II llr t'l ( lSl' I Ill lÍ| I

rtrrrrvs lltc s1x-rr'lrless lirrr. ltrrtl litle ol lltr rltllttlr nlr;n'ls llurl livt: willt yorr in yout'
r,1rrrr :1trl wh6sc lirte is lrorrntl rrlr wilJt vlrttr'(rwtt. lÌt:lort tltis you lookcd at your
Irlr';rs lr r,orrt.r.r'l-goe r igrrrlllnt ol'rlrrsic' lisítns 1u ittt orcltcstra playing a symphony.
,,\ll lrc lrr,lrs is t[c lclttlirtg rrclotly, lll lltc rtrsl. is l'rlurrcd into a general murmur'
BELA BALAZS r )rrly tlrçsr: curr rcally urrclcrstand anrl crr.iuy tlre music who can hearthe contra-
'this is how we see life: only its leading
qrrrrrtlrl urt,6itc:ctul'c oÍ'cach part in 1hc scrlrc.
FROM THE,ORY OF THE FILM rrrrkxly tnccts thc cyc. But a good Írlm with its close-ups reveals the most hidden
in our polyphonous liÍè, and teaches us to see the intricate visual details of life
';tlls
;r,; orrr: rcads an orchcstral score.
THE CLOSE.UP
LYRICAL CHARM OF THE CLOSE-UP
),^ bar,L/ r/*ilil ^t^i) l'lrc closc-up may sometimes give the impression of a mere naturalist preoccu-
1r;rlion with detail. But good close-ups radiate a tender
human attitude in the con-
t,.rrrplation of hidden things, a delicate solicitude, a gentle bending over the inti-
,,',,,1i"* of life-in-the-miniature, a warm sensibility. Good close-ups are lyrical; it is
tlrt' hcafl, not the eye, that has perceived them.
tu(nrl tt ,a"*'y ?"n* ('ltlsc-ups are often dramatic revelations of what is really happening under the
,,irrlìrco of appearances. You may see a medium shot of someone sitting and con-
/-í42 rltrt.ting a conversation with icy calm. The close-up will show trembling flngers ner-
lorrsly Íìmbling a small object-sign of an internal storm. Among pictures of a
THE FACE OF THINGS r olrrlìrftable house breathing a sunny security, we suddenly see the evil
grin of a
vrt.i<lus head on the carved mantelpiece or the menacing grimace of a door opening
The first new world discovered by the frlm camera in the days of the silent Íìlm rrrt0 rlarkness. Like the leitmotif of impending fate in an opera, the shadow of some
was the world of very small things visible only from very short distances, the hiddcn rrrrporrding disaster falls across the cheerful scene.
life of little things. By this the camera showed us not only hitherto unknown objects ('lose-ups are the pictures expressing the poetic sensibility of the director. They
and events: the adventures of beetles in a ülderness of blades of grass, the tragedics ,;lrow the faces of things and those expressions on them which are significant
of day-old chicks in a corner of the poultry-run, the erotic battles of flowers and thc lrt.r'ause they are reflected expressions of our own subconscious feeling. Herein lies
poetry of miniature landscapes. It brought us not only new themes. By means oÍ' tlrt'rft of the true cameraman.
the close-up the camera in the days of the silent film revealed also the hidden main- lrr I very old American film I saw this dramatic scene: the bride at the altar sud-
springs of a life which we had thought we already knew so well. Blurred outlines arc tlnrly runs away from the bridegroom whom she detests, who is rich and who has
mostly the result of our insensitive short-sightedness and superficiality. We skim lrrrrn Íbrced on her. As she rushes away she must pass through a large room full of
over the teeming substance of life. The camera has uncovered that cell-life of thc rvt.tl<ling presents. Beautiful things, good things, useful things, things radiating
vital issues in which all great events are ultimately conceived; for the greatest land- plcrrty and security smile at her and lean towards her with expressive faces. And
slide is only the aggregate of the movements of single particles. A multitude of closc- tlrcle are the presents given by the bridegroom: faces of things radiating touching
ups can show us the very instant in which the general is transformed into the par- ;tl(ention. consideration, tenderness, love-and they all seem to be looking at the
ticular. The close-up has not only widened our vision of life, it has also deepcncrl llt'cing bride, because she looks at them; all seem to stretch out hands towards her,
it. In the days of the silent film it not only revealed new things, but showed us thrr lrt.cuusc she feels they do so. There are ever more of them-they crowd the room
meaning of the old. irrtrl $lock her path-her flight slows down more and more' then she stops and
trnirlly turns back. . . .
