Most people can be able to recognize the uniqueness an innovative spirit of Edgar Wright movies, even though they do not know a thing from cinema. This is the result of an outstanding work on a film that results with impeccable aesthetics in every single aspect of the creation and production of a film. For your knowledge, the film on which this paper is based on can be seen by everyone since it is available on Netflix, Hot Fuzz. Yes, Hot Fuzz will be the film dissected on this paper, taking about its unique cinematography, editing, acting, and directorial work. Starting in the opening of the film we can see that it has a touch of Michael Bay fast cutting technique and cheesy cinematography to make the character look like a hero. This was made in purpose by the director, in fact this style can be seen …show more content…
all through the film. When advanced into the film, Nicholas Angel, the protagonist, and Danny Butterman, his colleague, watch Bad Boys. This is the scene that appears in the film when the camera goes around the main characters and it does not make any sense what this movement represents (See Image #1). Well, Michael Bay do this a lot of times to kind of make his protagonists look like heroes; why we think that has no supportive clue. Throughout the whole film, this little hints of blockbusters can be found, especially towards the end where exactly the same movement of camera and action happen with both of the main characters. Here the whole look of the film is that of a mission impossible or other of those cheesy films which only objective is to entertain the audience by showing just action and get high box office and therefore profit for the studios. Wright wanted to make comedy out of a much known fact by films fans. Everybody knows Bay’s traits in his films. The director did a great job showing how things that are considered completely non-aesthetical can be used in a different kind of film and be all the opposite, it can be completely aesthetical, giving the movie more power over audiences, and actually making people have a better time when watching. The cinematography of the film is very unique. In a way cinematography looks best because of the use of fast cutting. The lightning in the film overall is extremely subtle. In most scenes one cannot tell the position of the lights, they look very natural. Wright always does a very detailed storyboard before his movies start production to emphasize transitions, which are the undisputable trait of his films. Well, Hot Fuzz is no exception. Throughout the film, funny and extremely well planned camera movements are seen. This is something many films nowadays lack off and this is the reason why they just have spoken comedy and not screen comedy. For example, when Stg. Angel is leaving town and moving into Sandford, there we can appreciate a series of fast cut shots that express the subject in moving away in a very revolutionary way. What most film would do, is just show the action of them moving without any funny shots and music in the background. Pretty depressing for a comedy film. Here the main character travels only with a bag and a plant. This gives the audience a lot of information about the main character. Also the shots were we see the phone screen give us the idea he is moving away from society (See Image #2). In the left of the screen we see how the mobile signal is being lost, so therefore Angel is moving away from civilization. These transitions are unique of Wright filmmaking, although directors like Jason Reitman use these techniques too. All of these shots are considered screen comedy because it actually works don’t you agree? Also, we see how in many occasions characters and things pop up and out of frame in very funny ways. For example, when Angel is being moved into another town because he is “making everybody look bad”, a piece of cake on a plate is being given to him and he refuses by saying “no thanks” (See Image #3). Also, when Mr. Merchants “accidental” death happens, two policeman officers (as agent Butterman would say) tell Stg. Angel “Yeah, if you did not see anything suspicious around here, then, who did?” both of them move out of the screen in an extremely funny way. The acting in the film is also unique, especially Simon Pegg’s. He was in fact throughout the pre-production of the film, what may be an indicator that he knew more about the film that any of the other actors in the film, even though he was first not chosen for the main title since Wright Already worked with him in “Shaun of the Dead”, his 2005 zombie apocalyptic film (See Image #4). This is a factor that could have risen the possibility of