Rear Window (1954)
-The opening scene and closing scene both revolve around the window, which almost acts as a curtain for the film.
-The main character was injured in a horse race accident. He is a photographer. His occupation may play into his obsession with what he sees. He uses the photography lens to spy on his neighbors.
-The nurse largely foreshadows the remainder of the film with lines like: "You're gonna get yourself into trouble if you keep this up" sort of things...
-"We've become a race of peeping toms. (ironic, how does this play into society today, how have we modified this?)
-Jeff witnesses a man suspiciously leave with a suitcase. He falls asleep, but we the viewers see a woman leave. A vital piece later in the plot.
-He plays a lot with sound. We can never really hear the conversations beyond the window. We see and hear everything from Jeff's perspective.
- "That's a secret private world you're looking into" - great line. especially because there is so much implications for today.
-"I don't know anything about Rear Window ethics" - also a great line and is relevant to the facebook generation perhaps. . . Are we in a way, creating an actual unspoken code for rear window ethics? interesting.
-A key moment occurs when the dog is found dead. Here, we begin to actually grant some validity to Jeff's story. It's also a revealing moment about how the neighbors relate to each other. What does this say about technology today? Are we similar?
- The lonely woman down the stairs makes us wonder if Jeff is focusing on the wrong thing. At one point, at least I was like "why is he not paying more attention to her instead of hyperfocusing on the murder."
- The temperature seems to get hotter as the story progresses, adding to the stress. It's at an even room temperature by the end of the movie.
Atonement (2007)
Sound:
-there is a great deal of interplay between the diegetic and non-diegetic noises.
-The typewriter is a sound that both is in the diegetic world but also interlays into the score and doesn't seem to relate. At the end, we realize that the sound of the typewriter could be the sound of Brioney writing the story, in a sense re-writing the past.
- Does this mean she made the note that the guy sent to Kiera Knightly's character out to be more perverse than it actually was?
- In the camp, there is also a powerful scene where the camp noises play into the score. For example, the music we hear, we assume is non-diegetic, until we see the band actually playing it.
-The army chants and songs are also used significantly to feed into the score in the following scene.
-The noises of the world inside the movie seems to serve as inspiration for the score. The noises are then supplemented with subtle piano or string instruments binding them together.
Lighting/Composition:
- There is a significant amount of play with mirrors and windows. The mirrors cast an interesting light that would occur if the mirror was reflecting the sun or a strong light. The windows, on the other hand, almost always seem to connect with Brioney. It serves to emphasize the fact that her perspective is limited and she only sees bits and parts of reality.
-The events seem to jump a bit with flashbacks and flashforwards. There are three distinct time periods that we see the characters in. The movie seems to move like a memory, emphasizing the main themes and moments while skimming over insignificant details. The scenes, like a memory, are more about the emotional implications and their contriubtion to the plot than what actually show.
Breathless (1960)
- Opening scene there are a couple of jump cuts that alternate between the man, the girl, and the car. The cuts show us who is looking at what but it is a little bit confusing
- Singing in the car with gun, the camera is bumpy, like someone is holding it, many different angles, briefly we have a direct address to the camera, Michel shoots the police officer, don't actually see the whole thing, instead we are shown closeups of the gun, and the police officer falling backwards
-Continuity jumps, there are parts where we don't see how the person got to where they are, the conversation remains fluid and flowing but the editing does not
-There are a couple of high angle shots, panning shots, zooming in and out while in same shot, long shot, iris transitions
-There are some scenes that are in shadows
-The camera stays ahead of Michel as he walks around, almost makes one dizzy. Seen again at end with Patricia.
- In the car scene, again the conversation remains fluid but the background changes.
-In one scene, show poster while speaking,
-in the movie theater, the kiss is an extreme close-up reminiscent of hollywood shots, music also reminds me of hollywood
- greatest ambition: "to become immortal and then die."
-cowardice - motif
-closeup on Patricias face shows she's in deep thinking.
- At the end, there is a long shot of Michel walking, shot. Patricia is chasing him, almost like she shot him.
