Summer Journal #10

M

Movie: 1931, b/w, 117min

Director: Fritz Lang

Actors: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann and Inge Landgut

When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.

What role does sound play in M?

In Fritz Lang’s M sound plays a very important role in culminating meaning to the film. The film has both dialogue and silent sequences that are complemented by music of sound effects. Lang treats the sound as if he were editing the visuals. When we are introduced to the murder we speak to Elsie, a young girl who is visible but we only hear the conversation he has with her, we don’t see him. We see his shadow on a poster that is in fact his wanted poster, a brilliant trick on Lang’s part. All of the scenes rely wholly on sound for continuity. 

Summer Journal #9

Wild Strawberries

Movie:  1957, b/w, 91 min. (Sweden)

• Director:  Ingmar Bergman

Actors: Victor Sjöström

Bibi Andersson

Ingrid Thulin

• Gunnar Björnstrand

Tiny synopsis: A bitter aging professor has come face to face with the reality of the emptiness of his life.

What is the theme of Wild Strawberries?

The theme of Wild Strawberries is about how life can become sort of withered and shrunken, a bit dull and uncreative, something that is habit from generation to generation. Bergman’s kind of message about this is kind of ironic and humorous even though the film is far from that sort of tone. What Bergman is saying is that in almost any case in which this empty life theory is applicable to a person, the person has no idea it is happening to them.

What triggers Isak’s journey of self-recognition?

The trigger of Isak’s self-recognition journey is the coincidental pairing of Marianne, Isak’s daughter-in-law and himself in the car for a long journey in which Marianne confronts him of his values and family traditions. Her honest confrontation sets off this realization that his life is in fact vacant and dull.

Summer Journal #8

La Dolce Vita

Movie: 1960, b/w, 180 minutes

Director: Frederico Fellini

Actors:

Marcello Mastroianni

Anita Ekberg

Anouk Aimée

Yvonne Furneaux

Magali Noël

Alain Cuny

Nadia Gray

Lex Barker

Annibale Ninchi

Walter Santesso

Jacques Sernas

Nico

Valeria Ciangottini

Adriano Celentano

Journalist and man-about-town Marcello struggles to find his place in the world, torn between the allure of Rome's elite social scene and the stifling domesticity offered by his girlfriend, all the while searching for a way to become a serious writer.

What is the theme of La Dolce Vita?

La Dolce Vita is Italian for the sweet life which is the line defining main character, Marcello’s life. The film depicts main character Marcello as a as a journalist in Rome during the late 1950’s. The film’s theme is a concentration on the café society/bar society  and the contrast between that glittery world and the world of ruin and poverty that still exists in Rome in the post war period.

How does Fellini convey this thematic message in the film?

In the very first scene this is represented by the statue of Christ that flies overhead in a sort of blessed like way and ironically flying over now neo-modern Rome founded on the economic miracle that magically occurred in fifties Rome. The statue also flies over Rome’s antiquity in have shown an aqueduct and few ancient runs which juxtaposes with the profane lifestyle of today’s Italy. This is then repeated in Marcello’s character who represents modernity in a man of Rome as he follows the statue in a separate helicopter behind antique Rome. 

Summer Journal # 7

Rashomon

Movie: 1950, b/w, 88 minutes

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Actors:

Toshirō Mifune,

Masayuki Mori,

Machiko Kyō,

Takashi Shimura,

Minoru Chiaki

Four accounts of what occurred in the woods of Japan are told by three of the people involved and a narrator who witnessed the occurrence.

How does Kurosawa play with framing?

Kurosawa really uses the set and actors for frames in his film. In one particular scene at the beginning of the film when the narrator discovers the body, the frozen clenched dead hands and arms of a corpse enclose his face. The expressive face of the actor is framed by the very thing that is causing him to be so taken aback, a genius composition with dual meaning on Kurosawa’s part. Another scene where a utilized framing tool is used like that is when the characters are walking through the woods, Kurosawa frames one of them between two trees and he plays with framing in different ways as he again does the same in the courtroom with the narrator placed in the back of the frame of the psychopath/rapist recounting the events that occurred in the woods. This is symbolic having seen the end because it as if he is looking on the crime once more. a new crime of that which is lying.

