Old is New – 1970s Style, The Split screen

Posted Wednesday, August 05, 2009 12:50 PM by MattM

The use of split screen did not originate in the 1970s - an example of the technique can be found in Napoleon,1927 by Abel Gance - and actually was not uncommon in the 1960s (see Grand Prix and The Thomas Crown Affair), but today is a convention thought of in regard to movies and TV of the 70s.

No one used it more than Brian De Palma, who also layered sound effects and music in unusual and often unsettling ways to enrich his strange films:

 

Sisters 1973

 

Phantom of the Paradise 1974

 

 

Carrie 1976

 

Dressed to Kill 1980

Comments

# re: Old is New – 1970s Style, The Split screen

Wednesday, August 05, 2009 3:28 PM by colterphoto1

Let's not forget the triple pane split screen of Woodstock!

# re: Old is New – 1970s Style, The Split screen

Thursday, August 13, 2009 3:49 PM by "Dollar" Bill

I believe that Bullit(1968) was the first great example, after McQueen himself saw it used to great effect in a film about Ontario,Canada.

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