They also create a sense of déjà-vu, reflecting the central theme of memory, and stressing the inescapable tragedy of Lisa’s love. Jazz on the Screen reflects the opinions of its author, David Meeker, and not the views of the Library of Congress. The opening sequence offers a clear example. Ophuls becomes particularly ironic when melodrama reaches its highest peaks. The theme is audible when Lisa thinks about Stefan as she secretly wanders around in his house (shot 50); when she returns home after escaping from the train station (shots 73 and 78); and when she pays him her final visit (shots 280 and 197). Musical concepts like rhythm, pace, and the use of themes and variations can help us understand the mixed feelings Letter arouses. As in the previous example, sound and movement create a rhythmic pattern. | by David Meeker. Robin Wood calls this figure “the movement/stasis opposition” (14). Sheet Music (Form). Then, another longer shot of Stefan playing (shot 20, six beats). You (or someone with the same IP address as you) might be using a script or program to download pages from this site automatically. The emotional strength of the sequence is mirrored and enhanced by its powerful construction. First we see Stefan’s fingers, peacefully playing the theme of the Liszt étude (shot 15, lasting six music beats). All three meetings have three parts, similar in pace. (Soundtrack Personnel). motion picture | Feature film (over 60 minutes). In each of them, Lisa is initially mobile, but becomes still in Stefan’s presence. Within this overall movement, the tempo increases and decreases, alternately showing Lisa determined and hesitant. In contrast, when Lisa remembers how Stefan’s furniture was moved in (shots 11–14), playful hurdy-gurdy fairground music suggests Lisa’s childish wonder and delight. Ophuls takes this characteristic Hollywood practice to an extreme, creating a strikingly close relationship between image and sound, leading the critic Claude Beylie to refer to a “synchronisme audio-visuel” (3). Instrumental Parts. The story is set in Vienna, musical town par excellence, a city generally associated with operetta and Strauss waltzes. Other recurrences in the dialogue operate like themes and variations. Dietrich, William G. - New York Music Pu Co. Sheet music | 1 score | by Carl Heinemann. One of many such parallels between mise en scène and music occurs in the first shot, where the music stops as the carriage bringing Stefan home comes to a halt. Sheet Music … LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN. Michelle Carey • Daniel Fairfax • Fiona Villella • César Albarrán-Torres. The second time they start walking, he throws her three glances. Or as Stephen Heath puts it: “the film is gathered up in a whole series of rhymes in which elements – of both ‘form’ and ‘content’ – are found, shifted, and turned back symmetrically, as in a mirror”. The camera “looks” over her shoulder as we see Stefan arriving with a girl. If you don't think that you've Lisa Berndle (Joan Fontaine), a Viennese girl, falls in love with pianist Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan), a neighbour who is hardly aware of her existence. When she has to move to the small town of Linz, Lisa saves herself for Stefan and rejects the love of a young lieutenant. Inc: Ethmer Roten, flute. Pdf Document (Form). Beylie also describes Ophuls’ direction of actors as elements in an orchestra, elements he directs with his magical baton (9). Meanwhile, Stefan Junior has died from typhus, and a sick Lisa, soon to die too, writes her story in a letter to Stefan. PDF Document | 2146 leaves ; 30 cm. 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In early twentieth century Vienna, Lisa (Joan Fontaine), a teenager living in an apartment building, becomes fascinated by a new tenant, concert pianist Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan). The sequence has a little climax, like a wordless struggle. As Gorbman points out, this is a customary use of music: “If one hears Strauss-like waltzes in the strings, it must be turn-of-the-century Vienna” (4). Also available through the Library of Congress Web Site as facsimile page images. The second staircase shot is much more solemn than the first one, and betrays Lisa’s sincerity as Stefan goes through his practiced routine. Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) Soundtracks.
