Final Assignment Powerpoint American Beauty

American Beaty from jleavy83

Notes

The cinematography in American Beauty gives the film mood and atmosphere, it’d mostly very dark and shadowy, it makes the audience feel very on edge.

There are lots of POV shots. For example in the cheerleading scene where the audience can see what Lester is thinking, rather than what is happening. Also when Lester is fantasising about Angela there is also petals.

When ricky is filming Jane it’s in black and white, this is done throughout the film. In another part the scene is black and white, other than a vibrant fruit bowl.

The Western 7 Paragraph Paper

Jason Leavy

Professor Mirrer

Film Theoy

Novemeber 29,2012

                                              The Western

The Searchers (1956)                  

Directed By John Ford

Western 

Runtime: 119 Min

Written By Frank Nugent

Back To The Future Part III

Directed By Robert Zemeckis 

Science Fiction/ Western

Runtime: 118 Min

Written by Robert Zemeckis        

            

                    The Western genre has been around for centuries and was very popular in the 50’s and 60’s. Today a lot of directors and production companies have steered away from this style of story telling. In 1960 the western was known to be one of the most popular types of movies. Audiences around the world could not wait to see a western this is very different to today’s societies. Good cowboy films now days are very hard to find. People have to look back in history to discover one worthy of watching. Two movies that successful executed this style of filmmaking are The Searchers (1956); directed by John Ford, and believe it of not one that was done quite recent Back to the Future Part III (1990); directed by Robert Zemeckis. Both of this film compare in style and did an excellent job of explaining what time was like before technology.

            The Searchers (1956) is an American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, and set during the Texas–Indian Wars. The film stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War veteran who spends years looking for his abducted niece, along with Jeffrey Hunter as his adoptive nephew, who accompanies him.  This film is considered by many to be a true American masterpiece of filmmaking, and the best, most influential, and perhaps most-admired film of director John Ford. It was his 115th feature film, and he was already a four-time Best Director Oscar. The film's complex, deeply nuanced themes included racism, individuality, the American character, and the opposition between civilization and the untamed frontier wilderness. On the other hand Back to the Future Part III (1990) was a film that tried to duplicate they way westerns were done in the old days, and it was very successful among audiences around the world. The film did something very interesting that has never been done before. Zemeckis the director mixed time travel, that is often inked to Science Fiction, and tied it up with a western type setting.  The film takes place immediately after the events of Back to the Future Part II. While stranded in 1955, Marty McFly discovers that Biff Tannen’s great-grandfather Buford killed his friend Dr. Emmett “Doc” Brown. Marty decides to travel to 1885 to rescue Doc and return to his own timeline. Both of these films compare and contrast in many different ways. They are similar because that they both deal with the idea of cowboys and gun fights. But they differ because one (Back To the Future) is more of a “feel good film” meaning that it is comedic and does not have a whole lot of violence. While in The Searchers (1956) there is a massive amount of racism and violence. For example the protagonist of the film Ethan Edwards played by John Wayne is a big time Raciest and show this throughout the film by showing his hatred toward the Indians.

            Several key elements that relate from chapters in the book Looking At Movies that are quite obvious when viewing these two movies. For example the shots in both of these films were very well done. There are a lot of cutting on action in the fighting sequences and various amounts of establishing shots. Another element that was important in the success of these two movies was the lighting. In The Searchers (1956) the lighting was very low creating a sense of distance between the two characters and the hardships of finding the niece. While in Back To The Future Part III (1990) the lighting was very light to create the feeling of happiness and friendship. Finally the last element that was important was the acting. Acting is one of the main key components that can make or break a film. The acting in both films were done beautifully. The characterization was one of the main reason both of these movies were a major success.

             When thinking about movies one automatically questions what is the director trying to get across to his audiences. This is when people go off and try to figure out the hidden meanings in a movie. This is where the idea of film theory comes in. Now in both of these film it is very hard to depict what theory the director wanted to imply. But the visual of both of these movies indicate the Marxist Theory. One might ask what is the Marxist theory and how is it applied to both The Searchers (1956) and Back To The Future Part III (1990).  Well first off to understand how it is applied one must know the meaning, Marxist Theory is one of the oldest forms of film theory. Sergei Eisenstein and many other Soviet filmmakers in the 1920s expressed ideas of Marxism through film. In fact, the Hegelian dialectic was considered best displayed in film editing through the Kuleshov Experiment and the development of montage. While this structuralist approach to Marxism and filmmaking was used, the more vociferous complaint that the Russian filmmakers had was with the narrative structure of Hollywood filmmaking. Now how is this applied to these two films? Well both of these movies display excellent work of editing, camera angles and a strong narrative.  

