Ernst Lubitsch 1940
Shadowless lightening
Stewarts face as bright, soft focus. Younger. Electric
Couple of jumos, classic continuity
Quite funny, pleasurable
Builds up tension, big ending
Themes?
Sunday, 19 December 2010
Saturday, 18 December 2010
BFI Short Films: Beginnings
Amelia and the Angel; Ken Russell, 1958; This is a terrific little piece, genuinely innovative, using the image in ways embarrassingly rare among British filmmakers. Undoubtedly a part of some kind of new-wave, this is playful, with street shooting and an emphasis on character, childlike simplicity. It adopts impressionist images, giving us a sense of interiority similar to earlier French work. The sharp constrasts, the casting shadows gives it a legacy in some of the European Poe-like adaptations, bit it quickly changes to more fairytale registers, moving out of focus. O.K, some of the symbols are a little heavy handed, but generally it is nicely ambiguous, the dancing adults and dog are well portrayed curios. Notice also the sound and image disjunction, again showing the non-reliance on narrative, drawing attention to the fine images. In taking real care for the form, a better path for British film.
Boy and Bicycle; Ridley Scott, 1956; This film shows some good inventiveness, angled camera shots and a concern for objects. However, it quickly reveals that it really only has 3 camera moves. This makes it predictable and a little mawkish, heightened by the awful modernist voiceover. There are a few good evocations of feeling, but this is not too great.
The Burning; Stephen Frears; 1967; A Straight narrative, which is fitfully interesting for the character of the boy, but one would really rather read a book. It is generally dull, not taking much care for the medium. Note also the poor use of space for narrative purposes, characters walking int places where nothing should exist. Fine for stylish films, this just hems in the supposedly socially conscious narrative.
I’m British But....; Gurinder Chadha, 1989
Where’s the Money Ronnie!; Shane Meadows, 1996
Boy and Bicycle; Ridley Scott, 1956; This film shows some good inventiveness, angled camera shots and a concern for objects. However, it quickly reveals that it really only has 3 camera moves. This makes it predictable and a little mawkish, heightened by the awful modernist voiceover. There are a few good evocations of feeling, but this is not too great.
The Burning; Stephen Frears; 1967; A Straight narrative, which is fitfully interesting for the character of the boy, but one would really rather read a book. It is generally dull, not taking much care for the medium. Note also the poor use of space for narrative purposes, characters walking int places where nothing should exist. Fine for stylish films, this just hems in the supposedly socially conscious narrative.
I’m British But....; Gurinder Chadha, 1989
Where’s the Money Ronnie!; Shane Meadows, 1996
Thursday, 16 December 2010
Taste Of Cherry
1997 Abbas Kiarostami
Sharp, dark people against yellow. white/ sand,backgrounds
3 or f camera uses; claustrophobia. Move out to longer shots. Frames within frames
usual Kiarostami; long takes, driving, still
Use of language, simple, poetic
Clearer, less opaque than usual. Direct
Normal people, sometimes ugly
the right ending, if difficult. Avoid easy route. Time to think in the last few shots
Sharp, dark people against yellow. white/ sand,backgrounds
3 or f camera uses; claustrophobia. Move out to longer shots. Frames within frames
usual Kiarostami; long takes, driving, still
Use of language, simple, poetic
Clearer, less opaque than usual. Direct
Normal people, sometimes ugly
the right ending, if difficult. Avoid easy route. Time to think in the last few shots
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
One Flew Over The Cukoo's Nest
Milos Forman 1975
flat, telephoto.No focus Similarity of colours
more shadows as went on, all round lighting earlier
muck around editing; no sense of space created. Claustrophobic
huge contrast with the dark colours outside (Mc murphy hat inside)
Ignore last few shots
political; best moment when he passes out, long shot of the face
flat, telephoto.No focus Similarity of colours
more shadows as went on, all round lighting earlier
muck around editing; no sense of space created. Claustrophobic
huge contrast with the dark colours outside (Mc murphy hat inside)
Ignore last few shots
political; best moment when he passes out, long shot of the face
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
Ladri Di Biciclette (Bicycle Thieves)
Vittorio de Sica 1948
Wide open space created by long shots
use of horizintal streets, and axis towards camera. Contribute to cityscape (as Rosselini, of the city, but different techniques)
film of performances; tense, hard hands
back lighting, generally hard lit
panning shots from the side
