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Bronenosets Potyomkin (1925)
My overall opinion of the film is that I loved it.
My overall opinion of the film is that I loved it. It is a very successful in getting its emotions across and it is that which makes the film brilliant. Even though the film is not perfect it is definitely a film that I will not forget in a hurry. It says a lot for how successful all of the images are that so many people think so highly of "Battleship Potemkin", regardless of a narrative that is from time to time hard to follow. This is because the film does not have the best acting talents but it still delivers a hard punch that stays with you. I would say that the Odessa Steps has to be one of the most well known sequences in the history of film. The famous Odessa Steps montage single-handedly reveals equally the excellent industrial talents and an intense understanding of how to deliver a picture that stays with the audience. I would say that the overall techniques used in this film were to make it shocking, just like my first and second film in A2. The images are so striking that the movie's faults are often not so obvious and they don't keep it from being an unforgettable film. There is a lot to understand in the way that the main scenes were set up and shot. The Battleship Potemkin is packed with vibrant metaphors that stay in your brain after you have watched it. The reason I selected this particular film, The Battleship Potemkin is that it is a stunning success of imaginative montages that lead the way for films like Rocky. What makes this such a good film particularly is the well-known Odessa Steps scene where blameless city dwellers are chased away down the steps. The motion picture is an all time movie standard for all film fans. The cinematography is incredible in this Russian film, it used a combination of tracking and crane shots that move with the battle and used modern viewpoint and composition layouts for a film of that time. Historical references that go with this film were easy to find out as the film is based on the historical actions that happened at that time. The motion picture tells the narrative of a rebellion at the battleship Potemkin in Russia. Troops were given gone off meat for food which resulted in the uproar/dispute.
Empire (1964)
It was filmed on the 42nd floor of the Time Life Building.
It was filmed on the 42nd floor of the Time Life Building. What makes this film contemporary is that it is not like a normal film, as with normal films you watch the entire film, but Empire is a challenge for the viewer to watch as it just features the same image of the tower. I think it is to be viewed more of a painting than a film. In short, Empire is an extremely weird and wonderful experimentation that Andy Warhol did. Empire is exactly a single uninterrupted shot of the Empire State Building in New York. My overall opinion of the piece is that Empire is one of the most unexpectedly gripping movies I have seen to date, as not much happens but you expect it to. I could not wait to see what was going to happen and as I watched it I began to believe that nothing ever would, but as soon as the lights go on I sprang out of a chair like I would on an action film. Just like in life, sometimes the most simple things are the most beautiful. If all films were a huge 485 minutes long I would most likely be bored out of my skull, but if I was listen to music that was that long I probably would not get bored as there is something relaxing in hearing and letting your other senses go to rest, just like with watching Empire which keeps my eyes busy but relaxes all the rest of me. I would say that the overall technique of Empire is mesmerizing. It used only one shot that would be boring and dull for most films but it uses it as a plus point by making it a film that is one of a kind film that has not be done before or after with any great success. I believe the techniques in Empire were done in a style that Warhol wanted us to relax and to be interpreted in our own way as we are not mentally stimulated enough to keep full concentration on the film itself. Also when I look at this documentary I don't see a film but more of history that has been frozen in time and I believe this is what Warhol wanted to achieve as the film appears to be in slow motion. I would describe the medium of the film as gritty as you can see a lot of grain in the film which is most likely due to it being night during most of it and the time the film was made. The fact that the film is black and white makes it feel more like a contemporary piece. What most films are made of include a visual and sound combined to make a pleasant experience for the audience. Even though this film is a silent movie it still relies on sound to give the whole effect of the film, as when I was watching it I found I was getting easily distracted by sounds around me bringing me out of the trance of the film and then bringing me back into it once I started watching again. The reason I selected this particular piece and Warhol is that I found this motion picture so captivating and it made me want to write about it. It makes me think while watching it and most films do the thinking for you. It is for this reason that this is one of Warhol's best films in my opinion and what makes him such a mastermind. Historical references I can link with this film and the artist is that it was made in the 60's which was a time for change and trying new things that had not been done before Examples include pop music from the Beatles or sex becoming a subject people talked about, so artists were becoming more daring in what they did. I believe if Empire was made in any other decade it would be a lot different from what we see today.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
The part of the film I have chosen is chapter 5:
The part of the film I have chosen is chapter 5: Show down at the House of Blue Leaves. After the Bride (Uma Thurman) wearing a yellow motorcycle jump suit has tracked down O-Ren (Lucy liu) after killing dozens of the crazy 88, the two have a spectacular sword fight in a snowy garden. After crossing swords numerous times, O-Ren is scalped by the bride with her Hanzo sword.
I would say the method of montage used in this scene was metric, as the shot keeps being cut no matter what is happening within the image. By doing this it elicits the most basal and emotional of reactions from the audience. It does also have rhythmic montage in it as well though as when they are fighting the cutting is based on time using the visual composition of the shot. The pace of the scene is really fast going as each shot is not normally more then a seconds this makes it feel like a more of a fight like you are there as in when you are in a real live fight it all happens so fast so this is what I think they were trying to active here.
My opinion of the use of montage and the overall affect and styles is that it works really well from the start of building up the tension to the fast flowing action of the fight that gets your blood moving. I think if it did not of have as many shots in it the effect they were trying to portray would not have worked.
I would describe the links from one shot to another focusing on composition, viewpoint, colouring and narrative as a job well done, it s nicely flowing and it keeps you there. You always know what is going on but at the same time it keeps it interesting, and unpredictable.
