The Departed
The Departed is a film built on the concept of gritty realism, which is used to create Scorsese’s glamorized view of organized crime. It is modern due to the ambiguous nature of its corrupt and often stereotypical characters. Scorsese weaves in popularized ethnic stereotypes throughout the plot, as he does in many of his other films. In fact, several parallels are visible between The Departed and Scorsese’s other films, including the cast. The screenplay by William Monahan is well adapted, and full of complex characters that make the film multidimensional. The South Boston setting is also an essential aspect of the film creating a world where organized crime can flourish and morals are blurred. The two lead characters Collin and Billy are pitted against each other in a struggle that further blurs the lines of morality, by redefining what is a good guy. The film leaves us with little resolution, but manages to captivate the audience from beginning to end. Ultimately it creates a meld of realism and the spectacular that makes it a true classic worthy of its Academy Award for best picture.
The ambiguous characters of the film are definitively modern. Each character is operating of their own agenda outside the lines of moral behavior. Billy Costigan plays the good guy in disguise to infiltrate Costello’s gang. Yet he dirties himself up by his affair with Madolyn. It is also revealed that he has a history of violent behavior that made him the perfect choice to play a criminal. His character clearly derives pleasure from his violent acts as demonstrated in the bar scene when he smashes a glass against another mans skull to protect his ego. Collin appears to be the good guy, but is in fact one of Costello’s lackeys. He ...
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...ower of the script that leaves a lasting impression. The lack of resolution at the end is frustrating and intriguing. When almost all of the central characters are killed and Dignam shows up to kill Collin in the crazy all plastic outfit I was left aghast. Collins death provides some resolution that the bad guy was punished, but more is left unanswered then answered. What is the fate of Madolyn and her unborn child, who is the father, what were Dignam’s intentions, did he know about Collin all along. The lingering questions of this modern film create a lasting impact on the viewer. Scorsese’s direction was spectacular finally nabbing him the Oscar for best director that he had been unjustly denied in several other films. This film is a flawless blend of gritty realism and the spectacular production of Hollywood that absolutely deserved its Oscar for best picture.
On a cold Halloween night in 1963, in the film Halloween, a six-year-old boy named Michael Myers was seen stabbing his older sister to death with a gigantic kitchen knife then leaving to stand outside the house with a blank expression on his face. As a result he was sent to Smith Grove’s Mental Hospital which he escapes from 15 years later to go after 17 year old Laurie Strode and her friends Lynda and Annie. Warshow’s essay, The Gangster as Tragic Hero, depicts American society’s need to show public cheerfulness and maintain a positive morale as well as its desire for something more sinister, something more brutal. This desire to indulge in the forbidden fruit of sadism and cruelty is what makes the gangster persona so appealing to the nation. He is the man of the city. He emerges from the crowd as a successful outlaw and his only aspiration is success through brutality.
Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction is one of the most daring, puzzling, and ultimately exciting pieces of cinema to hit the screen in years. As wholly original as it is a copy of hundreds of films before it about tales of hit-men and criminals, it dares you to step out of the dull and enter a colorful, exhilarating world that could only be Los Angeles. The intensity level of the movie is off the scale. People are laughing like crazy in the theater to the intelligent dialog and other scenes that have the audience gasping for air in shock over what just happened. Although one might say that Pulp Fiction is overly violent and disturbing, it is in fact, one of the greatest movies ever produced. Quentin Tarantino’s incredible screenplay, the intensity of the actors, and music to set the mood, created movie worthy five stars.
The book I read and am doing a presentation on is called Saving Private Ryan by Max Allen Collins. Saving Private Ryan is about the heroism of soldiers of soldiers and their duty during wartime, World War Two. This story is to remind you, the reader, that war is nothing but hell, orders on the front line can be brutal, and absurd. The story is set in Europe of 1944, as the Nazis are still advancing and taking over cities and countries. On June 6th, 1944, Captain Miller, and hundreds of other men leave Europe to accomplish one mission, Operation Overlord, also known as D-Day. When they get there, there will be a new task awaiting them.
Cruel Intentions The film Cruel Intentions, directed by John Hughes, is a fast paced. glimpse into the lives of the young New Yorkers whose entire existence. revolves around power, sexuality and to some extent class A drugs. Hughes The direction for the movie concentrates on those who prey on innocence.
