Early Cinematic Language

Garrett T. Marchant    

    Through the readings in Chapter 2, as well as the viewings of Charlie Chaplin’s, The Gold Rush, several key elements of cinematic language are presented. Some of the key film techniques that are discussed in Chapter 2, or are used in The Gold Rush, include, cross cutting, manipulative editing, realism, antirealism, and parallel editing. The first of these key elements of film that I believe significantly boosted The Gold Rush’s film quality is cross cutting. During the scene in which Charlie Chaplin’s character, The Tramp, is stuck inside his home which is teetering on the edge of a cliff, the film uses the technique of cross cutting. Cross cutting, is a film technique in which two different camera displays present one location where an event is occurring. In The Gold Rush, the cross cutting technique shows the view from outside of the house as it teeters off the edge, as well as the inside of the house, where the characters remain confused by the unexplainable rocking sensation. The usage of cross cutting allows the viewer to see what predicament the characters are in, before the characters realize it themselves. This builds a sense of suspense, and in this particular scene, it can be quite humorous as the characters are oblivious to their situation for quite some time.

Another example of key film techniques used is the movies manipulative editing. There are several scenes in The Gold Rush, which are made possible by manipulative editing. Chapter 2, refers to the scene in which the house is blown away and stops on a cliff teetering back and forth with Chaplin’s character occasionally shown holding onto the door for dear life as his legs dangle in the air. Manipulative editing, refers to when a sequence of photos are played at a slow rate, to manipulate the viewers eyes into thinking something has moved or transformed, when in reality, these are individual photos played in a row. This allows the filmmaker to be incredibly creative, as it makes it possible for them to come up with new ideas and settings for characters to be involved in. This also occurs in the scene Chaplin transforms into a chicken. If you watch the clip carefully, you can see how the photos are manipulated and blended to the point he vanishes from a man to a chicken, right before your eyes. 

Mark Cousin’s dives into the world of parallel editing, in his documentary, Birth of A Nation. Parallel editing is similar to cross cutting scenes. However, parallel editing exists more so in scenes that display characters existing simultaneously in different locations. It’s the “meanwhile” or “meantime” style of filmmaking. Parallel editing gives the filmmaker an opportunity to have more than one set of action occurring at once in the film. It is an incredibly useful, and impactful tool when creating a story that involves the perspectives of more than one character.

Throughout the film, there are several uses of realism and antirealism. Realism, as expected, is when a director creates the film with the intention of it being viewed as a reflection of reality. While antirealism, is a more abstract form of filmmaking. It focuses on the abnormal, and is intended to be portrayed as something out of the ordinary perspective. The Gold Rush, uses both of these techniques. While most of the film can be thought of as realistic, scenes like Chaplin’s transformation to a chicken, the blowing away of the house during the storm, and a random rope holding an entire home over a cliff, are more aimed at antirealism. The balance between the two, with the slight elements of antirealism, give the viewer a comedic relief in the film. Using both techniques allows the filmmaker to create a humorous film, without the ordinary circumstances. A film as iconic as The Gold Rush, with as many groundbreaking film techniques as it had, laid the foundation for generations of film to come after it’s time.