Dances with Wolves

Dances with wolves can be considered a western movie because of its wide open landscapes.  Almost every scene in this movie has music attached to it.  In some parts it seems like they don’t need music in a scene, but it doesn’t distract from the rest of the movie.  When Dunbar and the Sioux are fighting against the army the music in this scene is upbeat.  This fits the scene well as it causes the audience to get excited and hooked into the movie.  When the army shoots and kills two socks, this is devastating for Dunbar although we already know how close the two were, the music tells us how sad it is by having a calm soothing music. When Dunbar saves smiles a lot on the buffalo hunt the music makes us wonder if Dunbar will be able to shoot the buffalo before it attacks.  This is able to keep the suspense and make the audience left wondering.   The first encounter of the Sioux and Dunbar scene’s music starts off with quite and slow music showing us that each character are unsure of each other.

The acting in this film isn’t terrible, but in some of the attack scenes it seems like the it is forced.  The director did a good job with the placement of the camera.  He was able to make the wide open shots where it was needed.  I think Dances with Wolves won the Oscar because of how the music was able to add to each scene and make you enjoy each part of the movie.

 

Jaws

 

Jaws is a good movie, it has a good story line and it is able to keep your attention of what is going on.  Here are some examples of what makes Jaws a good movie.  The editing in Jaws is able to make tension by cutting back and forth between what people are doing to get rid of Jaws.  This makes you become excited to defeat the shark.  While on the boat trying to kill Jaws, we have the sounds of the ocean and the boat running, this helps us believe we are really on the ocean.  The music in Jaws is able to warn you a shark is in the area, and also get your attention.   Although most of the music is just two keys, it is one of the most recognized music.  Jaws could be considered scary by the way you don’t know when the shark is going to attack the person in the water.  Whenever the shark is going to attack, the film is cut right before it attacks its victim.  This causes the audience to know what happens without having to show them.   If Jaws were to be released today I think the story would be a hit, but the acting and special effects might cause people to not like the film, as we aren’t use to that style now.

Chariots Of Fire

Although Chariots Of Fire didn’t keep my attention, the movie itself was good.  I think the theme of this film is never let your dreams down.  All of the runners had something or someone try to stop them from running in the Olympics, but that never stopped them.  One example is Eric’s sister.  She believed running interfered with church, but Eric wouldn’t let her change his mind.  The actors did a good job in making us believe each one of them had a reason to run and compete.  They also looked the part of a runner.  The way they were dressed and looked made the audience believe they have been training to run for the Olympics for a while.   The editors were able to manipulate time by showing Eric and Harold training, and then it goes to were they meet the rest of their teammates.  They were able to do this by adding music and it makes your mind just flow with the rest of the movie.  The music in this movie adds to the film.  It is able to get you excited in the races, by adding faster music to help you feel like you are at the race too.  The Camera movement didn’t distract you from the rest of the movie.  You couldn’t easily tell when they switched angles or zoomed in and out, which made for smooth movements.  I think Chariots Of Fire won the Oscars because it was able to relate to what people are going through.  It also portrays the characters as ordinary people that have something they hope to achieve.

 

 

 

Rocky

In Rocky diegetic sounds are always happening.  It happens when people on the camera are talking.  When Rocky is at the pet shop you can hear all the different animals and this can go between diegetic and off screen sound.  As the camera follows Rocky around the store it catches all the animals on screen making their noises diegetic.  One of the most known song of Rocky is the Eye of the Tiger and this is a great example of Non-Diegetic.  It makes you feel like you are right in the scene doing his work out. Rocky can have multiple themes, but I believe the main one is persevering.  Rocky went through a lot.  He was told he could become a great fighter, but he hadn’t done any major fighting and this caused everyone to think he was worth anything.  But Rocky didn’t let this stop him he worked hard to become the greatest fighter he could and fight Apollo Creed.  In 1975 this film has a hit because it gave people hope.  A nobody can make a difference and change their world.  Rocky did a lot of save the cat during this film and it helped the audience like him more and root for him, some of these examples are.  Rocky takes his time to walk home Marie to make sure she gets home safely.  He also confronts Adrian and becomes fiends with her.  Rocky is nice to the homeless guy on the street and helps him out.  These little acts make rocky the hero in this film.

Waking Ned Devine

I really enjoyed Waking Ned Devine.  It was a creatively written movie and the way they set up and payed off things made everything flow smoothly in the movie. In Waking Ned Devine  the editing is mostly continuous.  The cuts were smooth, and it didn’t distract you from watching the movie.  Some of the main movie points include: the inciting incident which happens when Jackie finds Ned dead in his house.  The Midpoint is when Michael and Jackie decided to impersonate Ned to claim the lottery winnings.  The climax happens when the town people are able to claim the lottery money and Lizzy is in a phone booth as it is hit by a car.  Music added to the storytelling.  When the phone booth is flying through the air with Lizzy in it, the violin string is held out until it hits the ground.  Waking Ned Devine does a good job combining stories in one scene.  When Jackie, Michael, and Annie are trying to find out who won the lottery, it goes back and forth between the three conversations, but they all connect in some way.  Then at the end it goes between the party of winning the lottery and Lizzy in the phone booth.

