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Chapter 9. Cinema. Conventions of Film. Sound- sound was added in 1927, music is used to create mood Camera-point of view, camera angles add to experience Color-1936 technicolor , black and white are often enhanced by the play of light and dark
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Chapter 9 Cinema
Conventions of Film • Sound- sound was added in 1927, music is used to create mood • Camera-point of view, camera angles add to experience • Color-1936 technicolor, black and white are often enhanced by the play of light and dark • Time-flexible, use of close ups, dissolves and freeze-frames/speed ups enhance understanding
Challenging Conventions • Use of special effects • Audience doesn’t mind if it is unreal • CGI, 3D, all part of the experience
Major Film Genres Slapstick Farce Marx Brothers On the wrong side of rules or regulations, manage to never be caught Rules they break are unfair, or only aristocrats care about • Rapid and violent farce where there is a lot of violence, dehumanized • Charlie Chaplin
Genres Continued… Film Noir Romantic comedy • Gangsters, private detectives, gritty underworld, play by own rules • Dark, somber tone • Attractive couples, circumstances beyond their control pull them apart. • Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back
Classic Romantic Comedy Modern Romantic Comedy Annie Hall When Harry Met Sally The American President As Good As It Gets Up In the Air • It Happened One Night • Roman Holiday • Love is greater than money • Depression-Era escapism
Screen musical The Western Uniquely American Good vs. Evil When a hero is needed, a hero will be there • Couple were kept apart until the final embrace • Dancing at any moment (illogical) • Singing In the Rain • Dirty Dancing • Chicago
Social Issues • Film is a powerful social criticism • Mr. Deeds goes to town-hero distributes $20 million inheritance and must defend his sanity because of it • It’s a Wonderful Life-people’s worth is measured by the amount of good they do • Grapes of Wrath-struggle for justice must transcend his own family and self-interest
Documentaries • Nonfiction, factual films • Some have been criticized for possibly doctoring the truth to further their agenda • Frederick Wiseman-Welfare, Racetrack, The Store • Michael Moore-Bowling for Columbine, Waiting for Superman, Fahrenheit 9/11
The Suffering Artist The Agony and the Ecstasy Amadeus Lust for Life La Vie en Rose Films depict the lives of geniuses, leave the audience with memories of the art as well as temper tantrums and mental illnesses.
Citizen Kane Classic, theme-can money buy happiness? Traces the life of a rags to riches millionaire, reporter tries to solve the mystery of his last word, “Rosebud”. It was his childhood sled.
Casablanca Classic, story of one man’s moral dilemma and conflicting moral values. Film noir hero, conceals his broken heart under a tough exterior. Lost love and her husband walk into his bar. He helps them escape Nazis even though she would be willing to stay with him instead.
The Film Auteur • Applied to the most significant directors • Special style and themes so evident their work is instantly recognizable • Ingmar Bergman-The Seventh Seal • Federico Fellini-La Strada, 8 ½ • Alfred Hitchcock-The Birds, Psycho • Akira Kurosawa-Rashomon, The Seventh Samurai • Stanley Kubrick-Dr. Strangelove • Francis Ford Coppola- Godfather
Critical Viewing –use to determine the merit of a film • Use of a unique style to Cinema • Characters with complex inner lives • Relevance to the times • Integrity • Gravity of Theme • No violations of probability • Realistic depiction of gender