The voiceover narrative of Lester (played by Kevin Spacey, who won best actor in a leading role), sets the plot and the story of the 5 time Academy Award winning film, American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes. Consequently, the narrative voiceover in the final scenes expresses Lester’s death state; with a consolation to viewers that he is happy in his spiritual state more than he was in his physical state, and he replays old memories and happy scenes of his life and he includes a final statement to the viewers. The use of camera techniques in American Beauty begins with the opening scene of Jane’s video recording, and subsequently repeats again later in the film. For example, the video scene where Jane Burnham (played by Thora Birch) says
"Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" Laura Mulvey asserts the fact that in mainstream films, women are simultaneously looked at and displayed. That is to say, the woman is both an object of desire and a spectacle for the male voyeuristic gaze. The male's function is active; he advances the story and controls the gaze onto the women. Interestingly, the spectator identifies with the male through camera technique and style. In an effort to reproduce the so-called natural conditions of human perception, male point-of-view shots are often used along with deep focus. In addition, camera movements are usually determined by the actions of the male protagonist. Consequently, the gaze is dominated by the active male while the passive female exists to support desire within the film. In an attempt to change this structure, Mulvey stresses the importance of challenging the "look." One way this is accomplished, is in the film Reassemblage, where the look of the camera is free from male perspective and dominated more by passionate detachment. In doing this, the filmmaker, Trinh Minh-Ha attempts to destroy the satisfaction and pleasure derived from images of women in film, by highlighting the ways Hollywood depends on voyeuristic and fetishi...
On the other hand, there is Sam Mendes’ American Beauty. This story approaches the idea of happiness in a different way; it presents an entire family and their pursuit of sweet bliss. The quests of Carolyn, Jane, and Lester Burnham, as well as their next-door neighbor, Frank Fits, are on display. Paul Arthur describes American Beauty as "An authentic Life Lesson, a spiritual world view grounded in the discovery of beauty." In both M. Butterfly and American Beauty, the characters are presented as unhappy and searching for happiness. Of the characters, however, only Jane Burnham, Frank Fitts, and Lester Burnham find their new happiness.
Citizen Kane is a drama. The film is made to keep you searching for the meaning of the last words spoken by the world’s richest and most influential man. Everyone wants to know the meaning behind the simple word “rosebud”. What is the significance of such a simplistic word? Why did that word mean so much to the man that it was his dying word? During the investigation of the words meaning, the film goes through many flashbacks of Kane’s life from different people’s point of view (H2G2). This was an innovation to the making of a film. Before Citizen Kane, it was not normal to have the point of views of multiple different people. This use of multiple narrations is now widely used, and is seen in many well-known movies such as Goodfellas, Casino, and The Thin Red Line. The techniques Orson Welles used when writing this film completely changed the idea of what a drama movie could be. He also introduced the idea of showing the end of the story in the beginn...
The film I chose to view for the extra credit opportunity in corrections class was American History X. This film follows two brothers, older brother Derek and younger brother Danny. In this coming of age film older brother and former Neo-Nazi Derek has just returned from serving three years in prison for killing two African American thugs who attempted to steal his truck. Through flashbacks to Derek’s skinhead days we learn from younger brother Danny about his journey and what led Danny to attempt to live the same lifestyle. Derek is attempting to change his brothers thinking keep him from making the same mistakes that he did and going down the wrong path.
What do you think about when watching a film? Do you focus on the characters' good looks or the dialogue? Or do you go behind the scenes and think about what made the film? Maybe, it's even a combination of all three. No matter what comes to mind first, an important part of any good movie will be what you see. A camera and good director or cinematographer is needed to make that possible. Different directors and cinematographers will use different camera techniques to make you focus on what you see. Camera techniques show emphasis in films, because they make you focus more on situations and people. They are especially important in Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream.
Sam Mendes’s provocative debut film American Beauty was a blockbuster after its release in 1999, wrapping up three accolades at the Golden Globe Awards, reaping nominations in miscellaneous film festivals. Beauty and reality are the two major and discrepant elements in the film. Symbolically, beauty eludes humans’ possession, and such elusion is often offset by its presenting a form of reflection on the reality. Thrills, often followed by disillusionment, of quasi obtainment of such heavenly beauty feed humans’ incessant pursuit of beauty in reality. In the film, beauty gets lurid, and reality becomes horrid. A black comedy, American Beauty achieves a Grotesque atmosphere by escalating such disparity to a peak at which the protagonist Lester Burnham irrevocably bursts to death, posing a proposition of man’s raison d’être.
