Raging Bull
Movie: 1980, black and white, 129 min
Director: Martin Scorsese
Actors: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty and Joe Pesci
Raging Bull is about an emotionally self-destructive boxer. We follow him through his life on the road to fame and fortune. As time progresses, his temper takes control of him. He becomes a very angry person and begins to take it out on his wife and the rest of his family. This leads to his eventual “pimp-like” lifestyle. He gets kicked out of his house and soon after gains a large amount of weight. His ego leads to his eventual life of no family and no friends. He becomes a sad old man.
- Why are the flashes of LaMotta’s personal life in color?
When we see the portion of the movie that is in color, it is showing us the progression of his marriage into a family. Throughout this we see him becoming unhappier and unhappier with each day. I think that Scorsese chooses a very unique way to portray this. Once the black and white film turns to color, the viewer is instantly pulled into the film. I could not take my eyes off the screen. It was like this was the most important part of the movie. Scorsese chooses to put it in color for just this reason. This could very well be one of the most boring parts of the entire movie. Due to the fact that it is in color, it becomes one of the most important parts of the entire movie. This is also the turning point in the movie. This is when LaMotta begins to become unhappy with the life his is living. He begins to realize he does not want a family. He just wants to be a boxer and nothing else. Scorsese wants to emphasize all of these things.
- What does Scorsese use to foreshadow the eventual unhappiness and anger of LaMotta?
Scorsese uses the very first shot as a foreshadowing device. The first scene of the movie is the same scene as the last scene of the movie. We see LaMotta after his career has taken its final downfall. He is fat, out of shape, a lowlife loser, and to put it quite bluntly a complete wreck. Showing us what LaMotta becomes helps allows us as the viewer to guide ourselves through the movie. We know what he is going to become so when his life begins to take some wrong turns we are not thrown off course. We do not get surprised that a hotshot athlete’s life is getting ruined because we already know the future. In the opening scene we see him all dwindled down. He is talking to the audience. He says, “I could’ve been a contender. I could’ve been the contender.” His dream was to become the best boxer to have ever lived. Unfortunately for Jake LaMotta, this did not happen. His life was ruined and he turned out to be nobody. From this opening scene we knew his fate was doomed from the beginning.
Battleship Potemkin
Movie: 1925, black and white, 75 min
Director: Sergei M. Eisenstein
Actors: Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barsky and Grigori Aleksandrov
Battleship Potemkin is a Soviet montage film that takes place during the Russian revolution. It is the story of how the working class finally loses it and revolts. It starts off on a ship and works its way through showing us how terrible the government truly is. One way is at the massacre on the Odessa steps. Through the use of juxtaposition, Eisenstein creates one fluid movie with the combination of many shorter shots.
- What does the filthy meat represent?
The filthy meat represents quite simply the straw that broke the camels back. In the opening scenes of the movie we see the royalty of the ship giving disgusting maggot covered meat to the shipmates. The shipmates represent the working class while the people giving them the meat represent the government. When they come face to face with the meat they just cannot handle the discrimination and inequality any longer. They begin to revolt which leads to one man’s death. This is really what sparks the story. After this there is the massacre on the Odessa steps, which really brings everyone in the country to a realization that something must be done. The filthy meat is what started the revolution. Without this the shipmates could have just sat there and took what they got for however much longer. With the filthy meat the revolution was sparked immediately.
- How is color used to symbolize good versus evil?
In the movie there are two main colors use, black and white. No I am not just talking about it being a black and white film I am talking about how the colors are used to symbolize good and evil. The shipmates, or the working class are always wearing white. The captain of the ship and all the people who represent the government are always wearing black. This is a classic good versus evil symbolization. At the Odessa steps, the army men are all wearing black while all of the innocent bystanders are wearing white. Black is a dark color, which shows that the army men have no souls. White represents innocence, as are all of the people running up the steps. These people are being killed for no good reason. They did not do anything wrong yet the evil army men are killing them. We know who is who by the color the wear.
Crash
Movie: 2004, color, 112 min
Director: Paul Haggis
Actors: Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock and Thandie Newton
Crash is about the lives of intermingling people in the city of Los Angeles. The film deals with all of the racist aspects of the city at the time. It shows how cruel people can truly be and it really accurately depicts racism. We are shown the racism through many different viewpoints. We get to see people discriminate and get discriminated. We see how even the law force can be racist. We are taken on a ride through people’s challenge to overcome this discrimination and how it can tear people apart.
- How is wardrobe used in the film?
