City Lights
Movie: 1931, black and white, 87 min
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Actors: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherill
City Lights is about a tramp that meets the love of his life. She happens to be blind so she does not know that he is a tramp. He crosses the path of a very wealthy man whom he saves the life of. In debt the rich man shows Chaplin to a few fin nights. With the occasional run in to the blind women, Chaplin appears to be rich. When he comes about the money to pay for a surgery to give the women sight, he is afraid to confront her due to the fact that he actually isn’t rich. At the end she realizes who he is and accepts him.
- How does Chaplin’s love being blind add conflict to the movie?
Since Chaplin’s love is blind and he is a tramp, there is doubt in whether she will accept him for who he is once she can see. This is conflict because if she doesn’t either realize who he is or accept him, then he has wasted all of his efforts in attempting to woo her. Also, if Chaplin would even have the courage to go and confront her himself is conflict. Chaplin has made is apparent to the blind woman that he is wealthy. Since he is not wealthy he needs to figure out a way to make it seem that way, or confront her and hope that she will still love him. Since it is unlikely that she will do this, there is great conflict to the movie. This also allows the audience to show sympathy. Now, the director has made it apparent as well that the woman is kind and generous, which foreshadows the acceptance of Chaplin for who he is. Throughout the movie the viewer is forced to ponder whether the woman will accept Chaplin.
- How does the director use close-ups for emphasis on detail?
Psycho
Movie: 1960, black and white, 110 min
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Actors: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin.
Psycho is about a son who has, literally, a duel personality. When his mother dies, he won’t accept it and keeps her alive by being her. He is psycho quite simply. The mother part of him is a serial killer and the son part of him cleans up his mother’s messes. It is a very delicate situation to put it lightly and is really quite disturbing. The movie is a thriller and has you at the edge of your seat the entire time.
- Why does Hitchcock use the same high angle for when Norman is carrying out his mother’s corpse and when his “mother” kills the detective?
When the Norman’s “mother” kills the detective a high angle is used for two reasons. One, the power of the “mother” over the detective, and two, the power of the mother part of Norman over his real self. If Norman had control then there would be no issue of the killings. He clearly does not have control and the angle shows that. When Norman is carrying his mother a high angle is use, the same on as the murder scene, to show that the mother is once again dominant. This is showed in that the mother can make Norman do whatever she wants whether it be carry her down to the basement or clean up after one of her murders. The overall reason is to show that Norman has no control over which personality he will be acting as. At he end of the movie the mother has taken over and there is seemingly no more Norman. Clearly the mother has won.
- Why does Hitchcock build the suspense for so long and so quickly solve the problems the end?
Hitchcock wants to have the viewer on the edge of their seats for as long as he possibly can. He does this by having basically the entire movie not answering any questions or solving any conflicts. None of the questions are answered until the last scene of the movie when you find out about the disease and the rest of Norman’s secrets. I think Hitchcock solves the conflict so quickly and suddenly because it leaves the viewer pondering about different scenarios. He does a very good job of this. The beginning of the film is building a story. The middle is creating a conflict and causing the viewer to ask questions. The end is answering all of those questions in a very short period of time. I think this was Hitchcock’s intention and I think he did a very god job of this.
Fargo
Movie: 1996, color, 98 min
Director: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Actors: William H. Macy, Frances McDormand and Steve Buscemi
Fargo is about a man who is nothing but greedy. He attempts to set up a kidnapping of his wife in order to get ransom money from her extremely wealthy father. Things do not go according to plan and eventually get pretty messy. In the end the wife ends up dying and the husband gets arrested for it.
- Why do the Coen brothers choose to wait before showing what is inside of the case to the viewer?