-"you make me want to puke"
- Wanted to be like Humphrey Bogart, he uses "kid", mannerisms, the crime, romanticism like Bogart
- Reaction: Overall, I have mixed feelings about the movie. I like some of the unique editing techniques that are employed, though some of them make me dizzy. I thought some of the themes were interesting but I'm not sure it's a movie I'd like to watch over and over. I definitely noticed that it was a lot more slow-moving. I thought the acting was good and the idea of copying Humphrey Bogart was an interesting character quirk.
-Key Moment: I think the key moment comes, though I'm not really sure of the scene, I believe its one of the conversations they have in Patricia's apartment. Michel tells Patricia the story about the guy that stole a bunch of money and was outright with the woman he loved. I think this sets up a lot of the character motivations from this point, maybe even foreshadowing the ending.
The Hurt Locker (2008)
- Opening with a quote by Chris Hedges. "War is a drug." The film is structured around this idea in a way. The main character, James, is definitely addicted to war. He is so changed by war that war has become the only way he can really function.
- A number of different shots are used in this movie. Some come from a civilian perspective. Some are from the perspective of the object in the tools or tanks. Some are grainy and some look like they are created in a typical hollywood fashion, complete with slow motion. She does this to mimic the way reporters get images and also youtube. She propels the notion that cameras are everywhere and that nothing in this war is hidden. (Is this a larger commentary on technology in general.)
-She zooms in and out in the same shot, very amateurish, makes us a little sick. quick cuts, rapid editing, close ups and shaky images.
- At the beginning we see Samford placing Thompson's things in a box after he died. How does this tie into James's famous line about the box full of things "that almost killed me?"
- Everyone in this movie is suspicious. We never really know who is innocent and who isn't. What is this saying about the war? about assumptions? about warfare technology?
-In between more intense scenes, she shows random shots of the war torn area, such as stray cats walking up and down the streets and kids running in and out of the houses. This has an unsettling effect on the audience.
- She uses extreme low angle when James is working on the bomb in the car. She uses extreme high (almost ariel) angles at other times (like when he pulls the string of bombs at the beginning).
-the scene where the camera is looking at other people is extremely unsettling. Although we never learn the true intents of the guy with the video camera, we assume they are malicious. What is this saying about technology? about privacy?
- James has disarmed 873 bombs. The fact that he keeps track of this foreshadows his assumption with war.
- James warms up to a local boy named Beckham. Maybe this is compensating for the guilt James has for neglecting his own family.
- The three men approach death in completely different ways. Samborn is cold, methodical, serious. He understands the seriousness of death but also thinks about it logically (for example when he thinks about killing James "these types of things happen all the time.") Eldrich is extremely emotional when facing death. He does everything in his power to avoid confrontation with death. James Friendly meets somewhere in the middle. It is clear he fully grasps the reality of death but compartmentalizes it to the point where it does not affect his performance.
-Cambridge, the doctor, comes across incredibly naive about the realities of war, saying "War is a once in a lifetime experience." He perishes in his naivity
- A common theme is this idea of "washing the blood off." This is first seen when Eldrich must clean the blood off of the bullets so they don't get jammed. It is also seen when James stands in the shower back at Camp Victory and blood falls off of his clothes and skin. Is this a spiritual theme perhaps? What is this motif saying?
- There are shots where you see bugs near their eyes, highlighting the annoyance and weariness. There are also shots where we see this distance blurry, like you would if you were actually trying to strain your eyes that far.
-An interesting observation is the tasks seem to increase in how personal they are. For example, the first is just a string of bombs, it progresses to a car bomb, a body bomb, and finally a live man strapped to bombs. What is this saying about the depersonalization of war? James has to wrestle with this in person as he has to dismantle the body of a boy he thought he knew.
___________________________________________________________
Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
-Members of family: Elaine, David, Seth, Jesse, Arnold
- The choice of the song "Act Naturally: is an interesting song choice in the opening credits. It seems to not really fit with the rest of the movie. When you find out the crime, the whimsical nature of the song is a little bit disturbing.
-We see a great deal of home video included in the documentary. This makes the people more real, in my opinion. It's easy in a crime documentary to target people as monsters. Even though the crime discussed is horrendous, we realize that this person had a family and a life. Perhaps this element makes it even more shocking.
