MovieChat Forums > Masters of Horror (2005) Discussion > Question about Cigarette Burns

Question about Cigarette Burns

posted 13 years ago by Xeokym
3 replies | jump to latest

I watched it twice & I still could not tell exactly why Sweetman's employee (the projectionist or whatever he was) removed & collected the cue-marked frames of film. I know what the cues are really there for (to let the projectionist know when to ready the next reel, & to indicate a scene change), but I didn't understand why he was removing them. It seemed like he was doing it for more than just a way of saving a "souvenir" off of a classic movie, and when he was talking about it, it sounded like it was somehow making the movie scarier with the cue mark missing? Can someone fill me in?

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I can't understand your crazy moon language.

[–] semperfi_421 13 years ago

Those burn marks were indicating that something scary/intense was about to occur on screen and when he took those out it was his way of surprising the audience. I guess he was collecting them in that notebook for semimetal value to show all the films he “edited” himself.

Semper Texas

[–] mrannah 11 years ago

what semperfi_421 mentions as the reason the projectionist was taking them out is what is stated in the episode. However, the Original Poster is right in that the 'cigarette burns' marks are actually to mark pending reel changes and to synch up the overlaps.

I have to admit i don't know if there were similar marks put in to mark scary moments like the projectionist claimed, but i doubt it, such a practice would only cause confusion to projectionists.

but its a bit of verbal play between the characters, character development, and it allows them to talk for a few moments (a few of the only moments in the episode) that don't relate directly to the storyline.

[–] Shimmer_Me_Timbers 11 years ago

Traditionally the cigarette burns are cue marks to let the projectionist that the reel was coming to and end and needed to be changed.

I think they took that concept and adjusted it for the purposes of the movie - the projectionist/ whatever that guy was at the theater explained that (in this instance) the burns are a way to let you know that something bad and/or shocking is coming. So he removed and collected them for both posterity and to cause chaos (with out the burns the audience wouldn't have any warnings).

That's why Kirby kept seeing the burns the closer he got to recovering the film, it was warning him that something bad was coming.

I personally thought it was odd that Kirby let him take a souvenier from the various classic films, especially if he was procuring the movies and testing them for quality... wouldn't that mess with the quality/authenticity of the film? But I digress.