What are some allegories in Rashomon?

Some allegories are truth as a light in the darkness of sin. Kurosawa displays this message throughout the entire films as he shows this in filming the sun’s streak through the branches, leaves in the sky. That there is a innocence which is truth in a place of darkness like where the crime was committed. Another one is the idea that faith is something very scary to people. To believe in another’s words as the truth and to be surrounded by 4 different account all lies produces a ignorance in refusing to believe someone else like at the very end of the film. 

Summer Journal #6

The Rules of the Game

Movie: 1939, b/w, 106 min. (French)

Director: Jean Renoir

Actors: Nora Gregor

Paulette Dubost

Marcel Dalio

Jean Renoir

Julien Carette

Tiny synopsis: Renoir's look at bourgeois life in France at the onset of World War II. An assorted cast of characters - the rich and their poor servants - meet up at a French chateau.

What kind of filming techniques does Renoir use?

Throughout the entire film Jean Renoir uses a long take technique accompanied by a deep focus which makes for a long uninterrupted take. This action is underlined by a unique rhythm that adds to the film without being to distracting. Renoir’s choice to avoid the difficult and intricate way of editing was demonstrated best in the hunting sequence in which it is sharply cut. He believed and it shows in this film that long takes create a more bona fide real life beat which decrease the amount of manipulation that occurs in over-editing.

Why did the film’s release cause such an uproar in France and Paris specifically?

The film concentrates on a group of well off French people. Upon it’s premiere in Paris the film was not greeted well. There was much disapproval of how the wealthy French were depicted in the film. Renoir, surprised by the actions France took, the people and the government did as well was truly hurt. The film only became one of the greatest Renoir ever made in the late 50’s as a result of his being able to grasp hold of the power to edit it back to its natural state. Due to not being warmly received on its original release in the late 30’s, audiences in Paris on its opening night were explicitly hostile, responding to the film with shouts of contempt. Distributors cut the film from 113 minutes to 80minutes. If you can’t do the math that’s 33 minutes that was chopped from an artists work without his consent. It was also banned as morally hazardous during the German occupation and the only negative was destroyed during WWII. The film was condemned because of its satirical material of the upper class. 

Summer Journal #5

City Of God

Movie:  2002, color, 130 min. (Brazil)

• Director: Fernando Meirelles
• Co-director: Katia Lund

Actors:

Alexandre Rodrigues

Alice Braga

Leandro Firmino

Phellipe Haagensen

Douglas Silva

Jonathan Haagensen

Matheus Nachtergaele

Seu Jorge

Roberta Rodrigues

Graziella Moretto

Tiny synopsis: Meirelles sheds a new light on one of the most beautiful places in the world. From the perspective of a young boy named rocket who tells a story of how the city in which he lived came to be known as the “City of God.”

What is the main theme of the film and how does it take shape?

The main theme is spotted at the very beginning of the film when chickens are pressed as a main focus in preparation for mealtime. One chicken observes the people butchering his fellow chickens and in haste decision, which demonstrates the animal’s intelligence, the chicken decides to jump off and run away. This scene becomes the symbolic theme of the film in which either you run away from this “city of god” and escape your expected fate or you change your path and try for a different life without getting killed. First, the audience is introduced to this idea when one of the three boys from the “Tender Trio” tries to escape the godforsaken city just outside of Rio, and gets a move on with his girlfriend. In this scene the boy is pointed to by a man who tells the police that e is responsible for the killing that occurred a few months earlier. This leads the police to run after him as he is pushing his getaway car on foot in effort to aid the man they are holding unwillingly to get it going and his wife in the backseat. Whilst this is happening the police chase after him as in the first scene of the beginning of the film where the gang chases after the chicken. They catch him after a few shots to the body and the car gets away without the chicken, Shaggy. The very tagline of the film is "If you run the beast catches, if you stay the beast eats." So in that sense, there is a deliverance of a negative tone. This is best embodied when Benny decides to leave with Angelica and Ze cannot stomach the idea of being alone for the first time. His anger translates into trouble that he creates which in turn creates massive chaos that is really the bullet that kills Benny. No one can escape the city of god.

