It’s war, movie style, and no battle footage is complete without the latest cinematic cliche.
At some point, our hero gets too close to a bomb blast and temporarily loses his hearing.
All he, and the audience, can hear is a high whining sound, like a transistor radio gone kabluey.
Our hero stumbles around a bit, dodging enemy fire, and eventually his hearing comes back just in time for him to escape.
Perfect timing.
“Saving Private Ryan” may have kicked off this technique. Tom Hanks losing his hearing in the film’s first few minutes, and the technique helped recreate the feel of being on the front lines.
The new “Defiance,” out Jan. 16, features star Daniel Craig suffering this same kind of hearing loss. (WWTW review coming Friday)
But at this point, it’s just another movie cliche deserving a speedy retirement.
(Photo: Liev Schreiber co-stars in “Defiance” – 2008 by Paramount Vantage, a Division of Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Karen Ballard)
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Heck, even Ice Age 2 used this cliche. But at least in this case it was original- it happened to a wolly mammoth.
Great example, JimmyC — I saw that film but forgot that ‘pivotal’ scene!
The movie with the best war movie cliches was Hot Shots. The blonde haired blue eyed, All-American, impossibly nice guy fighter pilot whose call sign was “Dead Meat”.