Pulp Fiction
Movie: 1994, color, 154 min.- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- John Travolta, Samuel L Jackson
The film Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film. This film is about the stories of four different people who eventually cross paths and have their stories intervene with each other. Jules Verne and Vincent Vega are two hitmen who are out to find a case for their boss, Marsellus Wallace. Wallace asks Vincent to take his wife, Mia, out to dinner one night and something almost goes terribly wrong. This film also follows the life of boxer, Butch Coolidge, who is paid by Wallace to lose his next fight.
How is Pulp Fiction’s structure different from most movies that you would see today?
Tarantino does something very different from what you would normally see in a film. In Pulp Fiction, he opens the film with a scene of where there is a couple who are eating in a diner and they decide to rob the place. We do not find out the significance of the scene until the very end when Tarantino goes back to explain this scene. Just about every scene in this film is different from the previous and everything seems so confusing at first. Tarantino explains the lives of several different characters and we do not find out their relationships with one another until the very end. One of the storylines of this film shows Butch having to run back to his house to grab his watch should be one of the last scenes of this film. This is where Butch kills Vincent but we still see Vincent later on in the movie.
What does wardrobe tell us about each character when we first meet him or her?
Wardrobe plays a very critical role in this film. It tells us who is working with who and it also gives us the occupation of many characters. Jules and Vincent are the only two hitmen who we encounter in this film and they are wearing suits most of the time. Marsellus Wallace also is seen wearing a suit and this already tells us that the three of them have an important association with each other before the film tells us this. When we first meet Mia, she is wearing a nice business suit and she has her hair cut old fashioned. She looks pretty crazy when we first see her in the film and we found out that she is later. Butch is seen with his shirt off for a good amount of this film. We can probably assume that he is in a line of work where you have to be athletic and in good shape and we find out that he is a boxer later.
Chinatown
Movie: 1974, technicolor, 130 min- Director: Roman Polanski
- Actors: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway
The film Chinatown is a 1974 neo-noir film. Jake Gittes is a private detective who specializes in matromonial cases. A woman by the name of Evelyn Mulwray hires Jake after suspecting that her husband is having an affair with another woman. Jake gets the job done and he takes a picture of the woman’s husband Hollis, who is the builder of the city’s water supply system, with another woman but it seems he was hired by an impersonator and not the real Mrs. Mulwray. Mr. Mulwray is later found dead and Jake finds himself in a much bigger problem than he had realized.
How does the director use different shots and angles to add to the suspense?
Towards the beginning of the film, when the plot is just beginning to form, Gittes spies on Mr. Mulwray through a pair of binoculars. A series of shots alters between Gittes looking through his binoculars and Mr. Mulwary walking around a dry riverbed. Except, the shots of Mr. Mulwray are framed to look as if he is being seen through a binocular lens. This frame can take multiple purposes. It gives the audience a view of Mr. Mulwray through Gittes’ perspective. The binoculars give a closer view of the man, but they also provide an constricted view as well. The black binocular frame limits the audience’s sight of what is happening around Mr. Mulwray. This constricted view represents how little Gittes actually knows about Mr. Mulwray at this point in the plot. The shot also foreshadows something hidden and some sort of conspiracy. Not only does the binocular lens frame break the repetition of unframed shots in most films, but it also provides further insight into the plot of the film.
Why is the all white bedroom so significant in this film?
In the midst of chaos from the water conspiracy investigation, Gittes and Evelyn Mulwray find passion towards each other. One night after a near-death encounter, the two spend the night at Mrs. Mulwray’s house and there is a scene in her all white bedroom. This bedroom is a perfect example of mise en scene because is portrays multiple meanings. For one, the color of the room completely contrasts its owner because white typically signifies innocence, except Mrs. Mulwray does not seem very innocent. It is odd, however, that the room is entirely white. It suggests that she is completely innocent, yet nobody is completely innocent so this is suspicious. The complete white room can also take an alternate meaning; it can suggest that she is not innocent at all even though she comes off as innocent. The absence of innocence in the room serves as a foreshadowing mechanism for Mrs. Mulwray’s deep secret that is later revealed, showing proving that she really has no innocence at all.
