Jaws

The film Jaws is a classic demonstration of how impressive of a director Steven Spielberg is. While Jaws was an adaptation of a novel, the fact that it was such a hit in the box office made it an original success. Another interesting factor that came into play was the soundtrack, more specifically, the main song. To this day that it is the song people hum in an intimidating or fear-filled situation. Who would have thought that two notes solely would make such an impact on the mood the film is portraying? An interesting fact relating to the “soundtrack” that I learned about this film in another class relates to the initial scene where the girl swims out to the buoy and gets attacked by Jaws. Her screams and cries seemed so realistic and makes your skin curl and instantly your smile turn to a frown; those screams were real. The rope or machine that was pulling the actress around underwater was actually causing her extreme physical pain. I love that Spielberg left the scene that way and did not feel the need to re-do the scene and make her screams less horrifying to listen to. That just shows how meticulous of a director he is, leaving the audience at the edge of their seats constantly and as involved as they can be in a film. 

Batman Returns

I am probably one of the few who have not seen Batman Returns. I have seen all of the other Batman movies, but for some reason I never saw this one. First off I love that it has such a different feel than all of the other Batman films I have seen. I love that Tim Burton was the director because it gave this movie a darker and more emotional feel than the other Batman movies that I have viewed. As for the ideology behind Mise en scene, in the beginning when Christopher Walken was passing out presents to Gotham, the Penguin’s crew of scary clown-like masked men has meaning behind it. What made it so meaningful was because, clowns are supposed to make children happy and are typically in happy settings, so to give them this creepy eerie appearance made it kind of pull at your emotions and make you uncomfortable in a scene that is supposed to portray something happy. Another example of the Mise en scene idea is when Michelle Pfieffer first became Catwoman and destroyed many of the things in her apartment including the neon sign that originally said “hello there” and after the destruction all that was left was the world hell. That relates to the meaning of her transition from a quiet little field mouse into a hell-raising Catwoman. As for the visual elements, there seemed to be a lot of the action scenes that went to the beat of the music playing. I thought that was interesting and appealing to hear, as well as see. It was not my favorite film we have viewed so far, however I think it was extremely appropriate to relate it to the lecture we had on production design. 

Rear Window

Male gaze was definitely used in this film. In the beginning scene, there was a neighbor of Jeff’s dancing around, bending over, and dressed provocatively with her windows open. Clearly this is objectifying women and implying the message that men only view women as sexual objects. As for camera’s gaze, in the scene where Jeff starts to realize something has gone wrong with one of his neighbors, the camera is fixated on Lisa, but another neighbor is not in focus but still in sight for the viewer to see directly behind Lisa and above her head. This may be symbolic of Jeff and Lisa always having the neighbors in their subconscious, or the back of their heads, regardless of what they are directly thinking about. When it comes to the Spectator’s gaze, in this film it is linked to that of the director as well as what the Jeff sees. Wherever the camera is pointed to, is where the most interesting thing is happening at that moment. Extra-diegetic gaze does not occur in this film. As for the Intra-diegetic Gaze, there are many times when Jeff gazes upon another character such as his neighbors as well as Lisa.  During this film, the editorial gaze is mostly directly upon whatever neighbor is doing the most interesting thing at that point in time, or when you are forced to see the intrigue and curiosity on Jeff’s face, which in turn causes the audience to be intrigued and curious as well. 

Session 9

SETTING

THEME / TOPIC

MOOD

FORMAT

The setting of the film Session 9 specifically takes place in the closed down Danvers State Hospital. It is an abandoned mental hospital that the characters are renovating. They appear to be out in the middle of nowhere which symbolically correlates to the abandonment of the mental hospital. The characters are pretty much alone, as is the hospital. One by one, the characters are each attacked and left alone, just as the mental hospital is left alone and abandoned attacked by natural elements. I would say the theme could be along the lines of life may not always be as it seems. This relates to many aspects in this film. For example, Gordon thought they could finish the job on the asylum in a week, but they don’t make it out alive and therefore the hospital is left unfinished and not as simple of a job as it appeared to be. Also Gordon seemed as though he was mentally stable to everyone, but upon entering the hospital, it appears he immediately became possessed by Simon and began killing everyone off. The mood of this horror film is similar to that of many other horror films. It creates a melancholy, dark, cold mood for the viewer. Between the dim lighting, when it rains, and when they are in complete darkness in the tunnels, it is enough to send chills down your spine. It seems that the format is that of almost a full circle. It begins with Gordon being consumed with deep thought and not being able to shake it, and it ends with Gordan’s thoughts literally being consumed by Simon. Overall I thought it was a good movie. I would give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

 

The Princess Bride

This was actually my first time viewing this film and I have more positive than negatives to say about "The Princess Bride". I think the whole concept of having some sort of important message with nearly every major conflict or interaction is what makes this film as appealing as it is. Even though I never watched this film as a child, the messages beneath the context are important to be reminded of at any age. An example of this would be the character Fezzik. Yes he is large and intimidating and is supposed to be a villain, but he is kind and has a heart of gold. This is reminds the viewer of the popular message that you can’t judge a book by its cover. One of the central themes of "The Princess Bride" is that true love conquers all. This message is very subjective. For a young viewing audience this is usually considered to be appropriate, however the real important message to relay to children is that realistically life is not a fairy tale and that there is not always going to be a knight in shining armor to save you. I think it’s essential for a young viewing audience to understand the message that many times in life, the only thing you can really depend on is you and to fully accept that before accepting love from a significant other.  The purpose of life is to be able to love yourself before anyone else can love you. The acting in my opinion was perfect for any audience. The humor expressed from the characters would be enjoyable for viewers of any age. For a movie made in the 80s, I thought the special effects were actually pretty good. If this movie was made now, my opinion would be different, but taking in to account the time this movie was created I think that the special effects weren't horrible.  Overall I would recommend this movie to children, but viewing audiences of all ages could enjoy this movie.