Film: "Good Night and Good Luck" (2006)

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the film "Good Night and Good Luck" is a social commentary and biography of 1950s era CBS television newsman Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965), and the period of the "McCarthy Years". The author points out that the transitions between film shots and real footage was made excellent because both the entire film and the real footage are in black and white and almost always the people inside the CBS studio itself are seen looking at television monitors where this footage is playing. The paper relates that the film was effective visually as a depiction of the 1950s because it was shot it entirely in black and white (as there was no color television in the 1950s), the 1950s-era costumes, the prevalence of cigarette smoke inside the workplace, the 1950s jazz instrumental and vocal music and the overall stark, "no frills" atmosphere of this era and setting.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: A Background History of the Film
Beginning Credits
Lead-in Shots, Techniques, and Attraction of Audience Interest Sequencing of Scenes and Episodes from a Visual Standpoint
Color Scheme and Motifs
Costume Design. Music: How Does Music Support the Visuals? Recurring Visual Motifs and Symbols
A Scene with Only a Little Dialog Dependent on Visuals
The Most Memorable Scene
Camera work: Close ups? Distance shots? Unusual Angles?
Closing Scenes
Observations

From the Paper:

"The credits at the beginning of "Good Night and Good Luck" appear, interspersed with various lead-in shots of newsmen dressed in 1950's era tuxedos and smoking cigarettes, along with a few women in evening dress, waiting for a speech by Edward R. Murrow. The credits are not given all at once, but rather, mixed in, at evenly-timed short intervals, among the opening shots. The opening credits are not extensive, but mention only the director, producer, and a few others. When these few credits are over, then, wed are already involved in the lead in action of the movie, ..."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Good Night and Good Luck. With David Strathairn and Patricia Clarkson. Dir. George Clooney. Warner Brothers. 2005.

More papers on Film: "Good Night and Good Luck" (2006):

• Term Paper # 97898 : "Good Night, and Good Luck"
• Book Review # 132414 : "Language, Style and Fate in "Good Night Desdemona"
• Analytical Essay # 57258 : "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night"

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