Film History I Spring 2013: April 2013

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

The Graduate

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

If one was asked to try to specify a few particular movies in the 1960s that had the most impact on the film industry, it should not come as a surprise to hear the title The Graduate thrown out amongst them. This film held such a powerful statements and themes that it helped spur the career of all those involved and also opened the eyes of millions of viewers to the changes in society at that time. Directed by Mike Nichols, The Graduate helped launch his career with his second feature film ever made. He quickly rose in the ranks of the best director for his time period and made many films afterwards. Dustin Hoffman’s career was also thrust into the limelight after his first starring role in this film.

2) Find a related article and summarize the content. (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) You can use the library or the internet. Cite the article or copy the url to your journal entry. Summarize in your own words the related article but do not plagiarize any content.

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/18530/The-Graduate/articles.html

In an article published by TCM (TurnerClassicMovies), Rob Nixon wrote an article regarding the importance of The Graduate to the film industry. In his article, he speaks about how the film spoke to the youth of the nation at that time and how it still remains relevant in today’s society. Nixon also briefly discusses and analyzes some of the films major themes regarding rebellion and following one’s own path. With the help of statements from the movie’s director, Mike Nichols, Nixon gives a great review for his readers.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

Out of all of the articles I have read for the many films we have screened during this semester, I felt that this article was the most interesting to read. Although this article was not the most lengthy of articles I have read, I found that some of the ideas presented about the themes were pretty thought provoking. Nixon also included words from Mike Nichols, stating how he felt this film was not as much about youth rebellion as it was about not being an object. Reading just those few lines from the article took me roughly ten minutes to get through because of the time it took me to process some of the ideas presented that I hadn’t thought about before.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article. I am less interested in whether you liked or disliked a film, (although that can be part of this) than I am in your understanding of its place in film history or the contributions of the director.

So it seems that I may have a new favorite movie for the semester! Mike Nichols delivers us a brilliant film following a newly college graduate returning home after completing school. As I sat watching the early beginning sequences, I remember asking myself why this young man (Dustin Hoffman) seems to be so upset. It wasn’t until later after I had time the movie as a whole that I was able to figure out the answer. The answer actually refers to the overall theme and meat of the movie itself. It refers to what many college graduates go through even 40, 50, 60 years later. It refers to that sense of uncertainty we all face after an important chapter or what we believe to be is an important chapter in our lives is over.

At Ben’s home earlier on in the film, we see that his parents have thrown a graduation party for his return and we watch as people constantly come up to him congratulating him, questioning him and offering him advice along the way. Ben, however, is unsure about his next steps. We understand that he is so wrapped up in the modern society of traditions and ways of life, that somewhere along the lines, something didn’t click inside of him anymore and he wanted out. Herein lies the theme of youth rebellion. This film mirrors the revolution and changes happening within society at that time and Ben represents the youth of that society lashing out and going against the norms.

The Graduate is an extraordinary work of art and blends comedy and drama, with side dishes of social awareness and intelligence. This film at times feels like a very straightforward comedy/romance, but underneath all the laughs lies many truths and thought out questions to the viewers. It has lots of laughs and very notable and quote worthy scenes. Such as the scenes with Ben pounding on the windows in the church (which was spoofed in Mike Myers comedy hit, Wayne’s World) and the famous line “Mrs. Robbinson, you’re trying to seduce me”. There is a movie why this movie is still being referenced in many big budget films decades later. The thoughts it provoked and its messaged have made this film endure the test of time and it is hard to visualize another film, in the same vein as The Graduate ever having quite the same impact as it did.

Grades:

Journal assignments are given individual points. Each journal assignment is worth 10 points.

9-10 points reflect excellent content, excellent article source, excellent thorough summary, excellent thoughtful analysis and creative, interesting content.

7-8 Points reflect good work in all areas above

5-6 Points reflect that you adequately met all the requirements

1-4 Missing or poorly presented content

0 No journal posted or posted beyond due date

Pages: You can create separate pages on your blog or simply do them as continuous posting.

