Cinematographer Nestor Almendros said he and Benton deliberately took their inspiration not only from Hitchcock but from other thrillers of the 1940s and 50s, especially the films of Fritz Lang. In his book A Man with a Camera (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1986), Almendros said that because the thriller is a quintessentially American genre, the art of cinema itself inspired the look of Still of the Night. Initially he and Benton considered shooting the movie in black and white, but when that seemed too problematic, they decided to film in color but with a predominantly black and white visual scheme. Almendros asked for greater collaboration than usual on set and costume design to get the proper color tones, such as the black, white, and gray fabric of the wardrobe. He also continued the experiments in lighting he began on Francois Truffaut's The Last Metro (1980): courser lighting, shadows projected onto walls, and what he called "troubling chiaroscuro," deep shadow-and-light contrasts to create nervous anticipation about what is not seen or only half seen. That was a particular lesson Almendros learned from Fritz Lang, and to achieve it he had to pull himself away from his tendency to go for naturalistic lighting.
Another inspiration came from the paintings of Edward Hopper. Just before shooting began in New York, the city's Whitney Museum mounted a retrospective of Hopper's work, and Almendros used his work as a model. And because Hopper's inspiration was film, that influence led Almendros and Benton right back to a cinematic model.
Spanish-born Almendros worked for a number of years in European cinema, most notably on a series of films for French directors Francois Truffaut and Eric Rohmer. With Benton, he had to get used to a whole new style of filmmaking, one which involved many takes and a lot of footage, only 10 percent of which might eventually be used. On their first film together, the Oscar-winning Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Almendros found that Benton also liked to re-shoot during and after principal photography, sometimes even completely rewriting the dialogue and situations of entire scenes. The ending of Kramer vs. Kramer, for example, was rewritten and re-shot three months after principal shooting had ended. The success of that film gave Benton more power, and he extended the practice further on Still of the Night, several sequences of which were filmed as many as four times within intervals of several days or weeks. The ability to do this, to make big changes after a sneak preview of the first cut of a movie, was an unheard of luxury for European filmmakers, but Almendros appreciated the opportunity. In fact, in his book, the highly acclaimed cinematographer said the ability to re-shoot "is a right that should be granted every artistic creator."
Another significant fact about Almendros' work on Still of the Night was his use of a video monitor system during shooting. Frustrated by American film union rules that prevented him as director of photography from operating the camera, he used one with a built-in video system that allowed him to see what was being filmed, replay it for the director, actors, and crew, and allow for immediate re-shoots to correct anything that needed it. Almendros said the system was invaluable, not only for himself, Benton, and the continuity people, but for the camera operator as well. It freed the operator and the camera from being surrounded by crew, allowing for greater movement and flexibility. He also said he believed that without a whole crew gathered around watching them, actors were more comfortable and delivered performances of greater subtlety. Almendros' faith in the system has been justified by its technical refinements over the years and its nearly universal use on all productions.
This was Almendros' second film with Streep, after Kramer. He worked with her twice more Ð capturing her Academy Award-winning performance in Sophie's Choice (1982) and on the comedy Heartburn (1986). He worked with Benton three more times Ð Places in the Heart (1984), Nadine (1987), and Billy Bathgate (1991).
Director: Robert Benton
Producer: Arlene Donovan
Screenplay: Robert Benton, David Newman
Cinematography: Nestor Almendros
Editing: Jerry Greenberg, Bill Pankow
Art Direction: Michael Molly
Original Music: John Kander
Cast: Roy Scheider (Dr. Sam Rice), Meryl Streep (Brooke Reynolds), Jessica Tandy (Grace Rice), Sara Botsford (Gail Phillips), Joe Grifasi (Joseph Vitucci), Josef Sommer (George Bynum)
C-91m. Letterboxed.
by Rob Nixon