How does cinematography add depth to the story?

In a film where the story is a true first person narrative there is already a structure that is to be built by how the main character would like to tell his or her story. Especially with a narrative involving so many people there is much to say. The cinematographic tools used complement this account. Rockets first person telling involves much rewind and fast forward moments. The most helpful in establishing setting, person’s position and situation is the Matrix, 360 shot used in one of the first scenes of the film where Rocket is transported back to his childhood in the sixties. This shot is just one of the many cinematic tools used. The high contrast lighting during the day in the young boys memories at the slums expresses how hot and scorching it is in that small village like city. The night cinematography is dark and gritty, just like the mood of the night in which the tender trio robs the motel. The scene in which the two fellows are atop the tree and chaos and haze ensues, the filming of the bead of water dropping off of a leave close to one of the boys is such a contradictory peaceful moment in contrast to what is occurring. The whole film is done with a photographers eye most understood when Rocket expressed his admiration for photography. The film is artistically done in its expression of colors and its detail assures the genuinety of the storyteller. 

Summer Journal #4

Breathless

Movie:  1960, b/w, 87min. (country)

• Director: Jean-Luc Godard

Actors: Jena-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg

Tiny synopsis: A young thief kills a policeman and tries to convince a girl to run away to Italy with him.

What is the main idea of the film?

 Breathless is a film that centers on characters, a character study. The film is really about psychology; it deals with situations that people find themselves in. A film that is about human character. Not all of the characters are likeable but the main point is that there is relation, and the audience must relate with at least one of the characters. So this brings the main idea of the film, which is running away. Both Michel and Patricia are caged, and wanting a different life than the one that they are trapped in.

What does the music say about the film?

Most of the music throughout the entire film is a cine-jazz type sound, uplifted giddy soundtrack that complements Belmondo’s witty character Michel. The streets of Paris shown with the same sort of jazzy sound, chaotic clashing of the cacophony of daily life underlined by the soundtrack. 

SUMMER JOURNAL #3

Cinema Paradiso

Movie:  1988, color, 155 min.

• Director: Guiseppe Tornatore
• Actors: Philippe Noiret, Salvatore Cascio, Marco Leonardi, Jacques Perrin.
•  

Tiny synopsis:

A now famous filmmaker recalls his childhood and how he fell in love with film and the person who guided him to a better life.

What are some ironies in the film?

The film takes place in the late 40’s just after World War II in a small town in Sicily. This time and setting is pertinent to the setup of a few key ironies in the film. First, we have the priest who enters the Cinema Paradiso as a representative of the Vatican, he watched the new influx of films that are about to be beheld by all the villagers and cuts, edits them of all sexual scenes. This is one irony because the priest beholds the immoral acts himself. So in fact the censorship theme of the film that reoccurs more then a couple of time was sort of hypocritical. Another one is when the town ousts a family because the father works for a communist and is supposedly Stalinist all the while ignoring the actual communist repression vital in the town.

What are a few key scenes of symbolism?

One scene in which the townspeople are not allowed in the theater and become an angry riot results in Alfredo moving the projection reflection onto the wall of the court square. Whilst the reflection of the film is moving across the walls in the room, Toto is amazed by this magic. A magic that is film and the beauty of it’s ability to silence a crowd and thee beauty in which Alfredo used this trick to please the people. It’s like the moment Toto fell in love with film, before he was a lover of it but now he is in love. A second scene where there is much symbolism is Salvatore’s return to the village, his home and his mothers travel down the stairs where she unravels this thread, something that signifies her attachment to her home, her life and he village. She is unable to leave, stuck by a threaded umbilical chord. The very theme of the entire film, the desire for a better life and Alferdo's execution in persuading Salvatore to escape the wretched city where dreams die.

SUMMER JOURNAL #2

8 ½

Movie: 1963, color, min.

