Dichotomy In The Exorcist

The Godfather, The Exorcist, and The Silence of the Lambs are three films that are often given the title “greatest of all time” in their respective genre, for very good reason. Each film consists of scenes that are crafted so unforgettably that the scenes leave each viewer with a sense of awe, shock, and horror when each scene is carefully examined. The Godfather, distributed in 1972 by Paramount Pictures, was directed by Francis Ford Coppola who in an interview said in regards to his filmmaking that “If you don’t take a risk then how are you going to make something really beautiful, that hasn’t been seen before?” (1). The Godfather certainly presented cinema with iconic and memorable scenes that were both beautiful and never before seen largely due to the new and risky ways Francis Ford Coppola presented The Godfather’s narrative. Similarly, The Exorcist chilled the bones of audiences everywhere by shocking the world with grueling demonic possession in a tangible way that had never been presented before by cinema. The scenes in The Exorcist were particularly memorable because the scenes resonated with a large majority of American audiences who came from religious backgrounds where demonic possession is a sincere possibility; never before had a film brought Americans face-to-face with The Devil, Hell, and sin by means of horror. Horror was also a key element in Jonathan Demme’s 1991 classic The Silence of the Lambs. Horror made each scene very memorable, particularly when

Alfred Hitchcock was a renowned film director known for his elements of suspense and psychological thrillers. His most popular work psycho uses the story of a phoenix secretary (Marion Crane) who embezzled money from a client to unveil the psycho in the male character (Norman Bates). The success of the film is greatly relied on Hitchcock’s unique techniques in creating tension and suspense. Elements that contributed to the success of the film include motifs and parallels, and perspective used.

Compare and Contrast Essay of the Opening Scenes of Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas

The possessed child levitates off her bed, spews green vomit, turns her head around backwards, and masturbates with a crucifix while screaming a string of profanity unimaginable in a big studio movie. Along with blockbusters as The Godfather (1972), The Sting (1973), and Jaws (1975), The Exorcist was one of the most profitable movies of the decade. The Exorcist was set in Washington DC and released at the height of the Nixon administration’s engagement in the Watergate scandal. Throughout the film, there are various references to relating to the Vietnam-era. For example, early in the film, we see Chris MacNeil (mother of Regan MacNeil) on the set of a campus anti-war protest. Meanwhile, we also see old Father Martin has been living in Woodstock, New York, presumably trying to expel the evil spirits of its countercultural demons. The film also represented the tense political anxieties of the 1970s. The climax, with the girl saved but the priests dead, strongly suggested that the battle between good and evil as the film defined it had ended in an exhausting and uneasy draw. This example can be a reference to the United States’ stalemate and withdraw from the Vietnam War in the 1970s. It was a very exhausting war for American troops and uneasy success. Accordingly, The Exorcist inspired many horror films throughout the decade and beyond. For instance, The Omen (1976) used certain ideas from The Exorcist to describe the birth of the antichrist to the

Dichotomy is when a seemingly harmless thing is portrayed as the opposite. One dichotomy in the film is Regan. Regan is a dichotomy because she is at first seemingly safe

As mentioned, he believes that we all have mental issues and giving examples of people who regularly talk to themselves or have some uncontrollable phobia. As he goes on, he notes the basic reasons for why we enjoy a good horror flick, mentioning that we test our courage and to have a good time. But, then elaborates on how our idea of fun for a horror movie is comparable to a psychotic who likes to “[see] others menaced-sometimes killed”. Afterwards, he concludes that horror movies fulfil the deep abyss, or the hungry alligators, of our forebrain. In essence, the article is structured with a conclusion first, then an introduction leading to the

Butler addresses Hell, judgment, and Holy War in three separate, distinct parts of the book. To begin “Part 1: The Mercy of Hell,” Butler tells a short, fictional anecdote about a man questioning his faith because Hell makes God appear sadistic and not good. The anecdote is one of the many conceptions about Hell that Butler later addresses. Part 1 then begins with “Chapter 1: Heaven and Earth.” Butler writes that many people have a me-centered story that focuses on their actions determining God’s place for them in the afterlife; however, this story fails to focus on God.

movie again for the purpose of writing this paper, I came to appreciate all of its

Throughout the semester, the class has read various stories from a variety of authors. We have witnessed through our analyses the detail that the writers have used; Edgar Allan Poe, author of “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” (1845) and “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1842) used grotesque and fearsome imagery, as well as setting, to go in depth to give the readers the illusion of actually being there. Although these two stories are unalike, they share the theory of dread because of their disturbing and frightening qualities.

