This paper aims to illustrate that allegory and symbol employed in Baroque and modern cinema, rather than being purely ornamental, is a semantic creation that makes us question just how grammaticalized cinema jargon has become. Our aim is not to provide a historical review of cinema from a certain time period but rather to demonstrate that these devices can produce meaning, even though their function is poetic. Four films were used in this case study: Citizen Kane and Singing in the Rain, which are both Baroque, and Blow-up and Pierrot the Madman, which are both modern. This was a qualitative study. We present a critical interpretation of the dynamics of allegory and symbol in these four films.