Somebody Up There Likes Me Sparknotes

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Recommended: The graduate cinematography analysis

On July 3, 1956, a biography on boxer Rocky Graziano premieres in San Francisco, California. This biography is Robert Wise’s Somebody Up There Likes Me, which is based on an autobiography written by Graziano himself. Written by Ernest Lehman, the screenplay tells a story of Rocky’s triumph after facing disheartenment throughout most of his life. Joseph Ruttenberg, the cinematographer of this film, earned an Academy Award for Best Cinematography in 1957. Cinematography is the element that I will be implementing in this essay.

The story centers around Rocky Graziano and his transition from rags to riches. Rocky starts off as a criminal, being involved in a street gang and participating in criminal activities such as stealing material objects …show more content…

His sister introduces him to a Jewish girl named Norma, whom he soon falls in love with. Rocky’s trainer, Irving, prompts him to either get married to Norma or leave her because she’s interfering with his boxing. Norma and Rocky get married and have a daughter. He is soon defeated by boxer Tony Zale, which causes his career to fall to shambles. Peppo visits him and encourages him to throw the rematch against Tony Zale or Peppo will reveal Graziano’s military discharge and prison sentence. Rocky pretends to have a back injury, and the police want to interrogate him. When he refuses to cooperate, they revoke his boxing license; however, Irving lands him a rematch with Zale in Chicago. The match starts with Zale overpowering Graziano until the very end when Graziano finds his strength to knock out Zale and claim the title of world …show more content…

The shots in the fight are used to show the power that Nick has over Rocky. Two shots are filmed at Nick’s legs and an overhead shot is used to truly show how small Rocky is. Close ups are used to indicate Rocky’s vulnerability to his father and Nick’s malicious behavior towards his own son. A eye level shot is used when Rocky throws his gloves and run away from his father. When Nick’s friend makes a remark about his fighting, Nick punches the bottle his friend is holding and knocks it off camera. The scene cuts to a window being broken, and Rocky spotting police after him. He is caught by police, but he soon runs away into the darkness. The scene then transitions to an older Rocky, running away from the protectory and returning home to his

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