The Musicality of Film Rhythm

Abstract

Rhythm is a truly ubiquitous phenomenon that permeates all manifestations of life in the universe. Biological rhythms govern all the processes in our body, from the continuous pulse of the beating heart and the rhythm of breathing to the body’s responses to external cyclical rhythms of nature manifested in the succession of day and night, lunar influences, the change of seasons and so on. Rhythm is connected with movement and as such has been inherent to practically all of man’s activities, from sex to speech and social exchanges. As Walther Dürr (1981, p. 182) says, the whole world that surrounds us reveals itself in rhythmic forms, and it is not surprising that this universal phenomenon is also reflected in the arts. Rhythm is an essential part in structuring any art form and as the most reliable parameter for measuring space and time, rhythm also acts as the common denominator for all arts. Considering that music rhythm has been studied in more depth than the rhythm of any other art,1 using music as a reference point to understand and define rhythm in film seems a natural first step. In pursuit of an integral definition of film rhythm, I will look at previous attempts to address this aspect of film and will use research from Gestalt psychology about the perception of groupings to further illuminate this topic.