rules broken, investigative shooting
bare interiors
scenes- epileptic, final, rain- all hugely overdetermined
deceptively simple, ans simple, byt more themes shooting off than Rosselini
Wide open space created by long shots
use of horizintal streets, and axis towards camera. Contribute to cityscape (as Rosselini, of the city, but different techniques)
film of performances; tense, hard hands
back lighting, generally hard lit
panning shots from the side
rules broken, investigative shooting
bare interiors
scenes- epileptic, final, rain- all hugely overdetermined
deceptively simple, ans simple, byt more themes shooting off than Rosselini
Roma, Cita Aperta(Rome, Open City)
Roberto Rossellini 1945
Fast
lighting on faces, and in the rooms
relatively conventionally put together
narrow, all stuffed together, quite deep
quality of film stock, quite close camera but many different locations give cityscape
shock character
mix of stories/ ambiguities of character. Unconventional, short goals (ramps up at end)
big hearted humanism, not mawkish
Fast
lighting on faces, and in the rooms
relatively conventionally put together
narrow, all stuffed together, quite deep
quality of film stock, quite close camera but many different locations give cityscape
shock character
mix of stories/ ambiguities of character. Unconventional, short goals (ramps up at end)
big hearted humanism, not mawkish
Friday, 10 December 2010
Picnic At Hanging Rock
Peter Weir's 1975 movie, that appears to have aged very well, that is being revived and popular in recent years. It is not without fault, but is a film of deep themes, well made.
The early shots use costume and non-backlighting to make the girls sink into the walls. This contrasted with the hugely exposed outdoor from the windows, and the red of the skin that burns throughout the whole film. This signals the main theme of the film; the female sexuality that explodes on the order, that can't be contained.
It is almost the image of the mythical ur-woman, the earth female who can't be portrayed on the screen. The English gentleman is the signifier for the filmmaker; who desperately attempts to capture some kind of view, but is left only with enigmatic traces. The scene of the cloth is the finest moment of the film, put perhaps this theme comes a little bit too quickly. The film is slightly too taken up with extreme expressionist angles, which can rather overcook it. We would rather this wasn't combined with the music also, leading to it being rather overdone on occassion.
Reading the signs of the female body are fascinating. The relations to cyclical time, the sexual organ symbols of the settings and props. There are good use of these, also in the character of Mrs Appleyard, who is a well set character, nicely set off against Queen Victoria in a dim nod towards colonialism.
The plot changes are interesting enough, largely quite readable after the initial problems (a late death). Perhaps even more mystery would have helped, but then that would have dpreived us of some fine late scenes of contrasting colours of the girl who can leave, and she who can't.
So, an impressive film, not perfect, but with many interesting compositions and themes.
The early shots use costume and non-backlighting to make the girls sink into the walls. This contrasted with the hugely exposed outdoor from the windows, and the red of the skin that burns throughout the whole film. This signals the main theme of the film; the female sexuality that explodes on the order, that can't be contained.
It is almost the image of the mythical ur-woman, the earth female who can't be portrayed on the screen. The English gentleman is the signifier for the filmmaker; who desperately attempts to capture some kind of view, but is left only with enigmatic traces. The scene of the cloth is the finest moment of the film, put perhaps this theme comes a little bit too quickly. The film is slightly too taken up with extreme expressionist angles, which can rather overcook it. We would rather this wasn't combined with the music also, leading to it being rather overdone on occassion.
Reading the signs of the female body are fascinating. The relations to cyclical time, the sexual organ symbols of the settings and props. There are good use of these, also in the character of Mrs Appleyard, who is a well set character, nicely set off against Queen Victoria in a dim nod towards colonialism.
The plot changes are interesting enough, largely quite readable after the initial problems (a late death). Perhaps even more mystery would have helped, but then that would have dpreived us of some fine late scenes of contrasting colours of the girl who can leave, and she who can't.
So, an impressive film, not perfect, but with many interesting compositions and themes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)