I agree with Mike Frank when he suggests that it does matter whether we're talking about 1:1 storytime versus screentime, or 1:1 recorded time versus projected time. It may be true that it is rather unusual when the storytime of a film more or less equals the projection time. Nevertheless, when I saw films like HIGH NOON, CLEO FROM 5 TO 7, NIGHT MOTHER or NICK OF TIME they didn't 'feel' very special to me. Especially in the last example, NICK OF TIME, I probably wouldnt even have noticed this time-equality, were it not for the clocks that repeatedly draw the attention to it. Probably the decoupage is the blame. Shots and scenes edited together are forming an instrument for storytelling, not for reproduction of time. Even in ROPE the ever changing points of view are some sort of substitute for the conventional decoupage. A very different (and impressive) experience was for me Chantal Akermans JEANNE DIELMAN. Although strictly speaking this film doesn't meet the 1:1 requirements (about 3 days storytime in just over 3 hours screentime) it is built out of a number of episodes that in itself maintain a strict correspondence between both times. Dry registrations of dull household work, getting dressed, silent meals etc. Hardly any decoupage and, most importantly I think, all the 'dead time' that is usually omitted is still present here with its full weight. The effect is rather unsettling. Leo Bankersen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [log in to unmask] ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]