Did Spike invent the "put an actor on a rails and shoot them as if they were walking even though they're clearly not walking" shot?
I always thought this was an odd/awkward technique - so much so that Chris Rock totally clowned it in "CB4."
That said, when he does this in "Clockers" with the kid on the bike with "Outta Here" blasting?
Isn't that a Frankenheimer staple?
I know he did it in Seconds which predates Scorsese's Mean Streets which I think is where Spike really got the idea from. It's a tired technique which should be put to rest. The bike scene in Clocker's was well done though so I'll give him a pass on that.
I'll have to give Seconds another look. Haven't seen it in a while.
Yes! When I watched Scorsese's Mean Streets, especially the pool hall sequence before Charlie passes out (inebriated), I finally realized where Dickerson, Lee et al got the aforementioned technique from. And it totally makes sense in Mean Streets - Kent Wakefield was the cinematographer and he did a great job. However, in Lee's films this technique just often seems unnecessary and even annoying. And like any director I'm sure he has some films he can't even watch. But, I do give him a lot of credit for making socially relevant films, especially the ones like 25th Hour and Do the Right Thing which for me capture the Zeitgeist.
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me, too. I like them both.
sometimes you feel like Lady Saw, sometimes you feel like Hampton Hawes.
and Spike's Joint In Brooklyn. It was hot for a quick minute.
Came in here specifically to say that he did a great job on that doc.
No carpetbaggin' for Spike...dude definitely tapped into the real with that one.