Screen Arts - Week 5

11/03/2019

Auteur theory is where filmmakers are the author of the films they direct rather than the screenwriters. It's a theorem that evolved from the French New Wave era of cinema in the 1940's. Auteurs are filmmakers where their work can told by watching their films. It's like a label of their films.

My favourite Christopher Nolan movie: The Prestige

Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar, but his film, Spellbound won an Oscar for Best Picture, but at the time, The Academy Awards credited the producer with the award. If they applied auteur theory at the time, history would be different for Hitchcock concerning the Oscars.

We are to make a film in their style - a filmmaker that inspires us - that's our project for this year.

Psycho and Night of the Living Dead used for chocolate sauce for blood. They were able to get away with it effectively because the films were in black and white.

Sight Unsound. (2017, February 1). Dissecting the PSYCHO shower scene: hitchcock's greatest trick [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GaV4ZCRLK4

In Psycho, The viewer almost becomes an accomplish as we have witnessed Marion's actions and journey up until this point. It's important for the audience to see the bomb before it goes off, according to Hitchcock. The penetration of the stabs are all in the mind of the audience. The shower goes from the washing Marion's sins to concealing their death and washing away her soul. She is sad at her death because of the remorse towards not righting her wrongs.

The shower scene in Psycho used low angle and close ups. Fast editing cuts to intensify the drama and violence. This scene is important as an iconic moment in film history and because the main character got herself killed half-way through the movie.






Hitchcock, A. (1960). Psycho [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures


Lifeboat (1944)

Macgowan, K., & Hitchcock, A. (1994). Lifeboat [Motion picture]. United States: Twentieth Century Fox

Theme - morality, duty, pacifism 
  The big dilemma in the beginning is whether to keep the German crewman (later revealed to be the U-boat captain) onboard. They debate in terms of morality and duty. There are other dilemmas on whether to trust the U-boat captain and whether to amputate a seaman's leg.

It looks like Hitchcock made use of his rear screen projection technique in this film, which is a trademark of his filmmaking style.

In this film, Hitchcock's cameo is on a newspaper advert.

There are moments where characters are confronted on their own flaws and humanity. They look as though they have internal conflict concerning their background. This has occurred towards Connie and Gus, when interjects with dilemma. It's something I could think about applying into my screenwriting project.

Hunger, starvation, dehydration - surviving the elements produces conflict between the characters.

15/03/2019

Chaplin (1992)

Kassar, M., & Attenborough, R. (1992). Chaplin [Motion picture]. United States: Carolco

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/chaplin-1993

RogerEbert.com. (n.d.). Chaplin movie review & film summary (1993) | roger ebert. Retrieved March 15, 2019, from https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/chaplin-1993

This is a movie I had never seen before and been meaning to watch and it's not on the list from the first week of class because like some movies on future blogs, I didn't think of it at the time. I came across the DVD at the city library and borrowed it out. My second choice would had been Room (2015)

My favourite scene in the movie is when Chaplin confronts and refuses to shake hands with a Nazi at a Hollywood party. 

The opening titles sets the historical setting that makes you think of the silent film era.

It's more than just an underrated movie, or even another biopic. Biopics that are made today should learn from this movie, but also that's what makes this film original

The music suggests fascination, in my view

There is not enough about his popularity during the time of his silent films.

I was very impressed by Robert Downey Jr's performance as the titular character. He really pulls off Chaplin's trademark physical comedy and mannerisms. I found he brought a stern tone to the character and portrayed him (especially as an old man) as a stubborn man who refuses to accept his flaws. I was also absolutely stunned by his perfect British accent.

Throughout the movie, it establishes and develops Chaplin's sympathy towards the poor and his humanist views.

I found the antagonists in the FBI were narrow-minded and conservative, which is likely accurate when it comes to J. Edgar Hoover. 

The interesting thing about this movie is that they acknowledge which characters in the film were fictional. It's something I have never seen before in a biopic or true story drama.

Roger Ebert may argue there was too much focus on Chaplin's sex life, but I believe there not as much as Ebert claims. It's similar to many of the reviews on Bohemian Rhapsody, where film critics and fans of Queen thought there wasn't enough about Freddie Mercury's homosexuality in the movie. 

16/03/2019

I decided to choose Quentin Tarantino because he is an influential filmmaker that would interest me in studying about.

Psycho (1960)

 I managed to borrow the DVD of this movie from the DVD library at the Downtown campus.

Strange opening titles I didn't expect to be in this movie and surprisingly it was designed by Saul Bass. There's something about it I can't put my finger on it, but seems postmodern.

Themes - purity, morality

There are some abrupt cuts to sound where there are edit cuts at Marion's workplace.

Symbolism - Marion wearing black indicates her loss of purity and morality

No real internal conflict when Marion is packing, but it does start when her boss sees her (probably more anxiety than conflict and it develops further from there). I believe that through music and cinematography, Hitchcock was aiming to communicate to audiences the same sort of anxiety that Marion is facing, in which he applies drama and suspense.

You can't tell Marion is in California and not in Arizona until it's mentioned by the car dealer.

 

Dialogue becomes more engaging than the visual. I believe Hitchcock was trying to communicate to audiences a dark and sinister side of Marion.

I sense nothing sounds right about Norman when he offers dinner to Marion.

We see Marion's dilemma on deciding where to hide the stolen money in her cabin, which is communicated to the audience through visual means of film. A visual application for showing dilemma.

You feel an intense tone from the parlour scene with Norman and Marion, which I believe is a result from perfect screenwriting and screen acting, and this scene is also where I started to feel the film's intense tone.

At the end of the infamous shower scene, we see the camera moves to the folded up newspaper, which reminds the audience that the money is still there. The camera moves from Marion's lifeless face, which connects to her remorse of not righting her wrongs.

Norman has a brief dilemma, which is shown visually and is on how to take care of Marion's body.

The tracking shot of Norman entering Marion's cabin with a mop is centralised around the folded newspaper

Foreshadowing - Norman wrapping up Marion's body in shower curtains is like when Marion folded the newspaper up to hide the stolen money.

17/03/2019

Hitchcock used the trailer as setting up his story, rather than focus on selling the movie to audiences. I think it was also the case for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), so it was probably the norm at the time. I don't think audiences nowadays would appreciate or want to watch this type of movie trailer, especially with the duration being six minutes long. Even if millennial audiences appreciated it or were open-minded about it, the trailer would need something to hook them into watching it from start to finish.

This trailer was in the DVD bonus material of Psycho.

I like those transitions between scenes in films like Psycho. An example of this is in between when the private investigator calls Lila on a pay phone and when he returns to the Bates Motel. I like the smooth motion in that type of transition.

Norman taking his mother down to the fruit cellar is another example in this film where the dialogue is more engaging than the visuals.

I noticed this film didn't have any credits at the end.

I can see how the character of Norman Bates was influential on the movie, Red Dragon (2002).

I believe Psycho still remains a timeless horror classic and can still make audiences feel at unease, even after nearly 60 years. I have found if you want to make great films or great visual storytelling, you simply just watch Hitchcock films.



Tarantino composes stories that mix genres and make them over-the-top, like for example; Inglorious Basterds, a World War II film about Nazi-killing Jews.