Films are able to create expression differently depending on countless factors. Two large factors that differentiate how Sedminkrásky (Daisies) and Rear Window present each respective storylines are the style of the movies and who directed them. Considering the specifics of both Rear Window and Daisies, a comparison of the two can then be interpreted to gain a greater understanding of how the style and direction can create almost opposite outcomes in a film.
Rear Window Overview
Rear Window is a 1954 American thriller directed by Alfread Hitchcock. The film takes place entirely in L.B. Jefferies (played by James Stewart) apartment looking out his window at his neighbors. Jefferies is confined to his apartment throughout the film due to an
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accident while photographing a car race. Because of his location facing a courtyard, he is able to look into the windows of the other apartments with help from his camera lens for longer shot views.
Looking into the windows in tern allows him to look into their personal lives. Jefferies girlfriend and nurse are also involved in the film within the apartment from his view. One night, Jefferies hears a woman screaming from one of the apartments. He sees his neighbor, Lars Thorwald, who is a traveling salesman, continually leaving and coming back to his apartment carrying his suitcase. The next morning Thorwalds wife is no where to be found while he is cleaning a saw and knife and later ties up a large trunk and has it taken away. All signs point to Thorwald killing his wife according to Jefferies. Later on, a woman’s dog is found dead in the courtyard and causes commotion, while all the other neighbors are looking with concern, Thorwald doesn’t even seem interested. Jefferies girlfriend, Lisa, then climbs into Thorwalds …show more content…
apartment, but then is grabbed by him. Jefferies calls the police to and notices Lisa has grabbed Mrs. Thorwalds wedding ring. Thorwald notices this and comes over to Jefferies apartment. Jefferies uses his camera flash to distract Thorwald, but still gets pushed out of his rear window. The movie ends with Jefferies in bed with casts on both legs and everyone in the neighborhood back to their normal lives. In contrast Daisies uses a completely different style to portray the storyline. Daisies Overview Daisies was released in 1966 as a Czechoslovak New Wave film directed by Věra Chytilová. The film starts off with two young women, Marie I and Marie II, deciding that they should “go bad.” By going bad, they go on many dates with older men, teasing and taunting them, while bingeing themselves in food and drinks purchased by the men. After they’re finished eating, they remind the men of their train, and shoo them off while laughing at how they tricken the men. They also go to a 20’s styled lounge and cause more trouble, this time drinking a lot, messing with the other guests and distracting the performers at the club. There is also a scene where Marie I and Marie II are speaking on the phone with one of their lovers while he’s fawning over Marie II. The two Maries simply laugh the comments off while they’re feeding themselves and each other. Eventually one of the Maries “cuts” the other, creating a strange montage or collage of shots on the screen almost becoming pixelated. At the end of the film, they come across a feast laid out, most likely for communist government officials, and the proceed to consume and destroy the entire display. The film ends with the two attempting to fix the mess they’ve made yet once they’re done, a chandelier falls from the celling and crushes them. The most interesting part of this film though is the style. Chytilová chooses to use harsh cuts, lack of transitional scenes and interesting use of sounds and visuals. Though this film was released in 1966, it was later banned after the Prague Spring partly due to the amount of food consumed in the film. The communist run government was not in favor of food waste and it could also have been seen as a statement against the Czech authorities. With general background on both Rear Window and Daisies, comparison of the two can help understand the differences in the styles. Mulvey in Relation to Rear Window Rear Window is almost a perfect example of topics discussed in Laura Mulvey’s essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” The entire plot of the film is of a man looking at his neighbors in their private homes without their knowledge.
