( ltIt lc~lst 10 a much kSSCI extent I hdievl 11 til( the modern film is IllOle lllIIltitin ltInd IlWIT silli1
the main contribulion of the new cinema is lu have
flhllic narrative
cunlllry t1Jlt1t
so md thll
enriched the
lVlore or less lssociaLecl with this idcl of a presumed
ur wea kcu ing or 1I11TMi viI y is ltllllOJ] g lllmy critics Ihe 11 ()tion oJ a
hrcahlow11 or Ihe gramlllar ()r sVlltax uF the cineilla I wuuld s)
on the contrary that the cimlll) hilS lIe( hld cit her 1 gr~l1lJJl1U r or t
in tile prccise linguistic sense or thest tenliS (S()l1le Iheortli
that it did hut [I)M is allot her Illatter 1lt111(1 il
toela still a certaill IlllllllCI of rUllciulllLll
that pcrilin 10 the mosl profolilld necessities or ransmissiu11 of ~ll1V informI l11inl1 IIVS dl11 arc ex
arc to he sough in
and no ill tile glltll1llllill or 1a1lgUltlgls TIll wjl()1c Illutldll or til(
the fact tIl( Olle looks for ltl1l1()I1U the aud spcciJic V(TV rClllovcd rom rla Ii t ) i] iOIlI1 ti (
without laws all lliost prohahly bCOl1d the expects to lind thllll~th)1 is 10 sal Ull
a IIlllch ill some WllyS prior to lhe dilfciClllilti()1l or lcrbnl all il e idiOilis ) Frolll othcr lllllllan semiotic wstems
Vc ~Irc told was suited lltJ
sv 11 Lu llO [xists Iklt
the livilllt rJ11il s t() do with sllch iI hurden Bul
Ihml beiliU acllwIlv syntltlclir
articubliolls ralher
de SllISshy
CIIlCI1lH elll be VOlin )
excesses of raquosyllt~)( Ihat during the period of dill lInglleJ1 amI Cl1l
IaLer was considered to be as strict a the grammar of a verbal
gUJgc But the new more Hexiblc forms or the cinellld arc govshy
erned just as mllch the fundamental f~L1rls without wllich 110 information would be possible a discourse of SOIllC is alshy
wavs in olle way or another divisible The
-
these rule have llothilll to do (rab1lt little cleviees
(~octeau was on tile lm York 101 To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE IODETIN C1NEIIIA SOiIE THECmrrnCAL lHOBLEMS
it tried to he nOII11lt1shy
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwuwe the
ollr lilLlguages And we know the CXtlllt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative gtallllllariall hiel was illustratld ill
j()6 by the lXrlWllgC puhlished ill Arts hct(ll1 Elill1lhll llld Mn
tind Evcn the l1)ost allvltlnccd filllls still pertain to J
ltq11)]OdCh tlwugll ill order to apprclllI1l1 new ()Jjecb the 1lttlT llla
have () bccomc mure Hexiblc ns I will show ill s(veral
her (lll
hI hmt tW() crv llilTcfCI11 rules or the
cincma On derivcd irolll
a 1ullal irc hc considered outdated
or tbellSsl restrictivec 011 till other 11all1 there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of stJllctllralcol1liguratiulls thlt are ill illllll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving When OIlC SIV th~lt tbc Illlls (IF the
lllW wnc for cxmllplc have ullnplctclv dismantled the Ilarra
livc or thlt tbey hlC( Clltirel displaced Wlltlx OllC is fCIII takshy
illu 1 ven limited vicw of the
llalTlt ive lllt
vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11llOlogICl1 (lr COlllIlll Ud cudishy
to the
llimic vehick as I wh(1lc It is prlcisdv t() the extellt thlt tlll rllltl
Of the two the linguit Wlb Andre 11ntincl ltC jnother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing The ne cinema has
very rightly so-a lumber of mIlS sueh (lS the prohibition the 180shydegree angle shot (I the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a closeshyup with no change of axis or nltrainst the actor lo()kill~ at the camra etc
THE lIODEHN CfNEiIA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1oltuiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexistshy
(lJeC o[ lIlev Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc arc intelligihle IS is the
case tlmost tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse llllJiwlillc nnd Last Year at j1jorilllZ)(ld arc
still from one lnd to the other iIIllS and
lt1ny
lludes the (Icsniptivl SYlltagllla
til inl1mlltlW lid llld ill Paris rlt
least ill the present slatc or CillllllJt(lgraphic thniqucs) a 11(1I](lishy
cgltic illlltlgC must ill (lIlC way (If m()ther he linked t() a diqctic ill
n(l ()J it will not Ippear to he lllllldil(ctic etcY But sllcll
hml llcvcr l)(cil seri()tlsly triLd hy Ii I1ll-11mlcrs ulliess ]lcrllltljls--aml
CVCIl itlll OJll would han to (-ltImine the lIlatkr 1ll()lC
sUllie (SlrelllC aVlilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll understood Ci1](11IltItOmiddot
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln nd lilllllllakcrs IllYlI ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstlll(t stich
0 iJlJa~ill( thaI thc l1li~ht lxist is precisely
hCllllSC the llIain Ilglllls or cillclliatogrlphic illtclligihilitC illlllhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater lkllt than the arc nvarl oF Silllimiddot
Imh (he lIlost (lrigil1d critcr d()ls ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll 111 tllt
Ilew Llilguagc
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical an d from this
return to the d the Pa~oliniall tbcories which
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral imshy
pressions
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
194 THE i
MODUHNH
CINE]IA ~OME TlIEOHETICAL PROBLEMS
hmmm substance of his films than became
excels in showing us the diffuse
I ife that Ire considered
most IlnpOrlltlllt U1mg about
the Cinel1111 (Nrect-is [hlt he was
skein of ltl mOle subtle Evell llIure
diem fro III that
S](ln
form of
fmc IlO Ijlll1 Or
very
llucve r
iricalcs of that shimlllering
he lost
He
ur
I iema I
itself 11 (srecls prullloshy
in the
widest scnse
cIlls 11 J(1Il Y
of the alTragc
dCCCll t dOllllllen taries
A FIlNDAIENTAL
TIlE ]IODERN CINEMA AND NARRATIVITY 95
contained a to
revert to a mythology that Jean NIitry hm rightly crHlClZCtl a my that conceals hehilld phenoIllenologica I
tial reidislll whose consequellce is the revival OJ] the level of the
of tl1il195 of the terroristic
noegt
in the name of am-aspects or Ildrc Bazins alld
Muniers theories It shuuld be noted illcidentally dwt ilichcl
11lt1rdorc Illd Pierre Bilhrd do llut conceive of he notion or realism in tlltH SCJlS( nor docs Mmccl some of It is (spresshyslOns
that 1 rc aJld tilL person
lor whUlll tlley me ill thl inelllctable adverse
I hell is
lcHlng cinema as 1 whole but rathcr 1 (erwin crazv
has sprung lip around the cilcllla verite the belief
(cnce or the illlge which is SOIl1e1lOw
as wclJ as-eVCIl as it lends
terns that the slightest dislocation
and
lei llalizcs
nol the
tll1t
Lind of in110shy
exempt from
discursive
introduces- shy
(oilled word derived from the Greek (01-lt0 Ccosmos) Hlllt] allELl ( to Thus it indicates the faculty to preshysen t the world in its entirety to show --TnANsLATOll
THE MODEHN CINE~I SOIE TllliORETlCAL PHOIlLEllS
from tbe enormous
of some
thcsinn terms 111 tile ell()rmou~
the few hcautiful alld the lllany botched works of the CilllIlW v()rile
one might recugnize I wayward slll and obstinale sister of the sel1lioshy
logicid appnKlch-at Icast iF the hitter is cOl1sidered in ils kilSl teclllli
cal aspccls and in its deepest ]tfecl in fOUlIlhlioll The is (me of distrust for bnglwge anJ Yunls i]Jeileillg C[llCSshy
Crcltcri in order t(J question the world spele11 it
[he ubicct ()l (jLlCSliolh fashiolled IS a lonl Im
it is heing asked 1l0VV to aCColillt for
of slispicioll mel l10hlc neurosis the
Incxshy
tnll discollrse is onh I true disc(lllISC the word COl1llt1iIlS I
than that which is conLlillcd ill ils cmJcc( ic usage
The cincllw 1eril( Ull the lolllr~lfy lltcllllts (0 Ioid (ilcoc diflicu (ies hy supp()sedly rejecting coherent di~colllSC mel the lise of iconic
atlls(ation (VCIl the spccch of the (flllll) llCHlCS is slljlPllSllIIU he 1I1lshy
IlltlSCCTlt--il is pint or the illllgc as iF it WlJl l)cing swept
vlsl circuit of villdl illJl()n~IHL Uhc prolifcra(i)ll 01 III
tcrvicws in tile cinclJliI-rcri( lillllS he1s no othcl SUllfcC It is a P]
thetic
InCOllllll- de Iii Ipoundrre
th11 havlt hel) 0111shy
~hltJll]d
whu lws problellls Iwo Iypes of ie1coiogy that of im1ge and wbich is a sort of curious behaviorism
THE jlODEllN C1NEimiddotlA AND NAnnATlV1TY H)
Jlccrthekss-ilild IS a1111 ell t at
the best works of Ibe llew cincllu
viewer with
in the
trcmciv dillicilit to ddinc
1tis the lXDctncss of an
llslincshy
vOice
oj I gestnre of I lulle Jt for example till marvelllls ltIbn)st
dal1ced scellt ill Pierrul Ie fult lIlllIllg the
ClII Iif II I Ie c1iIJ1CC bull Ia lifilIc de IlilIeles IVfy life line
Your llip Jint 1 highlv lilH(lIi~tic (Till Ilevcrtheicss
since it is I piece uf ch()nogcqlliy 1 rclcrcl1cc to lllcri(JIl Illllsical
-we IIC 1 1) F(JllI lhl simple-minded rcdi~lll ollhc
phil cuIlLlrist traditioll realism for libl socillics No
other film PISSlgC JHlweY(r--lll1icss (OI sset (el1t the sishy
lcn( SCdUcli()1l ccm durin the pamcc Struilcim Pcddillf
crltiltgtll IlJIL imiddot all t]wt emlin I tJLl llIClhd hC1l tlmiddot the hands I the l(lialisl mel nc tLlll witllltS pi ti icJlenl ((t(llt hUI 1 of g[Iled )ll(Hlcllcd jng al thltlll~ll(s ur ltIt ltlch ll1ller crjng chlttcring etc nIll Jl()talgi for the olLlllltJl()l11 Id (c111catl(lll hlld Oil HlnallIHlJ It 1 tnLi~ JeHU]]) siglliliclIt that d all thl Illkrn lllethod the Illy )lI Ihilt is reL tively )(glcctcd hy the ciJlJJI(( [crie i prccisdy the Ill that i lll like t
II ill ill which Ihe slcciilist ]C)rtllllllllllC be) lHccisc pc)al duts not jjlH tu cxprc- -ulnc truth (Jr illpr(s~~i()ll ~(l IliUcll ltI 1(
amI (llllrcHed rcsllit aCllwllyc]allaiysi Cl add II(llfl
con1 rihLltj()l1~ that (lP(Ille
I an urekrh- po-CrlUI the
198 THE l10DERN CTNElIA SOME THEOl1ETlCAL PHOBLElIS TIlE MODEHN CINEMA AND NAHHATlVITY 199
MorcfltL-had portrayed with an acclllacy 8S fundamentally direct
as superbly careless of the external probabilitics of timc amI place the
lllute corporeal agrecments that love produces and by which it is proshy
duced the ambiencc of gcstures and tbe thousand minor aeshy
ceplltH1ccs of a docile receptiveness that is no mere obcclicnce and that
mold the vvomans sunlly face in the ~uccccding directions her lovers
hallct of active amused and tendcrtlcss
I somc or the nshy
tonioni
variolls films hy cvcn say that
rllllains to he dcfinedli---arc for all their
till most precious comFlcsts or the CiJlCllll tlllt since 1966
we hlVC (Ilcd lllodern Jt is sllrch not SOllle principle of ohjecliv
ity SOlllC faultless IGllislll that call dcJJ]le tbis modern cinellEI but
rather the liability to certain truths or to certain 1cclifacics that
make the yuung cincm[1 more Hlult and the traditionll cinema ocshy
cCisiollJlly vcry youthFul Tile fll1l1s of the past evcn the Jllost heau
JI [ne fcncrllhshy a lillIe lJOvc themselves like t1lOSC
adolesccnts
THE OHDEflED CINEMA To thaI sHeb accuracies havc be
the dir(ct()r~ or the were
or Ic~s sensitive dl[lIl those of locby
but that exph1l1[ltion is ill1(cllw1tc-is to reshy
examil1c that ncw and subtler dramaturgy lhat ldmits Ilion ohjectivc
details details of the kind tblt the Iraditional plot film ~lcrificecl or
ovcrwhelmed Exactness of tunc I priccless COlHjUcst that renders a
whole arCl of the cinCllla obsolctemight well be in turn only a
consecjl1e)lcc
Sec passngcs of Jlurnaus DalllI Sjlistroms Willd (certain of Lilliall (the character o[ Marcus) etc And (except in Potemkill) and oj Pudovkill
Furthermore olle must not
wtlmiddotr70 all of the modern
with which one
of the films of
pIlt j and text is I grc[lt deal more it is 15 if the il1shy
realistic potcn tiD I or the [ilill ic veil ick formcrly the proper Y
of the (o11ention ur a Illoderate degree or discretcl thcltrical ITllislll
the CUlle-Preyert films) had no divided itclf Iw
twelll a cincllla of passion (in the scnse that Ollt spel](S of passhy
sionate l()( IS Hen6 Gilson correct) Jlo[CS)21 a cincllI or (xlIlxr
ltlncc and discolcry Cmcl it is this Cillllll thai is (lcc1siollalh able to
C[lpturc those so direct truths I hme iust s]loken ur Wl kilO tIll ill
terest Godard h1S sbown for
other ham a cinema or ALlin nesnai~ and his SllClCSsiyc
that beliCHS onl in rccollstrtlcled [fllths~- a
JJost critic ]lasled ioHlS Vardas 111m Lc HOllIeUr Thm was result dUe f kind llIisllnderstanlIing I did not like the Ellll (itllc1 bllt to attack it for it lack of realisll1 is to Illy mimI a serious miscollslruction Certainly thmiddot worlcrs of life as the Jil)ll presents it is lJuite falltalic Uut it had til be so For the is a philosophical talc such as the eighteenth ccnlm enjoyed or rather a militant ulopia in the gtlylc of the ninetecnth century (hut Ull-
In a Illor( Iucill ecUlmt of the actual sucial factorsalld the class factors-that enter into Ihe problel11 c(lnsiclercd) 1t js abo
ill ouc way an act of courage For although it is lrue that a few pers(J1ls in tile social envIronlllcnt where films arc produced dream of a worll in whi] luve would be truly frce a wurld both animal and human where the hudys carclessless would also be a genewsitv a and
of women and men a world in which monster of scntiwel1tlllis)II as il has come to he since
paganism will be lU1l1ecl-altbough it is true that a futurism of l10urishes some of the cOllversatiollS ill Pariss Left Danlc the filet is that aside from Pierre Kast ill La Morle-saisoJl Le Bel and La Bnllure des mille soleils no (lne besides Varda had gathered these scattered snch a holdlv l1IOVOCalie These human
conducted away from such futile sufferinQs of jealous exclusive emotiol1S are
existed as if the V were
TITE IODE) CIiEMA SO~IE H1EOJ(PIlCAL PHOULlJJ
Dr(cllli~l11 than i1 is awarc thill orders with meticulous patience I
cd ltllltl I (111shy
Clllltl 1shy
cariier at the limc (t the missed
vcar at Maricllhad Was the mnl1(siac OISCI1CC
tile llllshrrild or not) (Ic1 a cillema of tellSe 1Il1cltrtrllnlv tlwt ratllci
lhtm plescnting t1w Ipollas uF Illcllling ill 1 frl1l intended [) il1lutt
their Ippearann in daill experiellcc dclihcratcly ltltltlstructs 1
rinthint Il1(Jdel SOIll( hiztllTe Illodernistic ritual ithin
which th( pIdatllj will I()se hiLllselr bnt
ill ldvlLHT OLle could sav tllal bin Fksnlls
lack I rci1islil nlll is tkll not aho tile verv definilioll 0 plativ( tflllsllle([ into the IHClllt or the imlicaiivc
Ihesc frec feiatio)bhips are nlre)dy 1lllraquoC or k cirde but it gll(S Vardi had placed the actiu]) d her Ijlm ill such
the story--which woull then be realistic rlliid hnve lost all tbe power 01 ih militant impact For what the film ]]lcans til say that workers to cuuld live like thaL In shurt the mislIJlderSIltllltling d(fivcs frulIl the Llct Ilal Ile fil)) wr viewed if nc wIgtuld sec a Glard Jilm as exalllpk ( thc ordered eiDem 1 rcpelt I did nut like tbe film Ilut at all in Lltt This was hr rc)ss [ the cnact11ll1l1 f the uto ill its details Dilt NIlo vould Inailltajn tlilt vas nut a celtllin llUollnt ot CtJurtlgc an~l ill Ill fnet that a ll1udcrn YOllJltm (all pcltlk or sud) lmusllal things rrc how Ciln ()Ill Llil to SVlllllathi7C wilh the sinccri of her
(- In nor Lll a 1 i[c
wnnt the him resentment
trll1sccndCnlal and a liollS (as at the moment of the cxccs~i( nHnantic l)S Bernard llwcerlles But he is aisu in uf tire French cinema
Goda Id represent the two film as opposed to a
as for we find it on one siele as on the
stance the triumph of mimesis and of the reconstruction
and in the second instance a
The lillll of the
til is
of
THE JIODEHN CINECgtIA AND NAHHATlVITY 201
modem Ii 1m is the cinematograph Ie one of dIOse great whose importance in ccr-
is well known
lield
A FILll-IIAKrms CINEMA Whnt 11 I1lIshyor a makers cinema as distinct from cinema Can it provide that criterion of
since n~ ils conS(jllellces hut lind il- so diflimiddot
cult lo ddillC There is doubt dial lodav cinema is very often 1
cineml while the old CiJl(~ml was so frcquently the ulterior
and secondary illustration of a worked-out Gocbrcls
the best exanm1es criticism like Michel COLlrshynots evel existence fro]]] tllis fact it vas the Ii Ims of the pasl ( and lot its prctext in thc sceLlario But all of Alain films art inshy
cript-writers lilms fhe SVSICLlltllic way ill which this di[ccshy
rdLlsing to imagine his works sccb out at the of thl
s(ell~Hio various colbhortltors of suJlicicnt weight to Iwvl their OWI1
of things leaves llS in llO dOl1bt as to his opiniolls on the
ie level that the lilm strati-ies and
Jilms derive their intcrest hOlll
lt- In lire ulel cinema there weTe of cmuse Jlonrealistic mrrvclOlb and fanshytastic films Bllt cunstitllted a marginal area at least iJ)ee the 1935- 4 0 period Hesnai is not descendant The ordered einellla is one of the two branches emerging Ollt III a snrl of common realistic trunt that bctween I940 amI 1950 approximately had become on the whole tlolllinant Irenel in relation to the various fantastic lenelcllcies
THE ~roDEnN CINEMA SOJIpound THEOnEJlCL PHUllLUIS
whole reflectioll on the of tlte ~ll1d of sol1tuclc a
dnt C11l0shy
of essell tially exlrashy
of Codnrd himself bear
witness (0 a narrltivc cl poundantlsy
docs llut automatshy
priority hut it cl[t8inly implies an eSSCllshy
(hat Cmbrd is (lllc of those mell
(Jill he ired clurillP tile lctua]
men Illli arc able to make IlIllIs throngll constant rdlecti()11 (cvell if
it is 11t ordered) ab()lIt the liIlC)llI~ lIlel who are ahle to creall
ill the hordcrLllld of 1 pocur tbat is also 111 e551 OJ] pO(trv (tile
rCHcr surly recognizes here onl of the lllost
Jll()dcrn litcratUlC) But even iF ur ~I director like Codard the cinshy
ellla IlllTI til Iv prescll t hcFore nisting becolllcs tllC nccessarv cat dyst
1m lillll creatioll- in the samc wal thM the idea or the h(lo]z is 81shy
ways in the minds uf modern even whell the hoolz
t hev lre is hardlv bCLlI1~thc Fact rellFlins that WILlt Collard
or ]the
mllmlilt of thelIarrative the
sea Pllis 1
hie with story
I do not see why the modem tban lJlvtbing else Eric
UIlC SIHll~titnes
point Iut t1wt the new prescnt ill the cineml
one forgets that between a cOllsidcrabl~ dilIcrence uf
In~lJ1 VJhu reached his maioritv The
all llew novel]
lcsclnblancc is Zl-S
At tbe vcry least nile sllUuld
narrative etc) cinema as
llovd is almust an
slllluid be lllore in Ln(icl1 certain Siln]
and the l1-W as
extent pheUOJ1lella as Too
such there exists old mlll lIJd the
and the same
THE ]IODERN CINEIA JND NAIHAl1VITY ~o
ever hroken and unfamiliar the 1ll8Y
line8r~this fact never is olle of the most proliJic of mudern remains true even when as is oftcn the scenario is horn in the midst of way only the COIlSCshy
(jUcnce or thc of the sccnario froll the modern cmelila or 10 t1wt the only scenarios me those that lrt IiC the of JUJenclH~ mlll Bust
A CINEMA OF TIlE SHOT Is the lllodem cinelli a ctlllll11
or the shot as distillgllishcd frum the old cincllw which WIS JJl(lrc cOllcerned with racing fwm shut to shot straisht to the
But jf that is the case what is (lJlC to say
the expressionist tendcllC~ CCrlllJll eXI )ressi)Jl iSIll the LIst Jilms or is 111 (lId OJH
that cOllnotations at
cinellla ~md not
ilctcristics of the Ilew cincma Is not the
of ~I kind of Vlst Cistclltiai failure
ohserves Cll]111IlIl11icJtcd
J1]Olltage) Is not Sa1alore GiuliallO a mOlltage lilill
lIiusie cinlma --and tllM was grounded to a hirgc extcnt OIl the
of inducing a IJorizolltal leading of tbe lihn that Iould COllSidcf cadi illla~c at length JlJd Wllltll on tIw olber Iwnd is OJlC to sal ~lj(lut the
grcllt f1llaisSIlII(( of wOllla) whicll after a period dominated hI the
from encl (0 end As for the yuuthflll dynamisllI (If Claude lcl()uchs [lUI Fillc des fusils is it not derived as lI1uch fWIll the of
the 111m as from the wonderful exuberance of its lllOlltlge nd Whll
of the imDortmc( (If SIOJlS
in the nd r
thought Tire fact j huwever vh~n SOlllC(le says H$ one hears that thc cincma is far of htcratllll one must C(lll shy
elude he nust never have read anvthiwgt at all
204 THE jVl(JDEI1N CINEMA S01JE THEORETICAL PROllLEMS
rative flow also confessions of 2 to 7 mel 111
Vivre sa vie And the and Ncver~ in
Hiroshima 11011 omour a counterpoint lhat despite its modern ac~
cent seems to emerge straight from the editing table of a Balilzs an
Arnheilll a Pudovlin or1 Tilllocilcnko And all the JIm
one sees
J CINEMA 01 POETPY remllIlO lmall y the lotiOIl IT
by Pier Paolo of a dislinction between
the cincma 01 and the cinema of poctry As attract inc as il
illay se(IIl the idea i~ nevertheless basicll1) fragile For llle
of prose and poclry arc too linked to lhe use of the verbal
to he cClsilv carricd over to the cinel1w Or elsc if ()Ill~ poetry
in
sense (gt1
whether llnessful or nOI
sidcrs poetl ill its tcdmical SC]lSC Ihe lise of Icrbal idiom
restrictions
a sC(JlHI code cappillg Ihl iirsl--()IlC
idi()m 1lsolini is
with
its I)f()adest SCI1Sl--as the illlllledill( Ilrcsenn of the world the
cncounshy
seems SIUll101ll1l1hlc The dlSlIHT or code ill (he cincma thll is the absCllce of
aware o[ Ihis ]lruh~
precisionl gut Ill believes
111 things c()nsidercd it can he circ1ilIlyltnted I helieve UIl tbe (()n~ md bter I will show wIn Furthershy
more t() these obstacles one must add still 1lOtlwr The
prose in Whl(c(r S(llSC it is gin)] has 11(1
the cincma and iF I pros( docs exist in the lexical
in distinction to poetrv and because a long rhetorical tradilioll has
divided into two a domain that is initially litemry (for prose prop~ that of a Chateaubriand or of a Stenshyspca
is aJshyand nol fromready the artistic use of language anu
IItiliti1rian language it creates ohjecls that have their own and
ilwt leads trulll Ihe
llTIlin av frolH
THE 1IODEnN CINEIA iTD NAm~TIVJrY US
at which lhrut or tor the it IS
lie Icr thCe CUllllllllnicHiul1 it lTCiltCS work The
poetr and prnsc J1JS IfIc1l1ing lt1nly within
(111( that 1cparatcs literallIre fmlll thl Ic
of idiom IS a to()1 nd it is this Lllimlrv distinfiOll (licit is ill
cinema S(I Ihat no 11111] Gill sIT iel sellse ll( Ir
Su oj Pas(lini- II
least for rdurn 10 tilC111 111lt1 let us lXl11J
ine Ilis Ihesis i(o]v ur til( lillllll If tJlcrc is sil]oc trelld
h IJ or Ihi histo it is indeed II1l Ule
eillCll]1 tu Jill J]((Ii1111I1ilmiddottl1al i II) Sci
the C11111111 f jllllr til till inlma o[
l)fose and 111 (he othn Va around Pasolini Itlllis
IhCIIIII-which arc nol rart in die modern CinellI]
struclllrts I1l lcnds also (0 CI)]ll~lrc tll( must hCllltifu
fillllS 10 (be dullest liddilil)])tl movies ltllId he tI( Iwl Lol)sidlT lhl
poeln il) 1 J)ollhle 0111
PUllr Iii Suile ill 111001ilc
or Dewier aloul
of
fillllS Olwj()lIsh lhere is more till iallo
Preside III ill( Cmu plirulI
C1l) onc
uf wh ich fur Olle l(l scc
fnr tl1C
Ill SLlhstII1CC lud Corm of cadI nnc
mel less ladie I h lIl~m (he older Ii djllers gtIll
be suilieiclltiv CCltlln tlla( IhL
Pasolin 1 sJl( ( b rClfCSCll ts ltl
in it il]( bCltillll
CillCIll12lti nd is it
Jillal 1ll]lys]s ((Infused with il111 inevilable slIbjedive lOIUmlioll oj
the filmie objccth its llming plrcCptjoll~whidl is ) ChllUCillilje
of aJI tillCmil-SO that the olliv real dilfercnce uuJcl Jillalv he tlw mel prose perceptions whith can only he dnrilicd hy d1C
ul eaeh film and docs no(
with Ihe existCJlcc of general restrictions
from
____ _
206 THE MODEHN ClNEIIj SOIE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS
further is it not alllong the liIllls that scem the must outmoded
todi1middotmiddotmiddotmiddotbut not always righth-middotthat one encounters the most cohercnt
and systcmatic attempts to COllstmct a hIm as one slrtletllr~s 1 poem
ilhat ahout Pudovlltins lvrical which Jean iVIitly has so well analyzed~7 iVlw ahollt the corOlWlion scene in [van lilC Terri shy
or th proccssion hefore Vakulintchllk amI the scelles of mist in
Poclllbll( What Iil()Ut Abel Ganee in Nupocoll and La Roue AmI ttlt attCII1Dts of the pllre cinema to substitute a einlll1ltl or tlzellles
