Beauty And The Beast

Darren Milliron 12/18/11

Movie: Beauty And The Beast 1946

Language: French

Director: Jean Cocteau

Run Time: 96 minutes

Awards: Prix Louis Delluc (1946)

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Beauty and the Beast was filmed in black and white and at times was extremely dark and difficult to see the action. Certain shots at night are meant to be dark and mysterious on purpose to build up suspense for the audience but it might have been over done. The audience never gets a to see the color of the roses or the attire the beast wears. The girls room was always bright though and gave a sense that everything was okay and she was home. Unlike other parts of the castle which seems just scary at times. Random arms coming out of the walls. That's just wrong.

Roger Ebert had some choice words about the feel of the castle as well. "The Beast's dwelling is one of the strangest ever put on film--Xanadu crossed with Dali. Its entrance hall is lined with candelabra held by living human arms that extend from the walls. The statues are alive, and their eyes follow the progress of the characters." The castle was definitely one out of imagination and as a 1946 film they did a pretty good job to make it look pretty real at times.

Another article talks more about the cinematic effects used, "Cocteau was attempting to approximate the spirit of the tale by conjuring cinematic tricks. But he wasn't interested in special effects that you add in the editing room. He wanted to use tricks that could be caught on camera through superimposition, slow motion, and running the film backwards for dreamlike effect" In today's films everything is special effects and backgrounds are typically green screen. It is nice to see that they tried to make it look real as it could with minimal technology at the time. That is impressive considering what they had to work with back then.

In my opinion the movie was awesome consider it's from 1946 and spoken in French. The film quality was pretty poor and difficult to see at the times. Also the story line while a classic, was a little odd at times. Not just the arms sticking out of the wall by statues that stares and arms that pour you drinks. While original I just didn't expect it and I don't understand what the point of the castle was. Is the castle alive or does the beast command everything? That was left unclear and it's like having a piece of the story missing.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articleAID=/19991226/REVIEWS08/912260301/1023

http://www.filmcritic.com/reviews/1946/beauty-and-the-beast/

Rear Window

Darren Milliron 12/18/11

Movie: Rear Window 1954

Language: English

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Run Time: 112 minutes

Awards: Edgar Allen Poe Awards- Best motion picture (1955)

National Board of Review- Best Actress

New York Ctritics Circle Awards- Best Actress

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Rear Window was extremely interesting to watch and when relating it to film theory you have to mention the 180 degree rule. The entire film was basically filmed out of a window. And of course some shots inside of the home. But other than those two places the camera never goes anywhere else. Without using the 180 degree rule the viewers watching could lose track of where they are in the film and it's gets disorienting. Still weeks later I remember where everything is located in the courtyard. That tells me the director did an extremely good job on keeping the viewers focused.

An article by Roger Ebert actually doesn't really cover my thoughts at all of the movie. He mainly talks about how the leg cast is a symbol and he talks in depth about how the brightness and darkness of the shots and more of the story line rather than how it was filmed. Usually he mentions what I was thinking about the film but not this time. Another article does mention the camera technique used and how to keep a viewer interesting in the film when you only film in two location the entire time. The author suggested that film is slightly disorienting at times to the viewer but overall the the camera shots helped make it easy to understand the set up of the courtyard.

In my personal opinion this is another one of the great movies by Alfred Hitchcock and it broke rules at the time it was made. It was the most suspenseful movie we watch all semester and definetly a considered to be a great one.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000220/REVIEWS08/2200301/1023

Desperately Seeking Susan

Definitions-

1. Long Shot: Looking way out into the distance

2. Point of View Shot: Viewing from an actors perspective

3. Scene: Group of shots with a single action and location

4. Cut: Two different shot together to show the action from two different views

5. Cross Cutting: Going back and forth between two separate simultaneous actions.

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1. A good of example of a extreme long shot in the film is when the lady was first following Susan in the city and she was looking way out in the distance crowd and could identify the pyramid on the back of her coat.

2. For a point of view shot we also can look at that same scene. When she looks through the scenic overlook binoculars at Susan it appeared as if we were seeing exactly what she was seeing and then the time ended on the machine and went black.

3. And for a scene, well the first one yet again I found interesting. The women following Susan through the city to see what she is all about. Buying he jacket and eventually losing her to the street of New York. It was mysterious and it had the viewing wondering what was going on at the time and who is this Susan?

4. And for cut we look at the scene where the guy trying to frame Susan was behind a door with a gun to Susan's head on the right side of the screen but the left side showed the hallway and all the guys were passing the door where she was being held.

5. And for cross cutting we can look at the end of the film at the magic club. Roberta's husband and Susan are there. The guy following her is there watching. And her new friend Mark is there with his friend Jim. So the whole circle of people is there and it just goes from group to the other until the drama builds and the action begins when she identifies the guy stalking her.