On occasion, a person’s motivations have the power to make their dreams a reality. This is clearly seen in the story of Philippe Petit and his dream as a young adult to tightrope walk between the infamous Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. In August 1974, Petit achieved this goal. Many years after his momentous performance, a documentary titled Man on Wire was created to capture the events that occured prior and subsequent to Petit’s most famous walk. The movie includes a series of interviews from those involved with Petit and the man himself, reenacted video clips and actual pictures. Overall the movie has been well received and even notable movie critics have given some of their own thoughts on this movie. The movie Man on Wire directed by James Marsh is an elegantly constructed documentary that fascinates and inspires any person that watches to follow their own desires.
The movie provides the audience with a storyline capable of capturing their full attention. The collection of
…show more content…
There are moments in the movie where the transition between different scenes did not feel smooth. Peter Bradshaw says in his criticism, “James Marsh's documentary about this sublime piece of audacity does full justice to Petit's vision.” I do believe that the combination of reenactments and interview video clips contributed to the beauty of the film. The way that the reenactments were shot was so well done that it was hard to discern actual footage from a reproduction. There were just some elements of the cinematography that could have been done differently in order to fit more appropriately. Not all the transitions were smooth and the use of the hard light on the people being introduced for an interview were borderline gimmicky. Despite this negative criticism, however, I feel as though they contribute to the movie’s ability to capture the audience’s
In his essay, “It’s Just a Movie: A Teaching Essay for Introductory Media Classes”, Greg M. Smith argues that analyzing a film does not ruin, but enhances a movie-viewing experience; he supports his argument with supporting evidence. He addresses the careful planning required for movies. Messages are not meant to be telegrams. Audiences read into movies to understand basic plotlines. Viewers should examine works rather than society’s explanations. Each piece contributes to Smith’s argument, movies are worth scrutinizing.
40 oz. to Freedom '89 Vision 100 Wieght of Collie Weed =5446 (That's My Number) Adult Books Ain't No Prophet =
the film was going to show. The film gave us an insight into what the
Citizen Kane has earned the prestigious honor of being regarded as the number one movie of all time because of Welles’ groundbreaking narrative and plot structures that paved a path for the future of the film industry. Though critics have viewed the film with such prestige over the years, a present day viewer might encounter a great amount of confusion or difficulty as to why Citizen Kane is the number one movie on the American Film Institute’s top 100 movies of all time. Especially considering the modern day film industry, Welles’ production does not measure up to the amount of thrill and entertainment audiences experience today. Not even considering the possibilities with special effects and technology, Citizen Kane seems to lack an exciting plot that might involve some action or twists instead of the gossip of a man’s life that we no longer appreciate. In 1941, the general public could greatly appreciate the connections between Kane and William Randolph Hearst unlike young adults watching the film now.
to show the genre of the film and how it is meant to be perceived. All
The film’s story does not simply shines forth, but is also the foundation of the plot. The film’s plot makes the traditional guidelines applicable...
...er apparently created successful persuasive appeals for the crowd to be attracted and enjoy a movie that will be funny, colorful, and full of adventures that eventually will teach a life experience to the public.
It is a common mis-conception that films are merely entertainment, and serve no other purpose than to provide for the viewer a two-hour escape from reality. This is a serious under-estimation of the power, purpose, and potential of film, because film, upon reflection, revea...
Indeed, I found that this documentary had distinctive and remarkable visuals. I specifically liked the recreation of certain scenes. I liked how when the narrator was speaking about the middle passage the background would change to make it look like if Henry Louis Gates Jr. was traveling back in time to that specific moment. Furthermore, I liked how the filmmakers keep the events in chronological order and how the nar...
The only real way to truly understand a story is to understand all aspects of a story and their meanings. The same goes for movies, as they are all just stories being acted out. In Thomas Foster's book, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor”, Foster explains in detail the numerous ingredients of a story. He discusses almost everything that can be found in any given piece of literature. The devices discussed in Foster's book can be found in most movies as well, including in Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic, “Pulp Fiction”. This movie is a complicated tale that follows numerous characters involved in intertwining stories. Tarantino utilizes many devices to make “Pulp Fiction” into an excellent film. In this essay, I will demonstrate how several literary devices described in Foster's book are put to use in Tarantino’s film, “Pulp Fiction”, including quests, archetypes, food, and violence.
Barsam, R. M., Monahan, D., & Gocsik, K. M. (2012). Looking at movies: an introduction to film (4th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Co..
...movie that I fell in love with. But most of all I love how the story line is a great overlap into the cinematically engaging movie. There is a great use of camera, timing, shots and story line that are portrayed in this movie without being too overwhelming. This allows the audience to relax during the movie and just take in the scenes as a story from reality. To this day, and even still doing this paper I still come to find different aspects of the movie that I missed the previous times I have watched it.
“Entertainment has to come hand in hand with a little bit of medicine, some people go to the movies to be reminded that everything’s okay. I don’t make those kinds of movies. That, to me, is a lie. Everything’s not okay.” - David Fincher. David Fincher is the director that I am choosing to homage for a number of reasons. I personally find his movies to be some of the deepest, most well made, and beautiful films in recent memory. However it is Fincher’s take on story telling and filmmaking in general that causes me to admire his films so much. This quote exemplifies that, and is something that I whole-heartedly agree with. I am and have always been extremely opinionated and open about my views on the world and I believe that artists have a responsibility to do what they can with their art to help improve the culture that they are helping to create. In this paper I will try to outline exactly how Fincher creates the masterpieces that he does and what I can take from that and apply to my films.
Piper, Jim. Get the Picture? The Movie Lover’s Guide to Watching Films. 2nd ed. New York, New York: Allworth, 2008. Print.
Boggs, J. & Petrie, J. (2008). The Art of Watching Films. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies. p. 2-463.