In any film, filmmakers use the beginning to expose the audience to its style and organization along with storyline, society, and characters of the film. The ending evokes emotions from the audience and drives home the essence of the film. Within the two films High Noon and Don’t Look Now, the parallels in the beginnings and the endings of the films exhibit purposeful framing that speak to the outcomes of the films dependent on the characters’ actions. The favorable beginning and ending of High Noon contrasts with the tragic beginning and ending of Don’t Look Now, highlighting the importance of a strong set of values, and the dangers of being consumed by your own thoughts. High Noon Beginning In the beginning of High Noon, there is a wedding with lots of people in the background, creating a positive atmosphere, but by the end, it is ultimately revealed it’s merely facade of support between the couple and the town. The crowd at their wedding creates the illusion that they are a well-liked couple. The current understanding is that the townspeople are supportive of their love, but in reality, this is merely an assumption because it’s actually a facade. As the newly married couple, Kane and Amy are in the center of the shot. Kane’s dark suit, vest, and tie complements Amy’s lighter gown, bouquet, and headpiece illustrating a true married couple, a package deal. Besides …show more content…
The framing within the beginning and the ending of Don’t Look Now have numerous parallels that foreshadow the film’s “exploration of grief” (BFI Modern Classics). Christine’s death in the beginning foreshadowed another death in the ending of the film. The question then is who is going to die? And how will they die? As the film closes, it’s clear that John dies, but there is controversy over how he
In his essay, “It’s Just a Movie: A Teaching Essay for Introductory Media Classes”, Greg M. Smith argues that analyzing a film does not ruin, but enhances a movie-viewing experience; he supports his argument with supporting evidence. He addresses the careful planning required for movies. Messages are not meant to be telegrams. Audiences read into movies to understand basic plotlines. Viewers should examine works rather than society’s explanations. Each piece contributes to Smith’s argument, movies are worth scrutinizing.
Works Cited Ayer, D. (Director). a. The adage of the adage of End of watch [Motion picture].
Suspense is a 1913 film that portrays the story of a tramp intruding into a family’s home, where a mother takes care of her child while her husband is away. The plot is a common one that had been used previous times before the film’s release, such as in The Lonely Villa (1909). However, through taking advantage of the single frame shot, the filmmakers were able to create a masterful aesthetic of two separate stories that turn a basic plot into a complex story. The film created an inventive way of illustrating stories within cinema by allowing the audience the chance to consume more narrative in less time within just one take.
So far, the viewer has been presented with an unnerving sequence of events in Don’t Look Now, and the style of the film helps to project certain emotions onto the audience. We are not able to skip a paragraph or close the book – we have to watch what the characters are watching and only what the director wants us to see. At the same time, we know this is only a movie and is not a depiction of reality. And the projections create yet another alternate reality within the movie. However, the audience can still interact with the medium, because we can turn it off or look away if we find an image too disturbing. But this movie seems to be about gradual build-up, and, as the father said, nothing is what it seems.
The film’s story does not simply shines forth, but is also the foundation of the plot. The film’s plot makes the traditional guidelines applicable...
Would you rather be living in a town with a murderer and his gang on the loose or be on an island with a man who kills people for his own enjoyment? In the movie, High Noon, written by Carl Foreman, the main character, Will Kane, who is the retired marshal of Hadleyville, learns that a person from his past is coming back to kill him, which leads to him asking the townspeople for help, but since nobody agrees with Kane, he must face his enemies alone. In the story, The Most Dangerous Game, written by Richard Connell, the main character, Sanger Rainsford, who is an excellent hunter, has to survive on an island for three days with a madman who is trying to hunt and kill him, which leads to Rainsford being a changed man at the end of it. In both the film and the text, the themes are similar; however, the
High Noon and "The Most Dangerous Game" are both stories involving a main character who is being hunted. The main characters from each, Will Kane and Sanger Rainsford, both face similar challenges. The survival-based stories take place around the time of World War II but in different parts of the world. While High Noon and "The Most Dangerous Game" share similar characters, but they take place in different settings and contain different themes.