Therefore, in this essay I will be analysing 2 films (The Blair Witch

The exorcism section took nearly a month to shoot and was filmed entirely in sequence, recalls Friedkin, who says he was only able to complete about five shots a day due to the complexity and cold temperature required. Most of it was shot with one camera, and all the sound was recorded separately because of the unusual voices and audio gimmicks. By employing innovative mechanical effects, life-sized puppets, editing tricks, creative lighting and other techniques, Friedkin and his team created a scene that remains unique in the history of horror films. "I'll be honest with you," says the director, proud of the film magic he achieved without the help of computers or other digital equipment. "If I was making The Exorcist today, I still wouldn't use much

Robin Wood, in Hitchcock’s Films Revisited, argues that much of the meaning that the audience derives from Psycho involves spectatorship through character development.1 What makes Psycho such a timeless film is its intricate and extensive use of symbols. One symbol never really takes precedence over the other, and are largely left up to the viewer’s interpretation. Psycho’s symbols have not been discussed in great detail based on the information presented in the readings thus far this semester, but this dissertation will attempt to illuminate the purpose of at least one of these symbols: that of the bird. Hitchcock uses the bird both obviously and ambiguously throughout the film. These instances, which are primarily psychological and sexual in nature, are developed through the film’s two central characters, Marion Crane and Norman Bates, and reveal fundamental truths about the psyche and about human nature in general.

From dark, eerie locations to monstrous tragic films, the production of horror took a different turn when the American film obtained the ability to become more explicit (Geraghty). Around the 1970’s the new Hollywood horror era had developed, ultimately shifting the old horror monstrous theme to more of a disturbing and unnatural theme, which became popular in America. These new themes varied in terms of topics such as disease, possession, and mental illnesses (Geraghty), each in which portrayed graphic and detailed visualizations of disturbances in horrific context. Some of these themes were influenced by using literature as the basis for a plot and an interest in foreign horror used by film directors (Geraghty). As technology became more advanced in film, directors were able to use visual and special effects to create cinema that will indeed provide a suspenseful experience through narratives on screen for the audience. The new Hollywood era contained many elements to create a terrifying movie for their audience. For example, in a recent film called The Blair Witch Project (1999), the main character is documenting and recording supernatural events in video diaries, allowing the audience to have the perspective of the character (Geraghty). Not only does the perspective of the main character have a great effect the audience, but also the quick movements of the camera occurring in the movie does as well because it creates a terrifying effect for viewers. Due to the horror films providing a social escapism for its viewers, the people of America started to favor the horror

Perhaps The Shining is rated one of Rolling Stone’s Top 10 Scariest Films of All Time (Greene), not because it offers a bit of a thrill, or blood and gore, but because it acknowledges the intrinsically evil nature of humankind and the human condition from which we all suffer; not only on a psychological level, but a sociological, as well. There are many motifs, metaphors, and symbolism scattered throughout The Shining, many of them great examples of styles of editing, filmmaking, and

Based on Stephen King’s horror novel of the same name, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining features hallways filled with butchered daughters, and their guts and blood splashed down the hall. Horror and realism fuel Kubrick’s notoriously disturbing films and The Shining stands clear-cut amongst them. Although in the case of this movie, Kubrick shifts emphasis from visual horror to psychological fear and instills mounting dread from the sequence of disturbing events. Kubrick states, “one of the things that horror stories can do is show us the archetypes of the unconscious; we can see the dark side without having to confront it directly.” Never falling flat, The Shining provides a psychological horror masterpiece complete with brilliant acting, tight camera angles, haunting score, and unanswered questions.