The famous British film director and producer Ridley Scott was born on the 30th of November 1937; notably only two years before the beginning of World War Two. Scott is well known for having a striking visual style. He crafts this style by creating realistic atmospheric lighting to make the audience feel as if they are a part of each scene, living with the characters, and commonly uses slow pacing to build tension in the lead up to action sequences. Another technique Scott uses to build tension and other emotions is the use of sound or music – both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. It is suggested that Scott has an eidetic memory which gives him the ability to vividly recall images after only viewing them for small amounts of time with high …show more content…
Prior to the camera panning to the sky, Juba (Maximus’ friend) is seen burying figurines of Maximus' wife and child once cherished by Maximus. Many aspects of symbolism are present in the wake of these actions. Juba says, "I will see you again, but not yet." This line demonstrates the perseverance of all the gladiators as they fought their way to the Colosseum, and ultimately to freedom. The idea of the figurines being buried in the soil of the Colosseum is symbolism for a funeral service as Maximus’ loved ones are laid down beside where he died – a thoughtful gesture from his closest friends that helped him to freedom. Maximus’ death is further expressed as a service with the medium-long shot of his body being carried out of the Colosseum. The idea of the body being carried out by the pall-bearers (the people who were closest to him) screams funeral service. However, also obvious in the scene is the splattered red seen all over the ground in the Colosseum. When first seeing this it appeared to look like blood that had most likely gushed from the men that had been killed in the arena, but when seen in a close up, it was made clear …show more content…
In particular, Scott is seen to be using his realistic atmospheric lighting to help the scene become more life-like. For example, in the final scene of the film Rick Deckard and Roy Batty are seen in a misty, wet scene creating the essential sense of realism in a futuristic film. This carefully crafted mis-en-scene helps make the setting seem more real and immediate with the inner workings of the unfamiliar world shown in a recognizable manner. The raining, misty scene creates a sense of mystery forcing the audience to become uncomfortable. This is common in all Ridley Scott’s films. Many of Ridley Scott’s films are set in the future including Blade Runner, Alien and Prometheus to name a few. All these films show a broken down society that has a very evident social hierarchy – potentially showing Scott’s predictions for the future. In particular, the setting of the film is always based in a dark, rainy, smoky atmosphere as if it is post-apocalyptic; most unlike the atmosphere of Los Angeles’ (where the film is set) atmosphere today. Scott is also identified to be utilizing the slow-pacing cinematography to give the audience time to analyse and feel the emotions of the characters. As Batty proceeds to die, the camera switches between Batty and Deckard using close up shots on their faces showing the varying emotions of the two men. These close-up shots are complemented by the
Steven Spielberg used classic linear storytelling in his movies, the narrative in most of his movies were Plot driven and very effective. He is a storyteller always mindful of holding his audience. Steven Spielberg is one of the greatest directors of today. He is master in taking stories and incidents from the past and and rejuvinating them with his own potential.
The result is that the dystopian future becomes a realistic possibility to the audience. This has two effects, in the first it makes the events of the film more plausible. Technological development and the creation of robotic life could eventually occur in our own reality. In this regard, the film is using image as presence by setting up this believable world. However, in the second arena it makes the audience reflect on the questions of urbanity and development that exist in our current paradigm, thus inviting discussion about the way human and planning elements are being merged together in our own technology driven world. These concepts are as relevant now as they were when the film was first released two decades ago. The camera continually roves over this world creating spatial continuity that implies that there is virtually no escape from this smoky, polluted, society. The landscape provides a site for making metaphor about the socioeconomic divide that characterizes the Blade Runner universe. The skyscrapers of the wealthy are clear symbols of how the poor are at the bottom of the socio economic
