An Analysis of Tony Scott’s Man on Fire: Film’s Modern Revenge Masterpiece

Tony Scott’s modern revenge masterpiece has a pretty good story. It is full of action, but also hits a few key notes involving love, devotion, and the relationship between man and God. However, the finished product is worlds different than the written script. Credit for this interesting transformation must be given to both the cinematographer and the editor. For example, the opening shots of Mexico City are fantastic.

The wide open shots capture the true essence of the city’s people and breathe life into it as if it were a character, much like New Yorkin Taxi Driver. The editor, on the other hand, puts fear into the audience. Overlays and tremor effects throughout the film give the watcher a sense of urgency and intensity that otherwise would be absent. In particular, tremor and lighting, subtitles, and swift camera work all contribute to the success of this film.

The first thing one usually notices when they watch Man on Fire is the unusual style. In each scene, there is more than likely going to be a dozen different editing choices that are aiming to manipulate your mind in some way. The most common, and perhaps most effective of these tools is the tremor effect. The shot appears to shake violently, and forces the audience into an agitated and uneasy atmosphere.

This is particularly visible in the torture scene when Creasy is cutting off a corrupt policeman’s fingers. The mis-en-scene is clearly laid out to show you every gruesomely glorified moment of Creasy’s interrogation session. Blood on the windshield, religious symbols, and the cityscape are only further accentuated by the movement of the camera. Coupled with strange lighting effects (especially light-to-dark fades and vis versa), the scene serves to horrify and captivate the audience, and succeeds much like the movie as a whole.

Secondly, subtitles are used in a very uncommon way, but manage to remain valuable. They add to important dialogue that is not only very understandable, it’s undeniably noticeable. Despite their odd uses, the effect is not lost in the least bit. Many will argue that the different fonts and their overuse only add to the confusion that some scenes offer. In response to this, look at the many mentions of “I am just a professional.” Killers and kidnappers are making excuses, and Tony Scott is simply pointing a finger at them.

This way of spotlighting certain dialogue may not be as elegant as shooting from different camera angles or exploring the use of close-up shots, but it is an exciting and interesting method. In another stroke of genius, the editor imposes these subtitles into the actual shot. A number of times, Creasy or another character will lean over or shift, and the subtitle will disappear behind them. This is another uncommon technique that goes a long way in making Man on Fire more than noteworthy in the eyes of its audience.

Lastly, each scene is shot from dozens of dizzying angles. This serves to give Scott and his cinematographer hundreds of options when it comes to the scene set up. Point of view shots, extreme close-ups (especially while The Voice is on the phone), and moving perspective camera shots are all implemented throughout the movie. The movie would not have a fatiguing effect on the spectators if there was not so much movement out of the camera.

This is an expensive but effective way to give the editor and cinematographer free reign over a project, and in this case is most certainly worked. As Creasy is told that Pita still lives, we see a camera move all around the man in stunning circular photography. Overhead, face, and wide-focus shots are all used to their full effects and the stress and exhaustion in all of the characters involved is clearly captured. Without such intelligent and generous camera shooting, this movie may not have been as attention-grabbing as it ended up being.

The director did a wonderful job creating this movie, but the cinematographer and editor positions cannot be overlooked in any film, and Man on Fire is the best example in the world of this simple little fact. An almost too simple revenge narrative is transformed seamlessly into a nerve-spinning shocker of a film.

The power and presence that Denzel Washington is able to bring to the silver screen would definitely not have been as powerful or as stunning without shot effects, multiple angles, and interesting subtitle usage, and that is an important piece when looking at this picture. The sum is certainly greater than its parts, for without the editing and cutting that Scott allowed in his violent genius of a film, it would not have been half as effective as it concluded to be.