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The role of music in movies
Importance of music in a film
Importance of music in a film
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Reaction Paper to Mean Streets
Mean Streets' greatest influence in American cinema was not on directors or scriptwriters (though its influence there was considerable) but rather on actors. The film has Harvey Keitel (as Charlie) at its center, whose solidity and slight dullness as an actor keeps the film from spinning off into total anarchy; but it is Robert De Niro's Johnny Boy (Charlie's wild, self-destructive friend whom he looks out for with all the obsessiveness of an older brother) that gives the film its charge. Johnny Boy dances and gyrates and leaps and spins about the edges of the film, continually threatening to take it into and out of chaos (which he finally does). De Niro's performance, which remains as hilarious and breath-taking as ever - was a revelation at the time. De Niro took naturalistic, "method" acting to new highs, and his Johnny Boy is possibly the very first performance of its kind. It's a genuine portrayal of a street punk whose charm and obnoxiousness are almost uncannily intertwined - you can't despise Johnny Boy, but you can't respect him much, either. You just have to love him. It's easy enough to imagine Charlie's frustration over this kid - De Niro's work here adds depth and veracity to Keitel's, and the two actors work so well together that some of their scenes ? like the one they have together in Taxi Driver - have an almost hallucinatory buzz to them.
Aside from its acting, the other major influence which Mean Streets had upon American film-makers was through it's use of a rock n' roll soundtrack (almost perfectly integrated with the images), and in its depiction of a new kind of screen violence. Unexpected, volatile, explosive and wholly senseless, yet, for all that, undeniably cinematic violence. The way in which Scorsese blends these two - the rock and roll and the violence - shows that he understood instinctively, better than anyone else until then, that cinema (or at least this kind of cinema, the kinetic, visceral kind) and rock n' roll are both expressions of revolutionary instincts, and that they are as inherently destructive as they are creative. This simple device - brutal outbreaks of violence combined with an upbeat soundtrack - has been taken up by both the mainstream cinema at large and by many individual `auteurs', all of whom are in Scorsese's debt - Stone and Tarantino coming at once to mind.
Film Noir, as Paul Schrader integrates in his essay ‘Notes on Film Noir,’ reflects a marked phase in the history of films denoting a peculiar style observed during that period. More specifically, Film Noir is defined by intricate qualities like tone and mood, rather than generic compositions, settings and presentation. Just as ‘genre’ categorizes films on the basis of common occurrences of iconographic elements in a certain way, ‘style’ acts as the paradox that exemplifies the generality and singularity at the same time, in Film Noir, through the notion of morality. In other words, Film Noir is a genre that exquisitely entwines theme and style, and henceforth sheds light on individual difference in perception of a common phenomenon. Pertaining
Justice is defined in many different ways, one referring to a form of judgment that provides order in a situation. Justice offers a fair punishment that fits the offense. The term holds a positive connotation, in contrast to the word injustice.
Canadian filmmaker and cinephile, Guy Maddin once said, “I do feel a bit like Dracula in Winnipeg. I’m safe, but can travel abroad and suck up all sorts of ideas from other filmmakers… Then I can come back here and hoard these tropes and cinematic devices.” Here, Maddin addresses his filmmaking saying that he takes aspects from different film styles and appropriates them into his own work. In The Saddest Music in the World (2003), Maddin uses a combination of French Surrealist filmmaking and classical American Hollywood cinema, specifically melodrama, to create his own style. In an article by William Beard, Steven Shaviro talks about Maddin’s filmmaking, and he links Surrealism and melodrama together saying, “Maddin’s films are driven by a tension between romantic excess [melodrama] on the one hand and absurdist humour [Surrealism] on the other.” In regards to The Saddest Music in the World, the relationship between Surrealism and melodrama is not one of tension, as Shaviro suggests, but one of cooperation. This paper will analyze two films by filmmakers Maddin was familiar with —Un Chien Andalou (1929) by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali on the Surrealist side, and All That Heaven Allows (1955) by Douglas Sirk on the melodrama side—to showcase the important elements of each, concluding with an analysis of The Saddest Music in the World in conjunction with both film styles. Ultimately, it will be shown how Guy Maddin combines French Surrealist cinema and Hollywood melodrama in The Saddest Music in the World, to create his own unique film style.
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.
How do we define justice? The dictionary defines it with words like righteousness and fairness. Often times when we hear the word justice, or hear about an unjust situation, we have an instinctual reaction. We all know what justice is, even without a dictionary definition. Justice is a virtue, justice is doing the right thing. But how can we define justice if it is doing what we individually think is the right thing to do?
