American Cinematographer - February 1990 - 46

Photos by Sidney

Baldwin

Blaze Smokes Across the Screen
by Bob Fisher
Governor Earl

Long's cronies are
a long table

clustered around

counting money. The camera
glides by, giving the audience a
close look at the bills. It tilts up and
in

tight for a fleeting glance
at a single face. Without pausing,
the shot moves beyond the table
just in time to catch the governor
walking into the room.
comes

It is

a

brief transitional

without dialogue. But it
gives the audience an insight into
what is happening, and sets the
stage for the next scene. In a lot of
ways that ability to alter visual
perspective is the most basic differ¬
ence between stage plays and
sequence

movies.

Haskell Wexler, ASC,
who

photographed Blaze, used his

own

"hothead" to shoot the

quence.
a

A hothead is a dolly with
camera at the end

long arm. The

of the

44

se¬

arm can

be tilted and

panned

gave Wexler the freedom to send
the camera places it couldn't go
with an operator behind it. It al¬
lows him to reveal information to
the audience from an interesting
visual perspective - voyeuristic,
almost like spying.
Blaze is a reality-based

scheme for

story written and directed by Ron

body and soul. He had a drinking
problem, and there

Shelton for A & M
Films and Touch¬
stone. The story is set
in Louisiana

during
the early 1950s. It is
the beginning of a tumultuous period.

for him.
His

plan might have suc¬

ceeded, but Long, portrayed by
Paul Newman, had frailties of both

Produced by Gil Friesen
and Dale Pollock
Directed by Ron Shelton

were

questions

about

both

his

physical and mental
Haskell Wexler, ASC,
stability. His main
Director of photography
point of vulnerabil¬
ity, however, was an
World War II is a memory grow¬
open love affair with Blaze Starr, a
ing dimmer. The civil rights move¬ vivacious young stripper who
ment is germinating, but is a seed¬
played the club circuit in Louisi¬
ana. That role is
ling without deep roots.
portrayed by
Huey Long's younger Canadian actress Lolita Davido¬
brother Earl was a two-time gov¬
ernor. He was a maverick; a fading

vich.

populist in the twilight of his

days shooting in Tennessee and
Los Angeles, but primarily, Blaze

reer.

ca¬
The law didn't allow him to

by remote control. This device

succeed himself. But,

American

February 1990

Cinematographer

retaining power. He
going to eliminate poll taxes
and make it possible for tens of
thousands of black people to vote
was

Long had

a

There

was

were a

filmed in Baton

couple of

Rouge, New



American Cinematographer - February 1990

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American Cinematographer - February 1990 - 1
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