the art of cinema - all the president's men

  

The art of cinema no.3

All The President's Men

T and I watched Alan Pakula's "All the President's Men" recently, on Hannah's advice - It's a fantastic film, beautifully shot, but one shot in particular really stood out; a dual-focus shot in the Washington Post office. I've probably seen dual-focus shots before (I'm pretty sure there's one or two in the original Matrix), but this one really stood out. Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) on the phone, putting the pieces of the Watergate puzzle together, while the rest of the office staff congregate around a TV in the background. It's beautiful. 

I didn't notice the second appearance of this dual-focus technique until Alex Woo's Blog pointed it out, but again, beautiful. Bob's hard at work while all the other phones sit unused.

Screencaps from Cue Applause, Alex Woo's Blog and Todd Ritter