The French Rrevolution is a very important event in history in which the oppressed poor during the reign of Louis XVI rise up in revolution against the elitist gentry. Movies, books, cartoons, and television have all depicted the French revolution. In particular, movie makers have told and re-told Alexandre Dumas’ novel set prior to the revolution , about King Louis XIII’s guards, The Three Musketeers. In his 1973 movie adaptation, director Richard Lester, invites his audience to see a snapshot of French social structure during 17th century France with entertainment, information, and education. The ability to engage a movie going audience is directly reflected by the ability of the director to tap into viewers’ emotions . Richard Lester …show more content…
They choose human taxis as their mode of transport, which is in comparison, a great deal slower than horses. Director Lester invokes an exaggerated metaphor to keep the audience entertained, and the movie goer feels a sense of pure fascination as they watch the Musketeer’s foolishness using one of the worst modes of transportation to Paris.
In one of the last scenes of the movie, there is again a ridiculous scene of King Louis counting single digits on his fingers during a dance. He does this as he attempts to remember the steps and timing in a very simple dance. There is high comedic value in this scene, because the King is the wealthiest man in France, and one who ought to be well educated during an age where education was so valued. Alexandre Dumas mocked the bourgeois in his novel, and here too the Director mocks the King’s stupidity.
In addition to sheer entertainment, there is also a great deal of historical information that is detailed about this pivotal time in French history. The costumes demonstrate with historical accuracy the type of clothing worn by gentry including lavish bright lace, and clothing made of richly woven fabrics in contrast with the peasants’ dirty and torn dark brown or black
…show more content…
The King constantly deferred to the Cardinal by asking for his advice, almost childishly. The King consults the Cardinal about the Queen throughout the movie, and even for matters as simple as the chess match.
As the movie itself is an entire satire on why the French Revolution occurs, we see exaggerated scenes or characters that are dysfunctional. One mocking scene best represents the incompetence and extravagance of the monarchy when trumpeters coincidentally signal D’Artagnan, during a gathering for the King, the King’s servants misread the signal and start a fireworks display even though the King is nowhere to be found. The servants are incompetent, and simply do not care about his authority.
Historically accurate are facts such as King Louis XIII’s marriage to Anne of Austria, and the marriage was marred by jealousy, and suspicion. Also historically accurate are the types of weaponry used in the film, including the expertly choreographed scenes with rapier fighting
the French Revolution. Hunt, Lynn & Censer, Jack. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press (2001)
Neill, Alex. “Empathy and (Film) Fiction.” Philosophy of film and motion pictures : an anthology. Ed. Noel Carrol and Jinhee Choi. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 247-259. Print.
Beginning in mid-1789, and lasting until late-1799, the French Revolution vastly changed the nation of France throughout its ten years. From the storming of the Bastille, the ousting of the royal family, the Reign of Terror, and all the way to the Napoleonic period, France changed vastly during this time. But, for the better part of the last 200 years, the effects that the French Revolution had on the nation, have been vigorously debated by historian and other experts. Aspects of debate have focused around how much change the revolution really caused, and the type of change, as well as whether the changes that it brought about should be looked at as positive or negative. Furthermore, many debate whether the Revolutions excesses and shortcomings can be justified by the gains that the revolution brought throughout the country. Over time, historians’ views on these questions have changed continually, leading many to question the different interpretations and theories behind the Revolutions effectiveness at shaping France and the rest of the world.
Modern day directors use a variety of methods to hold ones interest. Ethan Hawke and Kenneth Branagh’s created versions of Hamlet that shared some similarities, but ultimately had many differences in respects to an audience’s appeal. An appealing movie is one that has an alluring ambiance and an intellectual stimulus. With these two movie versions, a setting and a mood forced an audience to acquire specific emotions, but Ethan Hawke’s version generated emotions more strongly and effectively. Also, these movies had extremely different uses of music and visuals, but both movie versions incorporated them well for the ambiance it tried to obtain. Finally, both movie versions drew characters to captivate the audience; however in Ethan Hawke’s version, the characters were used so effectively that it was easy to feel involved with them. While both these versions of Hamlet had a captivating ambiance, Ethan Hawke’s version was more appealing due to the intellectual incentive that it offered.
