“Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.” In case you haven’t seen the film already, the plot to The Wizard of Oz (Oz) is profoundly complex and requires critical inquiry to unravel its intricacies. Dorothy, a forlorn Kansas farmgirl, daydreams of a fanciful fantasia where her dog, Toto, doesn’t have to suffer the nuisance of a nasty spinster witch of a neighbor. So, she plans to run away – far, far away. I know, a little weighty, but stick with me.
Bipped on the head after a terribly menacing tornado sweeps across her desolate Kansas landscape, Dorothy is knocked out cold as her house is magically carried away – in arguably one of the most fantastical dream sequences ever put to film - to a land ‘beyond the rainbow,’ where she encounters
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Enhancing and progressing the histrionic narrative, Oz superbly fuses the action of the plot with the film’s musical numbers. “Follow the Yellow Brick Road,” “If I Only Had a Brain,” and the enduring immortality of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” are songs almost everyone is familiar with and are fundamental to the film’s standing as a major work of art.
Essential to the look and feel of a scene, lighting plays a key role in the mise-en-scene of The Wizard of Oz. Two basic types of lighting are used throughout the film: high-key lighting and low-key lighting. Used to convey emotion during the opening sepia scenes, three-point lighting also finds practicality here, helping the viewer to get in touch with Dorothy’s sadness, it provides a basis for reality, providing a stark contrast to the color fantasy sequences to come.
High-key lighting is typical in use with musicals, and Oz is no exception. The technique of brightly lighting the set to rid the film of dark shadows injects a happier feel, a lighter tone to the movie. Excellent use of low-key lighting in the film can be seen when the characters meet the wizard for the first time. The use of low-key lighting and the play of shadows here creates a sense of suspense in the viewer. The tone is dark, and the controlling color is
In "Constant Star", lighting told much about the play as soon as it began. Low, yellowish lighting and a bit of fog spread by ceiling fans filled the stage as the play started. This gave the stage the look of an old photograph, so the audience immediatly gathered that the show was taking place in the past. The mood was often set by lighting as well. Red lighting gave the audience a sense of foreboding while yellow indicated happy times. Also, lighting could substitute for props. During scenes involving the train, lights would flash on and off, making the stage look as if it was actually moving. This effectively created the illusion that the cast was on a train. Also, lighting was innovatively used to create a "jail" in one of the scenes by creating vertical bars on the stage around the convicts.
The lighting in this movie is very effective. It helps to establish the characters very well. The audience is helping in distinguishing the bad and the good characters through the lighting. The movie overall is very stylized. There are some other strange lighting patterns brought out by Hype Williams, but by far the most effective lighting patterns are ones that help to characterize the main players in the film.
The lighting played a major role in setting the tone for both the theatre performance and the movie. In both the film and play, the lighting was dimmed and the non-important elements, such as background elements, were often hidden in the shadows. In the film the murky lighting also hid Todd in the shadows, in order to increase the suspense and further emphasize his intimidating demeanor. In the play,
The lighting was also very effectively used to show the coming and going of cars on the set. The reflection of lights on the front door of the house were used resemble those of an automobile. Even the final scene had just enough absence of light that the shadows of the characters could be seen sitting around the dinner table and praying by candlelight. At the very end of the performance the candles were extinguished consuming the set in blackness in turn signifying the end of the production.
At the beginning of the film, Dorothy sings “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, where she quotes “If happy little bluebirds fly, beyond the rainbow why, oh, why can’t I? Portraying to the audience that Dorothy wants more than the life she has. However, as the film progresses, she does indeed understand that this fantasyland is not her home and she has obligations to her aunt and uncle. She is not swayed by the Land of Oz to the extent that she wants to reside there and realises that her roots and identity lie back in Kansas. The director uses the quote ‘There’s no place like home’ as it represents the major theme and reinforces an understanding of the importance of being true to where you come from. Finally, at the end of the film, Dorothy acknowledges the lure of faraway places while affirming that her emotional compass always points homeward in the quote "If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard," Dorothy says to further illustrate her awakened state of mind she has acquired through her adventures in the Land of Oz.
Baum, himself, was a vastly interesting fellow. He grew up with a fascination of fairy tales, like most kids today. His father was a rich oilman, and did not like Baum’s interest in fairy tales, so he sent him to military school. This only made Baum worst, and they arranged to have him sent home due to his unstable health conditions. When he returned home, he found in writing and began to publish is own paper entitled The Rose Lawn Home Journal. Baum enjoyed it so much, that he began writing in several different newspapers and magazines. As he grew up, he became a political writer for the Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer newspaper in North Dakota. This is where Baum got the majority of his idea to write the Oz Series, since N...
“Were off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of oz” One of the infamous phrases from one of the most well know classics of all time. The original movie titled The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was made in 1939 by Frank Baum. This film featured stars such as Judy Garland, Jack Hayley and many others. This was not only a movie, it was a fantasy, and a musical storytelling adventure with unusual characters that shook the audience. This was one of the first films to make it to the big screen with color. Because of its success, this film has been remade many times with multiple different spins making it rhetorical. Over the years this film has become one of the best films of all time and is still watched today among all ages
Shot 1: Wide shot. View behind Dorothy in black and white. Dorothy opens the door to the color world of Oz. She steps out into Oz and stops. Straight on shot, camera moves into Oz first through the door, followed by Dorothy appearing again in the foreground. Light symphonies playing magical music, birds are singing in the background.
