Cinematography technique · used in 2 films
Filming a city at night through glowing signs, steam and rain-slick reflections. The glow makes the place feel dense, futuristic and a little threatening, sometimes like a character's fever dream.
Examples
Martin Scorsese · 1976
Scorsese and cinematographer Michael Chapman shoot New York in slow motion, through rain-streaked glass and at odd angles. This is the city as Travis experiences it. The style leaves you unsure whether what you're seeing is real or coming from his head.
Where to see it: Travis driving through midtown at night. You see the slow-motion crowds, steam rising from grates and red neon dissolving in puddles.
Ridley Scott · 1989
Scott filmed Osaka's Dotonbori district, a canal lined with neon signs, as the film's main look. The lit-up bridge and the neon wall over the water give it the feel of a future city, close to the world of his own science fiction work. The city looks dazzling and dangerous at the same time.
Where to see it: The Osaka nightclub: Nick meets Joyce, an American hostess from Chicago, who tells him Sato is fighting Sugai in a gang war.
Questions
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