The Sound of Music
Movie: 1965, color, 174 min- Directors: Robert Wise
- Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer
The film The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film based on the Broadway musical. It is about a 1930s young Austrian woman named Maria who fails miserably in her attempts to become a nun. When the Navy captain Georg Von Trapp writes to the convent asking for a governess that can handle his seven mischievous children, Maria is given the job. The Captain's wife is dead, and he is often away, and runs the household as strictly as he does the ships he sails on. The children are unhappy and resentful of the governesses that their father keeps hiring, and have managed to run each of them off one by one.
Why does make-up and clothing play such a critical role in this film as compared to other films?
In all movies, costuming defines much of the character's social class, personality, and wealth. In the Sound of Music, clothing is used to show the wealth of the Von Trapp family (orderly home, children in uniforms, children are clean and show signs of hygiene, Captain Von Trapp is clean and tidy as well) Maria the ex-nun wears very simple and inexpensive clothing to show her background as a nun/ commoner. The nazi soldier's are easily identified with their guns and swastikas on their clothing. Clothing among social classes is a very prominent theme throughout the film.
In which ways does the director show the mood of the film through color?
In the film, color choice play a huge part in setting the feeling and mood, whether it be in the setting or clothing. The film opens on Maria singing in the beautiful green alps, the mountains stretching on for miles. We clearly see that Maria is in her nirvana, and that the bright colors of the nature signify a happy and peaceful space for her. When Maria arrives at Abbey, the colors turn completely neutral. We begin to only see greys, blacks, whites, and light browns. Maria clearly doesn’t look as blissful, and we deduce that the grim colors mean a more boring and unhappy space for Maria.
The Bicycle Thief
Movie: 1948, black and white, 93 min.- Director: Vittorio De Sica
- Actors: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola
The film The Bicycle Thief is a 1948 Italian neorealist film. It is about a poor young father who is desperately looking for a job to support his wife and son. He finally gets a job oppurtunity and instantly takes it. The job requires owning a bicycle to travel over the city, but the poor man does not have one. He purchases a bicycle and then becomes a very happy man. On the first day of work, the bicycle is stolen from him and he spends the rest of the film searching all over the city for his bicycle with his son.
Why does De Sica have certain scenes that are shadowed and darkly lit on the figures of Antonio and Bruno?
De Sica has certain scenes lit differently then others. In a few of the scenes when Antonio and his son are alone looking for the bicycle once more on large scale areas the director films long shots that shed natural sunlight upon the two characters and their figures are dark, the outlines black and this is sort of symbolic to the storyline. Throughout the story we realize that Antonio is oblivious to his son. Through little hints we figure this out thanks to the director. He plants these little moments such as when Antonio cross the street very quickly leaving behind Bruno in a flood of traffic. For the duration of the film Antonio and his son Bruno are together wandering all through Rome to find this bicycle and this bicycle is kind of a symbol for bringing the two together, towards the end of the film De Sica makes it visible technically by the lighting and those placements in the two characters walking together their silhouettes completely bold. This is our conclusion, the two are one.
Why do you think Vittorio De Sica named the movie The Bicycle Thief and also The Bicycle Thieves? What do the titles mean?
Vittorio De Sica has two titles for the film. The Bicycle Thief makes one wonder while watching the movie who the center of attention really is, is it the victim or the thief and apparently from the title it is obvious that the thief is though he is not in much of the film. The Bicycle Thieves shed a whole new light on the entire meaning of the film. De Sica named it “Thieves” plural perhaps because the main character Antonio struggles with understanding why someone would steal another man’s bicycle. When Antonio is at the end of his rope he waivers on whether he should steal a bicycle as well, he attempts to and this is when he sort of realizes that perhaps the other man who stole his bicycle was in the same position. When he crosses paths with the culprit he then accuses him in public, in front of the whole village and this is when after hearing what everyone around has to say and witnessing the man’s lifestyle and what his grandmother has to say about Antonio accusing him. De Sica not only wants us to realize that there was indeed one thief but that there are many thieves in the world and that they are all alike and desperate to put food on the table for their families.