- The mother describes her children: David was the oldest, Seth was the Rebel, and Jesse was the one who was always trying to catch up.
-At the beginning, we are told that Arnold died of a surprise heart attack, but at the end, we are told by another source that it was a suicidal overdose.
-It all started when police found these disturbing magazines in Arnold's office. What prompted this search? They seemed to target him in a way (with the investigator disguised as a postal carrier). Did someone come forward about this? We are never told why Arnold is targeted, and if we were, the whole story might have changed.
- David created a spectacle at the scene of the crime by putting his underwear over his head and proclaiming his father's innocence. David later became a clown. I thought this was funny.
-Judd Martin, Jesse's best friend, denies that Jesse would ever hurt a fly.
-Arnold and Jesse were arrested and put on a $1 million bail.
-Howard Friedman, his brother, was the first to visit his brother in jail. We, the audience seem to trust Howard the most out of the interviewed subjects, but later it is revealed that he is gay. Does this change our perception of him? Does the challenge the validity of what he said?
- There was a great dispute in what exactly happened in the computer classes. Some said that these sexual games turned into a "free for all." Others denied anything happened at all. Some witnesses are blurred. Others are shown. Should we trust anonymous sources?
- We watch home videos that are intrusive and uncomfortable. Some are a personal video diary, where Arnold warns that nobody should be viewing this tape. Other pieces show the family basically falling apart in front of us. Other clips show the brothers just being silly.
-The tactics of the police in this investigation is portrayed more like a witch-hunt. The portrayal of the police and law system are the only two elements that there is not much ambiguity. We leave with a clear idea that both the police and law system are pretty corrupt.
-We are never completely sure what happened. We never know who to trust. Everyone in the family seems to have somewhat of a bias based on their relationship to one another. David seems to still believe his father's innocent and his mom is terrible. Elaine quickly sided with the police. The family shows more emotion about the case than Arnold really does himself.
- I thought the part when they were describing the surrounding area of Great Neck was interesting. The Stepford-wife type description made the story all the more disturbing and twisted. The parents formed a victim community and escalated the horror even further.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Single Man (2009)
-The opening and closing scenes are shots of the body in water. The movements and presentations are clearly artistic. It reminds me of certain parts of Across the Universe. This brings attention to an interesting attribute of the film: exploration of the male body, a rarity in cinema. There are several other scenes that are exemplary of this, like when the boys are playing tennis.
-The opening and closing scenes both also have narration by the main character.
-The first scene, we see the main character waking up, bleeding from the mouth. Disturbing. There are a lot of shots that seem to emphasize order. But this is order is not a positive order, it is a sickly sense of order, as evidenced by the desaturated tone that the film retains.
- We find out that his lover, Jim, passed away in a car accident through a series of flashbacks. The flashbacks scenes are in a notably lighter and more optimistic tone. The colors are more saturated. It's almost like they are in a completely different house.
-There are scenes that are more saturated in color. The director emphasizes these moments. These are the moments, we reason, that keeps the main character, George, in this world. Some examples are simple: like the secretary's eyes or the scent of the dog. Others are deeper. Like finding a potential new lover and enjoying drinks with an old time friend (Charley)
-Charley is almost directly opposite from George. She is carefree and a bit of a free spirit. George on the other hand, is clearly driven more by routine and order. He even has trouble killing himself without his OCD tendencies coming into play.
-The neighbors present some interesting contributions to the story. The family always dresses brightly. The little girl presents some interesting contrasts. She appears to be innocent and girly, but her conversations are crude (example with the scorpion, dad wants to feed George to it).
-The music is classical and serves to the ongoing, clean cut feeling of the movie. It also makes the tone much heavier and deeper.
- There are a number of slow motion shots, which also have an interesting effect on the film. Like the saturated effect, the slow-motion serves to emphasize moments of importance or emotional significance.
- There are several sharp cuts to closeup shots, it mimics almost a hyper focus. Some of these shots have sexual overtones.
- Takes place in the 60s. Evidenced by radio playing something regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- George feels invisible. He attributes this to the minority status of his sexual orientation.
- There are many uncomfortable scenes in the movie. Why does Ford do this? Is it to get us to think about our prejudices against a certain sexual orientation or is it to emphasize maybe an inner conflict the main character is undergoing?