And Jean Lpsteins enthusiastic analyses of the value of the c1ose-ujl shot And the lise of slow motion in the
seen(~ in Zero for Conduct And 111 the systems of montage
mentioned earlier vvhose aim vas to forlllalize the various ilmic 10 solidify the thematic depth in the normative pre
a formal svstcm Im] the accelerated
ing in the scene with the hlack coach ill N ()SfefUflI jnd the ineredmiddot
iblc Icrial traveling hot in
me ali indeed in$t1I1CeS of those gramlllatical elewellts IS
flillCtiom2B that PIsolini tellds to idclIt ifv wi th the new
cinema III trulh though tmlays cimmltl is at times rich in
resonances tl()[gh the had films of every I)criod hy definit elude the s(jclilcd puetry of thillgs llld the or their
zaliull the fact remain that the only attempt that havc been lInder
taken toward Ilut only a poetic eincnla bUlals() a cinema as organized
idiulII-sinec this is what Pasolini is talking about-were preshy
ill tllC old cinemamiddot Iml the fact is that since its hirth the
cinema has prltlctically ntVlr ceased to evolve ill the direction of an
ideal (technicallr prosaic) lIexihility and a freedOil I that arc
T mv mind these atlempts have culminated in a failure which 01 the level uf general CltlllllOt be overcome hy the few ll1uglliliccnt but isolated suceesses A Iilm may a poetic novel it C8l111ot be a (except in the case uf purely thematic nUJ1middotstory-telling short lilms like Berlill ur SucksdoriFs Rllyt111H of a Git) In a poem there is no fable amI nothing illmiddot trudes between the )uthO alld the reader The novelist draws up a world the Ioet of tIle work The fiction film still seems to me to be closer to the novel tu the poe111 And finally the period in which one believed that a film cuuld be a pOlm is that of the old cinema rather than that of the lIew cinC111a
_ ____ _bullbull__~ bullbullbull __ __bull_____bull____ ______________________~~_ __~
THE f-l0DERN CINEMA AND NARllATIVITY 207
WltlmiddotS tlH~ anIlvsc~ of Frallshy(tbe cinema s a modern suciological
novel) ndrc llazin lnd the
to the novcl rather than
or i
iou peCl lia r to mUll y
lISC or the powers of (he flbliIOlI~ within the framework of til( rclatiVllv
realistic lilms verisimilitude) middotMore gcnerally one will obcrvc
tIle sCHalied fantastic cinema whieh ill certain carlv periods
emile vcry close to merging with one of the ILIainstreams of the
cinema as a whole (Gcrmm-Swcdish expressioll ism hOlll 19 1 t()
1lt)3 0 the fantIstic lilms of the period 19jo5 sllch IS FraJlkeN
stein TlC J1HisilJlc 111(111 and Kill J(OIJ) eventually became I
Cllfe and a ralher special genre It that which even ill part over
vhat the French call the eil(11111-is horror films gmdcgtBltalian
sadistic Japanese lilms Soviet fantasy
etc As a tllC so called realistic film which has long
been contrasted to Ihe fantatie film or to the film or the marvclous
as ir were the two poles or the cinema laquomel this is
the famolls theme I ull1icre lS AJcIiJs) blS taken uver limosl the whole or modern film
Ihe new cinellIa lS the JIOiccaJic jJlCSltllcl
in traditional lill11s Oil the contrary the camcra tried to JIlake its prcsence unfelt to ll1llzc itselF invisible hcmiddot
rore tbe spectacle it was presenting But whilmiddotc it is true that this
may apl)l) to certain filllls or the 11(1I-s(Hlistant
classical Americall comedy for example and in III e films related to what called editing ciamiddot
was made to appear invisible-it cannot describe tllC
various tenclencies or the very cinema whose on the
were based on the presence of the call1era mOll
or Abel camera movcmcnts in
films the optical clistorriom and
L
TIlE IO[IEHJlt CINE[I St)H TJllUCETlC1 1 TIlE ]IODIlRN CINEiTi AND NAHnATIVITY
ii the lIS ()f dlc Trellch s cIoc-uplt in TI Pussioll of re ill (sthet ics
[kit th IITt i(ims Iike ] icllstcill
in lIiml whcll thel imisled
[illl1ed deri ItS hi the rilmimf Ild ((In )
verselv ilhill Ill( 111ltldcrn cinlma tiICIC is 1 lcndclHv Dill
ivis-JtdlJllCr SOIlIC I illj()l)iol1i F Dc StII
mel Ill the cil(lI(f ele Ilel thilt cardulh crilSCS lI1 CIIlICr
cI Fccs tilliS (Ill thiS 110im [ am ill ailccnwlll with l~lic nuillllcr
III
dUII1lIllali(HI
Ihcilll lIld I
11111
llld
Ihe invisihlc
f()r Ihe
the
dllSl Ulllllpluti pC found ill till lilills f
Licit
)[sul 11111
Ik rell
CIs (111(1111
t Illlml
hese
or I hc
[allln
lllti
ISll lel LIIJltr[Vancc [ihn makers
shut cillCllIltI ililel sequence (ilWllld prusc Cill(lllil
lhc Cillll(fl-inlICSllllt alld
tillcliOlls s(cms to me to ICCOUill
lIludern eillCJll~L
cLlililcd I Illodcm i too ollell
to 11(1i is bcLillg ill
l~l Wls PI(lps(d with (1(J](l II nr] IIiIlI 01 tll( 111
10 ClTlclill llIodClil lill]IS11ll1 hal
ruc-hut wilh lll drOll 1I111iCI1I
Ill)ssihk I1l1111IK1 01
l n d llempl is
lt( few pgcs III follow
t1VllIcC lhe inevitable
lui h Sill is iI til In (Ill( IC~
n()le lirsl tlwt il all lllll[llld 11)(
rC1S(lIJ Tllev 11( Sil
the cinCllW was IS S( l
is s( ltIt lc~lst 10 a much kSSCI extent I hdievl 11 til( the modern film is IllOle lllIIltitin ltInd IlWIT silli1
the main contribulion of the new cinema is lu have
flhllic narrative
cunlllry t1Jlt1t
so md thll
enriched the
lVlore or less lssociaLecl with this idcl of a presumed
ur wea kcu ing or 1I11TMi viI y is ltllllOJ] g lllmy critics Ihe 11 ()tion oJ a
hrcahlow11 or Ihe gramlllar ()r sVlltax uF the cineilla I wuuld s)
on the contrary that the cimlll) hilS lIe( hld cit her 1 gr~l1lJJl1U r or t
in tile prccise linguistic sense or thest tenliS (S()l1le Iheortli
that it did hut [I)M is allot her Illatter 1lt111(1 il
toela still a certaill IlllllllCI of rUllciulllLll
that pcrilin 10 the mosl profolilld necessities or ransmissiu11 of ~ll1V informI l11inl1 IIVS dl11 arc ex
arc to he sough in
and no ill tile glltll1llllill or 1a1lgUltlgls TIll wjl()1c Illutldll or til(
the fact tIl( Olle looks for ltl1l1()I1U the aud spcciJic V(TV rClllovcd rom rla Ii t ) i] iOIlI1 ti (
without laws all lliost prohahly bCOl1d the expects to lind thllll~th)1 is 10 sal Ull
a IIlllch ill some WllyS prior to lhe dilfciClllilti()1l or lcrbnl all il e idiOilis ) Frolll othcr lllllllan semiotic wstems
Vc ~Irc told was suited lltJ
sv 11 Lu llO [xists Iklt
the livilllt rJ11il s t() do with sllch iI hurden Bul
Ihml beiliU acllwIlv syntltlclir
articubliolls ralher
de SllISshy
CIIlCI1lH elll be VOlin )
excesses of raquosyllt~)( Ihat during the period of dill lInglleJ1 amI Cl1l
IaLer was considered to be as strict a the grammar of a verbal
gUJgc But the new more Hexiblc forms or the cinellld arc govshy
erned just as mllch the fundamental f~L1rls without wllich 110 information would be possible a discourse of SOIllC is alshy
wavs in olle way or another divisible The
-
these rule have llothilll to do (rab1lt little cleviees
(~octeau was on tile lm York 101 To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE IODETIN C1NEIIIA SOiIE THECmrrnCAL lHOBLEMS
it tried to he nOII11lt1shy
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwuwe the
ollr lilLlguages And we know the CXtlllt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative gtallllllariall hiel was illustratld ill
j()6 by the lXrlWllgC puhlished ill Arts hct(ll1 Elill1lhll llld Mn
tind Evcn the l1)ost allvltlnccd filllls still pertain to J
ltq11)]OdCh tlwugll ill order to apprclllI1l1 new ()Jjecb the 1lttlT llla
have () bccomc mure Hexiblc ns I will show ill s(veral
her (lll
hI hmt tW() crv llilTcfCI11 rules or the
cincma On derivcd irolll
a 1ullal irc hc considered outdated
or tbellSsl restrictivec 011 till other 11all1 there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of stJllctllralcol1liguratiulls thlt are ill illllll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving When OIlC SIV th~lt tbc Illlls (IF the
lllW wnc for cxmllplc have ullnplctclv dismantled the Ilarra
livc or thlt tbey hlC( Clltirel displaced Wlltlx OllC is fCIII takshy
illu 1 ven limited vicw of the
llalTlt ive lllt
vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11llOlogICl1 (lr COlllIlll Ud cudishy
to the
llimic vehick as I wh(1lc It is prlcisdv t() the extellt thlt tlll rllltl
Of the two the linguit Wlb Andre 11ntincl ltC jnother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing The ne cinema has
very rightly so-a lumber of mIlS sueh (lS the prohibition the 180shydegree angle shot (I the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a closeshyup with no change of axis or nltrainst the actor lo()kill~ at the camra etc
THE lIODEHN CfNEiIA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1oltuiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexistshy
(lJeC o[ lIlev Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc arc intelligihle IS is the
case tlmost tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse llllJiwlillc nnd Last Year at j1jorilllZ)(ld arc
still from one lnd to the other iIIllS and
lt1ny
lludes the (Icsniptivl SYlltagllla
til inl1mlltlW lid llld ill Paris rlt
least ill the present slatc or CillllllJt(lgraphic thniqucs) a 11(1I](lishy
cgltic illlltlgC must ill (lIlC way (If m()ther he linked t() a diqctic ill
n(l ()J it will not Ippear to he lllllldil(ctic etcY But sllcll
hml llcvcr l)(cil seri()tlsly triLd hy Ii I1ll-11mlcrs ulliess ]lcrllltljls--aml
CVCIl itlll OJll would han to (-ltImine the lIlatkr 1ll()lC
sUllie (SlrelllC aVlilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll understood Ci1](11IltItOmiddot
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln nd lilllllllakcrs IllYlI ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstlll(t stich
0 iJlJa~ill( thaI thc l1li~ht lxist is precisely
hCllllSC the llIain Ilglllls or cillclliatogrlphic illtclligihilitC illlllhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater lkllt than the arc nvarl oF Silllimiddot
Imh (he lIlost (lrigil1d critcr d()ls ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll 111 tllt
Ilew Llilguagc
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical an d from this
return to the d the Pa~oliniall tbcories which
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral imshy
pressions
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
THE MODEHN CINE~I SOIE TllliORETlCAL PHOIlLEllS
from tbe enormous
of some
thcsinn terms 111 tile ell()rmou~
the few hcautiful alld the lllany botched works of the CilllIlW v()rile
one might recugnize I wayward slll and obstinale sister of the sel1lioshy
logicid appnKlch-at Icast iF the hitter is cOl1sidered in ils kilSl teclllli
cal aspccls and in its deepest ]tfecl in fOUlIlhlioll The is (me of distrust for bnglwge anJ Yunls i]Jeileillg C[llCSshy
Crcltcri in order t(J question the world spele11 it
[he ubicct ()l (jLlCSliolh fashiolled IS a lonl Im
it is heing asked 1l0VV to aCColillt for
of slispicioll mel l10hlc neurosis the
Incxshy
tnll discollrse is onh I true disc(lllISC the word COl1llt1iIlS I
than that which is conLlillcd ill ils cmJcc( ic usage
The cincllw 1eril( Ull the lolllr~lfy lltcllllts (0 Ioid (ilcoc diflicu (ies hy supp()sedly rejecting coherent di~colllSC mel the lise of iconic
atlls(ation (VCIl the spccch of the (flllll) llCHlCS is slljlPllSllIIU he 1I1lshy
IlltlSCCTlt--il is pint or the illllgc as iF it WlJl l)cing swept
vlsl circuit of villdl illJl()n~IHL Uhc prolifcra(i)ll 01 III
tcrvicws in tile cinclJliI-rcri( lillllS he1s no othcl SUllfcC It is a P]
thetic
InCOllllll- de Iii Ipoundrre
th11 havlt hel) 0111shy
~hltJll]d
whu lws problellls Iwo Iypes of ie1coiogy that of im1ge and wbich is a sort of curious behaviorism
THE jlODEllN C1NEimiddotlA AND NAnnATlV1TY H)
Jlccrthekss-ilild IS a1111 ell t at
the best works of Ibe llew cincllu
viewer with
in the
trcmciv dillicilit to ddinc
1tis the lXDctncss of an
llslincshy
vOice
oj I gestnre of I lulle Jt for example till marvelllls ltIbn)st
dal1ced scellt ill Pierrul Ie fult lIlllIllg the
ClII Iif II I Ie c1iIJ1CC bull Ia lifilIc de IlilIeles IVfy life line
Your llip Jint 1 highlv lilH(lIi~tic (Till Ilevcrtheicss
since it is I piece uf ch()nogcqlliy 1 rclcrcl1cc to lllcri(JIl Illllsical
-we IIC 1 1) F(JllI lhl simple-minded rcdi~lll ollhc
phil cuIlLlrist traditioll realism for libl socillics No
other film PISSlgC JHlweY(r--lll1icss (OI sset (el1t the sishy
lcn( SCdUcli()1l ccm durin the pamcc Struilcim Pcddillf
crltiltgtll IlJIL imiddot all t]wt emlin I tJLl llIClhd hC1l tlmiddot the hands I the l(lialisl mel nc tLlll witllltS pi ti icJlenl ((t(llt hUI 1 of g[Iled )ll(Hlcllcd jng al thltlll~ll(s ur ltIt ltlch ll1ller crjng chlttcring etc nIll Jl()talgi for the olLlllltJl()l11 Id (c111catl(lll hlld Oil HlnallIHlJ It 1 tnLi~ JeHU]]) siglliliclIt that d all thl Illkrn lllethod the Illy )lI Ihilt is reL tively )(glcctcd hy the ciJlJJI(( [crie i prccisdy the Ill that i lll like t
II ill ill which Ihe slcciilist ]C)rtllllllllllC be) lHccisc pc)al duts not jjlH tu cxprc- -ulnc truth (Jr illpr(s~~i()ll ~(l IliUcll ltI 1(
amI (llllrcHed rcsllit aCllwllyc]allaiysi Cl add II(llfl
con1 rihLltj()l1~ that (lP(Ille
I an urekrh- po-CrlUI the
198 THE l10DERN CTNElIA SOME THEOl1ETlCAL PHOBLElIS TIlE MODEHN CINEMA AND NAHHATlVITY 199
MorcfltL-had portrayed with an acclllacy 8S fundamentally direct
as superbly careless of the external probabilitics of timc amI place the
lllute corporeal agrecments that love produces and by which it is proshy
duced the ambiencc of gcstures and tbe thousand minor aeshy
ceplltH1ccs of a docile receptiveness that is no mere obcclicnce and that
mold the vvomans sunlly face in the ~uccccding directions her lovers
hallct of active amused and tendcrtlcss
I somc or the nshy
tonioni
variolls films hy cvcn say that
rllllains to he dcfinedli---arc for all their
till most precious comFlcsts or the CiJlCllll tlllt since 1966
we hlVC (Ilcd lllodern Jt is sllrch not SOllle principle of ohjecliv
ity SOlllC faultless IGllislll that call dcJJ]le tbis modern cinellEI but
rather the liability to certain truths or to certain 1cclifacics that
make the yuung cincm[1 more Hlult and the traditionll cinema ocshy
cCisiollJlly vcry youthFul Tile fll1l1s of the past evcn the Jllost heau
JI [ne fcncrllhshy a lillIe lJOvc themselves like t1lOSC
adolesccnts
THE OHDEflED CINEMA To thaI sHeb accuracies havc be
the dir(ct()r~ or the were
or Ic~s sensitive dl[lIl those of locby
but that exph1l1[ltion is ill1(cllw1tc-is to reshy
examil1c that ncw and subtler dramaturgy lhat ldmits Ilion ohjectivc
details details of the kind tblt the Iraditional plot film ~lcrificecl or
ovcrwhelmed Exactness of tunc I priccless COlHjUcst that renders a
whole arCl of the cinCllla obsolctemight well be in turn only a
consecjl1e)lcc
Sec passngcs of Jlurnaus DalllI Sjlistroms Willd (certain of Lilliall (the character o[ Marcus) etc And (except in Potemkill) and oj Pudovkill
Furthermore olle must not
wtlmiddotr70 all of the modern
with which one
of the films of
pIlt j and text is I grc[lt deal more it is 15 if the il1shy
realistic potcn tiD I or the [ilill ic veil ick formcrly the proper Y
of the (o11ention ur a Illoderate degree or discretcl thcltrical ITllislll
the CUlle-Preyert films) had no divided itclf Iw
twelll a cincllla of passion (in the scnse that Ollt spel](S of passhy
sionate l()( IS Hen6 Gilson correct) Jlo[CS)21 a cincllI or (xlIlxr
ltlncc and discolcry Cmcl it is this Cillllll thai is (lcc1siollalh able to
C[lpturc those so direct truths I hme iust s]loken ur Wl kilO tIll ill
terest Godard h1S sbown for
other ham a cinema or ALlin nesnai~ and his SllClCSsiyc
that beliCHS onl in rccollstrtlcled [fllths~- a
JJost critic ]lasled ioHlS Vardas 111m Lc HOllIeUr Thm was result dUe f kind llIisllnderstanlIing I did not like the Ellll (itllc1 bllt to attack it for it lack of realisll1 is to Illy mimI a serious miscollslruction Certainly thmiddot worlcrs of life as the Jil)ll presents it is lJuite falltalic Uut it had til be so For the is a philosophical talc such as the eighteenth ccnlm enjoyed or rather a militant ulopia in the gtlylc of the ninetecnth century (hut Ull-
In a Illor( Iucill ecUlmt of the actual sucial factorsalld the class factors-that enter into Ihe problel11 c(lnsiclercd) 1t js abo
ill ouc way an act of courage For although it is lrue that a few pers(J1ls in tile social envIronlllcnt where films arc produced dream of a worll in whi] luve would be truly frce a wurld both animal and human where the hudys carclessless would also be a genewsitv a and
of women and men a world in which monster of scntiwel1tlllis)II as il has come to he since
paganism will be lU1l1ecl-altbough it is true that a futurism of l10urishes some of the cOllversatiollS ill Pariss Left Danlc the filet is that aside from Pierre Kast ill La Morle-saisoJl Le Bel and La Bnllure des mille soleils no (lne besides Varda had gathered these scattered snch a holdlv l1IOVOCalie These human
conducted away from such futile sufferinQs of jealous exclusive emotiol1S are
existed as if the V were
TITE IODE) CIiEMA SO~IE H1EOJ(PIlCAL PHOULlJJ
Dr(cllli~l11 than i1 is awarc thill orders with meticulous patience I
cd ltllltl I (111shy
Clllltl 1shy
cariier at the limc (t the missed
vcar at Maricllhad Was the mnl1(siac OISCI1CC
tile llllshrrild or not) (Ic1 a cillema of tellSe 1Il1cltrtrllnlv tlwt ratllci
lhtm plescnting t1w Ipollas uF Illcllling ill 1 frl1l intended [) il1lutt
their Ippearann in daill experiellcc dclihcratcly ltltltlstructs 1
rinthint Il1(Jdel SOIll( hiztllTe Illodernistic ritual ithin
which th( pIdatllj will I()se hiLllselr bnt
ill ldvlLHT OLle could sav tllal bin Fksnlls
lack I rci1islil nlll is tkll not aho tile verv definilioll 0 plativ( tflllsllle([ into the IHClllt or the imlicaiivc
Ihesc frec feiatio)bhips are nlre)dy 1lllraquoC or k cirde but it gll(S Vardi had placed the actiu]) d her Ijlm ill such
the story--which woull then be realistic rlliid hnve lost all tbe power 01 ih militant impact For what the film ]]lcans til say that workers to cuuld live like thaL In shurt the mislIJlderSIltllltling d(fivcs frulIl the Llct Ilal Ile fil)) wr viewed if nc wIgtuld sec a Glard Jilm as exalllpk ( thc ordered eiDem 1 rcpelt I did nut like tbe film Ilut at all in Lltt This was hr rc)ss [ the cnact11ll1l1 f the uto ill its details Dilt NIlo vould Inailltajn tlilt vas nut a celtllin llUollnt ot CtJurtlgc an~l ill Ill fnet that a ll1udcrn YOllJltm (all pcltlk or sud) lmusllal things rrc how Ciln ()Ill Llil to SVlllllathi7C wilh the sinccri of her
(- In nor Lll a 1 i[c
wnnt the him resentment
trll1sccndCnlal and a liollS (as at the moment of the cxccs~i( nHnantic l)S Bernard llwcerlles But he is aisu in uf tire French cinema
Goda Id represent the two film as opposed to a
as for we find it on one siele as on the
stance the triumph of mimesis and of the reconstruction
and in the second instance a
The lillll of the
til is
of
THE JIODEHN CINECgtIA AND NAHHATlVITY 201
modem Ii 1m is the cinematograph Ie one of dIOse great whose importance in ccr-
is well known
lield
A FILll-IIAKrms CINEMA Whnt 11 I1lIshyor a makers cinema as distinct from cinema Can it provide that criterion of
since n~ ils conS(jllellces hut lind il- so diflimiddot
cult lo ddillC There is doubt dial lodav cinema is very often 1
cineml while the old CiJl(~ml was so frcquently the ulterior
and secondary illustration of a worked-out Gocbrcls
the best exanm1es criticism like Michel COLlrshynots evel existence fro]]] tllis fact it vas the Ii Ims of the pasl ( and lot its prctext in thc sceLlario But all of Alain films art inshy
cript-writers lilms fhe SVSICLlltllic way ill which this di[ccshy
rdLlsing to imagine his works sccb out at the of thl
s(ell~Hio various colbhortltors of suJlicicnt weight to Iwvl their OWI1
of things leaves llS in llO dOl1bt as to his opiniolls on the
ie level that the lilm strati-ies and
Jilms derive their intcrest hOlll
lt- In lire ulel cinema there weTe of cmuse Jlonrealistic mrrvclOlb and fanshytastic films Bllt cunstitllted a marginal area at least iJ)ee the 1935- 4 0 period Hesnai is not descendant The ordered einellla is one of the two branches emerging Ollt III a snrl of common realistic trunt that bctween I940 amI 1950 approximately had become on the whole tlolllinant Irenel in relation to the various fantastic lenelcllcies
THE ~roDEnN CINEMA SOJIpound THEOnEJlCL PHUllLUIS
whole reflectioll on the of tlte ~ll1d of sol1tuclc a
dnt C11l0shy
of essell tially exlrashy
of Codnrd himself bear
witness (0 a narrltivc cl poundantlsy
docs llut automatshy
priority hut it cl[t8inly implies an eSSCllshy
(hat Cmbrd is (lllc of those mell
(Jill he ired clurillP tile lctua]
men Illli arc able to make IlIllIs throngll constant rdlecti()11 (cvell if
it is 11t ordered) ab()lIt the liIlC)llI~ lIlel who are ahle to creall
ill the hordcrLllld of 1 pocur tbat is also 111 e551 OJ] pO(trv (tile
rCHcr surly recognizes here onl of the lllost
Jll()dcrn litcratUlC) But even iF ur ~I director like Codard the cinshy
ellla IlllTI til Iv prescll t hcFore nisting becolllcs tllC nccessarv cat dyst
1m lillll creatioll- in the samc wal thM the idea or the h(lo]z is 81shy
ways in the minds uf modern even whell the hoolz
t hev lre is hardlv bCLlI1~thc Fact rellFlins that WILlt Collard
or ]the
mllmlilt of thelIarrative the
sea Pllis 1
hie with story
I do not see why the modem tban lJlvtbing else Eric
UIlC SIHll~titnes
point Iut t1wt the new prescnt ill the cineml
one forgets that between a cOllsidcrabl~ dilIcrence uf
In~lJ1 VJhu reached his maioritv The
all llew novel]
lcsclnblancc is Zl-S
At tbe vcry least nile sllUuld
narrative etc) cinema as
llovd is almust an
slllluid be lllore in Ln(icl1 certain Siln]
and the l1-W as
extent pheUOJ1lella as Too
such there exists old mlll lIJd the
and the same
THE ]IODERN CINEIA JND NAIHAl1VITY ~o
ever hroken and unfamiliar the 1ll8Y
line8r~this fact never is olle of the most proliJic of mudern remains true even when as is oftcn the scenario is horn in the midst of way only the COIlSCshy
(jUcnce or thc of the sccnario froll the modern cmelila or 10 t1wt the only scenarios me those that lrt IiC the of JUJenclH~ mlll Bust
A CINEMA OF TIlE SHOT Is the lllodem cinelli a ctlllll11
or the shot as distillgllishcd frum the old cincllw which WIS JJl(lrc cOllcerned with racing fwm shut to shot straisht to the
But jf that is the case what is (lJlC to say
the expressionist tendcllC~ CCrlllJll eXI )ressi)Jl iSIll the LIst Jilms or is 111 (lId OJH
that cOllnotations at
cinellla ~md not
ilctcristics of the Ilew cincma Is not the
of ~I kind of Vlst Cistclltiai failure
ohserves Cll]111IlIl11icJtcd
J1]Olltage) Is not Sa1alore GiuliallO a mOlltage lilill
lIiusie cinlma --and tllM was grounded to a hirgc extcnt OIl the
of inducing a IJorizolltal leading of tbe lihn that Iould COllSidcf cadi illla~c at length JlJd Wllltll on tIw olber Iwnd is OJlC to sal ~lj(lut the
grcllt f1llaisSIlII(( of wOllla) whicll after a period dominated hI the
from encl (0 end As for the yuuthflll dynamisllI (If Claude lcl()uchs [lUI Fillc des fusils is it not derived as lI1uch fWIll the of
the 111m as from the wonderful exuberance of its lllOlltlge nd Whll
of the imDortmc( (If SIOJlS
in the nd r
thought Tire fact j huwever vh~n SOlllC(le says H$ one hears that thc cincma is far of htcratllll one must C(lll shy
elude he nust never have read anvthiwgt at all
204 THE jVl(JDEI1N CINEMA S01JE THEORETICAL PROllLEMS
rative flow also confessions of 2 to 7 mel 111
Vivre sa vie And the and Ncver~ in
Hiroshima 11011 omour a counterpoint lhat despite its modern ac~
cent seems to emerge straight from the editing table of a Balilzs an
Arnheilll a Pudovlin or1 Tilllocilcnko And all the JIm
one sees
J CINEMA 01 POETPY remllIlO lmall y the lotiOIl IT
by Pier Paolo of a dislinction between
the cincma 01 and the cinema of poctry As attract inc as il
illay se(IIl the idea i~ nevertheless basicll1) fragile For llle
