Nitpicking the Masters: Tiny Flaws in Great Masterpieces

[Polybius]

Casablanca: The trumpet player in Rick's (or Sam's) band is so filled with patriotic zeal that he manages to begin to play La Marseillaise before the trumpet reaches his lips. Every time I see this, I think "if only you don't look at Rick for his approval, you'll get that horn up in time!" but he never does.

Yeah, but if they don't all look at Rick "I Don't Get Involved In Politics Anymore" Blaine to get his okay, the scene isn't nearly as stirring
In a similar vein, I always find myself watching poor Dooley Wilson faking his keyboard fingering when I watch it these days.

[Michael]

Do you think Vertigo would have been even better if the reveal of Judy's "secret" was held until the end, so both the viewer and Scotty are hit with it at the same time? I think I would have liked it better that way. More of a surprise.

That would be too conventional. We the viewers getting "hit" halfway through the film before Scotty finds out gives us a new angle to the whole vertigo. We're thrown in Judy's shoes, no longer Scotty's, for a few minutes, magnifying his obsession even more. I think the reveal of her secret earlier in the film builds more suspense and emotions but in a fresh spin. And because of the spin, Vertigo ends up more devastating. We sympathize with not only Scotty but also Judy somehow because Hitchcock put us in her shoes for a few minutes earlier when she's alone in her apartment, getting close to understanding why she gets involved with the mess in the first place - the purpose of the early reveal.

[colinr0380]

We sympathize with not only Scotty but also Judy somehow because Hitchcock put us in her shoes for a few minutes earlier when she's alone in her apartment, getting close to understanding why she gets involved with the mess in the first place - the purpose of the early reveal.

And that helps with the ending as the tragedy is much more Judy's than Scotty's - he (and the audience) has just lost an obsession, she's been driven to the point of madness by Scotty's attentions, to the point of successfully recreating her previously faked death to escape her past.

(A comment on actors getting pigeonholed by their previous successful roles?)

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

This one really is a nitpick, but I'm always annoyed by how fake the rain looks in the early scene in Andrei Rublev where the monks walk to the hut .

[broadwayrock]

Do you think Vertigo would have been even better if the reveal of Judy's "secret" was held until the end, so both the viewer and Scotty are hit with it at the same time? I think I would have liked it better that way. More of a surprise.

Hitchcock discussed why he decided to reveal Judy's secret in Vertigo with Francois Truffaut. He felt that the second half of the story didn't have much substance and it would be more suspenseful for the audience if the secret was revealed earlier than at the end of the story. You can listen to the clip here.

[myrnaloyisdope]

In Rossellini's "Rome Open City", the speech about how fascism isn't going to work by the nazi general just feels really forced to me. Almost as if it's a concession to the audience about the limitations of fascism in place of the grim ending.

[Arcadean]

Sternberg's Anatahan: titty shot. I actually kind of like it. It's so out of place in the film. One moment, Keiko is fighting off one of the men, the next moment we see swinging tits covered by (what else?) nets. A tiny flaw, but it's a very enjoyable addition. It's not in the original, but apparently the story goes that Sternberg added it in later to try and get distribution for the film in the States. (I guess tits do not always equal distribution though.)

[tojoed]

I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but when Kane dies there is no-one in the room to hear him say "Rosebud".

[Narshty]

I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but when Kane dies there is no-one in the room to hear him say "Rosebud".

Watch the film again - Paul Stewart's character addresses this near the end.

[tojoed]

Watch the film again - Paul Stewart's character addresses this near the end.

I know that Paul Stewart's character says something like "And then he dropped the glass ball, so I knew he was dead". But there is nothing in the opening scene to suggest that anyone else was in the room until the nurse enters. Your suggestion to watch the film again sounds like a good idea. I need little encouragement to do that.

[colinr0380]

My mind has just been jogged by seeing the film again but my problem is with The Day The Earth Stood Still's titular event! I can see how 'neutralising electricity' works in some cases but preventing automobiles working?

However the montage provides one brilliant laugh out loud moment as a farmer is struggling in a bewildered fashion to try and figure out why he cannot put his milking equipment on a cow's udders! How does neutralising electricity cause problems with that!

[Awesome Welles]

Watch the film again - Paul Stewart's character addresses this near the end.

I know that Paul Stewart's character says something like "And then he dropped the glass ball, so I knew he was dead". But there is nothing in the opening scene to suggest that anyone else was in the room until the nurse enters. Your suggestion to watch the film again sounds like a good idea. I need little encouragement to do that.

Apparently when Welles finished the film he showed it to his friends who said "how does anyone know what Kane's last words were?" and Welles replied "Don't tell anyone that". Or something to that effect I don't know whether this is true or not but I read it so it must be true.

[Cabiria21]

in 8 1/2:

at the end when the young boy is marching off screen in the spotlight, and the lights in the background fade out, you can see a crew member standing around in the background presumably doing something with the lights. It could have been intentional seeing as it's a film set but I doubt it, once you notice it then it becomes quite the eyesore.

[PillowRock]

My mind has just been jogged by seeing the film again but my problem is with The Day The Earth Stood Still's titular event! I can see how 'neutralising electricity' works in some cases but preventing automobiles working?

It depends on what exactly "neutralizing electricity" means, obviously. However, if it implies that electricity won't flow through wires between (for example) the distributor cap and the spark plugs ....... then the typical piston engine is not going to do much of anything useful.

However the montage provides one brilliant laugh out loud moment as a farmer is struggling in a bewildered fashion to try and figure out why he cannot put his milking equipment on a cow's udders! How does neutralising electricity cause problems with that!

I would have to defer to anybody who is specifically familiar with milking machines, but ....... If they use, for example, any suction to stay in play and draw out milk ..... and you assume that the footage is taken immediately upon the power loss when the farmer has not yet realized that he is in an overall blackout ........ I can see how a farmer in the middle of using his milking machine might first check to see what might be blocking the air flow.

Obviously, since I don't know how milking machines work, this one is much more speculative.

[colinr0380]

I had not thought in that way - those seem reasonable explanations so I can feel satisfied with that!

[j99]

I've always had trouble with the two gangsters in Belle de Jour. Not to question a master like Bunuel, but I've no idea why we have the scene in the bar (where they have a meeting with two other men) other than to say, yes, these are two petty gangsters involved in criminal activity. Where the film involves Belle de Jour's world, both real and imaginary, completely, suddenly we are out . Please advise if I'm missing something here.

The bit I cringe at in Belle de Jour is when Bunuel makes a cameo and references A Bout de Souffle when he's trying to sell the New York Daily Tribune. Can't see the point of it.

You're right, the scene in the bar is pointless.