- There is a unique focus on clocks. There are many scenes that start with a shot on a clock. This is interesting. What is the director trying to make a statement about by doing this?
-There are several moments that George opens his suitcase and we wonder if he is going to pull out a gun.
-There are many shots that are shot from an ariel point of view, which is rare. There are also some shots that start by showing the character's shoes, before revealing the identity of the family.
- "Sometimes awful things have their own kind of beauty"
- "Living in the Past is my future"
- owl takes off from branch before George dies. orange moon
- Focusing on random objects in certain moments, example: clock, cigarette, eyes, lips, smile, etc.
-"And just like that, it came"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Gosford Park (2001)
- class study
- use of saturated and non saturated color is notable. Bright colors can be seen more in the aristocracy parts rather than the slave parts. non saturated colors are used more in the servants quarters.
-Like Renoir, the director uses the camera to explore space. The hallways and rooms seem large and maze-like as the camera follows different actors throughout the corridors.
-the camera's focus on the Scottish servant shows that he is different, that he has interest.
-The American movie maker character is basically the director injecting himself into the movie. By adding this character, we, the audience, can also find a more tangible character to relate to.
-lots of yellows and greens in this movie. Denotes unhealthy, gossipy
-They are all having affairs but mask these "requests" by making them sound like tasks. . . i.e. hot milk, etc.
-There are many characters, sometimes it's difficult to get the connections straight.
-The murder is done while everyone is listening to music, an interesting contrast. Is the murder smooth like a melody or a manifestation of the pre-existing tension between the two classes.
-The inadequacy of the detective is laughable. Is it a commentary on the way that public officials work?
-Costumes: The costumes serve a great role in the mis en scen in this movie. Sportsware and glamorous gowns are the primary things that the richer people wear. The costumes are ornate, and sometimes saturated in color, further exploiting their extravagance. Some of the gowns look similar, perhaps this hints at the notion that the wearers loose an identity through them? The servants, in contrast, all wear the same outfits, very drab and uniform. This serves to both contrast the upper class, but also construct an image of a "type" that goes into service.
-Camera: The camera moves like a servant. We sometimes feel like we are creeping in on scenes, there are objects between us and the actors. There is one scene in particular where there is a wall and we watch the scene through the window. The "creeping" feeling is similar to the way that the servants stood sneakily listening to the music in another scene.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Shark in the Head (Maria Procházková, 2004)
- Somewhat abstract film. Czech Republic.
- Music/Score = instrumental, some guitar (rock) sounding, other piano (classical) sounding. Is the music diegetic or non-diegetic?
-Wide range of shots: some are from inside a trashcan, others circle around a subject, some closeups, some far away.
-The director plays a lot with light in the film. Using shadows to highlight, possibly an inner disturbance of the main character.
-The color sceme is made up mostly of grays, blacks, whites, and a highlight of red. (at times there is even a red glow inside Mr. Seman's apartment)
-There are stop-motion sequences, animated parts, and combinations of many different techniques.
- The opening scene shows a guy that gets in a taxi, which takes him a couple of steps forward then he gets out. This establishes a cyclical theme that is carried out throughout the rest of the film. The man in the opening shot acts as though he has a destination, but ends up exactly where he started. There are scenes where Mr. Seman (our main character) is watching a washing machine (hypnotized almost by the on going cycle). Mr. Seman also has the habit of recycling virtually everything. He digs through the garbage and finds a use for the most seemingly useless objects, only to be thrown away later. In connection to other proposed themes in the film, I think that maybe this cyclical theme ties to the commentaries on relationship. Technology has allowed us to view friendships and experiences as almost dispensible... Or maybe only parts of those things are dispensible (as evidenced by cutting out subjects in pictures and discarding the rest). Maybe the film is suggesting the detached nature of such cyclical relationships. We really never learn anything substantial about the main character or the passerbyers. We only receive a projection or representation of these people. We never even learn the name of any character other than Mr.Seman. Could this be another allusion to the social networking phenomena?
