Murder From A Mobster's Angle: Scene Analysis

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Caroline Rose Dr. Sean Morris November 1, 2012 ENGL 2900 Scene Analysis Word Count: 1322 Shot Sequence Minute: 95:35 – 96:44 Murder from a Mobster’s Angle The following scene from Miller’s Crossing (Joel Cohen, 1990) gives the viewer a sense of just how violent life as a mobster can be. To mobsters, murder is business-like and does not hold the same consequences as it does in the outside world. Dressed in a silk robe, mobster boss Johnny Casper (Jon Polito) has no problem murdering a man on the floor of his study. Shot 1 begins with the sudden sound of a bang and a slightly off-center widescreen shot of Johnny Casper, just after hitting Eddie Dane (J.E. Freeman) in the face with a fireplace shovel. Standing over Dane, Casper yells “Son of a Bitch!” as Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne) is thrown from Dane’s grasp onto the floor. The long shot presents a clear view of Casper’s study, illuminated by top lighting from the chandelier as well as backlighting from various table lamps. Shot 2 follows Dane in a medium shot falling to his knees, with one black-gloved hand trying to contain the blood gushing down his face so fast that it makes noise. The low height in shot 3 shows Tom sprawled on the floor, holding his…show more content…
Shot 21 is a medium long shot of Tom and Johnson, showing them both still in shock at the violence. Shot 22 cuts to a low-height medium shot of Dane on all fours, and Casper from the waist down. Just as the thunder claps loudly, Casper shoots Dane in the back of the head and smoke pours from his gun. The thunder rages on through shot 23, tracking in fast to a medium-close up of Tom with Johnson still screaming behind him. The final shot 24 tracks in to a medium close-up of Casper from a low angle. Covered in Dane’s blood, Casper yells, “Always put one in the brain!”, while outside the thunder

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