what is the importance of mine-en-scene and/or sound increasing meaning and generating response in the films you have studied?
during the final scene of city of god we witness the death of lil Ze, the short build up to this moment has several moments of mine en scene that added weight to the sequence for me. For instance as melon head and the police lead lil Ze to the final moment we are shown a low key mid shot of lil Ze getting escorted with a concrete mesh behind him and this to me pointed out the darkness and the trapped sense that will follow as if to say that the moment of death is coming and there is now ay out of this and that perhaps mirrors the entire film in itself as throughout we are constantly shown that it is impossible to escape the city of god in one piece, we saw this in shaggy who was shot as they attempted to escape as well as goose and even benny. another moment that stood out during this scene was that everything from rockets Point of View was from behind this concrete cage as it were and this said to me that rocket was out, like he wasn't a part of the animals in the "zoo" who tear each other apart for scraps in that Lil Ze's business is literally scraps, he was just an innocent person looking into a cage. this idea as stated is shown when shaggy attempts to escape the city of god and is gunned down by the corrupt cops and as we watch his attempted escape through the log shot from within the car that watches shaggy weave in and out of the buildings before inevitably dying and it adds to the sense that another "innocent" person has to watch the guilty "animals" go through everything and then die however this perhaps in itself has a flip in that we see Denise "trapped" inside the car and so it could be saying that she's actually trapped in leaving the city because shell inevitably be dragged back into it and she actually is as later we see her with one of the drug lords that Lil Ze has to murder to take over.this then again is flipped on its head for goose as when he dies during his escape he's killed by another "animal" and so there isn't a cage in the way except for possibly the city boundaries themselves. this possibly adds to the message of futility that people are always killed right in the borderlands of their escape, goose on the city limits, benny on his leaving party and lil Ze to a degree as with his business almost non existent he could literally walk away but its his decision not to run that then gets him killed at the hands of the runts.
Tuesday, 6 October 2015
Wednesday, 30 September 2015
Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood exclusively portrays anti heroes?
films
item 1-
Dirty Harry (1971)-
I chose this as my focus film as it uses several scenes where Eastwoods character does the right thing however he often does it a way that could perceive him as the antagonist in some modern films. Where his fellow officers follow the rules he breaks them to get the job done, including risking a Childs life. This perhaps is shown to be Eastwood's exclusive role as it doesn't change throughout the film. Theres quite a few sources that suggest that this film re-vamped the cop who believes that he can get more done by working outside the confines of the law. Eastwood shows several traits that appear to be his signature to a role, these being a gruff low voice and also a lack of dialogue, "grizzled handsomeness" and the disregard for authority.
item 2-
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966)-
Eastwood literally plays the "good" in this however again there is several moments that almost place him closer to the bad, this again allows us to question his morals and once again there are several scenes that an audience perhaps wouldn't see from regular hero. Again there are a lot of sources that suggest that this film changed the face of the western genre to use characters who are less complete heroes and more of personal gain "anti heroes"
item 3-
Heartbreak Ridge (1986)-
Eastwood plays a drill sergeant training troops which makes his character the good as he is literally training these men to survive. He openly beats and insults his troops (including firing at them with a live weapon during training, several times) while frequently getting into trouble with command and the police.
books
item 4-
Film/Genre pg 148-9(rick altman)-
This goes into a little detail about how "heroes" traditionally have become rule breakers by way of becoming good such as the detective breaking the law to catch someone which is perfectly within the idea of dirty harry. "buck authority" which could perfectly describe Eastwood's typical character role.
item 5-Seeing Is Believing-Peter Biskind Pg 342
This book contains a very useful paragraph that explains how Eastwood showed audiences that you could shoot first or shoot someone in the back and these qualities are shown in the chosen films and so the information would be useful for providing yet more to the argument.
item 6-
Clint Eastwood the American Rebel(Marc elliot)-
This book goes into in depth detail about clint Eastwood and his life which lead up to his roles, each role has a small explanation into each role that he has portrayed and also his influences which could explain the roles.
documentaries
item 7-
Inside the Actors Studio (2003)-
This Tv interview goes into a lot of detail about all of eastwards career and goes into detail about each role he has portrayed and why, also has some points that could be used in arguments for and against his work.
