Shutter Island Analysis

“Analyse, evaluate and compare the techniques used to dim the horror of the real life events discussed in the novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and the film Life is Beautiful.”

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

This movie is mainly about a sixteen year old kid named Craig Gilner. Craig is a young kid who comes from a pretty normal family, has friends, goes to school and has somewhat a social life, but yet still suffers a psychological disorder known as depression. This disorder Craig is battling with makes him afraid he might commit suicide, so he seeks help by going to a psychiatric facility having the mindset that he would be prescribed some drugs or at most treated that same day. Little did he know that he was going to be checked into the facility and had minimum of 5 days before he could be discharged. While in this facility he encountered different types

Directed by Martin Scorsese, Shutter Island is an American mind bending thriller film based on Dennis Lehane’s 2003 novel also named Shutter Island. Leonardo DiCaprio takes the lead role as a U.S Marshall named Teddy Daniels, who along with his partner, Chuck Aule (played by Mark Ruffalo), are investigating the mysterious disappearance of a patient at a highly guarded and isolated psychiatric penitentiary located on Shutter Island. Teddy Daniels runs about the island trying to uncover the mysteries of the Shutter Island psychiatric ward, only falling deeper into the conspiracy, all the while dealing with his past horrors and hallucinations that somehow help him in his investigation. As the plot unfolds, vivid scenes and music help reveal

Essay Question: The fulfillment of Vincent’s dream at the conclusion of the film provides the only hope in an otherwise bleak world. Discuss with specific references to elements of film.

Modern day directors use a variety of methods to hold ones interest. Ethan Hawke and Kenneth Branagh’s created versions of Hamlet that shared some similarities, but ultimately had many differences in respects to an audience’s appeal. An appealing movie is one that has an alluring ambiance and an intellectual stimulus. With these two movie versions, a setting and a mood forced an audience to acquire specific emotions, but Ethan Hawke’s version generated emotions more strongly and effectively. Also, these movies had extremely different uses of music and visuals, but both movie versions incorporated them well for the ambiance it tried to obtain. Finally, both movie

The only real way to truly understand a story is to understand all aspects of a story and their meanings. The same goes for movies, as they are all just stories being acted out. In Thomas Foster's book, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor”, Foster explains in detail the numerous ingredients of a story. He discusses almost everything that can be found in any given piece of literature. The devices discussed in Foster's book can be found in most movies as well, including in Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic, “Pulp Fiction”. This movie is a complicated tale that follows numerous characters involved in intertwining stories. Tarantino utilizes many devices to make “Pulp Fiction” into an excellent film. In this essay, I will demonstrate how

The film, the Untouchables, was directed by Brian De Palma. It was set in the prohibition era, which was right at the start of the 1920’s. Prohibition can be described as a law that made selling and manufacturing alcohol illegal. By putting this law into effect, it actually increased the amount of crime and violence throughout cities in the US. This was ultimately due to the rise in organized crime, also known as gangs. In the movie specifically, it was centered around the rise of the Mafia in Chicago. By looking at the production of the movie, we can see how during prohibition, the Mafia controls everything and the violence ultimately it leads to.

?  The film becomes a different thing in the same sense that a historical painting becomes a different thing from the historical event which it illustrates. It is as

Film can be a very useful catalyst in teaching how not to treat patients. In Analyze This and Analyze That, we see very extensive examples of this throughout the film. Through farce and lampoon, we see the in this disjunctive way what proper CBT, criminal therapy and combating recidivism is all about.

The film that made an impression on me because of its techniques was The Great Gatsby. The director, Baz Luhrmann presents certain themes and ideas for the viewers. To do this, Baz Luhrmann proficiently uses a range of techniques to demonstrate these ideas. The Great Gatsby is about a man who orders his life around one desire: to be reunited with Daisy, the love he lost five years earlier. Gatsby's quest leads him from poverty to wealth, into the arms of his beloved, and eventually to death. The techniques I write about that illustrate the themes of the film are; camera shots, setting, lighting and symbolism. The scenes I will be concentrating on are the final scenes which feature the Great Gatsby.

Schizophrenia is defined by the American Psychological Association as, “a serious mental illness characterized by incoherent or illogical thoughts, bizarre behavior and speech, and delusions or hallucinations, such as hearing voices.” Though only effecting 1% of the population, the complex and long-term psychological disorder interferes greatly with the daily life of those diagnosed. Victims of schizophrenia often experience a combination of positive (hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech/thinking/behavior, catatonic behavior, etc…), negative (affective flattening, alogia, avolition), and cognitive (difficulty understanding, poor memory, difficulty integrating thoughts, feelings and behavior) symptoms. In the movie Shutter Island, the main character repeatedly shows the gradual increase of subtle signs of both schizophrenia and PTSD.

Now, here is where things get a little complicated. Because as "free moral agents" we each have a right to decide what has value or merit in our lives and our environment could very well determine how our value system is formed. Boston University professor and social scientist Glenn Loury raises some critical issues in his essay "Values and Judgments: Creating Social Incentives for Good Behavior." He claims there are underlying factors that lie at the root of behavior. This is particularly true when we examine dysfunctional behavior.

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio teamed up in 2006 to bring the world the organized crime masterpiece, The Departed. The film was a huge success and swept the major awards at the Oscars that year, bring home such prizes as best picture and best director. The win cemented Scorsese as the greatest living filmmaker and he finally got the respect he deserves from the Academy. DiCaprio is one of the best actors of his generation. Titanic, The Aviator, and The Departed areall the evidence needed to securely place him in the upper pantheon of great actors. Expecting a quality movie from either of these two artist is like expecting to get wet by jumping in a pool. When word first broke that the two would be teaming up

Shutter Island and Insomnia use stylistic features to unpack the theme of appearance versus reality and documents the effects of the psychological effects on the protagonists. Both films portray the common theme of appearance vs reality in different ways. Noticeable similarities and differences can be seen in the portrayal of social issues, cinematic techniques and characterisation.