It was incredibly difficult to not to pick one of my favorite films for this project, such as A Clockwork Orange, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, and Jaws. However, I went out of my comfort zone and picked a genre of film I’ve never become familiar with- Western. The 1974 film Blazing Saddles was a hilarious frontier/Wild West twist about road worker named Bart, played by Cleavon Little, becoming part of character Hedley Lamarr’s (Harvey Korman) evil plan to out-run the small town of Rock Ridge by appointing an African American sheriff to the massly single-minded small town of racist’s. With the plan to destroy the town to make way for a new railroad, Lamarr is convinced that they town would be so appalled that they wouldn’t stand having an …show more content…
African American sheriff and leave without hesitation. With the help of his new drunken companion Jim (Gene Wilder), they come up with a brilliant plan to save the town and it’s people from demolishment by the mischievous men in charge. I was very fond of Bart’s overall character and the way he carried himself. Bart had this attitude about him that was so sarcastic and carefree that it highlighted the stupidity of the people around him. A perfect example of Bart’s sense of humor was towards the beginning of the film, where Bart enters the town of Rock Ridge to find a not-so-friendly welcoming committee. Bart senses the negativity and judgment knowing it’s because of the color of his skin, resulting in gunpoint by the towns people. He takes action by putting on a skit, pretends to be one of the white folks and setting himself up at gunpoint while “dragging himself away”, with the townspeople literally thinking someone else had a hold of him. I thought that this scene was hysterical and highlighted the best qualities of Bart’s character. To me, a lot of the personality in his character seemed to thrive off of the ignorance of the people around him, especially after he drags himself away and looks directly into the camera saying “...And they are so dumb!”. Though the discrimination caused by the folks around him would have easily brought anyone else down, Bart still thrived throughout the entire film. Going off of the example I used in the paragraph above, another quality I loved about Little’s character was how he broke through the 4th dimension.
There were a number of scenes where Bart would begin talking directly into the camera, as if he were having a conversation with the viewer. I enjoyed this interaction because it made me feel a lot more connected to his character and the current actions going on in these particular scenes, as if I was there. With this interaction, I was really able to grasp his charm and western personality that went along with his character that never seemed to break. During the final scene in the film, a big brawl between the townspeople and the bad guys, resulting in the having the group directly travel off of the set into the studios and streets of Warren Brothers. Though this scene was HILARIOUS, Little still did not break his performance as Bart and I found it to be quite believable. When picking this film, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect or if I would enjoy it. However, the film literally kept me laughing the whole time through and I found the overall theme to be especially clever. Cleavon Little character in Blazing Saddles was definitely a believable performance for me because he stayed true to his Wild West sheriff self from beginning to end, even during the scenes that traveled off the set through the Warren Brothers Studios. Little provided _, _ and _ to his character that made the film easily
a
The film Sunset Boulevard, presented in 1950 is a black and white film. The film is about Norma Desmond an old actress, who has issues accepting that she is becoming old. The main actor in the film is Gloria Swanson, who plays Norma Desmond, an older woman who believes she is still young. Desmond is not content with the fact that Hollywood has replaced her with younger actresses. The next actor Nancy Olson, plays Betty Schaffer who falls in love with Gillis despite being engaged to his friend. The third actor is William Holden who plays as Joe Gillis, who has financial problems and decides to turn himself into a gigolo to earn money. The dilemma with Joe is he does not want Betty to know about his job because he knows he might lose Betty as
My analysis begins, as it will end, where most cowboy movies begin and end, with the landscape.Western heroes are essentially synedoches for that landscape, and are identifiable by three primary traits: first, they represent one side of an opposition between the supposed purity of the frontier and the degeneracy of the city, and so are separated even alienated from civilization; second, they insist on conducting themselves according to a personal code, to which they stubbornly cling despite all opposition or hardship to themselves or others; and third, they seek to shape their psyches and even their bodies in imitation of the leanness, sparseness, hardness, infinite calm and merciless majesty of the western landscape in which their narratives unfold.All of these three traits are present in the figures of Rob Roy and William Wallace--especially their insistence on conducting themselves according to a purely personal definition of honor--which would seem to suggest that the films built around them and their exploits could be read as transplanted westerns.However, the transplantation is the problem for, while the protagonists of these films want to be figures from a classic western, the landscape with which they are surrounded is so demonstrably not western that it forces their narratives into shapes which in fact resist and finally contradict key heroic tropes of the classic western.
... He really sold the part and did the part justice. Furthermore in the beginning of the flashback I had no idea who the main character was, but Christian developed the character subtly yet effectively.
“There once was a time in this business when I had the eyes of the whole world! But that wasn't good enough for them, oh no! They had to have the ears of the whole world too. So they opened their big mouths and out came talk. Talk! TALK!” (Sunset Boulevard). The film Sunset Boulevard directed by Billy Wilder focuses on a struggling screen writer who is hired to rewrite a silent film star’s script leading to a dysfunctional and fatal relationship. Sunset Boulevard is heavily influenced by the history of cinema starting from the 1930s to 1950 when the film was released.
...the best for me was the use of voice. The way Miles used it made me see right into the character. When a person talks you can understand a lot about them. Where they grew up what kind of education they have acquired and what kind of family life they might have had. What didn't work for me was the emotional truth. I had a hard time believing that Seymour may or may not of had a hard life. A person who may have been out cast from social situations would not act out like Seymour did. Although it does not take any thought to murder someone a plant would have a hard time changing my value system in order for it to survive. Seymour would or should have felt less at ease with himself after the first victim was feed to the plant. The performance as a whole was good and I would like to see it again.