Note: You do not have to resubmit your blog after you initially create one. If you post your journal content, I will see it. Just make sure it is posted on time.

Plagiarism Statement: Attach this to the end of every journal assignment.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM

1) ( ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) ( ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) ( ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) ( ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Casablanca

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

As we began watching the movie, my eyes were glued to Humphrey Bogart playing the night club owner, Rick. Before watching the movie, we went over the movie Casablanca in class to get some general information about the movie and some insight on what we were about to screen. We spoke about the different themes present in the film such as self-sacrifice and honor. We also spoke about the director Michael Curtiz As we went through discussing different aspects of the film, my ears perked up at the mention of Humphrey Bogart’s name. His name is a name I had heard often when it came to acting on the screen and I was eager to see what all the fuss was about. Our professor even pointed out that he was listed by AFI as the #1 best actor. Whether or not I was going to enjoy this movie, I wasn’t sure, but what I did look forward to, was watching this actor play the role of his life.

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/610/Casablanca/articles.html

In this article written by Brett Wood and published by TCM (Turner Classic Movies), Wood writes an overview of the movie touching on its impact on the film industry and the world. He speaks how on that fact that although there are not many “eye-catching” visuals, the audience is still pulled in, in a different way. We also learn about some of the ‘going-ons’ that took place when this movie around. There is also a list of commonly said quotes from the movie.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

Bret Wood sums it up perfectly in his article when he says “If Citizen Kane (1941) represents the pinnacle of artistic derring-do and Gone With the Wind (1939) epitomizes the colorful bombast of the American epic, then Casablanca is surely the film that defines cinematic cool”. This film can seem very laid back and mellow, and at the same time it seems very suspenseful and intense. Wood even comments on the fact that this film appeals through the audience through the world that it creates. It is also interesting to read about some of the production notes on the movie. Learning that Conrad Veidt, who played Major Strasser, had died only a month after its Oscar appearance was quite an unfortunate shock as well.

Casablanca does not have high octane explosions, spectacular visual or sound effects, or high quality camera movement. Even so, this movie stands on its own even without all of the fancy Hollywood tricks. Casablanca is based in the North African town its title is based off of where night club owner, Rick, runs into his old lover, Isla and gets involved in a complicated situation. We watch as Rick struggles with his own inner demons while trying to keep his business afloat and stay out of harms way.

As said before, this movie is not a technical masterpiece, but it is the actual story and plot that pulls in its viewers. As we began watching this in class, I remember thinking to myself about how slow the pace of the movie was going over all and I felt that it wouldn’t take much longer for me to lose my interest in the movie. An hour or two later, I find myself completely lost in the world of Casablanca, glued to my seat and never taking my eyes off the screen. This film is just a good old fashioned storytelling flick.

One thing that really captivated me was the final sequence where Rick makes the decision to help Isla and Victor escape the Nazis with the visa. Through these actions, we are shown that the bitter and selfish Rick is gone and he decides for once to think about something other than his own interests. This movie has great quotes that have been around for more than 60 years now and it only serves as a testament of how great and important this movie actually is to the film industry.

Grades:

Journal assignments are given individual points. Each journal assignment is worth 10 points.

9-10 points reflect excellent content, excellent article source, excellent thorough summary, excellent thoughtful analysis and creative, interesting content.

7-8 Points reflect good work in all areas above

5-6 Points reflect that you adequately met all the requirements

1-4 Missing or poorly presented content

0 No journal posted or posted beyond due date

Pages: You can create separate pages on your blog or simply do them as continuous posting.

Citizen Kane

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

In class, we discussed the movie Citizen Kane. We spoke about the story, its plot, themes present in the movie, and also we discussed its importance in the film industry. From all of the information I was given from my professor, I understood early on that this was a very special film. In fact, we were even told that this film was regarded as the best motion picture ever to be made. This, of course, had me intrigued and I began to wonder why it was regarded as such. As we talked more and more about Citizen Kane, I began to find out a little bit more about this “Orson Welles” fellow. I had thought he was just a name on a popcorn box! I soon found out that this was the man who brought us the famous radio program “War of the Worlds”. Although his career was very prosperous in all aspects, he only ever walked away with one academy award. Nevertheless, his work and brilliance proved to be self-evident in his work as I watched the screen and took notes on the interesting aspects.

