The reaction shots in Les Diaboligues also played a vital role in making the characters real in the eyes of the audience. The extenuating pauses of faces of the actors and actress after a dramatic action, also really made the movie work. For example, Vera Clouzot holding her face after Paul Meurisse slapped her because she wouldn’t let him drink the liquor. In addition, Vera Clouzot reaction when the student retrieved the lighter and Mr. Meurisse’s body wasn’t found. Furthermore, the reaction shots of the detective really made him seem very inquisitive. Especially when Vera Clouzot confessed to him that she killed her husband (Paul Meurisse). The close up shots and the long pauses mentioned above, really worked in making the movie suspenseful.
Furthermore, the low key lighting done by the cinematographer really made the movie realistic and thrilling to watch. For example, the use of shadows when Vera Clouzot and Paul Meurisse were arguing over the lawyer retained the audience’s eyes. Also, the scene where Vera Clouzot is searching throughout the building, at the end of the movie, really kept the audience in high suspense due to close up shots, low key lighting, shadows, and the contrast of sharp light . In addition, although the she was running in and out of shadows, her facial expression was very clear. This contributed to the overall effect on the audience.
Mr. Clouzot’s use of the most difficult shot in cinema, “the long shot”, was a success. For example, the scene of the kids playing in the schoolyard really brought out the feeling of an all boy boarding school. The medium shot also worked very well in keeping the audience glued to the screen. For example, the two shot in which Paul Meurisse held Vera Clouzot from behind while telling her about the negative effects of a divorce. The scene displayed Mr. Meurisse’s ability to sweet talk Vera Clouzot and at the same time the scene also showed Paul Meurisse’s control over Vera Clouzot, because he was holding her very tight and made her change her mind. Mr. Clouzot framing technique or mise en scene technique is done very well with the scenes mentioned above.
Wolfgang Peterson engaged the audience and kept them in suspense, making it very difficult to look away, by use of the hand held camera. Mr. Peterson captured the difficulty of moving around within a tiny space of the German U-boat by the various close up shots of the crew running around. In addition, the various low angle close up shots of the captain enhanced his character, making him a more powerful and believable to the audience.
Similar to Henri-Georges Clouzet, Wolfgang Peterson also used various framing techniques which had a huge effect of suspense on the audience! A prime example of Mr. Peterson’s framing technique in order to leave the audience in suspense is the extreme close up of the indicator arrow on the depth meter. In addition, another example of Wolfgang Peterson’s framing technique in order to linger on an object is extreme close ups of the engine room depicting that the U-boat is a supreme mechanical machine.
I personally think that Henri-Georges Clouzet did a good job with Les Diaboligues; the various filming techniques that he utilized made the movie very suspenseful in the scenes mentioned above. Also, Wolfgang Peterson did a spectacular job with Das Boot; the various techniques that he utilized left the audience in suspense through out the whole movie and made it very difficult to look away. In addition, I found that the sound effects of the sonar sound and the sound of engine motors of the destroyer ships also contributed to the audiences reaction and feeling of anxiety.