• Director:  Frederico Fellini
• Actors: Marcelo Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimee, Sandra Milo.

Tiny synopsis:

Guido Anselmi is a director who is at a standstill with his work and life as he tries to finish his new film despite marital issues and memories that are causing chaos in his mind.

What does the first scene signify for the entire film?

The first scene represents his suffocation in that he cannot see his life clearly, in fact the smoke that enters into his car is representative of this suffocation of work, love, memories… The immense amount of traffic around him represents all the people that surround him in reality, his production crew, his lovers and friends etc… In this the scene holds much meaning as he then escapes that traffic and heads towards the clouds his inner want to flee from the chaos.

What methods of transition does Fellini use in order to establish that the audience is now watching Guido’s dreams and not reality?

Some methods of transition are Guido is always asleep when he goes into these dreams, whether it be in the first scene of traffic and heat that caused him to nap or in bed with one of his lovers and he’s fast asleep. Characters appear as if really just being present, his mother in the room leading to the location of a vacant set. Then his flying into the sky which was a quick change from the car establishment. 

SUMMER ASSIGNMENT JOURNALS

Wild Strawberries

Movie:  1957, b/w, 91 min. (Sweden)

• Director:  Ingmar Bergman

Actors: Victor Sjöström

Bibi Andersson

Ingrid Thulin

• Gunnar Björnstrand

Tiny synopsis: A bitter aging professor has come face to face with the reality of the emptiness of his life.

Literary Question What is the theme of Wild Strawberries?

The theme of Wild Strawberries is about how life can become sort of withered and shrunken, a bit dull and uncreative, something that is habit from generation to generation. Bergman’s kind of message about this is kind of ironic and humorous even though the film is far from that sort of tone. What Bergman is saying is that in almost any case in which this empty life theory is applicable to a person, the person has no idea it is happening to them.

Cinematic Question What triggers Isak’s journey of self-recognition?

The trigger of Isak’s self-recognition journey is the coincidental pairing of Marianne, Isak’s daughter-in-law and himself in the car for a long journey in which Marianne confronts him of his values and family traditions. Her honest confrontation sets off this realization that his life is in fact vacant and dull. 

Summer Journal #1

The 400 Blows

Movie:  1959, b/w, 99 min. (France)

• Director: Francois Truffaut

Actors: Jean-Pierre Leaud, Calire Maurier, Albert Remy, Guy Decomble.

Tiny synopsis: Antoine Doinel is a young adolescent in Paris, a boy considered by his parents and teacher as a troublemaker.

What does the famous gate scene represent?

The gate scene is at the end of the film and therefore is one of Truffauts final messages. What this represents is Doinel’s confines. His limitations within society as an already marked troublemaker, misunderstood by his parents and teacher. His boundaries within the world he lives in, a trouble world and the fence representing this very restriction, this border which blocks off his hopes and desires, his dreams in other words.

How do camera angles play an important role in the film?

The first scene demonstrates this well in its use of high camera angles to portray an innocent vibe to the film that is appropriate considering the fact that Doinel is innocent in the beginning of the film. The film uses a ground shot in this sequence looking up to the sky, crowded by buildings, which give of an intimidating feel. Establishing a childlike intimidation of a large world. 

Journal Entry #20

A Streetcar Named Desire

Movie:  1951, b/w, 122min.

• Director: Elia Kazan
• 
  
• Actors: Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter and Karl Maden

Blanche DuBois, a Southern belle dealing with alcoholism, arrives at her sister's apartment in New Orleans to crash soon understanding it is not the place for her. 

What does Williams’s depiction of Blanche and Stanley’s lives say about desire?

Blanche lives a clean cut life. She is the daughter of a once millionaire. She tries to maintain a poised front in order to shield herself from reality as a way of making herself attractive to new men. A brief marriage scarred by the suicide of her spouse, Allan Grey, has led Blanche to live in a world in which her fantasies and illusions are seamlessly mixed with her reality. In contrast, Stanley, is a force of nature: primal, rough-hewn, brutish and sensual. These two polar opposite characters are similar on the level of desire in which William's says that desire touches anyone and everyone and that it's power is an unavoidable persuasion. 