of prose and poclry arc too linked to lhe use of the verbal
to he cClsilv carricd over to the cinel1w Or elsc if ()Ill~ poetry
in
sense (gt1
whether llnessful or nOI
sidcrs poetl ill its tcdmical SC]lSC Ihe lise of Icrbal idiom
restrictions
a sC(JlHI code cappillg Ihl iirsl--()IlC
idi()m 1lsolini is
with
its I)f()adest SCI1Sl--as the illlllledill( Ilrcsenn of the world the
cncounshy
seems SIUll101ll1l1hlc The dlSlIHT or code ill (he cincma thll is the absCllce of
aware o[ Ihis ]lruh~
precisionl gut Ill believes
111 things c()nsidercd it can he circ1ilIlyltnted I helieve UIl tbe (()n~ md bter I will show wIn Furthershy
more t() these obstacles one must add still 1lOtlwr The
prose in Whl(c(r S(llSC it is gin)] has 11(1
the cincma and iF I pros( docs exist in the lexical
in distinction to poetrv and because a long rhetorical tradilioll has
divided into two a domain that is initially litemry (for prose prop~ that of a Chateaubriand or of a Stenshyspca
is aJshyand nol fromready the artistic use of language anu
IItiliti1rian language it creates ohjecls that have their own and
ilwt leads trulll Ihe
llTIlin av frolH
THE 1IODEnN CINEIA iTD NAm~TIVJrY US
at which lhrut or tor the it IS
lie Icr thCe CUllllllllnicHiul1 it lTCiltCS work The
poetr and prnsc J1JS IfIc1l1ing lt1nly within
(111( that 1cparatcs literallIre fmlll thl Ic
of idiom IS a to()1 nd it is this Lllimlrv distinfiOll (licit is ill
cinema S(I Ihat no 11111] Gill sIT iel sellse ll( Ir
Su oj Pas(lini- II
least for rdurn 10 tilC111 111lt1 let us lXl11J
ine Ilis Ihesis i(o]v ur til( lillllll If tJlcrc is sil]oc trelld
h IJ or Ihi histo it is indeed II1l Ule
eillCll]1 tu Jill J]((Ii1111I1ilmiddottl1al i II) Sci
the C11111111 f jllllr til till inlma o[
l)fose and 111 (he othn Va around Pasolini Itlllis
IhCIIIII-which arc nol rart in die modern CinellI]
struclllrts I1l lcnds also (0 CI)]ll~lrc tll( must hCllltifu
fillllS 10 (be dullest liddilil)])tl movies ltllId he tI( Iwl Lol)sidlT lhl
poeln il) 1 J)ollhle 0111
PUllr Iii Suile ill 111001ilc
or Dewier aloul
of
fillllS Olwj()lIsh lhere is more till iallo
Preside III ill( Cmu plirulI
C1l) onc
uf wh ich fur Olle l(l scc
fnr tl1C
Ill SLlhstII1CC lud Corm of cadI nnc
mel less ladie I h lIl~m (he older Ii djllers gtIll
be suilieiclltiv CCltlln tlla( IhL
Pasolin 1 sJl( ( b rClfCSCll ts ltl
in it il]( bCltillll
CillCIll12lti nd is it
Jillal 1ll]lys]s ((Infused with il111 inevilable slIbjedive lOIUmlioll oj
the filmie objccth its llming plrcCptjoll~whidl is ) ChllUCillilje
of aJI tillCmil-SO that the olliv real dilfercnce uuJcl Jillalv he tlw mel prose perceptions whith can only he dnrilicd hy d1C
ul eaeh film and docs no(
with Ihe existCJlcc of general restrictions
from
____ _
206 THE MODEHN ClNEIIj SOIE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS
further is it not alllong the liIllls that scem the must outmoded
todi1middotmiddotmiddotmiddotbut not always righth-middotthat one encounters the most cohercnt
and systcmatic attempts to COllstmct a hIm as one slrtletllr~s 1 poem
ilhat ahout Pudovlltins lvrical which Jean iVIitly has so well analyzed~7 iVlw ahollt the corOlWlion scene in [van lilC Terri shy
or th proccssion hefore Vakulintchllk amI the scelles of mist in
Poclllbll( What Iil()Ut Abel Ganee in Nupocoll and La Roue AmI ttlt attCII1Dts of the pllre cinema to substitute a einlll1ltl or tlzellles
And Jean Lpsteins enthusiastic analyses of the value of the c1ose-ujl shot And the lise of slow motion in the
seen(~ in Zero for Conduct And 111 the systems of montage
mentioned earlier vvhose aim vas to forlllalize the various ilmic 10 solidify the thematic depth in the normative pre
a formal svstcm Im] the accelerated
ing in the scene with the hlack coach ill N ()SfefUflI jnd the ineredmiddot
iblc Icrial traveling hot in
me ali indeed in$t1I1CeS of those gramlllatical elewellts IS
flillCtiom2B that PIsolini tellds to idclIt ifv wi th the new
cinema III trulh though tmlays cimmltl is at times rich in
resonances tl()[gh the had films of every I)criod hy definit elude the s(jclilcd puetry of thillgs llld the or their
zaliull the fact remain that the only attempt that havc been lInder
taken toward Ilut only a poetic eincnla bUlals() a cinema as organized
idiulII-sinec this is what Pasolini is talking about-were preshy
ill tllC old cinemamiddot Iml the fact is that since its hirth the
cinema has prltlctically ntVlr ceased to evolve ill the direction of an
ideal (technicallr prosaic) lIexihility and a freedOil I that arc
T mv mind these atlempts have culminated in a failure which 01 the level uf general CltlllllOt be overcome hy the few ll1uglliliccnt but isolated suceesses A Iilm may a poetic novel it C8l111ot be a (except in the case uf purely thematic nUJ1middotstory-telling short lilms like Berlill ur SucksdoriFs Rllyt111H of a Git) In a poem there is no fable amI nothing illmiddot trudes between the )uthO alld the reader The novelist draws up a world the Ioet of tIle work The fiction film still seems to me to be closer to the novel tu the poe111 And finally the period in which one believed that a film cuuld be a pOlm is that of the old cinema rather than that of the lIew cinC111a
_ ____ _bullbull__~ bullbullbull __ __bull_____bull____ ______________________~~_ __~
THE f-l0DERN CINEMA AND NARllATIVITY 207
WltlmiddotS tlH~ anIlvsc~ of Frallshy(tbe cinema s a modern suciological
novel) ndrc llazin lnd the
to the novcl rather than
or i
iou peCl lia r to mUll y
lISC or the powers of (he flbliIOlI~ within the framework of til( rclatiVllv
realistic lilms verisimilitude) middotMore gcnerally one will obcrvc
tIle sCHalied fantastic cinema whieh ill certain carlv periods
emile vcry close to merging with one of the ILIainstreams of the
cinema as a whole (Gcrmm-Swcdish expressioll ism hOlll 19 1 t()
1lt)3 0 the fantIstic lilms of the period 19jo5 sllch IS FraJlkeN
stein TlC J1HisilJlc 111(111 and Kill J(OIJ) eventually became I
Cllfe and a ralher special genre It that which even ill part over
vhat the French call the eil(11111-is horror films gmdcgtBltalian
sadistic Japanese lilms Soviet fantasy
etc As a tllC so called realistic film which has long
been contrasted to Ihe fantatie film or to the film or the marvclous
as ir were the two poles or the cinema laquomel this is
the famolls theme I ull1icre lS AJcIiJs) blS taken uver limosl the whole or modern film
Ihe new cinellIa lS the JIOiccaJic jJlCSltllcl
in traditional lill11s Oil the contrary the camcra tried to JIlake its prcsence unfelt to ll1llzc itselF invisible hcmiddot
rore tbe spectacle it was presenting But whilmiddotc it is true that this
may apl)l) to certain filllls or the 11(1I-s(Hlistant
classical Americall comedy for example and in III e films related to what called editing ciamiddot
was made to appear invisible-it cannot describe tllC
various tenclencies or the very cinema whose on the
were based on the presence of the call1era mOll
or Abel camera movcmcnts in
films the optical clistorriom and
L
TIlE IO[IEHJlt CINE[I St)H TJllUCETlC1 1 TIlE ]IODIlRN CINEiTi AND NAHnATIVITY
ii the lIS ()f dlc Trellch s cIoc-uplt in TI Pussioll of re ill (sthet ics
[kit th IITt i(ims Iike ] icllstcill
in lIiml whcll thel imisled
[illl1ed deri ItS hi the rilmimf Ild ((In )
verselv ilhill Ill( 111ltldcrn cinlma tiICIC is 1 lcndclHv Dill
ivis-JtdlJllCr SOIlIC I illj()l)iol1i F Dc StII
mel Ill the cil(lI(f ele Ilel thilt cardulh crilSCS lI1 CIIlICr
cI Fccs tilliS (Ill thiS 110im [ am ill ailccnwlll with l~lic nuillllcr
III
dUII1lIllali(HI
Ihcilll lIld I
11111
llld
Ihe invisihlc
f()r Ihe
the
dllSl Ulllllpluti pC found ill till lilills f
Licit
)[sul 11111
Ik rell
CIs (111(1111
t Illlml
hese
or I hc
[allln
lllti
ISll lel LIIJltr[Vancc [ihn makers
shut cillCllIltI ililel sequence (ilWllld prusc Cill(lllil
lhc Cillll(fl-inlICSllllt alld
tillcliOlls s(cms to me to ICCOUill
lIludern eillCJll~L
cLlililcd I Illodcm i too ollell
to 11(1i is bcLillg ill
l~l Wls PI(lps(d with (1(J](l II nr] IIiIlI 01 tll( 111
10 ClTlclill llIodClil lill]IS11ll1 hal
ruc-hut wilh lll drOll 1I111iCI1I
Ill)ssihk I1l1111IK1 01
l n d llempl is
lt( few pgcs III follow
t1VllIcC lhe inevitable
lui h Sill is iI til In (Ill( IC~
n()le lirsl tlwt il all lllll[llld 11)(
rC1S(lIJ Tllev 11( Sil
the cinCllW was IS S( l
is s( ltIt lc~lst 10 a much kSSCI extent I hdievl 11 til( the modern film is IllOle lllIIltitin ltInd IlWIT silli1
the main contribulion of the new cinema is lu have
flhllic narrative
cunlllry t1Jlt1t
so md thll
enriched the
lVlore or less lssociaLecl with this idcl of a presumed
ur wea kcu ing or 1I11TMi viI y is ltllllOJ] g lllmy critics Ihe 11 ()tion oJ a
hrcahlow11 or Ihe gramlllar ()r sVlltax uF the cineilla I wuuld s)
on the contrary that the cimlll) hilS lIe( hld cit her 1 gr~l1lJJl1U r or t
in tile prccise linguistic sense or thest tenliS (S()l1le Iheortli
that it did hut [I)M is allot her Illatter 1lt111(1 il
toela still a certaill IlllllllCI of rUllciulllLll
that pcrilin 10 the mosl profolilld necessities or ransmissiu11 of ~ll1V informI l11inl1 IIVS dl11 arc ex
arc to he sough in
and no ill tile glltll1llllill or 1a1lgUltlgls TIll wjl()1c Illutldll or til(
the fact tIl( Olle looks for ltl1l1()I1U the aud spcciJic V(TV rClllovcd rom rla Ii t ) i] iOIlI1 ti (
without laws all lliost prohahly bCOl1d the expects to lind thllll~th)1 is 10 sal Ull
a IIlllch ill some WllyS prior to lhe dilfciClllilti()1l or lcrbnl all il e idiOilis ) Frolll othcr lllllllan semiotic wstems
Vc ~Irc told was suited lltJ
sv 11 Lu llO [xists Iklt
the livilllt rJ11il s t() do with sllch iI hurden Bul
Ihml beiliU acllwIlv syntltlclir
articubliolls ralher
de SllISshy
CIIlCI1lH elll be VOlin )
excesses of raquosyllt~)( Ihat during the period of dill lInglleJ1 amI Cl1l
IaLer was considered to be as strict a the grammar of a verbal
gUJgc But the new more Hexiblc forms or the cinellld arc govshy
erned just as mllch the fundamental f~L1rls without wllich 110 information would be possible a discourse of SOIllC is alshy
wavs in olle way or another divisible The
-
these rule have llothilll to do (rab1lt little cleviees
(~octeau was on tile lm York 101 To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE IODETIN C1NEIIIA SOiIE THECmrrnCAL lHOBLEMS
it tried to he nOII11lt1shy
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwuwe the
ollr lilLlguages And we know the CXtlllt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative gtallllllariall hiel was illustratld ill
j()6 by the lXrlWllgC puhlished ill Arts hct(ll1 Elill1lhll llld Mn
tind Evcn the l1)ost allvltlnccd filllls still pertain to J
ltq11)]OdCh tlwugll ill order to apprclllI1l1 new ()Jjecb the 1lttlT llla
have () bccomc mure Hexiblc ns I will show ill s(veral
her (lll
hI hmt tW() crv llilTcfCI11 rules or the
cincma On derivcd irolll
a 1ullal irc hc considered outdated
or tbellSsl restrictivec 011 till other 11all1 there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of stJllctllralcol1liguratiulls thlt are ill illllll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving When OIlC SIV th~lt tbc Illlls (IF the
lllW wnc for cxmllplc have ullnplctclv dismantled the Ilarra
livc or thlt tbey hlC( Clltirel displaced Wlltlx OllC is fCIII takshy
illu 1 ven limited vicw of the
llalTlt ive lllt
vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11llOlogICl1 (lr COlllIlll Ud cudishy
to the
llimic vehick as I wh(1lc It is prlcisdv t() the extellt thlt tlll rllltl
Of the two the linguit Wlb Andre 11ntincl ltC jnother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing The ne cinema has
very rightly so-a lumber of mIlS sueh (lS the prohibition the 180shydegree angle shot (I the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a closeshyup with no change of axis or nltrainst the actor lo()kill~ at the camra etc
THE lIODEHN CfNEiIA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1oltuiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexistshy
(lJeC o[ lIlev Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc arc intelligihle IS is the
case tlmost tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse llllJiwlillc nnd Last Year at j1jorilllZ)(ld arc
still from one lnd to the other iIIllS and
lt1ny
lludes the (Icsniptivl SYlltagllla
til inl1mlltlW lid llld ill Paris rlt
least ill the present slatc or CillllllJt(lgraphic thniqucs) a 11(1I](lishy
cgltic illlltlgC must ill (lIlC way (If m()ther he linked t() a diqctic ill
n(l ()J it will not Ippear to he lllllldil(ctic etcY But sllcll
hml llcvcr l)(cil seri()tlsly triLd hy Ii I1ll-11mlcrs ulliess ]lcrllltljls--aml
CVCIl itlll OJll would han to (-ltImine the lIlatkr 1ll()lC
sUllie (SlrelllC aVlilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll understood Ci1](11IltItOmiddot
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln nd lilllllllakcrs IllYlI ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstlll(t stich
0 iJlJa~ill( thaI thc l1li~ht lxist is precisely
hCllllSC the llIain Ilglllls or cillclliatogrlphic illtclligihilitC illlllhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater lkllt than the arc nvarl oF Silllimiddot
Imh (he lIlost (lrigil1d critcr d()ls ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll 111 tllt
Ilew Llilguagc
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical an d from this
return to the d the Pa~oliniall tbcories which
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral imshy
pressions
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
198 THE l10DERN CTNElIA SOME THEOl1ETlCAL PHOBLElIS TIlE MODEHN CINEMA AND NAHHATlVITY 199
MorcfltL-had portrayed with an acclllacy 8S fundamentally direct
as superbly careless of the external probabilitics of timc amI place the
lllute corporeal agrecments that love produces and by which it is proshy
duced the ambiencc of gcstures and tbe thousand minor aeshy
ceplltH1ccs of a docile receptiveness that is no mere obcclicnce and that
mold the vvomans sunlly face in the ~uccccding directions her lovers
hallct of active amused and tendcrtlcss
I somc or the nshy
tonioni
variolls films hy cvcn say that
rllllains to he dcfinedli---arc for all their
till most precious comFlcsts or the CiJlCllll tlllt since 1966
we hlVC (Ilcd lllodern Jt is sllrch not SOllle principle of ohjecliv
ity SOlllC faultless IGllislll that call dcJJ]le tbis modern cinellEI but
rather the liability to certain truths or to certain 1cclifacics that
make the yuung cincm[1 more Hlult and the traditionll cinema ocshy
cCisiollJlly vcry youthFul Tile fll1l1s of the past evcn the Jllost heau
JI [ne fcncrllhshy a lillIe lJOvc themselves like t1lOSC
adolesccnts
THE OHDEflED CINEMA To thaI sHeb accuracies havc be
the dir(ct()r~ or the were
or Ic~s sensitive dl[lIl those of locby
but that exph1l1[ltion is ill1(cllw1tc-is to reshy
examil1c that ncw and subtler dramaturgy lhat ldmits Ilion ohjectivc
details details of the kind tblt the Iraditional plot film ~lcrificecl or
ovcrwhelmed Exactness of tunc I priccless COlHjUcst that renders a
whole arCl of the cinCllla obsolctemight well be in turn only a
consecjl1e)lcc
Sec passngcs of Jlurnaus DalllI Sjlistroms Willd (certain of Lilliall (the character o[ Marcus) etc And (except in Potemkill) and oj Pudovkill
Furthermore olle must not
wtlmiddotr70 all of the modern
with which one
of the films of
pIlt j and text is I grc[lt deal more it is 15 if the il1shy
realistic potcn tiD I or the [ilill ic veil ick formcrly the proper Y
of the (o11ention ur a Illoderate degree or discretcl thcltrical ITllislll
the CUlle-Preyert films) had no divided itclf Iw
twelll a cincllla of passion (in the scnse that Ollt spel](S of passhy
sionate l()( IS Hen6 Gilson correct) Jlo[CS)21 a cincllI or (xlIlxr
ltlncc and discolcry Cmcl it is this Cillllll thai is (lcc1siollalh able to
C[lpturc those so direct truths I hme iust s]loken ur Wl kilO tIll ill
terest Godard h1S sbown for
other ham a cinema or ALlin nesnai~ and his SllClCSsiyc
that beliCHS onl in rccollstrtlcled [fllths~- a
JJost critic ]lasled ioHlS Vardas 111m Lc HOllIeUr Thm was result dUe f kind llIisllnderstanlIing I did not like the Ellll (itllc1 bllt to attack it for it lack of realisll1 is to Illy mimI a serious miscollslruction Certainly thmiddot worlcrs of life as the Jil)ll presents it is lJuite falltalic Uut it had til be so For the is a philosophical talc such as the eighteenth ccnlm enjoyed or rather a militant ulopia in the gtlylc of the ninetecnth century (hut Ull-
In a Illor( Iucill ecUlmt of the actual sucial factorsalld the class factors-that enter into Ihe problel11 c(lnsiclercd) 1t js abo
ill ouc way an act of courage For although it is lrue that a few pers(J1ls in tile social envIronlllcnt where films arc produced dream of a worll in whi] luve would be truly frce a wurld both animal and human where the hudys carclessless would also be a genewsitv a and
of women and men a world in which monster of scntiwel1tlllis)II as il has come to he since
paganism will be lU1l1ecl-altbough it is true that a futurism of l10urishes some of the cOllversatiollS ill Pariss Left Danlc the filet is that aside from Pierre Kast ill La Morle-saisoJl Le Bel and La Bnllure des mille soleils no (lne besides Varda had gathered these scattered snch a holdlv l1IOVOCalie These human
conducted away from such futile sufferinQs of jealous exclusive emotiol1S are
existed as if the V were
TITE IODE) CIiEMA SO~IE H1EOJ(PIlCAL PHOULlJJ
Dr(cllli~l11 than i1 is awarc thill orders with meticulous patience I
cd ltllltl I (111shy
Clllltl 1shy
cariier at the limc (t the missed
vcar at Maricllhad Was the mnl1(siac OISCI1CC
tile llllshrrild or not) (Ic1 a cillema of tellSe 1Il1cltrtrllnlv tlwt ratllci
lhtm plescnting t1w Ipollas uF Illcllling ill 1 frl1l intended [) il1lutt
their Ippearann in daill experiellcc dclihcratcly ltltltlstructs 1
rinthint Il1(Jdel SOIll( hiztllTe Illodernistic ritual ithin
which th( pIdatllj will I()se hiLllselr bnt
ill ldvlLHT OLle could sav tllal bin Fksnlls
lack I rci1islil nlll is tkll not aho tile verv definilioll 0 plativ( tflllsllle([ into the IHClllt or the imlicaiivc
Ihesc frec feiatio)bhips are nlre)dy 1lllraquoC or k cirde but it gll(S Vardi had placed the actiu]) d her Ijlm ill such
the story--which woull then be realistic rlliid hnve lost all tbe power 01 ih militant impact For what the film ]]lcans til say that workers to cuuld live like thaL In shurt the mislIJlderSIltllltling d(fivcs frulIl the Llct Ilal Ile fil)) wr viewed if nc wIgtuld sec a Glard Jilm as exalllpk ( thc ordered eiDem 1 rcpelt I did nut like tbe film Ilut at all in Lltt This was hr rc)ss [ the cnact11ll1l1 f the uto ill its details Dilt NIlo vould Inailltajn tlilt vas nut a celtllin llUollnt ot CtJurtlgc an~l ill Ill fnet that a ll1udcrn YOllJltm (all pcltlk or sud) lmusllal things rrc how Ciln ()Ill Llil to SVlllllathi7C wilh the sinccri of her
(- In nor Lll a 1 i[c
wnnt the him resentment
trll1sccndCnlal and a liollS (as at the moment of the cxccs~i( nHnantic l)S Bernard llwcerlles But he is aisu in uf tire French cinema
Goda Id represent the two film as opposed to a
as for we find it on one siele as on the
stance the triumph of mimesis and of the reconstruction
and in the second instance a
The lillll of the
til is
of
THE JIODEHN CINECgtIA AND NAHHATlVITY 201
modem Ii 1m is the cinematograph Ie one of dIOse great whose importance in ccr-
is well known
lield
A FILll-IIAKrms CINEMA Whnt 11 I1lIshyor a makers cinema as distinct from cinema Can it provide that criterion of
since n~ ils conS(jllellces hut lind il- so diflimiddot
cult lo ddillC There is doubt dial lodav cinema is very often 1
cineml while the old CiJl(~ml was so frcquently the ulterior
and secondary illustration of a worked-out Gocbrcls
the best exanm1es criticism like Michel COLlrshynots evel existence fro]]] tllis fact it vas the Ii Ims of the pasl ( and lot its prctext in thc sceLlario But all of Alain films art inshy
cript-writers lilms fhe SVSICLlltllic way ill which this di[ccshy
rdLlsing to imagine his works sccb out at the of thl
s(ell~Hio various colbhortltors of suJlicicnt weight to Iwvl their OWI1
of things leaves llS in llO dOl1bt as to his opiniolls on the
ie level that the lilm strati-ies and
Jilms derive their intcrest hOlll
lt- In lire ulel cinema there weTe of cmuse Jlonrealistic mrrvclOlb and fanshytastic films Bllt cunstitllted a marginal area at least iJ)ee the 1935- 4 0 period Hesnai is not descendant The ordered einellla is one of the two branches emerging Ollt III a snrl of common realistic trunt that bctween I940 amI 1950 approximately had become on the whole tlolllinant Irenel in relation to the various fantastic lenelcllcies
THE ~roDEnN CINEMA SOJIpound THEOnEJlCL PHUllLUIS
whole reflectioll on the of tlte ~ll1d of sol1tuclc a
dnt C11l0shy
of essell tially exlrashy
of Codnrd himself bear
witness (0 a narrltivc cl poundantlsy
docs llut automatshy
priority hut it cl[t8inly implies an eSSCllshy
(hat Cmbrd is (lllc of those mell
(Jill he ired clurillP tile lctua]
men Illli arc able to make IlIllIs throngll constant rdlecti()11 (cvell if
it is 11t ordered) ab()lIt the liIlC)llI~ lIlel who are ahle to creall
ill the hordcrLllld of 1 pocur tbat is also 111 e551 OJ] pO(trv (tile
rCHcr surly recognizes here onl of the lllost
Jll()dcrn litcratUlC) But even iF ur ~I director like Codard the cinshy
ellla IlllTI til Iv prescll t hcFore nisting becolllcs tllC nccessarv cat dyst
1m lillll creatioll- in the samc wal thM the idea or the h(lo]z is 81shy
ways in the minds uf modern even whell the hoolz
t hev lre is hardlv bCLlI1~thc Fact rellFlins that WILlt Collard
or ]the
mllmlilt of thelIarrative the
sea Pllis 1
hie with story
I do not see why the modem tban lJlvtbing else Eric
UIlC SIHll~titnes
point Iut t1wt the new prescnt ill the cineml
one forgets that between a cOllsidcrabl~ dilIcrence uf
In~lJ1 VJhu reached his maioritv The
all llew novel]
lcsclnblancc is Zl-S
At tbe vcry least nile sllUuld
narrative etc) cinema as
llovd is almust an
slllluid be lllore in Ln(icl1 certain Siln]
and the l1-W as
extent pheUOJ1lella as Too
such there exists old mlll lIJd the
and the same
THE ]IODERN CINEIA JND NAIHAl1VITY ~o
ever hroken and unfamiliar the 1ll8Y
line8r~this fact never is olle of the most proliJic of mudern remains true even when as is oftcn the scenario is horn in the midst of way only the COIlSCshy
(jUcnce or thc of the sccnario froll the modern cmelila or 10 t1wt the only scenarios me those that lrt IiC the of JUJenclH~ mlll Bust
A CINEMA OF TIlE SHOT Is the lllodem cinelli a ctlllll11
or the shot as distillgllishcd frum the old cincllw which WIS JJl(lrc cOllcerned with racing fwm shut to shot straisht to the
But jf that is the case what is (lJlC to say
the expressionist tendcllC~ CCrlllJll eXI )ressi)Jl iSIll the LIst Jilms or is 111 (lId OJH
that cOllnotations at
cinellla ~md not
ilctcristics of the Ilew cincma Is not the
of ~I kind of Vlst Cistclltiai failure
ohserves Cll]111IlIl11icJtcd
J1]Olltage) Is not Sa1alore GiuliallO a mOlltage lilill
lIiusie cinlma --and tllM was grounded to a hirgc extcnt OIl the
of inducing a IJorizolltal leading of tbe lihn that Iould COllSidcf cadi illla~c at length JlJd Wllltll on tIw olber Iwnd is OJlC to sal ~lj(lut the
grcllt f1llaisSIlII(( of wOllla) whicll after a period dominated hI the
from encl (0 end As for the yuuthflll dynamisllI (If Claude lcl()uchs [lUI Fillc des fusils is it not derived as lI1uch fWIll the of
the 111m as from the wonderful exuberance of its lllOlltlge nd Whll
of the imDortmc( (If SIOJlS
in the nd r
thought Tire fact j huwever vh~n SOlllC(le says H$ one hears that thc cincma is far of htcratllll one must C(lll shy
elude he nust never have read anvthiwgt at all
204 THE jVl(JDEI1N CINEMA S01JE THEORETICAL PROllLEMS