VISUAL LIFE I laving discovered the soul ol'tlrings in the close-up, the silent film undeniably
uvcrlltcd thcir importancc antl sonrctimcs succumbed to the temptation of show-
The close-up can show us a quality in a gesturc ol'thr: hand wc ncvcr notict:tl rrrl"1 "ihc hid{c1 littlc lil'c" as un rrrìtl in itscllì <Jivorced from human destinies;
it
before when we saw that hand stroke or strikc sorncthirrg,, n tlualily which is ollt n ,,lr.lryctl irway ÍÌçtrt thc tlrlrntalic ltlol :ttttl pl't:sctttcd thc "poetry of things" instead
more expressive than any play of the lbaturcs. "l'ltt: t'hrst-u1r shows your shatkrw orr ul lrrrrrurrì hrrirrgs, tìLrl whltl I.trt*iltg slritl in ltis tr,urkum about Homer-that he
the wall with which you havc livçtl all ytrur lilìr tutrl wltit'h you sc:rrcr:ly krrewl il rrt.vrr. rlrlrir.lctl urr ytlrirrg hrrl lr rIlr r rr rr ut'lir r tts rtttrl it lwitYs tlcscrihcd ohìe cts only inas-

lhlr
2h2 llll; t lI M Mlillll rM:lMAíIF ÂNl)SlllÌNlì r 'I'ItF FAEE CF MAN 1ó3

much as tlrcy tgok l)11'1 itì llrtr ircliort- shrtttlrl lrr lltiq rlirv sel'vc ilti it rlrrxlcl lirI lrll
:i'rr. lllrl 6l';thysiogrrlrrry. 'l'he lirct tltnt llte lr=altttt's ol llrr lìtr'c t'iltt hc seert sirlc hy
sirlr., i.r., itt sltitCC thill thC (Ìycti llfr tìl lttr' lrrp. lltt' t'ltlr 111 1111r sillt:s lntl
tltc tttttLtllt
epic and dramatic art as long as it ccrrtcls afourtrl llu' prercttlittitllt ttl'tttittt.
Irìwr.t (lgwil.-l6scs 1ll re lì:rcttcc t() $lìll('F wtrcrt wc sr'r, llt)l lr lìgtrr'c t)Í'llcsh ancl b<tttc,
lrrÍ ilrl r:xl)rgisiurr, or in othcr worrls wlterr wf rr-r cttì(ì[i()tìs, lììoods, intcrrtitlns atrcl
tirürrg,hls, lhings which allhough oul eycs ('illl se(ì lllL:lìì, ilrc no1 in space'
For Íbcl-
THE FACE OI.' MAN pcrlainìng
tirgs. cutrtliotrs, moojs, intentions, tlt()ttg,hts at'c ttçt thcmselves things
lrr splrcc:, cvcn il'thcy are rendered visibls by nlcans which are'
Every art deals with human beings, it is a human maniÍ'estation and presents
human beings. To paraphrase Marx: "The root of all art is man." when the film
close-up strips the veil of our imperceptiveness and insensitivity from the hidden MELODY AND PHYSIOGNOMY
little túngs and shows us the face of objects, it still shows us man' for what makes
wc will bc helped in understanding this peculiar dimension by Henri Bergson's
objects expressive are the human expressions projected on to them. The objects single notes
ilnitlysis Oltime and duration. A melody, said Bergson, is composed of
oniy refle"i our own selves, and this is what distinguished art from scientifrc knowl- melody has no
rvhirilr íìlllow each other in sequence, i.e. in time. Neveúheless a
edgl lattfrough even the latter is to a great extent subjectively determined). When melody only
rlirrrension in time, because the first note is made an element of the
*. ,"" the face of things, we do what the ancients did in creating gods in man's relation to all
lret.lrusc it refers to the next note and because it stands in a definite
image and breathing a human soul into them. The close-ups of the film are the cre- played for some
,I lrcr notes down to the last. Hence the last note, which may not be
ative instruments of this mighty visual anthropomorphism' And the
trrrrc, is yet already present in the first note as a melody-creating element'
what was more impoúant, however, than the discovery of the physiognomy of note along with it'
lilst notó completes the melody only because we hear the first
things, was the discovery of the human face. Facial expression is the most subjective they have a real dura-
I lrc rrotcs sound one after the other in a time-sequence, hence
manifestation of man, more subjective even than speech, for vocabulary and gram- relation of the
Irorr, bu1 the coherent line of melody has no dimension in time; the
mar are subject to more or less universally valid rules and conventions, while the The melody is not born
it(ttcs to each other is not a phenomenon occurring in time.