Why is this film considered controversial? 

 The bold adult drama and sexual subjects (insanity, rape, domestic violence, homosexuality, sexual obsession, and female promiscuity or nymphomania) are reasons to which the film is considered controversial. It's the early 50's and America isn't ready for such attention by foreign conutries when it comes to films and talk of sex. Rock n Roll was emerging already causing a stir will conventional types, christian americans just would not be able to handle it on screen as well. If stars, actors are to be idolized they must be good natured and this film was a pile of sin. It made groups like the Legion of Decency and Production Code's rebel against this vice of a film. 

Journal Entry #19

Les Bonnes Femmes

Movie: 1960, b/w, 100 min. 

Actors: Bernadette Lafonte, Clotilde Joano, Stephane Audran, Lucile Saint-Simon

Ginette, Rita, Jacqueline and Jane try to find fulfillment and love in their lives. Rita has a fiancé whose family is obsessed with social distinction; Jane has a boy-friend in the army, but does not hesitate to enjoy herself with chance encounters; Ginette has a mysterious passion that keeps her away from her colleagues at nights. Jacqueline is lonely; but who is that mysterious bike-rider who is constantly following her ?

What does the last scene of the film mean? 

At the very last scene in the night club, with the girl asked to dance. It is symbolic of a the lunatics in the world and the idea that they are women as well and perhaps the biker and her will meet up some day and be lunatics together. It is Chabrol's tiny little joke at the end of the film and an eerie one at that. 

What is Chabrol's main manner of filming for this particular movie? 

Chabrol main manner of filming this particular movie is by focusing on beauty. The manner in which he films is like a beauty product commercial, it's as if it is an advertisement for mascara or eyeliner, the constant focus on the eyes of each of the women is a testament to how beautiful they are. He portraits all of them, and grasps model profile shots, complemented each of their beauties. All of them are different and he uses those differences in the way he differently films them yet ties them together because of how pretty they are. It is a film noir that highlights a woman and how sexy or how cute a woman is and he showcases the different types of women. His muse is the "woman" period. 

Journal Entry #18

The Secret In Their Eyes

Movie:  2009, color, 127 min. (Argentinian) 

• Director: Juan Jose Campanella
• Actors: 

Ricardo Darín Soledad Villamil Guillermo Francella Pablo Rago Javier Godino Mariano Argento José Luis Gioia

Benjamin travels back in time when he starts writing his novel about a murder he worked on. This time travel reignites old feelings for a lover he was never able to have a life with. 

What meaning is their to the title?

Translated from Spanish, The Secret In Their Eyes means to the film the theme. There is a secret in everyone that cannot be professed. This secret cannot be told because it would disturb the natural order of things. In this particular case, Benjamin must retain his love with Irene because she is of higher stature then him, she has a life ahead of her and most obviously she is his boss. Irene must withhold her love for the very same reasons but also because it would disrupt the case they we're working on and because for fear of vulnerability she cannot confess her feelings for him. The killer has a secret that can only be seen through his eyes in the particular scene where he changes from one personage to another. And lastly, the husband of the victim must never tell his secret because Benjamin would be put into a very awkward situation of choosing the law or rightly deserved punishment, a justified revenge. 

How does the director play with colors? 

The director plays with all sorts of color blocking. He uses vivid colors and a few of them in even one scene. The dark colors in the bar, the haven of Sandoval represent his wrestling with that darkness inside him which is alcoholism. The long black hair of Irene and her hippie like-white, innocent clothing represents her rashness and guts in the black and the white represents her honest demeanor in a workplace at that time so corrupt. Later on when Benjamin and Irene reconnect she is wearing a more masculine suit, that is so strongly red, vivid, flamenco red. Something that embodies the passion in their relationship. The killer is often in tweed like material, an unappealing material to the touch just like the character himself. He is in grayscale colored suits, his plain, boring, dull side. 

Journal Entry #17

The Children's Hour

Movie:  1961, b/w, 107min.