item 8-
Dirty Harry's Way-
a short documentary that uses dirty harry in comparison to the old gangster anti heroes who would gun down suspects and bad guys without a second thought and then compares to Eastwood's portrayal of Harry.
articles
item 9-
Relevant Magazine-the rise of the anti hero-goes into detail about the anti hero and the premise while naming two of the films used during the presentation. this will be useful because it shows clear agreement with the point made in the presentation.
item 10-
Empire Magazine, all used film reviews-
a useful but small review that contains a useful quote that while small will add to the argument if needed. goes into some small detail about the actions of each of his characters and how they could be considered anti heroes.
item 11-
Anti heroes: is there a goodness of purpose-Brian A Kinnaird
a Web article goes into detail about the anti hero and specifically references dirty harry during the explanations and uses it to reference the common idea of the anti hero. includes a lot of detail into Dirty Harry which is the focus film for this presentation.
item 12-
A Film History Magazine"Clint Eastwood, Americas Anti Hero" by Justin Aylward
in depth detail into Clint Eastwood's role as the typical anti hero and specifically names two of the used films in its article as well as providing some extremely useful quotes and adds a lot to the argument as article does cover it as well
item 13-
The New York times
The New York times offers up several reviews of the chosen films and offers arguments towards the chosen question and the anti hero nature of Clint Eastwood's characters and also provides some negative or deterring comments that could go towards making another side to an argument.
item 14-
the Washington post-Heartbreak Ridge
goes into a lot of detail about one of the chosen films and contains a lot of quotable lines that would be useful when creating a presentation script and also offers an oppositional opinion that could be used to create an argument.
rejected sources
clint eastwood wikipedia- while this would be a valuable source it doesn't go into much detail about specific parts required. also each part that are useful have been covered in greater detail in some of th other sources and so it would be simply repeating the same information.
Gran Torino-while this film does match the desired idea about Eastwood's Anti hero status however i feel that i know more about the chosen films and that each one complements the others or doesn't offer enough separation from the other source films
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/clint-eastwood/27287/clint-eastwood-don-siegel-and-the-great-anti-hero- this source does contain some information about the focus film its simple information about the plot that has already been stated in other sources however the other details of the source cover separate movie to the chosen source film
films
item 1-
Dirty Harry (1971)-
I chose this as my focus film as it uses several scenes where Eastwoods character does the right thing however he often does it a way that could perceive him as the antagonist in some modern films. Where his fellow officers follow the rules he breaks them to get the job done, including risking a Childs life. This perhaps is shown to be Eastwood's exclusive role as it doesn't change throughout the film. Theres quite a few sources that suggest that this film re-vamped the cop who believes that he can get more done by working outside the confines of the law. Eastwood shows several traits that appear to be his signature to a role, these being a gruff low voice and also a lack of dialogue, "grizzled handsomeness" and the disregard for authority.
item 2-
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966)-
Eastwood literally plays the "good" in this however again there is several moments that almost place him closer to the bad, this again allows us to question his morals and once again there are several scenes that an audience perhaps wouldn't see from regular hero. Again there are a lot of sources that suggest that this film changed the face of the western genre to use characters who are less complete heroes and more of personal gain "anti heroes"
item 3-
Heartbreak Ridge (1986)-
Eastwood plays a drill sergeant training troops which makes his character the good as he is literally training these men to survive. He openly beats and insults his troops (including firing at them with a live weapon during training, several times) while frequently getting into trouble with command and the police.
books
item 4-
Film/Genre pg 148-9(rick altman)-
This goes into a little detail about how "heroes" traditionally have become rule breakers by way of becoming good such as the detective breaking the law to catch someone which is perfectly within the idea of dirty harry. "buck authority" which could perfectly describe Eastwood's typical character role.
item 5-Seeing Is Believing-Peter Biskind Pg 342
This book contains a very useful paragraph that explains how Eastwood showed audiences that you could shoot first or shoot someone in the back and these qualities are shown in the chosen films and so the information would be useful for providing yet more to the argument.
item 6-
Clint Eastwood the American Rebel(Marc elliot)-
This book goes into in depth detail about clint Eastwood and his life which lead up to his roles, each role has a small explanation into each role that he has portrayed and also his influences which could explain the roles.
documentaries
item 7-
Inside the Actors Studio (2003)-
This Tv interview goes into a lot of detail about all of eastwards career and goes into detail about each role he has portrayed and why, also has some points that could be used in arguments for and against his work.
