Mo’ Better Blues
The film chosen for the stylistic analysis paper is Mo’ Better Blues. The movie was written and directed by Spike and he also played Giant the main character best friend and manager. He also include his sister Joie Lee in the movie as a main character. She played Indigo one of the main character girlfriends in the movie. Then used his father, Bill Lee, who scored some of the jazz music used in the film. Make this a true movie made by the Lee’s family. The movie was released August 3, 1990 in Movie Theater. Mo’ Better Blues received critic accolades for the jazz music featured in the movie. Spike Lee used musician Branford Marsalis Quartet and Terence Blanchard who created original songs for the movie. Which also include Denzel
…show more content…
Washington as the main character. This paper will focus on the editing, mise-en-scene, cinematography and sound used in the movie. All of these topic will be further explored in this paper on Mo’ Better Blues. The editing in the movie Mo’ Better Blues. The movie starts with a flashback to 1969 Brooklyn. Where the main character, Bleek, is a child practice the trumpet. Then the movie is flash forward to Bleek, as a grown man play jazz in nightclub. The best edit scene of the movie. This was when the main character, Bleek, is make love to both of his girlfriends at the same time. The one scene of him mix up the two women. As he look up it Indigo’s body and then its Clark’s body like there in the same bed but its different moment with each women. That seem to be combined into one dramatic love make scene. That dramatically end with him call each of the women the wrong name. Edit to show how Bleek had confused the women in mind. Also the montage at the end of the film. When time past and show his wedding to Indigo and there have a baby. End with him watch his son practice the trumpet. Liked how the movie begin with him back as a child in Brooklyn practiced his trumpet. So there was a lot of editing techniques were used in this movie. The movie span a thirty year period in the main character, Bleek, life. Created with editor use techniques like flashback, montage, and flash-forward. To show the time pasting of his life thru out the movie. These are just a few of the editing techniques used in the creation of Mo’ Better Blues. The mise-en-scene used in Mo’ Better Blues was the setting backdrop of the nineties. The costumes for the actress and actors were all on the nineties styles. With men wear short pee wee and high top fades, and the women in freeze curls. The lighting was moody, dramatic and dark use shades of red, yellow and blues. Since most of the movie takes place in a jazz club. The begin scene of the movie Lee takes great effort to transform the set back to a 1969 Brooklyn. Pan in on the cars that line the streets were of that classic sixty style. Even to Bleek father who younger watch a baseball game. On an old black and white television to establish the effect of the 1969 era. Later in the movie Bleek play a game of catch with his father. Who has been aged to show past of time. The last scene he aged the character Bleek during the montage scene. With a gray and black beard to show he aged and matured. After the birth of his son and marriage. Spike Lee put great effort to establish the mise-en-scene in the movie Mo’ Better Blues. The cinematograph in Mo’ Better Blues was done by Ernest Dickerson. Who has become a director since the creation of Mo’ Better Blues. Dickerson meet Lee in film school in New York. Spike Lee is known for some trademark camera moves, which he used in most of his films. When Bleek is practice the trumpet. The camera pans in slow-spin-upward shot around Denzel Washington as he concentrate on practice his trumpet skills. Show how important the art of make music is to the character Bleek in the movie. In the scene when the characters Giant and Bleek are on the bikes ride thru the park. Dickerson used a gliding sidewalk dolly to show the street and movement in the scene. A particular beautiful scene in the movie. Was done with a high-angle shot as the camera pan over the top of New York skyline and Brooklyn Bridge. Then camera comes in to focus on Bleek play his trumpet on the Brooklyn Bridge. Dickerson also used a lot of low-angle shots in the club to establish when Bleek was at high of his power as a musician. Spike Lee and Ernest Dickerson used cinematograph in creative and stylish way to create the film Mo’ Better Blues. Mo’ Better Blues film is set to some classic jazz music. The soundtrack was nominated for Soul Train music award. The song Harlem Blues song by the main character Clark at the end to Bleek. Seem to sum up most of the movie plot. The music was done by Brandford Marsalis Quartet and Terence Blanchard. Since the movie is about a musician who play the trumpet and most of the film center around jazz music. The sound in Mo’ Better Blues is excellent give exposer to some audience who might be unfamiliar with jazz. Exposed them classic sound of jazz music played in perfect harmony. Spike Lee father also created some original track for the movie. In crucial scene in the movie. Was when the main charcter Bleek get his two girlfriends confused and call them wrong name. It show both women yell at him about his mistake and then there voice fade out. As the music in Bleek head overtake there voice and he just stare at both women lost in the music. This show how self-consumed the character was with music and himself and also how important the music was to the character. So sound is key element in the movie Mo’ Better Blues. The movie Mo’ Better Blues was an excellent drama.
