Drive is an 80's film directed with a postmodern rejection of 80's film stylistic tropes. With a simple plot, it relies almost entirely on its style, brutal violence and tension to distinguish itself. Drive's big name actors and crime based story give it the air of big budget action blockbuster, but it chooses to execute scenes differently. Once you compare it's execution of action scenes to the movies it emulates, it is clear that Drive is far from a macho, violence romanticizing thriller a la Die Hard or The Fast and the Furious. Drive's action creates a postmodern contrast to the glamorization of violence and crime in modernist action cinema. An unnamed stunt driver moonlights as a getaway driver for hire, promising five minutes for criminals to commit their crimes before he abandons them. In his personal life, the driver …show more content…
Unlike a typically directed car chase, this one is completely devoid of music. The lack of extra-diegetic sound in a place where a modernist film would definitely include it serves to shift focus onto the diegetic sound. Nichols (2010, p. 65) states, through extra-diegetic sound, “the filmmaker conveys an attitude or perspective on the story world.” In this way, the scene contrasts with a typical “badass” movie car chase, where music would be used to glamorize such a car chase. Instead, the sounds we hear are overpowering engines, shrieking tires and screams of a female character that serve to present a horrifying, and more grounded(due to the use of purely diegetic sound) image of a vehicle chase. However, when the chase concludes in the driver causing his pursuer to crash, there is a complete lack of sound as their car whips through the air, and the scene ends on a deep stinger. The silence serves as relief from the harsh noises of the chase, while the stinger gives the entire scene an emotionally dark
Rolf de Herr’s 2002 film The Tracker represented some human beings in the past who have been extremely naïve, barbarous, and bigoted when it came to dealing with Indigenous Australians. This film portrayed white racism in the characters of the Fanatic, the Veteran, and at first the Recruit until he becomes stronger and eventually changes his demeanor towards the Aboriginal people. Even though the Tracker experiences immense hardship throughout the movie he was always two steps ahead of his bosses since he was very familiar with the land and was also able to outsmart his superior officers. The Tracker is a gloomy film which presents the dark past of Australia that must never be forgotten.
2. According to Sobchack, contemporary screen violence greatly differs than portrayals of violence in years past. Today, violent scenes are careless and lack significance because we as audiences have become calloused and desensitized to any acts of violence. She states that there is “no grace or benediction attached to violence. Indeed, its very intensity seems diminished” (Sobchack 432). Senseless violence, gruesome acts, and profound amounts of gore are prevalent in movies today, and because even this is not enough, it must be accompanied by loud blasts and noise, constantly moving scenes to keep audiences stimulated and large quantities of violence for viewers to enjoy what they are watching. Decades ago, it was the story that was engaging to audiences and filmmaking was an art.
I was raised on the movie The Sandlot. My my dad played baseball through college and my brother has played since he could hold a bat. My mom, sister, and I also played softball when we were little. One could say that we are a “baseball family.” My dad first introduced this movie to me, and I was attracted to it not only because it is a fun film about baseball, but also because it has an entertaining soundtrack. The music fits well with the storyline and makes you feel like you are playing baseball and hanging out with the boys in the sixties. I also was raised listening to this genre of music and more songs from some of these bands. Throughout this paper, I will critique the main songs in The Sandlot that make it popular, as well as give a short biography of each band.
The road movie embodies the human desire for travel and progression. The vehicle of journey is a contemporary metaphor of personal transformation that oftentimes mirrors socio-cultural desires and fears. Thomas Schatz believes that one “cannot consider either the filmmaking process or films themselves in isolation from their economic, technological, and industrial context.” This statement is especially applicable to the independent American films of the late sixties, a time of great political and social debate. Easy Rider (1969) was considered a new voice in film that was pitched against the mainstream. In the 1960s, there was a shift to highlight the outsiders or the anti-heros in film. This counter-cultural radicalism seems to have also influenced the 1991 film, Thelma & Louise. The characters of both films act as figures of anti-heroism by rebelling against the conventional and unintentionally discovering themselves at the same time. Despite their different backgrounds, the protagonists of Eas...
...ley’s admiration towards ‘Drover’ with their desirable love developing over time. Luhrmann contrasts the audience with the emotional expressions and differing body language, which is significantly visually depicted The non-diegetic music tempo speeds up, creating a dramatic tension and signifying the importance of the couple’s connection and emphasises on their emotional intensity.