Throughout the film, gladiatorial games are shown to be one of the most important parts of the Roman society. Gladiatorial games and fights followed a strict procedure and ceremony. They arrived at the Colosseum through an underground tunnel. From there, they were able to access to the arena through a pair of gates reserved to them only. Additionally, the gladiators often marched in groups, with their distinctive uniform and equipment. This is displayed accurately when Maximus enters the arena through a pair of gates and works with a team of other gladiators with similar outfits. However, they did not wear fantasy helmets and bands wrapped around the lower arms and their armors are not always closely historically accurate. Moreover, Roman people loved to watch people battle to death and bloodthirsty violence as a form of entertainment. Spectators in the film cheered and chanted wildly in the Colosseum when their favorite, Maximus was battling with
The video called Ancient Rome – The Rise and Fall of an Empire “Revolution”, is a documentary that has many series and the first one I began with was featuring the story of Tiberius Gracchus. He is the son of Tiberius Gracchus the Elder and his mother was Cornelia Africana. In the beginning of the video it begins with show Tiberius Gracchus the Elder at his death ceremony he looked ill and quite pale with white foggy eyes with flies flying around him and Rome did a ceremony of his death. Before him was Gracchus sitting in a throne like chair and there were five dancers wearing a molded mask of Tiberius Gracchus the Elder’s face, like studied in class. It was just a big ceremony to remember him, speeches were given and then the cremation of
Just as ‘Frankenstein’ glorifies nature, Blade Runner explores a world where nature has become virtually obsolete. This mirrors the public’s thoughts in the 80’s of a continued deterioration and the consequences of our overuse of nature. The opening scene of Blade Runner uses filmic techniques such as chiaroscuro to reflect the lack of nature present with the entire landscape being industrialised. The pollution of the city drowns out the suns’ light, meaning all present lighting is artificial, reflecting a world with no natural warmth or clarity. The close up fade of the eye expresses a fire burning within, a possible allusion to Hates and the underworld. The non-diegetic music played is synthetic sounding, providing an eerie setting, further enforcing a lack of nature.
Thanks to the various sources and the multiple mediums through which they are presented we have learnt much about this aspect of Roman entertainment. Frescoes, mosaics, writings, graffiti, buildings, artefacts (gladiator's helmet, weapons, etc), inscriptions, reliefs and even bodies all reveal details of the many different facets and experiences of this ancient entertainment. We now know who went, what and who the entertainment was, and even the stories of the ancient Pompeians and reconstruct a variety of experiences. This source is a archaeological treasure as unlike others it did not deteriorate from non-use or knocked down, it was frozen on a typical roman day and has thus remained. It is also significant as we can compare this evidence to similar items of evidence from all over Rome and deepen our understanding of the life of the ancient Romans.
It was a form of entertainment for the people to go to coliseums to watch the gladiators fight and kill each other. They would pay to watch slaves fight and see the death of a lot of them... Gladiators would be seen as club rites today. It was a part of the Romans daily life to go watch people die... In these days, that type of stuff would be unacceptable and very, very cruel. A lot of the Romans enjoyed too go watch the gladiators fight each other to death, but other thought it as supposed to be
Film Noir uses similar aspects to Romantic Gothic novels and uses darkness and shadows to set mood and to portray ideas. This can be seen in a number of scenes where Deckard is in his apartment. The light, or rather, the lack of, is used to highlight the depressive mood and to emphasise Deckard as a flawed and mysterious character. Additionally, the hardboiled genre features a fallible protagonist, in this case Deckard. The audience is continually questioning the morality and the agenda of the ‘Blade Runner’ through the entirety of the film, which can be paralleled with Frankenstein, and his lack of morality as his “eagerness perpetually increased” as he creates his
A gladiator sits in the dungeon sweating, for his turn is soon to come. He hears the howls of men and beasts, the thud of corpses dropping to the floor, and the crowd applauding. Finally, he hears the tapping of the guard’s approaching feet down the corridor, and his life begins to flash before his eyes. He is forcefully escorted upstairs and steps out of the gate that closes behind him. Crowds are cheering all around him, chanting for his death. Growling comes from the other gate, and a lion emerges from the shadows, charging at him. Within a few seconds, the jaw had clasped around his neck. Blood was splattered on the floor and the crowd celebrated the demise of the prisoner. This is the cruel practice of gladiator matches, in which those in power force men and beasts below them to clash with each other for sport. I, Emperor Honorius, have decided to bring the abolition of this practice. No more will organize gladiator matches, or they will feel the wrath of the gods and I.
