Abstract This paper will examine the critical responses to three films, which derive from both immediate and reflective criticism. The films to be discussed are Kenneth Branagh's "Henry V", Federico Fellini's "La Strada" and Fritz Lang's "Metropolis". It will be argued that central to the criticism of the three directors and their films are the sense in which each is regarded as an "auteur". All three cinematic texts produce meaning through the tension between the director's personality and the material with which he is working. It is this pervasive domination by the director of the cinematic text through manipulation of the 'mise en scene' that defines these works as that of "auteurs".
Abstract This paper explores science fiction films. It particularly discusses semiotics and how it expands our understanding of popular culture and visual signs in our mass media culture. The paper argues that modern cinematic technologies allow directors an unprecedented capability to shape the visual cinematic codes and iconography of their works and thereby multiply the levels of signification upon which their films operate.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
The Cinema of the Mind's Eye
Special Effects and the Post-modern
Conclusion
From the Paper "In this regard, the assertion that "films are metaphorical mirrors of life" (Danesi 88) is placed under significant pressure as the "real-life activities" (Danesi 88) that are represented in the science fiction film increasingly bear no connection at all to real-life as we understand it in the modern world. In particular, with the advent of digital technologies, entire cinematic environments can be created in which - while the characters are still recognizably human and have human concerns - the visual signification is alien to anything in our existence. In this way, science fiction films can be seen as visual signs of postmodernity, simulating a reality so perfect that it is indistinguishable from our own and yet, at the same time, utterly alien, that it calls into question our understanding of reality itself."
Abstract This paper presents an analysis of Poe's influence on Stanley Kubrick's cinematic adaptation of Nabokov's novel.
From the Paper "From this wicked confessional on Humbert Humbert, the protagonist/ doppleganger of Vladimir Nabokov's 1961 novel Lolita, we can begin to explore the question as to the true identity of Lolita, the child nymphet, the Odysseyian siren, the uncorrupted maiden "chaste as morning dew" who destroyed Humbert's mind and life. According to Humbert the diarist."
Abstract The following paper is a critical analysis of Sam Mendes' 'American Beauty', a cinematic portrayal of suburbanite squalor. The writer gives a brief breakdown of the plot, comments on the acting and characters and examines the themes in this movie. The writer asserts that the movie is not aimed at children, rather it is a movie in which many notions about what goes on behind picket fences in suburbia are dispelled.
From the Paper "A recent article about American Beauty contained this quote:"It is a rainy afternoon. In an average-sized town in middle-class suburbia, a man tries to come to grips with his drug-addicted son, strange neighbors, and catatonic wife. Sound familiar? If you think so, you may have been reminded of the movie American Beauty" (Wilmington)."
Abstract This paper explores horror actor Peter Cushing's ancestral ties with Sir Henry Irving, the great English stage actor and Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, in the context of the English stage and Irving's tours of America, from 1881 to 1889. It examines Bram Stoker's work in April of 1912, that used a new medium of artistic expression and brought Stoker his posthumous fame--the motion picture industry which catapulted Stoker's Gothic novel to the darkest realms of cinematic exploitation and created a new cultural icon in the form of a blood-sucking, malevolent human monster known as Count Dracula.
From the Paper "While Ellen Terry and Henry Irving enjoyed some days of quiet and peace in the privacy of their drawing-rooms and staterooms, the rest of the (touring) company, the tons of scenery, the hundreds of costumes, the 1,200 wigs, the small-part actors, the supers and Bram Stoker, were sailing to America in a slow boat called The City of Rome." Although this quote from Madeleine Bingham's 1978 biography Henry Irving and the Victorian Theatre seems at first glance rather superficial, two specific points deserve closer examination--first, Henry Irving, the legendary British thespian, the Sir Laurence Olivier of his time, who dominated the English stage for more than thirty years and was the first actor to be knighted 1, and actress Ellen Terry, his longtime leading lady, must have thought of themselves as blue-blood royalty, due to sailing to America from Liverpool in October of 1883 aboard the luxurious steamship Britannic on their first U.S. tour; and second, as the remainder of the company trudged along on that "slow boat" The City of Rome, Irving's business manager, the Dublin-born Bram Stoker, apparently was not considered as deserving of better quarters during the long voyage across the Atlantic to the theatrical citadel of New York City. However, this may have been in Stoker's favor, for it is quite possible while separated from Irving's manic desire for control that Stoker retreated to his conjoined cabin ( No. 100, a few steps from the promenade bar 2 ) and took pen in hand to scribble in a "dogeared notebook (with) hieroglyphical entries in thick, half-obliterated pencil," 3 more notes concerning his ten years of research into the occultic sciences."
