Abstract This paper summarizes Scott Cooper's 1989 article third cinema in the United States". It emphasizes the need for disenfranchised peoples to tell their stories from their own perspectives. The author discusses the problems of ideology. The paper also explores common characteristics of Third Cinema and Third World Cinema.
Abstract This paper states that few texts can make claims to possess the kind of methodical comprehensiveness as George Melnyk's "One Hundred Years of Canadian Cinema". The author discusses various aspects of the text to provide an evaluation of the importance of the book's contribution to the study of cinema in Canada. The paper includes the author's argument, the credibility of the evidence and the overall value of the book.
From the Paper "Few texts can make claims to possess the kind of methodical comprehensiveness that George Melnyk's One Hundred Years of Canadian Cinema does. It is a massive, tome of a book whose physical heft correctly suggests all of the intellectual and academic weight that the author imbued within the pages of the three hundred sixty-one page work on the history of the Canadian cinema. Not to give away my feelings on the book prematurely, but the work that Melnyk managed in composing this piece of much-needed non-fiction should be considered one of the author's greatest achievements. The remainder of this review will be divided into four sections. The first will examine Melnyk's thesis, argument, and goal in writing "One Hundred Years of Canadian Cinema"."
Abstract This paper examines David Bordwell's critical article "The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice." It shows how Borwell aims to propose that the 'art cinema' is actually a real form of film practice, with a historical background and distinct procedures that are taken in order to generate its formation. The paper examines Bordwell's ideas and the examples that he provides.
From the Paper "The article then goes on to explain the use of narrative intelligence. Usually the narrator makes it known that he or she is well informed of the future events that the characters in the story will experience. Using this knowledge, the film may use various techniques such as the flash-forward to exercise the narrator's power over the viewer. In this way, Bordwell explains that the art cinema is more focused on plot rather than story. Therefore the who, how and why are central to progressing the plot further in art cinema. The conclusion of art films is then discussed. Bordwell, outlining the fact that the characters lack particular goals explains that because of this, the story itself will quite often lack a particular ending. Or at least one with a solid, understandable resolution. This assists Bordwell in implying that art cinema is just a reflection of life itself, which also has no clear resolution."
Abstract The evolution of Italian cinema, from the neorealism of the 1940s and early 1950s to the more personal realism of the late 1950s and early 1960s, was defined by complex forces at work in Italian cultural, political and economic life at the time.
Abstract This paper compares and contrasts classical Hollywood films with Italian art cinema. It explores the characteristics and elements of each. The paper provides examples from "Casablanca," "The Bicycle Thief," "A Fistful of Dollars" and "Last Tango in Paris." The author discusses the Hollywood star system and principles of Neo-Realism.
Abstract This paper relates that the major cinematic areas of tradition in Brazilian cinema include cannibalism, hunger, vera cruz and other areas of social and political significance. The paper then takes a look at each of these
Latin American traditions and in an effort to provide an understanding of each tradition in Brazilian filmmaking history. The paper juxtaposes these traditions to the events of the eras in which they emerged and the dual dichotomy of Brazil's political impact on filmmaking, and cinema as an impact on Brazilian society.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Literature Review
The Early Years
Cinema Novo
"Vidas Secas"
"The Guns"
"Garota de Ipanema" (Girl From Ipanema", 1967)
"Terra em Transe" ("Lang in Anguish", 1967)
Third Cinema Amacio Mazzaropi
1980s - 1990s: A Shift In Brazilian Filmmaking
"At Play in the Fields of the Lord"
Conclusion
From the Paper "The earlier works between 1930 and 1959 were creative, although the costumes relied largely on the actor's own sense of style and resources. This cinema reflected the development that the country was going through, and investment by foreign markets and banks. Between 1956 and 1961 the country experienced growth in economic output and production. Not so different than in America, where this period represented what has often been referred to as the good years for the nuclear family; in Brazil the Brazilian president, Kubitschek promised 50 years of progress in five, and he made good on his promise."