Scopophilia essentially becomes the main plot idea of this film with Jefferies starting off looking at his neighbors out of curiosity and becomes pleased with it as the film goes on. Voyeurisitc themes can also be seen because the neighbors do not know he is looking at them, even at the end of the film, when Thorwald sees Jefferies looking at Lisa and insists that the lights be turned off so that he cannot see him watching from afar. Lisa can also represent Muvley’s idea that women in film are used for imagery since Jefferies looks at her through the lens, being forced to focus on only parts of her in view. Jefferies appears to get pleasure from looking at Lisa in this way. He is in control of what parts of being shown through the scope. Mulvey mentions Rear Window in her essay in comparison with these ideas by stating that “the look is central to the plot, oscillating between voyeurism and fetishistic fascination.” Another point Mulvey compares to Hitchcock, especially Rear Window, is that the view is in control by the male protagonist. Jefferies is always the spectator in the film, rather it be in his career as a photojournalist, or watching his neighbors through his window, yet he is still the hero by calling the police when Lisa is in
trouble. Mulveys essay in relation to Rear Window can assist with deciphering the style of Hitchcock’s films in comparison to Daisies. Now, looking at how Hames essay on the Czech New Wave relates to Daisies the difference in the styles of the two films can then be compared. Hames in Realtion to Daisies In Peter Hames essay “The Czechoslovak New Wave” he speaks extensively on Chytilová, her style and even mentions Daisies quite a bit. Hames points toward Chytilová’s background as a model and how this can be observed in her films. In Daisies this can be seen with much of the fashion and how Marie I and Marie II move and are positioned in the shot in a very modelesque way. I also think that the use of food in the movie may allude to not only communism, but possibly her background as a model since food as a model can be a center of discussion. Chytilová seems to present Daisies in a way with no rules; no clear chronological order, no clear reason for the obscure colors, no storyline that is easy to follow. Marie I and Marie II are quite obsessed with consumption which tends to lead to destruction as a result. Hames states that “Chytilová argues that the spectator should be free to interpret the film in his own way as an active collaborator in the creation of its meaning.” By saying this, Chytilová opens up the true meaning of the film and therefore it can have fluid influence depending on who is watching it and what their background may be. Hames notes that it is difficult to analyze Daisies due to the seemingly lack of rhyme or reason throughout the film. The scenes in the girls’ bedroom are important to the story because it is where they mainly talk to each other. Another important key about the room is that it seems to change as the movie progresses. Making sense of some of the color choices, in the first dinner scene with the man, there are many colors and quick cuts, while with one of the last ones the colors depicted are sepia in tone and have less cuts. This can be interpreted that the first example was fun, high energy, new, and maybe even lasted awhile, while the other scene was getting boring for Marie I and Marie II and this habit was starting to get old. Reviewing Mulvey and Hames essays in relation to Rear Window and Daisies make it easier to grasp the stylistic differences between the two.
This left Hitchcock films as some of her mother’s favorites. Pemberton, went to a Hitchcock festival as an adult, this time watching Rear Window, which she had not seen since she was a child with an objective examination, she found a scene that would shift both her and her mother’s perspective of this movie. As Jimmy Stewart’s character, Jefferies, realizes he is in danger, telephones his friend Wendell Corey, who was not at home, but he spoke with the baby-sitter who did not appear on screen, but was portrayed in a voice that would convey imagery of a “familiar black image.” Asking the inspiration for this essay “Do he have your number, Mr.
In the film Rear Window directed by Alfred Hitchcock, a significant shift of power is portrayed. This shift occurs between the protagonist of the film, L.B Jeffries and his romantic partner, Lisa Freemont. This shift also aids in outlining the main theme of the film, which is marriage, as all aspects of marriage are observed and taken into account by Jeffries. The change of dominance within Lisa and Jeffries relationship can be broken down into three stages, which develop and change throughout the film. At the beginning of the film Jeffries is shown to have the power within the relationship as he dictates the parameters of the relationship, however he is also intimidated by Lisa 's social standing. Towards the middle of the film the possession
Films are designed for numerous purposes, some entertain, frighten, enlighten, educate, inspire, and most make us think about the world we live in. This paper will be focused on the cinematic interpretation of the film "Stepping Razor Red X", the Peter Tosh Story. The makers of a film from the writer, director, cinematographer and the art director, design, and conceptualize what they want the viewer to see.
Rear Window directed by Alfred Hitchcock was an exceptional movie with a jaw- dropping 8.6 rating on IMDb’s website. The movie is about L. B. Jefferies (protagonist), who is a well-known photographer in a wheelchair.The lack of entertainment and extreme boredom caused Jeff (Jefferies) to stare out the rear window day and night. He eyed his neighbors through this window 24/7 and revolved his wheelchair season around their personal lives. As the movie goes on Jeff feels as if Lars Thorwald (antagonist) has murdered his sick wife. He knew they were an unhappy married couple already and had some unmistakable clues. In this series of events Jeff’s girlfriend who he thought to be too perfect for him and epicene turns out be a risk-taker and brave.
Rear Window effectively demonstrates Hitchcock’s strong qualities as an author. The writer for Rear Window is not Hitchcock, and yet there are clearly many motifs and themes present which are well known for being used by Hitchcock. He is not merely following instructions on how to make the movie; he is providing his own creative adjustments. Now we will address a few of these from the film. First, drawing parallels between characters with a difference, usually a negative one, is a repeated concept in Hitchcock films.
...m plays a considerable role in this film. Jeffries, the films protagonist is bound to his apartment, so for entertainment he watches people through his window without them knowing. From the very beginning these characters seem to so interesting, so no wonder Jeffries decides to watch them. While watching the film, we become witnesses of their private lives, making us voyeurists too. In this film windows are not used in a traditional sense, they expose people, they symbolize confinement, and they allude to suspenseful plot devices. Hitchcock’s aesthetic configuration of the film manipulates the audience into questioning several aspects of the film and in life in general. Hitchcock’s originality in Rear Window was not only successful during the golden age of Hollywood, but it continues to be creatively adapted and consistently influential in today’s cinema as well.
