Even though Jules Dassin was blacklisted, his film, ‘Rififi’ influenced many American films. Michael Mann’s film ‘Thief’ contains similarities and contrast from Jules Dassin’s ‘Rififi’. In the beginning, Tony and Frank both are hesitant on whether to take part in the heist. The difference between the two men is the reason why they agreed to the heist. Tony loses his woman; lives in a small, nothing special apartment. Tony doesn’t have anything holding him back since he’s been in prison before. Frank, too, has been in prison before. Frank agrees, but it’ll be his last heist, to help his buddy out of prison and provide his dream life. Both men hesitant in agreeing, but they agree with their own reasons. The actual heist in ‘Thief’ contains many similarities to the heist in ‘Rififi’. They used the similar style in opening the safe in the beginning heist. In ‘Thief’, Frank cuts a circle in the safe, and then hammers the circle open. Ceser uses the same style in ‘Rififi’. In both films, the heist results in them retrieving jewelry and diamonds. Similar styled heist in both films, including the prize: jewelry and cash. Also, we see how tedious the planning process of these heists. The safe robbery happens in real time. The heist takes place in actual time frame to safely …show more content…
entering, securing the place, disarming the alarms, and figuring out a way in opening the thick safe. The main characters in ‘Thief’ and ‘Rififi’ possess similar personalities. They both can’t make small conversation with others. Tony stays silent most of the time, while Frank tries to but comes out as strange flirting. They both act professional in life. When Frank talks, each conversation is like a transaction for him. Tony only speaks for business purpose. Frank’s buddy in prison, Willie Nelson, has the same problem as both Frank and Tony. Willie Nelson’s character talks short and gets straight to the point, just like Frank and Tony. Tony sticks close to the rules. When he sees Cesar tied up and told him how he sold Mario out. Tony reminds him that it’s against a rule. Both men understood the rule, and Cesar knew what was going to happen next. Tony treats Leo the same way. Tony has his own rules, even though Leo gave him a son and a family, Tony wants the money that he worked to get. Both men don’t mix personal lives with their business lives. Toney and Frank treat relationships as a business partnership. Both men have similar personalities, but they have different confidence. In the beginning, we are introducing to Tony having no confidence as he relies on Jo for money during his poker game. With Frank, he flaunts his confidence in the beginning. He shows it with his everyday materials: expensive clothes, jewelry, cars, etc. He wants people to know that he is confident with himself. He brings that confidence in each time he talks. Tony shows his confidence later on in the film during the heist and him dealing with people like his ex-lover and the other gang leader. Tony and his men stay quiet and try to make as little as noise as possible during the heist; but Frank and his men made noises with through furniture everywhere and the tools to break into the safe. Even though Tony doesn’t speak a lot, he shows confidence through his body language, just like Frank. The men hold themselves in confidence, but display it differently. Frank’s human side is shown more than Tony’s human side. We see Tony’s human side when he deals with Jo and Jo’s family. The same with Frank, but we see Frank’s wants for the future. Tony isn’t sure what the future will hold for him, but Frank set up a future that he wants. We specifically see through the paper that Frank carries everywhere. Frank collects magazine pictures to portray what Frank sees in his future. Tony basically lives in the present, unsure what he wants. From the beginning, Frank owns more things than Tony. At the end, Frank becomes like Tony. Even though Frank survives, unlike Tony, Frank loses everything he worked for; toward the end of ‘Thief’, Frank emotionally dies inside. Frank shows his human side and dies emotionally, while Tony dies physically. Frank and Tony deal with family jeopardy. Frank deals with many father figures: old fisherman, Willie Nelson’s character, and Leo offered to be his father. Frank becomes a father himself during the film. When Leo tells Frank that he worked out a way in giving Frank a son, we see Frank ecstatic about being a father; the only time we see Frank really happy. Tony use to him the woman he loved, but she left him. Then Tony deals with Jo’s family. Tony is Jo’s son’s godfather. Through Tony’s interaction with Jo’s son, Tony actually smiles when playing with the son in the beginning. Afterwards, Tony deals with the jeopardy with Jo’s son kidnap. Tony risks himself to find the son. We know little about Tony’s family history, just like we know nothing of Frank’s family either. Both films contain a moment of calmness. Everyone celebrates after the finished heist. Tony and his men celebrate while discussing what they’ll do with their share. Frank celebrates with his family and friend at the beach. Everything seems to go well for them. They all have a relaxing period before the storm; unaware on how bad their life will become afterwards. Everyone faces punishment for all their actions.