Abstract The movie "Fargo" is analyzed within a cinematic criterion that will include characterization, technical aspects of filming, and scene analysis. By understanding the elements of film making in these categories, the process in which this film was made will be reveale.
Abstract This paper is on the cinematic techniques between the movies "Gattaca" and "Contact". It includes the discussion lighting, framing, camera angles, colors, transitions, music, and or sound effects of the movies.
Abstract This paper examines how the immortality of a vampire is just one of a number of key features appearing consistently throughout example texts of this enduring sub-genre and how this eternal life seems to have translated itself into popular cinematic immortality, as the vampire has been the focus of film-makers creative endeavours almost since the introduction of cinema. It attempts to shed light on this phenomenon and unearth the secret behind the eternal life of these undead movie stars who have gripped the imagination of generations of audiences and look no nearer to loosening their hold today. It examines a number of texts and theories, offering a comparative analysis between both classical and post-classical versions, as well as identifying the variations within the periods themselves.
From the Paper "Throughout the history of vampire cinema hundreds of films have featured the ubiquitous blood-sucker although it is nigh-impossible to discover amongst them films which contain more than a handful of thematic or stylistic similarities. Nosferatu, for example, has a strikingly different visual style to even the 1931 Browning and Lugosi adaptation. Max Schrek's Count Orlock is much more rodent-like in his appearance than the creepy but still dapper Dracula. The visual differences don?t end there. The expressionist influence in Nosferatu is unmistakable, with the now legendary shadow of the vampire ascending the stairs in Nosferatu a significant example of the lighting style employed."
Abstract This paper discusses how Melvin Van Peebles' landmark film, "Sweet Sweetback's Baadassssss Song" deviates from traditional Hollywood cinematic techniques. his he does in order to directly comment on early 70s race relations and usher in the 'Blaxploitation' film genre.
From the Paper "In the movie, Hollywood's traditional three-act structure is also discarded. The climax of the movie comes when Sweetback kills the policemen, as there are no further conflicts. His goal is escape, and the rest of the movie is spent following him as he runs to Mexico. Additionally, the resolution of the movie is decidedly unclear. Sweetback has escaped, but will return. We do not know when or how, or what he will do when he does. The racial issues presented in the movie are also left wide open. The end is not an end at all, but rather a means to continued action off-screen in the real world. Because the movie so reflected society at the time, to neatly resolve the issues it puts up with consign it to mere fantasy. Thus the three-act structure is insufficient in accurately portraying the world of the movie because the movie so reflects society, and society cannot be summed up in three acts."
Abstract This paper compares two well-known cinematic versions of Othello, Orsen Welles' "Othello" (1952) and Tim Blake Nelson's film titled "O" (2001). It focuses on the ultimate scene of the play - the killing of Desdemona and Othello's final speech and pays attention to important dramatic elements, while discussing and analyzing the central thematic concerns of the play.
From the Paper "The final scene in Nelson's film takes place in the student dormitories; this allows Nelson to surround his hero with all the characters involved. The Othello which Nelson and Kaaya create, Odin, is substantially less reserved and composed than the original: he cries a number of times throughout the film, most importantly while killing Desi (Julia Stiles) in the penultimate scene. It is important to point out, in this respect, that Odin becomes disposed to the notion of ending Desi's life only after Hugo fools him into believing she and Mike have called him a "nigger". "
Abstract In this paper, the author compares Steven Spielberg's films "Saving Private Ryan" and "Munich." The basis for the comparison is Spielberg's personal cinematic style as a director. Spielberg is able to integrate the visual setting in both films as realistic, but not necessarily for sheer visual impact. Instead, he lets the scene tell the story. Additionally, the conclusions of both films allowed the viewer to resolve the themes of the movies themselves, another trademark of Spielberg.
