By frag_editorial This fragment is a study of the dynamic of mobility and immobility that The Big Sleep figures initially in its opening through two men in and out of motion: General Sternwood, immobile in his wheelchair in the greenhouse, and Philip Marlowe, sweating profusely as if anticipating how much he will walk, run, and drive around Los Angeles in the film. The butler, a figure in between Sternwood and Marlowe, is also moving around in the scene. Toward the end of the film, the dynamic will recur again when Marlowe silences Vivian Rutledge while he talks on the phone. To draw out the dynamic, I arranged fragments of Marlowe driving in counterpoint to the early scene such that the arrangement, hopefully, gives form to the immobilities, if you will, that I discovered making and thinking in Adobe Premiere Pro. This fragment is the second in a currently two-part series of studies called Men in Motion.
About the maker
Joel Burges is Associate Professor of English and Visual & Cultural Studies and Director of Film & Media Studies at the University of Rochester.
Contact
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