The Tell Tale Heart, written by Edgar Allan Poe, and Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock were both formidable, revolutionary and horrifying creations to the audience’s of their times and to some extent, still are today. Hitchcock drew audiences in into his work by utilizing certain camera angles, mise-en-scene and diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. However, Edgar Allan Poe used a variety of literary techniques such as varying sentence structure, imagery and irony to draw his readers in. While these two masterpieces are unique in terms of content, both of them explore a prominent theme, fear.
...of what an individual can truly be to give ambiguities of framing and atmosphere. The ending of the film is by far the most unnerving scenes of all time. This is done in one shot in front of the camera, no other dialogue is said but narration.
A director is successful when they take the audience away from comfort and security. In the film American Beauty, director Sam Mendes effectively achieves this. Creating a sense of discomfort and insecurity throughout the film allows the viewer to have a more in depth knowledge of the underlying themes within the film. Mendes strips viewers away from a sense of comfort and security through the portrayal of a dysfunctional family and the use of aggressive verbal slurs.
In the final scene from Thelma and Louise the cinematographic effects are astounding. Panning, reaction shot, and dissolve are all used in the last section of the movie clip extensively. These three cinematographic terms are perfect for this clip because of the intensity they add to the scene. Through the use of panning, reaction shot, and dissolve the actresses portray two extreme emotions of desperation and the tranquility of freedom.
The analysis of the visual style is to first consider in the composition of the movie. Some directors pay attention to formal and dramatic composition, the others emphasize on non-formal compositions and exposure or highlighting effects. Furthermore, other directors use camera movements to describe and demonstrate the theme and the film itself more efficiently to the audiences. That is, many cinematic compositions have each intention to be used in the film by directors’ purpose. American Beauty (199) by Sam Mendes is a verisimilar movie story line with realism sense. The film is a story about aspects of contemporary American society, delivering typical American culture to the audience, such as individualism, distinct relationship
“Remember those posters that said, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life”? Well, that’s true of everyday but one – the day you die.” – Lester Burnham
In the next scene now he can hear Lester himself talking, although we cannot see him yet but we can clearly hear him giving his own introduction. One can say that Lester is the main narrator of this film. He gives the audience an insight not only to what he is thinking himself/his own thoughts but also gives a preview of what is about to happen or what might happen later on in the film. In the following scene we see Lester physically, after finishing his own introduction he moves on to introducing other personals in his life (other characters in the film) like his wife in the front yard picking a rose, the dog and his neighbors. He gives us, the audience insights into the relationship between him and his family via his brief narration. According to theorist Bordwell this is the exposition part of the film, where we can see Lester establishes the general situation of his character and his surroundings. We can say that his narrations throughout the film is seen to be developing the plot of the film at the same time as explaining it. Soon we find Lester in a car where his wife is driving him to work and their daughter to school. There we see Lester mention and further talk about his current situation/ problem/crisis in life. After the beginning scenes and his brief narrations, now in the following scenes of the film we see the demonstration of what Lester was talking about. For example the scene where he is having dinner with his family, we see a slight sense of sarcasm from both Lester and his daughter towards each other, we see his wife raise her tone and almost get into an argument with her husband. This can be the part of the film where the conflict is being introduced; the conflict between Lester and his wife, the conflict between Lester and his
Edwin S. Porter contributed the following editing styles and techniques to film. He used a dissolve between every shot just and he frequently had the same action repeated across the dissolves. According to Filmrefrence.com “Edison Company’s new Vitascope projector in Indiana and California, and Porter worked with them as a projectionist in Los Angeles and Indianapolis. Later that year he went to work for Raff & Gammon in New York but left after the Edison Company broke with Raff & Gammon. He then toured with entertainers through the Caribbean as an exhibitor of motion pictures, and in early 1897 he helped build the projector at the Eden Musée”(Filmrefrence.com.2014).
In the film The Help, directed by Tate Taylor, an important scene is the scene when Eugenia whose nickname is Skeeter confronts Charlotte her mother about Constantine their old loyal, loving maid. Skeeter wishes to know the truth about how Constantine left their family. The main purpose of this scene is to show the difference of coloured and whites in the 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi. Also love between Skeeter and Constantine in particular when Skeeter finds out that her mother fired Constantine, only to die before telling her the truth. Four significant aspects the director used in this scene are cinematography, music, characterisation and dialogue.