American Cinematographer - May 1995 - 41

film/' says Murphy.
Portugal with Henri
Alekan, the great French cinema¬
tographer, and Wim Wenders to
shoot Der Stand der Dinge. Henri
was
very patient with the actors.
pher

on one

"I went to

But there
we

in

was one scene

needed

a

reflection of

where

an

actor

glass window. The actor had
to hit his mark precisely. Henri
very politely told him that
he'd missed. The guy started
complaining, and Henri said,
'If you want to act, get a job in the
a

Comedie Francais. This is cin¬
ema,

and

we

have to work to¬

gether.'"
His point was that no
makes a movie alone. Murder
In The First had a grueling 13one

week shooting schedule that
demanded stamina. The cast
and crew were shooting six

days

a

week. A major earthalmost always shooting in
confined areas," Murphy says.
"There is a feeling of claustropho¬
were

bia. Until the last scene, Henri is

always

seen as a prisoner. He is
surrounded and enclosed. Even
in the courtroom,

there

are

rail¬

Above, left and
below: After

murdering a
man in prison,
Young is
assigned a
greenhorn
lawyer

ings in the foreground in

(Christian
Slater) for his

that make it

defense. Their

scenes
like he is in a

seem

cage. "It's a constant visual re¬
minder that he is trapped," says

Murphy.
Murphy used a Panaflex
Platinum camera, mainly with
Primo lenses, and the 500-speed
Eastman EXR 5296 film

If he

ors.

movie

on

interi¬

shooting the same
today, he says he would
was

choose the

newer

5298 film. On

initial
encounters take

place in a
holding cell in
jail. Murphy

and Rocco used
movement

he used the 200-

speed Eastman 5293 film. He shot
the simulated newsreels with

-

including
Steadicam
work

by Kirk

Gardner, below
-

exterior scenes,

and dramatic

lighting and
composition to
maintain

Eastman Double X film.

tension

Rocco and Murphy con¬
centrated on perspective in their

the

through

long

dialogue
scenes.

directing decisions. The perspec¬
tive of the audience shifts with

the

storyline. Occasionally, the

camera

thrusts them into the

middle of

scenes as

invisible par¬

ticipants. Mainly, they are specta¬
tors.
dark. The

had to

production team
own water.

even

bring its

One of the easier deci¬

sions

was

to confine this

Murphy rarely went

story

within the

wider than

erture

mainly when it was the only way

May 1995

Academy standard ap¬
1.85:1 aspect ratio. "We

American

a

50mm

Cinematographer

a

San Francisco

lens, and

39



American Cinematographer - May 1995

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