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Amother simple way of achieving this effect often used by vintage cameramen was to net the lens with a stocking and then burn a hole in it with a cigarette end to clear the desired area

Love the F*cking Lens Blur: I believe Malick uses it during Tree of Life, Fincher achieves a similar effect during the boat racing scene in The Social Network, and if the production photos can be believed, Reygadas also has been using it.

There's not enough damn texture in modern cinematography.

Amen to that. When I watch Sunrise or even something as straight shooting as Wings and that damned blur comes on it is one of the few times in cinema I really feel like I've traveled into a whole new world with an infinite amount of possibilities.

Cold Bishop wrote:and if the production photos can be believed, Reygadas also has been using it.

This is used aggressively in Reygadas's Post tenebras lux, specifically in the donkey-riding sequences, and it's up to viewers to decide whether it works, – in the context of this particular film, which I have a great number of reservations about, I don't know – but it's a film I am interested to see again, eventually. Whether the effect as employed here is digital or not, it's nonetheless an overarching cornerstone of the picture. I walked out of the movie after an hour, but am just as eager to give it another chance in better environs. If nothing else, the opening 15 minutes in the fields are breathtaking and very arresting, – true cinema.

Dick Laurent wrote:It is indeed something that's caused by the shape of the glass in the lens. I like the effect a lot. As zedz already mentioned, in Ford's films it's very noticable, I do wonder if he used it consiously or by accident. There are some beautifull examples in The Iron Horse as well, and I remember correctly, you can notice it in McCarey's Ruggles of Red Gap to.
Has anyone any idea if this effect has a name?

The term may be called "flous" in French. I've yet to view my DVD as it's still in my kevyip but thankful I have this since I just looked on MoC's website which states this edition is now deleted!

DVD seems to be out-of-print, any chance for a Blu-ray release? Lobster Films (France) and Flicker Alley (USA) releases of the new 4K restoration will be out later this month.

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