...is very historically accurate because the film incorporates, characters private lives, real film and speech, and great filming technuques that highlight the previous two examples.
middle of paper ... ... In final analysis, the motion picture is the one that goes deeper inside the spectator’s mind. Other mediums such as still picture and theatrical play also provide the visual and aural elements for the spectator, yet they seem to be inferior to the motion picture in that they lack the reality, affinity, and creativity in terms of use of time and space. The levels of emotions such as attention, memory, imagination, emotion, and unity, which were introduced by Munsterberg, indicates how the spectator perceives the elements of the film and ends up with it.
As an audience, we become involved in the plot not through learning about characters’ backgrounds and traits. Instead, we learn information at the same time through the mechanics of the plot and editing. We are made to work to understand the workings of the plot. As we watch the film unfold, the editing takes the along for the ride rather than watching from a distance. the audience and characters sweat together as surprises arise in the well-thought out plan and the way the movie ...
In the case of the story of Marie Antoinette, it probably isn 't the best reliable source because of the hollywoodization that happens to all movies, but dose hammer down how ridiculous the extravagance was. The visual representations really express how unnecessarily ostentatious it all was. A camera pan into a now room was nauseating.The amount of detail in the wallpaper, with the furniture with more of the detailing was just too much. All of the gowns and the scenes of Marie, lounging with friends, wearing millions of dollars of clothes and jewelry, eating sweets, in a overly detailed room, really expressed how lavish her lifestyle really was. Another representation the movie brings, is how many of the nonsensical “rituals” they had in the castle, having a small paragraph to explain the rules to be followed, simply to get the queen a glass of
[7] Hunt, Lynn. Politics, Culture, and Class in the French Revolution. Berkeley: U of California, 1984. Print.
Nardo, Don. A. The French Revolution. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. Print.
With reference to the films you have studied for this topic, explore in detail two of the key elements that produce an emotional response in the spectator.
Sparknotes editors. “Sparknote on The French Revolution (1789-1999)”. Sparknotes.com. Sparknotes LLC. 2005. Web. 1 Oct. 2013.
In these short, desperate lines, viewers of the musical Les Misérables are shown the world of the beggars of Paris in 1832. The musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables has made an lasting impact on its followers since it’s opening nearly 30 years ago (Les Misérables: Creation of the Musical). By introducing music to an already remarkable story, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg reveal the social injustice of nineteenth century France to the modern world. In doing this, viewers are welcomed into the world created within the pages of Les Misérables. Bringing this story into the twenty-first century allows for comparison between today’s social injustices and those of 200 years ago. The characters created by Hugo provide a bridge between modern day and a time filled with pain and inequity, particularly for the poor. This is especially evident in the section of the novel centered on the young revolutionaries. Contrary to popular belief, Les Misérables does not chronicle the French Revolution of 1789, but rather the events leading up to the June Rebellion of 1832 (Gossard). Nineteenth century France was a period marked by “political and social unrest” (Les Misérables Historical Context). Laced throughout the novel is Hugo’s commentary on the actions and events of this period, although he is not blatant about his ideas. Through the use of archetypal symbols and characters as well as an emphasis on class conflict, Hugo develops themes of injustice and redemption in his novel Les Misérables.
“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.
At the start of the revolution, in 1789, France’s class system changed dramatically (Giddens, 2014). Aristocrats lost wealth and status, while those who were at the bottom of the social ladder, rose in positions. The rise of sociology involved the unorthodox views regarding society and man which were once relevant during the Enlightenment (Nisbet, 2014). Medievalism in France during the eighteenth century was still prevalent in its “legal structures, powerful guilds, in its communes, in the Church, in universities, and in the patriarchal family” (Nisbet, 2014). Philosophers of that time’s had an objective to attempt to eliminate the natural law theory of society (Nisbet, 2014). The preferred outcome was a coherent order in which the mobility of individuals would be unrestricted by the autonomous state (French Revolution). According to Karl Marx, economic status is extremely important for social change. The peasants felt the excess decadence of the ancient regime was at the expense of their basic standards of living, thus fuelling Marx’s idea of class based revolutions and the transition of society (Katz, 2014). This can be observed, for example, in novels such as Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a novel that had a role for mobilizing the attitudes of the