Evaluating Arguments in Film
Although films are a relatively new form of art, they have shaped the modern world more than any other. It is true that visual art is equally compelling, but films appear as persuasive and capture the viewer’s emotions and interests. This effectiveness is on account of a movie’s magic, which is simply the cinematography techniques that filmmakers apply. These techniques are esoteric, and so hidden from the eyes of an ordinary viewer. Only trained eyes can detect the filmmakers’ approaches and judge whether or not they are relevant. When evaluating a film, one resort to two objects. As it were, the first is to assess the film’s magic, which refers to the ability of a film to capture and demand a viewer’s attention. Design, costumes, and lighting often appeal to this quarter. The second object is the film’s content. In other words, the story matters more than the representation. Through the story, the filmmakers can postulate an argument, which the viewers can subtly engage (Winkler 13). In many cases, the audience can forget the set designs and the costumes, but not the words and actions of the characters. “Troy” is one of the movies with a powerful argument.
Indeed, “Troy” is an epic film, and would continue to entertain and educate for generations to come. It is a great film because of the presentation and the economic use of words. Each phrase seems to be in a perfect place. The film is an adaptation of Homer’s “Iliad,” a great story of
Films are a large part of our lives here in America where we depend on them to do when we’re bored with nothing to do, or when the snow or rain is falling. We all use movies as a common way to go on dates and be with friends. However, there has become an abundance amount of movies that we can all enjoy throughout our lives. Although not all movies are interesting to all viewers depending on their personality and what they like to watch. I can say for myself that a film that I really enjoy would be “Mean Girls”. In the two thousand four film “Mean Girls” there is a sense of entertainment that helps in combining all the aspects found in a classical film. Classical films having a entertaining and dramatic plot, and a excellent cast.
The creation and consumption of films are a common favorite pastime for many people and have been for hundreds of years, but while some films can seem deceptively simple, many elements go into creating a scene, much less an entire movie. Directors use these elements which include, but are not limited to style, mood, composition and special effects to create a product that we often don’t acknowledge without looking deeper into the film. These components together are called Mise en Scène (Ebert). Of course, film can be enjoyed leisurely but there are so many more aspects of film to be explored and analyzed such as the composition of camera movement, lighting, color, sounds and music. In this case, I chose to analyze the “Redrum” scene from the renowned film, The Shining directed by Stanley Kubrick. In this scene, Danny Torrence, a five year old boy wanders around his mother’s room with a knife in hand, muttering the word “Redrum” over and over again before scrawling it across the door. I feel that a lot of this scene’s mood and style relies heavily on the camera work of the scene, the lighting and colors, and the music incorporated into the segment.
Throughout the term I have begun experiencing movies in a different way. The class has taken ideas of cinematography, theory, and film history and practically applied it to physically watching movies. By breaking down scenes and movies as a whole, the way I look at films in general has developed. A reflection on two of the films from this term, Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) and North by Northwest (Hitchcock, 1959) will carry the bulk of the essay. Though, I will also be discussing how this class changed the way I saw a movie just a few weeks ago. Casablanca’s script and acting are of particular caliber, and North by Northwest unfortunately does not deliver with the dialogue and casting of lead actor Cary Grant. Though, overall, they both
The film, “the Power of One,” followed the life of a boy named P.K. from a small child to a handsome young man. It showed all the hardship and tragedy he had to endure throughout his life. Although the movie could have focused more on the apartheid, it instead portrayed the vulgarity of those times through the eyes of an English boy. As time went on, P.K. slowly began to realize the full severity of the apartheid. It was difficult for a child to comprehend how horribly people could treat one another for no apparent reason.
There are many different elements of film that filmmakers can utilize to make a film. Direction, storyline, cinematography, mise en scene, as well as point of view and tone can all lend a hand in making a film great. One might say that the most important aspect of a film is the script. Others might argue the actors are the most important part. However, an impressive balance of all of the different elements of film are what can elevate a film to greatness. That is why the best film viewed this semester is Night of the Living Dead.
