eizogaku

Show abstractHide abstract

This paper is about the “keyhole film” genre in early cinema. A “keyhole film” shows a person looking through a keyhole (or telescope, or magnifying glass) followed by what he/she sees through the keyhole-shaped vignette mask. “Keyhole fimls” appeared during 1900-1906, and reached a peak with A Search for Evidence, made in 1903. To show how the keyhole films change, this paper analyzes four levels of the “keyhole” in “keyhole films” made through 1900 to 1903. It was during this period that “keyhole films” changed from a “cinema of attraction” (which is not dominated by a narrative form) into films showing signs of a narrative form. The four levels of the “keyhole” are as follows: first, the keyhole-shaped vignette mask tempts the audience to peep into the screen; second, the keyhole-shaped vignette mask connects one shot with another, which results in a one-shot film becoming a multiple-shot film; third, a point-of-view shot through the keyhole-shaped vignette mask makes it possible for the audience to identify with a character who peeps into the keyhole in the film; finally, once a character goes beyond the keyhole by opening the door, the film becomes a three-dimensional diegetic world. In addition to analyzing the “keyhole,” this paper examines a stylistic problem seen in A Search for Evidence, a “keyhole film” made in the transitional era.

View full abstract

Download PDF (1187K)

Register with J-STAGE for free!