- The dialogue in the film, for the most part is simplistic and nonsensical. There are lines like: "It looks like the rain forrest here." "The disease of the chicken butts." However some of these random lines seem to allude to a deeper theme. For example: "If you start to believe in yourself, you must be God."
-The issue of medication also come up. The plot is driven by Mr. Seman's detachment from reality and hallucinations. We can't tell what's real and what's not. Mr. Seman, seems to not give much interest into solving this equation. Instead he takes both reality and fantasy to make his own reality. He is the creator of his own world. What he sees and doesn't see is completely up to him. There are moments when he pulls the curtain tight over his window. Perhaps, this is symbolic of an effort to just ignore all things one considers "bad" or "painful." Other times, his window is wide open. Much like Mr. Seman, I think we want to be selective in regards to our relationships, memories, and experiences. We want friends, memories, and experiences to be positive, so we purposely detach ourselves from them a bit, for a fear that we may have to take some negative aspects of those things. Simarlarly, I believe that Mr. Seman chose to detach himself. It was simply much easier to be detached than experience painful elements in the "real" world. The only times he took a pill, it seemed, was when he was scared or experiencing a negative emotion.
-The director also seems to comment on innocence to a degree. There are two scenes that seems to sort of mirror each other, at least in my mind. The first scene is when Mr. Seman reads a newspaper. The pictures come to life in a way. We don't know if Mr. Seman is drawing these things or its just in his imagination. The renderings are all negative images, they show apocalyptic signs, soldiers getting injured, and somewhat disturbing ideas. In contrast, a scene where a young girl is drawing on the sidewalk also comes to life. The chalk drawings become bright and colorful, full of life. Trees grow large. What is this saying about innocence? childhood?
-The use of water, weather it be rain, or people going to fill their buckets is a motif.
-The title of the film, Shark in the Head, is interesting. Sharks always have to keep moving to stay alive. Being consistent with my interpretation of technology and detachment, maybe this film is indicative of a mindset persisting in the "Facebook Generation." We must keep moving, keep going, that is the value. If what we are doing is not moving us forward, it's not worth it. For example, if an experience isn't documented by photos, it's almost like it didn't exist. We never stop to fully invest in relationships or experiences anymore. Honestly, I believe these social networking sites have affected us so much that we don't even know what it means.
_________________________________________________________________________
Memento (2000)
Lack of Clarity: We are unclear at first in which direction the film is moving. We never really know the motivations of our main characters until the very end (which is ironically, the beginning) The B&W scenes with the color scenes also mix us up quite a bit as the audience. Even at the moment we think we have it all figured out, another curve ball is thrown our way and we end up with more questions.
Lack of Unity: We don't have a clear grasp of what the relation between the B&W shots and the color shots is until the very end of the movie. For a time, we are just shown strings of events that don't have much relation to each other. The narrative structure is fragmented until the very end. Even at the end, one could argue that Nolan does not completely unite all aspects of the characters.
Unconventional Characters: Our main character is very unreliable. We don't fully understand him because he doesn't truly understand himself. Our confidence in virtually every character in the narrative is called into question at one point or another. Teddy, Natalie, and even Sammy are all characters that are inconsistent throughout the film.
Intrustions: We are constantly aware of how the movie is shot. There are some scenes in black and white, others in color. The editing is not smooth, but quick and rapid to reflect the urgency in the film. There are flashbacks, narration, and non-diegetic music. The most obvious example of an intrusion is the way the scenes are strung together. The movie starts at the end, and moves backwards. Therefore, we must piece together the separate scenes in order to understand the beginning of the movie.
One Particular Scene: The scene that sticks out most in my mind is the scene where Natalie yells at Leonard, insulting his wife, and determining to use his handicap for her own means. This is a turning point in the movie. We establish Natalie as deceiving character. Her image of someone to be pitied is shattered completely. Instead, the roles are switched. The scene gives us a red herring. We believe that Natalie is the one who sets up Teddy to be killed. However, by the end, we realize that Leonard was actually the one who set the ball in motion.
Other Notes:
-In the opening scene, we see a photo developing backwards, setting the theme for how the movie is structured for the remainder of the film.
-First-person perspective, Leonard is narrating.
-We discover the car window is broken, but we don't find out why for a while later in the film.
