Master of Suspense

Hitchcock is the Master of Suspense because he uses different techniques to add to the elements of the story. Some techniques that he uses are that a camera is not a camera, point of view editing, keep the story simple, characters must break clichés, and to use humor to add tension. I have noticed all of these plus more in Rear Window, including that characters break clichés. All the characters are different of what we think they are, such as Lisa is a smart blonde and the criminals are rich. Also, the camera is from the point of view of the audience. Its what the audience sees.

The Showdown

The film techniques that leone uses in the final showdown are dramatic music, close ups and jump cuts. The music really added to the suspense because it just added a dramatic touch. Also, the close ups on all of the men's faces was a new element of the western. With all the jump cuts, you can tell that he was influenced by the French New Wave. He invented the typical western by adding some elements from the French New Wave and some dramatic music, which was continuous throughout the entire film. With the close ups, you get to really understand the character, feel what they are thinking. Overall, Leone did reinvent the typical Western and he used these key elements.

Evolution of the Western

Over time, the western has developed to be more modern. Now, we see westerns being about controversial issues. Also, they have developed into action movies and science fiction movies. This change reflects what issues and what genres are acceptable in the US and in the world. The western has many key elements and a certain style, that by applying it to a different genre, it's still a western.

Reinventing the Western

Some characteristics of Westerns: West of the Mississippi, small towns, a villain against town, a guy trying to protect the town. The women are damsels in distressed most of the time. The men think that they can handle everything, they settle it with violence. In The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, it takes place in a small town west of the Mississippi. Liberty Valance is the villain, and the protagonist is Stauddered. The only difference is that Holly is more independent than a damsel in distress. In The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, it takes place west of the Mississippi, there are small towns. The villain seems to be against the people and the town and the "good" guy isn't really a guy protecting the town, he's more protecting himself. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is different from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance because some of the main characteristics don't match. They are both still westerns, but The Good, the Bad and the Ugly has different characteristics because it's a spaghetti western, there for the director Sergio Leone has different views.

Film Timeline & Techniques

Right now we are around the 1950s, such as in 1959 with the French New Wave.

In the 1960s, American cinema was challenging the Hays Code.

In the French New Wave, some film techniques are jump cuts, tracking shots and mise en scene.

Kurosawa used tracking shots, shot-reverse shots, flashbacks, point of view shots, low key lighting and wipe transitions.

In Children In Heaven they used a close up of the shoes everywhere, and the tracking shots of the children running.

Critic

Inglorious Bastards per 5. :

Acting: 3

Film Techniques: 3

Overall: Pretty good, just needed to enunciate more. Couldn't really hear or distinguish who was who. But great acting.

21 per 5.

Acting: 3 1/2

Film Techniques: 3

Overall: I would have like to see a little bit more of your movie. You guys were really good at acting, just would have like to see a little bit more.

Cinequest

Films:

Cooking History, The Desert of Forbidden Art, The Exploding Girl, Gabi on the Roof in July, The Orange Girl.

Short Films: The Action Hero's Guide to Saving Lives, Ana's Playground, The Day I grew up, The Desire, True Beauty This Night.

Method Acting

Method Acting is when you use relaxation, sense memory and concentration, emotional memory, characterization, and scene work. You use relaxation to get rid of the muscular tensions that keep the actor's instrument from being free. Strasberg believed that actors who relax their muscles reach a higher state of concentration and responsiveness. You use sense memory to recall objects and experiences through the senses. Sense memory exercises also help method actors to believe in the given circumstances of the scene they're working on. Actors try to recreate with their senses what happened at the event and how they felt. Strasberg also developed several exercises to help actors create believable characters on stage. With scene work, method actors use a list of question when they prepare for a role. Method acting was developed by Lee Strasberg, and its main goal is to help the actor create real thoughts and emotions under imaginary circumstances.

Dogme vs. Neorealism

Dogme:

1. All filming must be done on location. All props &sets can not be brought on location. If a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found.
2. Sound can not be produced, it must be real.
3. You must use a hand held camera, and it cannot stand still.
4. Only natural light. Only, if necessary, use ONE lamp connected to the camera.
5. Optical work and filters are forbidden.
6. The film must not contain superficial action
7. Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden (that is to say that the film takes place here and now).
8. Must not have a genre.
9. The final picture must be transferred to the Academy 35mm film, with an aspect ratio of 4:3, that is, not widescreen.
10. The director must not be credited.

This is different from neorealism because not only is it reality, its also very strict and has lots of qualities of a low budget films.

Zavatini and Neorealism

Zavitini says that Neorealism is a form of cinema that shows what reality is. He claims that American cinema is a fake reality. We can't just show a "real" scene. We must exaggerate our scene. Zavatini basically just says that neorealism is a concept of reality and it shows real life.

Italian Neo-Realism

Italian Neo-realism originated by the outbreak of WWII, and Italy was under Mussolini. Movies in the 1930s took place in big hotels, tony nightclubs and ocean liners. The protagonists always found a resolution to their insipid dilemmas. American movies tended to show a "paradise" in America. Since Italians rarely saw those images in their lives, directors started to "go into the streets".

Some American influences were the noir writing and films. Directors interplayed between characters and surroundings, the bleak, unforgiving interiors and street shots reflective of the lousy hand.