The postmodern cinema emerged in the 80s and 90s as a powerfully creative force in Hollywood film-making, helping to form the historic convergence of technology, media culture and consumerism. Departing from the modernist cultural tradition grounded in the faith in historical progress, the norms of industrial society and the Enlightenment, the postmodern film is defined by its disjointed narratives, images of chaos, random violence, a dark view of the human state, death of the hero and the emphasis on technique over content. The postmodernist film accomplishes that by acquiring forms and styles from the traditional methods and mixing them together or decorating them. Thus, the postmodern film challenges the “modern” and the modernist cinema along with its inclinations. It also attempts to transform the mainstream conventions of characterization, narrative and suppresses the audience suspension of disbelief. The postmodern cinema often rejects modernist conventions by manipulating and maneuvering with conventions such as space, time and story-telling. Furthermore, it rejects the traditional “grand-narratives” and totalizing forms such as war, history, love and utopian visions of reality. Instead, it is heavily aimed to create constructed fictions and subjective idealisms.
There are movies that make you laugh, that make you cry, that blow you away with jaw-dropping, ever-so-satisfying action sequences. And there is Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece, an homage to the old Pulp Magazines and crime novels popular in the 1950s. Known for their incredibly dense and complex dialogue and excessive violence, Tarantino adds his trademark nonlinear chronology and thorough character development to create a movie that celebrates the fact that chance governs all of our lives. The film consists of multiple stories that tell of the criminals, gangsters and outliers of Los Angeles, the underbelly of society. It follows Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield as they embark on their mission to recovering a briefcase that
The sound used in this scene are all diegetic, the sounds of gunfire and explosions show that the characters in this scene are in very real danger of being shot or blown up, this helps the viewer develop a more personal connection with the characters since the scene is towards the end of the film, the viewer has developed a personal connection with the characters and do not want them to die. The diegetic sounds of military personnel can be heard, this is used to show the urgency that the military personnel have to get The Sapphires and Dave out of the dangerous situation. This scene is used to emphasise the danger that Dave and The Sapphires are in very real and very lethal danger, the mixture of sinister camera angles to emphasise the visual danger that the characters are in to the inhospitable sounds portrayed by the scene to highlight the explosive danger that the characters are in. The lighting used features the darkness and the difficulty to see due to the night sky.
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.
From the lavish mansions of Hollywood stars to the cigarette smoke filled offices of broke screenwriters, the 1950 noir movie Sunset Boulevard remains a timeless classic with a stunning story of an actress gone mad, and a screenwriter just trying to squeak by. This film is the first pre-1960’s flick that has left me with a feeling of awe. The first word that comes to mind after the credits begin to roll is just“wow!”. I was struck by the intriguing plotline and brilliant execution of the story. Not only is the film a classic for its gripping story, and twisted power dynamics, it also shows amazing camera work and brilliant acting.
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.
The film starts out with orchestral music, and shows James Dean's character, Jim, drunk on the ground of a sidewalk. The sound of a police siren is heard and used as a transition into the next scene that takes place, understandably, in a police station. While in the police station, Jim is yelling along with the sound of the siren, and humming loudly to give the impression that he is drunk. At one point in the scene he is brought into another room with an officer, and begins to punch a desk. The sound effects are loud, and the he pauses, and music begins again when he begins to hurt. Again, a siren is played at the transition to the next scene. However, for the most part, score music is played during all transitions.
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’.
The music starts when it shows Tonya walking down the gravel road holding her bag of groceries that she has recently been sent to buy for her family. The music is mellow representing a peaceful calm afternoon walk back home until it is slowly over powered by the groan of the Utes motor. Even when the car noise over powers the music it is still faint and can be distinctly heard until a loud scream from Tonya echoes through the forest. Schumacher has purposely changed the audio from a calm mellow song to the scream of Tonya as she is tossed around, bashed, tied to the trees and raped by Billy Ray Cobb because it builds suspense to the audience. The scene shows quick glimpses off Tonya’s arms and legs being tied to the trees and the close up view of Billy Ray from Tonya’s perspective looking down at her.
... movie. During the chase scenes dramatic and heart pumping music makes the audience feel as if they were involved in the actual chase.