The main reason that they do this is for suspenseful purposes. If they were to just show the viewer instantly what was in the case then we would know right away that it wasn’t a hoax and if Jerry had just let things be than his father-in-law would not have died. In the shot they use the case as a character. They use and over the shoulder shot with the case. On the other side is the character’s facial expression. I see the case as a character because the case is what causes the facial expression. When we see the character’s facial expression our minds, as the viewer starts to race with thoughts as to what could possibly be in that briefcase. If it was money it shows that the father-in-law truly loved his daughter and would do anything to get her back. If it is empty or fake bills than it shows he is cheap and does not truly love her. Just by waiting about 20 seconds before showing us what is inside the case allows us to guess what is going to happen. I personally love these suspenseful parts of movies. I think it is what makes them fun to watch. The Coen brothers did this so the viewer could further enjoy the film.
- Why do the Coen brothers use a low angle of the kidnapper walking down the stairs after the wife falls down them?
They use this particular angle in this particular shot because it shows superiority. When the two goons come to kidnap Jerry’s wife, she nearly ends up escaping. When she runs into the bathroom and locks the door she hides in the shower. When the goons finally break into the bathroom she attacks one of them. Since she is wrapped up in the shower curtain she cannot see where she is going. She ends up falling down the stairs. This is where the low angle is used. The goon is walking down the stairs after she falls to show that even after the struggle he is still superior. After falling down the stairs the wife in unconscious. As the goon is walking down the stairs we see how angry he is that she made a struggle. She did get one nice shot on him and he is bleeding. We can only imagine how much power he feels now but the low angle shot helps us to see that.
Blade Runner
Movie: 1982, color, 117 min
Director: Ridley Scott
Actors: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young
Blade Runner is about a bounty hunter who tracks down aliens. The movie is about him tracking down these replicants because they are looking for their creator. They are no allowed to be on earth. The problem is they are nearly impossible to kill and he ends up falling in love with one of them. In the end his duty conquers the love and he kills her in an incredible battle scene.
- How does Scott use wardrobe to show the non-humanness of the replicants?
The replicants are always dressed out of the ordinary in this film. The rest of society wears normal attire nothing fancy maybe a few suits and dresses here and there. The replicants are always wearing funky clothing. They wear very bright colors that stand out and their hairstyles as well just look odd. When everyone is wearing jeans and a jacket the replicants would be wearing short and a tank top. They will be wearing absurd amounts of makeup so as to try and fit in but it actually makes them stand out more. There is also just different fell the viewer as when they are looking at the replicants. The film doesn’t reveal right away that the replicants are in fact replicants. The viewer has to guess. But they are so different and there are so many clues that they are not human it is not that hard to tell. How does Scott use everything in the scene as a sort of guide to the scene?
In the battle scene between Harrison Ford and the female replicant Scott uses his surroundings to determine when the action is to be halted or commenced. When the crosswalk voice says “don’t walk” that means that the fighting is to be halted. When the voice says “cross now” that means fighting is to be commenced. Scott uses this so as to tell the viewer when to be alert of what is going on and when nothing exciting is going to happen. The irony of this though is that Ford kills the replicant when the voice is saying don’t walk. This is ironic because the whole rest of the scene was according to the don’t walk/ walk being don’t fight/fight. After he finishes the dirty work and murders the replicant a man comes up to talk with him. In the conversation he says how much he hates the voice from the crosswalk. He says how annoying it is. This shows that he may have deliberately killed the replicant during the don’t walk as an act of rebellion.
Pulp Fiction
Movie: 1994, color, 154 min
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Actors: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman
Pulp Fiction is about two men trying to deliver a briefcase for a very powerful man that they work for. Along they way they encounter a few difficult tasks including a robbery at the restaurant where they are eating. There are other stories going on at the same time that in the end we find out to be all be somehow connected with each other. Of course the twist and turns that the two men encounter are hilarious as this movie is basically one big giant circle.
- Why does Tarantino make Travolta and Thurman under the influence in their date scene?
