Final Essay, Intro to Film Eng 225

Films are about some topics or themes and involve different types of characters. Many filmmakers use a variety of techniques to convey their messages. The choice on the type of the techniques depends on the theme of the film and how effective the filmmakers want to communicate their ideas. This essay aims at illuminating theme and technique in films basing its argument on Alfred Hitchcock’s movies; Notorious movie, Rope, and Strangers on the Train. Alfred Hitchcock was a director of movies and his place in the film studies is unrivalled. He is famously known due to his brilliant plots, witty dialogue, and his ability to tell stories visually. This unique ability brought a new revolution in the film industry that made him become a very

A League of Their Own (Marshall, 1992) explicitly characterizes an American era when a woman’s place was in the home. Even our modern perspective implicitly follows suit. Although women have gained rights and freedoms since the 1930’s, sexism remains prevalent in America. This film offers an illustration when men went to war and big business men utilized women as temporary replacements in factories, sports, and so on. Here, course concepts, such as gender socialization, gender expressions, role stereotypes, emotion expressions, and language, correspond to the film’s characters and themes.

The film Pleasantville directed by Gary Ross is about two modern teenagers, David and his sister Jennifer, somehow being transported into the television, ending up in Pleasantville, a 1950s black and white sitcom. The two are trapped as Bud and Mary Sue in a radically different dimension and make some huge changes to the bland lives of the citizens of Pleasantville, with the use of the director’s cinematic techniques. Ross cleverly uses cinematic techniques such as colour, mise-en-scene, camera shots, costumes, music and dialogue to effectively tell the story.

Article Three – Author: David Bordwell / Title of Article: The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film

1. Why do you think so many people are diagnosed with mental illness in the criminal justice system? Why do you think so many offenders in the criminal justice system suffer from mental illness?

How do the respective narrative forms of Double Indemnity and Magnolia construct their characters and provide different critical perspectives on social values? Discuss in your essay some of the various narration types and the formal narrative construction of the films' characters. However, do not simply provide a list or catalogue of the narrative differences between the two films. A critical and necessary part of the assignment is for you to argue how the narrative construction in each film provides critical perspectives on social values.

I chose to critique the film “The Elephant Man” it is an iconic filmmaking endeavor. Director David Lynch shows the sadness and the scariness of deformities onto the audience in a way that touches your heart and leaves you with a sense of sadness and will also leave a tear in your eye. Most of the people who have watched this film are touched and completely changes the way they view crippled, weak, and deformed people in this world.

The movie, The Shawshank Redemption (1994), is based on a character Andy Dufresne. Andy is a young and successful banker who is sent to Shawshank Prison for murdering his wife and her secret lover. His life is changed drastically upon being convicted and being sent to prison. He is sent to prison to serve a life term. Over the 20-years in prison, Andy retains optimism and eventually earns the respect of his fellow inmates. He becomes friends with Red, and they both comfort and empathize with each other while in prison. The story has a strong message of hope, spirit, determination, courage, and desire.

I want to work with celebration cinema because as some one who really loves film, and would like to go into it I value the work that goes into maintain, and running a haven of cinema. I've spent days of my life completely at a movie theatre, seeing films, and the only people I've interacted with are cast members. They were all very kind, and supportive. So I would like to give back to cinema, and to movie theatres in anyway I can.

In the film The Power of the Situation researchers analyze why, when influenced by others, people act accordingly or strangely. Ellen Langer, a psychologist who graduated from Harvard University, conducted an experiment. Ellen took young air force ROTC cadets and performed a standard vision accuracy test that would normally be administered by eye doctors when testing the eyes for vision impairments. Each subject in the experiment showed a slight vision impairment that can make it difficult to read numbers and letters from a distance. After the subjects were tested half of the subjects were put into a flight simulator and they got to wear air force flight suits, making them look and feel like they are an important role of the air force, while

Throughout history, there have been many films that have captured the eyes of many. One of the best films created and the winner of many academy awards is known as Gone with the Wind directed by, Victor Fleming. Fleming’s, Gone with the Wind tells the romantic yet tragic story of Scarlett O’Hara, the protagonist, and Rhett Butler, while at the same time giving a depiction of the life in the South, before, during, and after the American Civil War. The film, moreover, shows how much someone is willing to do in order to obtain what she wants, and how sometimes it’s too late to realize what one has.

There are many different types of film and film genres. A film can fit into more than one genre, but there are some genres that are more general than others. Some examples of film genre are animated, science fiction, documentary, comedy, and historical fiction. Within each genre, there are also specific characteristics that help support themes and story lines within that genre.

Briefly summarize Pudovkin’s essay on editing. What does he see as the function of editing in relation to narrative? What is his argument concerning “editing as an instrument of impression”?

“The British are coming; the British are coming!” From a very young age, when studying history, we received our information from the points of views of the various authors we read. Yet, we never were able to put ourselves in the same shoes as Paul Revere as he rode late at night to warn Americans of the impending danger. Film gives us that opportunity. It gives filmmakers the ability to artistically depict the information in history in whatever manner they see fit. It gives us as viewers, the opportunity to turn words into action and see that which authors try desperately to describe in history books, allowing us to empathize with the emotions of a production. The film industry is an avenue in which the nature of attraction is the manner in which it captivates and audience.

The term cinematography is interconnected with the concept of still photography, but is an integral part of motion pictures. Within this context, Russell Carpenter’s role as the cinematographer of the film Titanic is important. For instance, his attitude towards cinematography, especially his tireless effort to attain perfection contributed to the success of the film. In the film, Carpenter’s co-operation with art department and visual effects department deeply influenced his role in the film as a cinematographer. During the production of the film, Cameron’s initial idea did not clash with Carpenter’s personal idea on cinematography. To be specific, working with Cameron was helpful for Carpenter as a