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/89/Citizen-Kane/articles.html

In this article posted by Turner Classic Movies (TCM), writer Scott McGee goes over some of the behind-the-scenes information about the movie. He talks about some of the pre-production challenges as well as post-production. We also are given a brief review by Roger Fristoe who goes on to tell us about some of the writing discrepancies about due credit.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

Reading the articles TCM posted on its site is always helpful and informative. They give me more insight on what actually took place when making Citizen Kane. It was very interesting reading about the negative reaction from William Randolf Hearst, who felt that the film was based on his life. The truth of this has never been uncovered, but Orson Welles denied it time and time again. Thinking about everything that the character Charles Kane goes through, I wonder how much of it actually is an accurate representation of Hearst.

I am told to be as honest as possible when writing critiques of movies so I will try to do my best with this one, although it is a bit tricky. Last week, I was fortunate enough to watch Citizen Kane for the first time in my life. Prior to watching this film, I had always heard, read, and been told of how great of a movie Citizen Kane was. I was told that this movie was “The greatest movie ever made”. Even my professor had referred to it as such in her presentation informing us on how AFI had named it so.

With all that being said, I’m sure it is easy to imagine how my hopes and expectations for this particular movie were absolutely through the roof. I try as hard as I can not to have such high expectations for any movie because of the chance of disappointment. Unfortunately, I feel that is exactly what happened.

I would be absolutely lying to say that Citizen Kane was not a masterpiece and an incredible work of art, BUT I will not say that this was the best movie ever made. When one hears those words, they may begin to expect that they will be blown away; that they will leave the screen rethinking their whole life; that they might never want to watch another film again for fear of the inevitable disappointment they are destined for. As I sat watching this movie for almost 2 hours, I found myself waiting for this big moment in the movie where my whole outlook on life would change. Unfortunately it never did come. Unfortunately I left class that day, quite disappointed with the movie and with myself for buying into such hype.

I found that the movie was very good, even when compared with today’s pictures. However, that sense of disappointment still loomed above me. What Orson Welles did with his technical work in Citizen Kane was phenomenal given the time period. The depth of his shots, the cinematography used, and even the camera movements were crisp, such as the beginning of Susan’s nightclub scenes as we track in through the roof. This movie earned its Oscar nominations and even deserved to win more. However, the cloud of disappointment still loomed over me.

The themes in this movie were very courageous and even the mystery of rosebud, which was solved at the end, served this movie very well. We find out that Rosebud was actually the name of his sled when he was a kid. The sled was a representation of his childhood and his time with his actual family, something that he had loss. He continued to lose things in his life, things that he held very close to him. No matter how much wealth, fame, and success he accumulated, he could not fill the void that was inside of him. Now, I understand the relevance of the sled and what it meant to him, but I felt that it didn’t do as much justice as I thought it would.

It is very tough to communicate why I am so let down by the movie, but I know it has to do with being told of its greatness. Maybe if I knew exactly why this movie was considerate the best of the best, I could understand it better. Maybe if I lived in 1941 and I had been able to see this movie as it was shown in theatres at that time, maybe then I would feel differently and the impact of its themes would affect me more.

Grades:

Journal assignments are given individual points. Each journal assignment is worth 10 points.

9-10 points reflect excellent content, excellent article source, excellent thorough summary, excellent thoughtful analysis and creative, interesting content.

