"Lemon" is a 7-minute movie from 1969 by notable American experimental filmmaker Hollis Frampton. The title describes the film completely. We see a yellow juicy lemon in front of a black background for almost the entire time. In the end, the colors change. Wow, awesome. Not. Nothing happens and there is no sound either. So I would answer the question I asked in my title with a resounding no. Everybody could have made this film. It does not require any creative vision and it is not about what we may see with absurd conclusions in here, but about what the filmmaker offers. The only positive thing one could see in here is that he wants to eat a lemon and they are health. this film is evidence that still lives only work in painting. Extremely boring movie. Don't watch.
4 Reviews
a superstar fruit
why_bother17 December 2005
I saw this short conceptual piece in my intro to film studies class, a year ago and it is an interesting film, the only problem being that it is almost impossible to find it.
The film is an 8 minute reflection on the use of light as a art and as a semantic tool that infuses meaning by creating a mood... This structural deconstruction focusing on one of the elements of mise en scene is an instructive didactic work that aims at teaching the viewer to scrutinize the images presented to him.
The only thing on the screen here is a lemon and the entire action of the film is a progressive change of the lighting on it. Once you get over the concept you can actually enjoy a nice little film funny and touching at times, it sounds strange but really that goes to prove the power of lighting as an essential and pervasive tool for the filmmaker.
I recommend to see this film to any committed film student if you can put your hands on it.
The film is an 8 minute reflection on the use of light as a art and as a semantic tool that infuses meaning by creating a mood... This structural deconstruction focusing on one of the elements of mise en scene is an instructive didactic work that aims at teaching the viewer to scrutinize the images presented to him.
The only thing on the screen here is a lemon and the entire action of the film is a progressive change of the lighting on it. Once you get over the concept you can actually enjoy a nice little film funny and touching at times, it sounds strange but really that goes to prove the power of lighting as an essential and pervasive tool for the filmmaker.
I recommend to see this film to any committed film student if you can put your hands on it.
Lighting and Contrasts
Tornado_Sam19 July 2019
Hollis Frampton's "Lemon" of 1969 brings back a commonly used theme explored by the filmmaker in two previous works: the effectiveness of dramatic lighting. In "Manual of Arms" (1966), he utilized dramatic lighting to create a shadowy, sinister atmosphere; in "Snowblind" (1968), the tool was used as part of an abstraction to create interesting effects. This seven-minute piece is merely a demonstration of the concept, using the simplest premise possible: a lemon, shown against a black background, being revealed slowly by the light, then eclipsed by darkness into the shape of a crescent. As simple as that may sound, it is an engaging work displaying remarkable contrasts while at the same time effectively demonstrating the use of lighting to create said contrasts.
Furthermore, unlike what one of the other reviewers has stated, "Lemon" actually took a great deal of work on the part of the filmmaker. While appearing to be just one shot of a lemon, this film was actually a series of pictures spliced together, each one displaying the slightest change in lighting than the one before it. The black background against which the lemon is shown works brilliantly with the beauty of the fruit, and the slow progressiveness of the lighting is so intricate that one might not expect to notice it. But no, if you keep your attention off the lemon and direct it to the spot where the fruit itself meets the darkness, you can actually see the shadow gradually envelope it.
At the end, a different use of lighting is displayed showing a perfect silhouette of the fruit against a blue sky, and a statement in text dedicating the short to Robert Huot--an artist friend of the filmmaker's who appeared in "Manual of Arms". This is an interesting sight in itself, in how the fruit takes on the resemblance of a setting sun and appears to be positioned the exact same way as in the first part.
Furthermore, unlike what one of the other reviewers has stated, "Lemon" actually took a great deal of work on the part of the filmmaker. While appearing to be just one shot of a lemon, this film was actually a series of pictures spliced together, each one displaying the slightest change in lighting than the one before it. The black background against which the lemon is shown works brilliantly with the beauty of the fruit, and the slow progressiveness of the lighting is so intricate that one might not expect to notice it. But no, if you keep your attention off the lemon and direct it to the spot where the fruit itself meets the darkness, you can actually see the shadow gradually envelope it.
At the end, a different use of lighting is displayed showing a perfect silhouette of the fruit against a blue sky, and a statement in text dedicating the short to Robert Huot--an artist friend of the filmmaker's who appeared in "Manual of Arms". This is an interesting sight in itself, in how the fruit takes on the resemblance of a setting sun and appears to be positioned the exact same way as in the first part.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
