I don't know about most people but the movie Bringing Up Baby is so bad. I know it is supposed to be a classic but to me it did nothing. It was a series of long takes with lots of dialogue in them. For the whole shot, Susan would just go on and on about nothing and David would stand there like an idiot and try to say something but wouldn't. All these scenes, which made up about 3/4 of the movie, did for me was make me hate both of those characters. The other two of the movies that we watched seemed to use some of the cinematic elements that we learned about in class. This movie did not. All it did was use long takes and I Think it took away from the movie.
Also the acting in the movie was not very good to me. David and Susan seemed to be characters that anyone could play. I bumbling museum worker, and a women that is so annoying and talks fast. The movie was just a boring adventure that seemed to pile on one stupid act on the next until the most was completely ridiculous
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Once Upon A Time In The West
The movie Once Upon A Time In the West was a very good movie. It falls under the category of revisionist western and, after watching a classical western, I think that I much rather prefer the revisionist movies. They delve deeper into characters pasts, and motives and make all the characters more complex. With more complex characters allows for a more complex plot also. This movie is just the way I think a western should be, it makes you think and it gives you some good action.
The character of Harmonica is just the way that I think a western hero should be. Unlike the classical western hero, he is not a pure innocent human being with perfect morals. He seems to have an affinity for violence, he is blood thirsty and deep. We are always in the dark whether or not he is a very moral person. His true nature is never revealed to us and makes him even more mysterious. He is a strong silent type which aligns him with the classical western hero. This is the only way in which Harmonica is alike to the classical western hero though.
All in all the movie Once Upon A Time In the West is a very action filled movie that also has a deep meaning behind it. It makes you think and doesn't disappoint when you find out the truth in the end. Also it doesn't reveal all of the truth so it leaves you in the dark a little bit and I like that.
The character of Harmonica is just the way that I think a western hero should be. Unlike the classical western hero, he is not a pure innocent human being with perfect morals. He seems to have an affinity for violence, he is blood thirsty and deep. We are always in the dark whether or not he is a very moral person. His true nature is never revealed to us and makes him even more mysterious. He is a strong silent type which aligns him with the classical western hero. This is the only way in which Harmonica is alike to the classical western hero though.
All in all the movie Once Upon A Time In the West is a very action filled movie that also has a deep meaning behind it. It makes you think and doesn't disappoint when you find out the truth in the end. Also it doesn't reveal all of the truth so it leaves you in the dark a little bit and I like that.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Seven Samurai
The movie I choose was Seven Samurai widely regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time and also possibly the greatest action movie of all time. Directed, co-written, and edited by Akira Kurosawa, Seven Samurai was released on April 6, 1954 to great acclaim. Spanning more than three hours the film depicts a story of seven samurai's who are hired for protection of a village that is under attack from bandits. Each of the seven samurai's in the movie have their own personality and their own impact on the film. While to me they were the best part of the film, I felt more and more attached to them as the movie progressed, I choose another aspect of film to learn more about.
The aspect of film that I learned more on was photography. While Akira Kurosawa seems to get all the credit, Seven Samurai's cinematographer was Asakazu Nakai and he also worked with the photography. While Seven Samurai was one of his greatest films he was nominated for an Oscar for the movie Ran. He also has won many other awards for his outstanding cinematography work. The most notable ones are the Blue Ribbon Award for Itsuwareru seiso, the Mainichi Film Concours award for Akazukinchan kiotsukete, and his Mainichi Film Concours award for Nora inu. With so much acclaim it isn't hard to see why many of the movies he has worked on have become classics and studied for the elements that he brought to the table.
Asakazu Nakai used many different shots during the movie Seven Samurai. Pan shots were used to show wide ranges of space especially the beautiful scenery, and also tracking shots were used when the characters, especially the samurai, were sprinting into battle. The way that the camera showed the beautiful scenery and also the characters when they were engaged in battle makes the film very powerful. Some of the most notable techniques that Asakazu Nakai used though were wide-angle lenses and telephoto lenses. Since this movie was released in 1954 Asakazu Nakai was without much of the modern technology that we now use so often in present films. To be able to master the use of these lenses back then is very impressive to me. It shows me that Asakazu Nakai had a great eye and grasp of the concepts he was using and was able to use what he had to make beautiful works of art.
I also choose to learn about the script in Seven Samurai. Seven Samurai was written by a combination of Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, and Hideo Oguni. The main idea for this film was the class conflict between the samurai nobility and the peasant class. Akira Kurosawa does a great job though of masking that true conflict behind the conflict of the bandits raiding and pillaging the village. Seven Samurai also shows the way that the class struggle gets solved. The samurai and the peasants end up working together and that is what makes the movie really special. To be able to show the conflict go from beginning to end in the way that Akira Kurosawa did is just another reason that makes this movie a masterpiece.