play offeatures, as has already been said, is a manifestation not governed by objec-
p,r.iulually in the course of time but is already in existence as a complete entity
as
iiué even though it is largely a matter of imitation. This most subjective that melody is begun?
0.,.,},., u, ihe frrst note is played. How else would we know
a
"unonr,
and individual of human manifestations is rendered objective in the close-up'
I lrc single notes have duration in time, but their relation to each
other' which gives
deduction also has its
,,reur.,in! to the individual sounds, is outside time. A logical
A NEW DIMENSION in time. The pro-
,.,1u"nÃ, but premise and conclusion do not follow one another
a psychological process may have duration;butthe logical forms,
lf the close-up lifts some object or some part of an object out of its surroundings, t.css ol'thinkingas
lrkc ntclodies, do not belong to the dimension of time'
we nevertheless perceive it as existing in space; we do not for an instant forget that to the rela-
Now facial expression, physiognomy, has a relation to space similar
the hand, say, which is shown by the close-up, belongs to some human being. It is in space; but the sig-
precisely this connection which lends rneaning to its every movemenf. But when liorr oÍ'melody to time. The single features, of course, appear
phenomenon pertaining to space,
rrilicance of their relation to one another is not a
Griffittr;s genius and daring first projected gigantic "severed heads" on to the cin- which are manifested in the
Ir(ì lìtore than are the emotions, thoughts and ideas
ema scree;, he not only brouglrt the human face closer to us in space, hè also trans- yet they outside space;
posed it from space into another dimension. we do not mean, of course, the cinema lirçial expressions we see. They are picture-like and seem
ruch is the psychological effect of facial expression'
,"r..n and the patches of light and shadow moving across it, which being visible
things, can be conceived only in space; we mean the expression on the face as
,"rr"ãl.d by the close-up. We have said that the isolated hand would lose its mean- SILENT SOLILOQUY
ing, its expression, ilwe did not know and imagine its connection with some human ,l,hc it thc
nrodern stage no longer uses the spoken soliloquy, although without
being. The facial expression on a face is complete and comprehensible in itself and most the least hampered by
just r.lritractcrs are silenced just whcn thcy are the sincere,
therefore we need not think of it as existing in space and time. Even if we had 'l'hc prrhlic of today will not tolerate the spokcn
seen the same face in the middle of a crowd and the close-up merely scparated it u()uvcntion: when theyare alonc.