The bombastic music clearly indicates how the scene is to be interpreted, removing the seriousness from a potentially painful and dramatic scene. On the other hand, she’s different, wearing a black, modest coat and remaining silent, whereas the other girl wore pale, frilly clothes and giggled. Rather than merely underscoring the images in a traditional way, the music adds another dimension of commentary, sometimes at odds with Lisa’s voice-over narration. If so, you'll need to disable it when using this site, as it spams the websites you visit with fake requests. Despite her actions, they only meet once and Stefan takes little notice of her. Instead of taking it as simple irony, he calls for attention to differences as well as similarities (18). There's not much we can do about this right now; you'll have to turn off your VPN in order to continue using the site. At the moment she tells the story, Lisa sees things differently from when she lived them. When she finishes her sentence (“nothing else mattered”), she stands still and rings the bell, twice, impatiently. The Library of Congress may or may not own a copy of a particular film or video. Lisa becomes obsessed with Stefan, staying up late to listen to him play, and sneaking into his apartment and admiring him from a distance. Three is the key number in this film, parallelling the three beats of the waltz-measure. Sheet music | 1 score | by William G. Dietrich. As a whole, the scene moves towards a climax (the arrival at Stefan’s door), evoking Lisa’s uncontrollable desire for Stefan. The most obvious examples of visual repetition are the “twinned” scenes, almost literal repetitions, or as George Wilson calls them, “echoing with a variation” (16). At the end of the scene, the brass band plays the Radetzky March and temporarily silences the characters, reducing the subsequent announcement of the failed pairing to the parents to pantomime. Music doesn’t only signal emotional change, it also often coincides with the beginning of onscreen action. USA. Music is a powerful signifier of atmosphere, and more than any other filmic element, functions on the level of emotions rather than that of intellectual understanding. Letter constantly challenges the viewer to dismiss easy interpretations: contradictory emotions coexist, and both protagonists are portrayed with a large amount of ambiguity. Motion Picture (Form). The most famous examples of this “echoing” are the staircase shots. Intently listening to Letter from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophuls, 1953) is like watching the film for the first time: being surprised again by its fluidity and getting caught up in the smooth progression of the story, guided by the music.Letter is operating within the framework of classical Hollywood cinema, creating a sense of spontaneity through a strict structure. Step 2 (optional): Enter any other comments/feedback here, Step 3: Enter your email address. Years later, Stefan notices Lisa in the opera and pursues her. Subscribe to Senses of Cinema to receive news of our latest cinema journal.Enter your email address below: Intently listening to Letter from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophuls, 1953) is like watching the film for the first time: being surprised again by its fluidity and getting caught up in the smooth progression of the story, guided by the music. The events showed may represent her perception at the time, while the mise en scène may be a reflection of her current understanding. The third time, she quickly leaves the opera; she paces in front of the side entrance; Stefan stops her (shots 235–237). The tune is also vaguely audible when Lisa cries at the window after putting Stefan Junior to bed (shot 268). Founded in 1999, Senses of Cinema is one of the first online film journals of its kind and has set the standard for professional, high quality film-related content on the Internet. And yet if we had, I should have remembered” (shot 173); “I’ve seen you somewhere, I know” (shot 238). It not only refers to Stefan, but also to Lisa’s love for him, and her memories of him. Now a dramatic tension is built up, in the music as well as in the pace of cutting. This ironic potential is fully exploited in Letter, where most of the diegetic music comments on the action in this distanced way. A particularly fine rhythmic pattern is present in all three of Lisa and Stefan’s romantic encounters. The chatter about music, talents and fatherhood in the final part of the film provides a painfully ironic case in point. In both cases, the diegetic music seemingly “happens” to add a dimension to the events. To request additional information Ask a Librarian. On the other hand, the film is highly self-reflexive, suggesting multiple meanings, breaking through appearances, and uncovering internal contradictions. The effect is particularly pronounced because of the obtrusiveness and sheer volume of the music. Each part depicts the building up of emotional tension, leading to a climax, followed by an anticlimax: longing, meeting, and parting. | Print (Form). Everything returns, but she blindly believes things are going to change. It effectively evokes the atmosphere of the amusement park, but reduces the potential emotional impact of the scene, particularly when the all-female orchestra gives a heavy and tired rendition of the waltz Stefan will later repeat for Lisa. Click here to make a donation. Lisa’s naive curiosity has evolved into romantic adoration, and music plays a significant role in signalling this change of mood. When, within this scene, Stefan first sees Lisa, he gives her one, long stare. Memory is central in Letter, and is signalled through musical echoes. (Required), You can request being unbanned by clicking. For instance, after the confusion following Lisa’s declination of the Lieutenant’s marriage proposal comes the joyous mood at Mme Spitzer’s. For instance, on their second meeting, Lisa and Stefan start talking. My job as director consists of making, out of this choir of people, a creator of films (11).

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