He does this so that nothing in the entire scene has to be realistic. Due to the fact that they are on drugs it gives Tarantino an endless realm of possibilities to work with. He can make them fly if he wanted to. Instead of doing something out of the ordinary he makes them go to dinner. The thing is at dinner they get into a dancing competition. This is one of the funniest parts of the movie. Neither of them can dance but they seem to be dancing to well because they are having such a great time. It did not matter what they were doing the fact of the matter was that they were going to have a good time doing it. It also builds suspense having them on drugs. Whether they are going to get caught or overdose, which ends up happening. This just adds to the plotline and further hinders Travolta from delivering the briefcase. This whole evening just prolongs his goal.
- Why does Tarantino choose to never show us what is in the briefcase?
He chooses to never show us the case because he wants to leave it up to our interpretation. If he were to show us what it was that was majestically glowing back on the character’s face we would have no questions after the movie. The thing about the movie is though that it is one big question. Nothing is absolutely defined in it. So much of it is up to how the viewer sees I and what the viewer wants to believe. If he were to answer the biggest question of the entire movie his whole philosophy would be a lie. It also makes us think that it could be something so stupid. And that is the funny part. That these two guys would risk their whole life to deliver something that had no value. For all we know it could be gold paint. Now although some people might choose to think it is gold then that is there problem. That is what Tarantino is trying to get us to do though. Think for ourselves.
Shawshank Redemption
Movie: 1994, color, 142 min
Director: Frank Darabont
Actors: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton
Shawshank Redemption is about an innocent man who is found guilty. He is sent to one of the most brutal jails in the state. Over the span of 20 years he digs his way out of the prison with a little rock chipper. The chipper was so small that it took him that long. Over that time he make friend as well as enemies. He betrays the warden at the end who had trusted him. His best friend at the prison, Red, meets up with him at the end and they live happily ever after.
- Why does Red reveal himself to be the “only guilty man” in Shawshank?
Red does this in order to draw attention to him. I think of Red as the main character of the movie, not Andy. When Red admitted to being guilty I thought that that immediately made him the protagonist. It sort of shifted the focus from Andy to Red. I think that Darabont did this on purpose. In the end it is Red that has to go and find Andy. Another indication of this is that Red is the one that is narrating the entire movie. He is the voice of the movie. He guides and helps us to see the minor details that we usually would not see. Another thing is that Red is Andy’s guide throughout the entire movie. He would not have survived one day without the generous help of Red. From the first day that Andy got there the viewer could tell that there was going to be some greater connection between Red and Andy. This was shown when Red bet on Andy to be the first one to cry that night. When he turned out to be wrong and lost the bet, you could tell that Red was not going to let this slide and that he was going to confront Andy. Darabot makes Red reveal this information to help us to get to know Red a little better.
- What does Darabont use to show the span of time that Andy has been in Shawshank, as he does not seem to age?
The main thing he uses to show the amount of time that Andy has been in Shawshank is the bird. When Andy first gets there the crow is nothing more than a baby bird that has just hatched from its egg. Brooks is feeding it worms and is keeping it in the inside pocket of his coat. By the time Andy looks into the library the bird is already fully grown. This shows that Andy has been in prison for quite some time now. By the time that Brooks leaves Shawshank the bird is getting old. It cannot fly as well anymore and it has to stay with Brooks. He later then releases it. I think that the bird represents Andy. I think this because the bird starts off in the prison very young just like Andy does. Then the bird gets free after spending basically all of his life in the prison. This is the exact same thing that happens to Andy. Darabont I think does this on purpose. He doesn’t want us to have a sense of how long Andy has been in jail.
Taxi Driver
Movie: 1976, color, 113 min
Director: Martin Scorsese
Actors: Robert De Niro, Jodi Foster, Cybill Shepherd
Taxi Driver is about a taxi driver that has social problems to say the least. He has no friends at all in the world and when he finally gets a date he scares her away. He believes that his goal in life is to help a 12-year-old prostitute escape her pimp. He does thin by going insane. He buys some guns and gets really efficient with them. Then he goes nuts and shows up at the pimp’s hotel and kills everyone there, including a client. The ironic thing is that he is rewarded for what he did.