• Director: William Wyler
• Actors: Shirley MacLaine, Audrey Hepburn, James Garner

Two women work in a school for young girls, they are best friends and love their jobs. Soon one of the students causes an uproar with what another girl says she heard and the two best friends are being pushed apart by the community all the while trying to remain as close as ever. 

What are some of the inferences that make the two women different? 

Karen Wright's character is represented as the nice teacher, more kind and subtle about the way she punishes the students. She literally differs, with dark hair, dark eyes etc... While Martha Dobie is a sandy blonde, with light eyes and more harsh. She punishes the kids in a strict, unsympathetic manner. Karen dresses more conservatively, she wears darker clothing and has a man in her life while Martha wears looser clothing, lighter clothing and hasn't ever had a boyfriend. Both of them are attractive young women who happen to be best friends but Karen is a more serene, peaceful gal whereas Martha is nervous, paranoid and irritable. 

What does Wyler do with the editing that gives it dramatic effect? 

Some things that Wyler does to edit the film and give it a boost in the drama area is the lighting. It is very dark and the contrast very high, almost film noir-ish. He uses this to portrait each character in a dramatic way, usually paired with a lamp, or the light of a window etc... Another tool he uses is the sound, he edits the sound in such a way that any argument leaves the audience on pins and needles, edge of the seat. It's a bit like a thriller in that sense. The screeching in both the accuser's voice and Martha's voice is so high and in such a shriek that one cannot help but be terrified. 

Journal Entry #16

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

1958, color, 107 min. 

-Director: Richard Brooks

-Actors: Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, and Burl Ives

-Writer: Tennessee Williams 

What are some key scenes that reveal Brick Pollitt's character? 

Brick is a closed off guy, rarely during the entire film does he express any kind of emotion other than anger and disgust for his wife. There a few select scenes in which he does reveal parts of his character and we get a feel for where he is coming from. One is the first scene, when brick is on his old high school track reliving the best time of his life, his peak. He hears the crowd cheering for him, as he is about to run his hurdles. This scene represents his unwillingness to move on from something, his want to be back in the past because he can't stand the present and refuses to acknowledge a future. Then there is the part where Brick runs away from his father and into a wild storm outside. The storm harmonizes perfectly with the climax of Big Daddy’s announcement. The storm signifies literally the storm of emotions that have been released and his being stuck in the mud represents his helplessness.

What cinematic tools does Brooks use in the scene in the cellar augment its crucial meaning?

The cellar is used to convey the tense mood of the film’s entirety. It is darkly lit and Pollitt is sweating bullets, to showcase the overwrought demeanor of the story. It is the confronting moment of the movie, Brick is with his father who he has never been able to connect with, this is a perfect setting, the darkest most deep room in the entire house to discuss the deepest inner feelings bunched up inside for such a long time. It is time for Brick to take charge, to be the man of the house and to understand that his father does love him and does believe in him. His father tells him he needs to love his wife, tells him to be a man and Brick tells him to be more of a father and the both of them resolve the years and years of issues that had accumulated over such a long time. 

Journal Entry #15

Jules and Jim

Movie:  1962, b/w, and             105min.

• Director:  Truffaut
• Actors: Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre

Before the Great War, France, Two close males encounter a woman who steals their promiscuous hearts away.

What is Truffaut trying to say about a ménage a trois relationship?

Jules to Catherine's reckless lack of inhibition, Jim to Jules's emotional selflessness, Catherine to her own willingness to take what she wants and leave what she doesn't—that their shared love becomes their jailor, the shackles unperceivable to the captives. This is what holds them together as one and what constrain them from breaking apart. Truffaut is trying to say that there is a balance if the persons inside the tri relationship bounce of each other into a perfect harmony such as these characters. He demonstrates and gives the audience a taste at the perfection of a threesome relationship and states that it could work in that sense but his ending is meant to reveal that it’s rare and that her insanity over control was the nail in the coffin to its survival. If it weren’t for Moreau’s character’s need for control they would have made it.

What scene depicts the meaning of the film and foreshadows the end result of their relationship?

