Editing Greed (1924 film) (section)

===Style===
[[File:Greed, 1924, 05 passaggio del carro funebre in profondità di campo.jpg|thumb|left|The wedding scene made innovative use of [[deep focus]] cinematography, despite challenges with the lighting.]]

Von Stroheim's biographer Arthur Lennig compared the director's visual style to that of pioneering filmmaker [[D. W. Griffith]] but felt that "unlike Griffith, who viewed scenes as though through a fourth wall, von Stroheim shot from many sides and from different angles; he also used deep focus, meaningful foregrounds and effective camera movement."{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=219}} ''Greed''{{'}}s lighting included high contrast, [[chiaroscuro]] techniques with pools or shafts of lights illuminating an otherwise dark space. Examples of this technique include the scene where McTeague begs Trina for money in a pool of moonlight and the merry-go-round scene in which characters alternate between appearing only as dark silhouettes and being fully lit.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|pp=76, 202}}

Daniels was especially proud of the wedding scene, which has a funeral procession visible through the window and was difficult to light properly.{{sfnm|1a1=Finler|1y=1972|1p=26|2a1=Lennig|2y=2000|2p=77}} ''Greed'' has often been praised for its use of [[deep focus]] cinematography, seventeen years before its more-famous application in ''[[Citizen Kane]]''.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=206}} Daniels sometimes used [[incandescent light]]s instead of studio [[Arc lamp|arc lights]], due to the constraints of his locations.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=134}} He later said that von Stroheim "was one of the first to insist on no make-up for men, on real paint on the walls which were shiny, real glass in the windows, pure white on sets and in costumes&nbsp; ... everything up to then had been painted a dull brown" to mask the scratches on worn-down film prints.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=77}} Although not officially credited, [[Ernest B. Schoedsack]] worked on the picture as a camera operator.{{sfn|Weinberg|1972|p=21}}

Von Stroheim favored [[Soviet montage theory|"Soviet-style" montage editing]]. ''Greed'' often uses dramatic close-ups and cuts instead of long takes. One exception to this is the scene in which Schouler becomes angry with McTeague and breaks his pipe, which was shot in one long, unbroken take. Von Stroheim also used symbolic cross-cutting for dramatic effect, such as his use of animals in the film and a shot of a train when McTeague and Trina first kiss.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|pp=75–76, 202}} In 1932 film theorist Andrew Buchanan called von Stroheim a montage director, stating that "each observation would be captured in a 'close-up' and at leisure, he would assemble his 'shots' in just the order which would most forcibly illustrate the fact."{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=142}} In the 1950s film critic [[André Bazin]] praised von Stroheim's use of ''[[mise en scène]]'' and noted his "one simple rule for directing. Take a close look at the world, keep on doing so and in the end it will lay bare for you all its cruelty and ugliness."{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=142}}

Despite von Stroheim's reputation as a perfectionist, ''Greed'' contains several [[anachronisms]]. In the scenes on Polk Street, the main characters are clothed in 1890s fashions, but the extras wear 1920s clothing. Von Stroheim did his best to avoid such historical mistakes; he shot only those buildings that were from the era ''Greed'' was set in, and he kept motor vehicles out of sight while filming. Daniels stated that, despite his desire for authenticity, von Stroheim sometimes had walls knocked out of real locations to achieve a desired camera position.{{sfn|Rosenbaum|1993|p=22}}