Scarface

Howard Hawks - 1932
Quite stunning picture. A classic Hawks scene; a tracking shot takes us in, following a character or tracking a locale. As they come into the room we pan with them, kept at the same plan-Americain length from us, with some of the smoothest camera movements, the most simple yet expressive. The blocking is complex but not over-elaborate, it allows crossings and changes of emphasis, along with quite a bit of depth.
Hawk's framings often have the head very very high; allowing the clothes to be seen, kings of greys. He deals in twos, threes and more. His scenes are long, with many developments in them and in single long, long shots.
His editing is wonderful. There is a beat, a heartbeat, from one cut to the next, then an action takes place, often firm, sometimes even just a singificant shrug of the shoulders, that pushes us on in the most joyous rythm. Even with montages of shootings, there is constant movement, an incredible kinetic energy that is smooth and flows on. The matches on actions, we also note, repeat the last few frames of the previous action.
The film sketches deep characters in a few strokes. Nothing is superflous. Acuity is allowed by the long screen time of the long takes we have. Details such as the handling of a telephone, a glint in the eye, an unnecessary interest in something (i.e. a gun), all reveal so much more. Is this realism? It's extremely difficult to say. There are complex themes here, of incest and violence and reaction. We can see why point though; this film has at least a fascination with the gangster life, and does glamorize it to a degree, even as it obviously condemns it.
There are individual moments of wonder. The enrgy started by the calender leaves blown off by the gun is shut a sensational coup-de-theatre I burst out laughing in joy. Individual shadows, of fallen men, lie around. Little jokes, after stepping out the play for example, tell us a lot while being simply great pleasures. All is narrative, but narrative reaches beyond itself in its build up of character. Beautiful, classical, masterly.