Analysis of Carlito

A detailed Summary of Analysis of Carlito

A key sequence in Carlito's Way, which was directed by Brian De Palma, is when Carlito seeks to find the one woman that he loved before he was incarcerated. He decides to seek her out after he realizes that everyone has changed in the five years that he was incarcerated, and he wants some truth and honesty around him as he tries to change his life. The sequence ends as Carlito and Gail (his lost love) embraced each other in their arms. The aspects of the sequence that made it special were the mise-en-scene, camera angles/shots, and the lighting that was used to erect this passionate sequence. This sequence contains emotions and feelings that De Palma gets across by efficiently using a variation of shots and angles. The mise-en-scene in this sequence is crucial because it shows the relationship the characters have with each other. The placing of the characters is very critical along with the amount of space that they put between each other

In Carlito's Way the mise-en scene is very constructed as the scene starts as Carlito is watching Gail from a public distance as he follows her from her house to the dance studio, then he goes on the roof of the building across the street so he can watch her dance

The sequence has three different angles and three to four different shots that are used to construct this sequence. The sequence starts with an eye level angle of Carlito waiting for Gail to leave her building and as he follows her it fades into a long shot. This is a routine shot that is used to show him hiding behind the wall is used as an exposition scene in the sequence. De Palma uses a high angle to show Carlito following Gail across the street to her dance studio. This shot gives the audience a general overview and conveys to the audience that he doesn't want to cause Gail any harm. As soon as Gail enters the dance studio a low angle is taken of a building across the street that Carlito uses the roof to watch Gail dance through the window. This angle was used because De Palma wanted everyone to see its' importance because it would allow Carlito to further watch Gail. The cafe scene is shot at the eye level angle with continuous close-ups of the person speaking which is kind of similar to the over the shoulder shot but not quite the same. As the shot is ending the camera zooms out to show further intimacy between them in a full shot which conveys how comfortable they seem to be around each other. The final shot of sequence is in the cafe, as they get ready to depart ways and they go into an extreme close-up. This shows eye contact and the past emotions that are coming out between them, along with the sense of relief that they are once again back in each other's arms.

The lighting in Carlito's

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Approximate Word count = 1023
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English