After having one of my very favourite movies in Fargo criticised for its lighting (which I think I disagree with, as I feel the lighting in the particular scene captures incredibly well that time of day where despite being morning, you still have to turn lights on – the difference of yellow on blue, compared to yellow on black – but i can appreciate Paul’s view that a hyper realistic lighting scheme isn’t necessary in a largely realistic movie), I started thinking about films where hyper-realistic or just unrealistic lighting works well.
One that really stands out for me is the 1977 horror film, Suspiria. This is a movie that is ultimately far more concerned with style than it is substance – something I’ve always been fine with – and it shows in its lighting scheme(as well as its score, story, and cinematography).
Constantly throughout the film, all of the diegetic lights(I’m not sure if that’s correct terminology, but I mean lights that actually exist in the story world, like a bedside lamp or something) will be switched off, yet a red, green or blue glow will fill the room, with no evidence of a source given.
‘lights out’ apparently
I feel that one effect these unrealistic lighting scheme’s have is emphasising that the movie isn’t really intended to be fully based in reality. In relation to my own work this semester, i think that this unrealistic lighting could be a very effective way to get the dreamlike feel across.