The scene where they are running across a bridge enwrapped in a metal fence is a symbolic scene for the film. One the two men are chasing after Jean which is representative of her queen bee like roll in which she is the leader, the controller and they are her drones… They’re chasing her shows the passion that they both have for her and the future competitive relationship. They both want her and as she is running we see her advancement which Truffaut showcases with the camera moving forward and her falling backwards with the dropping of the frame back slightly cutting off her head creating a suffocating effect to which she will later endure.

Journal Entry #14

12 Angry Men

Director: Sidney Lumet

Writer: Reginald Rose

Actors: Henry Fonda, Lee J Cobb

Release Date: 1957

96min

A boy is convicted of killing his father, 11 men are sure he is guilty but one begs to differ.  

Why are the men so convinced that the boy is guilty?

The men are so convinced that the boy is guilty because Lumet establishes this classic juror background that we are all aware of as a society. Jurors are randomly picked citizens to witness a trial and make a decision upon that. Each of these 12 men are assumingly hardworking, blue collars except for white collar Fonda who is the only one who refuses to take the easy way out. They are all tired, they have families and want to go home to relax after a long day at work. That is one reason they simply just want to accuse him guilty because it’s the choice that was presented most strongly in their eyes because of the testimony of the two witnesses. Secondly teenagers in that day and age were always perceived as irritating scoundrels, especially if the boy is knowingly deprived.

Does the one setting inhibit the power of the film?

The setting is a boardroom with a long table, darkly lit, with a tired fan and doors shut, windows closed. The film is not inhibited by this small room in which the men are meant to deliberate on whether they are going to decide that the boy is innocent or guilty, having a major impact on his life. The stress in which one holds that decision of another’s human beings is strengthened by the tight knit quality of that room. The heat due to the broken fan exaggerates tempers and enhances the films main quality of suspense in whether the men are going to blow up, have 180 changes in opinion etc… 

Journal Entry #13

Picnic

Movie:  1955, color, and 115 min.

• Director:  Joshua Logan
• Actors: William Holden, Kim Novak, Betty Field, and Rosalind Russell.

Hal Carter stops into a Kansas town to visit an old friend from college, Alan Benson. It happens to be Labor Day and at the community’s picnic Carter causes quite a stir as his buddy’s bride to be begins to fall in love with him and out of love with her fiancé, Benson.

How does music aid the mood of the film?

Music aids the mood of the film in the sense that without it William Holden’s emotions would not be so powerful. They add to his anger, his joy etc… Holden is a very expressive actor. From his facial expression and body language one can easily understand his specific feeling that is supposed to come across the screen. The music in the film is an even more empowering tool to his reactions. The dramatic music conveys the darkness of his character due to the mystery behind his being a drifter. It enhances every vein that is being strained when he works in the old woman yard; it ameliorates his charm and gives an overall kick to his acting that brings it to absolute perfection.

What are some of the clichés in the film and how does Logan’s mise en scene support that?

Some of the clichés in the film include the very small town by which is a close-knit, everyone knows everyone sort of thing that the director displays when he has Holden’s character throw around Benson’s name to receive an immediate response from the gals he happens to be surrounded by. Then we have openness of the community, their willingness to accept a complete stranger like Hal Carter, this cliché is embodied by the old woman. Then we have the younger sister of Madge who is the epitome of a sort of tomboy, nerd, glasses and such and a lack of style. Her exquisite sister upstages her inability to charm boys. A woman who has the two men in the palm of her hands. The typical diversity between a sisters pair often demonstrated in films. Finally the mother who wants the best for her daughter. A classic situation that is presented before Madge of whether to choose Love or Money.

Journal Entry #12

It’s All About Eve

Movie:  1950, b/w, and 138 min.

• Director:  Joseph L. Mankiewicz
• Actors: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Thelma Ritter

Tiny Synopsis: Eve Harrington is a crazed fan that inserts herself into the very life of the person she is obsessed with. A Ms. Margo Channing who is a famous Broadway star that is paranoid of her age, rightly so. Harrington then takes over Channing’s life, threatening her career and personal relationships something that was not a visible motive from the get go and it soon becomes eerily evident that this is her only purpose in having immersed herself into Channing’s life.

