Screen Arts - Week 10
19/04/2019
Holmes, P. L., Kilik, J., Murad, A., Ross, M., Worth, M., & Lee, S. (1992). Malcolm X [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Brothers.The quality of the production company logo still holds up, considering the theatrical release in 1992 and the DVD that I was watching this film on, was released in 2004.
The start of the first act have the usual genre tropes in terms of structure, in which the story starts well into the protagonist's life and then cuts to earlier in his life, but it's done in a way where I didn't expect what direction it would go.
Part of me thought it was going to be linear about Malcolm X's life because of the first subtitles that state the time period and location (this is the only it's done in this film) and at first, I thought the kid in the opening shot was Malcolm X as a child, despite the cinematography not emphasizing him.
His early life is told with brief inter cutting and flashbacks.
However, before the flashbacks, the opening scene stops at a freeze frame, which is a film technique that is also a common trope in biographical dramas.
The dance scene seems to go on for a long time.
The music from the time period reminds me of the Fallout video game franchise, especially Fallout 3 and Fallout 4.
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_xQdnyTcio
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jomr9SAjcyw
I discovered that the movie is longer than I presumed. I presumed it would be an hour and half or two hours long, not 3 hours.
There was a mishmash of editing when telling more about Malcolm X's early life. You don't know when it starts and when it ends, which almost messes the story, makes the timeline unclear, and doesn't have any subtitles to indicate its time and location.
The gun roulette scene was intense to watch. It was able to communicate the fear and suspense that the other characters in the room were feeling.
I like how the extreme close up cutaways are done on the words in the dictionary.
Themes - Racism, religion, conflict
A long structure of character development is what makes this film unique from other films in this dramatic subgenre.
The Muslim faith and ideology is a significant part of the film's exposition, so it's not just fixed on Malcolm X's life story.
Denzel Washington's performance has made me realise that how he portrayed the titular character in the first half of this film is similar to his future performances in The Hurricane (1999) and American Gangster (2007).
I believe this is a standout film in the subgenre because it's not vain or narcissistic about the main character, compared to other biopics.
Malcolm X's conflict with the reality of the Nation of Islam is a big turning point in this film, as well as when Malcolm X starts to believe in the Muslim faith through the Nation of Islam, during his prison sentence.
The handheld black and white scenes towards the end gave an authentic look as news footage
I was surprised that the filmmakers were able to get Nelson Mandela to appear in this film, for the epilogue.
Unlike most biopics, there's no text at the end that states the aftermath or legacy of Malcolm X's life. I believe Spike Lee did so visually through the epilogue as an original alternative.
21/04/2019
Looking back, the first week of this paper we analysed the opening scene of Back to the Future, which I believed set a tone in what is expected of us when doing a scene analysis, especially when it comes to the scene analysis and proposal assessment.
Brief overview of director and selected film
Quentin Tarantino is an American filmmaker who made great films in his career like
Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill Vol.1 (2003),
Kill Bill Vol.2 (2004), Death Proof (2007), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Django Unchained (2012)
and so on. His style and trademarks as a filmmaker include unrelated, but engaging dialogue,
popular culture references, have the main character as a violent anti-hero, the use of drugs,
certain profanity, black and white suits, the ‘Wilhelm’ scream, and borrow elements from other
movies and television shows. Camera angles consistently used by Tarantino in his films are
close ups on women's’ feet, 360 degree panning, table two shot, following dolly shot, god’s eye view
(high angle shot), and the point-of-view shot.
Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill Vol.1 (2003),
Kill Bill Vol.2 (2004), Death Proof (2007), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Django Unchained (2012)
and so on. His style and trademarks as a filmmaker include unrelated, but engaging dialogue,
popular culture references, have the main character as a violent anti-hero, the use of drugs,
certain profanity, black and white suits, the ‘Wilhelm’ scream, and borrow elements from other
movies and television shows. Camera angles consistently used by Tarantino in his films are
close ups on women's’ feet, 360 degree panning, table two shot, following dolly shot, god’s eye view
(high angle shot), and the point-of-view shot.
The film that will be discussed is Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 feature film, Pulp Fiction.
It is a crime film with a non-linear narrative, in which it doesn’t tell a story in chronological order,
but each sequence in the film tells an engaging story, focusing on different characters in each
of them. The film’s stories include a couple attempting to rob a restaurant, two hit men out to
do a job and then find themselves in a tricky situation, One of the hit men takes out his boss’
wife for a night, and a middle-aged boxer on run from the Mob after refusing to lose a match
on purpose. The film definitely includes Tarantino’s style and trademarks as mentioned before.
It is a crime film with a non-linear narrative, in which it doesn’t tell a story in chronological order,
but each sequence in the film tells an engaging story, focusing on different characters in each
of them. The film’s stories include a couple attempting to rob a restaurant, two hit men out to
do a job and then find themselves in a tricky situation, One of the hit men takes out his boss’
wife for a night, and a middle-aged boxer on run from the Mob after refusing to lose a match
on purpose. The film definitely includes Tarantino’s style and trademarks as mentioned before.
The opening scene in this film is essential because it does not directly set up the entire film,
but does make itself relevant for the final scene and becomes full circle as a film narrative.
It is significant to the film because it is the first scene and set of characters that the audience
first sees in this film and sets up the character through expressing their thoughts on certain
types of people, their line of work as robbers, and their own intimate relationship.
but does make itself relevant for the final scene and becomes full circle as a film narrative.
It is significant to the film because it is the first scene and set of characters that the audience
first sees in this film and sets up the character through expressing their thoughts on certain
types of people, their line of work as robbers, and their own intimate relationship.
I believe Tarantino as the director of this film intended with this scene was to set the tone of
the characters and story for this film by having the character speak vulgar dialogue, as well
showing they know what they are talking about in their line of work by detailing past experiences.
In addition, having a burst of violence at the very end of this scene sets the tone for the violent
content of the film, not only just the scene. It does so by starting their robbery attempt on the restaurant
they are inside of and a sudden character change for Yolanda speaking in a laid-back tone of dialogue to a
loud and cold tone of dialogue. I also believe Tarantino did this scene to show some understanding of the
characteristics of Yolanda and Pumpkin.
the characters and story for this film by having the character speak vulgar dialogue, as well
showing they know what they are talking about in their line of work by detailing past experiences.
In addition, having a burst of violence at the very end of this scene sets the tone for the violent
content of the film, not only just the scene. It does so by starting their robbery attempt on the restaurant
they are inside of and a sudden character change for Yolanda speaking in a laid-back tone of dialogue to a
loud and cold tone of dialogue. I also believe Tarantino did this scene to show some understanding of the
characteristics of Yolanda and Pumpkin.
Techniques used
Tarantino applies the style and trademark that is yet again mentioned, in which it the first camera
angle you see in this film that he consistently uses in his films are table two-shot.
Bender, L., & Tarantino, Q. (1994). Pulp Fiction [Motion picture]. United States: Miramax.
angle you see in this film that he consistently uses in his films are table two-shot.
Bender, L., & Tarantino, Q. (1994). Pulp Fiction [Motion picture]. United States: Miramax.
Stoycho Ganev. (2012, September 23). Pulp Fiction - Opening Scene [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jomr9SAjcyw
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