To what extent does the Dogme 95 'movement' challenge the conventional aesthetics of film narrative? A discussion in relation to Festen and Italian For Beginners.
To what extent does the Dogme 95 'movement' challenge the conventional aesthetics of film narrative? A discussion in relation to Festen and Italian For Beginners. The earlier part of the 20th Century was, according to Widding (1998), the Golden Age of Danish Cinema. It was to be a short lived success and from then on Danish Cinema remained a marginal film country and saw a slow transition into modern film. In the later part of the 20th Century, during the 1970's and 1980's, it was youth films that were the most important part of film production. During the 1980's however, there were growing numbers of film companies and several art film-orientated directors became seriously established, achieving International status. One of these directors was Lars von Trier, and it is von Trier who is associated with the emergence of Dogme in the mid-1990s. Dogme was conceived in 1995 principally by Lars von Trier and with the assistance of Thomas Vinterberg. In the late 1980's, von Trier had grown tired of the production of films. The current 'waves' of films i.e. French New Wave, German New Wave etc, von Trier claimed, had become 'washed over'. America, he claimed, was apolitical, apathetic and counter-revolutionary, it preserved and maintained the status quo and Hollywood productions were laden with special effects. Therefore it was von Trier's intent to create a 'New Wave' of film, to
What are the codes and conventions of the Western?
What are the codes and conventions of the Western? In this essay I shall examine the various codes and conventions which are present in the Western film. I shall examine three films. These are The Searchers, a film which includes as its hero John Wayne playing the part of Ethan, A Fistfull of Dollars, in which Clint Eastwood plays the part of the hero with no name, and Stagecoach, in which John Wayne is also present, acting the part of The Ringo Kidd. I shall examine the first sections of all three films, as to perform a detailed analysis of all of the three films is a task beyond the scope of this essay. Beforehand, however, I shall describe some common aspects of cinematography. . . A high camera angle is used to make the audience appreciate the significance of a character in the Western. This camera angle is used to make the person look ordinary or common, inferior to another character, or small in relation to another character in the script. A low camera angle is used to stress the importance of the dominant character. The person's status within the film is very easily measured by how large they appear to be to the viewer at one particular time. If the camera follows one character in a film for example, this could provide a link between scenes in the mind(s) of the viewer. If the camera stays in a static position, and the person walks away for example, this could
Compare The Way In Which 'Double Indemnity' And 'Blade Runner' Use Film Noir Conventions.
Sam Rawson E7 Started on: Sunday 26th January 2003 Completed on: Sunday 9th February 2003 Compare The Way In Which 'Double Indemnity' And 'Blade Runner' Use Film Noir Conventions Introduction In 1944, shortly after the Second World War, a flood of American films could be found in France. The critics noticed many recurrent images throughout these B-movies, which were smaller films shown before the main feature. The films became known as a genre: film noir. Film noir is French for 'black films'. We tend to relate the colour black to death and pessimistic thoughts. This ties in with the negative theme of the films and the outlook of the characters. The physical symbols that make up the genre of these films include mirrors, staircases, Venetian blinds, fire escapes, telephones and bright neon lights. The camera shots are often dramatic and very angular, and among the scenes used are rain-lashed streets, fog-bound train stations and empty echoing buildings. The use of lighting is a very important feature of these films and contains very sharp contrasts of light and darkness. This is known as chiaroscuro lighting. The empty echoing building shows how alone the people in this world feel Plot Summaries Summary of 'Double Indemnity' The story converges around top insurance salesman Walter Neff. The narrative is told by the use of male voice over (MVO) and flashback.
Digital imaging and how it has affected culture though the means of film and TV - What is its history and what are the possibilities for the future.
Digital Imaging and how it has affected culture though the means of Film and TV. What is its history and what are the possibilities for the future. By Jack Stringer (2003) Essay: Digital Imaging is still a relatively new medium and has endured much criticism along the way, much more is still to come. But I feel it's inevitable that it will become a dominant medium for artist in the future. Knowing what the future possibilities are means that you will be at the forefront of the new wave of ideas. Who would of believed the Internet would of grown the way it has today, reaching millions of people all around the world. Each person having his or her own beliefs, inspirations, and uses for the Internet. The Internet has only come around because of technological developments that have meant that computers are much more affordable these days. In the following pages I will try to explain these changes and developments, everything is feeding off it surroundings so we can't help but to be influenced by them. Many areas of culture are yet ready to accept digital imaging as either an art form or merely just to believe what it shows as being real. This was discussed in the book 'the photographic image in digital culture', it talks about how are preconceptions can cause people not to trust a digital image. Over the years painting was considered the best way of representing an object or
The differences and similarities between "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Blade Runner - The Directors Cut"
Science Fiction, Society and Science The differences and similarities between "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Blade Runner - The Directors Cut" Introduction There have been many science fiction films made and many of them have been highly rated. Although there have been so many highly rated science fiction films none of them have reached the level of the two greatest science fiction films of all time and they are "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Blade Runner - The Directors Cut". These two films, in over twenty years have never been bettered and they have been the inspiration for many films. They are really the foundations of any science fiction film. On the outside these two films look very different and look like they have nothing in common. Through extensive reading on these films there is more in common with each of them then first thought. There are many concepts in each film that many writers have gone into. There are also many writers that contradict each other. The writing on each of the films have been very good because there are so many different ways of looking at each film and each writer has chosen what they see in the film to write about. The "York Film Notes - Blade Runner" was a very unbiased book. The book went into a lot of the theories of the film; it also went into detail on each character, which was very useful in order to understand them. One aspect the
Does the representation of race hate crimes, in films, namely American History X, actually reflect the reality of the crime issue?"