item 8-
Dirty Harry's Way-
a short documentary that uses dirty harry in comparison to the old gangster anti heroes who would gun down suspects and bad guys without a second thought and then compares to Eastwood's portrayal of Harry.
articles
item 9-
Relevant Magazine-the rise of the anti hero-goes into detail about the anti hero and the premise while naming two of the films used during the presentation. this will be useful because it shows clear agreement with the point made in the presentation.
item 10-
Empire Magazine, all used film reviews-
a useful but small review that contains a useful quote that while small will add to the argument if needed. goes into some small detail about the actions of each of his characters and how they could be considered anti heroes.
item 11-
Anti heroes: is there a goodness of purpose-Brian A Kinnaird
a Web article goes into detail about the anti hero and specifically references dirty harry during the explanations and uses it to reference the common idea of the anti hero. includes a lot of detail into Dirty Harry which is the focus film for this presentation.
item 12-
A Film History Magazine"Clint Eastwood, Americas Anti Hero" by Justin Aylward
in depth detail into Clint Eastwood's role as the typical anti hero and specifically names two of the used films in its article as well as providing some extremely useful quotes and adds a lot to the argument as article does cover it as well
item 13-
The New York times
The New York times offers up several reviews of the chosen films and offers arguments towards the chosen question and the anti hero nature of Clint Eastwood's characters and also provides some negative or deterring comments that could go towards making another side to an argument.
item 14-
the Washington post-Heartbreak Ridge
goes into a lot of detail about one of the chosen films and contains a lot of quotable lines that would be useful when creating a presentation script and also offers an oppositional opinion that could be used to create an argument.
rejected sources
clint eastwood wikipedia- while this would be a valuable source it doesn't go into much detail about specific parts required. also each part that are useful have been covered in greater detail in some of th other sources and so it would be simply repeating the same information.
Gran Torino-while this film does match the desired idea about Eastwood's Anti hero status however i feel that i know more about the chosen films and that each one complements the others or doesn't offer enough separation from the other source films
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/clint-eastwood/27287/clint-eastwood-don-siegel-and-the-great-anti-hero- this source does contain some information about the focus film its simple information about the plot that has already been stated in other sources however the other details of the source cover separate movie to the chosen source film
Monday, 21 September 2015
Mel Brooks
Does the use of "spoofing" make Mel Brooks an auteur?
item 1-
Spaceballs-I chose this as my focus film because it "spoofs" almost every scene from the original star wars trilogy and to me does show the ideas that Mel brooks spoofs such as his Jewish heritage, sci-fi(even having one scene where john hurt recreates his scene from "Alien" where the chest burster appears) and so will display that he is an auteur
item 2-
Blazing saddles- this film pulls a lot on the ideas of the western and the opinions of a small town towards a lot of things, especially blacks (which even today is serious to the point where Quentin tarantinos "Django unchained" has similar ideals) and even has several fourth wall breakages.
item 3-
Dracula: dead and loving it- once again this film takes a pre exiting story and "spoofs" it with comical tones to a fairly dark and serious story about murder and the supernatural. i find this useful as it backs up the blazing saddles approach that i need for the question.
item 4-
item X-
Alien chest burster-scene will be used in comparison to the spaceballs scene to show the idea of the spoof and how brooks changed it to add to the comical feel of the film.
item Y-
Bram stokers Dracula-as stated Item 3 is a spoof of the Dracula story and so some comparisons may be made or shown depending on the needs of the presentation.
http://www.melbrooks.com- reminder
item 1-
Spaceballs-I chose this as my focus film because it "spoofs" almost every scene from the original star wars trilogy and to me does show the ideas that Mel brooks spoofs such as his Jewish heritage, sci-fi(even having one scene where john hurt recreates his scene from "Alien" where the chest burster appears) and so will display that he is an auteur
item 2-
Blazing saddles- this film pulls a lot on the ideas of the western and the opinions of a small town towards a lot of things, especially blacks (which even today is serious to the point where Quentin tarantinos "Django unchained" has similar ideals) and even has several fourth wall breakages.
item 3-
Dracula: dead and loving it- once again this film takes a pre exiting story and "spoofs" it with comical tones to a fairly dark and serious story about murder and the supernatural. i find this useful as it backs up the blazing saddles approach that i need for the question.
