Film Analysis : Gun Crazy

Diagnosing an individual with a mental illness balances on a fine line between giving a life-long label and misdiagnosing. Mental illness is best viewed on a continuum allowing for a varying degree of severity. In the field, mental health professionals are faced with determining what signifies the appropriateness of diagnosing a mental illness. A professional’s judgment is impacted by their personal perceptions and observations, societies views and norms, and the patient’s history. The film, “How Mad Are You? A Search for Insanity” demonstrates the difficulties in distinguishing those who are mentally ill from those seen as healthy ( ). I will explore my reactions and thoughts regarding the participants’ experience as well as the mental health professionals. Additionally, I will share how this information is applicable to my future career in the field of social work.

The drama in Casablanca comes from the use of low-key lighting. The lighting is used to capture the essence of the drama. The filmmaker uses light or the absence of light to mirror the emotional response of the character for the viewer. The filmmaker uses three different types of lighting key-light, backlight, and fill light.

“What’s important are the lights you don’t turn on” said by Allen Daviau. As explained in the documentary, the dark was not used as negative space but as the most important part of the scene. This means they took advantage of the darkness, they used it as a tool to add in emotion such as sadness or fear. Visions of Light uses John Alton’s film T-men (1947) to exemplify how

We never know how fragile life is until we are faced with death. History says a gunfight happened at the O.K. Corral, in thirty seconds and caused a several deaths during those seconds. The shootout did not really occur at the O.K. Corral; it actually occurred behind a vacant lot quite close to O.K Corral. It may have been only a thirty second fight, but thirty bullets were shot during the thirty seconds !To be exact the incident had occurred on a Wednesday, October 26, 1881 at three o’clock pm. People say that that fight had quite an impact on people. People thought the gun fight was so significant that they

The author’s lighting adds to the tone by having the lights dim when it is tragic. In the clip of Tim Burton’s, Vincent, there are no colors and it is low key lighting. This makes the scene look like Vincent is a kid with a very dark imagination. In Edward Scissorhands, the lighting at the beginning when Peggy first finds Edward is low key

Light can make a scene look more realistic by creating shadows and highlights. In this scene Alonzo if enraged with anger as he looks for help from the gangsters and thugs he once worked with and protected but those very same individual’s no longer have the same respect for Alonzo. The “King Kong” scene is shot using a low key lighting design. Low–key lighting is often used for intense dramatic scenes which was a perfect fit for this scene. The dark lighting used in these scene

Lighting is used expressively in the film. When Marion goes to the Bates motel the lighting is more subdued.

Rush Hour is filled with numerous different acts of violence. Of the eight types of violence counted in the film, gun violence was the most prominent type of violence with eighty-six acts of gun violence throughout the film. Any time a weapon was drawn or shots were fired it was counted as gun violence. The next most common type of violence in the film was physical violence, with seventy-six incidents, which involved any hitting, kicking or pushing. There were nineteen acts of violence with a weapon other than a gun. Items such as shipping containers used to attempt to smash Lee between two in the first scene, pool sticks and bar stools in the scene at the pool hall and the ax used by Sang in the scene where Lee and Carter chase him through a building. There was a lot more action and a lot less verbal threats in this movie, with only nine acts of verbal abuse. There were three explosions throughout the film which was also counted as an act of violence considering the use of C-4. Three time throughout the movie a vehicle was used as a weapon either in a chase or when Sang attempted to rundown Cater and Lee after a failed attempt of his capture. The kidnapping of Soo Yung was counted as an act of violence as well as the armed car theft perpetrated by Carter when in pursuit of the fleeing Lee. The total acts of violence counted throughout the movie was an astounding 198 making this film a very violent one.

The dark allure of film noir is an artistic style all its own and a radical departure from conventional filmmaking. In their book A Companion to Film Noir authors Andre Spicer and Helen Hanson state that, “deep shadows, clutching hands, exploding revolvers, sadistic villains and heroines torment with deeply rooted diseases of the mind” (Spicer, Hanson 8). Known as the very first film noir, The Maltese Falcon, showcases all the primary elements that make up the genre such as the three main character types composing of the wry private eye, femme fatale, and memorable violent criminals.

The term “noir” was first used by French film critic Nino Frank in his response to the release of four crime thrillers – The Maltese Falcon, Murder, My Sweet, Double Indemnity, and Laura - in France after WWII (Spicer 2002, p.2). The label noir has since been retroactively applied to a number of films constructed between 1941 and 1959 sharing a darker photographic, artistic and thematic style, influenced by post-WWII disillusionment and realism, the influx of Germanic emigres in Hollywood, American hard-boiled and pulp fiction, and anxiety caused by the Communist scare and atomic age (Spicer 2002,

He uses lighting to darken a scene and to cast shadows creating a hair-raising feel to his movies. For example, in Alice in Wonderland, when the Mad Hatter tells the Jabberwocky story it is dark and the Mad Hatter's face is shadowed giving the watcher an eerie sense. Without the lighting in that scene the

Well, if you did not watch this movie yet, I apologise that I will be such a spoiler of this movie.

Richard Linklater uses cinematic technique of lighting to convey the theme of family relationships between the character of Mason and his father. A scene where the cinematic technique of lighting is featured occurs when they go out bowling. This scene involves bright lighting as they are surrounded a scene where the atmosphere is joyfulness therefore the lighting is lit. The effect of lighting it leaves on this scene presents the viewer to react or visualise looking at the environment the characters are surrounded by the tones of shadows as it eliminates the overall appearance of lighting pattern. Another scene in the film Boyhood that Richard Linklater uses lighting to present family relationships.

The dim lighting creates shadows and contrast that emphasize the dark theme of the sequence. This is a moment where the narrator is detaching from reality. He is holding Raymond at gunpoint but believes Tyler is doing it. Next, the angles and editing of the sequence allow the audience to cut between medium shot and close-ups.

Lighting plays a key role in films and movies. Lighting found in movies and films can be high key or low key lighting, bottom or side lighting, and front or back lighting. High key lighting is when a scene is bright with light like in Edward’s interview. Edward was being interviewed as he is a very special individual.The scene has many lights pointing at Edward for the audience. Low key lighting is a very dark scene like in Edward’s mansion. Edward was a child alone when his “father” died. Eventually the lights weren’t paid for and the lights went out causing this dark eery scene. Front or back lighting is to show the innocence or specialness of someone, the opposite of bottom or side lighting. Kim dancing in the snow is an example of