Madichi's Blog: Film

The Western Genre  The Western genre is traditionally set in 1800s Americas. The setting is very basic with a desert-like backdrop. The landscape often plays a huge part in the narrative of their films. Due to the time period in which they are set, there will often be common tropes of that time such as cowboys, sheriffs and Indians.  There are also many characters that are stereotypically associated with the Western genre. The most obvious is the cowboy. He will usually be a law-abiding citizen who may also be considered an outcast among others. There will awesome be a main law-enforcer i.e. a Sheriff bringing order and justice to their town. The third main character usually associated with the Western genre is the damsel in distress. The last main character always seen are the villains. The film will often end in a huge duel between good and evil. 'No Country for Old Men' deals with these as Llewellen Moss is the cowboy-like figure, Bell is the Sheriff and Chigurh is

Comparison of "Do the Right thing" and "Casablanca" 'Casablanca' and 'Do the right Thing' both contain themes that strongly affected the world at the time: World War 2 and racial injustices respectively. These films both contain characters that likely contain the viewpoints of the director and go with the message that they are trying to portray. For example, in Rick's bar the French people stood up to the Germans by singing the national anthem. Both films have obscure camera angles that add to the film. Do the Right Thing has the use of diagonal camera angles to show confusion and unsettling moments between the character. Casablanca, on the other hand, mainly goes to a diagonal angle when the German officer is shot showing that it is an important plot point in the narrative. They The directors of the film are both described as ' auteurs'-  film directors who influences their films so much that they rank as their author. They bo

No Country for Old Men- Character Profiles Llewelyn Moss- The main protagonist of the film. He is the focal point of the narrative. He is not always portrayed as the traditional hero as he has selfish motives and makes various mistakes. His past as a Vietnam Veteran is mentioned a few times in the film which gives an explanation on why he is able to fire a gun so well. He is quite a tactical character who often thinks ahead with his actions. However he still ends up dead by the end of the film. Unlike most heroes the audience does get to see his death happen but only see his lifeless body on the floor. He also does not get to have the final confrontation with Moss that the audience were expecting to see and that the film was building up to. Sheriff Bell- Sheriff Bell is an aged Sheriff who is entering the retirement stage of his life. He is seen to have good morals and usually plays by the book. He is a very traditional man who has followed in his father and grandfather'

Comparison of Spike Lee joints. The two Spike Lee movies I chose were 'He Got Game' and 'Get on the Bus'. They are both typical films of their sub-genres (Sports and Road Trips respectively) but with a slightly different motif.  'He Got Game' follows a rising basketball player as he attempts to get into the sports college of his choice. However, his father wants to use this to get a shorter prison sentence. 'Get on the bus' follows a group of African-American people travelling across the United States to attend The Million Man March.  'Get on the Bus' compares with 'Do The Right Thing' as they both deal with racial segregation in the US. Both films have points told from different people allowing the narrative to be told from different points of views. They both deal with themes of overcoming obstacles, standing up for what you believe in and racial justice. There are also characters that act as the voice of Spike Lee himself th

Who is creatively responsible for Casablanca? Casablanca was created in 1942. As a result of this, it is a product of the classical Hollywood style that films of that era all followed. That means it contains all the attributes of a film created during this time period. The Old Hollywood Studio System is the phrase used to describe how films were made between the 1930's and 1950's. All of the films,whilst being set in different locations, were filmed on a sound stage in a studio.   The old studios produced a lot more films then they do today often putting out around 200 a year.    The studios had power over the film and would make the big decisions. Casablanca was made by Warner Bros who were responsible for films that were socially realistic and were able to capture emotions and twists in their plots. This is why Casablanca is the way that it is. The studio is the reason for the type of genre and narrative that Casablanca falls under. The director of the film was M

What is Film Noir? Film Noir   is a term used to describe  an era of crime and drama movies   from  Hollywood  that are often focused on  problems involving crime and money  in people's lives. They  were mostly made from the start of the 1940's  to the end of the 1950's in the United States, and they were filmed in black-and-white. The term "film noir" comes from the French term for "black film". Film noir movies used many different  genres  of movies, such as  having themes of gangster , police, and  detective   movies as well as developing their own characters, language and views on the world. Film Noir uses the elements of light to add to the suspense and tension of their films. They use shadows to create an abstract view of people's faces and dismembers them. It allows some of the character to remain hidden to the audience showing that they are possibly shady and hiding something. They also use blinds to block out sight and create an imper

Footloose The film that I am analysing is the 2011 remake of Footloose. The film starts with lots of images of the feet dancing symbolising what the main theme of the film will be. The start of the film introduces the main character. He is seen fixing cars and listening to rock music enforcing the gender stereotype that men should be handy at manual labour. As far as the kids at the high school goes they are pretty stereotypical. This includes the pretty bad girl, her friend the sensible one, the new out of town guy and his friend- the outsider who provides exposition. These stereotypes could be made to save time creating brand new original type characters for a movie that os mainly about dancing. The dancing that the girls are often seen doing is blatantly provocative. It is clear that the director is doing this as there are extreme close ups on the actresses bodies. This sends a bad message about dancing in general as even something that is seen as traditional such as

60 second Film

" Soft"  and "Wasp" "Soft" is a short film that tackles with themes of bullying, fear and feeling overpowered. It contains both a father and a son who are assaulted by the same group of people. This leads to a small rift between the father and the son. "Wasp" also creates tension between child and parent as the mother often neglects her children to go out and have a good time. Both films use the characters clothing and environment to tell the audience more about them. For example, it is clear that the father in "Soft" works and is quite sensible from the way that he and his house looks whereas the gang members are shown on the street and in a dirty alley wearing tracksuits and chains. This contrast shows a difference in lifestyle which addresses their differences in behaviour and also their differences in morals. This is also the case with "Wasp" as the mother and children are shown to be poor not from the clothes t

 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" is an fantasy adventure film based on the short story by J.K.Rowling. It has all the aspects that you would think of being in a fantasy film from the mystical creatures to the fictional new elements in the world. It has a typical linear narrative going from beginning to middle to end. The director uses a large number of panning shots throughout the film. This is often used when showing new settings but is more commonly seen when showing the beasts. This could be because the director is trying to show the audience the vast scale of the beasts or settings or it could possibly as a way of doing off the work that was put into creating the CGI effects. As far as the characters go they are typically what you would expect, from the quirky main protagonist to the clear villain with the evil sounding name to the outsider who asks questions that the main character needs to answer to provi

"Get off my Land" and "Ralph" “Get off my land” and “Ralph” are both British short films that deal with the theme of isolation in a new and unknown territory. With Get off my Land this concept is more implicit than with Ralph, as they do not blatantly say this. Instead it is shown by the man’s body language and clothes as it is clear that he does not fit in around that general area. However, in Ralph’s case the director makes it clear that he is in an unfamiliar environment through the use of the dialogue. Both films start and finish with minimal dialogue but have long conversations in the middle. The protagonist is unable to understand the language and because of this, and the fact that the director does not put in any subtitles, the audience feels as confused and lost as he is. It is also shown that he is in a new environment and out of his comfort zone by what he orders at the pub/restaurant: chips, which is traditionally a British food.   In both short