Race and ethnicity play a very important role of each of the characters. Wardrobe helps to show the differences in each of them. The wardrobe in each character is very symbolic. There is the rich lawyer and his wife who are always dressed very nicely. The two criminals wear dark and gangster-like clothing to symbolize that they are. There is the black couple that also dresses nicely to show they are classy but since they are black the police officers still disrespect them. The cop has no morals and simply judges people by the color of their skin. The Latino man is always dressed very neatly just to show he trying to fit in. The film shows that people may act differently than their wardrobe may suspect. The wardrobe can help us to see the truth of that.
- How is slow motion used in the emotional parts of the movie?
Slow motion is used towards the end of the movie. After all is said and done and everyone begins to realize that discriminating people based on the color their skin is stupid, everything begins to be played in slow motion. For instance when the Persian man comes to kill the Latino man who destroyed his shop and his daughter comes to save him, it switches to slow motion. This is when one of the main points of the movie comes across; the only thing that really matters is family. We see sort of a montage of all of the different characters and their families. They are all rejoicing and seeing how lucky they really are. There is no time to discriminate when we only have so little time to live. The slow motion helps to emphasize this and show sort of all of the ad events that have happened over the course of the movie.
North by Northwest
Movie: 1959, color, 131 min
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Actors: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason
North by Northwest is about a man named Roger Thornhill who is mistaken for an American spy. He is just living his life like everyone else when he gets kidnapped. The movie is about his journey in trying to escape his captors and prove his innocence. On this journey he falls in love with a women who is also mixed up with his captors. He attempts to save her while at the same time trying to save himself. He struggles to prove his innocence and escape back to his normal life.
- Why does Hitchcock choose to shoot the entire film for the most part from Thornhill’s point of view?
Hitchcock does this for quite a few reasons. He does this first to create suspense due to the fact that Thornhill is pretty much unaware of what exactly is happening. The point of view is only moved off of him for one instance and that is when he is talking to the kidnappers on the phone. This is so we know why they took him and gives us evidence as to how they knew it was he. Due to the fact that we are always seeing what Thornhill is we get taken on the same wild ride he does. We get to go on the same adventure that he does, not knowing what is around the corner and getting surprised just as he does with every new encounter. We see this especially when Thornhill is drunk and the screen gets blurred and everything starts to spin out of control. Basically Hitchcock does this so we can get captured too.
- How is suspense created in the film?
Suspense is created through the use of quick cuts and short shots along with some very intense music. When there are parts that the viewer is supposed to feel suspense at the cuts will begin to occur more and more rapidly. This causes the viewers’ eyes to not know where to look. This causes confusion, which in turn causes suspense. Also the music begins to get very fast. It is kind of like in the movie Jaws. It will start off slowly and then progressively get very fast until something jumps out at you or something happens. I think that these techniques add something to the film that makes it what it is. Without these things the movie would just be very boring and hard to get into. Bu with these techniques the viewer can be intrigued and want to keep watching.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Movie: 1969, color 110 min
Director: George Roy Hill
Actors: Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Katharine Ross
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is about two bandits living in the wild wild west. They have a group of robbers who go and steal from trains. They get caught up with law one day and are forced to flee to Bolivia. There they start up a new robbery gang stealing from banks. As luck would have it they get caught one day as all criminals do and get into a shoot out with the police. When they finally manage to hide hey stop for a while. Thinking they only has a few more to kill they go out and try to attack. Little did they know there was the Bolivian army waiting to attack them right when they left. The movie ends with them running out and all we here are gunshots.
- What does Hill do in the opening scene to create suspense?
In the opening scene Hill uses very quick rapid cuts. The shots are very short and we only see each person in the room for a short period of time. The view on screen is constantly changing. There are gunshots that are very rapid. At one point the camera cuts on cue with the gunshots. This causes the viewer to never know what is going to happen. We cannot even guess what is going to happen because it is all happening too fast. The best part about this scene is that it starts off very slowly. It gets progressively faster as the story progresses. This is a very good introduction into the life of Sundance. We get to see that he is a very sharp shooter. We now know he is the bad an around town. Whenever he is shooting throughout the rest of the movie the viewer is filled with suspense. This is all because of the opening scene.
- How is the montage scene used in the film and what are some symbols within it?
The montage scene is used to show the journey of Butch Cassidy, Sundance, and Etta from their old live to their new life in Bolivia. Butch throwing away a bike and then a close up of the bike’s spinning wheel introduces this scene. This symbolizes the rolling of a filmstrip. It is like they recorded their journey and put it together into a picture montage and are now showing it to us. We see all of their stops and struggles along the way. We see how they intend to live their lives. This montage is about one and a half minute. It is so long to show a few things. First the length of their journey and second the amount of thing they did on the way their. The montage scene is in a sepia color and when they arrive in Bolivia it goes back to color.
