Night of the Living Dead is an all-time classic horror film that took place in 1968, starring Duane Jones and Judith O’Dea. This movie jump started the “zombie apocalypse” hype which led to more and more zombie inspired horror films, but also many different genres of horror films. Night of the Living Dead would not be a horror film if it were not for, obviously the theme, but also the sound effects, special effects, lighting effects, the camera angles and shots, as well as the actor’s ability to strike certain emotions in their audience through the character’s emotions. This film was directed by George A. Romero who also wrote the screenplay, with the help of John A. Russo. From the beginning to end, this film captures its audience leaving …show more content…
For this reason Night of the Living Dead raises the question of whether the film represents historicism or formalism, making it a movie before its time. Post modernism in film is known for pastiche elements of previous history, genres, and styles, yet it is most popularly seen in more recent movies. Romero used pastiche, even though this term was not yet coined, by mirroring this movie off the historical events of racism and the era of Martin Luther King Jr. This idea is very well captured when watching the film, especially at the end. There was quite a bit of controversy over this movie as well, given the main character/hero of the film is an African American male. The movie takes place in home just outside a local cemetery, swarmed by zombies, forcing the not so similar characters to try and get along in order to …show more content…
The uncomfortable groans and moans coming from the zombies combined with the clashing sounds of thunder have the hairs on the viewers arms raised and chills sent down their spines. The most important of the diegetic sounds come from the news on the TV and radio. The impact is even stronger from the radio specifically, because the characters no longer have the visual representations of non-zombie human life still in existence. Mise-en-scene is also very well utilized in Night of the Living Dead, from the tombstone placements in the cemetery, to the congested feel of the house once the characters make it zombie-proof. More anxiety is experienced by the viewers when they see the cluttered, rearranged furniture in the house, making them feel a sense of
Both White Zombie and “Dead Men Walking in the Cane Fields” represent the early zombie and both of them embody Cohen’s first thesis “The Monster is a Cultural Body” Both the story and the film have zombies and both of these works make their zombies appear scary with dead like characteristics, however the real reason why they are scary is that, at the time, they tried to change society and that scared people. The people that liked society the way it was didn’t want another group to gain power or righ...
As I mentioned earlier, the clutter in the Gunderson’s home does speak volumes about who they are as people. Well very proud and honest people, they are very flawed and blue collar. This clutter is continued on in the kitchen. The shelf behind the kitchen table is filled with pictures and other nick-nacks. This clutter is eerily reminiscent of the middle class household portrayed by the MacGuff’s in the film Juno. These families both are not going to make sure everything in their home is pristine, but their way of life is really not too uncommon. It really does embody a lot of blue collar America. Another good use of mise en scene in this sequence was the very gray and desolate skyline during the murder investigation. Murder obviously is not a light topic, so the dark atmosphere in the sky very much fits into the theme of this scene. The last thing I’d like to mention about mise en scene and staging takes me back to the opening zoom of this sequence. Along with the visual theatrics zoom, the sudden appearance of nondiegetic music also insinuates this is quite an important scene in the film. Once we hear the dramatic strings, we know something dramatic is about to happen, especially because the music is clearly not coming from something on the screen. This nondiegetic sound can be a useful tool to setting a scene and properly utilizing mise en scene and at the end of day, setting the scene is key in a naturalistic
Romero’s cult classic work “Night of the Living Dead” displayed characters enacting their stereotypes, portraying men and women in their stereotypical sexist behaviors. Themes of such stereotypes are hinted within the movie, hidden underneath the idea of carnal, flesh eating ghouls. The character Barbra, is the embodiment of the helpless woman in horror films. Ben, the power controlling domineering male of the remaining survivors in the farmhouse. Harry, another male figure who try to apply his strength and ego amongst the group. Helen, is depicted as the unhappy housewife who is semi-defiant to her husband. These portrayals accurately depicted the stereotypes America held during the 1960s, effectively mirroring the time in which it was
Even though George Romero, director of the film, Night of the Living Dead, did not intentionally intend to create racial controversy, the film broke a lot of ground considering the year it was filmed in 1968. By making a black character, Ben, the most intelligent and resourceful of all the white characters, as well as the protagonist, Romero, shattered racist stereotypes in the horror movie genre as well as mainstream film. This was mainly due to the fact that Night of The Living Dead was one of the first films to follow a black protagonist who was filmed in a positive light. Ben’s personality was possibly the most subversive aspect of the whole film. Ben was a brave and quick-witted character who was able to see what needed to get done in order to ensure survival from the zombies. The fact that Ben was portrayed as the most composed character, especially out of the cast of distraught white characters only emphasized his position as the most important character. Without Ben, the other characters would have most likely died. Overall, despite the fact that Night of the Living Dead did not intend to make a racial statement, I believe it ended up symbolizing the progress African Americans made during the civil rights movement, yet certain points in the film such as the power dynamic between Ben and Harry, the zombies attacking Ben, Ben’s death scene, and the photographs at
The imaginative Nightmare Before Christmas is considered one of the most imaginative films in some of the most recent decades. This film masterpiece from the creative and revolutionary mind of Tim Burton has been one of my favorite movies from the time that I first saw it when I was a small child, to now. The beautiful textures and colors perfect capture both holidays of Halloween and Christmas in the film. Along with the textures comes a masterfully soundtrack that so perfectly adds mood and depth to this story. The even the beautiful textures are enough for this film to land itself in someone’s favorite list.