the British actor into getting the main role of the film once again. Nick Frost as always gives a very truthful and comedic performance like in every single other movie he has worked in. This guy has to be a comedian by nature. No one does these dumb but smart characters better than him. The rest of the actors did an amazing job too. Timothy Dalton gives a performance never before seen in any of his previous movies which gives audience an idea of how well was the casting of this film made. Edgar Wright is known to be an extremely good film director and writer. Having done five films in his life, all five of them highly praised by critics and audiences, is was almost sure that the audience was expecting for another great experience even though at the time this project was Wright’s third film. His has worked with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, writing their film “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn” in 2011. He is also a close friend of American director Quentin Tarantino. Someone who has all this credits on his favor is by inference a great filmmaker. As always, he wrote and directed the film. Director who do this are always more efficient and do a better job in production. They know the story a hundred percent because they wrote it as well as he wrote all the characters and their experiences and actions. There is nothing they do not know about the story, it is now just a matter of how to take all that to the screen. He wrote the film with help of Simon Pegg as I said before, although Pegg was only in the early development of the story and therefore did not had a very important position when writing the screenplay. This was a task completely for our genius director Edgar Wright. He did a great job working with the actors. It takes good actors to make a good film, but it takes a great director to guide the good actors to make a great film with exceptional performances. Indisputably this is something Wright has done with every single one of his films so far. He always works with people he knows, what helps him create a better environment for the production of the film that can even be perceived when the audience is watching the film. It is logical to state also that he as well lets his actors know from day one in the shooting everything they need to know about the characters they portrait; let’s his producers know everything he wats in the film; let’s his cinematographer know what is it that he wants in the frame and how he wants it; let’s his editor know the style of editing he wants. In this article, many aesthetical traits of the film “Hot Fuzz” were discussed.
This film is easily one of the top comedies ever made and it is good to know it was made not long ago, so filmmakers are making progress. Its cinematography is in exceptionally good. All the movements that are constantly going on in the frame, the work with lightning, the framing itself, the color palette and other visuals aspects make of its cinematography a great and unforgettable one. Its Directional work is incredibly good and this is thanks to the great mind of the director and his involvement with every aspect of the film pre-production, production and post-production, as well as the staff he chooses to work with. The performances are great too. Funny and dramatic when they need to be, carrying the suspense perfectly for every audience. Last but not least, the Michael Bay’s traits seen in the film are just a tip that this director is able to do amazing things with a film and his view on cinema is just unique. Hot Fuzz is the living proof that Edgar Wright is one of the most iconic and revolutionary filmmakers, and that comedy, if taken seriously, can be extremely
funny.
The only real way to truly understand a story is to understand all aspects of a story and their meanings. The same goes for movies, as they are all just stories being acted out. In Thomas Foster's book, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor”, Foster explains in detail the numerous ingredients of a story. He discusses almost everything that can be found in any given piece of literature. The devices discussed in Foster's book can be found in most movies as well, including in Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic, “Pulp Fiction”. This movie is a complicated tale that follows numerous characters involved in intertwining stories. Tarantino utilizes many devices to make “Pulp Fiction” into an excellent film. In this essay, I will demonstrate how several literary devices described in Foster's book are put to use in Tarantino’s film, “Pulp Fiction”, including quests, archetypes, food, and violence.