- Why does Scorsese use dark and eerie music in the opening scene?
Scorsese uses this type of music to foreshadow the future actions of Travis. The music is very creepy. Our point of view as the audience is that of Travis. This suggests that Travis is a creepy character. Throughout the whole movie there is a sort of dark tint that follows Travis. This tint starts from the very opening scene of the movie. He is driving around in his taxi and he is panning the scene from left to right. The camera follows wherever his head goes. Everything he looks at is dark, nothing is colorful and nothing is lively. The music keeps getting more and more eerie. This suggests that Travis might start out normal but eventually go crazy, which he eventually does. Also, he was in the army, which means he could still be disoriented from. All these things contribute to Travis Bickle going insane.
- How does Scorsese use color in the movie?
The three main colors that are used in the movie are red, white, and blue. This is to demonstrate quite a few things. First it is used to show patriotism, as the movie takes place during a very hectic election. The red is used to show love and lust and in some case eeriness and panic. White is used to show calmness, coolness and serenity. This is the main color that Betsy wears in the movie. Travis on the other hand is always wearing dark clothes. He is never dressed colorfully. Blue is used to show the powerful side of things. Sport wears blue, as does the wizard. They are two very large characters in the film. They are wearing blue when we see them in the film. The only time that sport isn’t wearing blue is when he gets killed. He is wearing white in that scene which is ironic because that is the color for peace and he was defenseless when he died. I think he was purposely wearing white. Scorsese uses colors very well in this film
Umberto D
Movie: 1952, black and white, 89 min
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Actors: Carlo Battisti, Maria-Pia Casilio, Lina Gennari
Umberto D is about a very poor old Italian man. All he is trying to do is get by and find a place to live. His best friend is his dog and his landlady is charging him an outrageous price for a tiny little room. It soon becomes too much to handle and he must run away. He takes his dog and they hit the road with no destination ahead of them just hoping to somehow find some food, some money, and maybe if they’re lucky a place that they can call their home.
- What does Flicke represent in the movie?
In this film Flicke represent the only truly good thing that is left in Umberto’s life. Also, Flicke is Umberto’s only friend. He has no one else in his life. Maria does not really like him and his landlady hates him because he cannot pay his rent. He has no friends from the outside world because he does not have a job. When he goes to a restaurant to eat he sits down by himself. Flicke is the only one in the movie that shows some compassion towards Umberto. That is what the director wants. He wants us to feel bad for Umberto. Since the only person that shows some sympathy for him is a dog this forces us to feel bad for him as well. De Sica does a very good job of this. Whenever Umberto is feeling lonely or sad during the movie he goes straight to Flicke. When he almost loses Flicke it causes us to get very emotional. This is exactly what De Sica wants. Flicke represent friendship.
- Why does De Sica end the movie without resolving the problem?
De Sica does this for quite a few reasons. One reason that he does this is so that the viewer can put some of their own input and interpret the ending however they choose to. Another reason he does this is because throughout the entirety of the movie Flick has been Umberto’s main pal. I don’t think there is any better way to end the movie then him walking out of the shot with Flicke on their journey to nowhere. They do not know where life is going to take them next. They do not know if they will find a place to live. They don’t know where there next meal is going to come from. And neither do we. We can only guess and hope that everything turns out all right for Umberto and Flicke. These characters that we have become so attached to are now just walking aimlessly with no destination. They have no one they know. They have no connections to the outside world. They have no place they can just walk into and be accepted. We have to assume that everything is or is not going to be okay. That is why De Sica never truly ends the movie. He wants us to make up our own ending.
