Stand By Me Techniques

For my response I watched the provided film, Stand by Me with commentary by it’s director, Rob Reiner. One of major things that jumped out at me while watching was the use of what Reiner called a “long lense”. He first references this technique when Teddy is standing in the train tracks but brings it up again when the train is coming towards them while on the bridge, when the boys are walking down the tracks in the morning after they sleep in the woods, and again when they’re making the trek back home. When he first brings it up he just says that it’s used in order to make the train seem like it’s much closer to Teddy than it actually is which creates a visceral response in the viewers without putting the actors in any real danger. It’s used this way again when the boys are crossing the bridge and the train comes. The final two times he brings up its use however
But on a more serious note I did recognize the scene he was referencing which I thought was kind of neat. The scene that Reiner is talking about in Stand by Me is when the older boys are driving with two cars and Ace tries to pass the other car but the two are neck and neck. The other car assumes that they win as a giant log truck is coming the passing lane so Ace has to slow down and get back over. Instead of doing this he decides to play chicken with the oncoming truck. Eventually the truck swerves and Ace ends up “winning”. The scene in Rebel Without a Cause is the scene where James Dean’s character is playing chicken with Buzz. In their version the two drive towards a cliff and the last one to jump out loses. In the end of that one Buzz gets caught on the handle and can’t jump out meaning he falls to his death. On a side note I never really got this game as even if you win or lose your car gets