The American films The Godfather I and II directed by Francis Ford Coppola, included mise-en-scene to emphasize certain characteristics and themes during both films. In this essay I will discuss how mise-en-scene was used to portray the lives of the Mafia families in the 1940s and 50s.
The mise-en-scene in The Godfather I, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, plays a huge role in how the film is perceived by viewers. Mise-En-Scene is characterized as, “The arrangement of everything that appears in the framing – actors, lighting, décor, props, and costume” (elementsofcinema.com). The Godfather utilizes mise-en-scene perfectly. Coppola combined all the right components of a typical mafia film and made something extraordinary. From the clothing, to the homes, to the cars, and lighting; The Godfather was executed wonderfully. Lighting plays a huge part in The Godfather. The first scene opens with only one man talking, in low light. The relaxed lighting makes the scene intense and leaving the audience with a sense of fear. With the light just appearing on the man's face, the foundation is totally dark, highlighting the threatening tone of the scene. This scene uses the same lighting elements as chiaroscuro paintings would have. If you were to pause the scene at certain points you would be able to see the rembrandt light and the strong tonal contrasts between light and dark. Different props are also used throughout the film. When you think about the Mafia, you think Italian men
The scene that I will be discussing for this paper is called “He’s a spy” from the movie Young Guns. In this scene, Billy and his gang are confronted by Murphy’s men. With the mise-en-scene, this helps the viewer identify that the time period being portrayed here is the late 1870’s or the early 1880’s. The mise-en-scene being used for this movie is important in telling the story from a different era as in today’s world, no one dresses this way anymore. Also to include from this scene is the lighting. I will attempt to give an explicit description of the use of the lighting and the sun and how the cinematographer designed for the use of it. Furthermore, I will also discuss the people that are directly involved with the making of Young Guns, the director, the production designer and the art director and their roles and responsibilities.
The term “mise en scene” carries the original meaning of “putting into scene” and was a term that signifies the director’s control of visuals and events in the frame. There are several aspects in mise en scene. Aspect such as setting, lighting, costume and behavior of figures were controlled to allow the director to stage the event and create the overall effect within the frame.
The critically acclaimed film, Goodfellas, is a gangster crime drama that features an incredible amount of talent. Household names such as: Robert De Niro (Jimmy Conway), Joe Pesci (Tommy DeVito), Paul Sorvino (Paul Cicero), and promising stars like Ray Liotta (Henry Hill) and Lorraine Bracco (Karen Hill), attracted numerous Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. That type of cast power, linked with the signature talent of Martin Scorsese as a director, made for cinematic gold. Unquestionably, the actors and actresses did an excellent job augmenting the verisimilitude of this film and compelling audiences to empathize with their characters. But the cinematography in this film plays just as large a role in having audiences feel what the characters are feeling at a specific moment. Through the use of freeze frames, we learn of significant moments that shape Henry into the man that he is. By means of first-person narration we are able to know exactly what is going through a particular character’s mind. Finally, wonderful editing made great use of point of view and multiple jump cuts, which added to the sensation that we are undergoing the same experiences as the characters on screen. I will go into further detail and specify scenes that convey these elements as the essay progresses. Altogether, Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas effectively depicts paramount scenes and allows the audience to empathize with the characters by virtue of stylistic editing and cinematography.
The mise-en-scene used in Bonnie and Clyde is what created the classic film we enjoy today. While the film editing in this film was revolutionary to the entire industry, that isn’t what viewers remember. According to the book, Film Art, “Many of our most vivid memories of movies stem from mise-en-scene.” In this film, the mise-en-scene is an important as that quote suggests. It is responsible for a variety of the most essential aspects of the movie. Bonnie and Clyde implemented mise-en-scene to describe characters, promote symbolism and solidify motifs throughout the film.
This paper will discuss various elements of mise-en-scene, specifically; character development, lighting, performance, costume, makeup in the film "Casablanca".(Michael Curtiz,1942) The setting of the story sets the tone for the entire film. Shots of tanks and planes show the violence of war that coincides with the cutthroat city that is Casablanca. From there, those sentiments are reinforced when a man is shot in the street while another man pick pockets someone whom is distracted. The mood of the movie stays on the dark side of things when we enter Rick's Café, where we meet our protagonist played by Humphrey Bogart. In this scene we are treated to the jaded portrayal of night club owner. We see his utter disregard for a French woman
The critically acclaimed film, Goodfellas, is a gangster crime drama that features a great deal of talent. Household names such as Robert De Niro (Jimmy Conway), Joe Pesci (Tommy DeVito), Paul Sorvino (Paul Cicero), and promising stars like Ray Liotta (Henry Hill) and Lorraine Bracco (Karen Hill), attracted numerous Golden Globes and Academy Awards nominations. That type of cast power, linked with the signature talent of Martin Scorsese as a director, made for cinematic gold. Unquestionably, the actors and actresses did an excellent job augmenting the verisimilitude of this film and compelling audiences to empathize with their characters. But the cinematography in this film plays just as large a role in having audiences feel what the characters are feeling at a specific moment. Through the use of freeze frames, we learn of significant moments that shape Henry into the man that he is. By means of first-person narration, we are able to know exactly what is going through a particular character’s mind. Finally, strong editing made efficient use of multiple jump cuts, which add to the sensation that we are undergoing the same experiences as the characters on screen. Altogether, Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas effectively depicts paramount scenes and allows the audience to empathize with the characters by virtue of stylistic editing and cinematography.