rative flow also confessions of 2 to 7 mel 111
Vivre sa vie And the and Ncver~ in
Hiroshima 11011 omour a counterpoint lhat despite its modern ac~
cent seems to emerge straight from the editing table of a Balilzs an
Arnheilll a Pudovlin or1 Tilllocilcnko And all the JIm
one sees
J CINEMA 01 POETPY remllIlO lmall y the lotiOIl IT
by Pier Paolo of a dislinction between
the cincma 01 and the cinema of poctry As attract inc as il
illay se(IIl the idea i~ nevertheless basicll1) fragile For llle
of prose and poclry arc too linked to lhe use of the verbal
to he cClsilv carricd over to the cinel1w Or elsc if ()Ill~ poetry
in
sense (gt1
whether llnessful or nOI
sidcrs poetl ill its tcdmical SC]lSC Ihe lise of Icrbal idiom
restrictions
a sC(JlHI code cappillg Ihl iirsl--()IlC
idi()m 1lsolini is
with
its I)f()adest SCI1Sl--as the illlllledill( Ilrcsenn of the world the
cncounshy
seems SIUll101ll1l1hlc The dlSlIHT or code ill (he cincma thll is the absCllce of
aware o[ Ihis ]lruh~
precisionl gut Ill believes
111 things c()nsidercd it can he circ1ilIlyltnted I helieve UIl tbe (()n~ md bter I will show wIn Furthershy
more t() these obstacles one must add still 1lOtlwr The
prose in Whl(c(r S(llSC it is gin)] has 11(1
the cincma and iF I pros( docs exist in the lexical
in distinction to poetrv and because a long rhetorical tradilioll has
divided into two a domain that is initially litemry (for prose prop~ that of a Chateaubriand or of a Stenshyspca
is aJshyand nol fromready the artistic use of language anu
IItiliti1rian language it creates ohjecls that have their own and
ilwt leads trulll Ihe
llTIlin av frolH
THE 1IODEnN CINEIA iTD NAm~TIVJrY US
at which lhrut or tor the it IS
lie Icr thCe CUllllllllnicHiul1 it lTCiltCS work The
poetr and prnsc J1JS IfIc1l1ing lt1nly within
(111( that 1cparatcs literallIre fmlll thl Ic
of idiom IS a to()1 nd it is this Lllimlrv distinfiOll (licit is ill
cinema S(I Ihat no 11111] Gill sIT iel sellse ll( Ir
Su oj Pas(lini- II
least for rdurn 10 tilC111 111lt1 let us lXl11J
ine Ilis Ihesis i(o]v ur til( lillllll If tJlcrc is sil]oc trelld
h IJ or Ihi histo it is indeed II1l Ule
eillCll]1 tu Jill J]((Ii1111I1ilmiddottl1al i II) Sci
the C11111111 f jllllr til till inlma o[
l)fose and 111 (he othn Va around Pasolini Itlllis
IhCIIIII-which arc nol rart in die modern CinellI]
struclllrts I1l lcnds also (0 CI)]ll~lrc tll( must hCllltifu
fillllS 10 (be dullest liddilil)])tl movies ltllId he tI( Iwl Lol)sidlT lhl
poeln il) 1 J)ollhle 0111
PUllr Iii Suile ill 111001ilc
or Dewier aloul
of
fillllS Olwj()lIsh lhere is more till iallo
Preside III ill( Cmu plirulI
C1l) onc
uf wh ich fur Olle l(l scc
fnr tl1C
Ill SLlhstII1CC lud Corm of cadI nnc
mel less ladie I h lIl~m (he older Ii djllers gtIll
be suilieiclltiv CCltlln tlla( IhL
Pasolin 1 sJl( ( b rClfCSCll ts ltl
in it il]( bCltillll
CillCIll12lti nd is it
Jillal 1ll]lys]s ((Infused with il111 inevilable slIbjedive lOIUmlioll oj
the filmie objccth its llming plrcCptjoll~whidl is ) ChllUCillilje
of aJI tillCmil-SO that the olliv real dilfercnce uuJcl Jillalv he tlw mel prose perceptions whith can only he dnrilicd hy d1C
ul eaeh film and docs no(
with Ihe existCJlcc of general restrictions
from
____ _
206 THE MODEHN ClNEIIj SOIE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS
further is it not alllong the liIllls that scem the must outmoded
todi1middotmiddotmiddotmiddotbut not always righth-middotthat one encounters the most cohercnt
and systcmatic attempts to COllstmct a hIm as one slrtletllr~s 1 poem
ilhat ahout Pudovlltins lvrical which Jean iVIitly has so well analyzed~7 iVlw ahollt the corOlWlion scene in [van lilC Terri shy
or th proccssion hefore Vakulintchllk amI the scelles of mist in
Poclllbll( What Iil()Ut Abel Ganee in Nupocoll and La Roue AmI ttlt attCII1Dts of the pllre cinema to substitute a einlll1ltl or tlzellles
And Jean Lpsteins enthusiastic analyses of the value of the c1ose-ujl shot And the lise of slow motion in the
seen(~ in Zero for Conduct And 111 the systems of montage
mentioned earlier vvhose aim vas to forlllalize the various ilmic 10 solidify the thematic depth in the normative pre
a formal svstcm Im] the accelerated
ing in the scene with the hlack coach ill N ()SfefUflI jnd the ineredmiddot
iblc Icrial traveling hot in
me ali indeed in$t1I1CeS of those gramlllatical elewellts IS
flillCtiom2B that PIsolini tellds to idclIt ifv wi th the new
cinema III trulh though tmlays cimmltl is at times rich in
resonances tl()[gh the had films of every I)criod hy definit elude the s(jclilcd puetry of thillgs llld the or their
zaliull the fact remain that the only attempt that havc been lInder
taken toward Ilut only a poetic eincnla bUlals() a cinema as organized
idiulII-sinec this is what Pasolini is talking about-were preshy
ill tllC old cinemamiddot Iml the fact is that since its hirth the
cinema has prltlctically ntVlr ceased to evolve ill the direction of an
ideal (technicallr prosaic) lIexihility and a freedOil I that arc
T mv mind these atlempts have culminated in a failure which 01 the level uf general CltlllllOt be overcome hy the few ll1uglliliccnt but isolated suceesses A Iilm may a poetic novel it C8l111ot be a (except in the case uf purely thematic nUJ1middotstory-telling short lilms like Berlill ur SucksdoriFs Rllyt111H of a Git) In a poem there is no fable amI nothing illmiddot trudes between the )uthO alld the reader The novelist draws up a world the Ioet of tIle work The fiction film still seems to me to be closer to the novel tu the poe111 And finally the period in which one believed that a film cuuld be a pOlm is that of the old cinema rather than that of the lIew cinC111a
_ ____ _bullbull__~ bullbullbull __ __bull_____bull____ ______________________~~_ __~
THE f-l0DERN CINEMA AND NARllATIVITY 207
WltlmiddotS tlH~ anIlvsc~ of Frallshy(tbe cinema s a modern suciological
novel) ndrc llazin lnd the
to the novcl rather than
or i
iou peCl lia r to mUll y
lISC or the powers of (he flbliIOlI~ within the framework of til( rclatiVllv
realistic lilms verisimilitude) middotMore gcnerally one will obcrvc
tIle sCHalied fantastic cinema whieh ill certain carlv periods
emile vcry close to merging with one of the ILIainstreams of the
cinema as a whole (Gcrmm-Swcdish expressioll ism hOlll 19 1 t()
1lt)3 0 the fantIstic lilms of the period 19jo5 sllch IS FraJlkeN
stein TlC J1HisilJlc 111(111 and Kill J(OIJ) eventually became I
Cllfe and a ralher special genre It that which even ill part over
vhat the French call the eil(11111-is horror films gmdcgtBltalian
sadistic Japanese lilms Soviet fantasy
etc As a tllC so called realistic film which has long
been contrasted to Ihe fantatie film or to the film or the marvclous
as ir were the two poles or the cinema laquomel this is
the famolls theme I ull1icre lS AJcIiJs) blS taken uver limosl the whole or modern film
Ihe new cinellIa lS the JIOiccaJic jJlCSltllcl
in traditional lill11s Oil the contrary the camcra tried to JIlake its prcsence unfelt to ll1llzc itselF invisible hcmiddot
rore tbe spectacle it was presenting But whilmiddotc it is true that this
may apl)l) to certain filllls or the 11(1I-s(Hlistant
classical Americall comedy for example and in III e films related to what called editing ciamiddot
was made to appear invisible-it cannot describe tllC
various tenclencies or the very cinema whose on the
were based on the presence of the call1era mOll
or Abel camera movcmcnts in
films the optical clistorriom and
L
TIlE IO[IEHJlt CINE[I St)H TJllUCETlC1 1 TIlE ]IODIlRN CINEiTi AND NAHnATIVITY
ii the lIS ()f dlc Trellch s cIoc-uplt in TI Pussioll of re ill (sthet ics
[kit th IITt i(ims Iike ] icllstcill
in lIiml whcll thel imisled
[illl1ed deri ItS hi the rilmimf Ild ((In )
verselv ilhill Ill( 111ltldcrn cinlma tiICIC is 1 lcndclHv Dill
ivis-JtdlJllCr SOIlIC I illj()l)iol1i F Dc StII
mel Ill the cil(lI(f ele Ilel thilt cardulh crilSCS lI1 CIIlICr
cI Fccs tilliS (Ill thiS 110im [ am ill ailccnwlll with l~lic nuillllcr
III
dUII1lIllali(HI
Ihcilll lIld I
11111
llld
Ihe invisihlc
f()r Ihe
the
dllSl Ulllllpluti pC found ill till lilills f
Licit
)[sul 11111
Ik rell
CIs (111(1111
t Illlml
hese
or I hc
[allln
lllti
ISll lel LIIJltr[Vancc [ihn makers
shut cillCllIltI ililel sequence (ilWllld prusc Cill(lllil
lhc Cillll(fl-inlICSllllt alld
tillcliOlls s(cms to me to ICCOUill
lIludern eillCJll~L
cLlililcd I Illodcm i too ollell
to 11(1i is bcLillg ill
l~l Wls PI(lps(d with (1(J](l II nr] IIiIlI 01 tll( 111
10 ClTlclill llIodClil lill]IS11ll1 hal
ruc-hut wilh lll drOll 1I111iCI1I
Ill)ssihk I1l1111IK1 01
l n d llempl is
lt( few pgcs III follow
t1VllIcC lhe inevitable
lui h Sill is iI til In (Ill( IC~
n()le lirsl tlwt il all lllll[llld 11)(
rC1S(lIJ Tllev 11( Sil
the cinCllW was IS S( l
is s( ltIt lc~lst 10 a much kSSCI extent I hdievl 11 til( the modern film is IllOle lllIIltitin ltInd IlWIT silli1
the main contribulion of the new cinema is lu have
flhllic narrative
cunlllry t1Jlt1t
so md thll
enriched the
lVlore or less lssociaLecl with this idcl of a presumed
ur wea kcu ing or 1I11TMi viI y is ltllllOJ] g lllmy critics Ihe 11 ()tion oJ a
hrcahlow11 or Ihe gramlllar ()r sVlltax uF the cineilla I wuuld s)
on the contrary that the cimlll) hilS lIe( hld cit her 1 gr~l1lJJl1U r or t
in tile prccise linguistic sense or thest tenliS (S()l1le Iheortli
that it did hut [I)M is allot her Illatter 1lt111(1 il
toela still a certaill IlllllllCI of rUllciulllLll
that pcrilin 10 the mosl profolilld necessities or ransmissiu11 of ~ll1V informI l11inl1 IIVS dl11 arc ex
arc to he sough in
and no ill tile glltll1llllill or 1a1lgUltlgls TIll wjl()1c Illutldll or til(
the fact tIl( Olle looks for ltl1l1()I1U the aud spcciJic V(TV rClllovcd rom rla Ii t ) i] iOIlI1 ti (
without laws all lliost prohahly bCOl1d the expects to lind thllll~th)1 is 10 sal Ull
a IIlllch ill some WllyS prior to lhe dilfciClllilti()1l or lcrbnl all il e idiOilis ) Frolll othcr lllllllan semiotic wstems
Vc ~Irc told was suited lltJ
sv 11 Lu llO [xists Iklt
the livilllt rJ11il s t() do with sllch iI hurden Bul
Ihml beiliU acllwIlv syntltlclir
articubliolls ralher
de SllISshy
CIIlCI1lH elll be VOlin )
excesses of raquosyllt~)( Ihat during the period of dill lInglleJ1 amI Cl1l
IaLer was considered to be as strict a the grammar of a verbal
gUJgc But the new more Hexiblc forms or the cinellld arc govshy
erned just as mllch the fundamental f~L1rls without wllich 110 information would be possible a discourse of SOIllC is alshy
wavs in olle way or another divisible The
-
these rule have llothilll to do (rab1lt little cleviees
(~octeau was on tile lm York 101 To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE IODETIN C1NEIIIA SOiIE THECmrrnCAL lHOBLEMS
it tried to he nOII11lt1shy
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwuwe the
ollr lilLlguages And we know the CXtlllt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative gtallllllariall hiel was illustratld ill
j()6 by the lXrlWllgC puhlished ill Arts hct(ll1 Elill1lhll llld Mn
tind Evcn the l1)ost allvltlnccd filllls still pertain to J
ltq11)]OdCh tlwugll ill order to apprclllI1l1 new ()Jjecb the 1lttlT llla
have () bccomc mure Hexiblc ns I will show ill s(veral
her (lll
hI hmt tW() crv llilTcfCI11 rules or the
cincma On derivcd irolll
a 1ullal irc hc considered outdated
or tbellSsl restrictivec 011 till other 11all1 there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of stJllctllralcol1liguratiulls thlt are ill illllll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving When OIlC SIV th~lt tbc Illlls (IF the
lllW wnc for cxmllplc have ullnplctclv dismantled the Ilarra
livc or thlt tbey hlC( Clltirel displaced Wlltlx OllC is fCIII takshy
illu 1 ven limited vicw of the
llalTlt ive lllt
vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11llOlogICl1 (lr COlllIlll Ud cudishy
to the
llimic vehick as I wh(1lc It is prlcisdv t() the extellt thlt tlll rllltl
Of the two the linguit Wlb Andre 11ntincl ltC jnother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing The ne cinema has
very rightly so-a lumber of mIlS sueh (lS the prohibition the 180shydegree angle shot (I the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a closeshyup with no change of axis or nltrainst the actor lo()kill~ at the camra etc
THE lIODEHN CfNEiIA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1oltuiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexistshy
(lJeC o[ lIlev Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc arc intelligihle IS is the
case tlmost tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse llllJiwlillc nnd Last Year at j1jorilllZ)(ld arc
still from one lnd to the other iIIllS and
lt1ny
lludes the (Icsniptivl SYlltagllla
til inl1mlltlW lid llld ill Paris rlt
least ill the present slatc or CillllllJt(lgraphic thniqucs) a 11(1I](lishy
cgltic illlltlgC must ill (lIlC way (If m()ther he linked t() a diqctic ill
n(l ()J it will not Ippear to he lllllldil(ctic etcY But sllcll
hml llcvcr l)(cil seri()tlsly triLd hy Ii I1ll-11mlcrs ulliess ]lcrllltljls--aml
CVCIl itlll OJll would han to (-ltImine the lIlatkr 1ll()lC
sUllie (SlrelllC aVlilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll understood Ci1](11IltItOmiddot
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln nd lilllllllakcrs IllYlI ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstlll(t stich
0 iJlJa~ill( thaI thc l1li~ht lxist is precisely
hCllllSC the llIain Ilglllls or cillclliatogrlphic illtclligihilitC illlllhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater lkllt than the arc nvarl oF Silllimiddot
Imh (he lIlost (lrigil1d critcr d()ls ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll 111 tllt
Ilew Llilguagc
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical an d from this
return to the d the Pa~oliniall tbcories which
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral imshy
pressions
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
TITE IODE) CIiEMA SO~IE H1EOJ(PIlCAL PHOULlJJ
Dr(cllli~l11 than i1 is awarc thill orders with meticulous patience I
cd ltllltl I (111shy
Clllltl 1shy
cariier at the limc (t the missed
vcar at Maricllhad Was the mnl1(siac OISCI1CC
tile llllshrrild or not) (Ic1 a cillema of tellSe 1Il1cltrtrllnlv tlwt ratllci
lhtm plescnting t1w Ipollas uF Illcllling ill 1 frl1l intended [) il1lutt
their Ippearann in daill experiellcc dclihcratcly ltltltlstructs 1
rinthint Il1(Jdel SOIll( hiztllTe Illodernistic ritual ithin
which th( pIdatllj will I()se hiLllselr bnt
ill ldvlLHT OLle could sav tllal bin Fksnlls
lack I rci1islil nlll is tkll not aho tile verv definilioll 0 plativ( tflllsllle([ into the IHClllt or the imlicaiivc
Ihesc frec feiatio)bhips are nlre)dy 1lllraquoC or k cirde but it gll(S Vardi had placed the actiu]) d her Ijlm ill such
the story--which woull then be realistic rlliid hnve lost all tbe power 01 ih militant impact For what the film ]]lcans til say that workers to cuuld live like thaL In shurt the mislIJlderSIltllltling d(fivcs frulIl the Llct Ilal Ile fil)) wr viewed if nc wIgtuld sec a Glard Jilm as exalllpk ( thc ordered eiDem 1 rcpelt I did nut like tbe film Ilut at all in Lltt This was hr rc)ss [ the cnact11ll1l1 f the uto ill its details Dilt NIlo vould Inailltajn tlilt vas nut a celtllin llUollnt ot CtJurtlgc an~l ill Ill fnet that a ll1udcrn YOllJltm (all pcltlk or sud) lmusllal things rrc how Ciln ()Ill Llil to SVlllllathi7C wilh the sinccri of her
(- In nor Lll a 1 i[c
wnnt the him resentment
trll1sccndCnlal and a liollS (as at the moment of the cxccs~i( nHnantic l)S Bernard llwcerlles But he is aisu in uf tire French cinema
Goda Id represent the two film as opposed to a
as for we find it on one siele as on the
stance the triumph of mimesis and of the reconstruction
and in the second instance a
The lillll of the
til is
of
THE JIODEHN CINECgtIA AND NAHHATlVITY 201
modem Ii 1m is the cinematograph Ie one of dIOse great whose importance in ccr-
is well known
lield
A FILll-IIAKrms CINEMA Whnt 11 I1lIshyor a makers cinema as distinct from cinema Can it provide that criterion of
since n~ ils conS(jllellces hut lind il- so diflimiddot
cult lo ddillC There is doubt dial lodav cinema is very often 1
cineml while the old CiJl(~ml was so frcquently the ulterior
and secondary illustration of a worked-out Gocbrcls
the best exanm1es criticism like Michel COLlrshynots evel existence fro]]] tllis fact it vas the Ii Ims of the pasl ( and lot its prctext in thc sceLlario But all of Alain films art inshy
cript-writers lilms fhe SVSICLlltllic way ill which this di[ccshy
rdLlsing to imagine his works sccb out at the of thl
s(ell~Hio various colbhortltors of suJlicicnt weight to Iwvl their OWI1
of things leaves llS in llO dOl1bt as to his opiniolls on the
ie level that the lilm strati-ies and
Jilms derive their intcrest hOlll
lt- In lire ulel cinema there weTe of cmuse Jlonrealistic mrrvclOlb and fanshytastic films Bllt cunstitllted a marginal area at least iJ)ee the 1935- 4 0 period Hesnai is not descendant The ordered einellla is one of the two branches emerging Ollt III a snrl of common realistic trunt that bctween I940 amI 1950 approximately had become on the whole tlolllinant Irenel in relation to the various fantastic lenelcllcies
THE ~roDEnN CINEMA SOJIpound THEOnEJlCL PHUllLUIS
whole reflectioll on the of tlte ~ll1d of sol1tuclc a
dnt C11l0shy
of essell tially exlrashy
of Codnrd himself bear
witness (0 a narrltivc cl poundantlsy
docs llut automatshy
priority hut it cl[t8inly implies an eSSCllshy
(hat Cmbrd is (lllc of those mell
(Jill he ired clurillP tile lctua]
men Illli arc able to make IlIllIs throngll constant rdlecti()11 (cvell if
it is 11t ordered) ab()lIt the liIlC)llI~ lIlel who are ahle to creall
ill the hordcrLllld of 1 pocur tbat is also 111 e551 OJ] pO(trv (tile
rCHcr surly recognizes here onl of the lllost
Jll()dcrn litcratUlC) But even iF ur ~I director like Codard the cinshy
ellla IlllTI til Iv prescll t hcFore nisting becolllcs tllC nccessarv cat dyst
1m lillll creatioll- in the samc wal thM the idea or the h(lo]z is 81shy
ways in the minds uf modern even whell the hoolz
t hev lre is hardlv bCLlI1~thc Fact rellFlins that WILlt Collard
or ]the
mllmlilt of thelIarrative the
sea Pllis 1
hie with story
I do not see why the modem tban lJlvtbing else Eric
UIlC SIHll~titnes
point Iut t1wt the new prescnt ill the cineml
one forgets that between a cOllsidcrabl~ dilIcrence uf
In~lJ1 VJhu reached his maioritv The
all llew novel]
lcsclnblancc is Zl-S
At tbe vcry least nile sllUuld
narrative etc) cinema as
llovd is almust an
slllluid be lllore in Ln(icl1 certain Siln]
and the l1-W as
extent pheUOJ1lella as Too
such there exists old mlll lIJd the
and the same
THE ]IODERN CINEIA JND NAIHAl1VITY ~o
ever hroken and unfamiliar the 1ll8Y
line8r~this fact never is olle of the most proliJic of mudern remains true even when as is oftcn the scenario is horn in the midst of way only the COIlSCshy
(jUcnce or thc of the sccnario froll the modern cmelila or 10 t1wt the only scenarios me those that lrt IiC the of JUJenclH~ mlll Bust
A CINEMA OF TIlE SHOT Is the lllodem cinelli a ctlllll11
or the shot as distillgllishcd frum the old cincllw which WIS JJl(lrc cOllcerned with racing fwm shut to shot straisht to the
But jf that is the case what is (lJlC to say
the expressionist tendcllC~ CCrlllJll eXI )ressi)Jl iSIll the LIst Jilms or is 111 (lId OJH
that cOllnotations at
cinellla ~md not
ilctcristics of the Ilew cincma Is not the
of ~I kind of Vlst Cistclltiai failure
ohserves Cll]111IlIl11icJtcd
J1]Olltage) Is not Sa1alore GiuliallO a mOlltage lilill
lIiusie cinlma --and tllM was grounded to a hirgc extcnt OIl the
of inducing a IJorizolltal leading of tbe lihn that Iould COllSidcf cadi illla~c at length JlJd Wllltll on tIw olber Iwnd is OJlC to sal ~lj(lut the
grcllt f1llaisSIlII(( of wOllla) whicll after a period dominated hI the
from encl (0 end As for the yuuthflll dynamisllI (If Claude lcl()uchs [lUI Fillc des fusils is it not derived as lI1uch fWIll the of
the 111m as from the wonderful exuberance of its lllOlltlge nd Whll
of the imDortmc( (If SIOJlS
in the nd r
thought Tire fact j huwever vh~n SOlllC(le says H$ one hears that thc cincma is far of htcratllll one must C(lll shy
elude he nust never have read anvthiwgt at all
204 THE jVl(JDEI1N CINEMA S01JE THEORETICAL PROllLEMS
rative flow also confessions of 2 to 7 mel 111
Vivre sa vie And the and Ncver~ in
Hiroshima 11011 omour a counterpoint lhat despite its modern ac~
cent seems to emerge straight from the editing table of a Balilzs an
Arnheilll a Pudovlin or1 Tilllocilcnko And all the JIm
one sees
J CINEMA 01 POETPY remllIlO lmall y the lotiOIl IT
by Pier Paolo of a dislinction between
the cincma 01 and the cinema of poctry As attract inc as il
illay se(IIl the idea i~ nevertheless basicll1) fragile For llle
of prose and poclry arc too linked to lhe use of the verbal
to he cClsilv carricd over to the cinel1w Or elsc if ()Ill~ poetry
in
sense (gt1
whether llnessful or nOI
sidcrs poetl ill its tcdmical SC]lSC Ihe lise of Icrbal idiom
restrictions
a sC(JlHI code cappillg Ihl iirsl--()IlC
idi()m 1lsolini is
with
its I)f()adest SCI1Sl--as the illlllledill( Ilrcsenn of the world the
cncounshy
seems SIUll101ll1l1hlc The dlSlIHT or code ill (he cincma thll is the absCllce of
aware o[ Ihis ]lruh~
precisionl gut Ill believes
111 things c()nsidercd it can he circ1ilIlyltnted I helieve UIl tbe (()n~ md bter I will show wIn Furthershy
more t() these obstacles one must add still 1lOtlwr The
prose in Whl(c(r S(llSC it is gin)] has 11(1
the cincma and iF I pros( docs exist in the lexical
in distinction to poetrv and because a long rhetorical tradilioll has
divided into two a domain that is initially litemry (for prose prop~ that of a Chateaubriand or of a Stenshyspca
is aJshyand nol fromready the artistic use of language anu
IItiliti1rian language it creates ohjecls that have their own and
ilwt leads trulll Ihe
llTIlin av frolH
THE 1IODEnN CINEIA iTD NAm~TIVJrY US
at which lhrut or tor the it IS
lie Icr thCe CUllllllllnicHiul1 it lTCiltCS work The
poetr and prnsc J1JS IfIc1l1ing lt1nly within
(111( that 1cparatcs literallIre fmlll thl Ic
of idiom IS a to()1 nd it is this Lllimlrv distinfiOll (licit is ill
cinema S(I Ihat no 11111] Gill sIT iel sellse ll( Ir
Su oj Pas(lini- II
least for rdurn 10 tilC111 111lt1 let us lXl11J
ine Ilis Ihesis i(o]v ur til( lillllll If tJlcrc is sil]oc trelld
h IJ or Ihi histo it is indeed II1l Ule
eillCll]1 tu Jill J]((Ii1111I1ilmiddottl1al i II) Sci
the C11111111 f jllllr til till inlma o[
l)fose and 111 (he othn Va around Pasolini Itlllis
IhCIIIII-which arc nol rart in die modern CinellI]
struclllrts I1l lcnds also (0 CI)]ll~lrc tll( must hCllltifu
fillllS 10 (be dullest liddilil)])tl movies ltllId he tI( Iwl Lol)sidlT lhl
poeln il) 1 J)ollhle 0111
PUllr Iii Suile ill 111001ilc
or Dewier aloul
of
fillllS Olwj()lIsh lhere is more till iallo
Preside III ill( Cmu plirulI
C1l) onc
uf wh ich fur Olle l(l scc
fnr tl1C
Ill SLlhstII1CC lud Corm of cadI nnc
mel less ladie I h lIl~m (he older Ii djllers gtIll
be suilieiclltiv CCltlln tlla( IhL
Pasolin 1 sJl( ( b rClfCSCll ts ltl
in it il]( bCltillll
CillCIll12lti nd is it
Jillal 1ll]lys]s ((Infused with il111 inevilable slIbjedive lOIUmlioll oj
the filmie objccth its llming plrcCptjoll~whidl is ) ChllUCillilje
of aJI tillCmil-SO that the olliv real dilfercnce uuJcl Jillalv he tlw mel prose perceptions whith can only he dnrilicd hy d1C
ul eaeh film and docs no(
with Ihe existCJlcc of general restrictions
from
____ _
206 THE MODEHN ClNEIIj SOIE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS
further is it not alllong the liIllls that scem the must outmoded