What are some of the cinematic-theatrical gags that Joseph L. Mankiewicz plays with during the film?

At the very beginning of the film Makiewicz establishes an already comical setting by having one of the characters who plays a film critic narrate the scene that is to occur near the end of the film as well. The tone is set cynical by the voice of a Mr. Addison Dewitt who recounts the events of a one award ceremony that was not commercially publicized due to its obscurity from only having guests within the film society. He carry’s on with a class A stereotype about old actors and how their speeches go on and on, warning the naïve, imagined audience that would be his later readers. Repeating a sardonic quality that’s emphasized when he mentions that whatever the old man is talking about is not important. Further on with the criticisms of the theater industry he makes a demeaning comment towards the readers as to which he assumes they know nothing of the world they live in. Mankiewicz also touches on the harshness of it, the superficiality and the common stereotypes. The actress that is towards the end of her career, unwilling to give it up, aging rapidly with the stress of upholding her name. The play’s author who is constantly taken advantage by the director, the wide-eyed, young fan that deeply aspires for the same life.

How does Mankiewicz filming of the very last scene convey his message?

Mankiewicz’ filming of the very last scene conveys the message through the mirror shot. The replication of the new girl who enters into Eve’s life at the end is exactly like Eve was for Margo Channing. This mirror clones her into hundreds and hundreds of the same girl, Mankiewicz’ word to the theater. There will never be an expiration of young girls who go to Hollywood or Manhattan trying to fulfill the “dream.” It begins as a crazed fan and ends with them wanting to be the person they idolize. They are all over, wherever and whenever. A timeless message which will forever be eternal in the world of cinema. 

Journal Entry #11 Semester 2

From Here To Eternity

Movie:  1953, black and white, 118 min

• Director:  Fred Zinnemann
• Actors: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Ernest Borgnine, Philip Ober, Jack Warden

It’s 1941 in Hawaii and Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt is transferred to a rifle outlet on the island of Oahu. The film deals with the troubles and trials of being a soldier played by Lancaster, Clift, Sinatra etc… stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Why does First Sergeant Milton Warden admire the ridiculed Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt?

First Sergeant Milton Warden admires the ridiculed Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt because he is an honest man. Warden’s affair with Captain Holmes’ wife Karen Holmes played by Deborah Kerr is an obvious illustration at Warden’s dissimilarity with Prewitt in the sense that he does not lead an honest life. One, he is with Kerr’s character even though she is married and even though other men told him that she is very promiscuous. Two, He arrives at work in the morning and faces the very man he is insulting. Prewitt is more of an honest man because though he could have been elevated in stature of the group of men he surrounded by he decides not to do the simple thing. He could have accepted Captain Holmes’ boxing offer but his refusal shows he wants to be a genuine soldier and nothing else and his will to sustain that will is a testament to his goodness. He receives major ridicule, mocking and bullying because of this decision.

Why is the scene between Lancaster and Kerr on the beach at Halona Cove, Oahu, Hawaii so iconic?

The scene between Lancaster and Kerr on the beach at Halona Cove, Oahu, Hawaii is so iconic because of its highly romantic quality. The idea of a couple kissing on the beach is quite dreamy. Zinnemann uses the water as a metaphorical substance, the waves that hit them as she lay slanted atop Lancaster is metaphorical of the trouble to come such as the attack on Pearl Harbor, as well as the plain roughness of them which demonstrates the complexity of their relationship and how shifty it is. Once Kerr loves him another time she doesn’t, like the water washing up on the shore then returning out to sea, confusing for Lancaster. Lancaster’s faultless body doesn’t hurt either, his tiny shorts and her black one piece is an exemplification of the time period something that audience whenever and wherever appreciates as a bit of nostalgia. Then Zinnemann has Kerr run away from Lancaster over up the shore to where Lancaster famously looks down to her and kneels for a passionate kiss. The passion is so powerful and that is why the scene is so iconic.