Final Ranking of Films

Overall I enjoyed all movies watched throughout the semester some were just not of my interest but it still was good to learn about different cinematographic elements and styles. Below is my final ranking of the films:

Sherlock Jr.- Amazing stunts performed and a masterpiece of American cinema, better than Chaplin. 6

Freaks- Amazed by the people who played in that film, uncharacteristic horror film. 7

Detour- Interesting twist throughout film, enjoyed cinematographic elements of darkness and shadows over characters faces. 9

Awara- Overrated, didn’t not enjoy musical genre and cinematographic elements. 12

The Good The Bad and the Ugly- American classic, Clint Eastwood is the greatest western actor of all time over John Wayne. 4

Killer of Sheep- Underrated film, confusing at first but great metaphors and doesn’t matter that story does not have plot. 8

The Vanishing- Interesting take on serial killer film, was not as intimidating because you saw him fail several times. 10

My Own Private Idaho- Great cinematographic elements, as well as use of Shakespearian language. 5

O Brother Where Art Thou- Revival of bluegrass music, constant spiritual conversation between characters. 1

Wendy and Lucy- Didn’t care for the minimalist style. 11

Moonrise Kingdom- Framing of Wes Anderson was amazing, dialogue between characters great. 2

End of Watch- Impressed by different cinematography styles and making characters feel real. 3

Scene Analysis: End of Watch

In this scene analysis of End of Watch, Brian and Mike have just run into an ambush with gangsters shooting at them and they have determined the only way for them to get out is to fight their way out. The first screenshot shows them both leaving the apartment the temporarily hid in to buy some time. The scene is dark to show uncertainty of what is outside of the door and both of the characters are in the shot Mike in the center and Brian off to the right. The second shot is a close up on Mike as he walks through the door checking to see if the coast is clear for them to continue. The third screenshot the camera jumps to what is behind Brian while he is checking the first side of the hallway a gang member in the center of the frame raising a gun to fire at them. I found it interesting that we do not see the faces of the two main characters when this happens to see their reaction but rather the face of the gang member ready to shoot. The fourth screenshot which in this scene I think is the most important, the camera jumps to first person which happens a lot in this film of Brian's view as we can see his hand and gun in the center of the frame as he shoots the gang member and we can see him start to fall to the floor as blood explodes from him. The fifth screen shot is when the audience finally sees the reaction of the two main characters Mike in an extreme close up in the center looking puzzled and alarmed as if to show he was not expecting someone right outside the door, and Brian over his left shoulder gun still raised. The final screen shot is both characters in the middle of the frame Brian walking in front of Mike and his victim lay lifeless next to him as they walk on determined to make it out alive. This scene only begins to show the panic that these characters are experiencing and the camera shows that jumping quickly from one shot to another and leaves the audience almost in a state of confusion because it can be difficult to understand what is going on, but that all ties into how the characters are felling in that same moment.

Disconnected Family in Moonrise Kingdom

This scene which is actually one of the opening scenes in the film and while watching it I was really impressed with the way Wes Anderson is able to fit so much into one shot. The camera starts in the far back room where the boys are playing a game, then it pulls back and goes to the dining room where Mr. Bishop (Bill Murray) is sitting and reading the newspaper, then it goes to the kitchen where Mrs. Bishop (Frances McDormand) is filing her nails and smoking a cigarette, and then finally it gets to the final room where Suzy is looking through her binoculars. When the camera finally stops it shows the family "together" in four different rooms not paying attention to what the other members are doing. I think Wes Anderson is trying to show with this frame is that if you want to see the Bishop family together you have to get a shot of multiple rooms at once or else you will never see them together. Analyzing what each character is doing I think reflects their personality throughout the film. The boys (who can barely be seen in this shot) are always content where they are playing a game in their own little world. Mr. Bishop is reading the paper and seems to be trying to distract himself from other things going on around him (possibly foreshadowing to his knowing of his wife's other love interest.) Mrs. Bishop has a look of worry on her face as she smokes her cigarette possibly worried about her husbands knowledge of her other love interest with Captain Sharp or concern about her rebellious daughter Suzy. Finally you have Suzy who is looking for adventure or a better place to be rather than her home which she will soon leave to runaway with Stan. This screenshot overall is very telling of the disconnect between the Bishop family but is also a great way to show what each family member is doing throughout the house in single shot.

Companion Piece to Wendy and Lucy

In the film Wendy and Lucy and Indiana woman Wendy decides to pick up and move to Alaska but ends up getting stranded in Oregon with very little money and things continually get worse for her. First her car breaks down to which she has to wait for it to be fixed and her bad luck snowballs from there. She then decides to go to the supermarket but since she has little money she has to steal the dog food for her dog Lucy. She is caught trying to do this by the employee and finds herself in jail. Then when she finally gets out of jail she discovers that Lucy has been taken to the dog pound. Throughout this film the character of Wendy is unable to catch a break in her impoverished life and her luck goes from bad to worse.

While watching this film I could not help but relate it to the character of Stan in Killer of Sheep, who is also stuck in poverty and can never catch a break. He is always concerned about money and works in a dead end job at a slaughterhouse. He similarly to Wendy tries to help himself out by buying a new engine for his truck, only after he purchases it falls out the bed of his truck and is ruined. Wendy and Stan relate to each other because they each live in a life of poverty and even when they try to help themselves and better their situation they have instances of bad luck that keep them stuck in their current situation.  