The Godfather

The Godfather was a good movie, During some of the scenes it was slow, but it wasn’t terrible. The acting was amazing, they made you feel like you were with the Corleone family.  In the scene as Michael goes into the bathroom he makes you wonder if he is going to find the gun, Then once he finds it he keeps you guessing if he is going to shoot the other two guys with him.  The Godfather was a type of film no one had seen before and the way they used the lighting and positioning made The Godfather  successful.  The Godfather used a lot of black and shadow to produce a feel of a dark scene.  The shadows made it so you didn’t know what was in that area and it made you worried about what could be in the shadows.  Color in The Godfather is able to show you something, without telling you.  At Don Vito’s funeral, when people are putting flowers on his grave. the flowers are red,  that represents power and authority.  The camera didn’t move that often.  Whenever someone got shot it would stay focused on that part in the scene and it would zoom in and out. The extreme close up would be used to show fear, or authority when making a deal. During different scenes the main character in the scene would be positioned so they could follow the rule of third.  This allowed the audience to focus their attention on them first.  The internal goal of the film is to keep the family safe, the Corleone family was all about what they can do for their family.  The external goal is to take revenge for what people have done for their family.  The Godfather theme is family comes first no matter what.  

Amadeus

Amadeus wardrobe was able to bring you into the 1700’s by the clothing everyone wore.  The women’s dresses were what you expected, and everyone wore a wig.  The color red was very prominent in the film it portrayed royalty and someone who is in power in the scene.  The makeup on the actors were able to show them when they were young, and then as they aged the makeup was able to keep the same person but made them look older by bringing out the wrinkles on the face and hands.  The locations of the scenes were able to make you feel like you were in Vienna and living there.  When the characters were walking down the street with tall buildings on both sides it was able to make you feel like you were walking with them to their destination.  Production design is able to make us enjoy the movie by bringing us into their lives and feel like we are in that time period.  The way people were dressed depicted the time we were in, and the way the town looked with all the horses and carriages. From Amadeus we learn about 1984.  We learn people respect mozart and love his music.  We also learn people might be having a hard time with their religion and what they believe because Amadeus portrays the hatred towards god.  The theme is man vs. god.  This is portrayed when Salieri believes god only likes a person by the talents and fame he gives a person.  The explicit meaning is hatred can rob us of the talents we already have. Salieri had many talents of his own, but he let the hatred he had against Mozart diminish his ability to create the music he loved.

Rear Window

Whenever the camera moved through the courtyard it moved from left to right, this created tension and caused the audience to think something was wrong.  Close ups were commonly used in this film to produce fear.  SRS weren’t common in Rear Window but it did happen when occasionally when they were talking.  For the movie to be made in 1954 the acting was good for that time period.  They did a good job of producing fear and making the audience think about what happened to the wife.  The Visual Effects were cheesy, but that is expected because they don’t have the technology we have today.  The helicopter shot showed a different color sky, and when Jeff falls out the window the effects are obvious. From Rear Window we learn that in 1954 women weren’t treated like they are today.  They were shown as obnoxious or something men went after.  Rear Window went through many ethical issues, some include, breaking and entering and watching your neighbors.  The Explicit meaning is don’t spy on your neighbors, and the implicit meaning is someone is always watching what you do.  

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid can be considered a Western, it has wide open landscapes, and multiple gunfights.  If this film were to be release today I believe it wouldn’t do as well as the other movies in theaters.  The plot is well written, but the script might not be what people today like.  An anti-Hero is someone who is a hero but does wrong.  The filmmakers get you to like the villains by making them seem like everyone else.  They have relationships, and they try not to hurt people.  In the movie there is a section of montage, they did this by showing pictures.  It was able to share and move the story along through a passage of time without having to share every detail.  Butch Cassidy’s Implicit meaning is what you do will always have a consequence.  I believe this film won an oscar for writing because it is able to keep your attention, and the style allows you to root for the villains and other characters.  For the music oscar, the style of the music they chose in each seen adds to the movie to make it more meaningful and enjoyable.  In some scenes the music is not what you would be expecting, and that makes it more unique.  In 1967 the Vietnam war was going on and I think this movie was a hit because people at that time were able to get away from some of their stress.  It allowed people to think about a life as a bank robber.  I think this film was good.  The ending was unlike anything I’ve seen.  The writers were able to tell you what happened to the two without having to show you.  

Singing in the Rain

We start the movie by seeing Don, Lina, and Cosmo at the premiere of The Royal Rascal.  There Don tells about how he got started in the movie business and how he met Lina.  The catalyst in this film is when the Royal Jouster is released.  Mid Point is when their movie premiere goes wrong and they decide to make it into a musical.  The all is lost moment occurs when Lina won’t let Kathy have a career for herself and makes it so Kathy has to be her voice.  The Finale happens when their talking film is at the premiere and everyone thinks it is a hit, until Lina has to sing for the audience.  

Singing in the Rain’s Explicit meaning to me is the truth will always come out.  In the end, everyone found out that Lina couldn’t sing and it was really Kathy that was the voice.  The Implicit meaning is Always be there for your friends.   Don, Cosmo, and Kathy went through a lot together and Lina was going to destroy Kathy’s career, but they didn’t let anything stop them from achieving their goal. Singing in the Rain is considered a musical. The traits of a musical include singing and dance routines.  This film was successful in the traits because anytime you had singing you had a dance number.  1927 this film shows some people though talking films were ridiculous, and that they would never work.  But it also shows in 1952 that people like in 1927 went to movies to get away from what is going on in their lives.