Italian Neorealism is a cinematic style born out of the economic and political strife following the Second World War in Italy (Smith, 2013). The style generally depicts the hardships of average working-class people who are struggling due to forces outside of their control (Smith, 2013). The main goal of these films is not to embellish reality, but instead accurately depict life in Italy at this time. Often times sets are not used, as “location shooting” is utilized. This allows for the debris filled, hardship struck streets to become a huge part of the makeup of the films. Italian Neorealism films also generally have some stylistic tendencies. A documentary style shooting method is commonly used; that is one camera at eye level of the characters. There is typically no variation in the angles of the shots. Furthermore, editing and lighting are mostly avoided, allowing for a simplistic yet accurate take on reality. A classic example of an Italian Neorealism film is Bicycle Thieves (1948). Setting the tone for the rest of the film …show more content…
The camera is always at the level of the actors, as if someone is holding it. The camera is always at the level of the characters, even when it is moving. It never appears to come from different angles, a stable of Italian Neorealist films. There also appears to be very little staged lighting in the various shots.(That is, lighting that is purposely placed.) Instead, the lighting appears to be natural from the sun. To go along with that, it is apparent that there has been very little editing done. For instance, techniques such as straight cut, fade, or dissolve are not used (here or anywhere in the film.) Also, means such as cross cutting or matching shots are not employed. These stylistic features of the scene are consistent throughout the film, and are overarching qualities in Italian Neorealist
There are types of main techniques such as zooming, craning, tracking and lighting. Zooming is one on going motion, the camera moves from an area to a close up shot. Tracking is when you move the camera towards or away from the film and it is designed to make the actor feel like they are part of the scene or is removed from the scene. And Craning is when the camera angel is place on a crane to make better interest to the location of the film. Last but not least is Lighting. Lighting is when the light changes throughout the film and draws attention to the objects and also lighting can be used to create their facial expression when it’s light or dark. The characters in the film wear a costume to represent the movie and to show the character personality of what they doing. Also in this scene you can see many other many cinematic techniques in this set. As it appears Dave has more lighting than Gail. That’s because since Dave was white and Gail is black. Black and white people can’t be in a relationship or get
In effect all the techniques mentioned above portray a society of individuals who are weary of the world they live in. They are rejects who lead a pitiful existence in a wasteland called earth because they are not fit enough to go the out-world colonies. Suppressing their own natural instincts for the sake of physically surviving they really the walking dead. Scientific progress conducted not for the best interests of humanity but for the best interests of business has effectively brought about the progressive degradation of society. By exploiting and destroying the natural world human can no more find solace or beauty so as to recuperate their weary minds and rekindle their dying spirits. In summary the techniques that are unique to film such as camera, lighting, costuming, colour and location works in conjunction with common literary techniques such as visual symbolism, irony and characterisation to effectively convey the relationship between humanity and nature.
The postmodern cinema emerged in the 80s and 90s as a powerfully creative force in Hollywood film-making, helping to form the historic convergence of technology, media culture and consumerism. Departing from the modernist cultural tradition grounded in the faith in historical progress, the norms of industrial society and the Enlightenment, the postmodern film is defined by its disjointed narratives, images of chaos, random violence, a dark view of the human state, death of the hero and the emphasis on technique over content. The postmodernist film accomplishes that by acquiring forms and styles from the traditional methods and mixing them together or decorating them. Thus, the postmodern film challenges the “modern” and the modernist cinema along with its inclinations. It also attempts to transform the mainstream conventions of characterization, narrative and suppresses the audience suspension of disbelief. The postmodern cinema often rejects modernist conventions by manipulating and maneuvering with conventions such as space, time and story-telling. Furthermore, it rejects the traditional “grand-narratives” and totalizing forms such as war, history, love and utopian visions of reality. Instead, it is heavily aimed to create constructed fictions and subjective idealisms.
These days more and more audience like to see their beloved actors and actresses portray superhero or heroine figure in spandex suit blasting laser beam from their eyes, turn into fire then fly away to outer space, or even a scientist who turn into a huge, green, car-throwing, head-smashing monster with indestructible pants when he transforms. But not small amount audience like films with classical-antiquity geographical and timeline set such as Ben-Hur, 300, Spartacus, etc. Antiquity and modernity always be an important part in filmmaking, whether in its screenplay, set design or character design. In some movies these aspect can be shown separately or combined in sort of a new way in filmmaking.
