Lighting in brighton rock

Lighting used in this particular film was a common effect used in films of the 1940’s. A time which was largely overpowered by gangster films and shady characters, had the perfect format for the effective use of character shaping lighting effects. Lighting of such films from the 1940’s has become iconic of the time.

The type and intensity of lighting used in Brighton rock, varies dependant on the character being portrayed. An example of this is the lighting used on protagonist pinkie. The lighting used on his character is hard lighting and fairly dark. This creates the effect of shadows which reflects his character as sinister. In addition to this the connotations of shadows signifies someone that has something to hide.

In stark contrast the lighting on female character rose is soft bright lighting. This dreamy sort of effect indicates a delicate fragile character, which correlates to the narrative: Rose is portrayed in the film as naive and under the control of Pinkie.

Another key use of lighting in Brighton rock is the contrast of the dark lighting surrounding pinkie, in comparison to unimportant characters on set and the lighting of the background itself. This use of lighting appears to make pinkie stand out from both the background and crowd; only emphasising the objective of his character and conveying perhaps a hidden agenda of his.