Casablanca
Movie: 142, black and white, 102 min
Director: Michael Curtiz
Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid
Casablanca takes place in Morocco during World War II. It focuses on a man, Humphrey Bogart and the main setting is in a bar called the Café Americain. When the Nazis infiltrate there town they held captive their. Humphrey is trying to escape when he runs into his former lover and they reunited old sparks. He is forced to help her to escape because of his love for her. In doing so he finds out that she is married. The movie ends with Humphrey putting his true love and her husband on a plane and sending them away.
- How does Curtiz let the viewer know that the café is the most important place in the movie?
Throughout the length of the movie, there is a spotlight that is constantly shining on the café. This spotlight is telling the viewer that whenever something is happening in or around that café that they should pay close attention. As it turns out everything of importance happens in the café. Whether it is a man getting shot after trying to escape or it is the police coming to infiltrate and capture men. At this café drinking and gambling both go on. At times there are many people of high respect that dine at the café. We know o look to it from the beginning because of the spotlight. There are also always headlights that flash onto the café at different times during the movie. At the café is where everything happens.
- How are fade transitions used in the film?
Fade transitions are used mainly in the film to show the passing of time. They are also used to show the changing of a location. Even if some one is going somewhere and they do not go far away and it does not take a long time a fade transition will not be used. They really are only used about five or six times, yet they are essential to the film. Without them the viewer would not have a sense of time or location. Never is a fade transition used off of a person. It is always from an extreme long shot or from a building, for example the café. About three or four times a fade transition is used to transition from the busy town market place to the café or vice-versa. Fade transitions play a vital role in the passage of time in this film.
Forrest Gump
Movie: 1994, color, 142 min
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Actors: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise
Forrest Gump is about mentally challenged man who throughout his life with a little luck and a lot of perseverance becomes a war hero and much more. The story is told from the first person narrative point of view. Forrest is sitting on a bench and is telling his story to people who are passing by. It starts off as him as a kid and then progresses to him becoming a millionaire. We see that he is responsible for many famous happenings along with becoming a professional ping-pong player. He falls in love with his best friend, the only girl that was ever nice to him, Jenny. They have a child together before she dies of AIDS. Before she dies they get married and the movie ends with their child starting from the beginning of hi own story.
- How does music set the mood of specific scenes of the movie?
In one of the very early scenes of the movie Forrest is forced to run away from a trouble he encounters, bullies. When he is running away he realizes that he can run extremely fast. When this realization comes about heroic music begins to play. This lets the viewer know that everything is all right. When Jenny’s father I chasing after her there is very dramatic and frightened music playing. It is also kind of suspenseful. We do not know if she is going to escape or not. The music draws the viewer to the edge of their seat. One of the more peculiar parts was when Forrest proposed to Jenny. At this part in the movie there is absolutely no music. There is no soft melodic violin or chorus singing, nothing at all. I found this to be very interesting because from the rest of the movie it seemed that music set the tone. It does except for in this scene. This is because the director wants the viewer to decide how to feel on his or her own.
- How does the voice of Forrest create a veil of innocence surrounding him throughout the movie?
In the movie, Tom Hanks gives a voice to Forrest. This voice is a mix between a southern accent and someone who has mental disabilities. This voice grows on the viewer throughout the duration of the film. We begin to fall in love with the character because of it. When Forrest does some thing wrong and he says that he’s sorry in that voice he sounds so innocent and one cannot help but to forgive him. When he is telling the story of his life it sounds so unbelievable because the voice causes him to stress certain words that need not be stressed. This plays a key role in him getting to where he was going. When he is telling the story the people he is talking to cannot believe that he is a millionaire because he sounds so innocent. This is how Forrest Gump gets by.
Unforgiven
Movie: 1992, color, 131 min
Director: Clint Eastwood
Actors: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman
Unforgiven is a man named Munny who used to be an assassin but is now retired and lives with his two children. When a prostitute gets badly beaten and the man that does it to her hardly get a punishment, she get some money together so that she can offer a reward to whoever can kill the man for her. Someone tell Munny about the reward so he comes out of retirement just to track down this man and kill him. He goes with his old partner who eventually ends up dying. Munny gets himself into a lot of trouble at the end of the movie and ends up killing all of the police officers in the town he lives in.
