In this video essay—an installment in a series called The Discarded Image—Julian Palmer breaks down why filmmakers use slow motion. In action films, for instance, it’s used to accentuate the violence. Sci-fi and fantasy use it to show off characters’ powers, allowing viewers’ eyes to linger on the strangeness. And cross genres, when a character sees something important to them, the action might slow down to display how mentally absorbed they are in their surroundings.
Palmer focuses on specific examples of slo-mo scenes in films like Carrie, breaking down the methodology behind that specific artistic choice for the movie and the moment. He also focuses on iconic directors who regularly use slow motion, like Martin Scorsese.
Here are the films referenced, in order of appearance:
- 127 Hours (Danny Boyle, 2010)
- Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman, 1957)
- The Hudsucker Proxy (Joel Coen, 1994)
- The Matrix (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 1999)
- Born on the Fourth of July (Oliver Stone, 1989)
- Watchmen (Zack Snyder, 2009)
- Transformers (Michael Bay, 2007)
- The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1968)
- Hard Boiled (John Woo, 1992)
- The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008)
- 300 (Zack Snyder, 2006)
- Face/Off (John Woo, 1997)
- X-Men: Days of Future Past (Bryan Singer, 2014)
- Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)
- House of Flying Daggers (Yimou Zhang, 2004)
- Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)
- Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
- Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
- Casino (Martin Scorsese, 1995)
- Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, 1987)
- Happy Together (Kar-Wai Wong, 1997)
- Chungking Express (Kar-Wai Wong, 1994)
- In the Mood for Love (Kar-Wai Wong, 2000)
- Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011)
- Dredd (Pete Travis, 2012)
- The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, 2013)
- The Fighter (David O. Russell, 2010)
- Panic Room (David Fincher, 2002)
- The Untouchables (Brian De Palma, 1987)
- Carrie (Brian De Palma, 1976)
- Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1992)
- Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003)
- Every Man for Himself (Jean-Luc Godard, 1980)
- Bottle Rocket (Wes Anderson, 1996)
- The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)
- Rushmore (Wes Anderson, 1998)
- Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)
- Platoon (Oliver Stone, 1986)
- Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg, 1973)