In ‘Rififi’, everyone who committed a crime dies. At the end, it’s confusing on whether or not Tony will die, but in the end he dies. In ‘Theif’, not everyone dies. Leo and his men die by Frank’s hand, and Frank’s buddy die by Leo’s men; but, Frank’s other friend takes Frank’s wife and kid away to keep them safe. Frank survives from the end battle, but he is emotionally dead. He had everything he wanted, a successful business, a nice house, a wife, and a kid; but Frank loses everything in order to get his revenge on Leo. We see the emotion drain from Frank as he tells his wife to leave. After that, Frank doesn’t speak
again. Dassin and Mann use soundtrack differently, but similarly by intensifying the scene. In ‘Rififi’, the heist scene is entirely mute, except for some noise like bumping into the piano, and some steps. The only sound we hear is the men working on the break in. The scene realistically displays what actually occurs during a heist. The long process and the silence intensify the scene, whether or not they will get caught. While at the end, when Tony drives to return the son, the music gets louder and intensifies which increases the climax of the scene whether or not Tony will make it back or live. The opposite happens during the ‘Thief’. The heist scene uses the music to intensify the event, the climax being if they could pull it off. It gets louder and louder showing all the sound that happens during the heist with moving things. The opposite happens when Frank goes to Leo’s place. We do not hear any music during Frank infiltrating Leo’s place. We only hear movement and gunshots. The lack of music increases the climax with Frank walking through the house. Not knowing what will happen to Frank through the large, many rooms and hallways, house. Both films use the soundtrack to intensify scenes, but the directors switch the lack and the loudness of sound. A Music number is present in ‘Rififi’ and ‘Thief’. The girl at the club sings the Rififi song. It gives us information on what the word ‘Rififi’ means and how it represents the men in the film. In ‘Thief’, the live band plays as Frank goes to see his lover at the bar, which is angry since Frank arrives two hours late. Both music numbers contain upbeat sound that compliments the settings. Both Directors wanted their films to be as real as possible. We see this through the process of planning the heist, gathering the tools and intelligence to successful pull the robbery off. The settings and shots are made to feel real. Mann uses shiny gloss textures in cars and scenes. The shots compress of hot, very vegas like lighting. It gives off the harshness and vibrant in the city’s lights and each car in the film. Dassins shoots raining scenes when it’s actually raining. We can tell during the scene with everyone carrying umbrellas, but it’s difficult to see the rain. The directors wanted to use real places to shoot their scenes at get the realism in their films. Jules Dassin’s ‘Rififi’ influenced many directors, Michael Mann being one. Mann uses the same style trying to get the film as close to a realistic feel. Michael Mann uses ideas from ‘Rififi’ into ‘Thief’. They contain similarities to one another, but directors try to put their own twist on their films. Even though the two films possess parallels to each other, they have different ways in portraying those segments.
“Wes was so confused. He loved and respected his brother. Tony was the closest thing Wes had to a role model. But the more he tried to be like his brother, the more Tony pushed back.” (72) Wes then got his girlfriend pregnant 4 times and dropped out of school to help out with her. With multiple arrests for shooting someone and drug dealing. Tony his "so called role model" helped Wes rob a jewelry store and they were convicted for murdering Sergeant Prothero along the way. Tony's motives were right but he never really got across to Wes with leading him in the right direction. Tony tried to push Wes away from the drug game but Wes was to drawn to it.
Maria had no authority over her restless family. The source of the conflict between Antonio and Maria originates from her oldest sons taking to going where they please and not caring about their parent’s wishes. The burden of pleasing their parents passes from the eldest sons to the youngest one. With the sole duty of pleasing his parents, Tony internally rebels against their wishes instead seeking to set to rest his churning mind by seeking his own beliefs. His brothers console themselves about abandoning their family by saying that “Tony will be her priest” (Anaya 36) and not knowing that the “dreams of their father and mother [haunt] them” (Anaya 36) also haunted Antonio. Having the responsibilities of his brothers and his family shape the way he grows and thinks. He isn’t just thinking about himself he also has the problems of redeeming his family on his head. Through the story and through Ultima Tony realizes that he is not bound by obligations and can instead shape his own
In “The Thematic Paradigm,” University of Florida professor of film studies, Robert Ray, defines two types of heroes pervading American films, the outlaw hero and the official hero. Often the two types are merged in a reconciliatory pattern, he argues. In fact, this
In the article “The Thematic Paradigm” exerted from his book, A Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, Robert Ray provides a description of the two types of heroes depicted in American film: the outlaw hero and the official hero. Although the outlaw hero is more risky and lonely, he cherishes liberty and sovereignty. The official hero on the other hand, generally poses the role of an average ordinary person, claiming an image of a “civilized person.” While the outlaw hero creates an image of a rough-cut person likely to commit a crime, the official hero has a legend perception. In this essay, I will reflect on Ray’s work, along with demonstrating where I observe ideologies and themes.
In the end, Tony plays the role of both hero and villain. His wife, Marcela, represents both the whore and the virgin Mexican-American. The both prove unfaithful: Tony to America and Marcela to Mexico. Herein lays the schizophrenic world in which good and bad coexist across the borders of two emerging world countries struggling for control of land and culture. There’s a price to be paid for such human greed and unrealistic expectations. Ultimately it proves to be a place where virtue doesn’t remain intact and villains abound, even among the good guys!
