The 1920’s in the film industry today can be seen as a decade filled with many landmarks in technology as well as overall progression in all aspects of on-screen storytelling. Director Erich von Stroheim serves as somewhat of a symbol of 1920’s film as he directed so many important and notable films during the era. Stroheim’s Greed is the one film always referenced when mentioning Stroheim’s catalog due to the magnitude of the film when considering costs and enigmatic legend that comes along with its release. The full-length seven-hour version of the film has never been seen as the version released was just a tad over two hours in running length, meaning there are five hours of unseen cinematic history stowed away with hopes from many to …show more content…
one day be released (Wexman). The 1920’s also ushered in the synthesis of permanent sound and cinema where technology allowed for sound to be added to the actual film material. F.W. Murnau’s Sunrise is one of the first films to harness and executes this new technology in 1927. Both Greed and Sunrise play important roles in the development of film. Though separate stories directors of both films use similar characteristics within particular characters to portray their each unique story. Their stories demonstrate the humanistic need for happiness and the different ways in which the characters evaluate happiness. The environments within Greed and Sunrise promote the pursuit of what makes each individual happy and ultimately control the decisions and behavior of the main characters leading to life changing events. Both films portray the lives of three main characters and tell stories and lessons within the journeys that the characters face.
In Greed the three main protagonists involved are McTeauge usually referred to as Mac, Marcus identified as Mac’s best friend and Trina who becomes the wife of Mac after being introduced by his best friend Marcus. The relationships and roles of these characters change as circumstances with lust, greed and selfishness influence each. Mac works as a dentist in San Francisco and is initially introduced to Trina strictly as a patient with the help of Marcus’ friendly referral. During his dental work with Trina that spans over the time of two weeks, Mac realizes that this he feels a need to please Trina by completing the dental work correctly and as painless as possible. Working with her daily for two weeks he grows interest in her romantically and once her daily visits stop, McTeauge realizes that “She's been the first girl I've ever known. I couldn't help myself!... -- I was so close to her -- an' smelled her hair -- an' felt her breath! Oh!...you don't know!” as he expresses to Marcus. After hearing Mac’s feelings towards Trina, Marcus arranges for a get together that is eventually the start of the McTeauge and Trina …show more content…
relationship. This decision by Marcus demonstrates the true brotherly type bond that McTeauge and Marcus share.
Marcus once had a love interest for Trina but realized how strong Mac’s feelings for Trina truly are and, in turn, sacrifices his love interest for their friendship. As the film progresses, certain events transpire with Trina eventually engaging in marriage with Mac. Not all that long after the engagement, Trina also assumes the winnings of the lottery and a sum of five thousand dollars. The winnings pose a conflict between the main characters, as Marcus feels shorted and overly jealous as he senses that the lottery money belongs to him, considering the fact that he was initially the one to be with Trina. Considering the recent engagement, this newly won money also now plays a role in the life of McTeauge as his friendship with Marcus comes to an end as jealousy takes control of Marcus. This money demonstrates the role in which the environment allows money to play within relationships and eventually the ending them. Five thousand dollars to the average person within the world of Greed, in theory, acts as a key to a worry free life when in reality, it acts makes the protagonists lives worse in the long run. Marcus envies both Trina and Mac after they win their money and makes an occupational change to cattle ranching moving away and out of the city. In the goodbye scene between Marcus and Mac Stroheim carefully places a metaphorical shot of Marcus’s cat attacking two “love birds”
within a cage, those two birds being Mac and Trina. This interaction between the birds and the cat is a reoccurring shot of symbolism that happens simultaneously with the main story on screen. Murnau’s Sunrise examines the lives of three individuals much like Greed found in a different landscape and setting. The three protagonists within the film are identified as the man, the wife and the woman from the city. The man and wife work a normal farm life in a rural town in order to provide for their family. Their daily lives are interrupted when a city woman finds an attraction for rustic man and plots to lure him away from the man's farm lifestyle in hopes of a new exciting relationship. The farm man is initially charmed by the city woman as she presents him with a new promiscuous relationship much different from his routine. His lust for the city woman eventually leads to the downfall of not only his farms economic production but also his marriage. Reminiscent to Mac’s initial captivation with Trina in Greed the city man is lured away from his ordinary life. This love and lust again prove to be detrimental to the characters as it conclusively leads to the downfall of the characters original relationships as well as the individuals’ occupational good standing. The story within Sunrise evolves into somewhat of a fable story as the city man endures pain and indecisiveness, he then realizes his true love for his wife, but this is not fully realized until he first plots against his wife with intentions to kill. Similar to Greed murder is seen as a pathway to achieve their desires as both films involve murdering episodes. Mac’s resentment for Trina eventually grows to hatred sequentially leading to her murder. The man in the city plots the murder of his wife with help and influence from the woman in the city who see’s the death of the wife as a way for the man to escape the countryside farm lifestyle. Although the man does not go through with the murder, the incident of attempting to murder was essential for his happiness in the end as he realized what a mistake he had made involving himself with the woman from the city. These films demonstrate the power of selfishness when homicide is seen as a device for personal benefit. In Mac’s case the murder of Trina allowed for him to get Trina’s wealth and for the man in the city he gained true love after experiencing the traumatizing