Throughout the century gender roles have changed dramatically. During the 60s roles were given to certain genders. Stereotyping them to play the action of what their gender was expected to do. One may believe that a man or women should have a specific role, but as the years came, certain genders stuck up for themselves, making a statement that they are just as capable to do anything anyone else does. The 1968 drama film Night of the Living Dead directed by George Romero is full of gender discrimination. This movie shows the typical actions of how women and males were supposed to act during the 60s; however, the roles played in this film have changed majorly over the years. Women and males have every right to play any role they want in today’s world. Romero may leave the audience angry with how he judges gender roles in
Film Noir is a genre of distinct and unique characteristics. Mostly prominent in the 40s and 50s, the genre rarely skewed from the skeletal plot to which all Film Noir pictures follow. The most famous of these films is The Big Sleep (1946) directed by Howard Hawks. This film is the go to when it comes to all the genre’s clichés. This formula for film is so well known and deeply understood that it is often a target for satire. This is what the Coen brothers did with 1998’s The Big Lebowski. This film follows to the T what Film Noir stands for.
George Romero's reinvention of the zombie in night of the Living Dead (1968) is clearly a critique of elements of the American society, and the film as a whole is easily twisted into a warped view on the 'American Dream'. Themes throughout Romero’s film, dealing with controversial topics during the time that the film was made, are still, to this day debated by critics and film historians. Themes of racism and war are defined within the movie, hidden underneath the idea of carnal, cannibalistic zombies and over the top heroes who, eventually, succumb to the reanimated; despite their every effort. These themes are colored over and painted to hide beneath subtle references to the typical American Dream during this time, and Romero does quite the good job at it too. This dream, whilst continuously changing in the everyday lives of modern Americans, can be loosely defined as a national ethos of the United States, or a set of ideals dealing with freedom and the opportunity for success - an upward social status that can be achieved through hard work and effort.
A more modern outlook on the film recognizes the film's flaws but gives it, it’s credit as the last fully realized work of one of the most important directors in American cinema history. Ford understood that an audience's recollections of older, less complex Westerns would add a layer of expressiveness to the viewing experience. The black-and-white structure helps him achieve this. Ford’s decision to shoot the film in black and white in 1962 produced a dark, anachronistic look, while the unconcealed soundstage effects of the film’s opening scene reinforced Ford’s vision of a wilderness, interiored Western frontier. Just as Ford intended, many of the flashback scenes are masked in darkness, whereas the frame tale is immersed in light. This con...
Night of the Living Dead represents more complex issues such as race, politics, and war and Ben was fighting the undead not just for himself, but also for the good of the collective. The 60s sparked a counter-culture that grew and spread throughout the Western world and according to the book by historian Terry Anderson titled “The Movements and the Sixties;” “ [t]he aggregate movement gained momentum as the Civil Rights Movement continued to grow, and would later become revolutionary with the expansion of the U.S. government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam” (Anderson, 254). The film emerged from the some of the most turbulent years in American history and Night of the Living Dead becomes the embodiment of the cultural revolution of the 1960s. Shaun of the Dead, on the other hand, embodies a more individualistic and narcissistic society. You can even say that characters portrayed in the film are socially unaware. Shaun and his friends do not seem to care about issues such as social injustices, politics or war. They take an active role of ignorance and entitlement and are apathetic towards causes outside the individual. Just as the Vietnam War was happening in 1968, the war in Iraq was happening in 2004, but the government no longer enforces the draft system (which is a positive change), and enlisting to fight for your country has become a voluntary decision of the individual. Our generation’s narcissistic and selfish behavior can perhaps be attributed to the idea that social issues are no longer dire than that of our personal responsibilities such as having a job, raising children, the day-to-day activity that consumes all our energy. Who wants to think about police brutality when a
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.
The Shining is about a white middle class dysfunctional family that suffers from natural and supernatural stresses in an isolated Rocky mountain hotel. .The father, a former teacher turned writer, is portrayed as a habitual drinker, wife- and child-abuser, with a kind of evil streak The mother is shown as a battered woman. The film suggests that due to the abuse at the hands of his father and the passivity of his mother, the child of this family developed psychological problems. He had imaginary friends and began to see frightening images.
There were many differences in the films. For example in the white zombie movie, the zombies were working zombies. The mill owner would use voodoo to control the zombies. Also these zombies were not aggressive at all, humans can walk among and not be attacked. Contrast to the white zombies the zombies from the night of the living dead, these zombies were aggressive. Therefore night of the living dead zombies were very aggressive and would attack humans and
The Conjuring is a “real” Hollywood horror film based on possession of the human kind by demonic figures. There's a dog that ends up doing the usual thing dogs do in horror films (they act scared and bark constantly or end up dying unknowingly). There's a doll that end up doing what dolls usually do in horror films (taunt the human body). There's some doors banging, some ghost hunters with motion detectors and UV lights, eerie TV static, and some creepy ghosts who appear out of the blue when you expect to least expect them, and to top it off they add creepy music and the spooky makeup that all ghosts wear so you can identify them or recognize them.
Suspense is a crucial ingredient in the making of horror and thriller films. The significance of suspense in horror films is to bring out the “twist or unexpected moment of realization that makes someone scream and one's heart race. In the film industry, there are various types of genre, but as different as films may seem, they all have one element that links them all together. That element is known as Mise-en-scene. Mise-en-scene is a French phrase that means “putting into the scene.” Mise-en-scene includes elements such as setting, lighting, costume, and figure movement and expression (acting).