todi1middotmiddotmiddotmiddotbut not always righth-middotthat one encounters the most cohercnt
and systcmatic attempts to COllstmct a hIm as one slrtletllr~s 1 poem
ilhat ahout Pudovlltins lvrical which Jean iVIitly has so well analyzed~7 iVlw ahollt the corOlWlion scene in [van lilC Terri shy
or th proccssion hefore Vakulintchllk amI the scelles of mist in
Poclllbll( What Iil()Ut Abel Ganee in Nupocoll and La Roue AmI ttlt attCII1Dts of the pllre cinema to substitute a einlll1ltl or tlzellles
And Jean Lpsteins enthusiastic analyses of the value of the c1ose-ujl shot And the lise of slow motion in the
seen(~ in Zero for Conduct And 111 the systems of montage
mentioned earlier vvhose aim vas to forlllalize the various ilmic 10 solidify the thematic depth in the normative pre
a formal svstcm Im] the accelerated
ing in the scene with the hlack coach ill N ()SfefUflI jnd the ineredmiddot
iblc Icrial traveling hot in
me ali indeed in$t1I1CeS of those gramlllatical elewellts IS
flillCtiom2B that PIsolini tellds to idclIt ifv wi th the new
cinema III trulh though tmlays cimmltl is at times rich in
resonances tl()[gh the had films of every I)criod hy definit elude the s(jclilcd puetry of thillgs llld the or their
zaliull the fact remain that the only attempt that havc been lInder
taken toward Ilut only a poetic eincnla bUlals() a cinema as organized
idiulII-sinec this is what Pasolini is talking about-were preshy
ill tllC old cinemamiddot Iml the fact is that since its hirth the
cinema has prltlctically ntVlr ceased to evolve ill the direction of an
ideal (technicallr prosaic) lIexihility and a freedOil I that arc
T mv mind these atlempts have culminated in a failure which 01 the level uf general CltlllllOt be overcome hy the few ll1uglliliccnt but isolated suceesses A Iilm may a poetic novel it C8l111ot be a (except in the case uf purely thematic nUJ1middotstory-telling short lilms like Berlill ur SucksdoriFs Rllyt111H of a Git) In a poem there is no fable amI nothing illmiddot trudes between the )uthO alld the reader The novelist draws up a world the Ioet of tIle work The fiction film still seems to me to be closer to the novel tu the poe111 And finally the period in which one believed that a film cuuld be a pOlm is that of the old cinema rather than that of the lIew cinC111a
_ ____ _bullbull__~ bullbullbull __ __bull_____bull____ ______________________~~_ __~
THE f-l0DERN CINEMA AND NARllATIVITY 207
WltlmiddotS tlH~ anIlvsc~ of Frallshy(tbe cinema s a modern suciological
novel) ndrc llazin lnd the
to the novcl rather than
or i
iou peCl lia r to mUll y
lISC or the powers of (he flbliIOlI~ within the framework of til( rclatiVllv
realistic lilms verisimilitude) middotMore gcnerally one will obcrvc
tIle sCHalied fantastic cinema whieh ill certain carlv periods
emile vcry close to merging with one of the ILIainstreams of the
cinema as a whole (Gcrmm-Swcdish expressioll ism hOlll 19 1 t()
1lt)3 0 the fantIstic lilms of the period 19jo5 sllch IS FraJlkeN
stein TlC J1HisilJlc 111(111 and Kill J(OIJ) eventually became I
Cllfe and a ralher special genre It that which even ill part over
vhat the French call the eil(11111-is horror films gmdcgtBltalian
sadistic Japanese lilms Soviet fantasy
etc As a tllC so called realistic film which has long
been contrasted to Ihe fantatie film or to the film or the marvclous
as ir were the two poles or the cinema laquomel this is
the famolls theme I ull1icre lS AJcIiJs) blS taken uver limosl the whole or modern film
Ihe new cinellIa lS the JIOiccaJic jJlCSltllcl
in traditional lill11s Oil the contrary the camcra tried to JIlake its prcsence unfelt to ll1llzc itselF invisible hcmiddot
rore tbe spectacle it was presenting But whilmiddotc it is true that this
may apl)l) to certain filllls or the 11(1I-s(Hlistant
classical Americall comedy for example and in III e films related to what called editing ciamiddot
was made to appear invisible-it cannot describe tllC
various tenclencies or the very cinema whose on the
were based on the presence of the call1era mOll
or Abel camera movcmcnts in
films the optical clistorriom and
L
TIlE IO[IEHJlt CINE[I St)H TJllUCETlC1 1 TIlE ]IODIlRN CINEiTi AND NAHnATIVITY
ii the lIS ()f dlc Trellch s cIoc-uplt in TI Pussioll of re ill (sthet ics
[kit th IITt i(ims Iike ] icllstcill
in lIiml whcll thel imisled
[illl1ed deri ItS hi the rilmimf Ild ((In )
verselv ilhill Ill( 111ltldcrn cinlma tiICIC is 1 lcndclHv Dill
ivis-JtdlJllCr SOIlIC I illj()l)iol1i F Dc StII
mel Ill the cil(lI(f ele Ilel thilt cardulh crilSCS lI1 CIIlICr
cI Fccs tilliS (Ill thiS 110im [ am ill ailccnwlll with l~lic nuillllcr
III
dUII1lIllali(HI
Ihcilll lIld I
11111
llld
Ihe invisihlc
f()r Ihe
the
dllSl Ulllllpluti pC found ill till lilills f
Licit
)[sul 11111
Ik rell
CIs (111(1111
t Illlml
hese
or I hc
[allln
lllti
ISll lel LIIJltr[Vancc [ihn makers
shut cillCllIltI ililel sequence (ilWllld prusc Cill(lllil
lhc Cillll(fl-inlICSllllt alld
tillcliOlls s(cms to me to ICCOUill
lIludern eillCJll~L
cLlililcd I Illodcm i too ollell
to 11(1i is bcLillg ill
l~l Wls PI(lps(d with (1(J](l II nr] IIiIlI 01 tll( 111
10 ClTlclill llIodClil lill]IS11ll1 hal
ruc-hut wilh lll drOll 1I111iCI1I
Ill)ssihk I1l1111IK1 01
l n d llempl is
lt( few pgcs III follow
t1VllIcC lhe inevitable
lui h Sill is iI til In (Ill( IC~
n()le lirsl tlwt il all lllll[llld 11)(
rC1S(lIJ Tllev 11( Sil
the cinCllW was IS S( l
is s( ltIt lc~lst 10 a much kSSCI extent I hdievl 11 til( the modern film is IllOle lllIIltitin ltInd IlWIT silli1
the main contribulion of the new cinema is lu have
flhllic narrative
cunlllry t1Jlt1t
so md thll
enriched the
lVlore or less lssociaLecl with this idcl of a presumed
ur wea kcu ing or 1I11TMi viI y is ltllllOJ] g lllmy critics Ihe 11 ()tion oJ a
hrcahlow11 or Ihe gramlllar ()r sVlltax uF the cineilla I wuuld s)
on the contrary that the cimlll) hilS lIe( hld cit her 1 gr~l1lJJl1U r or t
in tile prccise linguistic sense or thest tenliS (S()l1le Iheortli
that it did hut [I)M is allot her Illatter 1lt111(1 il
toela still a certaill IlllllllCI of rUllciulllLll
that pcrilin 10 the mosl profolilld necessities or ransmissiu11 of ~ll1V informI l11inl1 IIVS dl11 arc ex
arc to he sough in
and no ill tile glltll1llllill or 1a1lgUltlgls TIll wjl()1c Illutldll or til(
the fact tIl( Olle looks for ltl1l1()I1U the aud spcciJic V(TV rClllovcd rom rla Ii t ) i] iOIlI1 ti (
without laws all lliost prohahly bCOl1d the expects to lind thllll~th)1 is 10 sal Ull
a IIlllch ill some WllyS prior to lhe dilfciClllilti()1l or lcrbnl all il e idiOilis ) Frolll othcr lllllllan semiotic wstems
Vc ~Irc told was suited lltJ
sv 11 Lu llO [xists Iklt
the livilllt rJ11il s t() do with sllch iI hurden Bul
Ihml beiliU acllwIlv syntltlclir
articubliolls ralher
de SllISshy
CIIlCI1lH elll be VOlin )
excesses of raquosyllt~)( Ihat during the period of dill lInglleJ1 amI Cl1l
IaLer was considered to be as strict a the grammar of a verbal
gUJgc But the new more Hexiblc forms or the cinellld arc govshy
erned just as mllch the fundamental f~L1rls without wllich 110 information would be possible a discourse of SOIllC is alshy
wavs in olle way or another divisible The
-
these rule have llothilll to do (rab1lt little cleviees
(~octeau was on tile lm York 101 To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE IODETIN C1NEIIIA SOiIE THECmrrnCAL lHOBLEMS
it tried to he nOII11lt1shy
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwuwe the
ollr lilLlguages And we know the CXtlllt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative gtallllllariall hiel was illustratld ill
j()6 by the lXrlWllgC puhlished ill Arts hct(ll1 Elill1lhll llld Mn
tind Evcn the l1)ost allvltlnccd filllls still pertain to J
ltq11)]OdCh tlwugll ill order to apprclllI1l1 new ()Jjecb the 1lttlT llla
have () bccomc mure Hexiblc ns I will show ill s(veral
her (lll
hI hmt tW() crv llilTcfCI11 rules or the
cincma On derivcd irolll
a 1ullal irc hc considered outdated
or tbellSsl restrictivec 011 till other 11all1 there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of stJllctllralcol1liguratiulls thlt are ill illllll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving When OIlC SIV th~lt tbc Illlls (IF the
lllW wnc for cxmllplc have ullnplctclv dismantled the Ilarra
livc or thlt tbey hlC( Clltirel displaced Wlltlx OllC is fCIII takshy
illu 1 ven limited vicw of the
llalTlt ive lllt
vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11llOlogICl1 (lr COlllIlll Ud cudishy
to the
llimic vehick as I wh(1lc It is prlcisdv t() the extellt thlt tlll rllltl
Of the two the linguit Wlb Andre 11ntincl ltC jnother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing The ne cinema has
very rightly so-a lumber of mIlS sueh (lS the prohibition the 180shydegree angle shot (I the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a closeshyup with no change of axis or nltrainst the actor lo()kill~ at the camra etc
THE lIODEHN CfNEiIA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1oltuiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexistshy
(lJeC o[ lIlev Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc arc intelligihle IS is the
case tlmost tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse llllJiwlillc nnd Last Year at j1jorilllZ)(ld arc
still from one lnd to the other iIIllS and
lt1ny
lludes the (Icsniptivl SYlltagllla
til inl1mlltlW lid llld ill Paris rlt
least ill the present slatc or CillllllJt(lgraphic thniqucs) a 11(1I](lishy
cgltic illlltlgC must ill (lIlC way (If m()ther he linked t() a diqctic ill
n(l ()J it will not Ippear to he lllllldil(ctic etcY But sllcll
hml llcvcr l)(cil seri()tlsly triLd hy Ii I1ll-11mlcrs ulliess ]lcrllltljls--aml
CVCIl itlll OJll would han to (-ltImine the lIlatkr 1ll()lC
sUllie (SlrelllC aVlilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll understood Ci1](11IltItOmiddot
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln nd lilllllllakcrs IllYlI ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstlll(t stich
0 iJlJa~ill( thaI thc l1li~ht lxist is precisely
hCllllSC the llIain Ilglllls or cillclliatogrlphic illtclligihilitC illlllhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater lkllt than the arc nvarl oF Silllimiddot
Imh (he lIlost (lrigil1d critcr d()ls ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll 111 tllt
Ilew Llilguagc
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical an d from this
return to the d the Pa~oliniall tbcories which
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral imshy
pressions
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
THE ~roDEnN CINEMA SOJIpound THEOnEJlCL PHUllLUIS
whole reflectioll on the of tlte ~ll1d of sol1tuclc a
dnt C11l0shy
of essell tially exlrashy
of Codnrd himself bear
witness (0 a narrltivc cl poundantlsy
docs llut automatshy
priority hut it cl[t8inly implies an eSSCllshy
(hat Cmbrd is (lllc of those mell
(Jill he ired clurillP tile lctua]
men Illli arc able to make IlIllIs throngll constant rdlecti()11 (cvell if
it is 11t ordered) ab()lIt the liIlC)llI~ lIlel who are ahle to creall
ill the hordcrLllld of 1 pocur tbat is also 111 e551 OJ] pO(trv (tile
rCHcr surly recognizes here onl of the lllost
Jll()dcrn litcratUlC) But even iF ur ~I director like Codard the cinshy
ellla IlllTI til Iv prescll t hcFore nisting becolllcs tllC nccessarv cat dyst
1m lillll creatioll- in the samc wal thM the idea or the h(lo]z is 81shy
ways in the minds uf modern even whell the hoolz
t hev lre is hardlv bCLlI1~thc Fact rellFlins that WILlt Collard
or ]the
mllmlilt of thelIarrative the
sea Pllis 1
hie with story
I do not see why the modem tban lJlvtbing else Eric
UIlC SIHll~titnes
point Iut t1wt the new prescnt ill the cineml
one forgets that between a cOllsidcrabl~ dilIcrence uf
In~lJ1 VJhu reached his maioritv The
all llew novel]
lcsclnblancc is Zl-S
At tbe vcry least nile sllUuld
narrative etc) cinema as
llovd is almust an
slllluid be lllore in Ln(icl1 certain Siln]
and the l1-W as
extent pheUOJ1lella as Too
such there exists old mlll lIJd the
and the same
THE ]IODERN CINEIA JND NAIHAl1VITY ~o
ever hroken and unfamiliar the 1ll8Y
line8r~this fact never is olle of the most proliJic of mudern remains true even when as is oftcn the scenario is horn in the midst of way only the COIlSCshy
(jUcnce or thc of the sccnario froll the modern cmelila or 10 t1wt the only scenarios me those that lrt IiC the of JUJenclH~ mlll Bust
A CINEMA OF TIlE SHOT Is the lllodem cinelli a ctlllll11
or the shot as distillgllishcd frum the old cincllw which WIS JJl(lrc cOllcerned with racing fwm shut to shot straisht to the
But jf that is the case what is (lJlC to say
the expressionist tendcllC~ CCrlllJll eXI )ressi)Jl iSIll the LIst Jilms or is 111 (lId OJH
that cOllnotations at
cinellla ~md not
ilctcristics of the Ilew cincma Is not the
of ~I kind of Vlst Cistclltiai failure
ohserves Cll]111IlIl11icJtcd
J1]Olltage) Is not Sa1alore GiuliallO a mOlltage lilill
lIiusie cinlma --and tllM was grounded to a hirgc extcnt OIl the
of inducing a IJorizolltal leading of tbe lihn that Iould COllSidcf cadi illla~c at length JlJd Wllltll on tIw olber Iwnd is OJlC to sal ~lj(lut the
grcllt f1llaisSIlII(( of wOllla) whicll after a period dominated hI the
from encl (0 end As for the yuuthflll dynamisllI (If Claude lcl()uchs [lUI Fillc des fusils is it not derived as lI1uch fWIll the of
the 111m as from the wonderful exuberance of its lllOlltlge nd Whll
of the imDortmc( (If SIOJlS
in the nd r
thought Tire fact j huwever vh~n SOlllC(le says H$ one hears that thc cincma is far of htcratllll one must C(lll shy
elude he nust never have read anvthiwgt at all
204 THE jVl(JDEI1N CINEMA S01JE THEORETICAL PROllLEMS
rative flow also confessions of 2 to 7 mel 111
Vivre sa vie And the and Ncver~ in
Hiroshima 11011 omour a counterpoint lhat despite its modern ac~
cent seems to emerge straight from the editing table of a Balilzs an
Arnheilll a Pudovlin or1 Tilllocilcnko And all the JIm
one sees
J CINEMA 01 POETPY remllIlO lmall y the lotiOIl IT
by Pier Paolo of a dislinction between
the cincma 01 and the cinema of poctry As attract inc as il
illay se(IIl the idea i~ nevertheless basicll1) fragile For llle
of prose and poclry arc too linked to lhe use of the verbal
to he cClsilv carricd over to the cinel1w Or elsc if ()Ill~ poetry
in
sense (gt1
whether llnessful or nOI
sidcrs poetl ill its tcdmical SC]lSC Ihe lise of Icrbal idiom
restrictions
a sC(JlHI code cappillg Ihl iirsl--()IlC
idi()m 1lsolini is
with
its I)f()adest SCI1Sl--as the illlllledill( Ilrcsenn of the world the
cncounshy
seems SIUll101ll1l1hlc The dlSlIHT or code ill (he cincma thll is the absCllce of
aware o[ Ihis ]lruh~
precisionl gut Ill believes
111 things c()nsidercd it can he circ1ilIlyltnted I helieve UIl tbe (()n~ md bter I will show wIn Furthershy
more t() these obstacles one must add still 1lOtlwr The
prose in Whl(c(r S(llSC it is gin)] has 11(1
the cincma and iF I pros( docs exist in the lexical
in distinction to poetrv and because a long rhetorical tradilioll has
divided into two a domain that is initially litemry (for prose prop~ that of a Chateaubriand or of a Stenshyspca
is aJshyand nol fromready the artistic use of language anu
IItiliti1rian language it creates ohjecls that have their own and
ilwt leads trulll Ihe
llTIlin av frolH
THE 1IODEnN CINEIA iTD NAm~TIVJrY US
at which lhrut or tor the it IS
lie Icr thCe CUllllllllnicHiul1 it lTCiltCS work The
poetr and prnsc J1JS IfIc1l1ing lt1nly within
(111( that 1cparatcs literallIre fmlll thl Ic
of idiom IS a to()1 nd it is this Lllimlrv distinfiOll (licit is ill
cinema S(I Ihat no 11111] Gill sIT iel sellse ll( Ir
Su oj Pas(lini- II
least for rdurn 10 tilC111 111lt1 let us lXl11J
ine Ilis Ihesis i(o]v ur til( lillllll If tJlcrc is sil]oc trelld
h IJ or Ihi histo it is indeed II1l Ule
eillCll]1 tu Jill J]((Ii1111I1ilmiddottl1al i II) Sci
the C11111111 f jllllr til till inlma o[
l)fose and 111 (he othn Va around Pasolini Itlllis
IhCIIIII-which arc nol rart in die modern CinellI]
struclllrts I1l lcnds also (0 CI)]ll~lrc tll( must hCllltifu
fillllS 10 (be dullest liddilil)])tl movies ltllId he tI( Iwl Lol)sidlT lhl
poeln il) 1 J)ollhle 0111
PUllr Iii Suile ill 111001ilc
or Dewier aloul
of
fillllS Olwj()lIsh lhere is more till iallo
Preside III ill( Cmu plirulI
C1l) onc
uf wh ich fur Olle l(l scc
fnr tl1C
Ill SLlhstII1CC lud Corm of cadI nnc
mel less ladie I h lIl~m (he older Ii djllers gtIll
be suilieiclltiv CCltlln tlla( IhL
Pasolin 1 sJl( ( b rClfCSCll ts ltl
in it il]( bCltillll
CillCIll12lti nd is it
Jillal 1ll]lys]s ((Infused with il111 inevilable slIbjedive lOIUmlioll oj
the filmie objccth its llming plrcCptjoll~whidl is ) ChllUCillilje
of aJI tillCmil-SO that the olliv real dilfercnce uuJcl Jillalv he tlw mel prose perceptions whith can only he dnrilicd hy d1C
ul eaeh film and docs no(
with Ihe existCJlcc of general restrictions
from
____ _
206 THE MODEHN ClNEIIj SOIE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS
further is it not alllong the liIllls that scem the must outmoded
todi1middotmiddotmiddotmiddotbut not always righth-middotthat one encounters the most cohercnt
and systcmatic attempts to COllstmct a hIm as one slrtletllr~s 1 poem
ilhat ahout Pudovlltins lvrical which Jean iVIitly has so well analyzed~7 iVlw ahollt the corOlWlion scene in [van lilC Terri shy
or th proccssion hefore Vakulintchllk amI the scelles of mist in
Poclllbll( What Iil()Ut Abel Ganee in Nupocoll and La Roue AmI ttlt attCII1Dts of the pllre cinema to substitute a einlll1ltl or tlzellles
And Jean Lpsteins enthusiastic analyses of the value of the c1ose-ujl shot And the lise of slow motion in the
seen(~ in Zero for Conduct And 111 the systems of montage
mentioned earlier vvhose aim vas to forlllalize the various ilmic 10 solidify the thematic depth in the normative pre
a formal svstcm Im] the accelerated
ing in the scene with the hlack coach ill N ()SfefUflI jnd the ineredmiddot
iblc Icrial traveling hot in
me ali indeed in$t1I1CeS of those gramlllatical elewellts IS
flillCtiom2B that PIsolini tellds to idclIt ifv wi th the new
cinema III trulh though tmlays cimmltl is at times rich in
resonances tl()[gh the had films of every I)criod hy definit elude the s(jclilcd puetry of thillgs llld the or their
zaliull the fact remain that the only attempt that havc been lInder
taken toward Ilut only a poetic eincnla bUlals() a cinema as organized
idiulII-sinec this is what Pasolini is talking about-were preshy
ill tllC old cinemamiddot Iml the fact is that since its hirth the
cinema has prltlctically ntVlr ceased to evolve ill the direction of an
ideal (technicallr prosaic) lIexihility and a freedOil I that arc
T mv mind these atlempts have culminated in a failure which 01 the level uf general CltlllllOt be overcome hy the few ll1uglliliccnt but isolated suceesses A Iilm may a poetic novel it C8l111ot be a (except in the case uf purely thematic nUJ1middotstory-telling short lilms like Berlill ur SucksdoriFs Rllyt111H of a Git) In a poem there is no fable amI nothing illmiddot trudes between the )uthO alld the reader The novelist draws up a world the Ioet of tIle work The fiction film still seems to me to be closer to the novel tu the poe111 And finally the period in which one believed that a film cuuld be a pOlm is that of the old cinema rather than that of the lIew cinC111a
_ ____ _bullbull__~ bullbullbull __ __bull_____bull____ ______________________~~_ __~
THE f-l0DERN CINEMA AND NARllATIVITY 207
WltlmiddotS tlH~ anIlvsc~ of Frallshy(tbe cinema s a modern suciological
novel) ndrc llazin lnd the
to the novcl rather than
or i
iou peCl lia r to mUll y
lISC or the powers of (he flbliIOlI~ within the framework of til( rclatiVllv
realistic lilms verisimilitude) middotMore gcnerally one will obcrvc
tIle sCHalied fantastic cinema whieh ill certain carlv periods
emile vcry close to merging with one of the ILIainstreams of the
cinema as a whole (Gcrmm-Swcdish expressioll ism hOlll 19 1 t()
1lt)3 0 the fantIstic lilms of the period 19jo5 sllch IS FraJlkeN
stein TlC J1HisilJlc 111(111 and Kill J(OIJ) eventually became I
Cllfe and a ralher special genre It that which even ill part over
vhat the French call the eil(11111-is horror films gmdcgtBltalian
sadistic Japanese lilms Soviet fantasy
etc As a tllC so called realistic film which has long
been contrasted to Ihe fantatie film or to the film or the marvclous
as ir were the two poles or the cinema laquomel this is
the famolls theme I ull1icre lS AJcIiJs) blS taken uver limosl the whole or modern film
Ihe new cinellIa lS the JIOiccaJic jJlCSltllcl
in traditional lill11s Oil the contrary the camcra tried to JIlake its prcsence unfelt to ll1llzc itselF invisible hcmiddot
rore tbe spectacle it was presenting But whilmiddotc it is true that this
may apl)l) to certain filllls or the 11(1I-s(Hlistant
classical Americall comedy for example and in III e films related to what called editing ciamiddot
was made to appear invisible-it cannot describe tllC
various tenclencies or the very cinema whose on the
were based on the presence of the call1era mOll
or Abel camera movcmcnts in
films the optical clistorriom and
L
TIlE IO[IEHJlt CINE[I St)H TJllUCETlC1 1 TIlE ]IODIlRN CINEiTi AND NAHnATIVITY
ii the lIS ()f dlc Trellch s cIoc-uplt in TI Pussioll of re ill (sthet ics
[kit th IITt i(ims Iike ] icllstcill
in lIiml whcll thel imisled
[illl1ed deri ItS hi the rilmimf Ild ((In )
verselv ilhill Ill( 111ltldcrn cinlma tiICIC is 1 lcndclHv Dill
ivis-JtdlJllCr SOIlIC I illj()l)iol1i F Dc StII
mel Ill the cil(lI(f ele Ilel thilt cardulh crilSCS lI1 CIIlICr
cI Fccs tilliS (Ill thiS 110im [ am ill ailccnwlll with l~lic nuillllcr
III
dUII1lIllali(HI
Ihcilll lIld I
11111
llld
Ihe invisihlc
f()r Ihe
the
dllSl Ulllllpluti pC found ill till lilills f
Licit
)[sul 11111
Ik rell
CIs (111(1111
t Illlml
hese
or I hc
[allln
lllti
ISll lel LIIJltr[Vancc [ihn makers
shut cillCllIltI ililel sequence (ilWllld prusc Cill(lllil
lhc Cillll(fl-inlICSllllt alld
tillcliOlls s(cms to me to ICCOUill
lIludern eillCJll~L
cLlililcd I Illodcm i too ollell
to 11(1i is bcLillg ill
l~l Wls PI(lps(d with (1(J](l II nr] IIiIlI 01 tll( 111
10 ClTlclill llIodClil lill]IS11ll1 hal
ruc-hut wilh lll drOll 1I111iCI1I
Ill)ssihk I1l1111IK1 01
l n d llempl is
lt( few pgcs III follow
t1VllIcC lhe inevitable
lui h Sill is iI til In (Ill( IC~
n()le lirsl tlwt il all lllll[llld 11)(
rC1S(lIJ Tllev 11( Sil
the cinCllW was IS S( l
is s( ltIt lc~lst 10 a much kSSCI extent I hdievl 11 til( the modern film is IllOle lllIIltitin ltInd IlWIT silli1
the main contribulion of the new cinema is lu have
flhllic narrative
cunlllry t1Jlt1t
so md thll
enriched the
lVlore or less lssociaLecl with this idcl of a presumed
ur wea kcu ing or 1I11TMi viI y is ltllllOJ] g lllmy critics Ihe 11 ()tion oJ a
hrcahlow11 or Ihe gramlllar ()r sVlltax uF the cineilla I wuuld s)
on the contrary that the cimlll) hilS lIe( hld cit her 1 gr~l1lJJl1U r or t
in tile prccise linguistic sense or thest tenliS (S()l1le Iheortli
that it did hut [I)M is allot her Illatter 1lt111(1 il
toela still a certaill IlllllllCI of rUllciulllLll
that pcrilin 10 the mosl profolilld necessities or ransmissiu11 of ~ll1V informI l11inl1 IIVS dl11 arc ex
arc to he sough in
and no ill tile glltll1llllill or 1a1lgUltlgls TIll wjl()1c Illutldll or til(
the fact tIl( Olle looks for ltl1l1()I1U the aud spcciJic V(TV rClllovcd rom rla Ii t ) i] iOIlI1 ti (
without laws all lliost prohahly bCOl1d the expects to lind thllll~th)1 is 10 sal Ull
a IIlllch ill some WllyS prior to lhe dilfciClllilti()1l or lcrbnl all il e idiOilis ) Frolll othcr lllllllan semiotic wstems
Vc ~Irc told was suited lltJ