The soundtrack and poetry that was played, danced to, and recited throughout the scenes in the movie, sent my mind on a journey, that if the picture itself did not touch my heart the sounds would make me move. The images, sounds, words, and colors throughout the movie came together like the colors in a rainbow. ‘For Colored Girls’ gave me the opportunity to step outside my shoes and take a journey that I would have never considered traveling. I realized even though the path may be different and the race may be harder with working together we too can come together like the colors in a rainbow shining through, and out whether any storm. Regardless of what I am going through in life this movie showed me that I am not alone, and often times leaning on someone else’s shoulders will help me overcome any obstacle.
The lights helped the audience determine who was speaking, by putting a spotlight over the actor and dimming the rest of the lights. Also, the color of the lights changed according to each scene and the mood for that particular scene. For instance, a musical number about a character’s tragic past would include soft, golden lighting while a scene about dancing in dance class might include purple lights to show the overall mood of the scene. In addition, the costumes used in the musical added even more life to the musical by providing a visual representation of each character and his or her personality. The costumes allowed the audience to determine the character traits of each character while also deciding the type of homes the characters came from. For instance, one of the characters was dressed in pants and a shirt that would normally be seen worn by an older man or a father. This lead the audience to believe that the character might be an older person who has a family of his own. Later, it was revealed that the character actually had a wife and two kids, proving the audience
...es to take her to any place she wishes. After telling her friends goodbye, Dorothy holds Toto in her arms, claps the heels of the Silver Shoes three times, and says, "Take me home to Aunt Em!" In three steps, they take her back to Kansas. There she finds that Uncle Henry has built a new house to replace the one the cyclone had carried away. But she also finds that the Silver Shoes have vanished forever. At last, Aunt Em notices Dorothy and takes her into her arms. Dorothy announces that she is glad to be home again.
Dorothy is a very motherly figure to the two other girls, Katherine and Mary, but she is also a very motherly figure to the whole west wing computing group. The director shows us the many obstacles that Dorothy must overcome to reach her goal which is to become supervisor and have the same pay as one. One of the main obstacles for Dorothy to overcome is racism. As Dorothy, the very determined woman she is, she does not care about what other people think and just wants to have a good paying job. In the library scene in Hidden Figures, Dorothy is looking for books with her two sons and she happened to be in the “White section” whilst looking for a book on computers, she runs into a white lady, and the first thing the lady says is “We don’t want any trouble here.” This is a perfect example of the racism Dorothy must overcome and how her self interest is pushing her through all this racism she is receiving for no reason. In this scene the director uses lighting to make us further our understanding about the time. The lighting on the side of the bookshelf that Dorothy is on, is a very bright and welcoming type representing good and the kind heartedness of Dorothy. On the other side where the white woman is, it is very dark and shady as if the director is trying to convey evil and how the white woman is very closed minded and doesn't see that Dorothy is just a regular human being.
The biggest and probably most memorable special effect of the movie is the transition from black and white film to color. The film starts in black and white while Dorothy is in Kansas then as soon as she lands in Oz the film magically transitions to color. This was extra unique because during the time it was made, most movies were strictly in black and white. “As a child I simply did not notice whether a movie was in color or not. The movies themselves were such an overwhelming mystery that if they wanted to be in black and white, that was their business. It was not until I saw ‘The Wizard of Oz’ for the first time that I consciously noticed B&W versus color” Here, Ebert expresses just how wowing that effect was to him and how it really added to the movie (Ebert 1). There are so, so many other special effects expressed in The Wizard of Oz like the house getting spun up in the tornado, trees coming to life and throwing apples or a beautiful woman in a beautiful dress traveling by bubble. Frank Nugent from The New York Times makes a comment on these effects “They are entertaining conceits all of them, presented with a naive relish for their absurdity and out of an obvious—and thoroughly natural—desire on the part of their fabricators to show what they could do” even though the gentlemen does almost mock the people in charge of these effects here, he does
The beginning scene was actively engrossed with low-key lighting or "dark look" that gave off an overcast to understand the power Don Corleone possessed over the individuals he was speaking with. According to David Konow (2014) "As Willis recalled in the book Masters of Light,That technique or that approach to the movie visually just came out of a thought process. And the process, in my mind, was based on evil; it was based on the soul of the picture. The wedding outside had a very sunny, almost Kodachromey, 1942 kind of feel to it. Then when we cut inside the house with Brando, it was very down and very ominous…so it was a very simple philosophy. However, the overall look of The Godfather was a kind of forties New York grit." The lighting used in The Godfather helped to implore the nostalgic feel of the movie. Although it was made in the 80 's Willis ' use of his new techniques changed the lighting in movies to come and placed the viewer in the midst of the 1940 's mafia
For example, during the beginning of the film Prince is shown with backlight forming a shadow outline creating the space of the concert taking place. The film also utilizes backlight when Apollonia first sees Prince upstage, she seems to be in a form of trance. This backlight reveals the awe and gives the audience a hint that Apollonia likes what she sees. Low key light is used when Morris and Apollonia are in a dark alley and Prince appears with his motorcycle. This scene also directs the audience's attention to Prince because it lights his motorcycle and the camera follows in the direction he goes. As well as plays some non diegetic sound when Apollonia and him leave Morris behind in the dark alley. The low key lighting and non diegetic sound are what direct the audience's attention because it leaves the audience in suspense to what will occur. The last part of the scene in the film when Prince and Apollonia leave the dark alley uses the camera with a long shot of them because they just get further while the camera does not leave its place and is directed towards them the whole time until the scene changes space. This gives excitement to scene because in every girl’s point of view Prince saves Apollonia from Morris that night and they leave