Tags: hybridity, voice, chanchada, political, popular
Abstract This paper will explore three phases in modern Italian cinema as represented by the work of three directors. As will be seen, De Sica's neorealism, Fellini's auteur cinema and Tornatore's modern sentimental revisioning represent a complex progression in the concerns and aesthetics of Italian cinema.
Abstract The paper examines how snubbed by French film academics, lovingly received (generally) by the audiences, Cinema du look at first appears as a triumph of style over substance. It systematically identifies the main features of the cinema movementby referencing the works of three main directors (Besson, Beineix and Carax) and demonstrates how the movement is not simply a triumph of style over substance. It shows how beneath the surface of these films (and these directors) is an interconnected postmodern reflection of contemporary society.
From the Paper "Cinema du look, to some extent, can also be viewed as a return to the early days of cinema, where the spectacle of the movies was paramount. The "cinema of attractions" as it is known. What is on the screen is there to amaze and astound the viewer, to be pleasing to her eye. Science fiction movies and other spectacle movies like The Fifth Element (1997), which I would argue definitely shares qualities with other cinema du look texts (fantastic colours, the "Diva" who sings an operatic number, the lack of attention to characterisation and a wafer thin story) are viewed as being in a formulaic genre. The history of French cinema, and accordingly the attitudes of French establishment film critics, is the history of the auteur, and may go some way to explaining the hostility met by cinema du look amongst the French critics of the time."
Abstract This paper discusses how classic cinema doesn?t simply happen and how it takes time, dedication, and a certain "Je ne sait quoi" to create a theme, method, or a wave of influence that can be seen and felt years after its initial pass. It examines how classic cinema goes above and beyond the call of simple entertainment and how it creates a benchmark and platform, which future filmmakers will use to create new and interesting ways to tell a same story over and over again. In particular, it analyzes how films, such as "Birth of a Nation" (1915), "The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari" (1920), and "Battleship Potemkin" (1925) ,through their unique, pioneer, or innovative approach to the film medium, created ideas and methods that are still in use today and how they have bestowed upon themselves the right to carry the title of classic cinema.
From the Paper "In the film "The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari" (1920) the most obvious image is that of surrealism. This movie is an eerie look into issues that revolve around insanity and hideousness. The set itself is incredibly expressionistic and offers the viewer many elusive and vague images. This fits in well with the location, which is, through most of the movie, an insane asylum. The doctor has hypnotic powers, which is depicted as the ultimate power over the bourgeois, violence and the fragile qualities of love. The film's background is also incredibly surrealistic, and for the time is was created this would be incredibly frightening."
Abstract In this paper the author highlights many of the uses of cinema as a means to political and social communication. He cites many examples of where politics have been affected by the use of cinema and social trends have been established as a result.The author also centres on cases where American movies have been banned due to political issues and influences. The paper concludes by stating that cinema is not the only influence on the changes that have occurred in politics and society.
From the Paper "A lot of Canadians seem to be loyal to Canadian art, Canadian music, orchestras perform works by Canadian composers, and theatres that perform Canadian plays. But at the same time there are movies that are being now produced and shot in Canada when once they sued to be shot and filmed in the US. Although a lot of Canadians say that they would prefer to be distinctive of their own culture and society at the end of it seems like if they were given a choice they would rather opt for the American way of living."
Tags: attitude, censor, hollywood, regulation, cluture, art
A comparison of Hollywood classicism and art cinema using the films "Singin' in the Rain," directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen and "My Life to Live" (Vivre Sa Vie) directed by Jean-Luc Godard.
Abstract This essay attempts to broadly define the characteristics and underlying principles of both Hollywood classicism and the art cinema. It references one film from each category - "Singin' in the Rain," directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen and "My Life to Live" (Vivre Sa Vie) directed by Jean-Luc Godard, respectively. The paper argues that the predominant stylistic distinction between the two modes lies in the art cinema's subversion of logical causality.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Hollywood Classicism
The Art Cinema Conclusion
From the Paper "Moreover, Godard is also situating his work in the context of New Wave cinema for his audience. This is evident towards the end of My Life to Live in which - in one of the moving, documentary-like boulevard-scanning shots that are commonplace in the film - Godard shows and has his characters comment upon a line-up of movie patrons to see Truffaut's Jules et Jim; a work by his New Wave rival. Within the broader span of cinematic history Godard situates his protagonist, Nana, in a mirror relationship to the protagonist of La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc. As Nana watches her cinematic predecessor crying in closeup there is a closeup of a tear running down Nana's face as well; a referential cinematic relationship that Godard's audience would both expect and understand."