sv 11 Lu llO [xists Iklt
the livilllt rJ11il s t() do with sllch iI hurden Bul
Ihml beiliU acllwIlv syntltlclir
articubliolls ralher
de SllISshy
CIIlCI1lH elll be VOlin )
excesses of raquosyllt~)( Ihat during the period of dill lInglleJ1 amI Cl1l
IaLer was considered to be as strict a the grammar of a verbal
gUJgc But the new more Hexiblc forms or the cinellld arc govshy
erned just as mllch the fundamental f~L1rls without wllich 110 information would be possible a discourse of SOIllC is alshy
wavs in olle way or another divisible The
-
these rule have llothilll to do (rab1lt little cleviees
(~octeau was on tile lm York 101 To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE IODETIN C1NEIIIA SOiIE THECmrrnCAL lHOBLEMS
it tried to he nOII11lt1shy
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwuwe the
ollr lilLlguages And we know the CXtlllt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative gtallllllariall hiel was illustratld ill
j()6 by the lXrlWllgC puhlished ill Arts hct(ll1 Elill1lhll llld Mn
tind Evcn the l1)ost allvltlnccd filllls still pertain to J
ltq11)]OdCh tlwugll ill order to apprclllI1l1 new ()Jjecb the 1lttlT llla
have () bccomc mure Hexiblc ns I will show ill s(veral
her (lll
hI hmt tW() crv llilTcfCI11 rules or the
cincma On derivcd irolll
a 1ullal irc hc considered outdated
or tbellSsl restrictivec 011 till other 11all1 there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of stJllctllralcol1liguratiulls thlt are ill illllll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving When OIlC SIV th~lt tbc Illlls (IF the
lllW wnc for cxmllplc have ullnplctclv dismantled the Ilarra
livc or thlt tbey hlC( Clltirel displaced Wlltlx OllC is fCIII takshy
illu 1 ven limited vicw of the
llalTlt ive lllt
vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11llOlogICl1 (lr COlllIlll Ud cudishy
to the
llimic vehick as I wh(1lc It is prlcisdv t() the extellt thlt tlll rllltl
Of the two the linguit Wlb Andre 11ntincl ltC jnother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing The ne cinema has
very rightly so-a lumber of mIlS sueh (lS the prohibition the 180shydegree angle shot (I the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a closeshyup with no change of axis or nltrainst the actor lo()kill~ at the camra etc
THE lIODEHN CfNEiIA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1oltuiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexistshy
(lJeC o[ lIlev Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc arc intelligihle IS is the
case tlmost tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse llllJiwlillc nnd Last Year at j1jorilllZ)(ld arc
still from one lnd to the other iIIllS and
lt1ny
lludes the (Icsniptivl SYlltagllla
til inl1mlltlW lid llld ill Paris rlt
least ill the present slatc or CillllllJt(lgraphic thniqucs) a 11(1I](lishy
cgltic illlltlgC must ill (lIlC way (If m()ther he linked t() a diqctic ill
n(l ()J it will not Ippear to he lllllldil(ctic etcY But sllcll
hml llcvcr l)(cil seri()tlsly triLd hy Ii I1ll-11mlcrs ulliess ]lcrllltljls--aml
CVCIl itlll OJll would han to (-ltImine the lIlatkr 1ll()lC
sUllie (SlrelllC aVlilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll understood Ci1](11IltItOmiddot
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln nd lilllllllakcrs IllYlI ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstlll(t stich
0 iJlJa~ill( thaI thc l1li~ht lxist is precisely
hCllllSC the llIain Ilglllls or cillclliatogrlphic illtclligihilitC illlllhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater lkllt than the arc nvarl oF Silllimiddot
Imh (he lIlost (lrigil1d critcr d()ls ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll 111 tllt
Ilew Llilguagc
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical an d from this
return to the d the Pa~oliniall tbcories which
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral imshy
pressions
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
204 THE jVl(JDEI1N CINEMA S01JE THEORETICAL PROllLEMS
rative flow also confessions of 2 to 7 mel 111
Vivre sa vie And the and Ncver~ in
Hiroshima 11011 omour a counterpoint lhat despite its modern ac~
cent seems to emerge straight from the editing table of a Balilzs an
Arnheilll a Pudovlin or1 Tilllocilcnko And all the JIm
one sees
J CINEMA 01 POETPY remllIlO lmall y the lotiOIl IT
by Pier Paolo of a dislinction between
the cincma 01 and the cinema of poctry As attract inc as il
illay se(IIl the idea i~ nevertheless basicll1) fragile For llle
of prose and poclry arc too linked to lhe use of the verbal
to he cClsilv carricd over to the cinel1w Or elsc if ()Ill~ poetry
in
sense (gt1
whether llnessful or nOI
sidcrs poetl ill its tcdmical SC]lSC Ihe lise of Icrbal idiom
restrictions
a sC(JlHI code cappillg Ihl iirsl--()IlC
idi()m 1lsolini is
with
its I)f()adest SCI1Sl--as the illlllledill( Ilrcsenn of the world the
cncounshy
seems SIUll101ll1l1hlc The dlSlIHT or code ill (he cincma thll is the absCllce of
aware o[ Ihis ]lruh~
precisionl gut Ill believes
111 things c()nsidercd it can he circ1ilIlyltnted I helieve UIl tbe (()n~ md bter I will show wIn Furthershy
more t() these obstacles one must add still 1lOtlwr The
prose in Whl(c(r S(llSC it is gin)] has 11(1
the cincma and iF I pros( docs exist in the lexical
in distinction to poetrv and because a long rhetorical tradilioll has
divided into two a domain that is initially litemry (for prose prop~ that of a Chateaubriand or of a Stenshyspca
is aJshyand nol fromready the artistic use of language anu
IItiliti1rian language it creates ohjecls that have their own and
ilwt leads trulll Ihe
llTIlin av frolH
THE 1IODEnN CINEIA iTD NAm~TIVJrY US
at which lhrut or tor the it IS
lie Icr thCe CUllllllllnicHiul1 it lTCiltCS work The
poetr and prnsc J1JS IfIc1l1ing lt1nly within
(111( that 1cparatcs literallIre fmlll thl Ic
of idiom IS a to()1 nd it is this Lllimlrv distinfiOll (licit is ill
cinema S(I Ihat no 11111] Gill sIT iel sellse ll( Ir
Su oj Pas(lini- II
least for rdurn 10 tilC111 111lt1 let us lXl11J
ine Ilis Ihesis i(o]v ur til( lillllll If tJlcrc is sil]oc trelld
h IJ or Ihi histo it is indeed II1l Ule
eillCll]1 tu Jill J]((Ii1111I1ilmiddottl1al i II) Sci
the C11111111 f jllllr til till inlma o[
l)fose and 111 (he othn Va around Pasolini Itlllis
IhCIIIII-which arc nol rart in die modern CinellI]
struclllrts I1l lcnds also (0 CI)]ll~lrc tll( must hCllltifu
fillllS 10 (be dullest liddilil)])tl movies ltllId he tI( Iwl Lol)sidlT lhl
poeln il) 1 J)ollhle 0111
PUllr Iii Suile ill 111001ilc
or Dewier aloul
of
fillllS Olwj()lIsh lhere is more till iallo
Preside III ill( Cmu plirulI
C1l) onc
uf wh ich fur Olle l(l scc
fnr tl1C
Ill SLlhstII1CC lud Corm of cadI nnc
mel less ladie I h lIl~m (he older Ii djllers gtIll
be suilieiclltiv CCltlln tlla( IhL
Pasolin 1 sJl( ( b rClfCSCll ts ltl
in it il]( bCltillll
CillCIll12lti nd is it
Jillal 1ll]lys]s ((Infused with il111 inevilable slIbjedive lOIUmlioll oj
the filmie objccth its llming plrcCptjoll~whidl is ) ChllUCillilje
of aJI tillCmil-SO that the olliv real dilfercnce uuJcl Jillalv he tlw mel prose perceptions whith can only he dnrilicd hy d1C
ul eaeh film and docs no(
with Ihe existCJlcc of general restrictions
from
____ _
206 THE MODEHN ClNEIIj SOIE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS
further is it not alllong the liIllls that scem the must outmoded
todi1middotmiddotmiddotmiddotbut not always righth-middotthat one encounters the most cohercnt
and systcmatic attempts to COllstmct a hIm as one slrtletllr~s 1 poem
ilhat ahout Pudovlltins lvrical which Jean iVIitly has so well analyzed~7 iVlw ahollt the corOlWlion scene in [van lilC Terri shy
or th proccssion hefore Vakulintchllk amI the scelles of mist in
Poclllbll( What Iil()Ut Abel Ganee in Nupocoll and La Roue AmI ttlt attCII1Dts of the pllre cinema to substitute a einlll1ltl or tlzellles
And Jean Lpsteins enthusiastic analyses of the value of the c1ose-ujl shot And the lise of slow motion in the
seen(~ in Zero for Conduct And 111 the systems of montage
mentioned earlier vvhose aim vas to forlllalize the various ilmic 10 solidify the thematic depth in the normative pre
a formal svstcm Im] the accelerated
ing in the scene with the hlack coach ill N ()SfefUflI jnd the ineredmiddot
iblc Icrial traveling hot in
me ali indeed in$t1I1CeS of those gramlllatical elewellts IS
flillCtiom2B that PIsolini tellds to idclIt ifv wi th the new
cinema III trulh though tmlays cimmltl is at times rich in
resonances tl()[gh the had films of every I)criod hy definit elude the s(jclilcd puetry of thillgs llld the or their
zaliull the fact remain that the only attempt that havc been lInder
taken toward Ilut only a poetic eincnla bUlals() a cinema as organized
idiulII-sinec this is what Pasolini is talking about-were preshy
ill tllC old cinemamiddot Iml the fact is that since its hirth the
cinema has prltlctically ntVlr ceased to evolve ill the direction of an
ideal (technicallr prosaic) lIexihility and a freedOil I that arc
T mv mind these atlempts have culminated in a failure which 01 the level uf general CltlllllOt be overcome hy the few ll1uglliliccnt but isolated suceesses A Iilm may a poetic novel it C8l111ot be a (except in the case uf purely thematic nUJ1middotstory-telling short lilms like Berlill ur SucksdoriFs Rllyt111H of a Git) In a poem there is no fable amI nothing illmiddot trudes between the )uthO alld the reader The novelist draws up a world the Ioet of tIle work The fiction film still seems to me to be closer to the novel tu the poe111 And finally the period in which one believed that a film cuuld be a pOlm is that of the old cinema rather than that of the lIew cinC111a
_ ____ _bullbull__~ bullbullbull __ __bull_____bull____ ______________________~~_ __~
THE f-l0DERN CINEMA AND NARllATIVITY 207
WltlmiddotS tlH~ anIlvsc~ of Frallshy(tbe cinema s a modern suciological
novel) ndrc llazin lnd the
to the novcl rather than
or i
iou peCl lia r to mUll y
lISC or the powers of (he flbliIOlI~ within the framework of til( rclatiVllv
realistic lilms verisimilitude) middotMore gcnerally one will obcrvc
tIle sCHalied fantastic cinema whieh ill certain carlv periods
emile vcry close to merging with one of the ILIainstreams of the
cinema as a whole (Gcrmm-Swcdish expressioll ism hOlll 19 1 t()
1lt)3 0 the fantIstic lilms of the period 19jo5 sllch IS FraJlkeN
stein TlC J1HisilJlc 111(111 and Kill J(OIJ) eventually became I
Cllfe and a ralher special genre It that which even ill part over
vhat the French call the eil(11111-is horror films gmdcgtBltalian
sadistic Japanese lilms Soviet fantasy
etc As a tllC so called realistic film which has long
been contrasted to Ihe fantatie film or to the film or the marvclous
as ir were the two poles or the cinema laquomel this is
the famolls theme I ull1icre lS AJcIiJs) blS taken uver limosl the whole or modern film
Ihe new cinellIa lS the JIOiccaJic jJlCSltllcl
in traditional lill11s Oil the contrary the camcra tried to JIlake its prcsence unfelt to ll1llzc itselF invisible hcmiddot
rore tbe spectacle it was presenting But whilmiddotc it is true that this
may apl)l) to certain filllls or the 11(1I-s(Hlistant
classical Americall comedy for example and in III e films related to what called editing ciamiddot
was made to appear invisible-it cannot describe tllC
various tenclencies or the very cinema whose on the
were based on the presence of the call1era mOll
or Abel camera movcmcnts in
films the optical clistorriom and
L
TIlE IO[IEHJlt CINE[I St)H TJllUCETlC1 1 TIlE ]IODIlRN CINEiTi AND NAHnATIVITY
ii the lIS ()f dlc Trellch s cIoc-uplt in TI Pussioll of re ill (sthet ics
[kit th IITt i(ims Iike ] icllstcill
in lIiml whcll thel imisled
[illl1ed deri ItS hi the rilmimf Ild ((In )
verselv ilhill Ill( 111ltldcrn cinlma tiICIC is 1 lcndclHv Dill
ivis-JtdlJllCr SOIlIC I illj()l)iol1i F Dc StII
mel Ill the cil(lI(f ele Ilel thilt cardulh crilSCS lI1 CIIlICr
cI Fccs tilliS (Ill thiS 110im [ am ill ailccnwlll with l~lic nuillllcr
III
dUII1lIllali(HI
Ihcilll lIld I
11111
llld
Ihe invisihlc
f()r Ihe
the
dllSl Ulllllpluti pC found ill till lilills f
Licit
)[sul 11111
Ik rell
CIs (111(1111
t Illlml
hese
or I hc
[allln
lllti
ISll lel LIIJltr[Vancc [ihn makers
shut cillCllIltI ililel sequence (ilWllld prusc Cill(lllil
lhc Cillll(fl-inlICSllllt alld
tillcliOlls s(cms to me to ICCOUill
lIludern eillCJll~L
cLlililcd I Illodcm i too ollell
to 11(1i is bcLillg ill
l~l Wls PI(lps(d with (1(J](l II nr] IIiIlI 01 tll( 111
10 ClTlclill llIodClil lill]IS11ll1 hal
ruc-hut wilh lll drOll 1I111iCI1I
Ill)ssihk I1l1111IK1 01
l n d llempl is
lt( few pgcs III follow
t1VllIcC lhe inevitable
lui h Sill is iI til In (Ill( IC~
n()le lirsl tlwt il all lllll[llld 11)(
rC1S(lIJ Tllev 11( Sil
the cinCllW was IS S( l
is s( ltIt lc~lst 10 a much kSSCI extent I hdievl 11 til( the modern film is IllOle lllIIltitin ltInd IlWIT silli1
the main contribulion of the new cinema is lu have
flhllic narrative
cunlllry t1Jlt1t
so md thll
enriched the
lVlore or less lssociaLecl with this idcl of a presumed
ur wea kcu ing or 1I11TMi viI y is ltllllOJ] g lllmy critics Ihe 11 ()tion oJ a
hrcahlow11 or Ihe gramlllar ()r sVlltax uF the cineilla I wuuld s)
on the contrary that the cimlll) hilS lIe( hld cit her 1 gr~l1lJJl1U r or t
in tile prccise linguistic sense or thest tenliS (S()l1le Iheortli
that it did hut [I)M is allot her Illatter 1lt111(1 il
toela still a certaill IlllllllCI of rUllciulllLll
that pcrilin 10 the mosl profolilld necessities or ransmissiu11 of ~ll1V informI l11inl1 IIVS dl11 arc ex
arc to he sough in
and no ill tile glltll1llllill or 1a1lgUltlgls TIll wjl()1c Illutldll or til(
the fact tIl( Olle looks for ltl1l1()I1U the aud spcciJic V(TV rClllovcd rom rla Ii t ) i] iOIlI1 ti (
without laws all lliost prohahly bCOl1d the expects to lind thllll~th)1 is 10 sal Ull
a IIlllch ill some WllyS prior to lhe dilfciClllilti()1l or lcrbnl all il e idiOilis ) Frolll othcr lllllllan semiotic wstems
Vc ~Irc told was suited lltJ
sv 11 Lu llO [xists Iklt
the livilllt rJ11il s t() do with sllch iI hurden Bul
Ihml beiliU acllwIlv syntltlclir
articubliolls ralher
de SllISshy
CIIlCI1lH elll be VOlin )
excesses of raquosyllt~)( Ihat during the period of dill lInglleJ1 amI Cl1l
IaLer was considered to be as strict a the grammar of a verbal
gUJgc But the new more Hexiblc forms or the cinellld arc govshy
erned just as mllch the fundamental f~L1rls without wllich 110 information would be possible a discourse of SOIllC is alshy
wavs in olle way or another divisible The
-
these rule have llothilll to do (rab1lt little cleviees
(~octeau was on tile lm York 101 To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE IODETIN C1NEIIIA SOiIE THECmrrnCAL lHOBLEMS
it tried to he nOII11lt1shy
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwuwe the
ollr lilLlguages And we know the CXtlllt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative gtallllllariall hiel was illustratld ill
j()6 by the lXrlWllgC puhlished ill Arts hct(ll1 Elill1lhll llld Mn
tind Evcn the l1)ost allvltlnccd filllls still pertain to J
ltq11)]OdCh tlwugll ill order to apprclllI1l1 new ()Jjecb the 1lttlT llla
have () bccomc mure Hexiblc ns I will show ill s(veral
her (lll
hI hmt tW() crv llilTcfCI11 rules or the
cincma On derivcd irolll
a 1ullal irc hc considered outdated
or tbellSsl restrictivec 011 till other 11all1 there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of stJllctllralcol1liguratiulls thlt are ill illllll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving When OIlC SIV th~lt tbc Illlls (IF the
lllW wnc for cxmllplc have ullnplctclv dismantled the Ilarra
livc or thlt tbey hlC( Clltirel displaced Wlltlx OllC is fCIII takshy
illu 1 ven limited vicw of the
llalTlt ive lllt
vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11llOlogICl1 (lr COlllIlll Ud cudishy
to the
llimic vehick as I wh(1lc It is prlcisdv t() the extellt thlt tlll rllltl
Of the two the linguit Wlb Andre 11ntincl ltC jnother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing The ne cinema has
very rightly so-a lumber of mIlS sueh (lS the prohibition the 180shydegree angle shot (I the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a closeshyup with no change of axis or nltrainst the actor lo()kill~ at the camra etc
THE lIODEHN CfNEiIA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1oltuiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexistshy
(lJeC o[ lIlev Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc arc intelligihle IS is the
case tlmost tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse llllJiwlillc nnd Last Year at j1jorilllZ)(ld arc
still from one lnd to the other iIIllS and
lt1ny
lludes the (Icsniptivl SYlltagllla
til inl1mlltlW lid llld ill Paris rlt
least ill the present slatc or CillllllJt(lgraphic thniqucs) a 11(1I](lishy
cgltic illlltlgC must ill (lIlC way (If m()ther he linked t() a diqctic ill
n(l ()J it will not Ippear to he lllllldil(ctic etcY But sllcll
hml llcvcr l)(cil seri()tlsly triLd hy Ii I1ll-11mlcrs ulliess ]lcrllltljls--aml
CVCIl itlll OJll would han to (-ltImine the lIlatkr 1ll()lC
sUllie (SlrelllC aVlilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll understood Ci1](11IltItOmiddot
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln nd lilllllllakcrs IllYlI ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstlll(t stich
0 iJlJa~ill( thaI thc l1li~ht lxist is precisely
hCllllSC the llIain Ilglllls or cillclliatogrlphic illtclligihilitC illlllhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater lkllt than the arc nvarl oF Silllimiddot
Imh (he lIlost (lrigil1d critcr d()ls ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll 111 tllt
Ilew Llilguagc
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical an d from this
return to the d the Pa~oliniall tbcories which
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral imshy
pressions
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
____ _
206 THE MODEHN ClNEIIj SOIE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS
further is it not alllong the liIllls that scem the must outmoded
todi1middotmiddotmiddotmiddotbut not always righth-middotthat one encounters the most cohercnt
and systcmatic attempts to COllstmct a hIm as one slrtletllr~s 1 poem
ilhat ahout Pudovlltins lvrical which Jean iVIitly has so well analyzed~7 iVlw ahollt the corOlWlion scene in [van lilC Terri shy
or th proccssion hefore Vakulintchllk amI the scelles of mist in
Poclllbll( What Iil()Ut Abel Ganee in Nupocoll and La Roue AmI ttlt attCII1Dts of the pllre cinema to substitute a einlll1ltl or tlzellles
And Jean Lpsteins enthusiastic analyses of the value of the c1ose-ujl shot And the lise of slow motion in the
seen(~ in Zero for Conduct And 111 the systems of montage
mentioned earlier vvhose aim vas to forlllalize the various ilmic 10 solidify the thematic depth in the normative pre
a formal svstcm Im] the accelerated
ing in the scene with the hlack coach ill N ()SfefUflI jnd the ineredmiddot
iblc Icrial traveling hot in
me ali indeed in$t1I1CeS of those gramlllatical elewellts IS
flillCtiom2B that PIsolini tellds to idclIt ifv wi th the new
cinema III trulh though tmlays cimmltl is at times rich in
resonances tl()[gh the had films of every I)criod hy definit elude the s(jclilcd puetry of thillgs llld the or their
zaliull the fact remain that the only attempt that havc been lInder
taken toward Ilut only a poetic eincnla bUlals() a cinema as organized
idiulII-sinec this is what Pasolini is talking about-were preshy
ill tllC old cinemamiddot Iml the fact is that since its hirth the
cinema has prltlctically ntVlr ceased to evolve ill the direction of an
ideal (technicallr prosaic) lIexihility and a freedOil I that arc
T mv mind these atlempts have culminated in a failure which 01 the level uf general CltlllllOt be overcome hy the few ll1uglliliccnt but isolated suceesses A Iilm may a poetic novel it C8l111ot be a (except in the case uf purely thematic nUJ1middotstory-telling short lilms like Berlill ur SucksdoriFs Rllyt111H of a Git) In a poem there is no fable amI nothing illmiddot trudes between the )uthO alld the reader The novelist draws up a world the Ioet of tIle work The fiction film still seems to me to be closer to the novel tu the poe111 And finally the period in which one believed that a film cuuld be a pOlm is that of the old cinema rather than that of the lIew cinC111a
_ ____ _bullbull__~ bullbullbull __ __bull_____bull____ ______________________~~_ __~
THE f-l0DERN CINEMA AND NARllATIVITY 207
WltlmiddotS tlH~ anIlvsc~ of Frallshy(tbe cinema s a modern suciological
novel) ndrc llazin lnd the
to the novcl rather than
or i
iou peCl lia r to mUll y
lISC or the powers of (he flbliIOlI~ within the framework of til( rclatiVllv
realistic lilms verisimilitude) middotMore gcnerally one will obcrvc
tIle sCHalied fantastic cinema whieh ill certain carlv periods
emile vcry close to merging with one of the ILIainstreams of the
cinema as a whole (Gcrmm-Swcdish expressioll ism hOlll 19 1 t()
1lt)3 0 the fantIstic lilms of the period 19jo5 sllch IS FraJlkeN
stein TlC J1HisilJlc 111(111 and Kill J(OIJ) eventually became I
Cllfe and a ralher special genre It that which even ill part over
vhat the French call the eil(11111-is horror films gmdcgtBltalian
sadistic Japanese lilms Soviet fantasy
etc As a tllC so called realistic film which has long
been contrasted to Ihe fantatie film or to the film or the marvclous
as ir were the two poles or the cinema laquomel this is
the famolls theme I ull1icre lS AJcIiJs) blS taken uver limosl the whole or modern film
Ihe new cinellIa lS the JIOiccaJic jJlCSltllcl
in traditional lill11s Oil the contrary the camcra tried to JIlake its prcsence unfelt to ll1llzc itselF invisible hcmiddot
rore tbe spectacle it was presenting But whilmiddotc it is true that this
may apl)l) to certain filllls or the 11(1I-s(Hlistant
classical Americall comedy for example and in III e films related to what called editing ciamiddot
was made to appear invisible-it cannot describe tllC
various tenclencies or the very cinema whose on the
were based on the presence of the call1era mOll
or Abel camera movcmcnts in
films the optical clistorriom and
L
TIlE IO[IEHJlt CINE[I St)H TJllUCETlC1 1 TIlE ]IODIlRN CINEiTi AND NAHnATIVITY
ii the lIS ()f dlc Trellch s cIoc-uplt in TI Pussioll of re ill (sthet ics
[kit th IITt i(ims Iike ] icllstcill
in lIiml whcll thel imisled
[illl1ed deri ItS hi the rilmimf Ild ((In )
verselv ilhill Ill( 111ltldcrn cinlma tiICIC is 1 lcndclHv Dill
ivis-JtdlJllCr SOIlIC I illj()l)iol1i F Dc StII
mel Ill the cil(lI(f ele Ilel thilt cardulh crilSCS lI1 CIIlICr
cI Fccs tilliS (Ill thiS 110im [ am ill ailccnwlll with l~lic nuillllcr
III
dUII1lIllali(HI
Ihcilll lIld I
11111
llld
Ihe invisihlc
f()r Ihe
the
dllSl Ulllllpluti pC found ill till lilills f
Licit
)[sul 11111
Ik rell
CIs (111(1111
t Illlml
hese
or I hc
[allln
lllti
ISll lel LIIJltr[Vancc [ihn makers
shut cillCllIltI ililel sequence (ilWllld prusc Cill(lllil
lhc Cillll(fl-inlICSllllt alld
tillcliOlls s(cms to me to ICCOUill
lIludern eillCJll~L
cLlililcd I Illodcm i too ollell
to 11(1i is bcLillg ill
l~l Wls PI(lps(d with (1(J](l II nr] IIiIlI 01 tll( 111
10 ClTlclill llIodClil lill]IS11ll1 hal
ruc-hut wilh lll drOll 1I111iCI1I
Ill)ssihk I1l1111IK1 01
l n d llempl is
lt( few pgcs III follow
t1VllIcC lhe inevitable
lui h Sill is iI til In (Ill( IC~
n()le lirsl tlwt il all lllll[llld 11)(
rC1S(lIJ Tllev 11( Sil
the cinCllW was IS S( l
is s( ltIt lc~lst 10 a much kSSCI extent I hdievl 11 til( the modern film is IllOle lllIIltitin ltInd IlWIT silli1
the main contribulion of the new cinema is lu have