The Bicycle Thief
Movie: 1948, black and white, 93 min
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Actors: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell
The Bicycle Thief is about a poor Italian man who gets his bike stolen. At first he is unemployed but then he gets offered a job. The only way he can have this job is if he has a bicycle of his own. He cannot afford to buy a bicycle so he sells his sheets in order to buy the bike. On his first day working the bike gets stolen from him. Without this bike he can no longer work and if he can no longer work then he cannot make money. Without money he cannot support his family. From then on he searches for his bike but unfortunately never finds it.
- How does De Sica use music to show emotion in the movie?
When Ricci and Bruno are eating in the restaurant the band in the background is playing cheerful music. However, Ricci is talking about how if he does not find his bike then they will not be able to eat or pay for their home. I thought that this meant that although things were bad at that particular moment they were maybe going to eventually turn out to be all right. I guess I was wrong. I think what De Sica is trying to do here is toy with our emotion. He sort of giving us a false hope. He does this so that we still stay interested in the movie. At this point in the movie I was beginning to lose interest because all that was happening was a man was searching for his bike. It was boring. When there was a chance that he might find it became interested. I think this is what De Sica was trying to do. He used the music as the emotion of joy so as to keep us enticed in the movie.
- Why does De Sica choose to have Ricci never find the bike?
He does this so that we can decide whether Ricci ever finds the bike or not. If De Sica had decided to show Ricci finding the bike then the ending would have been set in stone. Instead he ends it with Ricci attempting to steal a bike but getting caught. He final shot is Ricci and Bruno walking off in shame. Maybe they go home to find a new bike waiting for them. Maybe they go and they find that the man who stole the bike has been arrested. All of these are possibilities simply because De Sica did not end the movie. He does this for the viewer’s entertainment. He does it so that we are thinking about the movie even once it has ended. We have to put the ending together. I cannot stand to leave anything unfinished. So I decided that he finds the bike next week and goes back to his job. I would not have been able to decide that had it not been for De Sica’s open ending.
American Graffiti
Movie: 1973, color, 110 min
Director: George Lucas
Actors: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat
American Graffiti is about a group of kids that have just graduated from high school. For some, it is their last night in town because they are leaving for college the next day. For others it is just another day in the life. There really is no concrete storyline to this movie. It really is just a story about these kids and what they did that night. Of course there is teenage drama as well as movie drama and it has its ups and down. In the end only one kid ends up going to college the rest decide to stay at home for all different reasons of their own.
- How does Lucas use music in the movie?
In the movie every character has their own car. Each car has its own radio. Every character in the film has his/her own specific type of music. This is the whole point of the music. That even though all of these kids are so different and they each have a different type of music about them they can still come together and be friends. The though guy character in the movie has a kind of tough rock music to him. But as the same time it is kind of scooting. This is because in the movie although he plays the tough guy we get to see a different more sensitive side of him. The geek in the movie has a really worried and fast paced music to him. This is because in the movie we get to see his dark side when he meets girls and tries to win her over. Especially when he steals a bottle of alcohol the music gets extremely fast paced. The character that has relationship problems has some nice mellow music to him. He is very indecisive and he tends to change the radio a lot. I think this is done on purpose. The last character has no car, which means no music. He is just the plain old average guy. He is not doing anything or going anywhere. The ironic thing is that in the end he is the only one that ends up going off to college.
- How does Lucas use wardrobe in the movie?
Just as with music each character has their own very specific wardrobe. They are all wearing things that suit their personalities as well as the music that goes with them. The tough guy wears black pants with a plain white t-shirt with a cigarette pack rolled up under his sleeve. This is classic tough guy. He kind of reminds me of Fonze. The geek is wearing glasses and a sweater vest. That is classic geek. He has a shirt pocket however with nothing in it. I think this shows that he does not want to be the geek anymore. The guy who has relationship problem is wearing average clothing. His girlfriend on the other hand is wearing his letterman jacket. This shows that they are really involved and that they care for each other. The other guy is wearing a dark red. Red might show joy but his dark color show mish=chief. This is demonstrated when he goes into a gang and start causing trouble. Each character has their own specific wardrobe that describes. Them.
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