Editing Strategies Of Midnight Cowboy Film Studies Essay

Editing Strategies Of Mid iniquity Cowboy Film Studies searchJohn Schlesinger the director of Midnight Cowboy uses the use of unconventional editing strategies to tell the story almost the acquaintance and relationship of wanna-be hustler Joe level and schemer Ratso Rizzo. Schlesinger breaks the many rules of continuity by using nondiegetic inserts, intercutting congenital flashbacks with genuinely world footage, mixing of blazon and black and white footage, and the mixing of footage shot by a characterization camera and hearty footage. The function of discontinuity editing in the movie abandons Schlesinger to construct intricate patterns of images calculated to pose the stunners senses, emotions, and thinking (Bordwell, 262). The stimulation that the viewers go through table services them identify the friendship, identity, and desire for intimacy of the characters in the movie.Nondiegetic inserts involve cutting away from the scene to a metaphorical or symbolic shot tha t is not part of the space and time of the narrative (Bordwell, 259). Schlesingers use of nondiegetic inserts atomic number 18 shown in the word picture as Joe Bucks flashbacks which are triggered by different real world situations. The flashbacks are shown in fractured clips that tell little information to the viewer which makes it difficult for the viewer to put information together. Joes lonely youth is reflected in many series of separate flashbacks about his past during his trip from Texas to radical York City. Once on the bus and the journey east has begun the congressman of Joes grandmother is heard and scenes are shown revealing that she often elevator cared for him as a young Joe and even had a couple intimate moments with the young boy. The brief flashbacks provide insight into Joe Bucks background he was raised by women throughout his life because no male figure other than his grandmothers many boyfriends are apparent which whitethorn have some contributing factor t o his homosexual leanings in the film. A subjective moment on Joes bus is when it passes a water rule showing for the first gear time a flashback that contains Annie. The water tower shows that it says Crazy Annie Loves Joe Buck and at the same time Annies voice is heard saying do you savor me and youre the only one.When Joe arrives in New York and after failing to receive any money in his first time as a hustler he meets up with Ratso who says that he has someone who can help him out in his pursuit in being a great hustler in New York. Once at the apartment Joe is being talk to by ODaniel thinking that he is talking to him about being him becoming a hustler and then is forced to kneel down and pray close to a Jesus which triggers another flashback and the scene is intercut with flashbacks of Joe remembering his boyhood experience of being baptized in a river with his grandmother. When leaving the apartment he flees the scene and runs through New York with images of real footage of the city and also vengeful images of his pursuit and attack of Ratso. Joe follows Ratso throughout the subway cars and trains but never seems to catch up to him. When running round the subway Schlesinger uses both color and black and white film stock to create an unstable era of scenes as if Joe is frantically remembering and thinking of many things throughout the scene. Another flashback of Joe and Annie occurs when they are pulled out of the car by a group of males that seem to know Joe and a violent series of events seem to come across and lead to the rape of both Annie and Joe.Another way that Schlesinger breaks the rules of continuity is by mixing footage from the film with real footage shot by a camera. This type of discontinuity is shown at the Warhol party that Joe Buck and Ratso attend one night in New York. At the party they use of a handheld camera is used to film what different people at the party are thinking about the world and life. The images are flux in with film footage of the psychedelic party and also the use of sexuality in the real footage allows Joe Buck to question his sexuality to himself and really think of what he desires the most in his life at the moment. passim the film Midnight Cowboy by John Schlesinger the use of nondiegetic inserts, intercutting subjective flashbacks with real world footage, mixing of color and black and white footage, and the mixing of footage shot by a movie camera and real footage allow the story to be told in unconventional way which was new for its time. The nondiegetic inserts and real footage which are shown in the subjective flashbacks allow the viewer to learn more information about the character but also allows a character like Joe Buck to realize how things that happened in his past have affected him in a certain way and how it plays a role in his desires of friendship and intimacy.