From the Paper " It was easier to immediately reject Saving Private Ryan because of its category than it was to reject Munich. At least Munich was interesting. Upon hearing the titles of both films, Munich (at least in this reviewer's case) was far more intriguing than Private Ryan. This critic's automatic rejection scenario was immediately initiated upon hearing of Private Ryan, while being intrigued by hearing of Munich."
Tags: Steven, Spielberg, film, Munich, Saving, Private, Ryan
Abstract The paper illustrates how the cinematic techniques used by the documentary "Bowling for Columbine" are crafted upon the use of irony. The paper also shows how "Bowling for Columbine" is compelling because directory Michael Moore uses slice-of-life film in 'real time' to show how he, along with the viewer, is searching for answers as to what is real, in a culture where so much unreality characterizes the depiction of American violence. The paper discusses Moore's belief that greater corporate and individual responsibility in America is necessary to prevent the Columbine tragedy from occurring again.
From the Paper "The cinematic techniques used by the documentary "Bowling for Columbine" by Michael Moore are entirely crafted upon the use of carefully delineated irony. The film contrasts the real need to protect the nation's citizens with the zealous love affair that Americans have with guns. The title of the film refers to the tragedy at Columbine High School, Ohio where the all-too typical adolescent angst of a group of troubled teens was the tinder that combined with the spark of easy access to guns. This cumulated in a conflagration of violence, as they vented their frustrations upon their fellow pupils. Only in America, Moore suggests, could such a horrific event occur. It is not that teens are not unhappy or bulled in other lands, but no other land makes it so easy and acceptable to wield the deadly power of firearms as a way to vent anger."
Abstract This paper explains that the modern, cinematic environment created by director Kenneth Branagh in his film "Henry V", juxtaposes the poetic language of Elizabethan theater with the visual language of film. The author points out that Branagh's plea for cinematic tolerance is especially apt because "Henry V" is a rather obscure film for an American or even European audience, less likely to be informed and interested in why England fought with France over a little patch of land, long ago. The paper describes the valid historicity of the film, the colors used, the techniques of warfare deployed, its Elizabethan language and modern cinematic techniques and looks at how they are all used used effectively to make this film a successful interpretation of Shakespeare's play.
From the Paper "The camera work in the princess scene is especially quick and fleeting, as it follows the princess throughout the castle. Although the camera occasionally becomes anchored to Henry's face during a soliloquy, overall, the camera is a kind of peripatetic actor throughout most of "Henry V". The camera follows the horses as they gallop over the field of battle, wildly. The common soldiers on the ground, as when they are storming the castle walls of the city are shown from the ground up. The camera whizzes by the viewer's eye as it pans through time and from France to England and back again..."
Tags: chorus, color, wartime, historicity, language
Abstract This paper looks at the popular appeal of the films "Braveheart" and "Spartacus" as a result of their theme and cinematic qualities. The paper explores their subject matter of the eternal struggle of man to become free of oppression and external control. Both movies feature a brave, charismatic leader who reluctantly leads an oppressed, but courageous and valiant people to fight against their villainous and greedy oppressors. The paper describes in depth the cinematic techniques, actors and story line of the films of great critical acclaim.
From the Paper "The movies Spartacus and Braveheart are variations on the classic theme of man's unceasing struggle for freedom. Braveheart and Spartacus share numerous similarities, but are also highly distinct. In both movies, an average man is horribly wronged, and is thus forced to fight for freedom and vengeance against what seem to be almost impossible odds. The average man who becomes a tragic hero is charismatic, and rallies his loyal supporters against an overwhelming enemy. In both Braveheart and Spartacus, the reluctant hero dies a dramatic death in his struggle for freedom."
Abstract The paper examines German Expressionism and cinematic images that evoke psychological states of being. It also discusses the French avant-garde of the late 1920s and the "absurd realism" cinematic art form, as well as Italian films of the same period.
From the Paper "FILM GENRES OF EUROPE
While Americans were laughing at Chaplin and Keaton and the Keystone Kops, and being awed by the spectacles of Griffith, and DeMille, European cinema was much more stark and dark and realistic. From the post-World War I product..."
