James Bond Film Analysis

The vision Christopher Nolan had for The Prestige (2006) was to add to the outbreak of street magician film, whilst playing a large dramatic subplot equal in grandeur to the magical performances within the film. In the final sequence of the film, I will analyse how the cinematography and sound resolves the plot so that it summarises the themes present in the film, whilst also invoking a response from the audience. Nolan predominantly uses close up shots, non-diegetic sound (music) and dialogue collaboratively to convey the dramatic, personal subplot of the characters and their relationships, whilst appealing to the audience bringing forth an emotional response from the audience. The heavy, slow, dramatic atmosphere of the ending sequence uses various techniques to summarise and uncover the underlying mysteries of the events throughout the film and consolidate themes introduced during the exposition.

Even though the film is essentially a visual experience, the use of sound has become extremely important in modern film. The modern viewer hears a complicated soundtrack that is as meaningful as the image on the screen. Three elements comprise the film's soundtrack: the dialogue, the sound effects, and the musical score. The proper balance and mix of these elements produced the essential emphasis required, which created the desired effects. As explained by Joseph Boggs and Dennis Petrie,

The Gangster film ‘Scarface’ (DePalma) is about the rise and eventual fall of Cuban immigrant, Tony Montana. Throughout the film the viewer witnesses how Tony Montana goes from a criminal in Cuba to a drug overlord in America. The average viewer cannot connect to the arc of Tony Montana. But, the average viewer can connect to what Tony Montana is working for, the American dream. Brain DePalma chooses purposefully to have a hyper-masculine, narcissistic, megalomaniac immigrant as the main character of a story of American dream. In ‘Scarface’, DePalma show the universality of the American dream. By utilizing various filming techniques, DePalma shows how the American dream is available for everyone.

This film is a black and white film and the lighting is more towards dim effect which terrified the audience. Music plays the biggest effect in the film. Bernard Hermann’s theme is used for this film because it uses mostly high-pitched string instrument notes so the suspense and horror mood can be formed to the audience.

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.

Throughout history sound has been used to help convey a story. As early as the 1900’s, without today’s technology, movies would often be accompanied by a soundtrack played on a piano or record players. In 1927 The Jazz singer was released, a warner bros movie that featured music and dialog on the actual filmstrip. This film is

Casablanca, the crowning achievement of director Michael Curtiz, which was released in 1942, is a film that had to work against the pressing concerns associated with World War II to stay relevant in both cinematic and general audiences. The writing, which was done by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch, had to be inspirational yet uncontroversial. With actors like Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine, Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund, Claude Rains as Captain Louis Renault, and Paul Henreid as the French revolutionary Victor Laszlo, Casablanca has a respectable cast. The movie initially appears to fit the film noir genre because of its smoky backdrops with muted colors,

“The name’s Bond. James Bond.” A short, simple phrase to introduce one of the most famous fictional spies ever created. James Bond’s stories are entertaining thrillers but it causes one to wonder, is that all it is? Entertainment? Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale is a Bond novel that portrays the reality of espionage, to some extent, while also maintaining the flare that makes it fiction. On the realistic side, Fleming gives you an inside look at the bureaucracy of espionage and the mystery behind the operatives themselves. But James Bond’s mission is an excellent example of the glamor added purely to make the novel a more engaging one rather than an accurate depiction of espionage.

The films opening sequence contains many things which symbolise the events in the movie and starts to define what genre the movie is, because the music is fairly ambient and deep suggesting danger which implies it’s a horror or a thriller movie. When the opening credits appear light effects illuminate

The artistic intensions of the film were clearly stated in the beginning when the credits appeared on the screen along with the recognition that this film received. Nothing in the background moved. The size and arrangement of the letters on the screen

way to start the film as it gave it a modern "cool" look which would

generate moods, and have great psychological affect. This is just as true for the very first series of shots for the film, and perhaps more important since these first shots will give the audience the initial feeling of the film, and set a tone for the picture. The first shot is highly dramatic in its lighting method, and the audience is drawn in immediately to one single detail. A man begins revealing the details of a tragic incident that befell his daughter. We don’t see who he is talking to. There is a spotlight directly above the man, and this is pretty much

essay, has the same gun shot scene at the start, but the action in the

The film “The Prestige” is one of many masterful Nolan films that walks the line between being a meta film about the film industry, and being focused on immersing the audience in the actual content of the film. At a close inspection, comparisons to the film industry can be seen, but they are not so obvious to distract the audience from the central conflicts that are at the forefront of the film. The subject of the film could most easily be defined as surrounding the topics of obsession or fame. More specifically, the obsession of fame, and the illusion of happiness that fame projects. The main characters of the movie both urn for the fame of being the world’s most successful entertainer, even if for different reasons.

Mad Max: Fury Road is the kind of movie in which everything connects to everything else. Although the world that George Miller creates is extremely surreal and exotic to modern viewers, he takes great pains to make it as internally consistent and logically sound as possible. The film always plays by its own rules, no matter how strange they may be. Every object and action fits snuggly into place like puzzle pieces of the grand picture that is this worlds culture and backstory. One single object in this world can reveal much of its social and political structures, along with many aspects of the culture and environment. Also, because George goes to such great lengths to ground the film in reality and reason, it can provide many insights on real world issues despite being set in a completely foreign place. Immortan Joe’s chest plate uncovers many social, political and cultural aspects of his world, and provides relevant commentary on many issues in today’s world.