Scenes

Close readings, grouped by film. Each follows the same path: what is on screen, what the sources say, then the codes one by one.

After Hours (1985)

After Hours — back at work A plaster statue falls out of a burglars' van at dawn, cracks open, and the man inside walks through the gates of his office and sits down at his terminal. Rescue or sentence? The film was shot without an ending, and it shows the seams on purpose.
After Hours — the diner A man alone with a Henry Miller paperback, a woman at the next table who knows the book, and a camera that pounces. Ten minutes that set up the whole night, and borrowed more than anyone admitted at the time.
After Hours — the keys A cab ride in fast motion that eats Paul's only $20, then a set of keys dropped from a loft window with the camera riding them down at his face. The point-of-view shot as a joke, a threat and a stunt that nearly went wrong.

Alice — the prologue Ninety seconds of counterfeit 1940s Hollywood, built at real 1940s expense, existing to be destroyed by one cut.

Mean Streets — the back room Charlie tells Johnny Boy he has to pay. Johnny Boy tells him a story about a poker game, a raid and a man called Joey Clams, and loses the thread himself. Everyone agrees it's the heart of the film. Nobody agrees who wrote it.
Mean Streets — the opening A voice in the dark, a man who cannot stay asleep, and a Ronettes record that lands on the downbeat as his head hits the pillow. The film's argument and its method before the first title.
Mean Streets — Tony's bar Charlie walks into a room lit like hell in slow motion; later Johnny Boy walks in on the downbeat of 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' with a girl on each arm. Two entrances, one room, and the camera's opinion of both.

Psycho — the opening A crane over Phoenix, captions stamping time and place, then in through a half-open window. The audience enters as a trespasser.
Psycho — the parlour scene Norman and Marion eat sandwiches while the mise en scène quietly explains the entire film.
Psycho — the shower scene Three minutes, dozens of cuts, no knife ever shown entering flesh. Violence assembled entirely in the audience's head.

Taxi Driver — the mirror "You talkin' to me?" — the most quoted line in the film is not in the film's script. De Niro wrote it standing up, in a derelict building, over traffic noise.
Taxi Driver — the phone call Travis begs Betsy down a payphone and the camera walks away from him, into an empty corridor. Scorsese thought of this shot first and filmed it last.
Taxi Driver — the shoot-out Three men dead in a stairwell, a camera that floats out through the ceiling, and an audience that cheered. Scorsese wanted a catharsis; he got applause, and it frightened him.

The Craft — light as a feather Four girls, a chant, and a body that rises. The best sequence in the film contains no special effect at all — only rhythm, faces and a cut.
The Craft — Nancy's turn Fairuza Balk gets everything she asked for and the film changes its mind about her. The best performance in it, in service of the argument it loses.