Abstract This paper will consider the differences of both Asian and American cinema. This paper will also look at the role of the hero in the action genre of these cinemas. A suggestion will be made that examining the ways heroes are portrayed reveals a great deal about the unspoken concerns of these two vastly different societies.
Abstract The films of the soviet montage were historically inaccurate films made to service the needs of a very powerful communist government, a government very aware of the power of the cinema and propaganda. This paper explores the way Eisenstein re-created the past in his films and created a filmic mythology of the revolution. It explains that Eisenstein created this mythology by creating politically successful films, also by introducing the idea of heroic realism, by using documentary conventions and by using the techniques of plotless cinema.
From the Paper "We stopped the event where it had become an asset to the revolution" ?Sergei Eisenstein This quote summarises the attitude of the filmmakers of the soviet montage era. The films of the soviet montage were historically inaccurate films made to service the needs of a very powerful communist government, a government very aware of the power of the cinema and propaganda. The revolutionary filmmakers who were sponsored by the government pandered to the taste of the current leaders, and by doing so created a filmic representation of reality far different from actual events. Filmmakers such as Eisenstein twisted reality to suit the needs of the revolution."
Tags: bordwell, cinema, maniplulation, montage, revolution, stalin
Abstract The paper examines "Magical Reels: A History of Cinema in Latin America" where King attempts to explore how nationalism and the regional identity of Latin America have evolved along with the growth of cinema. The paper outlines the main discussions in the book and identifies its weaknesses. The paper concludes that while the work is a valuable overview to a neglected subject area, it does not do justice to the whole of the region and does not enable the region's artists to be rendered in their own context, but instead seen through a Western gaze.
From the Paper "Increasingly, scholars are focused on analyzing art, including cinematic art, not in the abstract, but as a cultural product or artifact. However, in doing so, an interesting question is raised: is the culture of a society to be studied as merely a 'national' product, when that construct itself is somewhat problematic, given the difficulty of determining national borders in a postcolonial world, where the former European imperial powers drew the border lines of those nations? Or is it too subsuming of local differences to speak of, for example, a 'Latin American' identity? As its title indicates, Magical Reels: A History of Cinema in Latin America by the cultural historian John King offers the thesis that studying Latin America as a cultural project is valuable, because it highlights some of the unexplored and under-examined aspects of Latin American cinematic culture and the films produced in once-overlooked nations of the region. However, because of the limitations of available documentary evidence, King is to a degree forced to repeat the mistakes of previous studies of this region, namely to focus only on countries with political controversies of interest to the West, or upon films that drew international acclaim and attention."
Abstract This paper discusses the role of the Italian-American women in American cinema and the functions that they fulfill within the Italian-American community and draws a comparison between Italian-American female roles and the parts played by American actresses. It examines some of the more famous Italian-American female characters in films such as cinematic masterpieces such as ?The Godfather" and "True Love" and how they are usually portrayed as working class and victims of violence. It shows how both Italian-American and American female characters in movies are challenged by a patriarchal society. The only difference is that the American character is free to do something about it even if all odds are against her whereas the Italian-American female characters on the other hand do not possess that luxury because their cultural norms do not allow such liberties.
From the Paper "Then there are directors such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola who have made powerful Mafia movies "Goodfellas" and "The Godfather" respectively. Even though the main theme of their movies is the havoc that the mafia wrecks in the lives of Italian-American immigrants there always exists a strong underlying theme that relates the role of the mothers, daughters and wives of these mafia members. In short the role of the "family". For example in a comic scene in the "Goodfellas" Scorsese makes a connection between food and death when Tommy's mother serves them a mouth-watering meal just after her son and his friends have returned from trying to commit murder."
