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The image that came to him in June, 1987, involved a projected image of the historic Hitler, either from newsreels or "Triumph of the Will." Hitler would be speaking with great intensity and histrionic gestures; then, after a number of seconds, the camera would slowly pan away revealing a dark, dank space. Eventually the viewer would see in the semi-darkness a person, Hitler, standing next to a film projector, watching the projected image. The director found this image to be intriguing and pondered the possibility of turning this single image into a one-minute film.
(This image turned out to be the first scene of "The Empty Mirror" -- after the prologue -- and was the first scene that was shot on the first day of principal photography.)
However, several days later, a related image emerged. This was the start of a long outpouring of images, dialogue, themes, scenes, characters, etc. that occurred over the following three and a half year period. The outcome was a stack of thousands of sheets of paper that served as the basis for the script. (See samples at script idea
notes.)
This outpouring was shaped by a number of courses (see syllabi) that the director took at Harvard University beginning in the fall of 1987. Attending courses, such as Narcissism And Literature, that related to themes in the film (narcissism) had a strong influence on this creative flow.
Two books read at this time were important in the creation of the film. "The Psychopathic God," by Robert G.L. Waite, had an impact on the content of these notes. A second book, "The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti," a Buddhist text translated by Robert Thurman, was a factor in this creative flow but, more importantly, informed many of the aesthetic decisions made throughout the filmmaking process.
As the flow subsided, these thousands of sheets of paper were organized by category into more than one hundred folders to facilitate the scriptwriting process. These ideas formed the core and the structure of the script.
During the writing process, the ideas in these folders were supplemented by research (see bibliography) undertaken to explore certain points and to enhance the material already in hand. For example, the director made a trip to Munich to view two exhibits. One focused on the work of Heinrich Hoffmann, Hitler's photographer from the early 1920's through the end of his life. The other focused on the history of the Nazi Party in Munich in the 1920's. These two exhibits proved to be rich sources of imagery and ideas.
The scriptwriting process took several years as the director and his co-writer broke away, from time to time, to work on other projects. More than twenty drafts were written before the script was completed (see Script). Once the script was finalized, pre-production began. This process took nearly nine months, largely due to the complexity of creating two film projectors - one to appear on the set; the other to project film images onto the set - as well as developing the material for the projection sequences seen throughout the film. (See projection
sequences.)
Principal photography took place on a sound stage in Burbank, California over a period of sixty-six days. There was also a four-day shoot midway through the editing process. The editing process took more than a year, although this was artificially lengthened by the fact that the film was accepted for screening at the Cannes International Film Festival prior to its completion.
As it turned out, the first time the film was shown to an audience was at Cannes, and then in a form that had been rapidly pieced together for the purpose of that event.
After the screenings at Cannes, four more months of editing were needed to complete the film. Moreover, at the director's initiative, an additional six weeks of editing took place prior to the release of the film.
More than 200 talented and dedicated people contributed to the creation of "The Empty Mirror," yet there were many difficulties that were encountered along the way to completion. In the technical arena, building two projectors --one of which involved newly-developed engineering--created unusual challenges. Also, having film images play during the scenes required an entirely separate editing project prior to principal photography, including the development of much optically-processed film. Then, during principal photography, playing this film dramatically increased the complexity relative to lighting, camera movement, timing of the appearance of these images, actor pacing, etc.
However, the most difficult problems in making "The Empty Mirror" arose due to the subject material: Hitler.
As principal photography unfolded, a growing number of the crew came to fear that the director was making a pro-Hitler film. This created an increasing amount of dissonance, and strained interpersonal relationships. Even close associates of the director found themselves fearing that they were involved in a morally questionable project.
On the one hand, this confusion could be understood in the context of the typical pressure of making a film, the unusual structure and ambiguity of the script, and the fact that in filmmaking shooting individual scenes occurs outside of an overall context. On the other hand, the fact that several collaborators had worked with the director for many years made this an unanticipated concern. In any case, the result was a diminution of crew cohesiveness and a loss of creative energy and focus.
Yet, through all this, the crew held together -- no one left due to this confusion. For most members of the crew, there continued to be an intense dedication to the creative process. And somehow, through the tension inherent in that creative cauldron, the film emerged with its central vision intact.
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