item 4-
item X-
Alien chest burster-scene will be used in comparison to the spaceballs scene to show the idea of the spoof and how brooks changed it to add to the comical feel of the film.
item Y-
Bram stokers Dracula-as stated Item 3 is a spoof of the Dracula story and so some comparisons may be made or shown depending on the needs of the presentation.
http://www.melbrooks.com- reminder
Thursday, 17 September 2015
La Haine Question
What is the importance of mise-en-scene and/or sound in creating meaning and generating response in the films you have studied?
each scene of "La Haine" has several meanings that the mies-en-scene or sound. the final scene that sees one or two of our characters removed (Hubert's fate like several moments in the film are completely unexplained) and during this scene we see a large portrait painting of Charles Baudelaire who once said "The world only goes round by misunderstanding" and this scene, to me is a direct result of several misunderstandings throughout the film that brings our characters (Vinz, Said and hubert) to this point where the police have them against the car. the gun goes off by mistake and once again a misunderstanding leads to the final stand off between hubert and the cop that killed vinz, and more importantly it all takes place underneath this painting and from the shot behind Hubert shows that the whole scene is contained in a little area which says to me that the whole idea is being proved almost scientifically right in front of Baudelaire who looks down on them from above. and this idea perhaps extends out towards the entire film as one of the first shots is of the same portrait and one of the last ones is and so this is perhaps saying that the final scene has been destined from the start as most of the happenstances during the film are just misunderstandings.
another scene that uses miss-en-scene to printout more meaning to a scene is when Vinz daydreams about shooting the traffic officer. both sides are shown to have a higher meaning as behind vinz there is a light ring which almost forms a halo above his head showing that he is possibly in the right however the ring is fractured and tome that seems to say that maybe this is the right thing to do but its not ever going to be the 100% right thing. on the cops side a window behind them has a massive cross on it which comes before an empty and desolate store which again to me seems to point out that the cops are in the wrong for the death of Abdul and so need to be removed or punished however when vinz does dream shoot one of them he flies back (something which is a major cliche in american movies) into the cross and window shattering both which seems to be that the illusion has been broken, the police themselves are not to blame as a whole and instead its just the actions of one man and so by killing this possibly innocent man isn't the right thing and so with the smashing of the glass von snaps out of it and then when hubert gets annoyed within for thinking about it and begins to yell and complain vinz isn't as quick to mouth off and defend himself instead looking as if he has just snapped out of a stupor.
each scene of "La Haine" has several meanings that the mies-en-scene or sound. the final scene that sees one or two of our characters removed (Hubert's fate like several moments in the film are completely unexplained) and during this scene we see a large portrait painting of Charles Baudelaire who once said "The world only goes round by misunderstanding" and this scene, to me is a direct result of several misunderstandings throughout the film that brings our characters (Vinz, Said and hubert) to this point where the police have them against the car. the gun goes off by mistake and once again a misunderstanding leads to the final stand off between hubert and the cop that killed vinz, and more importantly it all takes place underneath this painting and from the shot behind Hubert shows that the whole scene is contained in a little area which says to me that the whole idea is being proved almost scientifically right in front of Baudelaire who looks down on them from above. and this idea perhaps extends out towards the entire film as one of the first shots is of the same portrait and one of the last ones is and so this is perhaps saying that the final scene has been destined from the start as most of the happenstances during the film are just misunderstandings.
another scene that uses miss-en-scene to printout more meaning to a scene is when Vinz daydreams about shooting the traffic officer. both sides are shown to have a higher meaning as behind vinz there is a light ring which almost forms a halo above his head showing that he is possibly in the right however the ring is fractured and tome that seems to say that maybe this is the right thing to do but its not ever going to be the 100% right thing. on the cops side a window behind them has a massive cross on it which comes before an empty and desolate store which again to me seems to point out that the cops are in the wrong for the death of Abdul and so need to be removed or punished however when vinz does dream shoot one of them he flies back (something which is a major cliche in american movies) into the cross and window shattering both which seems to be that the illusion has been broken, the police themselves are not to blame as a whole and instead its just the actions of one man and so by killing this possibly innocent man isn't the right thing and so with the smashing of the glass von snaps out of it and then when hubert gets annoyed within for thinking about it and begins to yell and complain vinz isn't as quick to mouth off and defend himself instead looking as if he has just snapped out of a stupor.
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