7-8 Points reflect good work in all areas above

5-6 Points reflect that you adequately met all the requirements

1-4 Missing or poorly presented content

0 No journal posted or posted beyond due date

Pages: You can create separate pages on your blog or simply do them as continuous posting.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Gone With The Wind

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

This week in class, we watched one of the most classic and inspirational films in the history of Cinema. We took a look at one of the greatest films ever made, Gone With The Wind. This movie starred Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable, both of whom had already made names for themselves. This was the first movie that also featured African-Americans in supporting roles. Being that this film was made in 1939, African-Americans in movies never tended to play leading roles or anything other than menial parts. Jim Crow laws were in effect, Segregation was still prevalent, and American ideals and traditions did not hold “Colored People” in the bests of light. The fact that Hattie McDaniel received an Academy award for her supporting role in the movie attests to how outstanding this movie was. A risk was surely taken in making this film, but in the end, the risk paid off.

2) Find a related article and summarize the content. (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) You can use the library or the internet. Cite the article or copy the url to your journal entry. Summarize in your own words the related article but do not plagiarize any content.

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/414427/Gone-With-the-Wind/articles.html

Frank Miller and Roger Fristoe wrote an interesting article that speaks about Gone with the Wind and the expectations that were held of it. In this article, Miller and Fristoe talk about how initially, while the film was in production there had been negative doubts associated with its making. Early on, the project was referred to as “Selznick’s Folly”, which referred to David O. Selznick, the producer of the film. This film that Selznick had produced would have a $4,000,000 budget and it was known that he had taken a huge gamble on doing so. After Gone with the Wind’s premiere in Dec. 1939, all doubts and negativity were replaced with awe and praise. Gone with the Wind would take home a total of 8 Oscars at the Academy Awards, in the year that is recognized by many to be the greatest year in film history. Frank Miller and Roger Fristoe also give some insight on what events took place at the Academy Awards that year.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

Going up against movies such as The Stagecoach, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Wizard of Oz, and more, Gone with the Wind trampled over its competition that year at the Academy Awards. According to the Frank Miller and Roger Fristoe’s article, the film deserved all the praise it received. I cannot help, but agree with the authors of this article. I found some of their bits of information to be quite interesting and also added to the bit of lore surrounding Gone with the Wind. It is also interesting to hear about how well the film did at the Academy Awards that year. Reading about Hattie McDaniel’s reaction to hearing her name called for the Oscar is quite motivational.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article. I am less interested in whether you liked or disliked a film, (although that can be part of this) than I am in your understanding of its place in film history or the contributions of the director.

What can I say about this film that has not already been said? Do I talk about the plot and the story of the film, which happened to win an Oscar for the brilliance of its screenplay? Do I speak about the awe-inspiring shots woven throughout the movie by director Victor Fleming, which happened to also win an Oscar for his astounding vision in directing? Maybe I could try to speak on the phenomenal acting performances by both leading and supporting actors, which, of course, brought home even more Oscars for the movie. Whichever route I would eventually decide on going with to begin trying to communicate the legendary impact Gone with the Wind has had over the film industry, it is inevitable that I will close by stating this movie is one of the biggest cinematic achievements the industry will probably ever know. From the beginning of this movie until the end, the viewer is so captivated by what’s going on on-screen, that you begin to lose awareness of what is going on around you. I was virtually pulled in to this rural Georgia farmland, Tara, and did not come back to reality, three and a half hours later. From the use of the new advances in Technicolor to the jaw-dropping cinematography to Clark Gable’s, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”, this movie was full of memorable goodies to fill your bag with. Even at times when I felt the movie was beginning to drag along, Fleming would give me something that would take away my attention of what I had been previously thinking.

Once again, this movie…..is good. Very Good. Excellent. Superb. Exceptional. I could go on for days thinking of the words to associate this movie with and I would still not come close to describing this movie. I can only point to the 15 Academy Award nominations associated with it and inform those that have not yet seen this movie, to see this movie. A+

Grades:

Journal assignments are given individual points. Each journal assignment is worth 10 points.

9-10 points reflect excellent content, excellent article source, excellent thorough summary, excellent thoughtful analysis and creative, interesting content.

7-8 Points reflect good work in all areas above

5-6 Points reflect that you adequately met all the requirements

1-4 Missing or poorly presented content

0 No journal posted or posted beyond due date

Pages: You can create separate pages on your blog or simply do them as continuous posting.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM
1) ( ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) ( ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) ( ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) ( ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.