Letter from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls; 1948 United States) is a melodrama film that revolves around a woman's love for a man who does not recognize her existence. Like the other films directed by Max Ophüls in America, Letter from an Unknown Woman focuses on “impossible love” (Danks, n.d.p. 98).1. The shot The particular shot chosen from the film to analyze is the one after Lisa Berndle (Joan Fontaine) has rejected the proposal of Lieutenant Leopold von Kaltnegger (John Good), and they walk towards Frau Berndle (Mady Christians), Herr Kastner ( Howard Freeman) and Lieutenant Leopold's uncle gives the news. The shot begins with a band starting their next song, and Lisa and Lieutenant Leopold enter the frame, where the camera begins to chase them. In the foreground the band continues to march while in the background Lieutenant Leopold gives the news to his uncle. At this point the audience cannot hear what Lieutenant Leopold said to his uncle. Lieutenant Leopold and his uncle then leave the frame, while the last member of the band does the same. Only now does the audience hear what the characters are saying, and as Lisa and her parents talk, the camera switches from a wide shot to a medium close-up of the three of them. The shot then ends with a dissolve, returning to Stefan Brands (Louis Jourdan) reading the letter.2. Cinematography2.1 The Moving FrameDirector Max Ophüls is known for his characteristic fluid camera movements (Liang, 2011, p. 2). The mobility of the frame keeps the audience focused on the topic (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008, p. 203), and this can be seen in this shot. Because of the camera following Lisa and Lieutenant Leopold after they enter the frame, the audience's attention remains focused on Lisa and Lieutenant Leopold, even though... center of paper......stay it. edu/faculty/abloom /tvf454/5filmmusic.pdf [Accessed: 8 April 2014].Gallagher, T. 2002. Senses of Cinema – Max Ophuls: A New Art – But Who Notices?. [online] Available at: http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/feature-articles/ophuls/ [Accessed: 8 April 2014].Hughes, D. 2002. Long Pauses » Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948). [online] Available at: http://www.longpauses.com/letter-from-an-unknown-woman/ [Accessed: 8 April 2014]. Liang, D. 2011. Camera movement in the films of Max Ophuls. [online] Available at: http://www.academia.edu/434990/For_Miriam_Camera_movement_in_Max_Ophulss_films [Accessed: 8 April 2014]. Renée, V. 2013. Transitions in editing: the history and evolution of Dissolve «No Film School. [online] Available at: http://nofilmschool.com/2013/08/history-an-evolution-of-the-dissolve/ [Accessed: 8 April 2014].Video Essay. nd [video] Hollywood: Tag Gallagher.