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.
Daniel Craig’s new James Bond in Casino Royale breathes fresh life into what had become, in my opinion, a rather tired and worn out concept - a striking achievement, considering Casino Royale was Ian Fleming’s first novel in the series, written in 1953.
American Psycho is a savage account of a wealthy investment banker in the late 80s that commits heinous acts of murder, rape, and torture. Although on the surface, American Psycho seems as though it is just another horror story, it actually has a much deeper message. This story is a harsh critique of a superficial Wall Street society in the late 80s that was rampant with materialism and greed. This is the society in which the main character Patrick Bateman lives–where appearance, material possessions, and status define a person. This superficial existence leaves him hollow and dead inside and turns him into a psychopathic killer. A society such as this, devoid of any morality, inevitably creates psychopaths such as Bateman. The film shows an excellent portrayal of a vacant, nihilistic killer with no feelings or emotions. However, there is something more to the story that the film did not quite capture. The book seems to not only be a satirical take on this society, but a tragedy as well. Recreating the dinner scene with his secretary Jean shows that underneath the surface Patrick Bateman is, indeed, a human being with real feelings and emotions, and that it is a great tragedy that this superficial society has turned him into a monster.
With the help of superb editing, sound, mise en scene, and cinematography, this film cannot be topped. The fist scene of the movie creates an atmosphere that helps the viewer know that he/she will enjoy this wonderful classic. Throughout the movie there are surprises and fun that makes this a movie that people will want to watch again and again. Gene Kelly said it best when he said, "Dignity, always dignity. " That is what this movie has from beginning to end, dignity.
In his review of the film “Saving Private Ryan”, N.Cull claims that the film presents… “a realistic depiction of the lives and deaths of G.I’s in the European theatre in World War II”. Do you agree with his assessment of the film? Argue your case.
The Shining is about a white middle class dysfunctional family that suffers from natural and supernatural stresses in an isolated Rocky mountain hotel. .The father, a former teacher turned writer, is portrayed as a habitual drinker, wife- and child-abuser, with a kind of evil streak The mother is shown as a battered woman. The film suggests that due to the abuse at the hands of his father and the passivity of his mother, the child of this family developed psychological problems. He had imaginary friends and began to see frightening images.
The Notebook is an incredible movie that tells the story about two characters falling in love, growing old, and eventually dying together. Noah and Allie meet when they are just teenagers, but fall in love instantly. They go their separate ways for a while, but they eventually find their way back to each other and end up getting married. As they grow older, Allie’s memory starts to deteriorate and she eventually cannot recall anything from her past and she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Allie portrays Alzheimer’s correctly in the movie because she has difficulty remembering her past and the people in it and is also very forgetful, which correlate to the known symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Considering that studies have shown that individuals with Alzheimer’s tend to lose recent memories first and their long-term memory last, in the movie Allie most likely had the disease for quite some time since she could not remember her own husband. It becomes difficult for her to care for herself so Noah admits her into a nursing home. Noah tries every single day to make A...
Like Jordan Belfort who follows his own code, Scorsese often makes movies with protagonists who live outside mainstream norms (Connelly). Howard Hughes (the aviator) is another example of Scorsese’s work in which he demonstrates the eccentric protagonist character of Hughes and his contribution in the aviation history. Other Scorsese films, such as The Departed— about an undercover cop and his battle with the Irish American mafia— is also about the exceptional way that the cop character, also played by DiCaprio, acts outside conventional police work in order to perform...
The book and the movie were both very good. The book took time to explain things like setting, people’s emotions, people’s traits, and important background information. There was no time for these explanations the movie. The book, however, had parts in the beginning where some readers could become flustered.
In conclusion the writer Loring Mandel and Director Frank Pierson have put together a very good movie. The movie has very a very well combined cast with Kenneth Branagh, Stanley Tucci, and the many co-stars. The actors were very believable within their charcters which helps draw the watcher into the story. The film has a very clear thesis that is set up and supported very well in detail. It is very factual in its re-telling of the events and it does not put a “Hollywood Twist” on the story.
The Shawshank Redemption AQA, the examination board, has asked selected pupils to submit. written reports on possible films to be studied for the media section. of the GCSE English exam, specifically of the “The Shawshank”. Redemption”. Write this review, aiming to show detailed understanding.