- How does Eastwood use lighting to set the tone of the movie?
The tone of the movie is based on the lighting. In the day time there will be a lot of shadows if Eastwood wants there to be an eerie tone. In the movie, during the night, the viewer can only see movements. The viewer cannot see facial expression, wardrobe, or scenery, but only what moves. This creates suspense. It also has a dramatic effect on the movie. The only time we can see something at night is at the campfire. Here we see Munny’s face but only for a split second. It is still heavily shadowed so we still cannot see much. Lighting plays a key role in the ending scene as well. This scene reminds me of the ending scene of Taxi Driver when de Niro goes insane. I think that Munny does the exact same thing. He realizes his life is done so he just shoots everyone. In the last scene the lighting is very dark to show the dark passenger within Munny.
- Why is there such an extensive use of extreme long shots?
Whenever there is a change of scenery Eastwood uses a new and different extreme long shot. He does this so that the viewer knows the character have changed places. Without theses extreme long shot the viewer could get very confused as to why all of a sudden the characters are in the middle of the mountains. In one part it we see and extreme long shot of a snowy mountaintop. Then the camera cuts to the characters trekking though the snow. Without this extreme long shot of the snowy mountain tops, we would have no idea how all of the sudden the ground is covered in snow. Also at one point the movie cuts from the inside of a bar to people shooting on a mountain. With out the extreme long shot of the mountain the viewer would get extremely confused. The extreme long shots are mainly used for the clarification of location.
The Matrix
Movie: 1999, color, 136 min
Director: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Actors: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss
The Matrix is about a computer hacker name Neo. Neo is someone who has always question reality but little did he know he wasn’t far from the truth. When a legendary computer hack named Morpheus contacts him he gets into a great deal of trouble. Eventually Morpheus wakes Neo into the real world, a ravaged world controlled by machines that put humans into a false world known as the Matrix. Neo must return to the Matrix to destroy the computers within and save the world.
- How is color used in the movie as a clue and as a guide to the viewer?
In both the Matrix and the real world there is a sort of grey overtone that surrounds everyone and everything. In the Matrix things become a little brighter because the computers want everyone living there to think that it is real. This is just one of the many tricks used to differentiate between the Matrix and the real world. In the real world there is no one or nothing trying to make it seem real so it is just run down and absolutely disgusting. In most scenes there is only one thing that is prominent. That is usually a brightly colored object. In the beginning Neo is given the option to take the blue or red pill. Morpheus is sitting on a red chair and there are a lot of other red objects in the room. This foreshadows that Neo will select the red pill. Color is used for many different reasons in the movie.
- What is used to differentiate between the Matrix and the real world?
When in the world controlled by machines, everyone is always dressed very fancy. The characters are either wearing a suit or dress clothes and they have their hair slicked back. While in the real world they are basically just wearing cloth to cover themselves up. The food in the real world is mush and in the Matrix everywhere is fin dining. Also in the Matrix the characters can do extraordinary things such as jump great distances or dodge bullets. Another thing that the director uses is that in the Matrix we are constantly seeing agents. These agents are the computer viruses that keep the world under the influence that their lives are real. In the real world we instead see mechanical squid-like things that are constantly attacking the main characters.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Movie: 1975, color, 133 min
Director: Milos Forman
Actors: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher and Danny DeVito
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is about a man named McMurphy who is found guilty of raping a girl/ Having just gotten out of prison and desperately not wanting to go back there, he pretends to be insane so they will send him to a mental hospital. Once there, he begins to progress the patients more and more every day. Little did he know, he was slowly becoming insane himself. While fighting with one of the nurses there named Ratched, he eventually loses it and almost kills her. After this they give him a lobotomy and that is how his life and the movie end.
- How does the relationship between McMurphy and the patients’ progress over time?
When he first gets to the hospital, none of the patients can even fend for themselves. They are making no progress in their meetings with the nurses and are drugged out of their mind. When McMurphy get there, all of the patients begin to show signs of improvement. This is because he interacts with them making them learn how to be real people. At one point he kidnaps them from the hospital to take them fishing. Here they really got a first-hand look at the real world. McMurphy is the reason all of the patients are not insane towards the end of the movie
- How is wardrobe used to differ between the insane people and normal people?
All of the asylum’s patients always where one solid color, normally white. However, McMurphy is always wearing multiple colors. Also the nurses have multicolored clothing as well. In the scene before they all break out of the hospital all of the patients are wearing multicolored clothing. This shows that they have progressed and are now free.
