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look, made from marble and stone façades, shiny metallic sculptures, with |
steel, water and glass surfaces. Some of the homes – specifically those of the |
lesbian couple and the first killer – are "cold, austere, brutalist" slabs of |
granite, [31] and many of the interior shots feature plain white backgrounds, |
with characters' wearing pale-coloured clothes against them – better, Newman |
felt, to contrast the blood once the violence started. [46] The studio-set |
scenes were filmed at Elios Studios in Rome, unlike Argento's previous films |
in the city, which he had filmed at Incir De Paolis. [57] He was not able to |
use Elios, as the director Michelangelo Antonioni , of whom he was a huge fan, |
was using the studio to film Identification of a Woman (1982) at the time. |
[12] The design and creation of Tenebrae ' s special effects were supervised |
by Giovanni Corridori, who – with his brother Tonino – had a near-monopoly on |
special effects in the Italian film industry at the time. [48] The scene in |
which Jane is hacked to death after having her arm cut off was filmed about |
eight times. Argento was not satisfied with any of the takes he had, [58] |
which used a type of bicycle pump to spray fake blood from the "wound" across |
the white wall, [53] so the director had Corridori place an explosive squib in |
the prosthetic arm – a solution which apparently satisfied Argento. [58] Much |
of Tenebrae takes place during daytime, or in harshly over-lit interiors. |
Except for the finale and some night scenes, the entire movie is shot with |
clear, cold light permeating the surroundings. [59] The lighting and |
camerawork used in Andrzej Żuławski 's Possession (1981) was an influence on |
the film's look. [60] Although tenebr(a)e means "darkness" or "shadows" in |
Latin , Argento ordered cinematographer Luciano Tovoli to use as much bright |
light as possible. The director intended that the film be set in the near |
future and wanted the lighting to help create a "cold, stark and semi- |
futuristic look". [61] Argento explained that this approach was also an |
attempt to imitate what he saw as the "realistic manner of lighting" used in |
television police shows. The director explained that he was adopting "a modern |
style of photography, deliberately breaking with the legacy of German |
Expressionism . Today's light is the light of neon, headlights, and |
omnipresent flashes ... Caring about shadows seemed ridiculous to me and, more |
than that, reassuring." [59] Argento filmed half-empty streets and shops where |
he could, in an attempt to reflect a futuristic setting where a disaster had |
diminished significantly the population of his imaginary city. [34] Tovoli |
used Kodak 5247 film stock (125 ASA speed rating) for daylight scenes, and |
Kodak 5293 (250 ASA) for night shoots. Tovoli rated both at 300 ASA to ensure |
controlled overexposure of the negative during filming, for the benefit of |
under-developing in the lab and less colour loss. The ultimate aim was for the |
images to be "crystal clear", and the night scenes to be awash with light. |
[36] Film scholar Richard Dyer highlights several intelligent devices used by |
Argento in the editing of the film, noting that interpolated sequences are |
sometimes punctuated by "shots of pills and the sound of running water." [62] |
Steffen Hantke believes that the shock cuts in the latter part of the film are |
among cinema's "most brutal and stylized", and exhibit a degree of abstract |
expressionism. [63] Film scholar Leon Hunt argues that the devices and themes |
utilized by Argento in the making of Tenebrae make it as much an example of |
art cinema as anything else. [19] The initial murders are shot in a "clipped |
montage style", [16] which is later revealed to be reflecting the use of a |
camera by the first killer to record the scene. [64] Giuliano Gemma later said |
that Argento fostered an improvisational atmosphere on set. One example he |
gave was the scene where his character bends to pick up some evidence from the |
floor, only to reveal Neal behind him having perfectly matched his position |
relative to the camera. This moment was not scripted but resulted from |
Argento's noticing the actors' similar build while they were stood, one behind |
the other in front of him. [22] Crane shot [ edit ] "The crane shot ... should |
be one of the most memorable moments in cinema ... The shot begins outside the |
lower apartment window, moves up to the second floor window, up and over the |
roof of the building, down the other side and to a window on the opposite side |
of the building. The shot lasts two and a half minutes without a pause, jerk |
or cut. If I was to be stuck on a desert island, I'd want Tenebrae just so I |
could watch this single shot .. The shot stands out even more with the fact |
that the Luma [sic] camera used was new to the industry at the time, and was |
bulky and not as easy to use as it is now." —Patrick McAllister, 2004 [65] |
Gracey refers to the film's cinematography as "nothing short of astounding", |
and cites a particular example as highlighting Argento's "passion for |
technical prowess and breathtaking visuals". [61] Influenced by the |
penultimate shot in Antonioni's The Passenger (1975), on which Tovoli had also |
been the cinematographer, [6] one of Tenebrae ' s main setpieces is the murder |
of the lesbian couple. To introduce the scene, Argento and Tovoli employed the |
use of a Louma crane to film a several minutes-long tracking shot . Owing to |
its extreme length, the tracking shot ended up being the most difficult and |
complex part of the production to complete. [66] It required a maze of |
scaffolding to be built around the outside of the home. Argento captured all |
the footage he needed in two takes, but insisted on filming ten more. [64] The |
scene, which lasts for two-and-a-half minutes on-screen, took three days to |
shoot. [65] It marked the first time the Louma crane had been used in an |
Italian production; the crane itself had to be imported from France. [61] |
According to Gracey, the camera performs "aerial gymnastics", scaling the |
victims' house in "one seamless take, navigating walls, roofs, and peering in |
through windows, in a set piece that effortlessly exposes the penetrability of |
a seemingly secure home". [61] Newman and Jones said that although this type |
of crane shot became commonplace later, at the time it was "truly ground- |
breaking" in the way the camera seemingly crawled over the walls and up the |
building – not quite from the killer's viewpoint. [50] Patrick McAllister of |
Scifilm said the sequence should be considered "one of the most memorable |
moments in cinema". According to McAllister, Tenebrae ' s distributor begged |
Argento to cut the shot down because it was "meaningless". [65] Newman and |
Jones agreed that the shot added nothing to the film's plot, but called it |
"meaninglessly brilliant". [50] Title [ edit ] Some European publicity |
materials for the film, including posters and lobby card sets, advertised the |
film as Tenebre , and the 1999 Anchor Bay DVD release uses that same title. |
[67] However, on the print itself, during the opening credits, the title is |
clearly Tenebrae . In addition, the title of Neal's latest book in the film is |
shown in closeup as being Tenebrae . In a lengthy interview with Argento |
conducted by Martin Coxhead that appeared in two issues of Fangoria in 1983 |
and 1984, the title was always referred to as "Tenebrae". [68] [69] Early on |
in production, the film was referred to as Under the Eyes of the Assassin , |
which was later used as one of the poster taglines. In Japan, the film was |
released as Shadows , [47] and in the United States it was titled Unsane in |
Subsets and Splits
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