Through sonic, visual, and textual means, Kenneth Branagh’s The Magic Flute explores two contrasting themes: strength and weakness. Throughout the entire opera film, we witness both the afore mentioned themes from a variety of different characters, and the fate to which these attributes lead each individual. Mozart’s beautifully written music backs up this intriguing storyline, with well-placed arias, leitmotifs and an excellent score. As the story follows the adventure of Tamino and Papegano, many times we witness acts of both strength and weakness. Once Tamino has been saved from the gas by the Three Ladies, he is given the picture of Pamina along with the request to save her. Tamino falls instantly in love with this photo, which can be …show more content…
After the two men have found Pamina, and learned that Sorastro is not the evil man that the Queen of the Night made him out to be, they’re put up to trials to prove they are worthy of joining Sorastro’s forces. These trials are a show of great strength on Tamino’s part. Through the first trial, the trial of silence, Tamino remains strong and silent although he is persuaded to speak by the Three Ladies. The sing crisp staccato notes, expressing the urgency of the situation but it is also in a major key. The back-and-forth sung dialogue could also be described as playful and helps this film earn it’s label as a comedy opera. It isn’t until Pamina walks up to him that he is truly tested: when he does not respond, Pamina assumes that his love for her has died and he must watch in silence, unable to tell her otherwise. With his magic flute and Pamina’s support (she is reassured by the Three Boys of Tamino’s love), Tamino passes the final trials because he firmly believes in the power of the flute which he holds high above his head, even when death faces him. His strong belief in the magic flute saves them and it’s also what ultimately brings peace to the …show more content…
It starts at 20:45 as a strong yet gentle song, giving the impression that she is a good woman and that she is in a position of power, if her name hadn’t already given it away. She appears as a dark shadow; its very mysterious but appropriate as her name is Queen of the Night. Her entrance slowly fades into a minor key as she begins to share her story: an emotional tale of how her daughter was kidnapped from her and she looks genuinely concerned. Around 23:00 her song grows into a crescendo which almost resembles that of a musical scream as she re-lives the pain - “with my eyes I saw her taken”. It sounds as though she is weakened with sadness and longing for the safe return of her daughter but right before the scene ends, we see a close up of her eyes which are looking off to the side and giving the impression of deceit and deception. We can guess that she is perhaps not as weak and incapacitated as she
A composer depends entirely upon the nature of the film for all the clues needed to write a suitable score for a film. Brought into the production after a certain amount of film has been shot, the films concept will dictate how the composer will write the music. Whether based on the story line, or providing information by setting an atmospheric state, film music will always have different purposes between different films. Penguin Ballet by Nigel Westlake was composed to focuses upon the graceful, almost ballet like movements of the penguins underwater. Whereas, Writings on the wall by Sam Smith conveys ideas and messages which will be expressed throughout the film, especially through the use of lyrics. Although positioned within the film to provide contrasting messages, both these songs use similar musical elements to support the piece, and its position with the film. The discussion of this essay is that there are similarities between the musical elements that support the lyrics in a song and the action in a documentary. Through this, we will discuss the musical element’s of pitch, and timbre and texture.
Then, it comes out of nowhere. The biggest climax, suddenly brought on like a wave crashing against a cliff’s edge. The oboe melody recurs again, this time less sorrowful than inviting. Come back, it sings. And the flute comes skipping over the sound, the sun rising from behind black clouds. But the melody it plays sounds out of place, lower than and not as bright as what it could be. My fingers twitch, following the flute countermelody as if I were up there playing with them—as I should be.
During a later part of Scene Two when the cast is dancing the movements match the music, they appeared to be doing the Waltz, so the music had abrupt changes. In Scene Three: Cadiz, the orchestra plays some sad and somber music at the beginning. As the scene progresses the music goes from dark and dismal to happy and cheerful. During one of the songs of Scene Four: Paris the Old Lady, Cunegonde and Candide were discussing a flight and the music being played by the orchestra matched the lyrics bringing the idea of a flight to life. The Old Lady has a mezzo soprano voice she executes all of her notes well in the song. At the end of scene three Candide, Cunegonde, and the Old Lady leave to go to a new place and in the song they sing there are rounds, which were well executed. It helped change the mood again which brightened up the audience.
Sonya Hartnett’s novel Thursday’s Child revolves around the qualities of bravery and cowardice. The novel explores how the Flute family displays the two qualities when altering their circumstances. Devon’s quote “being cowardly never changed anything. It's being brave that makes the difference” illustrates how cowardice and bravery differentiate and ultimately change to story. Devon Flute upholds his quote by finding courage and becoming the exemplar the Flute family needed.
Though extremely different in many ways, Amadeus was successfully translated from stage to film not as an adaptation but a parallel work. Peter Shaffer’s stage version is highly theatrical and unfortunately does not literally translate well to film, for multiple reasons. Shaffer and Milos Forman adapted Amadeus in a way that appealed to cinema audiences through cutting characters, expanding upon characters, altering language and narration, set and costume design, plot changes and taking full advantage of the dramatic powers of the camera. Milos Forman said “The fact that Amadeus was so stylized, so theatrical—well, so un-cinematic, was actually a blessing—it meant we wouldn’t be tempted to merely translate the play to screen, but would be forced to demolish the original, then totally reimagine it as a film.” One of the largest differences between play and film that make the film Amadeus its own piece of art, are the changes in narration. Though called Amadeus, it is really Salieri that occupies the center of the stage and “conducts” the action of the play. In the film, Mozart’s role is enhanced from the beginning.