flhllic narrative
cunlllry t1Jlt1t
so md thll
enriched the
lVlore or less lssociaLecl with this idcl of a presumed
ur wea kcu ing or 1I11TMi viI y is ltllllOJ] g lllmy critics Ihe 11 ()tion oJ a
hrcahlow11 or Ihe gramlllar ()r sVlltax uF the cineilla I wuuld s)
on the contrary that the cimlll) hilS lIe( hld cit her 1 gr~l1lJJl1U r or t
in tile prccise linguistic sense or thest tenliS (S()l1le Iheortli
that it did hut [I)M is allot her Illatter 1lt111(1 il
toela still a certaill IlllllllCI of rUllciulllLll
that pcrilin 10 the mosl profolilld necessities or ransmissiu11 of ~ll1V informI l11inl1 IIVS dl11 arc ex
arc to he sough in
and no ill tile glltll1llllill or 1a1lgUltlgls TIll wjl()1c Illutldll or til(
the fact tIl( Olle looks for ltl1l1()I1U the aud spcciJic V(TV rClllovcd rom rla Ii t ) i] iOIlI1 ti (
without laws all lliost prohahly bCOl1d the expects to lind thllll~th)1 is 10 sal Ull
a IIlllch ill some WllyS prior to lhe dilfciClllilti()1l or lcrbnl all il e idiOilis ) Frolll othcr lllllllan semiotic wstems
Vc ~Irc told was suited lltJ
sv 11 Lu llO [xists Iklt
the livilllt rJ11il s t() do with sllch iI hurden Bul
Ihml beiliU acllwIlv syntltlclir
articubliolls ralher
de SllISshy
CIIlCI1lH elll be VOlin )
excesses of raquosyllt~)( Ihat during the period of dill lInglleJ1 amI Cl1l
IaLer was considered to be as strict a the grammar of a verbal
gUJgc But the new more Hexiblc forms or the cinellld arc govshy
erned just as mllch the fundamental f~L1rls without wllich 110 information would be possible a discourse of SOIllC is alshy
wavs in olle way or another divisible The
-
these rule have llothilll to do (rab1lt little cleviees
(~octeau was on tile lm York 101 To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE IODETIN C1NEIIIA SOiIE THECmrrnCAL lHOBLEMS
it tried to he nOII11lt1shy
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwuwe the
ollr lilLlguages And we know the CXtlllt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative gtallllllariall hiel was illustratld ill
j()6 by the lXrlWllgC puhlished ill Arts hct(ll1 Elill1lhll llld Mn
tind Evcn the l1)ost allvltlnccd filllls still pertain to J
ltq11)]OdCh tlwugll ill order to apprclllI1l1 new ()Jjecb the 1lttlT llla
have () bccomc mure Hexiblc ns I will show ill s(veral
her (lll
hI hmt tW() crv llilTcfCI11 rules or the
cincma On derivcd irolll
a 1ullal irc hc considered outdated
or tbellSsl restrictivec 011 till other 11all1 there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of stJllctllralcol1liguratiulls thlt are ill illllll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving When OIlC SIV th~lt tbc Illlls (IF the
lllW wnc for cxmllplc have ullnplctclv dismantled the Ilarra
livc or thlt tbey hlC( Clltirel displaced Wlltlx OllC is fCIII takshy
illu 1 ven limited vicw of the
llalTlt ive lllt
vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11llOlogICl1 (lr COlllIlll Ud cudishy
to the
llimic vehick as I wh(1lc It is prlcisdv t() the extellt thlt tlll rllltl
Of the two the linguit Wlb Andre 11ntincl ltC jnother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing The ne cinema has
very rightly so-a lumber of mIlS sueh (lS the prohibition the 180shydegree angle shot (I the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a closeshyup with no change of axis or nltrainst the actor lo()kill~ at the camra etc
THE lIODEHN CfNEiIA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1oltuiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexistshy
(lJeC o[ lIlev Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc arc intelligihle IS is the
case tlmost tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse llllJiwlillc nnd Last Year at j1jorilllZ)(ld arc
still from one lnd to the other iIIllS and
lt1ny
lludes the (Icsniptivl SYlltagllla
til inl1mlltlW lid llld ill Paris rlt
least ill the present slatc or CillllllJt(lgraphic thniqucs) a 11(1I](lishy
cgltic illlltlgC must ill (lIlC way (If m()ther he linked t() a diqctic ill
n(l ()J it will not Ippear to he lllllldil(ctic etcY But sllcll
hml llcvcr l)(cil seri()tlsly triLd hy Ii I1ll-11mlcrs ulliess ]lcrllltljls--aml
CVCIl itlll OJll would han to (-ltImine the lIlatkr 1ll()lC
sUllie (SlrelllC aVlilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll understood Ci1](11IltItOmiddot
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln nd lilllllllakcrs IllYlI ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstlll(t stich
0 iJlJa~ill( thaI thc l1li~ht lxist is precisely
hCllllSC the llIain Ilglllls or cillclliatogrlphic illtclligihilitC illlllhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater lkllt than the arc nvarl oF Silllimiddot
Imh (he lIlost (lrigil1d critcr d()ls ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll 111 tllt
Ilew Llilguagc
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical an d from this
return to the d the Pa~oliniall tbcories which
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral imshy
pressions
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
TIlE IO[IEHJlt CINE[I St)H TJllUCETlC1 1 TIlE ]IODIlRN CINEiTi AND NAHnATIVITY
ii the lIS ()f dlc Trellch s cIoc-uplt in TI Pussioll of re ill (sthet ics
[kit th IITt i(ims Iike ] icllstcill
in lIiml whcll thel imisled
[illl1ed deri ItS hi the rilmimf Ild ((In )
verselv ilhill Ill( 111ltldcrn cinlma tiICIC is 1 lcndclHv Dill
ivis-JtdlJllCr SOIlIC I illj()l)iol1i F Dc StII
mel Ill the cil(lI(f ele Ilel thilt cardulh crilSCS lI1 CIIlICr
cI Fccs tilliS (Ill thiS 110im [ am ill ailccnwlll with l~lic nuillllcr
III
dUII1lIllali(HI
Ihcilll lIld I
11111
llld
Ihe invisihlc
f()r Ihe
the
dllSl Ulllllpluti pC found ill till lilills f
Licit
)[sul 11111
Ik rell
CIs (111(1111
t Illlml
hese
or I hc
[allln
lllti
ISll lel LIIJltr[Vancc [ihn makers
shut cillCllIltI ililel sequence (ilWllld prusc Cill(lllil
lhc Cillll(fl-inlICSllllt alld
tillcliOlls s(cms to me to ICCOUill
lIludern eillCJll~L
cLlililcd I Illodcm i too ollell
to 11(1i is bcLillg ill
l~l Wls PI(lps(d with (1(J](l II nr] IIiIlI 01 tll( 111
10 ClTlclill llIodClil lill]IS11ll1 hal
ruc-hut wilh lll drOll 1I111iCI1I
Ill)ssihk I1l1111IK1 01
l n d llempl is
lt( few pgcs III follow
t1VllIcC lhe inevitable
lui h Sill is iI til In (Ill( IC~
n()le lirsl tlwt il all lllll[llld 11)(
rC1S(lIJ Tllev 11( Sil
the cinCllW was IS S( l
is s( ltIt lc~lst 10 a much kSSCI extent I hdievl 11 til( the modern film is IllOle lllIIltitin ltInd IlWIT silli1
the main contribulion of the new cinema is lu have
flhllic narrative
cunlllry t1Jlt1t
so md thll
enriched the
lVlore or less lssociaLecl with this idcl of a presumed
ur wea kcu ing or 1I11TMi viI y is ltllllOJ] g lllmy critics Ihe 11 ()tion oJ a
hrcahlow11 or Ihe gramlllar ()r sVlltax uF the cineilla I wuuld s)
on the contrary that the cimlll) hilS lIe( hld cit her 1 gr~l1lJJl1U r or t
in tile prccise linguistic sense or thest tenliS (S()l1le Iheortli
that it did hut [I)M is allot her Illatter 1lt111(1 il
toela still a certaill IlllllllCI of rUllciulllLll
that pcrilin 10 the mosl profolilld necessities or ransmissiu11 of ~ll1V informI l11inl1 IIVS dl11 arc ex
arc to he sough in
and no ill tile glltll1llllill or 1a1lgUltlgls TIll wjl()1c Illutldll or til(
the fact tIl( Olle looks for ltl1l1()I1U the aud spcciJic V(TV rClllovcd rom rla Ii t ) i] iOIlI1 ti (
without laws all lliost prohahly bCOl1d the expects to lind thllll~th)1 is 10 sal Ull
a IIlllch ill some WllyS prior to lhe dilfciClllilti()1l or lcrbnl all il e idiOilis ) Frolll othcr lllllllan semiotic wstems
Vc ~Irc told was suited lltJ
sv 11 Lu llO [xists Iklt
the livilllt rJ11il s t() do with sllch iI hurden Bul
Ihml beiliU acllwIlv syntltlclir
articubliolls ralher
de SllISshy
CIIlCI1lH elll be VOlin )
excesses of raquosyllt~)( Ihat during the period of dill lInglleJ1 amI Cl1l
IaLer was considered to be as strict a the grammar of a verbal
gUJgc But the new more Hexiblc forms or the cinellld arc govshy
erned just as mllch the fundamental f~L1rls without wllich 110 information would be possible a discourse of SOIllC is alshy
wavs in olle way or another divisible The
-
these rule have llothilll to do (rab1lt little cleviees
(~octeau was on tile lm York 101 To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE IODETIN C1NEIIIA SOiIE THECmrrnCAL lHOBLEMS
it tried to he nOII11lt1shy
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwuwe the
ollr lilLlguages And we know the CXtlllt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative gtallllllariall hiel was illustratld ill
j()6 by the lXrlWllgC puhlished ill Arts hct(ll1 Elill1lhll llld Mn
tind Evcn the l1)ost allvltlnccd filllls still pertain to J
ltq11)]OdCh tlwugll ill order to apprclllI1l1 new ()Jjecb the 1lttlT llla
have () bccomc mure Hexiblc ns I will show ill s(veral
her (lll
hI hmt tW() crv llilTcfCI11 rules or the
cincma On derivcd irolll
a 1ullal irc hc considered outdated
or tbellSsl restrictivec 011 till other 11all1 there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of stJllctllralcol1liguratiulls thlt are ill illllll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving When OIlC SIV th~lt tbc Illlls (IF the
lllW wnc for cxmllplc have ullnplctclv dismantled the Ilarra
livc or thlt tbey hlC( Clltirel displaced Wlltlx OllC is fCIII takshy
illu 1 ven limited vicw of the
llalTlt ive lllt
vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11llOlogICl1 (lr COlllIlll Ud cudishy
to the
llimic vehick as I wh(1lc It is prlcisdv t() the extellt thlt tlll rllltl
Of the two the linguit Wlb Andre 11ntincl ltC jnother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing The ne cinema has
very rightly so-a lumber of mIlS sueh (lS the prohibition the 180shydegree angle shot (I the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a closeshyup with no change of axis or nltrainst the actor lo()kill~ at the camra etc
THE lIODEHN CfNEiIA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1oltuiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexistshy
(lJeC o[ lIlev Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc arc intelligihle IS is the
case tlmost tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse llllJiwlillc nnd Last Year at j1jorilllZ)(ld arc
still from one lnd to the other iIIllS and
lt1ny
lludes the (Icsniptivl SYlltagllla
til inl1mlltlW lid llld ill Paris rlt
least ill the present slatc or CillllllJt(lgraphic thniqucs) a 11(1I](lishy
cgltic illlltlgC must ill (lIlC way (If m()ther he linked t() a diqctic ill
n(l ()J it will not Ippear to he lllllldil(ctic etcY But sllcll
hml llcvcr l)(cil seri()tlsly triLd hy Ii I1ll-11mlcrs ulliess ]lcrllltljls--aml
CVCIl itlll OJll would han to (-ltImine the lIlatkr 1ll()lC
sUllie (SlrelllC aVlilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll understood Ci1](11IltItOmiddot
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln nd lilllllllakcrs IllYlI ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstlll(t stich
0 iJlJa~ill( thaI thc l1li~ht lxist is precisely
hCllllSC the llIain Ilglllls or cillclliatogrlphic illtclligihilitC illlllhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater lkllt than the arc nvarl oF Silllimiddot
Imh (he lIlost (lrigil1d critcr d()ls ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll 111 tllt
Ilew Llilguagc
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical an d from this
return to the d the Pa~oliniall tbcories which
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral imshy
pressions
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
these rule have llothilll to do (rab1lt little cleviees
(~octeau was on tile lm York 101 To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE IODETIN C1NEIIIA SOiIE THECmrrnCAL lHOBLEMS
it tried to he nOII11lt1shy
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwuwe the
ollr lilLlguages And we know the CXtlllt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative gtallllllariall hiel was illustratld ill
j()6 by the lXrlWllgC puhlished ill Arts hct(ll1 Elill1lhll llld Mn
tind Evcn the l1)ost allvltlnccd filllls still pertain to J
ltq11)]OdCh tlwugll ill order to apprclllI1l1 new ()Jjecb the 1lttlT llla
have () bccomc mure Hexiblc ns I will show ill s(veral
her (lll
hI hmt tW() crv llilTcfCI11 rules or the
cincma On derivcd irolll
a 1ullal irc hc considered outdated
or tbellSsl restrictivec 011 till other 11all1 there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of stJllctllralcol1liguratiulls thlt are ill illllll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving When OIlC SIV th~lt tbc Illlls (IF the
lllW wnc for cxmllplc have ullnplctclv dismantled the Ilarra
livc or thlt tbey hlC( Clltirel displaced Wlltlx OllC is fCIII takshy
illu 1 ven limited vicw of the
llalTlt ive lllt
vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11llOlogICl1 (lr COlllIlll Ud cudishy
to the
llimic vehick as I wh(1lc It is prlcisdv t() the extellt thlt tlll rllltl
Of the two the linguit Wlb Andre 11ntincl ltC jnother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing The ne cinema has
very rightly so-a lumber of mIlS sueh (lS the prohibition the 180shydegree angle shot (I the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a closeshyup with no change of axis or nltrainst the actor lo()kill~ at the camra etc
THE lIODEHN CfNEiIA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1oltuiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexistshy
(lJeC o[ lIlev Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc arc intelligihle IS is the
case tlmost tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse llllJiwlillc nnd Last Year at j1jorilllZ)(ld arc
still from one lnd to the other iIIllS and
lt1ny
lludes the (Icsniptivl SYlltagllla
til inl1mlltlW lid llld ill Paris rlt
least ill the present slatc or CillllllJt(lgraphic thniqucs) a 11(1I](lishy
cgltic illlltlgC must ill (lIlC way (If m()ther he linked t() a diqctic ill
n(l ()J it will not Ippear to he lllllldil(ctic etcY But sllcll
hml llcvcr l)(cil seri()tlsly triLd hy Ii I1ll-11mlcrs ulliess ]lcrllltljls--aml
CVCIl itlll OJll would han to (-ltImine the lIlatkr 1ll()lC
sUllie (SlrelllC aVlilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll understood Ci1](11IltItOmiddot
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln nd lilllllllakcrs IllYlI ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstlll(t stich
0 iJlJa~ill( thaI thc l1li~ht lxist is precisely
hCllllSC the llIain Ilglllls or cillclliatogrlphic illtclligihilitC illlllhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater lkllt than the arc nvarl oF Silllimiddot
Imh (he lIlost (lrigil1d critcr d()ls ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll 111 tllt
Ilew Llilguagc
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical an d from this
return to the d the Pa~oliniall tbcories which
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral imshy
pressions
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
1
212 THE IlODEHN C1NEifA SOME THEOHETICAL PlOBLEilS
TIm nHFGNI on [CONIC NALOCY 1t lirst glance our 311tllOr
slys there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer Tbat is to say there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslktic undertakillg Fine Nevertheless Pasolini continshy
lies one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that in
olle way (It another assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai tlll lincJI)il is not all abortion that it
is able (II cOllllllunicltc14 It is at this point I hclievl Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts An artlsllc semiotic svstcm Sillll as
the cinema can functiol1 pcrfec(l vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra usss TI( Hall mId
the Coohed The first level of articubtioll hv the natural tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen)
Literature res languagc hecause the soulld hy tlte vocal orglllS possesses no intrinsic llllllling Thcreron it 11]s to hc arliculaled 10 lllllirc mean Vhidl is withheld from inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11( languagcmiddotthat of
ami Illat 01 the J1l0nClllCS in 1ndre Martinets
other dwn the illcvitlhlc eTlltiH iIlSIII1CCS or ( dll1otatcd iicatiull) hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtllplay uF lonno
lations But the Ii 1m I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in itil
His ray malerill is (he illlage-thin is to sav
whieb always
or a I lcust codi
liable language delines as
an inJeJ
thelll tbe lilm maker is as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written) 1s for real noises raise essenmiddot the SilllIC problems as do images to the auditive dimensilJn
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic sound of the worll has its (Jvn meaning (the locomotives whistle etc) a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic
THE WDEIIN U1NE~IA AND NAnnATIVITY ~l)
1 _etc) awl thai
til( bllclIa~( llll(jIllOhilc froll Ira
rite CillcIlI1 lt1ITiv(s at the sallie results
not ~l wh()se cJllcihltion
llnCliol1 illu m additional illSLlIlcc
thclicd mel ](hCnllllOusGbullbull il is 1l111h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logrlph of 1l1 lll
I (I I Ill llih 1
Illy 1)
hall aulltllllo]ile h)) its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H1lHS
alld cIII Inti
lJ Ji I 11)1 ill (lIlI
plrlicullr lilms hnl I]()I
dl(l)(si IlI(Thlllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll 1101 is OIH to
ulHlcrslIIHlli P]solil1i asb wilhoUI SllIl1cho 1 LI1()wlshy
cdc I till sllIhie lll](s Ill tlllSl Iislial 11111( 1(1111 illlI(S )
III ilH JIlllllor Ill lIlJllli0I11 d dlih Iii liill [heir 1 llile lottl or i1ll pi leit ltcllsinllS fill (ilch S llld (ilch
givell 111 Vulll Il OhSClIll hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc 1
Cdr III
COlsiliS WIS ] spprts (ill with all t11lt this implies ill IWllllitlh
dicillllilV
llt1J11ll H
til( [ul1i tllllkrslllldiIH or a
Ii Pasolilli [db hout
)11) thai
lilY Fnullc (hl peri()d pI dlt jilIn But dl lIe S1111l 11(
beCilwc we would sec it Ibn it is ] Clt1r illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dllllct mcaning of tltlmiddot pilssugl Ll1 that 1Il Eskimo wilh no (jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
]liOIl mighl not evell be Ihk 10 recognic the car For hlt Ihe Es
kimo Flllid he laclzil1 ill would Jlot he tJ 1( abiJitv lu
it would nut he his lallgl1l~l
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
21- THE MODEHN CJNEllA SOME TlIEOHEtICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of social car-as soon IS it exists
in the like 111 other objects (lj
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th111 he docs a (middotItmiddot
As the readEr Cl11 see this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool PISO
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is I lllitlllC of alld mgU]JlCllt The rCltlsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc whicll has nut the llleltllltimc bccn lllodified mc clearer 10 I]( [odav to the cxtent that graphic md (lila hrs becoLllc Pasolinis
as this discussion shows the iconmiddot _ to cach sociocultural group lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](t in the listCllCC PI such instances illlply what]
lnsolillian ilk that thcse (()(lilications )rc(] the are ~(HllclH) of lbe sanle IHlture I~ iIHlllltshy
Inllgllage wImiddot list Ivel they nlllht cOI1tilllt(middot that till fllili iI Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt)
two lang11lges ~imultme()llsly that of the illlSlgni and thai I the cinellla Tll(rdorc virat seellled to Ill( to be cl(Hlhtful and a bunlcIlSOllll artifact and all addil ioual notancc penly preclltccl by Pas()lini himself ] thing civcntllJ(Jl]S ]n() hypotheticaL is not the imseno itse1l jmlilicd elcatiol to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr1lhic insist so IIlIlC] on the idea that for a lrtjcriy sClI1iolimiddot
the lirst level of (ie the onc that is 10 the lillnmiddotmaker a hnguagc is to the writer) is not made tip of immiddotscgni but of visual and auditory ltlIlalmiddot gie If tIle llovels readcr is able to reclloniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs II the linguistic mit clog lind if the firmviewer within tllc lilms stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe images visual analogy with a This does nut prevent for a more genera I semiotics many of t he that Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId within analogies (sec abOlc p 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1lODEnN CINEtA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of immiddotsegni
(which is codifiable but never really c(ldiliecl) Pasolini deduces the
idea thlt the f11111llwker is ohliged to inventl bnguage lrst (ie the
altelllpt (0 joLttc cclrh the im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer wllO theady possesses the can allow himself to
the misshy
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information Tn otlin words when very hroadly cultural [jlmsas thcy do lflljllCntly especiaU) whcn IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal illllsmiddot-thcy em orten prcscnt i11 fir hlll ilsc1f (or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say within th( analogy or at a )Joillt that in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY I the Illmic signilication is disti1lCt from that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls cinclIlatomiddot graphic language The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from wt frolll thc cinema wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy allalogy with the r(11 wheels of a train and il is thanks to this resemblance that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional sillillcatlolls associated with this image in culture Bnt if till image is ordered alternalc J111 gtntage r
one that ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltloshy
()J1(C lire] ore
~p(cilically cin~~at~ large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to cI(h uther-middotthat of the syntagmltls On
cuntrary there is no system are selerai of these
films but that is matter)
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
-1
216 THE 1ODEnN CINI1IA S()1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasionalv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll( a Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111NHvVAL OF (C[NE~IAfl)(IAllIIC SYNTAX vVc kllow t1wt structures such as thc the allnnatc llshy
the hrlcLlt scquellccs etc which
lructll res uch ~IS
for jlJTcesioll) lor (xshy
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlcclsii()lI) c[(-Ir( ltlIl1llg th()se lIgllrcs or ((JIIll(ltti()l tlllt
hlT ill tillil lso hCCOllll inlllligihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l N(lW
what is illiporLlllt t noll i Ihlt IIlWt of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h1IC ll(Jt Llllcil ltlut (If lIse tt Iil hut ltIll oil the C(lltrl1 ill currelll
lise ill the lllmllrli l-inClll] Not ur course thll the ~t()ck oj figures has
rClllltlillCd 11IlchlIJglll frolll (rillith 10 (Jur tillles III the cillCtl1ltl t(IU
there is I diachrony It wUllld he easier tll I)icl olll pnl((durcs lhal
IWH aged the l101ll1icgclic llHupllo[ as rCHTd hv ( as l will SlC ill 111 c)llllpll further Oil ) s]()Y-JJlo(iol1 tcccicrated
IlHtiull Ihe usc or the iris dinpllrlglll (cXLent for lloswlic llld llllshy
lllorollS (Iuutatiun Su)ol II-n
OIl
this techniquc the I1rst SC[lllIlCt ill UIIl
iITVlTSC-]]()t in it lllcchanical f()i1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)IA AND NARRATIVnV 2 17
Ie fou with Anna Karinas lovc song is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls one