Umberto D.
Movie: 1952, black and white, 89 min- Director: Vittorio De Sica
- Actors: Carlo Battisti, Maria Pia Casilio
The film Umberto D. is a 1952 Italian neorealist film. It is about an old man named Umberto Domenico Ferrari (Carlo Battisti) from Rome who is desperately trying to keep his room on a small state pension, but whose landlady (Lina Gennari) is expecting to drive him out to fit her social lifestyle. He tries to find the money but is unable to beg to his richer friends, and cannot be helped by his only true friends, a maid (Maria-Pia Casilio) and his dog, Flike.
How do De Sica’s shots make the audience feel so real?
At the beginning of the film when the old men disperse we are lead around the bodies as if we were one of the protestors. The scene switches angles and our point of view, which sustains this in the shoes feeling. We are also presented a frame that has an over the shoulder shot of the policemen driving, almost running over the men as the herd them out. There are more intimate scenes which make us feel like were there such as one part where we are in the room of Umberto and he is trying to go to sleep despite all the ruckus. It is a close up that maintains for about 5 minutes of that particular scene. We look on as a person sitting beside him, leaning in perhaps, watching over the elderly gentlemen.
What does Flike represent for the main actor?
Flike is the old man’s companion, a dog that never leaves his side until the very end of the film because the man hesitates in front of an oncoming train whether he should jump or not risking the dog’s life as well since he is clutching it close to his chest. The dog is his burden throughout the entire film as well as his only piece of happiness in such a terrible life. Though he tries to abandon Flike several times the dog makes him feel guilt at the couples home for dogs, fails to be taken by the family he offers it to and finds him when he has walked away and hidden in the bush. At the end when the dog is now the one walking away from the man who had pretended to be so weak once before to be accepted into the hospital, now the man is vigorous enough to play with Flike in order to win the dog’s confidence back, his trust. After a bit of begging and playing the dog forgives him and this event we can assume enlightens him, the dog is the man’s gleam of hope, his savior. Flike awakens Umberto.
Blade Runner
Movie: 1982, color, 117 min- Director: Ridley Scott
- Actors: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer
The film Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film. Deckard is a Blade Runner, a police man of the future who hunts down and terminates replicants, artificially created humans. He wants to get out of the force, but is drawn back in when 4 "skin jobs", a slang term for replicants, hijack a ship back to Earth. The city that Deckard must search for his prey is a huge, sprawling, bleak vision of the future. This film questions what it is to be human, and why life is so precious.
How is lighting used to portray a certain mood?
Lighting is very important in the overall message of the film. The light in the film is very dark. In fact, the sun is never actually seen in the movie. The dark lighting of the movie sends a message of how the society has lost the natural part of life and everything is now run by technology. The fact that the sun is never shown proves that the society has lost all regard for nature. Also, light is used to characterize Rick Deckard. Throughout the movie, there is a dark shadow that is thrown upon Deckard’s face. This dark lighting upon Rick Deckard’s face emphasizes that mysteriousness and darkness of his character.
In the film, how does technology have a dehumanizing effect?
Throughout the film, technology has a dehumanizing effect. It is extremely rare to see a human character with no form of technology around him or her. Even when Deckard is doing the most leisurely activity such as drinking in his apartment, there is a television that is controlled by voice command in the room. It seems like that humans need to be in the presence of a piece of technology in order to function correctly. Another aspect of the film in which technology is dehumanizing is hovering vehicles. At one point in the film, a policeman in a hovering vehicle confronts Deckard. The human form of the police man is never showed. It is as if his hovering vehicle is him. These hovering vehicles are represented as a part of the owner instead of property of the person.
