With that in mind, the connective tissue between scenes is often
dismissed, ignored, or forgotten in the mix. Many times, filmmakers
want transitions (wipes, cuts, dissolves, etc.) to be transparent so as
to aid in the storytelling. Sometimes… they choose a method that
leaves a mark on our psyche. What follows is a handful of our favorite,
whether they be inventive, hilarious, dumb, or just plain unbelievable.
Behold, CHUD.com’s favorite transitions!
Hulk
(buy it from us) is the best Hulk movie ever made, narrowly edging both The Incredible Hulk and My Giant. It is a film laden with flaws, but one of them certainly isn’t director Ang Lee’s willingness to go whole hog with the visual information, seemingly planting seeds of manna at the transition altar. Wipes lead to dissolves that lead to split screens that lead to the DVD ejecting out of the machine and slamming your daughter’s helmet.
In a film that that revels in transitions (and there are many lovely ones), one stands tall.
When Josh Lucas blows up, is surrounded by a white line (leading scholars to ruminate on crime scene chalk and humanity’s obsession with the divine as transposed through the paradigm shift of the beggar in the darkest hour of mankind’s soul), and fucks off into explosion juice.
The man is exploded in the cutest way imaginable. He then joins the flames that engulf him in a manner one can only construe as proof that while God most likely doesn’t exist, an Asian with a budget sure does. It is among the best Josh Lucas explosions of all time and a reminder that this creaky old medium still has some tricks up its sleeve.
Enjoy!