contemplation of murdering his wife. Each character did gain something out of their experience. An interesting observation when comparing both of these films could be seen where both protagonists end their journeys in their demanding social environments. They each end up essentially where they started lying next to their original acquaintances who they and identified with. Mac with Marcus in the ending stranded scene in Death Valley and the man with his wife in the morning as they are show to be deeply in love again. Greed finishes with death and despair while Sunrise ends with life and happiness. The difference endings between the two make for obviously different emotional conclusions but each ending demonstrates what toll the social environment adventures took on the characters lives. Both Sunrise and Greed show the temptations and complications that each film environment presents to the characters. For both Mac and the Man within Sunrise honesty with the self is realized after being tempted with new love from the city woman. For Mac, the initial love and lust for Trina overwhelmed him and allowed for him to get involved with a woman who had unidentifiable issues prior involving stinginess with money, which ultimately led her to the death as Mac grew very hateful towards her. The man in Sunrise initially found what he thought was love, within the relationship with the city woman who introduced him to something new and intriguing considering his farm history and past that was constant. In his attempt to kill his wife, the man realized the mistake he made and though the wife’s forgiveness, reached a peak of happiness with love at a place they had never experienced. Both films show the powers of lust and the emphasis that films put on sex and love in order to tell the story. This type of storytelling is still seen today as so audiences are still encapsulated by the stories of love. While both Greed and Sunrise conclude on different notes, they each allow for audiences to experience quests for love and happiness that change the protagonist’s lives forever as each character realizes the honest truth of wealth emotionally and monetarily.
An example in the film that highlights the demise of the studio system is when Joe pitches a script idea to a producer of Paramount. Joe is quick to say that the film only needs one main character, has many outdoor locations and can be made ‘for under a million dollars’ (Joe Gillis, Sunset Boulevard, 1950), which highlights the idea of saving money on a s...
Literature and film have always held a strange relationship with the idea of technological progress. On one hand, with the advent of the printing press and the refinements of motion picture technology that are continuing to this day, both literature and film owe a great deal of their success to the technological advancements that bring them to widespread audiences. Yet certain films and works of literature have also never shied away from portraying the dangers that a lust for such progress can bring with it. The modern output of science-fiction novels and films found its genesis in speculative ponderings on the effect such progress could hold for the every day population, and just as often as not those speculations were damning. Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and Fritz Lang's silent film Metropolis are two such works that hold great importance in the overall canon of science-fiction in that they are both seen as the first of their kind. It is often said that Mary Shelley, with her authorship of Frankenstein, gave birth to the science-fiction novel, breathing it into life as Frankenstein does his monster, and Lang's Metropolis is certainly a candidate for the first genuine science-fiction film (though a case can be made for Georges Méliès' 1902 film Le Voyage Dans la Lune, his film was barely fifteen minutes long whereas Lang's film, with its near three-hour original length and its blending of both ideas and stunning visuals, is much closer to what we now consider a modern science-fiction film). Yet though both works are separated by the medium with which they're presented, not to mention a period of over two-hundred years between their respective releases, they present a shared warning about the dangers that man's need fo...
In the case of the first poem, it was more of the perspective of a high class woman. The narrator who saw the women cleaning in the airport did not like the scene due to the fact that she believes that there are better jobs and options out there. As a woman coming from a higher class, she may think one way. However, we do not know whether or not the lady actually cleaning feels the same way. In line 16, Oliver mentions, “Yes, a person wants to stand in a happy place”, in a poem. But first we must watch her as she stares down at her labor, which is dull enough.” This quote goes to show that the narrator dislikes the fact that she is doing such a low job. The narrator considers that peoples too showy and live only on the external, and the woman
Personal desires are ever changing due to an individual's circumstances and the influence of peers. The author is able to exemplify how an individual must transform their personal desires in order to succeed in undermining conformity.McMurphy’s personal desire transitions throughout the course of the novel, evolving due to his surrounding and circumstances he faces. He develops a sense of responsibility for the other men when he realizes they are playing a “rigged game”(pg 54) which they have no chance of winning. Although he may be a sociopath and a criminal the one thing that McMurphy cannot stand is a cheated system that disguises complete manipulation with false
script, the viewer needs another way to interpret the film. The 1922 silent film Nosferatu
The movie Born Rich at first seems like a kid who wants to overcome the “voodoo of inherited wealth” (Born rich, 4:24). Jamie Johnson the heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune is intent on getting his inner circle of friends to address this controversial issue. From the beginning of the movie there seems to be an unwritten rule that it’s in bad taste to discuss your wealth. This point seems funny that those with money don’t want to talk about their wealth, while those without money only talk about having wealth. As reluctant as they say they are, it seems that they are more than willing to babel on about it and the privilege that accompanies it throughout the movie which seems hypocritical. These kids, seems to range from very grounded to on the verge of paranoia about their money. However when you look at the range of problems, insecurities and unhappiness that exists among these kids it’s easy to say money doesn’t solve your problems.
