Tropic thunder is an action comedy film within a film about a series of freak occurrences, which forces a group of prima donna actors to become the soldiers they’re portraying. In addition, the plot of the film revolves around these actors who are making this fictional film called “Tropic Thunder” which is about the Vietnam War and they’re experiences. The film is ultimately making fun of Hollywood in a comical way. However, in the film the actors are unexpectically dropped in the middle of the jungle and they’re forced to depend on their acting skills to survive many life and death situations. Underneath the hilarity of the film lies a message not just about the lengths that actors will go for an Oscar but to be your authentic self and everything will work out. The movie also exploits the stereotypical American “Celebrity “. When comparing the film within the film we can clearly see the difference in the acting and filming choices. Throughout the film the audience can see the obvious insecurities within these actors. In addition, throughout the film, the characters portray themselves to be someone else to prevent from displaying who they really are. Once they eventually reveal their true self, their relationships with each other changes. There are many similarities and differences between the film and the “making of the film” such as, acting, shot types and overall film choices.
The exposition in the film explains the status quo of the characters. In addition, the facts within the film are a vital preparation for the rest of the story. The exposition for “Tropic Thunder” is very creative yet simple and very comical. It’s an advertisement of movie trailers of the three main characters in the film. First, was the rapper Alpha Chi...
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... hell but Hollywood is even worse. Underneath the hilarity of the film lies a message not just about the lengths that actors will go for an Oscar but to be your authentic self and everything will work out. The movie also exploits the stereotypical American “Celebrity “. Throughout the film they poke fun at Hollywood and the actors within Hollywood. In the film it’s hard to detect reality from fiction because of the comedic element and editing choices. Overall, when comparing the film within the film we can clearly see the difference in the acting and filming choices. The director use specific filming choices to give the audience a different viewpoint. From the shot types, lighting, editing and acting it gives us an idea of what’s going on within the film in the different scenes. This film gave us the best both worlds of the comedy as well as action all in one film.
November 1998, written for FILM 220: Aspects of Criticism. This is a 24-week course for second-year students, examining methods of critical analysis, interpretation and evaluation. The final assignment was simply to write a 1000-word critical essay on a film seen in class during the final six-weeks of the course. Students were expected to draw on concepts they had studied over the length of the course.
The Perfect Storm is a novel written by Sebastian Junger, that retells the horrific story of fishermen and sailors who were caught in the eye of the worst storm in history. The book mainly focuses on the Andrea Gail, a swordfishing boat, with a crew of 6 men, who disappeared without a trace deep into the northern atlantic sea. In the year 2000, almost 10 years after the tragic event took place, a motion picture, perfectly titled, The Perfect Storm which was based on the novel was released. There were subtle to few changes in the plot line of the story, however there were many differences among the book and movie. The movie is very intact with the plot and is very based on the real story behind it. I believe the creator of the movie wanted, to whatever extent possible, recreate the events that happened in the storm as factual and according to the book itself. The movie, however, left out a tremendous amount of rich details that were a part of the book , such as varying kinds of information and direct quotes from people who were associated with the storm. The movie instead added more events to the story that weren`t in the book, to add more depth to the movie and to make it more enjoyable.
For this free choice final paper, I decided to analyze Oliver Stone and his two films Platoon and JFK. Oliver Stone, a three-time Academy Award winner and known as one of the best filmmakers in his generation, ignores Hollywood convention warning against making films with a message. Among some of his great films, he made the two films Platoon and JFK. In Platoon, he presents a gritty and emotional examination of American soldiers during the Vietnam War through the lens of Chris Taylor, a biographical representation of himself and so...
Gone with the Wind is a classic fictional love story that depicts life in the old south before, during and after the Civil war. The book was originally written in 1936 by Margret Mitchell, the movie adaptation was released in 1939, directed by Victor Fleming, and staring Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh. Ms. Mitchell grew up listening to Civil war stories from confederate veterans. It was reported that they told her everything; everything that is, except that they had lost the war, she found that out when she was 10 years old. Though the book was written 71 years after the Civil War ended, Ms. Mitchell did her research and appears to have drawn inspiration from those childhood stories that she was told. This is apparent in the detailed description of the clothing, houses, and everyday discussions and interactions of the characters throughout the book. Though not all historically correct most of what is in the book is accurate. During the time the movie was released, “damn” was considered to be vulgar and controversial and they used the term “darkies” to describe the slaves.
[1] Hollywood is no longer just a name, it is a business, a living entity holding America’s people in its grasp, and it is not about to let them go. Gradually taking on more responsibility and trying to build up its reputation over the years, Hollywood has progressively assumed the position of history-teller for the American public. This role, whether or not an appropriate one for an industry such as Hollywood to tackle, has catapulted actors and actresses into high paying, high visibility positions. History has and will continue to be one of the main subjects that the movie industry has been fascinated with. It is an alive and very fragile subject that, through its multi-dimensional character, requires careful attention by everyone involved in the project. Whenever Hollywood tackles an historical topic, whether portraying a non-disputable factual event or only a vaguely one, the industry is bound to encounter dispute and criticism.
