Released September 29, 1950, Sunset Boulevard is a film noir of a forgotten silent film star, Norma Desmond, that dreams of a comeback and an unsuccessful screenwriter, Joe Gillis, working together. Ultimately an uncomfortable relationship evolves between Norma and Joe that Joe does not want a part of. Sunset Boulevard starts off with an establishing shot from a high angle shot with a narrative leading to a crime scene shot in long shot (a dead body is found floating in a pool). The narrative throughout the film established a formalist film.
Mise-en-scéne is crucial to classical Hollywood as it defined an era ‘that in its primary sense and effect, shows us something; it is a means of display. ' (Martin 2014, p.XV). Billy Wilder 's Sunset Boulevard (Wilder 1950) will be analysed and explored with its techniques and styles of mise-en-scéne and how this aspect of filmmaking establishes together as a cohesive whole with the narrative themes as classical Hollywood storytelling. Features of the film 's sense of space and time, setting, motifs, characters, and character goals will be explored and how they affect the characterisation, structure, and three-act organisation.
The unexpected arrival of a stranger to a small, Midwestern town creates a feeling of scepticism and suspicion, and through this the explicit meaning is revealed: Fear of the unknown and the moral and physical deterioration of a town left to its own devices. The film exemplifies these concepts through the use of mise-en-scène, and vivid cinematographic elements. The blood red coloured train stands out against a muted background. Much like the train the suit Macreedy wears makes him a contradiction in the surrounding environment. There is a heavy use of the wide lens which keeps the characters at a distance and draws attention to the isolation. The townspeople are an extension
Movie Stand by Me is scripted of a short story by Stephan King “Body”. The plot lays around 4 friends that go onto a journey to find a dead body. There are 2 boys that stand out more from the rest, and they are Chris and Gordie. Although there are many scenes in the movie that could be compared to the scenes in the novella, there are scenes that are more important because they show differences in character development of Chris and Gordie. Those scenes are, Teddy dodging the train, Chris comforting Gordie at the body and boys arguing with Ace’s gang.
In the NY Times article “Why the Beach Is a Bummer,” Roxane Gay exploits the beach and the ways it never actually lives up to the expectation many have when summer comes around. Gay speaks of her childhood on the beaches of Haiti and how beautiful it was, but how different it is in the United States because there's such a high expectation for the beach since many areas aren’t surrounded by them. “The beach becomes a kind of utopia — the place where all our dreams come true”(Gay), meaning the beach becomes romanticized by so many when in reality there’s just sand in places where it doesn't belong whether in your book or on your body. Gay expresses how soon after arriving at the beach boredom approaches from having nothing to do besides
Watching this episode makes me think twice when I think about the tough times I go through. Back in those days, it was a constant battle with those living then with the unexpected events that were known to inevitably occur at one point in time or another. You feel a huge sense of tension all throughout the episode that leaves a major impact on you
The following line from The Florida Project best sums up the film: “You know why this is my favourite tree? Cause it’s tipped over and it’s still growing.” Spoken by Moonee while eating jelly sandwiches with Jancey on the trunk of a lush, collapsed tree, the line draws a perfect similarity between the fallen tree’s continued growth and the motel residents’ efforts to trudge through poverty despite their representations in society. Sean Baker’s The Florida Project depicts Moonee, a six-year old living at the Magic Castle (a dilapidated motel just outside Walt Disney World) with her unemployed mother Halley. It takes place during the summer, where Moonee spends her time causing mischief with her friends Scooty and Jancey. Baker’s intention with the film was to illustrate the juxtaposition of poor families living on a weekly basis in motels near Walt Disney World, the supposed happiest place on Earth where tourists enjoy their vacation. This essay will examine Baker’s depiction of the hidden homeless, along with the representations of race and
Ethical challenges are of universal span; many people including police officers are confronted with the opportunities for violating organizational rules and norms daily. Most of the stories about police officers in the media, including Cops and Criminal Minds, are about respectable police officers, but the intense 2001 movie Training Day is not. Alonzo Harris, a veteran police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is training Jake Hoyt, a rookie officer on his first day with the narcotics unit. Harris’ character is an example of police officers’ potential for corruption. For instance, when Harris misuses the police authority and uses some fake arrest warrant seizing millions of dollars from a former LAPD veteran, now an informant
At some point of your life you meet very special people that carry very similar interests. This creates bonds that can be a very powerful and important part of your life. Some may say that bonds are created between a series of negative events that leads up to friendship. However, this is not true because in The Way, the main characters come together to walk the same path. Each character motivates each other to achieve the overall reason of why they wanted to walk The Camino De Santiago. Emilio Estevez’s purpose in creating this film was to show how different types of people with different backgrounds can mesh together and motivate each other. In The Way, Emilio Estevez uses the literary devices such as characterization and conflict to get
Coraline is a 2009 dark fantasy stop motion film based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman. The film follows Coraline, an adventurous girl who discovers her idealised world behind a secret door in the house, unaware of the other worlds sinister secrets.
Change occurs every day involuntarily. When people encounter change they are limited to only two points of views on it, negatively or positively. Some may react by panicking and going into denial whereas others may try to adapt to it and make the best out of the situation. It can affect one’s life drastically depending on the situation and how they portray it. In the movie “Rivers and Tides” and the story “Metamorphosis,” and the passage, “Simplexity”, change is initially portrayed as positive, but after a series of events it becomes overthrown by negativity. Overall, change is portrayed negatively by the authors.
For years the film Coraline by Henry Selick has been acknowledged and treasured from numerous people, young and old alike. The piece received incredibly positive reviews based on its well told story line, originality, soundtrack and visually pleasing attributes. Although Coraline may be an unnerving film, it is an undeniable masterpiece.
Jaws follows the police chief Brody, along with scientist Hooper and shark hunter Quint, in their attempt to protect the town of Amity against a Great White shark that is terrorising beachgoers. It was adapted from Peter Benchley’s 1974 novel of the same name.
Get Out (2017) is a horror film directed and written by Jordan Peele. The film is about a black male named Chris, performed by Daniel Kaluuya, who is going out of town with his girlfriend Rose, performed by Allison Williams. The purpose of this trip is to meet her parents for the first time at their estate located deep into the woods. Little does Chris know Rose’s parents do not really care to meet him but are more interested in auctioning off his body. Chris figures this out towards the end of the film and he barley figures out a way to escape. The emotions of the characters expressed throughout the film physically show the suffering many people of color have experienced.
Damien Chazelle’s American musical film, La La Land (2016), with Director of Photography Linus Sandgren, won about six awards at the Oscars. One of the awards they received is in the Cinematography category. I personally agree with this voting because this beautifully-made film shows, not tells, the story.