The Graduate Film Analysis

Over the course of the semester and watching many different films starting at 1927, my view on films and my filmic experience has changed in multiple ways. Starting with the film It (Badger, 1927) and six weeks later watching The Graduate (Nichols, 1967); I saw the differences in how the films were capturing the characters and the advances in technology. Watching Annie Hall (Allen, 1977), which came out 10 years after The Graduate, I saw differences how they went about showing the moments of intimacy since The Graduate came out when the production code was in effect. Seeing how films started with black and white and not having camera movement, to the camera moving and start having effects such as shot-reaction shot, breaking the 4th wall to

feel more connected with the characters and eventually having colored films and voices in the films instead of music playing throughout the film.
In the film It, I could tell that they were trying to use the best of what they had.

In the film you could see the facial expressions on the characters which made the film easier to follow since there was no dialogue to go along with it. Many things I noticed in the film was that they made use of the camera angles and they used shot-reaction shot to go back and forth between characters, just like the part of the film when Betty (Clare Bow) and the baby were looking at each other and the camera kept switching between both of them. The transitions in It flowed but adding the title cards interrupted the scenes because in the middle of the scene it would cut to a title card and then go back to the scene. Even though the title cards interrupted the flow of the film, I think it made the film easier to follow since they was not any dialogue and in order to understand what the characters were saying the title cards were there to tell you. I thought the film It was a very well-constructed film and the theme was interesting to watch. When Betty saw Cyrus Waltham (Antonio Moreno) she knew she had to have him and she would do anything to get him. Betty used his friend Monty (William Austin) to get the Mr. Waltham by using her looks to get her way. This film came out three years before the production code and you could tell that if it came out after the production code it would have not been the same because Betty uses her looks and body to flaunt herself at Mr. Waltham after he loses

interest for her. In the production code that would have never been allowed.
Fast-forward 40 years later, with the production code in effect and technology advancing The Graduate comes out and according to the story “The Graduate, Counter Conventions and Cultural Change” (Grindon), this film “even though its underlying treatment of social upheaval is mediated and filtered through conventions … became a barometer of change and ushered in the shift that … dubbed “the radical romantic comedy”.” With the production code still around when the film came out, it was shocking to see Ben (Dustin Hoffman) sleeping with a married Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft). Even though in the film, the lights would get turned off when Ben and Mrs. Robinson would start getting intimate it still had parts where Mrs. Robinson would use her sexual powers as a way to get what she wants. Mrs. Robinson was a big part of the film and made an impact on the “comedies of seduction” because “instead of a man being the sexual predator and seeking pleasure without responsibility or caring, it is a woman” (141, Grindon). Ben is overpowered by Mrs. Robinson because he feels as though he is not good enough and not going anywhere in life. He lets his parents and other adults tell him how to live his life. Comparing this film to It I can see many technologic differences within 40 years, for one the sound and color but after that the camera angles started to become more advanced. In The Graduate they used the camera to zoom in on Ben while he was on the plane, they also used a reverse zoom shot expanding out from a close-up. The music also set a tone for the film because in the earlier films before there was dialogue they used music with no words and it helped with imagining the film but in this film they used songs that had words and it brought the film together because it added emphasis on parts that would not have seemed that important if they did not add sound. The ending of the film
When Annie Hall came out the production code was no longer in effect but now the blacklisting was happening and many people in Hollywood had to prove they had no connection to communism.

Allan Stewart Konigsberg who is now formally known as Heywood Allen or as many would called him Woody Allen was one of the people who got blacklisted and that was why he had to change his name. When Woody Allen came out with Annie Hall not only was he the director but he was also the main character Alvy Singer (Woody Allen), Alvy Singer played a guy who was a comedian telling about his life growing up and what it was like living in New York as a Jewish person. During him telling the story, he starts to tell us a part where he falls in love with Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) and how their relationship struggles and the obstacles of a modern romance. During the parts where Alvy Singer is telling us about the relationship or his life he often breaks down the 4th wall and speaks to the audience in order to grab their attention and make them part of the film. Annie Hall is taken in a direction where Woody Allen wants to make a comedy because that’s what he knows best; “Allen is regarded today as one of America’s most important humorists and filmmakers” (1, Little Men and Dialogues: Pogel). In Annie Hall I noticed many moments where they used symbolism, the one that stuck out to me most was at the end when Annie and Alvy were saying goodbye to each other the last time and the street sign says don’t

walk and they both walk in opposite directions and right when they were both out of the screen it turns to walk. I feel as though Woody Allen was trying to make a point there that they were still supposed to be together and they should not have walked away from each other until it was the right time. I think what really brought the film together was how much Woody Allen chose to not follow the normal romantic comedies; the ending did not end up with Annie and Alvy being together but instead of them both being happy that they are separated and doing what they both need to do in order for their lives to be better for themselves.
All in all, watching films between the years of 1927-2005, I could see how the technology advanced just in 40 years between It and The Graduate. The biggest differences I saw was the transition in the camera movement and how the camera was the biggest piece in order to capture a characters emotion. With sound and color, it helps to know what the character is saying and the setting of the films but if the camera never advanced, I don’t think films would have progressed to what they are now. The camera is able to zoom in on the faces or what is important in the scene in order for the viewer’s eyes to focus on the main point. The three films It, The Graduate and Annie Hall are movies to focus on since one was made before the production code, on was made during and the other was made after. You can tell in each film when the production code was in effect and when it was not because It and Annie Hall showed the affection and both made points to show things that were not in the norm as production code would call it.