            Critics around the world have had nothing bad to say about these two films. For example Roger Ebert of the Chicago Times stated ''The Searchers contains scenes of magnificence, and one of John Wayne's best performances. There are shots that are astonishingly beautiful.” Throughout his critique of The Searchers (1956) he had nothing but kind words to say about both Ford, and Wayne for there performances. While The Searchers (1956) was getting nothing less the high praise from Ebert, so was Back To The Future Part III (1990). "The Old West of "Back to the Future Part III" Was very interesting it reminded me of the real Old West  like the one I saw in "McCabe and Mrs. Miller," said Ebert."

            I feel that both of these movies did a phenomenal job in executing the ideal western plot. Both films do it in two very different ways but that is what makes them both interesting. Another thing that I enjoyed is that how western movies progressed from the mid 1950’s to the 1990’s. I would give both of these films 4 out of five stars. The reason being is that no film is perfect many have there flaws but people can not judge a movie based on flaws or inaccuracies or else every movie would be cruddy.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 

1) (Check) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 

2) (Check) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 

3) (Check) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 

4) (Check) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 

5) (Check) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 

6) (Check) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 

7) (Check) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 

8) (Check) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper. 

 Name Jason Leavy

Work Cited

I.  IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/>.

II.  Ebert, Roger. "Back To The Future Part III :: Rogerebert.com :: Reviews." RSS. Chicago Times, 25 May 1990. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19900525/REVIEWS/5250301/1023>. 

III. Ebert, Roger. "The Searchers :: Rogerebert.com :: Great Movies." RSS. Chicago Times, 25 Nov. 2001. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20011125/REVIEWS08/111250301/1023>. 

           

             

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) Analytical Paper

   Pans Labyrinth (2006)

  Directed By: Guillermo del Toro

 Genre: Drama/Fantasy

Runtime: 118 min.

Won 3 Oscars

            Overtime there have been many films that mix realism with fantasy. But one that stood out in my mind was the movie Pan’s Labyrinth (2006); directed by Guillermo Toro. This film did a fantastic job in mixing a real life situation (the Spanish Civil war) with a little girl’s dreams. Pan's Labyrinth can be most accurately summarized as a fairytale turned nightmare, characterized by grotesque mutations of beloved creatures both real and imaginary. Though the film seems most obviously to be the nightmare of a little girl lost in an unrelenting world of pain, violence, and death, the nightmare is not contained. One interesting aspect that made this movie interesting was that one side of the story (the realism) was violent, fierce, and forceful. While the other followed the main protagonist Ofelia through her mystical quest to become queen of a distant world.

           

            There are certain key elements that are explained in the textbook that make this movie unique. First off was the cinematography, which is defined as “The art or technique of movie photography, including both the shooting and development of the film.” In Pan’s Labyrinth the cinematography played a major role in the overall execution of this movie. What made the cinematography so exceptional was the interesting use of colors throughout certain scenes.  When people think of a fantasy they link it to light colors but Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) did the exact opposite. The film used a dark bluish color and a combination light saturated colors to create this dark mystical place. While when audiences are exploring the “real” world the colors are warm, and very dry to create a more accurate look. Another element that made this movie interesting was the editing. Editing is known as “the activity of selecting the scenes to be shown and putting them together to create a film.” This helped the overall flow of the film. It helped audiences make that connection on what was “real” and what was “fake.” The film used a equal balance of shots to help explain both stories.

            Now how does this film relate to film theory? Well this film used a specific type of theory, which I feel help it succeed tremendously. This theory was known as the feminist theory. Feminist theory is theoretical film criticism derived from feminist politics and feminist theory. Feminists have many approaches to cinema analysis, regarding the film elements analyzed and their theoretical underpinnings. Some examples from the film that helps support this point is first the two protagonist in the film are both females.  Also it shows that both Mercedes and Ofelia are both strong willed and can overcome certain difficult tasks. Throughout the film audiences like myself can see that women are portrayed as strong and smart which hints toward the feminist theory.