The movie Dope, written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa, follows the story of Malcolm through his senior year of high school in the Inglewood California. He lives in a poor neighborhood, with only his mom, yet he still strives for greatness. He has a couple of friends, and they all love 90’s hip hop culture. They try to do their best to stay out of trouble and away from bullies. Malcolm sees a girl he likes and ends up following her to a drug dealer’s birthday party. When the cops bust the birthday party, he unknowingly goes home with all the drugs and the gun that the drug dealer owns. This sets off a wild chain reaction, as he now has to sell these drugs to payoff the supplier, who happens to be the Harvard Alumni that Malcolm’s needs approval
The movie I was assigned was, In the Heat of the Night starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. This film took place during the late 1960’s in Mississippi, where Virgil Tibbs, a black Philadelphia homicide detective, is traveling. Upon his travel, he unintentionally gets involved in a murder investigation of a business man. He was first accused of committing this murder when a police officer became suspicious of him. After they determined his innocence’s, he was then asked to help solve the case because of his vast knowledge and experience dealing with homicide crimes. He eventually agreed to help because he knew it was the right thing to do. The process for finding the killer was determined to be difficult, but even more so when Tibbs’s efforts
For several years now, Disney seems to be determined not to offend anyone in order to keep its audience; indeed we are confronted with animation films full of compromises; they are not as degrading for women as Snow-White and the Seven Dwarves (1937), but they are nonetheless still filled with clichés. Films such as The Princess and The Frog (2009), Tangled (2010), Wreck-it Ralph (2012), have in common the sense of being progressive and however we can notice the resurgence of harmful gendered stereotypes on the subjects of the social scale, women’s role in society, or the status quo. Frozen comes in and turns out to be no exception. Though it includes several encouraging and gratifying elements, it contributes insidiously to spread numerous
In Hollywood today, most films can be categorized according to the genre system. There are action films, horror flicks, Westerns, comedies and the likes. On a broader scope, films are often separated into two categories: Hollywood films, and independent or foreign ‘art house’ films. Yet, this outlook, albeit superficial, was how many viewed films. Celebrity-packed blockbusters filled with action and drama, with the use of seamless top-of-the-line digital editing and special effects were considered ‘Hollywood films’. Films where unconventional themes like existentialism or paranoia, often with excessive violence or sex or a combination of both, with obvious attempts to displace its audiences from the film were often attributed with the generic label of ‘foreign’ or ‘art house’ cinema.
Friedman, L., Desser, D., Kozloff, S., Nichimson, M., & Prince, S. (2014). An introduction to film genres. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company.
Think about your favorite movie. When watching that movie, was there anything about the style of the movie that makes it your favorite? Have you ever thought about why that movie is just so darn good? The answer is because of the the Auteur. An Auteur is the artists behind the movie. They have and individual style and control over all elements of production, which make their movies exclusively unique. If you could put a finger on who the director of a movie is without even seeing the whole film, then the person that made the movie is most likely an auteur director. They have a unique stamp on each of their movies. This essay will be covering Martin Scorsese, you will soon find out that he is one of the best auteur directors in the film industry. This paper will include, but is not limited to two of his movies, Good Fellas, and The Wolf of Wall Street. We will also cover the details on what makes Martin Scorsese's movies unique, such as the common themes, recurring motifs, and filming practices found in their work. Then on
With his down-the-rabbit-hole approach to design and obsessive attention to detail, Wes Anderson, writer, director and auteur, is best known for his highly stylized movies. His extremely visual, nostalgic worlds give meaning to the stories in his films, contrary to popular critical beliefs that he values style over substance. Through an analysis of his work, I plan to show that design can instead, give substance to style.
... imagination is sometimes more excessive than the action on the screen. After the application of Williams’ “theory” to David Creonenberg’s film Shivers, it is apparent that the spectator’s personal perception of the action (or inaction) is more the cause of the bodily reaction that Williams is referring to, rather than the objective excess on the screen. Ultimately, various characteristics of Williams’ arguments are true, but as a film theory in general, “Film Bodies: Gender, Genre and Excess” needs further research and flexibility in order to be both relative to all “body” genre films, and applicable to all unique spectators.
Gallagher, T. 2002. Senses of Cinema – Max Ophuls: A New Art – But Who Notices?. [online] Available at: http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/feature-articles/ophuls/ [Accessed: 8 Apr 2014].
It is no doubt that Martin Scorsese has heavily influenced the emulating of American film making from European influences. He is a prime example of a ‘New Hollywood Cinema’ director, not only from his ethnicity and background, but from his sheer interest in this form
Best known for his unique and non-linear style and to many people as the best director of the past decade, Christopher Jonathan James Nolan or just simply Christopher Nolan, is one of the most talented and influential film directors and screenwriters of our time. He, like most directors have never studied film and is a self-taught filmmaker. In this essay I am going to write about his early life and how he got into filmmaking. His early career and his rise to fame with Batman movies, his personal life and the influences he have had on the film industry which makes him one of the best directors of all time and my personal favorite.
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.
I like the film very much. I think its one of the best films I’ve seen ever. The comedy in the film is just my humour, and the action was okay.