us the silcnt
from the others, we would still leel that we have suddenly been left alonc with this soliloquy, allcgedly becausc it is "ulrnitlrlt'lì|." Now thc frlm has brought
just sccn thc owner strliltquy, in which a lacc can slxnk willt the subtÍcst shades of meaning withtlut
one face to the exclusion ofthe rest ofthe world' E'vcn iÍ'wc havc rtl'tltt sllr'rt:tators. ln this silcnt rnttn-
of the face in a long shot, when we look into thc cycs in it cltlsc-up, wc ng longcr
,,'rp.,,,ii'ig unnaturrl aucl arousitlg lhe tlinlrrste
.,i,rpr,., tlrc splitur.y huntrn soul uurr lirtrl I lttttgtte ttttrre t'lttrtlid arrcl uninhihitcd tltitlt
think of that wide space, bccausc thc exprcssiurt itttrl sigrtilìcattc:c oÍ'llrc ÍÌtcc hns ntl ittclittrlivtrlv, stthcunscittusly''l'[tc litttguatrlc
relation to spacc and no cgnnccliun wllh it. liitcirtll, itlr isolaÍt:rl Íìtcu takrrs us ttttl oÍ' i' s1r,rk.t1 sglilotluy, lirr i1 *penl+r
'l'y
rrl'llrrr lìrr:c riuìrìot hc su jrll'et*erl ulrrutllrrllerl llrlwrvrrttirrt'illlint:d ltnd practisr;tlly
space, our copsçi111linç:ss ol'spuctr iri t'rrl utrt it ttrl we Íittri rrttlsclvtrtl ilt itnol lrtrt'tlirtrt'tt-
 2fr4 Tl lli Ftl M Mtit)tUM: lMAflF tNt) I llfi fAf 'lr{}lr MAN 2{1.5
^NIlit(!Ì
Itypocrilic:tl allctrtnityltc,irtÍltccttllrrgingchrsr. rrl)w(.frc(.cverrtlrut
something, that is kloking a lic. ltrr.such tlrings hrivc
il isurlr:cirlirrE llrt.rr Astir Niclserr srrtltkrrrly rerncrulrls lltttl slrr is tttttlcr ttbscrvation"fhe man
llrrir rlwrr spcl.iíit.exprt ssiorra trrlrrirrl llte cttrlitirr tltttsl ttrll O* u11,1wt:rl trt retttl lrcl litcc and learn that she is now
superimposed on the fbignccl one' lt is muc,h crrsier ro lic pretending'
irr worrls rlian with tlrc lì*,e iru Irrrgt l' ll:igrring, [ul rcalty ft cling krve. Stt Aslit rtow pretends to be
and the film has proved it beyond doubt.
In the film the mute soliloquy ofthe Íàce spcaks cvclr iJrr lirr.,r: slrtlws a ncw, by tlris timc threcíìrltl, clrangc. First she feigns love, then she
and herein lies a new great opportunity for depicting
whcn thc hcro is not akrrrt,,
,r'rrc perrrrilcly slrgws love, and as shc is rtot pcrmittcd to be in love in good earnest, her
of the soliloquy is that it is a manifestation of mentaf
man. p.rcii" signitican.e iu,',. ,rgitin rcgistcrs a sham, a pretencc oÍ'love. But now it is this pretence that is a
not ptrysicril, l-onclincss. Ne v- lir Nowshcislyingthatsheislying.Andwecanseeallthisclearlyinherface,over
ertheless, on the stage a character can speak a monologue
else there, even though a character might feel
onry when there is no ()rrr! rt.lrrrlt shc has drawn two different masks. At such times an invisible face appears
a thousand ti-é, .op lonery if arorrt, just as spoken words can by association of ideas conjure up
r rr lron t ol'the real one,
among a large crowd. The monologue of loneliness
may raise its voice within hilrr rlrlrrp,s rrnspoken and unseen, perceived only by those to whom they are
addressed.
a hundred times even while he is audibly talking
to someone. Heoce ihe most dccp_ The
felt human soliloquies could not find iuch expression, lri tlrc carly days of the silent f,lm Griffith showed a scene of this character.
for the close-up can rift A !rr.ro ol'tlre film is a Chinese merchant. Lillian Gish,
playing a beggar-girl who is
character out ofthe heart ofthe greatest crowd and show
how sorit".y it is in realily lrrilrp, ltursued by enemies, collapses at his door. The Chinese merchant finds her,
and what it feels in this crowded solitude.
r irr r.ies hor into his house and looks after the sick girl. The
girl slowly recovers, but
The film, especially the sound film, can separate
the words of a character tarking lu'r lìrcc rcmains stonelike in its sorrow. "Can't you smile?" the Chinese asks the
to others from the mute play of features by means of
a conversation, we are made to overhear a mute
which, in the middle of suclr h rp.lrfcncd child who is only just beginning to trust him. "I'll try," says Lillian Gish,
soliloquy and realize the difference q,i,'ks up a mirror and goes through the motions of a smile, aiding her face muscles
between this soliloquy and the audible conversation.