            This film did very well in the box office and received tons of good reviews. For example “Rolling Stones” critic Peter Travers had nothing but positive things to say about this film. He pointed out that the characters were phenomenal and were portrayed nicely. Travers also stated, “Del Toro never coddles the audience. He means for us to leave Pan's Labyrinth shaken to our souls. He succeeds triumphantly” (Rolling Stones). Another critic that thought highly of Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) is Robert Ebert from the “Chicago Times”. Ebert stated a very strong statement about this movie saying, "Pan's Labyrinth is one of the greatest of all fantasy films, even though it is anchored so firmly in the reality of war”(Chicago Times). These critiques of this movie make audiences like myself curious to see a movie like this. Everyone speaks so highly of it, and articles like these make people only want to see it more.

            When I finally saw this film for the first time in class I thought it was mind blowing. The way the characters related to the story was unbelievable. The character development played a major role throughout this film. The lighting was fantastic and helps explain the story even more. Del Toro did a very nice job connecting his audiences with this fantasy world and showing the differences between what is “real” and what is considered fantasy. This movie, I feel has a very important message behind it, which is that anybody can achieve something you just have to put your mind to it. I really feel that both Ebert and Travers made valid points about this film. Del Toro really showed audiences females can be dominate in the world and fulfill their dreams.    
CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 

1) (Check) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 

2) (Check) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 

3) (Check) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 

4) (Check) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 

5) (Check) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 

6) (Check) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 

7) (Check) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 

8) (Check) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper. 

 Name Jason Leavy

Work Cited:

1) IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/>.

2) Ebert, Roger. "Pan's Labyrinth :: Rogerebert.com :: Great Movies." Pan's Labyrinth :: Rogerebert.com :: Great Movies. Chicago Times, 25 Aug. 2007. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. <http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070825/REVIEWS08/70825002/1023>.

3) Travers, Peter. "Pan's Labyrinth | Movie Reviews | Rolling Stone." Rollingstone.com. Rolling Stones, 29 Dec. 2006. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. <http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/pans-labyrinth-20061229>.

Reaction to team Presentation

I felt that all the teams did a phenomenal job on their presentations. One thing that i found interesting that one of the teams presented was when they showed and example of montage from the movie Up (2009). This was a great example on how Einstein's montage is used today in the film industry. 

Team Presentation Eisenstien Group 1

Group 1 presentation from jleavy83

Assignment 1

Jason Leavy

Professor Mirrer

Film Theory

9-10-12

                                                   Most Influential Film

             Throughout the years of Hollywood filmmaking there have been many great movies, however there have been many flops as well. Every film that Hollywood has put out into theaters, production companies that make them hope for success. But sometimes it does not always work out as planned. There are many films that have been made over the years that come to mind when thinking about the greatest movie of all time, yet the one that really stands out to me is, Back to the Future (1985) directed by Robert Zemeckis.

The reason as to why I feel this film surpasses all it’s competitors is because the plot, camera angles, special effects, acting, and dialogue, in my opinion, were all done exceptionally well and the film’s visual aesthetics still holds up twenty-five years later. In further detail, the establishing shot of the movie was also original and really set the tone and theme of the film. The first shot of the “masterpiece” was a panning shot of character; Doc Brown’s house, showing how messy it was and a lot of clocks. This showed he personality of the doc without even seeing him on screen yet, it also showed us, the audience, that the movie was going to be about time somehow. This is how a good filmmaker goes about making a great film, setting everything up and foreshadowing with as least dialogue as possible. In the establishing shot it showed audiences all of the gadgets he had made and how some of it did not work. This shot alone it tells people a lot about the character, like he is not persistent in his inventions and that they need to be worked on. Another example is the dialogue in the film is great one scene that shows this is when Doc Brown is explaining to Marty (Michael J. Fox) that he created a time machine made out of a DeLorean and for it to work the driver must hit 88 miles per hour. A question asked by most critics is does a film still have the same affect today as if it did when it first came out in theaters? I feel that it still holds up in present day because the special effects used in the movie look very realistic and the editor did a fantastic job with cutting and placement in the film. I can watch this movie a hundred times over and still get the same affect as if I had seen it for the first time. When watching the film audiences really gets the experience, as if they were in the movie itself, the music plays a big role in this film.

Film Theory relates to this film because there are many hidden message or meaning that are shown throughout this film. For example the idea of foreshadowing is seen throughout this entire film. When Marty meets his mother in the past for the first time while saving his dad from being struck by a car, Marty was told earlier in the film of how the too met, and by saving his father, his mother fell in love with him (Marty) instead of his real father (George). This film has a lot of in depth meaning to it and that is what makes it one of my favorite movies. Every time I watch it I learn something knew or catch something I haven’t notice the other times I’ve watched the film, and that is what makes it so interesting.