-Teddy is killed in the same warehouse where Jimmy was killed.
-There are tracks by the warehouse, probably left the last time when Leonard killed Jimmy.
-On the back of Teddy's picture: "Don't Believe His Lies, He's the One, Kill Him"
-Teddy, before he dies, tells Leonard, that he has become someone different, not who he used to be.
-We cut to black& white shots in a hotel room which move forward.
-The Story of Sammy Jankis is very important to understanding Leonard better. Could Sammy Jankis be Leonard? We are left to wonder this.
-"I have no short term memory since my injury"- how does he know he has short term memory loss?
- Last thing he remembers is his wife dying
- "It's like waking"
- Each new flashback begins with a Black and White scene..
- John Edward Gamel = Teddy, did Natalie set this up for revenge? or is Teddy the actual killer?
- He's organized because he has a reason to be organized.
- Natalie : "She has also lost someone and will help you out of pity."
- We find out that Leonard used to investigate claims for an insurance company, that's how he met Sammy.
- "Memories can be distorted."
-He keeps pulling a door that needs to be pushed, kind of funny.
- Someone trying to set him up to kill the wrong guy...
-Sammy Jankis: slight look of recognition.
-"How can I heal, if I can't feel time"
- "Habit and Routine make my life possible."
-"I don't think they let someone like me carry a gun."
-"I think it was your sinister mustache" (lol)
- Fire scene, burning his wife's possessions to try to forget
- "Can't remember to forget you."
- Bandage around a tattoo that says not to answer the phone. Is he talking to Teddy? I would think so.
- Jimmy Grants = Natalie's boyfriend.
- Sammy tragically killing his own wife. (Did Leonard do this to his wife?)
- "I lie to myself to be happy"
___________________________________________________________________
Psycho (1960)
Question: At the beginning of the movie, the question is "What will happen to Marion and the money?" Towards the middle of the movie, the questions shift to "Who is Norman Bates's mother?" "Why did she kill Marion?" and "Will the remaining characters live long enough to find out the mystery behind Marion's murder?"
Formulation: Marion is defined as a main character. The music, Marion's behavior, and scenes with the police officer all allude to the fact that something is terribly wrong. The money is seen as important because there are specific shots that show the money in the envelope. Marion's behavior also notably changes with the introduction of the large sum of money. Towards the middle of the movie, the introduction of Norman Bates and his mother throw a twist into the plot. After Marion's murder, we find new characters to identify with and new questions to solve, namely the relationship between Norman and his mother.
Promise of an Answer: Hitchcock sets up these characters in a way that begs for resolution. Our focus on Marion and dialogue clearly invoking the mysteries lead us on. (ie. "A boy's best friend is his mother.")
Fraud: Marion loses the police tailing her and switches cars. We believe she has a chance in getting away with the money. At another point we as the audience think that Norman is going to get caught when the investigator finally gets some sort of answer.
Blocking: We don't see what happens to Marion and the money. She is killed and the money goes down with the swamp. We think the investigator might actually uncover some information, but he is killed also.
Equivocation: Marion is getting away with the money, but there is clearly something sinister boiling internally. In the second part of the film, we really start to believe that Norman Bates is an innocent victim in the wake of his mother's fury. The hope that the investigator might solve the problem is thwarted. We know the mother is actually a killer while the investigator does not.
Suspended Answer: In the first question, that of Marion and the money:: Marion is killed while the money is sunk in the swamp. Therefore, we never really know what happens with that question. It is abruptly stopped. At one point, the Pheonix sheriff tells the searching lover and sister that Mrs. Bates is dead, thus throwing a wrench into the whole situation.
Partial Answer: Marion gets away with the money, but is met with someone who reflects the same internal struggles but has a different way of showing them. The scene with the sheriff tells us that Mrs. Bates is dead: suggesting that either Norman is mentally ill or Mrs. Bates is not who we thought she was. The following scene, we see Norman carrying a body, completely confusing the audience.
Disclosure: Marion is killed. Norman actually murdered her because he was mentally ill. Norman also murdered his mother and her lover, an act that sparked further mental instability.
Other Notes:
- score: string instruments are used. This creates a sense of violent urgency. We know something bad is going to happen.