International Cinema v. Hollywood Cinema

International Cinema: Metropolis, The Last Laugh, Battleship Potemkin, Arrival at a Train Station.

Hollywood Cinema: Angeles With Dirty Faces, Modern Times, On the Waterfront, Double Indeminty, His Girl Friday, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, What a Wonderful Life.

They both have great story lines. Only international movies have less restrictions, The acting styles are almost the same, The stories don't end the same, and the heroes are some what different.

Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando's acting is more than just talking and memorizing words. He also moves his hands, and his feet. He's doing so much more. When he is on the swing talking to Edie, he moves to the swing & starts playing with his hands & Edie's glove. He is one of the best actor's that I have ever seen.

The Western

Some characteristics of Westerns: West of the Mississippi, small towns, a villain against town, a guy trying to protect the town.

The women are damsels in distressed most of the time. The men think that they can handle everything, they settle it with violence.

In The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, it takes place in a small town west of the Mississippi. Liberty Valance is the villain, and the protagonist is Stauddered. The only difference in this movie is that the Holly is not a damsel in distressed, she is quite independent.

Film Studies., Dialogue

Amy, Carlos, Diriye

Dialogue Script

There are three people discussing about who's going to kill their enemy Tootoo. None of them can do it.

Amy: You're tooting the wrong ringer boys.

Carlos: All you have to do is grab the bean-shooter and throw lead.

A: Then why aren't you the trigger man?!

Diriye: Well one of us has to rob out.

A: Well have some trouble boys because I ain't doing it. Savvy?

Carlos: I'm wearing iron right now. I'll go do it.

Diriye: We can't lose you! If you get caught, you will go to the big house.

Carlos: Nevermind that. We have so many bent cars, they never caught me.

Amy: Oh well, go put Tootoo in a big sleep.

Diriye: We're not wearing bracelets tonight, but we're getting lots of berries.

Film Noir

My definition of film noir is a film with a protagonist that never is "happy" at the end of the story. He wants the lady and usually never gets her. He's middle class, and lives in the city. Movies take place mostly at night. The definitions of the critics are mostly saying that film noir depicts American culture and crime during the 40's and 50's. I have seen one of the quintessential films. I have seen The Big Sleep. A film director that I saw on the list was Fritz Lang, Orson Welles, Michael Curtiz.

Film Studies Class Questions

1.How have you organized your binder? I organized my binder into units. That way it’s easier for me to find the things I need to study for by unit.

2.What kinds of assignments do we do in Film class? We do lots of technology based assignments that match up with the film or unit we’re watching. We’ve done montage and are currently doing a podcast. We also do book work where we analyze the movie and try its styles. We read an excerpt from His Girl Friday, which is a screwball comedy and we had to read it fast.

3.Look at the Film History Timeline, in the class where are we at on the Timeline? Right now we are in 1941 with Citizen Kane.

4.Has your view of film changed at all since the start of the class? It has. Now every time I watch a movie, I try to discet it and interpret what everything means. Your outlook on movies really do change.

5. What kinds of projects have we done? How have these helped you to understand film

better? The montage project really helped me understand film better because we actually did a montage.

Film Techniques, Horror.

The Nightmare Before Christmas- The film techniques used were tracking shots and transitions. There was a scene where there were 3 vampires and when they rise their cape make it go black. Then this transitions to another scene. I saw lots of zooming scenes and then transitioning by going through windows and doors.

Shawn of the Dead- They us some traditional horror scenes, for example going behind the shoulder. This movie was really funny. Some other technique that they used was the zoom of the face to make a more dramatic effect. It so suspenseful to just see their face an see what is going to happen.

Horror Movies (Film Studies)

My favorite horror movie is actually Thir13en Ghosts and Return to House on Haunted Hill. For me, scary is more about the paranormal things. When its about slashers and things like that, it doesn't really get to me. When you think about ghosts, that can really happen to you. In the horror movies I enjoy, the film techniques I see are the use of you can see the ghost then they disappear. They also give you a history of the character.

Hays Code

Question 1:

20. Fame;

19. Zombieland; murder scenes, language

18. Mean Girls; Sexual Activities, language

17. Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End; Violence shown

16. The Devil Wears Prada; Sexual Activies

15. The Hangover; Sexual activities, drug use, alcohol, nakedness

14. Titanic; nude scene, implied sexual activity, death

13. Corpse Bride; drugs - poison

12. Hairspray; interracial partners, suggestive dancing

11. Inglorious Bastards; too much violence, interracial relations.

10. The Proposal; nudity, sexual jokes, suggestive dancing, language

9. Obsessed; violence, sex scenes,

8. Nick and Norah's Infinate Playlist; sexual content, implied sex, suggestive dancing

7. Juno; giving birth, sex,

6. Independence Day; violence

5. Signs;

4. A Cinderella Story; suggestive sexual intentions, passionate kiss

3. Enchanted; a passionate kiss

2. High School Musical 3;

1. Day After Tomorrow; the end of the world

Question 2:

The postive effects of censorship are that the naive minds of young children don't become rotten with all suggestive elements. They also are able to grow in a society where they aren't surrounded by violence and sex. Some negative effects are that when you are mature enough to see the things the censor, you won't be able to. Sometimes, those scenes are important to the plot but we won't be able to see it. When you mature, you can see the censored material without being childish

Question 3:

Soon to come

Question 4:

soon to come