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.