I have selected this particular montage scenes as I think it is the best one of its kind, and more importantly it keeps this up al the way throw out the film so you never loss interest and it keeps you wanting more so you are upset that it has ended as it keeps you griped so well.
A Single Man (2009)
Must See1
A couple of minutes in from starting to watch 'A Single Man' directed by tom Ford I knew it was a world class film. It had be hooked, its is one of the most beautiful and sublime films I have seen to date. I found out about it after talking to some of my college lecturers about films that show hidden wonder, American beauty was one of them, the ice storm was another and a single man was the last one. My only wish for this film was that I watched it a lot sooner.
Its true to say I am not the biggest Colin Firth fan so my hopes were not very high at all for this film but this film has changed my view on him completely. Nicholas Hoult who is also in the film did an amazing job. He has really grown from that little boy in 'About a Boy' and Tony in 'Skins' I will not talk about the plot that much as anything I say may lower the true stranded of this film. It is best enjoyed with an open mind and a love of new age cinema.
This film has everything I wish my films would have it it. It is done to a fine art. The soundtrack took me right into the characters minds, the cinematography is so interesting and different to Hollywood films today. It really inspired me in the way I hope my future films will look. It was also clear that a lot of though went into the composition and the way each and every shot looked so well polished. Another aspect that really stood out for me that I normally look over was the use of colour and saturation. The way the vibrancy showed the mood and past to the present.
Watching this has shown me what is right about my FMP film but most importantly what is wrong with it. The way that the most important parts in Georges head is slowed down is perfect. Seeing this film had changed how my final out come will look. I now plan to make my film more personal then I had planed. I now want to show the same about of speed up footage to slowed down footage.
If you want to see the best that cinema has to offer then look no more. Watching this film has given my motivation the push it needed to get out there and make a film that people will remember!
Bodysong (2003)
bodysong
The intention was to outline the human beings and there life on earth in no more then 90 minutes using tons of documentation footage from all over the world and all over the last century. It starts with a library of video recordings of sperm that has been magnified. The film starts on a collection of old recording from all over the globe and period that takes you on a journey of all of mankind's life, having a baby, learning, getting a job, sex, fighting, conflict, religion, imagination and demise.
Some of the clips are dull and others are mesmerizing, the prime impression is one of being carried along. The film somes up the word sublime for me. It The film is put together well to create the themes to create a universal feeling of what it is to be alive. It does not specific of individuals as such like my final film might. The shows me the idea of what being human is, This has really helped me as I want to show what it is like to live in the town of Eastleigh for my own film. The film is really interesting as all the material has been directed and filmed by others.
Naqoyqatsi (2002)
Naqoyqatsi (2002)
I sat down to watch the third and final film of the 'qatsi' series last night as so far Reggio's work has really inspired me in my film making. The last two films has such a huge impact on how I saw life I could not wait to be inspired by Naqoyqatsi. The start of the film felt very much the same as the past films with the sublime music score. I did enjoy the film but I dint feel that the series evolved as much as I hoped it would. The film is breath-taking at first but the same shocking images after awhile become dull and you are numbed to the full effect of them. I was left at the end of the film with a strong feeling of emptiness and sadness. I always knew war was out there but this film really brought in into my mind. The films trys to show that war is life. At times I found the images to be to in your face but that is something I have not made my mind up completely as of yet. All the images are of some kind of war but they do not flow as well as I would have hoped as you would have images of Hitler and then Binlarden. Sure they are linked but its not as smooth as I feel it could have been. Koyaanisqatis had a much stronger beginning, middle and end. I really tried to find the meaning in this film but kept getting lost in the overpowering images. Even though I do not think this film is perfect like the last two films were,
Le voyage dans la lune (1902)
A true work of Art
Journey to the Moon George Melies was a French and one of the pioneers of early cinema. Before his film career he was a magician/ illusionist. What makes his 1902 film Journey to the moon so breathtaking is the fact that its one of the first films to beak away from the Lumière brothers style of documentary style filming and use plot and narrative to create this compelling 14min filming at a rate of 16 frames per second which was the stander frame rate at that time. I would compare the spectator ship of this film to the reaction of today audience to a film like James Camrons Avatar. I make this statement as though Melies does not use state of the art CGI he did use techniques like super-imposing, animation, camera trickery and stop-start motion which would have been a expectational voyeurism pleasure in 1902. The other thing that makes this film hold its iconic place is history is the length which would of felt like watching all of the 'lord of the rings' film one after the other as most films were only a couple of minuets long. As I have previously mentioned Journey to the Moon has a narrative but its the first of it kind to have a real genre, its genre being sci-fi and fantasy as well as one of the first film to use special effects. For all they s reasons and more I rate this film very highly. With out it I believe that cinema as we know it would not be the same.
Nat Hawley
Space Chimps (2008)
A good family film
A really good family film about a performing chimp that ends up getting unwilling sent up to space with two after chips one big headed male chimp and one female with lots of adventures on the way and on the planted they land on with some unlikely guest. Its one of those films that mum ,dad but mainly the children all can enjoy, the animation is quit simply but still of a descent 21st century quality but gives the dream works film a nice colourful cartoony light harted feel to it that leaves you with a smile on your face as you leave the cinema. The storyline plot is also nothing new as every one lives happily ever after but I guess if it dint it would not be a good film for children. To add on the plot it is not how you say out of this world brilliant but it is still very funny and nice and easy to follow (again for the children) making it a top film if it's a rainy day to take the kids to or just to watch at home on DVD with a beer. I enjoyed it and at the end of the day that's what you what from a film, to enjoy it 7/10