Aristotle once said that, "The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but the inward significance." Few statements sum up the intents of a good romantic melodrama than that one. To watch movies like Giant or Written on the Wind, two classics of the genre, is to watch stories that care less about their plot than their meaning. But, their meanings are grand in scope and still resonate today. These are stories of infectious greed, of broken dreams, of ruined families, and of the general malaise surrounding the American dream. The morality tales beneath the plots of Giant and Written on the Wind reflect the Greatest Generation's greatest fears. Through these, it captures the true essence of Romantic Melodrama.
Like most melodramas, these two movies care little about how they say it and more about what they say, thus employing the use of common tropes of the genre. Rock Hudson's performance as Bick Benedict in Giant and his performance as Mitch Wayne in Written on the Wind are almost the same person. Hudson was so perfect for the protagonist role of these films, that he created a persona in an of himself. At his core Hudson was often used to symbolize "nature on a grand scale," be it through the country boy in Giant or the brown toned, hunter businessman in Written on the Wind (McDonald, 846). There is an argument that, Bick Benedict is a sort of anti-hero. He's a racist and sexist in a liberal film. But, those are not the vitrues that Giant hilights about Bick. What makes him the hero of Giant is the same thing that makes the backstabbing friend from Written on the Wind a hero: forthrightness. Rohan McWIlliam summed this trait up in her article, "Melodrama and the Historians, when she said, ""Villains were ...
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...hat job for him.
Perhaps it is this simplification of emotion that bars these movies from being dated. There is a raw intensity to Giant that still remains entertaining today, a wildness to Written on the Wind that has not lost its bite. Perhaps it is the fact that these characters are so hyperbolic that we can't do anything but identify with them. Each one is an archetype, each one represents a moral virtue (or lack thereof). These movies put the most primal of American anxieties on the table and pick them apart with a surgical blade. They find the malignant tumors inside every American family. They find the transformative affects of greed, adultery, and numerous other moral transgressions. Through this exploration, Giant and Written on the Wind are the very definition of classic Romantic Melodrama.
Or, perhaps, it's simply the earth tones of Rock Hudson's suit.
The film The Princess Bride, directed by Rob Reiner, is describe as “Thrilling, exciting, very funny and absolute magic”. No wonder the film has entertained audiences since its release in 1987. While its entertainment value in generally agreed upon, The princess Bride is not precisely inventive, nor original. Westley, the hero, fits closely the profile of the Classic Hero. Similar, the film’s plot mirrors the path followed by the classic hero, across thresholds and into a fantastic adventure. And, like the Classic Hero, Westley must undergo a series of ordeals before he can achieve his goal, to rescue “Buttercup”, and prove true love can overcome all obstacles. The Princess Bride, like most contemporary fantasies, is a retelling of the Heroic
But John Steinbeck creates this novel to fit the “romance” archetype. In this archetype, the hero makes a journey, encounters problems in his path which he overcomes, and reaches his final destination. The hero of the novel must be larger than life, strong, and different from others. He must be a natural leader and greatly glorified. The earth resembles the Garden of Eden, or a ‘paradise.’ He must be in touch with the earth.
It is no easy task to create a work - through writing or film - that has an impact on society. In writing, one must discuss and analyze a relevant topic that will have an impact on the readers. One must also present stunning sensory images through words in order to create a complete understanding for the reader. In filmmaking it is not much different, but there must be striking visual imagery in combination with a fitting musical score in order to give the viewer of the film the full experience. There must also be historical accuracy, both in writing and film. In either case, it can take years to create such a captivating piece of work. David Guterson's novel Snow Falling on Cedars and its cinematic counterpart of the same name combine all of the aspects of good writing and filmmaking to create an emotionally provocative and historically accurate masterpiece.
Beginning the mid 1920s, Hollywood’s ostensibly all-powerful film studios controlled the American film industry, creating a period of film history now recognized as “Classical Hollywood”. Distinguished by a practical, workmanlike, “invisible” method of filmmaking- whose purpose was to demand as little attention to the camera as possible, Classical Hollywood cinema supported undeviating storylines (with the occasional flashback being an exception), an observance of a the three act structure, frontality, and visibly identified goals for the “hero” to work toward and well-defined conflict/story resolution, most commonly illustrated with the employment of the “happy ending”. Studios understood precisely what an audience desired, and accommodated their wants and needs, resulting in films that were generally all the same, starring similar (sometimes the same) actors, crafted in a similar manner. It became the principal style throughout the western world against which all other styles were judged. While there have been some deviations and experiments with the format in the past 50 plus ye...