úrrut a flesh-and_blood actur r|rtlr lrcr lingers. The result is a painful, even horrible mask which the girl now turns
can show on the real stage is at most that his words
convention that the partner in such a conversation is
are insincere and it is a mcre towrrÍrls the Chinese merchant. But his kindly friendly eyes bring a real smile to her
Íur.c. 'l'ltc face itself does not change; but a warm emotion lights it up from
blinded to what every spcc_ inside
tator can see. But in the isolated close-up of the film
we can see to the bottom ol.n arrrt irn intangible nuance turns the grimace into a real expression.
soul by means of such tiny movements of facial muscres
vant partner would never perceive.
which even the most obscr- In thc days ofthe silent film such a close-up provided an entire scene. A good
A novelist can, of course, write a dialogue so as to irlrir ol'the director and a fine performance on the part of the actor gave as a result
weave into it what the speakers
think to themselves while they are talking. But by so doing ,rtt itttcrcsting, moving, new experience for the audience'
he splits up the somc-
times comic, sometimes tragic, but always awe-inspiring,-""itv
ú"t*een spokcn MICROPHYSIOGNOMY
word and hidden thought with which this contradiction
iúndered manifest in thc
human face and which the frlm was the first to show penetrate
us in ail its dazzling variety, l1 thc silent facial expression, isolated from its surroundings, seemed to
lr l :t slrange new dimension of the soul. It revealed to us a new world-the world of
..POLYPHONIC'' or in
PLAY OF FEATURES rrrit.rrrphy:siognomy which could not otherwise be seen with the naked eye
,.u.,.y,ìuy life. In the sound film the part played by this 'microphysiognomy' has
The film first made possibre what, for lack of better
description, I ca'the ..pory- g,.,,ily áitinirtt.d because it is now apparently possible to express in words much
phonic" play of features. By it I mean the appearance pro-
dictory expressions. In a sort of physiognomic chord
on the same face of contru- rrl wlrilt facial expression apparently showed. But it is never the same-many
a variety orr."tingr, passions ftrurrd cmotional experiences can never be expressed in words at all.
and thoughts are synthesized in the play ofthe features
; expression Npt cvcn the greatest writer, the most consummate artist of the pen, could tell in
of the multiplicity of the human soul. ", "d.q;;ìe
w$r.rls what Asta Nielsen tells with her face in close-up as she sits down to her mirror
Asta Nielsen once played a woman hired to seduce a rich young poverty,
who hired her is watching the results from behind
man. The man lrrrtl lrics to make up for the last time her aged, wrinkled face, riddled with
a curtain. rnãwing that she is rrrisory, discase and prostitution, when she is expecting her lover, released after ten
under observation, Asta Nielsen feigns love. She
does it ,o.rui*rngìy: the whor* jail; a lover who has retained his youth in captivity because life could not
gamut of appropriate emotion is displayed in v",,,', i'",
her face. Nevertheless we are awarc tnrrch lrim there.
that it is only play-acting, that it is a sham, a mask. But
in the course of the sccnc
Asta Nielsen really falls in with the young man. Her faciar exprcssion shows
fovg
little change; she had been "registering" tove ati the timc and done il wcil. How crsr:
ASTi\ A'l'Tl-lE MIRROR
could she now show that this time she was reaily in ruvc?