John Singleton’s view of social problems in South Central Los Angeles happens in a tale of three friends growing up together. Doughboy and Ricky Baker are half-brothers and have opposite personalities. Ricky is a football player who hopes to win a scholarship and spends most of his time playing football. On the other hand, Doughboy is a young man who looks upon his environment for guidance. He is involved in violence, abusing drugs, and participates in violence. In between is their friend Tre, who actually has a father to teach him what is right from wrong. Furious Styles, who is Tre’s father in the film does everything in his strength to keep his son from becoming another startling statistic. As you can see, it is always important for parents to be a part of their child’s life because it can make a big difference not only in their life but also their child’s future.
Connelly, Marie. "The films of Martin Scorsese: A critical study." Diss. Case Western Reserve University, 1991. Web. 07 Apr 2014.
Justice can be interpreted in several different ways. Most people believe that justice is when someone commits a crime, they need to get what they deserve and should be sentenced to years in prison. The reason that people believe this comes from years ago when a person would have their hand cut off for stealing, or if a someone committed murder, they would be killed themselves. Times have changed over the years and several researches have been conducted throughout the years and according to Schmalleger (2012) justice is about fairness, “moral rightness” or “truth in action” (pg. 7). Justice is not only about fairness, rightness or truth, it is about trying to repair the wrongs that one has done and give guidance to prevent any wrongs from happening again. The criminal justice system tries to deter individuals from committing crimes and after some research was conducted it was noted that incarceration is not a deterrent from committing crimes (Vanenburgh, 2004). There still needs to be the fact that all individuals must be held accountable for their actions and they do need to have consequences for breaking the law and the punishment should fit the crime. Justice is about how to balance the crime, the punishment to fit the crime, be fair with the punishment as well as providing the victims with the relief that justice was served. When trying to seek justice it is apparent that everyone looks at the facts that are involved in the case to determine how justice should be done. Some facts that might be looked at could be the defendants childhood situation, what situations may have caused the crime to be committed, does the defendant suffer from any mental illness and the defendants criminal history are good facts to take into considera...
Think about your favorite movie. When watching that movie, was there anything about the style of the movie that makes it your favorite? Have you ever thought about why that movie is just so darn good? The answer is because of the the Auteur. An Auteur is the artists behind the movie. They have and individual style and control over all elements of production, which make their movies exclusively unique. If you could put a finger on who the director of a movie is without even seeing the whole film, then the person that made the movie is most likely an auteur director. They have a unique stamp on each of their movies. This essay will be covering Martin Scorsese, you will soon find out that he is one of the best auteur directors in the film industry. This paper will include, but is not limited to two of his movies, Good Fellas, and The Wolf of Wall Street. We will also cover the details on what makes Martin Scorsese's movies unique, such as the common themes, recurring motifs, and filming practices found in their work. Then on
The director Antoine Fuqua vision for this film was to bring that intense love-hate relationship onto the big screen and showcase it for the world to see. To ensure a convincing film setting, Fuqua shot on location in some of the most hardcore neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Fuqua also wanted to show the daily struggles of officers tasked to work in the rougher neighborhoods of cities and how easy it can be to get caught up in a street life filled with killers and drug dealers. Overall the film displayed the city of Los Angeles in a different perspective. One which m...
The sinking of the Titanic demonstrated the concept not only of the privileges of being a first class passenger, but also the responsibilities that duty implied. Although, the Titanic brought many of her passengers with her including profuse of her lower class. According to Cummins, Captain Smith was aware that the ship would sink, and lack of communication hindered the expulsion and increased the number of fatalities (Cummins). Smith knowledge of the collision increased the numbers of deaths, especially for the lower class.
“According to the U.S. Dept of Education more than two million students are homeschooled in the United States, up from 850,000 in 1999” (Stone 33). Why is there such an increase of homeschooled students? Although there is increased expense and students are not exposed to “expert” teachers, homeschooling is the better option (Mhoon).
Although the right to privacy has been used to sway the outcome of many U.S court cases, including the famous Supreme Court ruling of Roe vs. Wade, there is still some debate over how the “right to privacy” should be viewed. For example both Judith Jarvis Thompson, and James Rachels agree that the right to privacy is indeed a right that is bestowed upon citizens, however their perception of how one is granted this right is quite different.
Parents have been teaching their children at home for centuries. During the 1970s, the interest in homeschooling increased. Legal advocates had lots of opposition when pressing for the legal right to educate their child at home and change compulsory school attendance. The National Education Association fought to place restrictions on home schooling. However, most of the efforts have failed. As a result, homeschooling is legal in every state.
The education system in all school has been on the down slope for many years. As amount of drugs, school shootings and other dementia increases in these schools, more and more parents are making the choice to homeschool their children. Although many people claim that public education is better and more suitable for children, many facts and statistics show that homeschooling is equally, if not, more beneficial.