Very original due to the fact it concentrated on jazz music. Which is a music that lost to a lot of generations. The movie wasn’t very complex since the idea of self-consumed person who used women without regards to their feeling is a common theme. Bleek the main character wasn’t a bad person but lost in his love for music. Was so consumed with music and himself he really become unaware of the feeling of other people in his life. Included the musician in his band. Then the day come and he couldn’t play music did he start see the world. The movie central theme seem to focus on friendship, love and some racial undertones. Which are common theme in most of Spike Lee movies. Some Jews viewer were upset with his portrayal of the Jewish brother Moe and Josh Flatbush. In the movie the brother were portrayal as greedy character. Then there always the radical tension in the black community of difference between dark skin and light skin women treatment by men. Last how Bleek loyalty to his friendship with Giant end up have negative effect on his life. Spike Lee used Mo’ Better Blues to address all of these extremely sensitive topic. Still open up new generation to jazz music. With the used of cinematography, sound, mise-en-scene, and editing to create a wonderful
film.
...he movie is deep into getting the point across in the discrimination between the black soldiers and the white commanders, it addresses the audience with the issue that everyone was going through. At the end of the day, the Massachusetts 54th wanted to win the war white or black, friends or not. The audience gets a look into a reenactment of the Civil war and the look at how difficult it was to train the black soldiers. They also get to see their dedication and how these African American men wanted in any way to serve their country.
On the TV show, The Movie Show, David Stratton described the film as a “bold and timely film about the stolen generations.” The film is so highly rated for its amazing plot, the well-used mise en scene and the film techniques including the camera work and sound.
The novel Nukkin Ya is a compelling book, written in the perspective of the character Gary Black, the author of the text is Phillip Gwynne. The novel is set in rural South Australia for Australian readers. The novel conveys a number of themes and messages including racial difference, love verse hate and the ability and choice to move on. These are depicted by the literally techniques of imagery, literary allusions and intertextuality.
This film represents our indigenous culture and regardless of what happens we can find good in a situation. Together the black and white community can come together and achieve more than they could ever do by themselves.
My overall impression of this movie that it was a great movie and I believe that Jamie Foxx played an excellent role of Ray Charles because of Foxx’s musician background. I learned about the real life of Ray Charles and about how he struggled, but made it into the music business given that he was a blind man and he had an amazing gift for creating music. I also learned about how he in essence he created the genre that we now have today called R&B which is a mix of all different kinds of black music such as gospel blues and more. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone that likes to learn about how modern music originated.
The strikingly accurate portrayal of the life of an African American family in the 1950’s did a great job of keeping the interest up. The director’s mise-en-scene gave the film a believability that is rarely achieved. They did this through the well staged apartment that the film takes place in for the majority of the screen time. The cramped and cluttered home sets the stage for the actors in the film to truly live into their characters. The actors did a brilliant job of portraying the wide breadth of emotions in this film. Their engaging personalities kept the film alive and vibrant the
Spike Lee is considered to be one of the underrated directors of our time. He was born on March 20, 1957 in Atlanta. He grew up with a supportive family. He started making amateur films at the age of 20.After graduating NYU film school he was ready for the world. He already overcame the fact that African-American filmmakers were narrow. His big break started when he earned seven million in box office for a movie which priced at $175,000 to make. Also, the film was only shot in two weeks. This was only the beginning to a bright future. His vision shows no favoritism and spares no races. His use of interviews and social commentary gives different cultures an opportunity to look honestly into the hearts, minds, and conscience of their people. He also exposes hypocrisy and lies when he demonstrates the different stereotypes that remain in today’s society .Spike Lee creates amazing movies about provocative topics no else wanted to discuss. Who would know that small kid from Atlanta, Georgia could be considered an auteur? Shelton Jackson Lee is considered an auteur to extent by addressing provocative subjects, playing an acting role, unique traits, and being consistent.