only by a scarcely perceptible and yet immcdiirtcly ohvious
r,l*.**pr***r.ln charrgcs Shc kxrks inlu l,lre nrirrol'o lrer lìrce lutlc ulttl tlcirtlly cíÌrnest. lt expresses anxiety
few minutes before was a sham is rtow tltc sirrterc
nuilncc-iìrì(l whirt u ;rrrtl rrlslrcttkitltlc hlrt'16r, li[e in likc n gntterll wlttt, Ittpclcssly cncircled with his
expression ol'r rlcr:p cnrulirr. wholt'ur:rrry, lmurls ulrrT rrrrrrc, lìu'lltr lnrt litttc, rtvtt'lhis mlps lo scarch fora way
 'l lllr lrA(1fr (ìl'M,tN 267

nrrl ;rnrl lìlrrls lltcl'c is lrtr csr'ltpc. l'Ju'rr slrr lu'p.rts lrrwor'k Ícvtrl'islrly, ittkrckingthat
rlrsl',rrrilin11ly rirkllcrl lirct: willr lr lrt'rrrlrlirrpr lrrrrtrl.,\ltt: ltoltls lrcr lipstick as Michel-
ilrp,rrkr rrrip,ht huvr: lrr:kl lris çrlristrl orr llrr lltst nip,hl" ol'his liÍè. It is a life-and-death
.llrrrgg,h.:. 'l'hr.: slrcctalol'wíltclìcs willr hrrlrrrl brcatlr as this woman paints her face in
Irorrl oÍ'hcr nìirror. 'l'hc mirnlr is crirckgl uncl dull, and from it the last convulsions
ol'lr lrlrlulccl soul look out on you. Shc tries to save her life with a little rouge! No
pootl! Shc wipcs it offwith a dirty rag. She tries again. And again. Then she shrugs
ltcl slrouldcrs and wipes it all offwith a movement which clearly shows that she has
rrow wipccl offher life. She throws the rag away. A close-up shows the dirty rag fall-
r1g, 6n thc floor and after it has fallen, sinking down a little more. This movement
oÍ tlrc rag is also quite easy to understand-it is the last convulsion of a death agony.
ln this close-up "microphysiognomy" showed a deeply moving human tragedy
witlr tlrc greatest economy of expression. It was a great new form of art. The sound
tilnr offers much fewer opportunities for this kind of thing, but by no means
cxt'ludes it and it would be a pity if such opportunities were to be neglected, unnec-
cssarily making us all the poorer. . . .

MUTE DIALOGUES
The accusers and Joan (Falconetti) in The Passion of Joan oí Árc (1928). In "Dreyer's film ln the last years of the silent film the human face had grown more and more vis-
*11
. . . we move in the spiritual dimension of facial expression alone" (BALAZS, page 26'7).
iblc, that is, more and more expressive. Not only had "microphysiognomy" devel-
is a documentary of faces" (BAZIN, page 384).
o1rcd but together with it the faculty of understanding its meaning. In the last years
ol'llre silent film we saw not only masterpieces of silent monologue but of mute
tlialogue as well. We saw conversations between the f;acial expressions of two
Iruman beings who understood the movements of each others'faces better than
cur:h others' words and could perceive shades of meaning too subtle to be conveyed
rrr words.
A necessary result of this was . . . that the more space and time in the film was
t:rkcn up by the inner drama revealed in the "microphysiognomic" close-up, the
[:ss was left of the predetermined 8,000 feet of film for all the external happenings.
'l'lrc silent frlm could thus dive into the depths-it was given the possibility of pre-
sr-:rrting a passionate life-and-dmftì 5fnrggle almost exclusively by close-ups of faces.
l)reyer's frlm Jeanne d'Arc provided a convincing example of this in the power-
lÌrl, lcngthy, moving scene of the Maid's examination. Fifty men are sitting in the
slmc place all the time in this scene. Several hundred feet of film show nothing but
hig close-ups of heads, of faces. We move in the spiritual dimension of facial expres-
siçn alone. We neither see nor feel the space in which the scene is in reality enacted.
llcrc no riders gallop, no boxers exchange blows. Fierce passions, thoughts, emo-
li6gs, convictions battle here, but their struggle is not in space. Nevertheless this
sr:rics ol duels between looks and frowns, duels in which eyes clash instead of
swurcls, can hold the attcntittn ol'an audience for ninety minutes without flagging.
Wç can Íblfurw cvcry attack anrl ripostc of these duels on the faces ofthe combatants;
tlrr: pluy ol'thcir l'calulcs itttlicatç:s r.:vtry stratcge m, every sudden onslaught' The
silcrrl lilril lrils lrere l'rroug,ht fin nll$rÌìl)l rh] prïscnt a drama of the spirit closer to
lr'llir;tlirrrr llutrt itny slltg,r ltltty ltttr rvel"lrrctt ithlc lo tlo' . . .
I 945

.l Ír {r