should think I Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has been completely throvvn overboard The license of poctic inspira
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper lItieuhItiollS whidl evcn if they are partiall arbitrary and arc Furthermore ill I cOllstant state of evolution nevertheless
guarllltcc within givvn sl1clmmic conclitiolls the correct transmisshy
sion uf information Only the i~()lDted and unexprc~setl th(lllghl--if illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl rC1l1()cd from such a iltlw FWIll
thc llloment tlllt sayinl occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe conshy
CCrtl for the public a certain number of ~c11li(Jl()gical rest ricshy
tiOIlS Ippcar which chtrlcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht rltller
thall thought itselF thaI is if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax wc
arc trend of dCldshy
or less gtshyIIIIII J
which
scene
flgu res
Let LIS COlJ-
SI) flr I have idclllified hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll1 to dH
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1tltlgmltic
Now there is a passage in G()dards Pierrol 7( fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models or 10 any variation of these modshy
1 am 1I0t using (he wort figllm in tlllt sense of a uf (or of spccch--th~t is (0 say as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of the wore is justified hy thc confUSion pEculiar (0 the bctwc(~n COI1shynutative al1ll dCllotative patterns
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
21 THE IIMODEHN CINEIIJA SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEllS
le1( the
1l1d Hee
1Il red which is ill
the sidcvalk ill Frollt
the frOI t of the
of the darF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01 the rivcr
The PltlSslge I hus sever]1 lllHlSlWl From the hmks ()j the rinJ we go hIck to the drainpipe the clltrance or the
car It the root ( Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limesgt
slight vmiltltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl chrshy
lclers (vurilti(lns thlt remind LIS rat]ICT or l COllstrlldioll dear to
Hoblx~ Crillct 1( IIoycur 1(1 1-1 uisOJI de rCldc
TllCrCrmc ill this syntltlgllw tilllc d)ls not fllnctioll ltllconllllg III
a vectoril1 SChclllc--a schellll t Iwt (oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest md
ll10st lOl1ll1l01l nurativc procedure it CIllIlO he lincar lwrrltivc
(i_e sccne ordinry sequellcc (JJ cpisodic sccluellce) Nor
IS II ltIll dlcrlwte syntlgllll for tll( lltCIII1lillg illllgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTlllts hut to llearlv slicceeding events (the shots of the roadw v lIllIE thc river
atcrnlshy
tive variatioll or the ltIltcrntc ists hlT
Illade several trips hack mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of spJtial cocxistcnce
since the passage ill
THE lJODEHN crNEI[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action but quite c1cnly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lLCUrshy
rences Nor is it an eXllllplc of the bwckct syntagnw for in tIlis
illstll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows 1 singliLir event ill its OWll lLlI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle other [vellt (that is there is lot the slightesl
at cltltegorizalion) Last it is not1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot since it
contltlins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis
It is in bct I killd of dislocltled SCltJUCllCC highlv c)prcssivl of the
Ihe fever lnd the rdndOllllllSS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot]tion) In tlKmiddot Illidst ()f the frellzy of the tlll~ (lenotation it presenls 1lt equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit lJ]
awarelless of its Oll fahlic nature sevcrlI different lril
of a rrllltic cscm( suilicillltiv similar to each other nevertheless
-hih we will never know
Ill lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClillS
Llccd
curate sellse 01 (JthCr
claimed lIe IS
acttwllv he realized
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience There He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical lCntClllSS ill the imaginllivl
vuinnts tlJlt ill [he given context Ut
hility thlt is realized) In the passngc we ~lrl
CodaId would S((lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc( Ill is ahle to
suggest with 1 grCJ1 deal of truth hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C s(vcr1i possihilities at tbe samc time So he llS a sort or Iotclltial SCfIIWI1CC--lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC ur s)nt]glllil l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely ( figure of IIm-falitt)
difTerenl lV(llts places timCs Ulle ctc-iil tbe same IVaI
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir pltlintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
220 TilE 1IODEHN CINElA SOME rHEOHEJICAL PHOBLElIS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el
[here would be lllany other examples to examine The still
grapll which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart i- is 110W
ilf Jeanne lVTorcnus Face ill
you nmt do JIl Vonall is
11 1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema cXDericllcilH its first real Howcrimgt tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll the SCCplCI1Ce I het
(i ~lOIlII mel composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIlshy
lIlcntator much less the incltImatioll of the mlll101 than of 1lIITCItivit y 1S lhcrt Laffay observed in another Clmtext 3H occasionally il
is that 01 thc films IlrotHlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv o the ~11Ishy
dicllcc--a new form of aside lkb Iluudos voice in Vierwt Ie fou the
lirst seq llCllce ill l1uriCllvad To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo211cd sccncs llld the Iretl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a ~()vcrshy
dell~ity that pulls il away hom the illiage md trunsforllls it from
within into1 kind of oIl screen voice thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIOUf La PollIe (ourle etc)
TilLIS til( lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges live personac One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsnlis lilm Oil the problclll of Who is
Ami onc could write mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(lt1 suhicClivc irllwcs in Fellini Juliet of tile [1lJ
SYNTAX IS NO SllcHEOTYlE Thus syntax still as Funrly
named as ever is nevertheless alive and well But many mislIl1dcrshy
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche) An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl urcsllmed to
Fil liS 1957 p 131
TliE MODERN CINElll AND NAHrlTlYllY gtgt I
gralllma r upSide down ci lema tushy
grdlllllIltir is eHdited only with mediocre films That is 10 con-
ruse the llIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process Bc
tween lt1r( and llllgulgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1ltli(ll1sh
art is nol actlilliv Illlguagc it in OJle Vil (lr illllltilcr cshythe()r 7Csitie it and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlllncd
illscrilwd
II] tilt jrcnClI lilliguagv r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct WlS (Int stili ami lillshy
is ill IHJ Va dilkrcilt 11(1111 the
is the OJ]( syntacticilIls md It i I
SillliLIrV the llSC (II ])()clcr lloVel and intcrct s(JllIe of
llCIllt]WcSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It all~IVS lIILiIlClS LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hipHtilioll of till screen space
must not rcal) COlli lied
illll-makers artistic lJl(kanlr sincc he now stalLs that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwllIy
till enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces agltlln whell Pasulini
1Il
gives l1S all
conventions I-Ie ci tes the common COil ITIl
11 full
a cloud of sllloke This is ]lot he says a grmll111aLical
a stylcme J dont argue with this But such
Ilothing to do with cinelllatoQranhic svnlax For the latter illmlies
(I us return to Pasolini I-Ie hclievcs th~lt
Illar has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar tlwt is tl) say
It is never he sasli
urDl ~I rcaJ gmnllnar bllt rlthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell 1Il Inc
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han till pcculiarit or grallllllaticu I Ihis ltlIlIlysis which
unllllshygt
CltlI1shy
1llCpt ca lIs for t 110 remarks
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli I
cinclllllograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
222 THE MODERN CINEIA SOlJE THEORETICAL PROBLEIIS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin numshy
ber of fil1lled objects The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some by-passing of syntax nor on the other hand to
some fixed comcntionalized syntlctic expression it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax a specific vismd element-having its own
form mel its own content-liable tu being ftlmed
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
lea~t two visual c1elllents ()ccllrring ill twu imlges (lllont8ge) or in
the Slme image (camera muvelllent or even stltic implication) To
say that the illlage 01 the wheels of the trlin is a fact uf stylc is corshy
rect but insullicient it is a c1ich( a stereotype And it Gin he so only
because it is 1 ingular bct Crammar hls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[cl1erll unalJilati()n of the sentences l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he ~ ~ 0
neither (cliche 1101 ([ IIUVelty unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic11 occurrence it exists beyond the level where the llltithesis
clichln(elLy even begins to have a mCltll1ing-that i to SCI it reshy
mains COil lined to the stlge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art The present or the imlicltin as used hy HohheCrillct is still 1 vulgar pre~cnt of tbe indicative entirely bashy
nd Jnd vet Jl() olle ]((U5(S it of l)(ing 1 clich And llO one ICClises
Malherhc III tritene~ ror using the ohjective prcdiclte or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLltiC clause or Baudelaire ror the conjullcshy
tion o two ldjcctivc The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equivllcnt to these examples mthll it would correshy
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe 1l1etlphorical comparison or 1 voung girl tu a
rose which is a silli_I1or eOllstructi()n (formal and ~emantic) and
must accordingly he judged lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie of originality
and tritcncss js long lS one consider such examples one will have
the clements not of a stylistic grammar of the cinema hut ()r 1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical lllel not very much cinelllatoshy
grltlphie about it for the image of the wheels 01 the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes which if they
He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well There is a grammar of
THE JIODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cineml (or to be eXlct there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm) but its location lies elsewhere In the scene in the seshy
quence ill the different syntagmas in the other types ] have menshy
tioned oilly too briefly in the structured signiFying ltlI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings which arc never clichts md were nmclties
unly once but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cleshy
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility (analogy ll1d dialogue COIlshy
stituting the rest) the stllllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax lIld
not ofl list of singular cuntents or forms
Cinematugrlphic grammar docs not consist in pncribing hat
should he lilllled Alternate lllonlltlge For exmnplc simph dcterillinc
that the alternlting of ill1lges ill ~ignih the simultaneitv or the (or
repollding referents hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages TIl( distinctioll hetween a lllcchlllicll and stcre(tYjwd gr~lll1-
lllltll mdl Free lgralllllwticil miginalit -] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S) llllIn discu5ions or the lllod(fTJ cilllnll- -is profoundly
llll(sti()J]lblch)J- a grallllllar since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)
uF stereotypes cannot he stercotyped and a certain free creative origishy
nllity is necessarily grllllmltical in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llleage hecOIlles intelligible
I wallt to avoid a confusion that cngt]s up fre(llcntly ill this type I disshyellioll The analysis (lcveloped in tlis section is Hut in my way intcnded to ltIistinguisl ]etwccn form ill liln (which would bc a general categuv beshyyond 1 subdilisions of the original and thc banal ~ll~d colltent (vhich ()uld ~dvays he singll]arl~1ere~(Jre (1~pl1l(ljn7 on the ca~l original or lwnal) 1 he dtlllctHln between Imlll ~md (Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutclv rejected I believe the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv the linguist Lmis Iljellnslcv which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content) to one side mel the acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he the constituent or form and which ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy constitutl ((expression) to lhe other side Nilh lt8ch 111111lbcr possessing its ovn fortn nnd substance (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinematoshygraphic malysis see Chapter 8 of this olume) The purpme of this discussion (1S to di~lillgllish Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gelem1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms Both have their signishyficr and their significatc (which is to say in ordinary bnguagc thcir form and their content) and these signillers and significates each have their own form and their own suhstance (form in this casc is taken in the sense that secms to me to bc the correct one) In other words I want to insist on the presence of a specific level of figures that by (lcfinition relatc to thc hlmic chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne cincmatographic
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
224 THE 1VTODEl~N CINE A SOI[E THEOJ~ETJCiL rrOBT EJl
RecCl1lh~ certain linguists h8ve turned thcir ltlltentiltlll tu the prohshylel1l f purek sClllantic mom1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1aticdly correct hut whose n1csslge doesnt COJllC thrnllgh)
[idmple lhe natali111 hr1ssie]l woll Ujl SLlddlllly ~ith 1 too 1pshy
IlnclldT p()stpr1J]clial rictus But in G1SeS lile this it is OllCe ll1ure
frolll the misundcrstllIcling of cerL1in structurd Cluircments oj dis~
bngl1~lgcn Illd I() ditin~llish it iroln an()ther sCllli()logiLltI level hich is jnci dcntdllv lulII] ullltrlSted t() the first ill tht it is hth les ~(JlCJi1 (since it C()llllnl- p~lrtic~lLH fllllls j and llOrc pcllcnd (since it illC()fl)()rltcs SYStClilS t]l~1t arl Icry Lwadly cllltliral and lelt etend bevund thc cinema ibeln ()ll this slc(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL)l Dr the Ii()riginaiity Of trit(nc~ of individutl fl1nlo
(r tim lClsSaulS ltgt jJlm JUtcULs etc) lCc()rding ( whether the cultural ~y~tclllS hare lCC11 integrated ltl~ dIe) arc illt() tlH lilIn (ie ~tlrC(ltypcs-l (If
hllhcr Oil till (untcarl the lllll~mllI has rejected illClll dispbcl Ihelll Ided thclIl T iLdiel tlllIll etc
lllvcrtllekss it is true Ihal cillclEltovrallric Lliwllagc itslli is liable to be jUdglcJ ill llrIll~ )1 origillality (Jf l)Jllalit) fhis dlri~cs friJIll ((rUin or its char~ aLlcristics I hal drcldy Illllllilcci lt dues llt really cunstitutc 1 bnguagc YStC1I1 it 1 Il(Jt a pure grllllll~lr)) but 111 Inltiislcrllildc Illiturt ()r 2rllllllllll
Clm rhlluri jt ie 111lt)]( rl~adil ilduellced hv till illciiviciud l1lltiuIlS j 111ll~ maLers thl wittlll verbd 11Igllagcs lie by the iIHlividd crcatiuns r writlls j true vcrbll ltllgllagc---(~crlll~lll ()r Frcllcl--middotjc LHCr ill ibcll (lrj~illltil lr 1gtlna1 (ur i[ jt is it i sr ill a ump1ctely dilJcrent way m] Olle that is rreign t t11is alla1y~is as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt vlrl)I1 llllgultlgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angulgcj
III th dOIlill 1 tile cinema un dl( c()utrary it is ]1)ucL easier to find wmb th(l[ Cdll 1)( lhlrlltcri((] lt l)(illg 11l(l( ()r le~lt (Irigilla1 Oil 11( e((1 0 dIe 11111shy
~ll1~C ilcl) lLul 11raquot Pllh pn thc lell [ Iheir stvlc (examlk the PiClltjcll (ILiellec ill JCan~LlIc COllard film allltll) ed earlier IF Jill uscs 1olt IH1 Dartlws triple di~tillcti()11 lJd(cll Idll0IIC (crillfrc ~llld ~iJlc (bngLl-I~( SVStllll vritillg ~lnd ~tyk) ill C )cgft) ir() (Ic lcrillrc (rrjlill~ J)c~rc(
7cru) ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl)graphi langllJge resclllhlcs vritill~ illSt ill Ihat it r(ITsCLlh a distillCI illslancl ut individual tyles hut that it i~ hOClT Il(lt (Infused itl1 (I bllgU(lgC sy~telll (llccrthck-s therc rCllldins a t1iJshyfercllcc betlleen the eincllla am1 til( dUllwin r the 1lLhl III the btter Til ing is distillct fCOlli langlLage) vhicl exists in tllL einclna it is JistillLl [rUll what might lie called a IaUgUClgC if that language listed It is precisL1y the l)(culi~lrity (d t)( cinCllla tlwt llat ~crvcs jt IS ~I bllgUlgC is in filet) 1 vrilshyillg-tl](lt l~ tt) ~ly sOlllcrhillg that i~ Ilut a ~tyll hut is less rddicalhT distjnct fnHll a style thall a lallgLl~lgC is
lJcsp-itl thi~ rc~crvatiull) Olle l11LL~l still be canti()lllt ltlhell speaking uf origishynality or twllality in the cinema not tl) hlIld1c thee (nec]ts ill the sOJJle
WH) ()r on the sanlC lccl acc)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal Elms ltgtr llH]( r less original aspeets [ the general hlllguage of lilllls Thus 1 libn that I(wld borrow only what W1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk wheleas a Iim in which all the particular construetiollS would be banal w(gtuld necCssarilv be a banal work
THE JIODERN CINEiJA AND NAnrATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives It is nOl to bc
sure a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic(( strllcturc itself (at lelst in the usual
meaning of the term) but of the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say
again grmmnatic81 in some way) of the French 1~1l1guage [or ill the
case of this translation of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i J Greimas)-or then depending on the lingllistic schuol it is 1 qlllSshy
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 subrulcs (Jel1l Duhois) that
11( sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from oHicial gramm1rS
hllt the ign(llltmcc of which results in sentences posscssing Farious deshy~rccs of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl Thl1s the verb to 1 lee
up is scmmticall L()]np1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with 111 animate subjcet or OllC l11clltll)horically lssimibtcd tu 1Il
lllimate subject (Thc dog wakes up Hojle W1S lv1tcncdi it
cuuld l10t lllvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itlnl or clothing (hrassierc in lilY cXll11plc) The adjellivC J)strt711diu is
used onlv with sllhstanties helonging to tll( cltcg0l of coclHstillsis
(sensations of flUIICSS helwillcss acidity slccillcss (lL) md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in 1 specdly il1diC1tin contcxt) a substll1shy
tin like rictus Utc Now rcmemhcr tlllt cinem1togr1phic gralllmH
is not a re1l grmnm1r in the llsllal scnsc of the word hut simplv 1
budv of pntitlly codified scmllltic implications (or rinc grllllllllticd llllcs )
One of the lllost striking chlr1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsllt111cbble 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcntll films with their lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj heterogcncous IJCIcus~
siolls capped by some ovcrblown want-gmdist texl On the contrary
thc cmancipated storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml in order to make themselves llndcrstood ven dishy
rect paths and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true 1ceents of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so mlll)
analogical systcms in the intellection 01 the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcctlt1tor to understlnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narrltives 01 commercial production
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written
226 THE ~lODEPN C1NEilA SOilF TllEOHETlCAL lnOI3LEMS
JIllshy
illltha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is thcrcFurc to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc in the CinellE]
anel others tll]t arc less so Oil the other hand
there is CilllI11ltogrq)ilie gmllllllar with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllotltioll that hls hccollll a means of denutatiun a thM
has hecolllc ] Thiclel status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i indlcd trUl t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal ith no calllshy
era IllOVCllltllt at ]11 and no opticd dct (dissolvl ctc) with Ill)
tempor1 ellipsis no lighting othll thall Ollc that would be llllifulJlll
lIat 111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices) lte But sllch a lilm w()uld hlrdlv rc~tlllhic the cineJlla
~it wunld he llHlf( lih- ] all
recorded hv the (ltlIlllfa Eycn Bouchs (urc dll Nord oldd ~CClll
like
tfllClllcllt
incIJ Olle at
is that ~Il(h film IllltiUis 111
Fact is that even dlC most colorless prose l zeromiddotdegrce
middotif llch a tlling cxits~wolild still ret]ill the codc of its
whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
ltIlHllogy tllltlt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on my
like (1l(liIicltion Hovvcver semiological description mustmiddot address itshy
self to the rcll cinema llot to an imaginary cinema Now he II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa ellc01mteretl1wrratiFity~an encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire if not inEnite at least not finished~it appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEtgtIA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image something tlwt has to GrifIlth mainly) ltllld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous continuous iconic Bow ill shurt to connutc)
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation and thus articnntillg the ll]Ust litc[ltllllllssagc of the films we know
v of the and richllcsS of the ll1odshy
ern and mOIl unalyzLll OJlC
dct]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill nhitioll to thl diegcsis and thlt lhc llCW cill
CilIa Im from lwving ]hll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv( gives llS JlllTltllivcs
thilt 11( more diversilied 1llore rllllificd mel more
havc the spacc herl (I) bring this analysis which I hmc gUll 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the breakdown 01 dlC narrative lit a timc whcn
] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido lAPIJCIIltf(l
111011 11IJ10 It r lH 11 riel Julcs ami Jilll at a lime whcn it ]pshy
pears that the autlHJI or Bcahlcss and Pierro Ie folt is only begin-
Ilis career and though this jihnmiddotmaker docs not ppcal til cvery
unc he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention amI it secms dillicult 110 to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can sCL~Llnclcr the L1lltlL ils forms have bcen rencwcd~the spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales
The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966 when this article was written