MovieChat Forums > The Americans (2013) Discussion > the digging scene [SPOILAGE]

the digging scene [SPOILAGE]

posted 8 years ago by whiskeyTango-06 (383)
10 replies | jump to latest

though well-paced, and intriguing — big failures.

first of all, by looking at the smooth dirt walls, the hole was clearly dug with a back-hoe or similar machinery between shots/takes

secondly — and this is preposterous — well before the 1980's, incineration was widely used around the globe when disposing of actively-diseased bodies.

i know... it's not a documentary... but aside from the great editing, hardly any intelligence (no pun intended) appears in that scene.

and who didn't see the "one of them gets exposed/executed" thing coming?

this show is great, and compelling, which is why this piece stuck-out so much to me.

[–] [deleted] 8 years ago

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[–] whiskeyTango-06 (383) 8 years ago

agreed.

bad, but not too bad.

[–] Popcorn Kernel (2368) 8 years ago

I thought the digging scene had a lot of tension, and was stylistically interesting because it was such a long scene with no dialog.
I did wonder why they hadn't just cremated William.

[–] whiskeyTango-06 (383) 8 years ago

you are making my point.

it was well-paced and intriguing... but lacking in physical content.

[–] JDL (36) 8 years ago

Actually, I think the digging part was drawn out waaaaaaaay too long. It took away a lot of the sspense of the scene. So far this season, I have noticed that they are using lots of pauses, long tracking shots and other passive devices to creaete suspense. Sometimes it works, but - surprisingly - the digging scene did not hold my interest because it was so slowly paced.

I have another question, though: have they intentionally used such porr film quality to look more like the 1980s, and not like something contemporary? It always looks like I am watching the show on a VHS circa 1983.

[–] komrad (148) 8 years ago

Definitely some sort of after effects are being used to create that dull color effects.

[–] Babyfat101 (221) 7 years ago

JDL - agreed. Too many, too long scenes. I felt like I was watching them dig in real time.

[–] Babyfat101 (221) 7 years ago

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[–] Babyfat101 (221) 7 years ago

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[–] NukeDude (865) 8 years ago

Maybe I missed something...but, how did they know where to dig?