This movie was a tale of an immigrant seeking money and power who untimely set up his own demise. The producers did a good job at pointing out certain features that let you into the life of an organized crime leader. He tells of his humble beginnings and shows you in details how he rose to the top. The producer had a point to make and I took that point as being you can never get and stay someone good while being bad. The sound effects and graphics also makes this movie. They show just enough to intrigue you but yet not to completely make you sick to your stomach. The music is very telling and
This film also shows that people of different backgrounds can too be in love. This movie illustrates that even though there are differences between two people, doesn’t mean they cannot be together. In the world today, people of all different types are falling in love. This used to be unheard of, but is now becoming a way of life. I feel that this movie did a wonderful job of showing many aspects of love and the difficulties that people may come upon.
I have always believed that all races have their good and bad. Their is never going to be the perfect race. This movie definitely set a powerful message that life is not perfect for any race and that even though people are from different cultures, they are all interconnected somehow. The filmmakers did a great job at showing us that individuals should not be based on first impressions such as skin color or the social status.
In one particular scene, director was truly a great one, featuring special focus on his dad life and the Colorado River. It was so cool to highlights of the movie by one of his favorite poem written by his dad when he was born, the Important Place. Also, this film was a good length, not excessively long but long enough to tell the story. This is really important today there were no such unwanted scene in the film, which literary the most closely and accurately delivered. In my opinion, this film is forced to possess the characters of a great aspect, and turns to make for quite the adventurous. There was no special character encounter rather than his dad, learned something from the secret Colorado River. Another great aspect of the film was the special footage that were introduce in this film was an enjoyable aspect to be a good documentary film, and that’s how this film is different from the rest.
Baz Luhrmann has done this film in a unique and brilliant way, with help of the above, and of course a great loved story as a base.
Moreover, it is a palatable film. It offers a few solid laughs and will provoke some smiles; it’s a fairly typical, unremarkable comedy. While the original film had the breaking of racial stereotypes in mind, this updated version has it more in mind to have fun with them for the sake of the comedy. It is a romantic comedy that touches upon race relations following a fairly well established story-line. I would say that the one redeeming value of the film is the message of "seeing people, not color."
This movie is a wonderful production starting from 1960 and ending in 1969 covering all the different things that occurred during this unbelievable decade. The movie takes place in many different areas starring two main families; a very suburban, white family who were excepting of blacks, and a very positive black family trying to push black rights in Mississippi. The movie portrayed many historical events while also including the families and how the two were intertwined. These families were very different, yet so much alike, they both portrayed what to me the whole ‘message’ of the movie was. Although everyone was so different they all faced such drastic decisions and issues that affected everyone in so many different ways. It wasn’t like one person’s pain was easier to handle than another is that’s like saying Vietnam was harder on those men than on the men that stood for black rights or vice versa, everyone faced these equally hard issues. So it seemed everyone was very emotionally involved. In fact our whole country was very involved in president elections and campaigns against the war, it seemed everyone really cared.
Different from other forms of music, blues was only recorded by memory and passed down through generations through live performances. The blues began in the North Mississippi Delta post Civil War times. It was heavily influenced by African roots, field hollers, ballads, church music and rhythmic dance tunes called jump-ups. This eventually developed into music that was set up in a call-and- response way so that the singer would sing a line and he would then respond with his guitar.