Tony did not want his younger brother to follow in his footstep but “Tony was now full-time in the streets, splitting his time between his father’s and girlfriend’s apartments in the Murphy Homes Project. He was a veteran of the drug game at eighteen”(The Other Wes Moore 57). Tony lived a life of crime when he became a drug dealer which earned money for him as a leaving. Though it did create a source of income for the struggling family, this was a very negative example for the young Other Wes to live by. As a result of not having any other people to help guide him to a successful path to living, Other Wes reverted to living by Tony’s destructive actions. Inevitably, Other Wes joined Tony on the streets selling various drugs as a career. His street life consumed his entire life so much he eventually dropped out of high school to concentrate on selling drugs. His illegal activities became so detrimental to his life that it resulted in prison on multiple occasions due to drug deals and firing a handgun. The role Tony had on Wes contributed towards the actions and downfall of Other Wes. His life could be the same, however, a different role model could have drastically changed his mindset and kept him off the streets which resulted in him living a destructive and
In Bless Me Ultima, Tony embarks on a rocky journey to discover who he is and what he believes. Tony must make the transition from a naïve six year old boy to a mature man. His experiences continually call his basic beliefs into question, and chip away at his innocence. For example, when he witnesses the brutal death of Lupito, he starts to question many ideas; sin, good and evil, punishment, and his faith. He begins to see the world of man as violent and sometimes ruthless, not the friendly, loving world where he had previously resided. He even becomes concerned about his own father's salvation because of Gabrielle's involvement in Lupito's death and begins to see his father as less than perfect. Death continues to haunt him when Narciso, a good man, is killed defending Ultima, while Tenorio, an apparently evil man, is spared. These outcomes are not what he believes should have occurred and yet again, a piece of his innocence is stripped away as he sees life is not always fair. He is beginning to realize that he must define his own beliefs.
Tony also stands up against a mob for Florence; everyone wants to punish Florence for "not believing in God" (214) and Tony pushes the crowd away and refuses to give Florence the penance that Florence does not deserve. Although Tony knows that he will be given the "Indian torture" (214), he still speaks up for his friend. Anaya often presents Tony as a dependent character, never wanting to "be away from the protection of [his] mother" (51); in fact, he's so close to his mother that it seems that he's going through Oedipus's Complex. Anaya actually does this to increase the impact of Tony's bravery. One might expect Tony to stay in his undercover bushes when Tenorio is standing so close; however, when Tony hears that Tenorio knows the way to kill Ultima, the thought to warn Ultima supercedes his fear and encourages his legs to pick up and run home (255).
Robert B. Ray categorizes Casablanca as "the most typical" American film. Ray uses Casablanca as a tutor text for what he calls the formal paradigm of Classical Hollywood as well as the thematic paradigm that addresses the conflict between isolationism and communitarian participation. The film is typical in its appropriation of an official hero Laszlo, who stands for the civilizing values of home and community, and an outlaw hero Rick, who stands for individu...
He takes a necklace for his Gina, who is now grown into a beautiful young women and one thousand dollars’ cash for his mother. His sister is very excited to see him, but his mother not so much. His mother knows how he is making his money and is disgusted. She refuses the money he tries to give her and throws him out. This part of the movie shows a small glimpse into Tony’s past. A conversation between him and his sister, reveals that he was in the army with the communists and that is father abandoned them. It shows his deep love and protection for his sister as well as hers for him. He is able to sneak the money to her. Manny makes small comment about how beautiful Tony’s sister has become and Tony’s rage surfaces, instructed Manny to keep his mouth shut and to stay away from his
Tony saw through the prejudice though, he loved one of the PR's and when the Jets found out, they were ashamed. Tony's love for Maria was so real, he didn't care what happened. He died.Prejudice plagues this world now and forever, as long as there is a difference in people there will discrimination and prejudice.
Like most things captured on film for the purpose of being marketed, the richness of gangster life, with sex, money, and power in surplus, is glorified, and thus embraced by the audience. And as a rule, if something works Hollywood repeats it, ala a genre. What Scarface and Little Caesar did was ultimately create a genre assigning powerful qualities to criminals. Such sensationalism started with the newspapers who maybe added a little more color here and there to sell a few more copies, which is portrayed in Scarface’s two newspaper office scenes. Leo Braudy denounces genres as offending “our most common definition of artistic excellence” by simply following a predetermined equation of repetition of character and plot. However, Thomas Schatz argues that many variations of plot can exist within the “arena” that the rules of the genre provide.
Classic film noir originated after World War II. This is the time where post World War II pessimism, anxiety, and suspicion was taking the world by storm. Many films that were released in the U.S. Between 1939s and 1940s were considered propaganda films that were designed for entertainment during the Depression and World War II. During the 1930s many German and Europeans immigrated to the U.S. and helped the American film industry with powerf...
The Godfather is the “dark-side of the American dream story” (Turan, pp2). The film follows the practices of a fictional Italian mafia family, the Corleone’s. Though most Americans do not condone the practices of the Italian mafia, they cannot deny that Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is a cinematic masterpiece. This film gave insight to a mysterious way of life that the average person does not have knowledge of. As the audience is educated about the mafia they also are introduced to many stereotypes.
In this essay the following will be discussed; the change from the age of classical Hollywood film making to the new Hollywood era, the influence of European film making in American films from Martin Scorsese and how the film Taxi Driver shows the innovative and fresh techniques of this ‘New Hollywood Cinema’.