American Graffiti
Movie: 1973, color, 110 min- Director: George Lucas
- Actors: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard
The film American Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age film. It follows the lives of four different teenagers on the night before leaving to college. Curt and Steve have gotten into a prestigious college, but Curt is having second thoughts on the night before they're going to leave for the school. That night, Curt searches relentlessly for a spellbinding woman in a white T-Bird while Steve tries to patch things up with his girlfriend after suggesting they date other people while he's away. Their two other friends John and Terry also have a wild night, John when he's forced to chauffer a little girl and Terry when he borrows Steve's car and picks up a girl but then has trouble living up to the expectations set by the car.
How is wardrobe used to give first impressions of each character’s personality?
Wardrobe plays a large part in characterization of the main characters in the film because it gives the audience a first impression of each character without directly telling them who each person is. For example, John wears a tight white t-shirt with a box of cigarettes tucked in the sleeve, showing that he is the tough guy. Also, Steve has his hair combed neatly and wears his collared shirt tucked into his khaki pants, showing the audience that he is somewhat of a preppy character. Each character’s initial outfit, along with their hair and makeup, gives the audience an indirect characterization of their personality and what type of person they are portraying from the fifties.
What purpose does the music play in the setting of the time period?
Classic fifties music constantly plays throughout the movie. Whenever the characters are in their cars, which is a large portion of the movie, Wolfman radio is playing. The Wolfman, a fifties radio announcer, connects all the characters together because everyone plays this popular station. Sometime the music is playing softly in the background, and other times the music is the main focus of the scene along with places, such as the diner or the main street, that set the time period. Because this film is a time period piece, the music is essential to the setting. The music brings the audience back to the fifties and gives them the feeling that they are actually there.
The Godfather
Movie: 1972, color, 175 min- Director: Francis Ford Coppola
- Actors: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino
The film The Godfather is a 1972 American crime film. It is about a man named Vito Corleone who is the aging head of the Corleone Mafia Family. His youngest son Michael has returned from World War II just in time to see the wedding of Connie Corleone to Carlo Rizzi. All of Michael's family is involved with the Mafia, but Michael just wants to live a normal life. Drug dealer Virgil Sollozzo is looking for Mafia Families to offer him protection in exchange for a profit of the drug money. He approaches Don Corleone about it, but, much against the advice of the Don's lawyer Tom Hagen, the Don is morally against the use of drugs, and turns down the offer. This does not please Sollozzo, who has the Don shot down by some of his hit men. The Don barely survives, which leads his son Michael to begin a violent mob war against Sollozzo and tears the Corleone family apart.
How does the lighting reflect the mood of the scene?
The lighting is one this movie’s most remarkable features as the shadows and hues of light have been presented in way that appropriately fits the mood of the scene or character. For example, since most of the movie is shot indoors, many of the characters who are working for the Don, are submerged in dark light and shadows to show the seriousness and danger of their job. Conversations between the Don and people who come in need of his help are also placed in a room with minimal light so that the audience is aware of the dark and serious mood of the conversation (for example, the conversation at the beginning of the movie between the Don and the man whose daughter’s face had been disfigured).
What does the repetition of the theme song of the movie represent and why is it significant?
The theme song of the movie plays in the beginning of the movie and during important scenes of the movie. It tells the audience that those scenes are very significant in the movie’s plot and is therefore emphasized with a familiar tune. When the Don (Marlon Brando) is first introduced in the opening scene of the movie, the theme song is first presented. In other significant scenes such as Vito Corleone’s death and his assassination attempt, the theme is introduced in the background to mark the importance of the scene. The Don’s death symbolized the start of a new era where Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) takes over the family business as the new Don.