As a child, most children become infatuated with the newest Disney movie. Although Disney movies target children, watching them as an adult, we start to notice hidden messages and themes in our favorite childhood movies. A category of Disney packed with secret meanings is the Disney princess films. We watch in awe a young girl living, for the most part, the perfect fantasy life. She sings to animals, her hair is always perfectly in place, and there is always a prince to come and save her. In reality, there is much more to the princess persona than we realize. In 2014, Disney’s Frozen took the world by storm and became the highest grossing animated film ever. Frozen takes us on a magical journey with Princess Anna to find her sister, Princess Elsa, whose power to create ice has forever trapped their homeland, Arendelle, in eternal winter. Elsa is haunted by the memory of almost tragically killing her younger sister Anna because of her icy powers. Isolating herself from the world, Elsa dedicated her life to concealing her powers and learning to control them. The movie Frozen teaches the importance of social development among children.
In the movie Wit, English literary scholar Vivian Bearing has spent years translating and interpreting the poetry of John Donne. Unfortunately, she is a person who has cultivated her intellect at the expense of her heart. Both colleagues and students view Bearing as a chilly and unfriendly person lost in her private world of words and mysterious thoughts.
Being one of the world’s most popular art forms, it was inevitable that these archetypes would find their way into film as well. In this essay I will argue that the
What attracts us to the movie theatre on Friday nights? Is it the commercials we see? Or is it all the gossip we hear from friends and TV talk shows? Well for many, it is the critiques we read and hear almost every day. One who specializes in the professional evaluation and appreciation of literary or artistic works is a critic. The profession of movie criticism is one of much diversity. Reviews range anywhere from phenomenal to average. Not only are movies created for the entertainment and sheer pleasure of the audience, they create a market of jobs and open doors to the world of financial growth. The success of these films, whether they are tremendous or atrocious, is not only dependent of the actual film, but
Film and literature are two media forms that are so closely related, that we often forget there is a distinction between them. We often just view the movie as an extension of the book because most movies are based on novels or short stories. Because we are accustomed to this sequence of production, first the novel, then the motion picture, we often find ourselves making value judgments about a movie, based upon our feelings on the novel. It is this overlapping of the creative processes that prevents us from seeing movies as distinct and separate art forms from the novels they are based on.
Over the thousands of years that the epic story the Iliad has survived, there has no doubt been some form of alteration to Homer’s original. Last May, Wolfgang Petersen directed a movie based on the Iliad. This movie, Troy, has proven to be a very loose adaptation of Homer’s original, as are almost all stories that are made into movies, unfortunately. With its timeless storyline, amazing scenery, gorgeous actors/actresses and most of all, its reported two hundred million dollar budget, it is easy to see why Troy was hyped up to be a box office hit. However, the film critics were harsh on this movie, as they had every right to be, and it ended up being a total flop. Compared to Homer’s Iliad, Troy is rather
The producers will develop a test and the audience will tell the producers whether it is something they want to see or they are not going to see. This can affect the next text to be produced in an attempt to conform to the audience demands. Looking at the development of different types of genres and the development of films within the same genre, it’s possible to look at similarities and differences and identify changes in society and audience ideologies and tastes.
Over the thousands of years that the epic story the Iliad has survived, there has no doubt been some form of alteration to Homer's original. Last May, Wolfgang Petersen directed a movie based on the Iliad. This movie, Troy, has proven to be a very loose adaptation of Homer's original, as are almost all stories that are made into movies, unfortunately. With its timeless storyline, amazing scenery, gorgeous actors/actresses and most of all, its reported two hundred million dollar budget, it is easy to see why Troy was hyped up to be a box office hit. However, the film critics were harsh on this movie, as they had every right to be, and it ended up being a total flop. Compared to Homer's Iliad, Troy is rather disappointing. But, to be
housands of years that the epic story the Iliad has survived, which is credited to the famous Greek poet, Homer. In the 2004 film Troy, directed by Wolfgang Peterson, the plot resembles and is based from the epic poem, the Iliad. When the movie Troy was released, there was criticism on how even though the movie was based off of the Iliad, there were numerous differences from the Iliad itself. Even with its differences, the movie, Troy, does have many similarities to the Iliad. Even though there are numerous similarities and differences between the epic poem and the movie, this essay will focus on the major differences and similarities to compare the two.
Understanding movies comes from describing and analyzing the cinematic, theatrical, and literary elements that combine to create meaning. These steps create a basic understanding of the artistic and technical elements found in moviemaking. In addition, the major characteristics of different film genres and classic movies will be analyzed. The purpose of this paper is analyzing the Academy Award winning film Chicago. This paper will describe the six steps that a person should think about when watching a movie. These steps include, (1) analysis of the narrative: story, plot and meaning; (2) theatrical elements, (3) cinematography, (4) editing, (5) sound and the (6) complete package.