Angie Kay SOCI 211- Offending Images: Crime, the media and society "Does the representation of race hate crimes, in films, namely American History X, actually reflect the reality of the crime issue?" Media representations of issues, particularly those which are crime orientated, affect the way in which we think and act in response to such issues. Before beginning to examine the way in which the media work and also the degree to which their representations of knowledge affect society, it is important to understand what the media is exactly and its function in society today. Knowledge mediated by a medium could be in the form of television, film, print, radio and more. Altheide (1985) describes the media as "any , process, technique or technology that produces something visible from something invisible, providing a means to visualise, identify and locate meaning. Although media rely on symbols for communications, they also do something more: media arrange, define and communicate meaning"(cited in Ericson 1995:287). The media, whether it be the press, television, radio or films, report a variety of issues in a variety of ways. Young (1996), states that the media is a means through which issues, for example those specifically related to notions of racial difference, are mediated and articulated. In 2000, approximately 6500 press clippings from the CRE's Cuttings service
Behind the scenes
Behind the scenes Meet Joe Black is the culmination of two decades of gestation on the part of director/producer Martin Brest and was inspired by a character from the 1920s stage play adapted for the screen in 1934 as Death Takes A Holiday. "I first saw the original film over 20 years ago," Brest says, "and it intrigued me; haunted me, really. There was a suggestion in the old movie of what might be a great story, but it was a story that had yet to be discovered. We had to start from scratch because rather than do a remake I wanted to explore an element that sparked my interest." Brest first started thinking seriously about the project as early as 1982, but the proper approach remained a puzzle. He worked with several writers and various drafts were penned over the years while he was busy with other projects. At last, the screenplay Brest envisioned began to take shape: a story that revolved around a wealthy, powerful, universally-respected businessman and his family. The impetus of the story would be the man's-William Parrish's-assessment of his life and the astonishing appearance in his house of an otherworldly presence. The twist, however, is that the screenplay concerns itself not with any dark side of the subject but with it's life-affirming aspects. Interacting with the man prompts the otherworldly presence to assume a human form-Joe Black-so that he can learn about
Crime Film
COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE WAYS IN WHICH GENRE IS ESTABLISED IN THE OPENINGS OF TWO CRIME FILMS In this essay I will compare the similarities and contrast the differences between two crime film openings. I will be comparing 'Sin City' and 'The Bone Collector'. I will analyse the two film openings and see how they establish their own crime film genre. Genre is a way of categorising a film. From genre, producers are able to market their films to a target audience. With some films it is difficult to categorise them as a certain genre as they may contain more than one genre. A hybrid genre is a film which contains more than one genre. An example of a hybrid genre is 'Spanglish' the genres in this film are comedy, romance and also drama. Most films nowadays are hybrid genre as they appeal to a larger audience. Some films contain more than two genres and it is difficult decide their genre. Quentin Tarantino often mixes many genres in his films and because of this we are unable to fit it into a certain genre. Some genres are almost the same and share many similar conventions. Horror and Thriller films share the similar conventions, both films have the death element; both genres have suspense, there are some sort of violence, a villain and are generally very dark. Crime films provide the audience with excitement as well as fear. We do not know the criminals next move and this
European cinema - major movements, directors and films.
European cinema log book By Ziyang Chen (Nigel) 092093101 French New Wave The social political context of the movement and other influences French new wave is a term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers in between 1950s to 1960s. In that period, World War II just finished about 10 years; European countries were in chaotic situation, especially in finance. American decided to support France, but in return, France had to open for US imports. At this time, American culture influenced French culture, and it also influenced French film. French new wave also influenced by Italian neo-realism, they have similarities in many aspects. Marylyn Fabe wrote that ‘no film movements has a pipeline to the “real”, neorealist films broke with the conventions and practices of Mussolini’s cinema of distraction in a number of ways that made their films seem more real.’ Key directors and films French new wave was the new form of classical European art film. There are five most famous French new wave directors, Francois Truffault, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, and Jacques Rivette. They are all born before World War II, they all suffer by the war. In another word, that means their understanding of the world is different from other French directors. Those directors all had written for Cahiers du Cinema many times in their lives. They are stand on the
Film Analyses - Kenneth Branagh's "Much Adoabout Nothing".
Much Ado about Nothing Introduction to Shakespeare's comedies Prof. Dr. Norbert Greiner WS 2001/2 Film Analyses Kenneth Branagh's "Much Ado about Nothing" HOW TO FILM THIS PLAY Ilkhan Akyürek Fibigerstr. 163/307 22419, HH Tel. 0179-3206737 CONTENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTON . Synopsis of Kenneth Branagh's "Much Ado about Nothing" 2. Adapting Shakespeare 3. Shakespeare into film 4. Setting the scene KENNETH BRANAGH'S ADAPTATION . Openings 2. Identifying the characters 3. Director's role in shaping character I. Claudio II. Hero and Claudio III. Margaret IV. Don John V. The Watch THE LOOK . Using Settings 2. Dealing with the audience 3. The use of camera 4. The Sound CONCLUSION with credits on Kenneth Branagh Terminology References PREFACE "Much Ado About Nothing" has to be one of my favorite films. Director/star Kenneth Branagh really accomplished what he set out to do, bringing the true joys of Shakespeare to a wider public. This particular play, and movie, has a universal appeal, interweaving romance, comedy and intrigue. The storyline is still relevant today, so much so that it is easy to forget that you are watching Shakespeare. The characters, and most of the performances, are the keystone to the movie's success but there is so much more to it than that. There is a special atmosphere to this movie. Quite simply, "Much Ado about Nothing" is
