Exercise 6: Colorimetría película Gilda

Exercise 6: Colorimetría película. Paula Carrillo, audiovisual lenguage. paula.carrilloc@edu.uah.es

Gilda (1946) is a film directed by Charles Vidor and starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford.

Johnny Farrell, an American recently arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He earns money by cheating at dice. He is rescued from an attempted robbery by Ballin Mundson. Mundson tells him about an illegal high-class casino, but warns him not to cheat there. Farrell ignores his warning and wins at the card game. When he is taken to see the casino owner, who turns out to be Mundson. Farrell convinces Mundson to hire him and soon becomes Mundson's trusted casino manager.

Mundson announces that he has a new wife, Gilda, whom he has married after meeting her after one day. Johnny and Gilda instantly recognise each other, although both deny it. Mundson assigns Farrell to keep an eye on Gilda. Johnny and Gilda hate each other and she flirts with men at all hours in an effort to infuriate Johnny.

Mundson receives a visit from two German mobsters. They have decided it is safe to take over the cartel now that World War II is over, but Mundson refuses to transfer ownership. The Argentine police are suspicious of the Germans and assign an agent to get information from Farrell, but he knows nothing about this aspect of Mundson's operations. The Germans return to the casino during a carnival celebration and Mundson ends up killing one of them.

Farrell rushes Gilda to safety. Alone in Mundson's house, they have another confrontation and after declaring their eternal hatred, they kiss. After hearing the front door, they realise that Mundson has discovered them and Farrell chases him to a waiting plane. The plane explodes in mid-air and plummets into the ocean. Mundson parachutes to safety. Farrell thinks Mundson has committed suicide.

Gilda inherits his estate. She and Farrell marry immediately. But she does not know that Johnny is marrying her to punish her for her betrayal of Mundson. He abandons her, but his men follow her day and night. Gilda tries to escape from the tortured marriage several times, but Farrell won't let her.

The agent confiscates the casino and informs Farrell that Gilda was never really unfaithful to Mundson or to him, prompting Farrell to try to reconcile with her. At that point, Mundson reappears and reveals that he faked his suicide. He tries to kill both Gilda and Farrell, but the waiter stabs him. When the officer arrives, Johnny tries to take the blame for the murder, but Obregon points out that Mundson has already been declared legally dead and refuses to arrest him. Farrell gives Obregon incriminating documents from Mundson's safe. And finally, Farrell and Gilda reconcile.

The film we are going to analyse is in black and white. But this does not prevent them from playing with colours, contrasts, patterns, lights and compositions. These elements form part of the composition and manage to transmit information unconsciously to the spectator so that he associates ideas.

We can see the use of contrast in the following photographs, achieving with this play of light and colour to highlight an aspect of the film. In this case, light colours are used against dark backgrounds and direct lighting. For example, here they manage to highlight the hands, against the black backgrounds:

Or on the contrary, the absence of contrast, unifying the image and giving this sense of unity and uniformity that we see below. Dark colours are used against a dark background and the lighting highlights the people, but does not highlight them against the background. Contrary to the previous case.

This contrast or highlighting was also achieved through the clothes, using light and dark colours, as in this case, for the dark colours, using the clothes and the background, and thus highlighting their faces and the cigars.

Or, in this case, by managing to illuminate and highlight the protagonist dressed in white in front of all those men dressed in black. In this way, he manages to highlight her figure in the environment. 

In the same way, to highlight her figure in the environment, we can see the following examples. The protagonist dressed in white against a black background to highlight her image. Or the protagonist dressed in black, against a black background, but highlighting her image thanks to the lighting of her face.

However, it can also be used to highlight a single element. In this case, the guitar stands out with its black tone against such a white environment. Or in the second example, the parachute against the light.

Patterns and colours were also used to create this contrast, for example, we see how the protagonist's patterned jacket makes him stand out from the crowd, making him stand out from the rest of the people.

Or with the use of glitter on the protagonist's clothes to highlight her presence against the black background.

The use of lighting is also important in this film. For example, in the following frame, they use direct or hard lighting to highlight the shadows, and through this contrast of the shadow against the white background, highlight the figure.

We can also see it in this frame, with the light being directed on the protagonist's face, while Mundson is in darkness.

Or with this clear example of lighting versus darkness. Despite the fact that both are dressed in black, we see a clear difference in their lighting, and therefore, in what they transmit to us. And therefore, the viewer can read beyond the dialogue with this frame.

Or the use of diffuse lighting as in the following frame to soften the features, unify the image and create that angelic aura about the protagonist.

On the other hand, we can see how they use colours to associate characters. This resource is widely used in films so that the spectator visually associates two characters by the colours of their clothes. For example, in this case we see how Farrell and Gilda are dressed in harmony, both in white. Or in the following examples, both dressed similarly, to link their association.

However, we can see this dissonance between Gilda and this man in her clothing, being opposite colours.

This is a resource widely used in cinema. As an example of this, we can see it in the film "La la land", where both protagonists wear opposite colours to represent this antagonism.

Or on the other hand Farrell and Mundson created this image of unity and balance, both wearing black, representing the unity of their conversation.

In this case, we can again see that harmony and discordance. Farrell and Gilda dress in harmony, both in white. While Mundson stands out for his black jacket, creating that separation or contrast.

Or on the contrary, the synchronicity between Farrel and Mundson in front of Gilda's white. In this case, Gilda's white (a colour widely used in her clothing) can also represent that innocence or angelic quality.

Therefore, we can see how they try to transmit these alliances or synchronicities, or these discordances through the colours of the clothes, to reflect an image that the reader can read.

In other cases, when she is trying to reveal herself, we can see her wearing darker garments, in an attempt to represent perversion.

We can also see similarities in the prints. Both the jackets in the following image and the jacket worn by the protagonist in the second frame, reminding us of Farrel's jacket.

In conclusion, despite being a black and white film, we can read in its colours, contrasts, patterns, lights, shadows and compositions an intention to transmit more information to the spectator. In this way, helping the spectator to make an unconscious reading of the image and therefore, completing the information.