Cinema Cliche firsts

It's not exactly the same thing as you wrote above, but it's still talking to one's self:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmKM1clRzE4

the first scene from Laurel & Hardy's "Helpmates". It's from 1932, let's see if we can find earlier examples.

It's called a Dolly Zoom, and yes Wikipedia agrees with your belief that it was first used in Vertigo.

Here is a good one...

A cliche that has become very boring and overused of late is the "Mastermind villain allows themselves to be trapped inside a glass cell that they planned to escape from all along" cliche. The three most recent examples that I can think of are...

The Avengers 2012
Skyfall 2012
Star Trek Into Darkness 2013

...and they were copying the ridiculous success of 2008's 'The Dark Knight'. But surely Christopher Nolan couldn't be the first? 2003's 'X2' had the glass prison and the plan to escape but that's not the same as allowing yourself to be captured as part of your evil game of chess. Those pesky Greeks used an equine variant of this idea some 3 millenia ago but it was still not the same cliche that was used by Heath Ledger's Joker.

Any earlier examples than 2008? (There must be)

You could probably tie it back to Silence of the Lambs; that's what I always think of with those villain-in-cell-escaping scenarios.

I do believe that "The Great Train Robbery" (1903) was the first use of "breaking the fourth wall".

Dr. Lecter was imprisoned a long time before being moved to the glass cell. Wouldn't he take advantage of any slip up by the guards that presented itself at any time? His exploited his new jailers' inexperience, but I don't think he had a plan before he actually saw his new prison.

I'd like to know the first time somebody started singing that damn "mama's going to buy you a mockingbird" song right before something awful happens. It's been done to death in a lot of horror flicks.

Yeah 'Silence of the Lambs' is similar but not quite the same. Because Lector didn't plan to be captured and we the audience are shown his plan to escape... we see him palm the paperclip (Although the visual image of a super-villain in an overlit 360 degree viewable prison is fo-sho the inspiration for those latter films... especially Magneto's escape in X2), but in the cliche we the audience are never shown the villain's masterplan until the sh*t goes down. However it is Lector's plan all along to manipulate the situation so he can get moved to less secure Cell, to give him the possible oportunity to escape.

1995's 'Judge Dredd' also uses the 360-cage motif from 'Silence of the Lambs' but that time it has the elaborate plan to escape... even so it still doesn't feature the allowing yourself to be captured in the first place element.

I suppose this could be considered a subversion of the allow yourself-to-be-captured cliche...

I've just read that the first example of Bullet Time can be found in the obscure South African 1981 film Kill and Kill Again. Unfortunately the video at the Youtube link was taken down.

Jetrell Fo said:

Ryan McAvoy said:

Here is a good one...

A cliche that has become very boring and overused of late is the "Mastermind villain allows themselves to be trapped inside a glass cell that they planned to escape from all along" cliche. The three most recent examples that I can think of are...

The Avengers 2012
Skyfall 2012
Star Trek Into Darkness 2013

...and they were copying the ridiculous success of 2008's 'The Dark Knight'. But surely Christopher Nolan couldn't be the first? 2003's 'X2' had the glass prison and the plan to escape but that's not the same as allowing yourself to be captured as part of your evil game of chess. Those pesky Greeks used an equine variant of this idea some 3 millenia ago but it was still not the same cliche that was used by Heath Ledger's Joker.

Any earlier examples than 2008? (There must be)

I'm guessing just by what you typed that variations on the theme are okay or are you specifically speaking about glass (no metal bars) cells only?

 Just discussing general influences on the TDK cliche but so far can't think of one example of a pre Dark Knight film using the exact plot device that is used for The Joker. The glass cell isn't strictly nessasary to the cliche, it just seems to be very popular due to it looking great on film. The Joker isn't in glass cell as such (It's a room surrounded on all sides by windows), it's more the 'getting yourself caught as part of your nefarious masterplan angle' that I'd like to hear early examples of. Surely in the hundred years of cinema Nolan can't be the first to have thought of it? (He is a clever dude but still).

Seven. Seven's plot was entirely dependent on the killer getting caught. I'm certain there are earlier examples though..

Desree said:

Seven. Seven's plot was entirely dependent on the killer getting caught. I'm certain there are earlier examples though..

 Good point.

Not quite the same as the evil super-nemesis thing as Spacey only turn up at the last minute, has no plan to escape or even any real plan beyond his capture. His game of chess is over the moment he turn himself in, he just sits back and watches it play out. Though I suppose the back seat of the cop car is a sort of mobile glass cage where he can sit and do the customary crowing about the brilliance of his plan.

If that counts, it's 1995, can anybody do earlier?

darth_ender said:

Jesus Christ allowed himself to be captured, imprisoned, tortured, and executed, all as part of his master plan to resume his place as Ruler of the Universe.  So I guess it doesn't get much older than that.

 Very clever analysis of the roots of that theme. Wether it's been obvious or not, Sci-Fi and Fantasy has often built it's narrative 'house' on the foundations of Christian stories/imagery to great sucess... Robocop, LOTR, Frankenstein, Narnia, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Superman... hell even one of my favourites 'Short Circuit 2'!

The depth to which these stories permeate our culture is probably the reason films that borrow from them are so succesful, even if we aren't consciously aware of it the first time we watch.

The 'hero rising from death/defeat' trope is somewhat similar when you thhink about it e.g. Batman rises from near-death in a pit of the damned in TDKR through an act of faith. Also Bruce is tempted by the life of peace he could have with Rachel if he forsook his destiny as mankind's saviour. He of course chooses to sacrifice himself and the people of Gotham cast him down because of it at the end of TDK.

"You'll hunt me. You'll condemn me. Set the dogs on me... because that's what needs to happen... because sometimes the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more... sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded" - Batman TDK 2008

Don't forget E.T.