The aspect of film that I learned more on was photography. While Akira Kurosawa seems to get all the credit, Seven Samurai's cinematographer was Asakazu Nakai and he also worked with the photography. While Seven Samurai was one of his greatest films he was nominated for an Oscar for the movie Ran. He also has won many other awards for his outstanding cinematography work. The most notable ones are the Blue Ribbon Award for Itsuwareru seiso, the Mainichi Film Concours award for Akazukinchan kiotsukete, and his Mainichi Film Concours award for Nora inu. With so much acclaim it isn't hard to see why many of the movies he has worked on have become classics and studied for the elements that he brought to the table.
Asakazu Nakai used many different shots during the movie Seven Samurai. Pan shots were used to show wide ranges of space especially the beautiful scenery, and also tracking shots were used when the characters, especially the samurai, were sprinting into battle. The way that the camera showed the beautiful scenery and also the characters when they were engaged in battle makes the film very powerful. Some of the most notable techniques that Asakazu Nakai used though were wide-angle lenses and telephoto lenses. Since this movie was released in 1954 Asakazu Nakai was without much of the modern technology that we now use so often in present films. To be able to master the use of these lenses back then is very impressive to me. It shows me that Asakazu Nakai had a great eye and grasp of the concepts he was using and was able to use what he had to make beautiful works of art.
I also choose to learn about the script in Seven Samurai. Seven Samurai was written by a combination of Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, and Hideo Oguni. The main idea for this film was the class conflict between the samurai nobility and the peasant class. Akira Kurosawa does a great job though of masking that true conflict behind the conflict of the bandits raiding and pillaging the village. Seven Samurai also shows the way that the class struggle gets solved. The samurai and the peasants end up working together and that is what makes the movie really special. To be able to show the conflict go from beginning to end in the way that Akira Kurosawa did is just another reason that makes this movie a masterpiece.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Western
I decided to analyze the final scene of the film. Well the final important scene of the film, the shootout between the Clantons and Wyatt, his brother and Doc Holiday. From the beginning of the film you as a viewer knew that this fight scene had to be coming. While the film did a good job disguising the conflict with the Clantons, the fight was always in the back of your mind and it finally happened at the end.
I thought that the scence was very well done and also ended the movie nicely. It starts with Wyatt and his two fake fighters walking down the street, while Doc and Wyatt's brother are creeping up behind the Clantons. After a long walk and a final warning to the Clantons the shooting starts. After a series of quick cuts you see all of the Clantons fall except the father, and also you see Doc Holiday die. Then after another confrontation the father is killed and Wyatt and his brother go and check on Doc.
I thought that this scene was done very well. As Wyatt was walking down to the OK Corral the whole town seems diserted and adds to the suspense of the scene. While you know that the hero is always going to win, the twist with Doc dying was something that I didn't think was going to happen. He seemed to gain importance as the movie went along and so following the usual western storyline I thought he would live. I especially liked the way that the quick cuts added to the action. The only thing that I think could have been improved was the part of Doc and Wyatt's brother. What they were doing wasn't very clear throughout the scene. I give this scene my approval for how long ago it was made and how they seemed to make it very well.
I thought that the scence was very well done and also ended the movie nicely. It starts with Wyatt and his two fake fighters walking down the street, while Doc and Wyatt's brother are creeping up behind the Clantons. After a long walk and a final warning to the Clantons the shooting starts. After a series of quick cuts you see all of the Clantons fall except the father, and also you see Doc Holiday die. Then after another confrontation the father is killed and Wyatt and his brother go and check on Doc.