An obvious difference in these films is that the 1931 version played to a Depression audience and that the Coppola version played to a modern audience. (I am being extremely careful because, obviously, the 1931 audience was modern in 1931; however, we like to think of ourselves as being more modern than past generations. There are differences in the audiences which viewed the respective versions in their time, and I hope to prove this point as the paper unfolds.)
...runs away. This misfortune ruins all of the Youngers’ dreams which revolve around money, but sets those which are non-financial into motion.
Since the late 1890’s films have been constantly changing the history of pop culture and the way people view war, politics, and the world as a whole. As the timeline of the history of film progressed, there were many different phases: gothic noir, slapstick comedy, tragedy vs. love, romance, and many more. Towards the more recent times, the central ideas of films started drifting to the greatness of the directors. Directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and many more were noted as outstanding directors of action and cinematography. In this paper I will speak about Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese, and the ever so infamous Baz Luhrmann. These directors have changed the way filmmaking has been and will be looked at from this point on.
Citizen Kane has earned the prestigious honor of being regarded as the number one movie of all time because of Welles’ groundbreaking narrative and plot structures that paved a path for the future of the film industry. Though critics have viewed the film with such prestige over the years, a present day viewer might encounter a great amount of confusion or difficulty as to why Citizen Kane is the number one movie on the American Film Institute’s top 100 movies of all time. Especially considering the modern day film industry, Welles’ production does not measure up to the amount of thrill and entertainment audiences experience today. Not even considering the possibilities with special effects and technology, Citizen Kane seems to lack an exciting plot that might involve some action or twists instead of the gossip of a man’s life that we no longer appreciate. In 1941, the general public could greatly appreciate the connections between Kane and William Randolph Hearst unlike young adults watching the film now.
Classic film noir originated after World War II. This is the time where post World War II pessimism, anxiety, and suspicion was taking the world by storm. Many films that were released in the U.S. Between 1939s and 1940s were considered propaganda films that were designed for entertainment during the Depression and World War II. During the 1930s many German and Europeans immigrated to the U.S. and helped the American film industry with powerf...
In the film "A Fistful of Dollars", the sole hero is corrupt. This is equivalent to the status of the sole hero in a large portion of the purported, "Spaghetti Westerns". The Spaghetti Western's were shot in Europe, utilizing Italian performing artists as a part of everything except the main part, and dedicated with American voices. The Spaghetti Westerns completely changed the substance of he Western, as they turned out to be rougher - and the solitary hero turned into an a great deal more awful character. Whenever viewing "A Fistful of Dollars", the initially engaged picture is the rough, forsake soil. After this, the camera container and zooms in onto the solitary legend and his steed. Overwhelming imagery is being utilized here - that the
Barsam, Richard. Looking at Movies An Introduction to Film, Second Edition (Set with DVD). New York: W. W. Norton, 2006. Print.
This movie starts off as Jordan Belfort, the main character in the movie, losing his job as a stockbroker in Wall Street. After losing his job, he goes and gets a job in a Long Island brokerage room. In the brokerage room, he sells penny stocks. Thanks to him being aggressive in his selling skills, he was able to make a profit. With the new income, he gives his wife a bracelet and she asked him why doesn’t he go after the people that can afford to lose money, not the middle-class people or lower income people. That is when he gets the idea to get a lot of young people and train them to become the best stock brokers.
In The Visit the author Friedrich Durrenmatt revolves around the theme of the corruption of money because it plays an important part in the progression of the story. Friedrich Durrenmatt is using Claire, a powerful billionairess to show how money can affect behavior, moral principles and politics. Claire gives the people of Güllen a big decision to make in exchange for money and the choices they are given leads them to commit murder. Claire is able to manipulate an entire town and play with the law because of her wealth. Durrenmatt shows the toll money takes on society.