Disney makes over $3 billion on their Disney Princess products every year and now have over 25,000 items in their princess collection (Orenstein 2). Disney has played a big role in shaping not only societal viewpoints on what young girls should like, but also what little girls believe they should enjoy as well. Gender stereotypes have been around for a long time, but now with technology advancements, such as media in western society is able to play a bigger than ever role in influencing people’s perspectives. Not only do we see gender roles and stereotypes in television shows, but also in advertisements and in children’s toys. Although many readers of Peggy Orenstein’s “What’s wrong with Cinderella” have argued that the princess culture is corrupting today’s young girls and making them more dependent on men, a closer examination shows that many girls grow out of the princess phase with no negative repercussions and choose whatever passions they want.
This activity challenged my critical listening skills and developed my ability to appraise music and use aesthetic sensitivity while concentrating on listening to identify the music elements. It was evident that the composer manipulates all the musical elements and qualities to accurately portray the narrative of the Moldau. Elements of music include duration, pitch, dynamic and expression, structure and style, timbre and texture (REF). For example, duration includes rhythm, beat, accent and tempo, that I was able to identify with the loud, triumphant calls of the hunter’s horn, the dominating French horns, and trumpets playing sharp, rhythmic notes. Also, pitch refers to the register of the note in a sound patter (REF). I was able to identify the cheerful mood of the melody that moves in an up and down pitch. Dynamics and expression are evident in the pattern of intensity and volume of the sound with loud trumpets as the river passes the rapids or the bassoon playing low and dark sounds that I thought contributes to dramatic
Amadeus begins with an attempted suicide by composer Antonio Salieri, who is overcome with guilt about supposedly killing Mozart. His life is saved by his aids and he is sent to what looks like a mental hospital, where a priest is sent to council him. The whole story is told through the eyes of Salieri on his death bed, confessing to his priest.
In the movies, there are a number of factors that will impact the quality of the film and the story. This is because producers and directors are using different techniques that will enhance their ability to entertain. The Sound of Music is taking numerous ideas and is integrating them together. To fully understand what is happening, there will be an examination of the film and various concepts. This will be accomplished by focusing on: the storytelling, acting, cinematography, editing, sound, style / directing, impact of the film on society / vice versa, genre, application of at least one approach and overall textual themes. Together, these elements will highlight the effects of the film and how it has influenced others inside the industry.
In examining the libretto The Phantom of the Opera, the interactions and attitudes of the characters, and the language used, I will show how the Phantom’s obsession over Christine, although at times destructive, leads to his change from an evil and selfish villain, to a remorseful and compassionate hero. To understand the psyche of the Phantom, one must first have a brief overview of the play.
‘The Pianist’ is a cinematic masterpiece by the Polish director Roman Polanski. One of the key ideas that appear throughout much of the film is that of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’. This idea is portrayed through Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish pianist, as he struggles for survival in Warsaw as everybody that he once knew and everything that he once had is lost. The idea of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’ is worth learning about as it allows the audience to realise the importance of hope in todays society – and to understand how Polanski uses music to symbolise ‘hope’ for Szpilman in the film. Polanski effectively utilises an array of visual and oral text features such as music, dialogue, and lighting to build further
A musical film is a genre of movie where songs sung by characters are added into the storyline, occasionally complemented by choreography. The musical numbers in these films do not always develop the plot and characters, but they do give the films a more exciting quality. The primary difference between musical theatre and film musicals is the use of extravagant scenery that would be extraordinarily unreasonable for a stage performance. While making movies, the individuals involved have the luxury of being able to shoot multiple takes and have the time to move backgrounds around or change their entire location. Stage performances, on the other hand, must have scenery that can be easily and efficiently moved on and offstage when it is needed. In order to be able to thoroughly comprehend this relatively recent- in the grand scheme of things- form of entertainment, one should understand the history behind these musical films, be aware of some of the “big names” that are well-known, and recognize major titles that revolutionized musical film forever (Scaruffi, P., 2005).
The use of the flute in the play, Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller enhances the work’s meaning and heightens the literature’s level of art. Throughout the play, the flute makes numerous appearances, each time bringing much symbolism to the scene. The flute represents Willy, the protagonist's, memories of his father. As the play begins, flute music plays symbolizing Willy’s overwhelming life as well as his abandonment issues. The flute appears again and portrays Willy’s father’s haunting him. In Act II, the flute resurfaces to portray the hardship Willy faces as a result of his father’s leaving him isolated. As the play comes to a close, the flute music plays for the last time to finish the ongoing theme of desertion that Willy feels. The symbol of the flute in the play greatly enhances the plot and adds another dimension of art to the play.
Though these aforementioned motifs are used quite extensively in Hollywood film music, the use of music to augment the cinematic scene in Hollywood films is seen most noticeably during instances of grandeur and opulence. To accompany these scenes, the film scorers elect to use large ensembles, with each family of instrument partaking in the production. This correlation has become a staple in Hollywood films, as “orchestral size not only indicated musical choice or financial well-being but became a status symbol for the music director” (Morcom 70). Such an implementation of emotional mimicry is found in the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Twin Towers, when Howard Shore’s “Helm’s Deep” played during the Helms Deep Charge. In the middle of the Rohirrim charge at Helms Deep, Gandalf the White presents himself at the top of the hill on a great white stallion. Gandalf is magnificence personified, so the choice in musical accompaniment simply strengthens the delivery of this fact to the audience. Therefore, as seen from all three previously discussed styles, there exists a pattern in the field of music, where an inherent sense of strategy and intention is employed when selecting the notes in a piece. In American culture, the general view of film music is that “song sequences, seen as distractions, cast doubt on a film's narrative authenticity by limiting creativity, plot development, and characterization, resulting in a genre that appears to lack cinematic realism as compared to
The music helped in elaborating this great film. As I mentioned in class different instruments helped create different moods for different scenes in the movie. We heard the cello and the violin to create sadness and remorse. The flute created eeriness and the trumpet created awareness. I thought these were instruments and tools that help make this film extraordinary.