The effect of the low angles that Burton portrays potential antagonists contrasts with the effect of the front and back lighting that he uses to characterize his protagonists. The cinematic elements’ effects often used in Burton’s films are always clearly transferred to the viewer and are impressionable, and the style in which Burton
The people of Rome needed to be entertained or they would revolt. Some The gladiators were also a big help to the emperor, since they gave him protection from the romans. The people of Rome needed to be entertained or they would revolt. Some emperors who were killed are Caracalla, Commodus, and Geta. Finally an emperor saw the gladiator funeral games were a big hit, so he made it bigger than ever. It cost nothing to see the battles, because the emperor wanted everyone to be happy and no one to kill him. The emperors were praised after the games, which meant they not going to get assassinated. In later years, the emperors saw that plain gladiators fights would wear off and not entertain people as much, so they had to come up with variations. That's why the emperors came up with different gladiators like Retiarius and Murmillo. They also came up with horse fighting which was composed up of Equites. That's why they also came up with animal fighting, which was mostly used for executions and rarely used in battles. During the games prime, the emperor had unlimited power which was very intimidating towards the roman people. Most people knew that the emperor had the last say in a gladiators life, but it is most likely that thumbs up meant death and thumbs down meant live, but most of the time the emperor let the spectators and fight organizers decide whether the gladiator would live
When the archaeologists found the remains of the gladiator school, at the ancient site of Carnuntum, it is said in paragraph 1 and 2 of “ Did Gladiators Always Fight to the Death?”, the text stated that,” These ancient Roman athletes were highly trained professionals who made their living fighting, not dying.” Teachers have always taught their students that they fought to the death. The Gladiators had to beg for mercy, and if the crowd said it was time to die, they killed them, however; that was not the case for the real gladiators. The school’s did not kill the gladiators unless they were too injured to survive, or the customer was willing to pay extra for the death of one of them. x
Blade Runner became recognized as a film noir due to Ridley Scott portrait of Los Angeles as it might be in 2019: smog covered sky, towering factories emitting giant flames, and massive financial conglomerates that leave shadows and darkness for the world below. The whole ornate architecture of the past has been replaced by the industrial world as it is left to be eroded away by the continuously falling acid rain. Humanity is left without an identity since there are only a few physical remnants of the past. People can no longer remember how things were before.
Introduced in around 250BC, gladiators were well-trained individuals who fought against each other to entertain the civilians of Rome. The gladiators fought in the Colosseum, which had a height of about 160 feet and capacity of up to 50,000 people. The Colosseum was also designed to be able to flood and hold ships. The term gladiator comes from the Latin word: "gladius" meaning sword. The profession of being a fighter brought great fame to the individual. The theme of death brought people together to see many young men die in battle. The crowd loved vicious shows that were gory and gruesome. Many gladiators who fought in the Colosseum went on to become tremendous war heroes, due to the intense training provided by the emperor. Gladiators always wore clothing that resembled other nations that the Roman army seized. They were also given unorthodox weapons to fight with and their battles usually illustrated famous ones fought by the Roman army. Sometimes, the ‘damnati ad mortem’, individuals who committed ruthless crimes, went into the arena without a weapon. Gladiators were mostly captives of war or slaves of the rich. Some people saw the fighting as a hobby and spent much time and money picking and choosing from the best of the gladiators. A fanatic of fighting was called a "lanista", or an owner of gladiators. Keeping these gladiators in good health became very expensive over time. Different gladiators were allowed to use different weapons based on their past life. For
In the movie Gladiator, Russell Crowe plays a battle hardened Roman General who, through a series of unfortunate events, becomes a gladiator. He starts out on the front lines of a battle against barbarians. The war against them has been going on for some time however this is the final battle that will end the war. The battle rages and the Romans come out victorious. The Caesar then emerges and praises Maximus (Russell Crowe) for his leadership. The Caesar then asks him if he will become Caesar after his death because his son Commodus is not fit to rule. Commodus hates his father’s decision and kills him so his wish will die with him. Commodus then orders Maximus to be killed, he escapes and rides as fast as he can back home but is too late. He comes home to find his wife and son burned alive. He is then captured and sold into slavery where he becomes a gladiator and moves up in the ranks as a skilled fighter. He makes friends with a black slave and they both move together up to larger arenas. He makes it to the Coliseum where he reveals himself to Commodus declaring he will have his vengence. Commodus accepts Maximus’ challenge after delivering a fatal wound to his back. He fights Commodus despite the injury and kills him but then dies himself.