Nathanael West’s The Day of the Locust is said by many to be the best novel to be written about Hollywood. When we immediately think of Hollywood, we think of a glamorous story, in the picturesque setting of Los Angeles, full of characters with abundance of talent living the much sought after American dream. This is perhaps what sets West’s novel apart from the rest. The story is full of characters that have a vague impression of the difference in reality and fantasy in life. The characters are submerged in their lives in Hollywood, with what seems to be a false reality on how the world works. The untalented would-be actors, withering vaudeville performers and prostitutes place a certain grotesque over the novel from the beginning, and in a world of certain fantasy and chaos like this, violence is bound to come to the fore as a theme in many different forms. The protagonist of the story, Tod Hackett, is different to the rest of the characters in the novel. Tom is a talented artist, but still has a good view of reality by times, so Tom can act part as an observer in the novel. Tom however has been sucked in to the fantasy world also life has become somewhat submerged in the fantasy world.
The film ‘Minority Report’ directed by Steven Spielberg was released in 2002 and is set in the future of 2054. The main idea for Minority Report, is about a crime unit, which is set around 3 psychic twins, the ‘pre-cogs’ who have the ability to see brutal crimes before they are to occur. The pre-cogs are rested in a room, also called ‘The Temple’ where they are nurtured and their visions are recorded. The pre-crime unit, equipped with advance tech rush to the scene and stop the crime before they occur. Tom Cruise being the action movie star he is, playing the on-the-run pre-crime cop role of John Anderton, paired with Steven Spielberg at his directional best, make a significant work of art. Spielberg uses various techniques to portray several ideas to directly show the viewers a certain message.
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...
The Classical Hollywood style, according to David Bordwell remains “bound by rules that set stringent limits on individual innovation; that telling a story is the basic formal concern.” Every element of the film works in the service of the narrative, which should be ideally comprehensible and unambiguous to the audience. The typical Hollywood film revolves around a protagonist, whose struggle to achieve a specific goal or resolve a conflict becomes the foundation for the story. André Bazin, in his “On the politique des auteurs,” argues that this particular system of filmmaking, despite all its limitations and constrictions, represented a productive force creating commercial art. From the Hollywood film derived transnational and transcultural works of art that evoked spectatorial identification with its characters and emotional investment into its narrative. The Philadelphia Story, directed by George Cukor in 1940, is one of the many works of mass-produced art evolving out of the studio system. The film revolves around Tracy Lord who, on the eve of her second wedding, must confront the return of her ex-husband, two newspaper reporters entering into her home, and her own hubris. The opening sequence of The Philadelphia Story represents a microcosm of the dynamic between the two protagonists Tracy Lord and C.K. Dexter Haven, played by Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Through the use of costume and music, the opening sequence operates as a means to aesthetically reveal narrative themes and character traits, while simultaneously setting up the disturbance that must be resolved.
When American Sniper opened in theaters January 2015, the world was shocked and excited that a film about a war has finally shown the emotional and psychological pain a soldier goes through. To many this was a new concept but, what the public did not realize, was in 2014, a World War II film, Fury was released. Fury is an insightful film about a tank crew surviving through World War II through the emotional and psychological hardships. The film takes place in April 1945, five months before WWII ends (Fury, IMDb). There are many key points to which makes Fury a modern war film from the extent of backstory each character has, to the prescreening prep and training, to the research of the props. Though American Sniper and Fury differ in wars and
The noir style is showcased in Sunset Boulevard with its use of visually dark and uncomfortable settings and camera work, as well as its use of the traditional film noir characters. In addition, the overall tone and themes expressed in it tightly correspond to what many film noirs addressed. What made this film unique was its harsh criticism of the film industry itself, which some of Wilder’s peers saw as biting the hand that fed him. There is frequent commentary on the superficial state of Hollywood and its indifference to suffering, which is still a topic avoided by many in the film business today. However, Sunset Blvd. set a precedent for future film noirs, and is an inspiration for those who do not quite believe what they are being shown by Hollywood.
I will begin my essay by looking closely at the narrative of Sunset Boulevard to see where and how the film represents the Hollywood Studio System. At the beginning of the film the audience is introduced to Joe Gillis, a script writer who is struggling to pay his rent as he in unable to sell his scripts to the ‘majors’ of Hollywood. The film follows Joe to ‘Paramount Pictures’ one of the major studios in Hollywood, which the film pays a large self reference to as the producers of Sunset Boulevard as well as representing the studio system.
In recent times, such stereotyped categorizations of films are becoming inapplicable. ‘Blockbusters’ with celebrity-studded casts may have plots in which characters explore the depths of the human psyche, or avant-garde film techniques. Titles like ‘American Beauty’ (1999), ‘Fight Club’ (1999) and ‘Kill Bill 2’ (2004) come readily into mind. Hollywood perhaps could be gradually losing its stigma as a money-hungry machine churning out predictable, unintelligent flicks for mass consumption. While whether this image of Hollywood is justified remains open to debate, earlier films in the 60’s and 70’s like ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (1967) and ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976) already revealed signs of depth and avant-garde film techniques. These films were successful as not only did they appeal to the mass audience, but they managed to communicate alternate messages to select groups who understood subtleties within them.
Not all films which adhere to the classical Hollywood paradigm eschew issues. The film Singin’ in the Rain follows Don Lockwood, a popular silent film actor, as he attempts to maintain his star status during the advent of “talkies”. Lockwood’s journey manifests fame’s capricious temperament, the studio’s commercial interest, and the influence of outside variables on a film. Singin’ in the Rain uses Lockwood’s struggle with celebrity to expose the importance of public image and self esteem.
If I had a children in my class with an exceptionality I would keep it