Naehring: “Outstanding defense mechanisms. You must be quite adept at interrogations.”

Crosscutting between Dachau 1945 & Ashecliffe 1954

Cut to Commandant’s office 1945. There is a symmetry in the mise en scene. Mahler’s music becomes non digetic as it is on the soundtrack. The lighting highlights the snow outside, which is reminiscent of ash falling in other scenes. Shadows also fall across the room creating diagonals and angles of light.

Cut to Teddy in 1954

Chuck: For all you know we could have been paper pushers over there.”

Lights

Dominate the shot

Cut to paper being ‘pushed through the air. Use of dialogueto foreshadow action.

Mahler’s music reaches a crescendo matching the frenzied movement of the paper.

Beautiful slow movement of blood. This type of closeup of blood moving is repeated when Dolores is shot. Again the blood soaked paper work of the destruction of the Jewish race is visual symbolism.

Tilted low angle gives the appearance of disorder

The audience see the artwork through the shutters created by shadows.

If you missed this naked lady on first viewing it’s because these shots are edited extremely fast together. The rhythm of the editing here is different to the slow motion ofmost of the scene.

Scorsese uses 4 shots in quick successsion getting closer and closer to the Gramophone. Mahler’s music is still non-diegetic in this instance because it is coming from the soundtrack- 1954- Dr Cawley’s record player not the 1945 gramaphone. The importance of the music is highlighted by the use of closeup but the sound is actually not quite in synch with the scene as it comes from 1954 and this is a flashback.

The high angle shot looking down at the dying commandant. This is often usedby Scorsese to show the action from above and give the audience another perspective.

High angle shot of the American soldiers ransacking the office.This is the audience’s first view of them. Up until this point it is as if the paper isbeing thrown around by the wind in slow motion.

Teddy looking at the commandant. Note the symmetry of the shot and the way the two pillars frame the action. We are looking up at him. He is the hero. The acting is interesting in this scene as for the audience the looks DiCaprio gives range from sympathy, pity, hatred or contempt-as the scene progresses it is hatred. However the acting fuels narrative possibility-What is he thinking? What will he do?