Camera positioned so close only details fill the frame — an eye, a scar, a fingernail. Creates intensity and discomfort.
Famous examples · Extreme Close-Up
Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo
Leone's final showdown consists almost entirely of extreme close-ups of eyes, hands, and holsters, turning the ECU into the dramatic language of the Western.
Persona
Bergman and Nykvist use extreme facial close-ups to visualize the psychological merging of two women, turning skin texture into an existential canvas.
Requiem for a Dream
Aronofsky deploys ECUs on pupils, syringes, and pills to convey the physical and psychological disintegration of his characters with claustrophobic intensity.
Tár
Hoffmeister's extreme close-ups of Cate Blanchett's face capture microscopic shifts in expression and emotion, rendering the inner collapse of a powerful figure visible.
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