Spellbound
In the film Spellbound Dr. Murchison, the head of Green Manors mental asylum, is retiring to be replaced by Dr. Edwards, a famous psychiatrist. Dr. Edwards arrives and is immediately attracted to Dr. Constance Peterson. Nevertheless, it soon becomes apparent that Dr. Edwards is a paranoid amnesic fraud. He runs from the police and Dr. Peterson is compelled to find and help him remember what happened to the real Dr. Edwards.
Spellbound was not a film noir. Crime and detection wasn’t viewed in a dark and urban environment. The only part that was dark was when Dr. Peterson and the fraud Dr. Edwards where on the train to Rome, Georgia. Dr Peterson was trying to pry memories out of him. I admit that John Ballantine was a bit cynical, but only when he was trying to remember what had happened to him. Otherwise, he was very friendly and sociable. High contrast lighting was used once, that I noticed. It was used when Dr. Peterson and Dr. Brulov where analyzing “Dr. Edwards” dream. They figured out why he was scared of white with black lines. Then they showed a picture of the outside where it was snowing and there were sled marks in the snow. Even though I don’t recall any low camera angles, I do know that they had deep focus on that same shot.
The hero in this film was Dr. Constance Peterson. She was not ruthless and greedy and neither was the assumed criminal. Dr. Peterson was disillusioned because of her love for John Ballantine, but it destructed her sight of logic not her sight to see that John was a criminal. She was but wasn’t alienated from society. The society that she knows is the people she works with, but since she works in a mental asylum she is alienated from “normal” society. Dr. Peterson works against the police only to find out what actually happened to the real Dr. Edwards, but she is not a suspect to the crime. Personally, I wouldn’t call her psychologically wounded or morally ambiguous, just hard headed.
In the movie Edward Scissorhands, a lot of different cinematic techniques are used. This movie mostly focuses on lighting, usually using darker low-key lighting throughout most of the film to create a darker, creepy tone. Low-key lighting is used mostly in scenes with Edward scissorhands in them, not as much with the girl. A good example of these low-key lighting scenes are the beginning ones, when the girl first enters Edward’s castle. The atmosphere inside is dark and creepy, adding to the already mysterious and dark tone of the movie. Another example of a scene with low-key lighting is the very beginning of the credits screen. The words are displayed in white with the rest of the background as a dark and evil setting. This already gives
“She still today never told me she loved me…never… never in her life … it’s too hard to explain,” says Anthony Sowell as he mentions his mother while he is being interrogated by Cleveland Homicide Detective (Sberna). The classic neighbor that every family wishes to have, friendly, helpful and caring was holding back numerous secrets. In Anthony Sowell’s actions of the rape, beatings and murder of 11 innocent women, he demonstrates the qualities of a human monster while showing how nurture creates a personality as well as proving that humans are capable of creation more fear than those who are written about in fiction.
In the film, American Psycho, Patrick Bateman was a wealthy investment banker who also happened to be a serial killer. He was highly intelligent and was charming which attracted many of the women who came his way. Unlike most people in the world, he lived in constant pain. He was rarely happy with himself, and also hated everyone around him. He felt that he needed to inflict his pain on others in violent ways. He always had something disgusting to say such as, “I like to dissect girls; I am utterly insane.” It is outside of the norm to speak in this way, therefore he would be considered deviant. He displayed feelings of distress as he became frustrated very easily with himself and others. Everything
No matter how much he put her through, she kept fighting for her life. I was confused by this because, in my eyes her life was completely over. I did not see how she could ever live a functioning life after all of the things that she went through. I would have thought that this reality would have been a reason for her to give up and choose fiction. Fiction would have been the easy way out of the pain, loses, and suffering that she faces and would continue to face. Then I thought to myself that is what makes humans amazing. Being able to endure the challenges of life and keep going. Originally, I thought she was a fool to keep going then I realized that she was strong. If I was her I would have chosen my reality
Tim Burton, in Edward Scissorhands, uses high key and low key lighting. For example, Peg’s town is flooded with high key lighting in order to make the outside seem joyful and peaceful. The outside may look cheery and bring, but most of the people living there were not the most pleasant people. The women gossip and create rumors; the men are rude and conceited. He used low key lighting in order to make the audience feel anxious about the upcoming events. An example would be when Peg walked up to the top floor of the mansion and noticed that someone was sitting in the corner. Edward’s shadow may have given him a frightening appearance, as he is a ‘man’ with scissors for hands. But Edward was a kind and caring gentleman. In conclusion, he used reverse lighting to add an irreplaceable, distinctive quality to his movies.