Martin Charles Scorsese was born November 17, 1942. Suffering from asthma, he spent most of his time watching movies and by the time he was eight, he was already drawing his own storyboards that were directed/produced by himself. Although he considered going into priesthood, making movies was Scorsese’s true calling and he went on to make some of Hollywood’s most memorable films. Incorporating themes from his Italian American roots into his visceral, cinematic storytelling that has influenced generations of filmmakers. He is an American director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and film historian, whose career spans more than 53 years. Scorsese 's body of work addresses such themes as Sicilian-American identity, Roman Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, machismo, modern crime, and gang conflict. Many of his films are also notable for their depiction of violence and liberal use of profanity. Part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and influential filmmakers in cinema history. For three decades Scorsese has been at the forefront of American cinema. Its most avid champion and often its most electrifying practioner. The most cinematic of directors, he has also been among the most formally restless and exploratory, evolving an obsessive-compulsive mise-en-scene based on dynamic, agile camerawork and radical editing rhythms.
One of the greatest films and novels of all time, The Godfather by Mario Puzo is the book that I chose to write my report about. This book falls under the drama and crime fiction genres, due to its dramatic story of people being shot and murdered. The Godfather takes place in New York during the years 1945-1955, right after World War II. Most of the story is written from a narrator 's perspective, save for two points in the book in which the story becomes a first person point of view. One of the themes portrayed in the novel is that family always comes first, even if it isn’t a blood-related family, but a crime family. The novel’s theme is primarily that of loyalty, which is a crucial plot device because some of the Corleone family
The Godfather opens with a dark trumpet solo, which were the opening titles for The Godfather Part II and III too. This is Vito's theme. The theme is a waltz, but unlike an ordinary waltz, it evokes a range of varied emotions. It sounds intimate in the garden scene but threatening in the actual main title and "The Halls of Fear," for the scene in which Michael finds his father without protection in the hospital. The final appearance of the theme in the first film is over the end credits, where it is more sad than intimate or threatening.
What is mise-en-scene? Mise-en-scene is the arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a movie is enacted. It is most commonly used to show the setting of the movie. But if used correctly can be used to portray the feelings of the characters and to help tell the story. Orson Welles made sure to use the props, actors, and even the camera to use mise-en-scene to tell the story of Charles Foster Kane to its fullest. Character positions, camera angles and music, and framing used to tell the story in Citizen Kane. It’s use of mise-en-scene made it not only ahead of its time, but it made it a masterpiece.
I am writing about the use of lighting in the opening scene of The Godfather, (1). The
Film Noir was extremely trendy during the 1940’s. People were captivated by the way it expresses a mood of disillusionment and indistinctness between good and evil. Film Noir have key elements; crime, mystery, an anti-hero, femme fatale, and chiaroscuro lighting and camera angles. The Maltese Falcon is an example of film noir because of the usage of camera angles, lighting and ominous settings, as well as sinister characters as Samuel Spade, the anti-hero on a quest for meaning, who encounters the death of his partner but does not show any signs of remorse but instead for his greed for riches.
A blurb by Frank Lentricchia on the back of Chris Messenger's book calls it "a landmark in the study of popular culture." Most readers recognize academic hype and know that even the most cautious of scholars will risk indiscretion on a book jacket. But in this case the hyperbolic claim may be understated. Messenger's book is a phenomenon. I am at a loss to think what manifestation of The Godfather narratives (book, film trilogy, related movies, television programming), or what aspect of authoring, filming, marketing, or what theoretical perspective or intellectual framework Messenger overlooks in this comprehensive, intelligent, and definitive study of what is surely the twentieth century's most telling fable of the complex intersections of work and family in American
Director Alfonso Cuarón’s 2006 film Children of Men paints a disheartening picture of the future: a prolonged period of worldwide infertility has led to the near collapse of society by the year 2027. The essence of the film is chilling, undoubtedly due to Cuarón’s attention to detail in designing this dystopian society. His meticulousness lends the film a sense of authenticity and makes its story even more compelling. An element of film style that Cuarón uses to achieve this believability is mise-en-scene. Mise-en-scene consists of all of the elements that are placed in front of the camera and appear in the frame. Four categories that exist within the broad scope of mise-en-scene are setting and props, lighting, costume and makeup, and staging and acting. A filmmaker can manipulate the elements of mise-en-scene in many different ways, and these decisions have a significant impact on the film as a whole. In this particular scene Children of Men, Cuarón uses the first two categories, setting and props and lighting, particularly effectively. He uses these two categories of mise-en-scene in order to depict a believable dystopian future and to highlight the hopelessness that plagues the characters in this world.
“I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” If this quote stands out to you then you’ve probably seen the all-time classic mafia film, The Godfather (1972). This quote tells tales about a more confusing time, when you simply could not take no for an answer; if you did, your credibility and legacy would have diminished into thin air. Therefore, the “acts of persuasion” used that coincided with a declined offer spoke volumes to not only the recipient of the offer, but to that of all parties involved; ultimately showing your unwillingness to accept anything other than what you think is right and fair. We are going to delve into how this film came too, what made the film successful, the