The false return: archeographies of Elevator to the Gallows

Abstract

Filmic constructions, ephemeral by definition, survive thanks to the fragmentary registration of what was chosen to be framed at the time. On the basis of a strictly visual analysis of the captured images and their editing, this article posits the idea of tracing a possible graphic reconstruction of the spaces used during shooting. The archeographies resulting from this work could never be asserted as true because of their element of supposition, but in any case they must be consistent with the spatiality displayed by the pictures in the film, reconciling certain camera positions and movements with the development of the characters. In particular, the article develops and comments on the archeographical outline of the settings of two scenes from the film Elevator to the Gallows (Ascenseur pour l’échafaud, Louis Malle, 1958).