- Exposition establishes Marion as the protagonist. Shows her relationship with Sam and her decision to take the money.
- Close up shot of money shows its importance.
- Internal battle within Marion. Her motives are unclear. We see many shots of her face while she's driving. She is clearly stressed or worried. By the end though, after she believes she has gotten away with the $40,000, we see an almost twisted smirk on her face. We also hear the voices of her loved ones, concerned about her disappearance.
-There is one shot in the bathroom at the used car lot that is interesting. Hitchcock uses a mirror which is kind of an interesting artistical choice.
- The Bates Motel is a forlorn looking building. Isolated. Creepy. As is the house. The aesthetic of the motel and house also warn us, as an audience that something bad will probably happen.
-Norman shows her around, clearly showing some sort of interest in Marion. He is awkward and hospitable. He is unassertive. This part of Norman is in stark contrast to his "Mother." She is dominating. She is aggressive, jealous, and cruel.
- One of the most compelling scenes, I think, was the scene where Marion and Norman talk in the parlor. They talk of taxodermy, an interesting hobby of Normans. "I hate the look of beasts when their stuffed, birds are more passive." (Norman is more passive, his personality, in the end, is overcome by his "Mother.") "A boy's best friend is his mother." (foreshadowing) "We all go a little mad sometimes" (also foreshadowing), "...We're all in our private traps..."
- Interesting comparison of Marion and Norman. They are both battling internally. Marion about the money, and Norman about the guilt of his mothers death. Could they sort of be mirrors of each other, in a way?
-Marion lied about her name and hometown. After looking at the guestbook, Norman picks up on this. Does this trigger him to "lose it"?
-We see a close up shot of his eye as he looks through the peep hole. We also see a close up eye after Marion is killed in the shower.
-Hitchcock works in shadows. He purpousely veils his character in shadows to maintain the mystery.
-There is one seen where Norman has blood on his hands (from handling the body), and he washes it off in the sink. Could this be symbolic? Norman washed his hands of the blood of murdering his mother by creating a false persona.
-Sam, Lila, and Arbogast team up to find out what happened to Marion. They are clear protagonists.
-Arbogast enters the Bates house and the music cues tell us that he is dead meat.
- Al Chambers tells them that Norman's mother has been dead for seven years. She committed murder-suicide. As the audience, we are very confused. Then who is his mother? Who's body is that? Who murdered Marion?
- "She might've fooled me, but she didn't fool my mother..."
-Theme of "getting away" from isolation, guilt, = common theme
- The scene where Lila enters the Bates house keeps the audience on edge the entire time. We don't know what will happen. We see many images of objects in the Bate's house, many of which could be symbolic, or devices used to trick the audience .
-"She wouldn't harm a fly", overlay of skull and Norman's face. we hear the female voice.
______________________________________________________________________________
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Syuzhet (arrangement of events on screen): chronological, but doesn't show everything. We jump ahead an unknown amount of time after the first half of the movie. Moves one direction (forward).
Presentation of the Fiction Film World (diegetic and non-diegetic elements):
First Half of the Film:
- Shown from the perspective of Private Pyle. We, as the audience trust Kubrick's representation of Pile as a protagonist. This trust is shattered half way into the film, when our protagonist almost becomes an antagonist (though not quite), and immediately is killed off. This abrupt end of a character coincides with the abruptness and irregularity of the remainder of the film, which could be a reflection on the immediate and disillusioned nature of war itself. From this point on, we, the audience are "on our toes" and weary of trusting Kubrick's characters and devices too much.
- There are a couple of poignant lines that jab directly at some over arching themes of the movie, including a chant relating their rifles to women and a monologue revering Kennedy's killer and Charles Whitman as almost poster children for the type of men that the boot camp wants to promote. ("A hard heart that kills").
-We are also introduced to two other characters in the first half of the film: Private Cowboy and Private Joker. Private Joker serves as a foil for the character of Private Pyle. Joker and Pyle are both unique in their settings. Joker's uniqueness, however earns him promotions while Pyle's earns him ridicule from fellow soldiers. Joker is a character who seems to know all about the system, and, consequently knows when it's okay to "joke off." He represents a certain cynicism when it comes to the world around him, and consequently, seems to have almost "above the influence" kind of quality to him. Pyle, on the other hand, has naivety in place of cynicism, and his uniqueness places him in a disadvantaged state (a quality that perhaps makes him more vulnerable to the influence of the boot camp philosophy).