Emotions get the best of everyone in stressful situations, but what about those without any emotions to spare? The media glamorizes murders and serial killers by making them the spotlight of movies, shows and novels. What readers and viewers often forget is that these people are real and have resided on the same street that their kids ride bikes on. The people that commit these horrendous crimes are often known as sociopaths. Not all sociopaths become serial killers, but the combination of abusive childhood, environment and genetic influences pushes them to repeatedly kill and take innocent lives.
Conceptualize a world in which you have no conscience, no feelings of guilt or remorse -no matter what actions you take- no sense of empathy or concern of the well being of friends, loved ones, or even family members. This is the world of a sociopath. This is the world of Tom Ripley in Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley. Tom develops into an intelligent young man who eventually conjures a crime spree in Europe. His driving force behind this spree, though the spree may be sporadic, is freedom. His ability to be independent from a guilty conscience and the pleasure from concealing a false identity (characteristics of a sociopath) are his motives behind his acquisition for freedom.
First and foremost, film noir refers to the visual style of a picture. The imagery of film noir was influenced by early 20th century German expressionism, featuring distorted, sinister shapes and shadows. These precursors to film noir used abstract figures and looming shadows for bizarre, emotionally stirring results. Techniques such as chiaroscuro were used to give a dark and minimalistic feeling. In many cases lighting is limited to a single harsh light source, which obscures the image, and even throws shadows across actors’ faces. These elements ensure that an audience regards the actors and the setting with equal importance. Oblique angled shots permeate many film noirs, naturally provoking anxiousness and apprehension in the viewer. In Sun...
Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us describes how Hare began his career in a prison and first realized he was face to face with a psychopath named Ray, who was a prisoner. At that time, Hare believed the inmates could be rehabilitated. Ray was Hare’s first patient and they worked together for several months before Hare realized Ray was manipulating him. Hare used his own practices, diagnoses, as well as interviews from serial killers to let readers know what a psychopath was really like. Hare also believed a psychopath is not crazy or insane, but the decisions made by a psychopath are conscientiously made. Hare goes onto stress that not all serial killers are psychopaths, that some are actually insane. According to Hare, “psychopathy cannot be understo...
Bateman is not just a nihilistic killer devoid of feelings or emotions. There is something inside of him that yearns for something more than what is just on the surface. Admittedly, this wanting is severely misplaced through murder, rape, and torture. By creating a character like Jean, however, the author is able to show Bateman’s caring, sincere reactions to her–something the film does not quite convey. American Psycho is not just a satirical take on a superficial Wall Street society, but it is also a tragedy. Recreating the dinner scene with Jean shows that underneath the surface Patrick Bateman is, indeed, a human being with real feelings and emotions. Therein lies the great tragedy that this superficial society has turned him into a monster.
The setting gives the reader a sense that terror awaits. This story shows this by talking about the lighting
The lighting in this movie is very effective. It helps to establish the characters very well. The audience is helping in distinguishing the bad and the good characters through the lighting. The movie overall is very stylized. There are some other strange lighting patterns brought out by Hype Williams, but by far the most effective lighting patterns are ones that help to characterize the main players in the film.
From the start of the film it is apparent what time frame it is taking place in and the differences in the social stratification through the lack of colors. One of the most obvious portrayals of the bleakness and desperation of the era is the overall faded and washed-out look of the whole film, due to manipulation of the film saturation; the heaviness of it almost cries out to the audience. Though the film was shot during the summer, cinematographer Roger Deakins and Cinesite colorist Julias Friede were able to use digital technology to change the appearance of the colors. “Together, they worked on manipulating the [digital] saturation of the images, and in particular selecting the greens of the trees and grass and turning them into dry browns and yellows” (Escaping, 2). These dry brown and yellows enhance the audience’s impression of the desperation of the characters and the time period.
...n 2006). Relating to the movie, the behavioral expectation that is held consists of if medical treatment is needed a person will receive it if they or their insurance will pay for it. Violation of this is seen when John holds up the hospital until he receives what he is asking for. The societal reaction in response to John is very mixed. Some people see it as wrong and that he should just abide by the rules like everyone else. On the other hand, others see him as a hero for doing such an outlandish act for his family. John makes an announcement to the police that are surrounding the building after he lets three of the hostages go and says “When people are sick they deserve help. I will not bury my son, he will bury me” (John Q). After he says this he strongly wins over the public and people began to realize he does not mean harm and just wants his son to be better.
Forth are Lighting and color. In case of Lighting, this film uses High key light that makes this film look like natural light and feel warm. In the case of color, some scene of this film use warm color to express love and warmth to audience such as in the wedding scene or some scene use dark color to express about sad feeling such as funeral scene and in scene that Rosie knows her dad was died. I think in some scene if you watch it in HD, it’s very beautiful such as in scene that Rosie drinks a cup of coffee and thinks about the past in sunset time because Lighting and color of sunset time is very