I thought that this scene was done very well. As Wyatt was walking down to the OK Corral the whole town seems diserted and adds to the suspense of the scene. While you know that the hero is always going to win, the twist with Doc dying was something that I didn't think was going to happen. He seemed to gain importance as the movie went along and so following the usual western storyline I thought he would live. I especially liked the way that the quick cuts added to the action. The only thing that I think could have been improved was the part of Doc and Wyatt's brother. What they were doing wasn't very clear throughout the scene. I give this scene my approval for how long ago it was made and how they seemed to make it very well.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Citizen Kane
To take Mr.K's idea I think I will talk about how low-key lighting was used in this movie. I Think it was both a way to define character traits and also to set the mood of certain parts of the movie. Low-key lighting is used many times to show Kane. It shows how he is a complex, mysterious, and kind of dark character. The mood that is usually portrayed is also a dark sinister kind of mood, going along with what is happening to kane. Whenenver a character is in a bad mood, or seems to be up to no good low-key lighting is also used. It is used when showing Susan because she is drinking her problems away, and also when Leland get fired becuase of how he feels at that point. Low-key lighting is a great way to make the mood darken and show some undisirable traits in characters.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Raging Bull
One of my favorite movies of all time is the movie Raging Bull. In my opinion Martin Scorsese's best film depicts Jack LaMotta (Robert DeNiro) and the life he leads. His brother played by Joe Pesci and Vickie his second wife, along with LaMotta are the main characters in the movie
It starts out at the end of the story with a fat, washed up LaMotta telling his story from the dressing room of a club. From the club in the present it rushes back to the past to look at the beginning of LaMotta's career. It goes through the time when he is an upcommer and nobody respects him, to a time when he is bigger than life. But underneath the boxing exterior is the turbulent personal life he leads also. An intensely jealous and intensely complex and confused man LaMotta rambles through life trying to find his own path.
The Plot in this movie was extremely involving, complex, realistic, and believable. The actors talked, acted, and genuinely seemed to become the characters they were portraying. Robert DeNiro was able to show the pain and jealousy and confusion of LaMotta in a very realistic way. While boxing was the front for this movie it was in no way the main topic of the movie. LaMotta spent much of his time on little details allowing himself to get worked up over very small things. Although he was married, the best relationship he had was with his brother to which he somewhat was able to connect. Without his brother LaMotta's jealousy and paranoia would have consumed him.
Robert DeNiro depicts Jake LaMotta in a very realistic way. The emotion he shows, the pain he feels all seems to fit in with LaMotta's personality. Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty (Vickie) both portray characters that seem to be very realistic. Pesci's character, LaMotta's brother always seems to be calming and cleaning up LaMotta, while Vickie is somewhat the opposite of what Jake needs but also seems to be a clinging on to point for LaMotta.
In the movie the cinematography was great. The lighting made the moods go from happy to sad in an instant, exactly mirroring how LaMotta felt at the time. The fight scenes had close-ups, crane shots, quick cuts, and slowed down timing to make every little detail stand out and scream I'm important. The sounds in the movie helped to heighten the mood that was being felt during any point, again mirroring LaMotta's mood exactly.
While the movie is about a boxer, and it's only logical to say that the boxing ring would be the main stage of the movie it is not. What the ring is used for is a place where all of the things LaMotta is feeling at that point can make a huge appearance. It is where we truly see LaMotta for what he is, and that is a troubled complex individual.
It starts out at the end of the story with a fat, washed up LaMotta telling his story from the dressing room of a club. From the club in the present it rushes back to the past to look at the beginning of LaMotta's career. It goes through the time when he is an upcommer and nobody respects him, to a time when he is bigger than life. But underneath the boxing exterior is the turbulent personal life he leads also. An intensely jealous and intensely complex and confused man LaMotta rambles through life trying to find his own path.
The Plot in this movie was extremely involving, complex, realistic, and believable. The actors talked, acted, and genuinely seemed to become the characters they were portraying. Robert DeNiro was able to show the pain and jealousy and confusion of LaMotta in a very realistic way. While boxing was the front for this movie it was in no way the main topic of the movie. LaMotta spent much of his time on little details allowing himself to get worked up over very small things. Although he was married, the best relationship he had was with his brother to which he somewhat was able to connect. Without his brother LaMotta's jealousy and paranoia would have consumed him.
Robert DeNiro depicts Jake LaMotta in a very realistic way. The emotion he shows, the pain he feels all seems to fit in with LaMotta's personality. Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty (Vickie) both portray characters that seem to be very realistic. Pesci's character, LaMotta's brother always seems to be calming and cleaning up LaMotta, while Vickie is somewhat the opposite of what Jake needs but also seems to be a clinging on to point for LaMotta.
In the movie the cinematography was great. The lighting made the moods go from happy to sad in an instant, exactly mirroring how LaMotta felt at the time. The fight scenes had close-ups, crane shots, quick cuts, and slowed down timing to make every little detail stand out and scream I'm important. The sounds in the movie helped to heighten the mood that was being felt during any point, again mirroring LaMotta's mood exactly.
While the movie is about a boxer, and it's only logical to say that the boxing ring would be the main stage of the movie it is not. What the ring is used for is a place where all of the things LaMotta is feeling at that point can make a huge appearance. It is where we truly see LaMotta for what he is, and that is a troubled complex individual.
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