The term melodrama has come to be applied to any play with romantic plot in which an author manipulates events to act on the emotions of the audience without regard for character development or logic (Microsoft Encarta). In order to classify as a Victorian melodrama, several key techniques must be used, including proximity and familiarity to the audience, deceit rather than vindictive malice, lack of character development and especially the role of social status.
As the case with most “Novel to Movie” adaptations, screenwriters for films will make minor, and sometimes drastic, adjustments to the original text in order to increase drama and to reach modern audiences. Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 film interpretation of The Great Gatsby followed the 1925 classic great plot quite accurately, with minor deviations. However, Luhrmann made some notable differences to the characters and settings of The Great Gatsby in order for the story to relate to the current generation and to intensity the plot
Life is filled with memories and experiences that eventually, maybe even without any realization, determine the person an individual becomes. While the majority of people would prefer to be influenced by the positive moments (accomplishments, birthdays, graduations, etc.) the reality of the situation is that most individuals face experiences they would rather forget then accept as a part of their journey through life. Authors Brent Curtis and John Eldridge discuss this understanding in their novel, The Sacred Romance. The message of the arrows is one that many people try to avoid at all cost simply because they do not want to deal with the pain that accompanies each arrow. Throughout life, one of the most constant realizations is pain accompanies
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.
Storytelling has been a common pastime for centuries. Over the years it has evolved into different styles containing different themes. Kate Chopin, a well-known author of the 20th century, wrote stories about the secrets in women’s lives that no one dared to speak of. Her work was not always appreciated and even considered scandalous, but it opened up a world that others were too afraid to touch. In Chopin’s story “The Storm,” a woman has an affair that causes an unlikely effect. The story’s two themes are portrayed greatly through an abundance of imagery and symbolism, along with the two main characters themselves.
Once a successful novel hits the market, producers are inclined to adapt the story into a movie. Since imagination, symbolism, and character psyches are explored in a novel, the movies tend to lack the luster of the original text. Using their imagination, readers are able to conjure up characters and scenes that are unique. This is the case with Tim O’Brien’s, “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong.” This is a story where love and war collide after a soldier brings his sweetheart to his Vietnamese post. On the whole, this chapter in The Things They Carried is far superior to the film, The Soldier’s Sweetheart, because it has thorough descriptions of characters’ feelings, including symbolism concerning objects and important events. When the audience is able to draw it's own story around an author's narrative, the experience is more satisfying than when every detail is presented through the cinematic medium - an active audience is happier than a passive one.
The characters of a modernist narrative reflected a new way of thinking. A summery no longer highlighted meaning, it was ambiguous. The ambiguity portrayed unmanageable futures. The Modernis...
Film and literature are two media forms that are so closely related, that we often forget there is a distinction between them. We often just view the movie as an extension of the book because most movies are based on novels or short stories. Because we are accustomed to this sequence of production, first the novel, then the motion picture, we often find ourselves making value judgments about a movie, based upon our feelings on the novel. It is this overlapping of the creative processes that prevents us from seeing movies as distinct and separate art forms from the novels they are based on.
Roughly from 1815 to 1910, this period of time is called the romantic period. At this period, all arts are transforming from classic arts by having greater emphasis on the qualities of remoteness and strangeness in essence. The influence of romanticism in music particularly, has shown that romantic composers value the freedom of expression, movement, passion, and endless pursuit of the unattainable fantasy and imagination. The composers of the romantic period are in search of new subject matters, more emotional and are more expressive of their feelings as they are not bounded by structural rules in classical music where order, equilibrium, control and perfection are deemed important (Dorak, 2000).
“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.
“The Great Gatsby” isn’t a classic novel anymore.“The Great Gatsby" is a superficially alluring film, capturing little to none of the depth created in the original novel by, Scott f. Fitzgerald. Don’t get me wrong, Baz Luhrmann’s take on “The Great Gatsby” isn’t an abomination. Every single scene is sincere and candid. However I would stop and consider what Fitzgerald, whose prose contained so much grace, controlled with such elegance, would have thought of the film: the way in which Luhrmann exerted so much energy along with time on visual effects and use of 3D, completely distracted the watcher from the book and films true core: the feelings and relationships between the characters.