The noir style is showcased in Sunset Boulevard with its use of visually dark and uncomfortable settings and camera work, as well as its use of the traditional film noir characters. In addition, the overall tone and themes expressed in it tightly correspond to what many film noirs addressed. What made this film unique was its harsh criticism of the film industry itself, which some of Wilder’s peers saw as biting the hand that fed him. There is frequent commentary on the superficial state of Hollywood and its indifference to suffering, which is still a topic avoided by many in the film business today. However, Sunset Blvd. set a precedent for future film noirs, and is an inspiration for those who do not quite believe what they are being shown by Hollywood.
Classic narrative cinema is what Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson (The classic Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University press 1985) 1, calls “an excessively obvious cinema”1 in which cinematic style serves to explain and not to obscure the narrative. In this way it is made up of motivated events that lead the spectator to its inevitable conclusion. It causes the spectator to have an emotional investment in this conclusion coming to pass which in turn makes the predictable the most desirable outcome. The films are structured to create an atmosphere of verisimilitude, which is to give a perception of reality. On closer inspection it they are often far from realistic in a social sense but possibly portray a realism desired by the patriarchal and family value orientated society of the time. I feel that it is often the black and white representation of good and evil that creates such an atmosphere of predic...
One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 film Rear Window is truly a masterpiece, as it uses fascinating cinematic elements to carry the story and also convey the meaning of voyeurism. Throughout the film we are in one room, yet that does not limit the story. This causes the viewer to feel trapped, similar to the main character, while also adding suspense to the detective story. The opening scene itself, draws the viewer in. In just five minutes and 27 shots, the viewer is given an introduction to the main character, his lifestyle, his condition, and his neighborhood. The lighting, the costumes, and the set are all presented in a way to catch the viewers eye, compelling them to crave more. Combining vivid lighting, edgy cinematography, and unique set design, Rear Window, proves why Hitchcock is still remembered as one of the greatest and most influential directors of all time.
An Analysis of How Narrative and Genre Features Create Meaning and Generate Response in the Opening of Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas
Run Lola Run, is a German film about a twenty-something woman (Lola) who has 20 minutes to find $100,000 or her love (Manni) will be killed. The search for the money is played through once with a fatal ending and one would think the movie was over but then it is shown again as if it had happened ten seconds later and changed everything. It is then played out one last time. After the first and second sequence, there is a red hued, narrative bridge. There are several purposes of those bridges that affect the movie as a whole. The film Run Lola Run can be analyzed by using the four elements of mise-en scene. Mise-en-scene refers to the aspects of film that overlap with the art of the theater. Mise-en-scene pertains to setting, lighting, costume, and acting style. For the purpose of this paper, I plan on comparing the setting, costume, lighting, and acting style in the first red hued, bridge to that of the robbery scene. Through this analysis, I plan to prove that the purpose of the narrative bridge in the film was not only to provide a segue from the first sequence to the second, but also to show a different side of personality within the main characters.
Barsam, R. M., Monahan, D., & Gocsik, K. M. (2012). Looking at movies: an introduction to film (4th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Co..
“Entertainment has to come hand in hand with a little bit of medicine, some people go to the movies to be reminded that everything’s okay. I don’t make those kinds of movies. That, to me, is a lie. Everything’s not okay.” - David Fincher. David Fincher is the director that I am choosing to homage for a number of reasons. I personally find his movies to be some of the deepest, most well made, and beautiful films in recent memory. However it is Fincher’s take on story telling and filmmaking in general that causes me to admire his films so much. This quote exemplifies that, and is something that I whole-heartedly agree with. I am and have always been extremely opinionated and open about my views on the world and I believe that artists have a responsibility to do what they can with their art to help improve the culture that they are helping to create. In this paper I will try to outline exactly how Fincher creates the masterpieces that he does and what I can take from that and apply to my films.