The Godfather is most notably one of the most prolific films of its time. This "gangster" film displayed many transformations of permeating color to give the viewer observable cues in its mise en scene that drew one right into the movie. The dramatic acting set the tone of the film with a score that lifted the viewer right out of their seat in many scenes. The directing and cinematography made The Godfather ahead of its time. The nostalgic feel of family importance and the danger of revenge lets us into the life of the Mafia. Even though no other techniques would have given the viewer a feeling of inside the mob like the mise en scene of the power the godfather held, the characters are reinforced literally and figuratively because the story views the Mafia from the inside out, and the cinematography of the film gives it a dangerous and nostalgic feel.
Neorealism had appeared right after the end of World War II and was started by Roberto Rosselini, the father of Neorealism. With his movie, he started a new trend in Italian cinema. (quote) Although it was not specifically “Neorealist”, it was the start of the movement. Some of key characteristics of a neorealist cinema are as follows, “documentary visual style, the use of actual locations--usually exteriors--rather than studio sites, the use of nonprofessional actors, even for principal roles, use of conversational speech, not literary dialogue, avoidance of artifice in editing, camerawork, and lighting in favor of a simple "styless" style” (1.). These characteristics are what embody true neorealist films, such as Bicycle Thief. Although some of these characteristics still linger in Umberto D, the movie that is considered the “death of the neorealism” (2.). It goes without saying that, regardless of the movement these movies are classified under, these are both spectacular contributions to cinema. However it is Bicycle Thief that shows the prime of what neorealist cinema was like during the movement.
Bicycle Thieves is considered an example of Italian Neo-realism. The plot demonstrates Italians of the working class in Italy and unfolds their day to day lives. One could argue it portray the reality and develops into an emotional storyline towards the end. Antonio, the main character is offered a job requiring a bicycle and on his first day it was stolen on the streets. You immediately feel drawn to the character as you want to see a happy ending. Watching the film, automatically feel sorry for him as he’s got no money and needs to make a living as soon as possible for his wife with two children to support. From the close ups and observational shots it clearly shows he is desperate as Antonio and his son Bruno go around searching for it for hours. The opening sequence uses the conventions of documentary to introduce the film giving an impression of realism and authenticity, which attracted me to the film instantly. These shots were used to capture realism. The function of this scene is to illustrate the nature of surrounding and an insight of Italy at this time.
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...
In the film V for Vendetta the director James Mcteigue uses a range of different film techniques in order to gain the audience's attention and to make the movie more interesting. The four film techniques I’m going to focus on in this essay are editing, music, camera angles and the lighting. I am going to do this by analysing the ‘Domino Montage’ scene.
This analysis observes the opening scene of the Coen brother’s film No Country for Old Men (2007), a neo-noir crime thriller set in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The film does conform to classic Hollywood style in that the story is character-centered and plot and narrative change to serve character exposition. As well as the character’s actions changing plot and narrative and that style is subservient to the story as the ultimate goal is to develop a fictional world that is perceived as real, as Bordwell put it the classic Hollywood style should be “seamless” and “style-less” (Bordwell, 1988). But does have Post-classical influences such as lack of musical score and modern editing techniques and special effects.
Amelio places an immense focus on intertextuality in this film as an homage to the end of the neorealistic era. He particularly references one of the leading figures of the neorealistic movement, Vittorio De Sica, and his film Bicycle Thief. The title, Stolen Children, and the main character’s name, Antonio, are an allusion of Bicycle Thief. Through Amelio’s choice of allusions,
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
The aim of this report is to discuss Italian Neorealism (Neorealismo); looking at how the movement played a significant element in European cinema during and after the times of Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime. The report not only looks at how but why Neorealism became a growing phenomenon for filmmakers during its debatable 10 year period, and what implication of messages these Neorealist directors were trying to send out through their films. Backed up by several reliable book sources, the evidence for this report will also highlight the influences Neo-realism has created in modern filmmaking today.
Film Noir was extremely trendy during the 1940’s. People were captivated by the way it expresses a mood of disillusionment and indistinctness between good and evil. Film Noir have key elements; crime, mystery, an anti-hero, femme fatale, and chiaroscuro lighting and camera angles. The Maltese Falcon is an example of film noir because of the usage of camera angles, lighting and ominous settings, as well as sinister characters as Samuel Spade, the anti-hero on a quest for meaning, who encounters the death of his partner but does not show any signs of remorse but instead for his greed for riches.
The “spaghetti” western, Sergio Leone’s conscious departure from what had come to be known as the “classic” western formula, became a modification of the conventions of the traditional genre. In the film For A Few Dollars More (Per qualque dollaro in più, 1965), Leone’s formula is developed through a reformed narrative structure, slight changes in the traditional characters, his unique style, and the simple use of language, which revolutionized the western.