...uggles between the savagery and civility, he and Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin), are men threatening, as well as standing, in the way of the progress and later the stability of the soon to be established “recognized territory.” There are two very different characteristics of these men though, Tom is full aware what is happing to in the New West and eventually succumbs. Meanwhile Liberty knows this is happing too, but he will do, as he must to keep the frontier open, for purely selfish reasons. This is the swan song of the boots, the gun belt and the spurs, the inevitable end of freedom that was once known since its inception at the establishment of the United States of America, but the Western was and still is today, a vast frontier of compelling stories, classic American narratives and themes that will continue to capture the imagination of all freedom loving people.
poster typically has the white cowboy large, presented front and center, with the antagonists and co-stars all behind him. An iconic western, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, has a poster picturing the white cowboy alone. Clint Eastwood stands there tall, stoic, and singular. Typical of most other westerns, the white cowboy is the center of attention. Here, however, there are two non-white figures presented: Bart, the Black cowboy, and a large Native American chief. This movie poster has the same style as other westerns with the color and layout, but is unique in the fact that a black man is presented where a white man would normally be dominating. Once again, this makes a statement about racial improvements. Previously having a black man at
Sex, love, depression, guilt, trust, all are topics presented in this remarkably well written and performed drama. The Flick, a 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning drama by Annie Baker, serves to provide a social commentary which will leave the audience deep in thought well after the curtain closes. Emporia State Universities Production of this masterpiece was a masterpiece in itself, from the stunningly genuine portrayal of the characters of Avery and Rose, to the realism found within the set, every aspect of the production was superb.
The Bad and The Beautiful (1952) and State and Main (2000) are films within films that unmask Hollywood Cinema as a dream factory and expose the grotesque, veneer hidden by the luxury of stars. The Bad and the Beautiful, directed by Vincent Minnelli, is a black and white film narrated in flashback form. The films theatrical nature requires more close-ups than wide-screen shots to capture the character’s psychological turmoil. For example, Fred and Jonathan’s car ride is captured in a close-up to signify their friendship; however their relationship deteriorates after Jonathan’s deceit. While the camera zooms out, Fred stands alone motionless. Here, Fred is captured from a distance at eye-level and he becomes ostracized by the film industry and
1980. Warner Bros. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Music by Wendy Carlos and Rcachel Elkind. Cinematography by John Alcott. Editing by Ray Lovejoy. With Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd.
The authentic country twang of Frankie Laine in the title sequence gives Blazing Saddles the appearance of a classic Western, but within the first few minutes, the satirical nature of the film makes itself abundantly clear. The opening scene of Blazing Saddles communicates the setting and the character archetypes, both as they appear on the surface and as they will manifest throughout the film. Though the film explores this dynamic in greater depth later on, this scene establishes that the crafty underdog protagonist around which Westerns revolve is not one of the white men, and does not receive universal love and appreciation. “‘Black’ Bart,” central character and eventual
Few Hollywood film makers have captured America’s Wild West history as depicted in the movies, Rio Bravo and El Dorado. Most Western movies had fairly simple but very similar plots, including personal conflicts, land rights, crimes and of course, failed romances that typically led to drinking more alcoholic beverages than could respectfully be consumed by any one person, as they attempted to drown their sorrows away. The 1958 Rio Bravo and 1967 El Dorado Western movies directed by Howard Hawks, and starring John Wayne have a similar theme and plot. They tell the story of a sheriff and three of his deputies, as they stand alone against adversity in the name of the law. Western movies like these two have forever left a memorable and lasting impressions in the memory of every viewer, with its gunfighters, action filled saloons and sardonic showdowns all in the name of masculinity, revenge and unlawful aggressive behavior. Featuring some of the most famous backdrops in the world ranging from the rustic Red Rock Mountains of Monument Valley in Utah, to the jagged snow capped Mountain tops of the Teton Range in Wyoming, gun-slinging cowboys out in search of mischief and most often at their own misfortune traveled far and wide, seeking one dangerous encounter after another, and unfortunately, ending in their own demise.
‘Our interest in the parallels between the adaptation inter-texts is further enhanced by consideration of their marked differences in textual form,’
The humor in Blazing saddles dates back to the 70's type of satire that was used. The jokes that were made in blazing saddles would definitely be problematic in today's sensitive audience. Jokes for example calling people the N word for fun can cause issues today , while back in the 70's it was okay to say it all the time. Senseless humor like the sign that said "Knock on barb wire first to come in", was so ridiculous that it made it funny. One good example that showed how dated the humor was, is when Mr. Hedley wanted a way to get rid of the people of Rock Ridge. The conversation between Mr. Hedley and a railroad official had a funny joke that started off with "we'll kill the first born child of every household ow wait that's too Jewish".
The movie I chose to analyze for historical accuracy was War Horse. This movie was set in the First World War, starting in Britain but the story also explored France and Germany during this time period as well. Three scenes will be analyzed: the trench warfare scene between the British and the Germans, the scene where the British soldiers were gassed, and the scene where the British were getting patched up and nursed. War Horse does well to stick to the historical accuracy of what happened during the First World War due to the fact that the three scenes that I have chosen to analyze are not embellished and are close to what really happened.