This is a screen shot from very early in the movie; it shows Caesar overlooking the aftermath of the Battle of Pharsalus where he defeated Pompey's army. This is a low angle shot. We are looking up to Caesar and because of this we know that he has power. If he had lost the battle we would be looking down at him, but because he was the victor, we are looking up at him. We also know that he is in a position of power because there are two men, some sort of assistants, looking up at him. They appear to be waiting for him to tell them what to do. There is also depth in this shot. Up close we have a roman soldier, symbolizing that the dirty work, the fighting, is done by them. Next we have Caesar, high above the soldier, showing that he commands them in battle. And then behind Caesar we have two unarmed men. They represent the Senators and other aristocrats of Rome that give orders but do none of the dirty work themselves.
I also noticed that the blue sky makes Caesar really pop out of the image, bringing focus on him, as everyone else blends in with the rocky landscape. This further depicts his position of power like you said about the camera angle.
ReplyDeleteDoes the mute Flavius (one of the unarmed men) really represent the Senate of Rome?
ReplyDeleteThe other guy behind Caesar on the right is Rufio, one of Caesar's officers (at least according to Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar") and his right-hand man.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking more generally, not necessarily in this instance. I was commenting on the hierarchical structure of war, in that the men farthest from danger are the ones giving the orders that could mean life or death for a soldier.
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