The women in both films gave the men something to look at. For example, in the opening scene of Rear Window, the audience sees Jefferies looking from his window over to Miss Torso who is dancing and stretching as she gets ready for her day. As in the film Disturbia, the audience sees Kale looking through
The film Wendy and Lucy, directed by Kelly Reichardt, presents a sparse narrative. The film has been criticised for its lack of background story, and as a short film, much of the story is left to the viewer to infer from what is presented in the plot. However, Wendy and Lucy is able to depict the intimate relationship between Wendy and her dog as well as reflecting more broadly on the everyday, and commenting on the current economic state of the film’s setting in America. This essay will examine how film form contributes to the viewer’s awareness of the story in Wendy and Lucy and allows a deeper understanding of the themes presented. The aspects of mise-en-scene, shot and editing and sound in the film will be explored.
Beginning the mid 1920s, Hollywood’s ostensibly all-powerful film studios controlled the American film industry, creating a period of film history now recognized as “Classical Hollywood”. Distinguished by a practical, workmanlike, “invisible” method of filmmaking- whose purpose was to demand as little attention to the camera as possible, Classical Hollywood cinema supported undeviating storylines (with the occasional flashback being an exception), an observance of a the three act structure, frontality, and visibly identified goals for the “hero” to work toward and well-defined conflict/story resolution, most commonly illustrated with the employment of the “happy ending”. Studios understood precisely what an audience desired, and accommodated their wants and needs, resulting in films that were generally all the same, starring similar (sometimes the same) actors, crafted in a similar manner. It became the principal style throughout the western world against which all other styles were judged. While there have been some deviations and experiments with the format in the past 50 plus ye...
He uses the point of view shot a lot in Rear Window, most of the film we are looking from the perspective of L.B. Jefferies view outside of his window. Everything he sees, the audience sees through his view. This seems to really create an honest relationship with the audience and the character. For example, when L.B. Jefferies sees Lars Thorwald putting his knives away. We see everything that L.B. Jefferies sees and essentially feel the same way that he does. When Hitchcock adds in a shot following the POV of L.B. Jefferies reaction to what he saw Lars Thorwald just do, that is Hitchcock using the Kuleshov effect. Used in almost every Hitchcock film, the audience gets a sense of reality and the reaction to that reality from the character. In Hitchcock’s The Birds for example, the Kuleshov effect is used extremely. In the scene where the man gets knocked down by the bird at the gas station and gas spills down the roadway. We see this through alternating shots of POV from Melanie Daniels view and her facial expression as the gas trail leads to man who is about to light a cigarette. We see the fear and drastic change in emotion in the close up shots showing her reaction to what she saw. In the end, the audience feels psychologically involved and connected with the
Rowe, Lawrence. "Through the Looking Glass: Reflexivity, Reciprocality, and Defenestration in Hitchcock's"Rear Window"." College Literature 35.1 (2008): 16-37.
Secret Window, released in 2004, is a film based on Stephen King's novel Secret Window, Secret Garden. The film follows increasingly disturbing events around a character called Mort Rainey, who is portrayed by Johnny Depp & John Turturro. This character appears to suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Rainey is a middle-aged novelist recently estranged from his wife; as a result, he has isolated himself at his cottage. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Rainey has another personality called Shooter, and Rainey himself comes to the realisation that Shooter is an identity that he has created to protect himself from the pain of his marital breakdown. Shooter takes over Rainey’s mind one last time to murder his wife and the man she cheated with. After his vengeance is carried out, Rainey seems at ease and jovial, and as the film ends, Rainey seems to be in a positive emotional state. This is an ambiguous ending that leaves the viewer unsure of Rainey’s mental health status.
Stam, Robert & Pearson, Robertson., ‘Hitchcock’s Rear Window: Refluxivity and the Critique of Voyeurism’ in Deutelbaum, Marshall & Poague, Leland A. ed., A Hitchcock Reader (John Wiley & Sons: 2009).
The director Roman Polanski likes to make a lot of scenes in his movies through doorways and windows, and the reason of that is simply because in that way, he creates a bigger sympathy with the audience, they get to see the films from the main characters o...
From the opening seconds, when Alfred Hitchcock’s camera closes in from afar on a private lunchtime rendezvous, Psycho makes clear that its focus is on the secretive and reserved. This scandalous scene is the first of many that initiates the viewer to the notion that beneath the surface lays a distorted and crudely reticent domain. Hitchcock seems determined to trick the audience, delightfully subverting character tropes and conventional setting as the plot descends further into darkness. This high-strung thriller may at first glance appear nothing more than a simple murder mystery, but on closer examination the film makes an argument for a lurking, sinister omnipresence. Psycho reveals that there is a twisted world hidden beneath everyday