Pen Versus Knife scene in the Bourne Identity

Here is the link to the Pen Versus Knife scene in the Bourne Identity (2002): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFnmq5PPScA

For the purpose of the assignment, I will examine the clip from 0:35 to 1:50

In this clip from the Bourne Identity, Jason Bourne engages in hand-to-hand combat with a highly trained assassin.  The entire scene is shot from a handheld camera, and the editing fit about sixty shots within one minute and fifteen seconds.  This “rapid-fire” editing of hand-held shots creates a frantic, chaotic and exciting feel—almost as if the viewer is present taking part in the fight.  This feeling is reinforced by the use of many close-up shots.  More than half the shots are close-up shots, extreme close-ups and medium close-ups, while the rest being medium shots and two wide shots.  The scene is always fast moving; the longest shot isn’t more than a few seconds.  And those slightly longer shots create a brief break in the action, so there isn’t too much confusion.  The fight also utilizes intentional shots in which the fighters are out of focus.  As a result of the quick, smooth transitioning of shots and the occasional out-of-focus shots, viewing the fight is not clean or clear.  I like this stylistic choice because fights are not suppose to be clean.  They’re chaotic like the way the scene was organized and done.  Point of view shots are also introduced to further the feeling of being present during the fight.  For example, at around forty-five seconds, the camera is looking up at Jason Bourne, as if the viewer is the assassin and Jason Bourne is trying to stomp on the viewer’s head.  To sum up, everything is always moving fast in the clip, and it is not always clear what is going on.  The camera work and editing in the Bourne Identity creates a sense of realism—as if you are right there with the characters