A comparison between film versions Emma and Clueless

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Hazell Moore 9N

12th July 2004

 A comparison between film versions Emma and Clueless

The features I will look for in both films for comparison is setting, location, lighting, costumes, props, camera angles, dialogue and weather. Emma is set in the early 20th century and Clueless in the 1990’s. The director changed the era to refer to the fact that girls nowadays are more mature than young women in the early 20th century.

        The diversity between the locations in both films is very minor. In Clueless it is set in Beverly Hills in America and in Emma is set in England. England in the early 20th century is largely countryside with prosperous houses, and a rigid hierarchy. Beverly Hills is quite comparable to England as it is rich in foundations, but has a more relaxed hierarchy. The classes are diverse, you are not born into a class like as in Emma, it depends what your career is. Living in these two places evokes the impression of wealth. Also Beverly Hills has a different type of hierarchy, status but in lifestyle and reputation. The settings did not differ to much as there is an interior and exterior setting in both films. In Emma the interior is her house this is lavishly furnished, with traditional antiques and classic pieces of furnisher. The exterior setting is the estate which is the grounds surrounding her house, this is typical English countryside.  Compared to Cher’s house (the main character in Clueless) it is a contempary house with expensive appliances, which also meant they spent a lot of money on their image and are wealthy. The other interior setting is the school, which is a classic American school. The exterior settings are the mall and her garden around her house. The mall is expensive and is luxuriously appointed and has lots of designer shops. This is also a casual place where the teenagers of this film hang out. Settings from both films imply wealth and that both characters are spoilt.

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        The lighting in the film Emma is dull in the interior setting this gives a romantic atmosphere, and makes her look as if she has a smooth complexion, as the main light source are candles, which are subtle and did not show blemishes like modern lighting does. These added to her beauty and enact desirability to men. Other means of light in the interior settings are also subtle as there is no electricity; light sources are windows, and fireplaces. They also used rich colours in their furnishing that increased the darkness of the film. But in the exterior settings the lighting ...

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