Second Half of the Film:
- Shown from the perspective of Joker. Their is no direct connection to how the disastrous events in the first half of the film affect Joker, perhaps reflecting the "ideal" nature of how a soldier was supposed to react to such occasions.
-At one point, another minor character has a conversation about something called "The Stare."He says that it's the look that men get when they've been out in the fighting too long. "You'll have it, too.."This draws to mind the memorable deranged look that Pyle had in the final scene in the first half of the movie. This also could be foreshadowing to the change that Joker endures at the end of the movie.
-Joker repetitively makes John Wayne impressions and references. This quirk eventually dies out as the plot moves deeper into a darker tone. Do the references reveal something about how Joker thinks of himself?
- Lots of Satirical lines that again jab directly at the themes. "I wanted to be the first kid on my block to get a kill." "Dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive." and the response that Joker gives when asked about why he had "Born to Kill" written on his helmet and a peace sign on his uniform.
-Climax of the second half involves the sniper and an internal battle Joker must make about killing the female sniper.
-The ending gives us very little closure, and ends with the boys singing a song about Mickey Mouse, following the irregular mix of the absurd and serious.
Structure (frame): The movie has two distinct halves, each with it's own conflict and resolution. Kubrick often contrasts a dark (almost twisted scene) by following it up with an incredibly light, generic scene with pop music.
Visual and Auditory Effects:
-Mixture of pop music and a very subtle score. "Boots are Made for Walking", "Going to the Chapel", "Bird is the Word", "Paint it Black" (ending credits), The score is first heard in the scene where the boys go to beat up Pyle. The score consists of sounds that might already exist, like metal clanking noises, and the composer expands upon those noises.
-Shots in the first half of the movie seem orderly, always seeming to be a certain distance away. The feel is clean-cut, echoing the polished asthetic of a boot camp. We see very little close-up shots. The shot where Pyle looks up at the camera before he kills the drill sergant and himself is haunting.
-The second half is shot simarlarly to the first half, but slowly different types of shots are introduced. Eventually, the movie starts to look a lot granier.
Analysis (one paragraph):
Stanley Kubrick's film, Full Metal Jacket, is a unique war movie that explores the deeper themes of war, such as the duality of man and loss of innocence. The movie also reflects a postmodernist view, full of pseudo-connections and unclear character motivations. For some, this style of movie is unnecessary and confusing, but in my opinion, the style serves a distinct purpose to provide a different arrangement of commentaries on war. For it's time, Full Metal Jacket was a provocative film, not only for the content it put forth, but for the messages it presented and the methods used to deliver those messages. Depending on one's interpretation, Full Metal Jacket can be seen as clear propaganda against war and violence, an existentialist remark, or an exploration of fate. Full Metal Jacket stands unrivaled in it's category for some of these lofty, philosophical themes. It's both entertaining and enlightening. In Kubrick's compilation of work, I think that Full Metal Jacket, in combination of 2001: A Space Odyssey are not only the masterpieces of his career, but also classics that will go down in cinema history.
Topic Sentence (umbrella statement): Full Metal Jacket explores the power of man's qualities (good and bad), fate, and individuality through an irregular plot line, clouded character motivations, shocking scenes and disturbing transitions.
Define a Conventional Narrative Strategy (2 - 3): A conventional narrative strategy involves characters that are presented with a challenge and must rise to meet the obstacles in the rising action and conflict. The conventional narrative ends with a resolution of how the challenge was met and the effects of reaching that goal.
Discuss how Full Metal Jacket departs from this conventional strategy (4 - 5): Full Metal Jacket departs from this conventional strategy greatly. First off, the conflicts and goals are never clearly defined. Instead, events just happen to characters, and the characters, therefore, have a more passive role than they would in a conventional narrative film. The protagonist also changes halfway through the film from Pyle to Joker. In a conventional narrative strategy, this cast of protagonist and antagonist is consistent.