The Gold Rush
Movie: 1925, black and white, 95 min- Director: Charlie Chaplin
- Actors: Charlie Chaplin, Mack Swain
The film The Gold Rush is a 1925 silent film comedy. It is about a young poor man who travels to the Yukon to take part in the Klondike Gold Rush. Chaplin runs into many problems along his journey to strike gold. He finds himself stranded in a far away cabin with a prospector who has found a large gold deposit and an escaped fugitive. Chaplin eventually finds himself in a gold rush town where he finally gives up prospecting. He later then falls in love with a woman named Georgia and he mistakenly thinks that she has fallen in love with him.
Why is it that most silent movies are comedy?
The reason that most silent movies are comedies is because it is the easiest genre for an audience to comprehend. Since the plot is expresses mostly by facial expressions and some test, actors have to exaggerate their reactions to certain events so that the audience can understand the story. It would be very difficult to make a serious film without dialog because understand the plot would become difficult as well as less appealing to the general public. Comedy was the easiest genre to work with, so directors chose less complicated methods of proposing their ideas on film for the general public to see.
What role does Chaplin’s and Georgia’s wardrobe play to reflect their position in society?
Chaplin's character wears mismatched shoes with a worn-out tie to shows his low status in society. His wardrobe effectively shows his position among the rich when Georgia does not even give him a second glance when they first meet in the movie. Georgia, on the other hand, wears an expensive coat lined with fur to show that she is far out of Chaplin's league. Because the characters cannot verbally describe the life they live in silent films, wardrobe and setting of a scene becomes very important in determining a character's position in society and their personality in general. Other characters such as Chaplin's companions in the cabin, also have significantly drably clothing to show their lack of money and food.
The 400 Blows
Movie: 1959, black and white, 99 min- Director: François Truffaut
- Actors: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy
The film The 400 Blows is a 1959 French film. It is about A young Parisian boy, Antoine Doinel, neglected by his parents, skips school, sneaks into movies, runs away from home, steals things, and tries to return them. Like most kids, he gets into more trouble for things he thinks are right than for his actual wrongdoings. Unlike most kids, he gets hit with the big stick. He inhabits a Paris of old apartments, run-down arcades, abandoned factories, and busy streets, a city that seems big and full of possibilities only to a child's eye.
How does Truffaut’s angling of scenes reveal what mood is being set by setting and situation?
Throughout the entire film Truffaut has got these bizarre angles that influence the story. Antoine Doinet lives in this shabby small apartment that Truffaut extenuates perfectly with his camera tucked between bookshelves and in the corners of Antoine’s tiny room. These angles that he chose emphasize at what scale his family is living, how poor they really are and how lonely this boy is in this miniscule apartment. His angles over head by bird’s eye view from the direct ceiling imply this miserable mood around the room, how sad the boy is. You could say that throughout the film these small corridors, the small room he lives in those walls represent his life and as he fails in education and disappoints his parents the walls enclose him little by little and Truffaut expresses this enclosure through his angles.
How does the culture and time period of the film affect why the boy is considered a troublemaker?
The main character Antoine Doinel is growing up in the 1950’s in Paris, France. When one thinks of the 50’s the words cookie cutter and conservative come to mind. Recovering from World War II and beginning the Cold War this was a time of intense paranoia. When one thinks of France most people assume the classic stereotype is about the French that being that they are snobbish strict people. Well this plays an important significance in the film, Doinet’s parents adhere to that common typecast and this is relevant throughout the entire film. His teacher as well is a severe man who does not appreciate ridicule and punishes anyone he assumes involved with a prank during courses. Doinet’s character is often left home alone which procures this independence that may come of later in class as a snooty little boy only out for trouble when in fact he only seeks attention because his parents ignore him. During this time France was not at its best economic state and Doinet’s parents make this most apparent considering the fact that it was not common for women to work and his mother worked a job with long hours and his father struggled as well. This affects Doinet because he doesn’t get to do the things regular kids get to do like go to the movies or to restaurants. All in all the culture and the time period make it very easy for a regular adolescent to slip into troublemaker territory when in fact it’s more of the situation that their in that got them there.