Spirituality in O Brother, Where Art Thou

O Brother, Where Art Thou is a film about three escaped prisoners: Everett, Delmar, and Pete looking for a treasure (or so they think) and keeping away from the law. This film deals quite a lot with Christian spirituality and redemption of sins and passed actions. There are different beliefs between the three main characters Delmar and Pete are firm believers in God and in one scene actually become baptized to be forgiven of their previous sins, Delmar brings up the crime he committed and how God has forgiven him. Everett on the other hand does not believe in Christianity and is constantly arguing with the other two that there are very simple explanations for things the other two characters believe are divine intervention. In the same baptism scene Everett tells Delmar and Pete that they are "dumber than a box of hammers" for getting baptized and it will not help them with their law troubles.

There is constant images of spirituality through this film of both good and evil. Tommy the African American guitar player claims that he sold his soul to the devil to learn how to play the guitar. To which later he believes the devil is collecting his soul when the KKK lynch mob gets a hold of him. Another is the bible salesman (John Goodman) who turns out to be nothing more than a crook and robs Everett and Delmar of their money. There is this constant battle between good and evil and the three main characters are always caught in the middle.

The climactic scene when the law finally catches the three main characters, even after they were given full pardons from the governor and they are about to be hanged the audience believes Everett is having a spiritual moment where he drops down on his knees and prays asking God to give him a miracle and let him see his daughters again. Then suddenly water comes crashing in and they are flushed away from there situation. When the three characters come to the top of the water and Delmar and Pete are proud to ask Everett about his spiritual moment and claim their salvation (from the law that is) was a miracle to which Everett responds with "There is a perfectly good scientific explanation to what just happened." I think this shows how there will be a constant battle between people over the existence of God and some people will always believe one side or the other just like Delmar, Pete, and Everett.

The Dreams of Mike in My Own Private Idaho

The film My Own Private Idaho two best friends Mike and Scott live on the streets of Portland and work as hustlers, selling themselves to both men and women. Mike played by River Phoenix is narcoleptic and throughout the film is passing out and usually rescued by Scott who carries him to safety until he wakes up. Either right before or as soon as Mike falls to the floor in one of his episodes, the scene changes and shows different images sometimes it is a peaceful unrelated scene like mountains or fish and then other times it is Mike with his mother at an old style ranch house. These different images that broke up the film to me show Mike looking for peace in a chaotic world. Usually a narcoleptic episode happens to Mike when he gets really worked up or upset and these images almost calm him down and bring him peace. These images provide a fresh start for Mike and when he wakes up is normally calm and not bothered by the previous event. A reoccurring dream that Mike has is him with his mother at a ranch style house, that the audience assumes and later Mike confirms is the house he grew up in. These images of his mother show her as a calm and peaceful woman who loved her son. This contradicts what other characters say about his mother like his brother/father who tells him a violent story of how his mother shot a man at a drive in theater. This story is never confirmed in the film and the audience never gets to meet Mikes mother but it doesn't matter because these dreams that Mike has show how he views and remembers his mother. They show Mike's own little world or "own private Idaho" and how he views his past with his mother as positive and is why he goes on an unsuccessful journey to find her.

The dreams that Mike has I think are filmed in a very interesting as well, the style is different from the rest of the film which helps the audience realize these images are dreams within Mike's head. While watching the film I thought these dream scenes looked a lot like old home movies, the film is a little fuzzy and choppy, as well as being done on what seems to be a lower quality camera then present day technology. I think this is done intentionally because anyone who watches old home movies does so to remember their past and past experiences with loved ones, especially if that loved one is no longer alive or around. I think these dream scenes are Mike's "home movies" he is remembering experiences with his mother inside his head, and although it is unclear if they are true or not it doesn't matter because they are real to Mike. These dream images show Mike's longing to find and be with his mother and find peace in a very chaotic world.

The Vanishing: The Clumsy Abductor

The film The Vanishing the main character Raymond seems to the world to be an ordinary guy, he is a professor at a university and has a lovely family to whom he is devoted to. The audience knows his true identity as an abductor and killer. The way this film represents the abductor or sociopath is not the traditional way these types of characters are represented in horror films, which to me is why this film is not a horror film. In a traditional horror film you have a sociopath character who is usually abducting and murdering people throughout the film and strikes fear into the audience as well as other characters in this film. Raymond does not do this in this film, because the audience sees him "practicing" and actually failing a few times trying to abduct women before he is successful of abducting Saskia. The audience sees him clumsily practicing alone of what he will say and do when trying to lure one of his victims into his car. The audience also sees him attempt and fail multiple times at trying to lure women, once is when the women recognizes who he is because she coached his daughters volleyball team. Another example is when he tries to have to women help him reconnect his trailer and her husband comes up and confronts him. The last example is in the same location where he ends up abducting Saskia, he has a women finally in his cars passenger seat and as he walks around the car to get in the drivers seat, he sneezes in the chloroform rag and he has to abandoned his quest and run to the restroom. All of these examples to me were extremely comedic because the sociopath is unable to lure his victims into his car and they escape, not understanding how truly lucky they just were. I compare this to a more traditional horror film like Halloween and Michael Myers who strikes fear into everyone (including me) because of his brutal and insane actions and how his intimidation would diminish if he clumsily let victims escape one after the other. Although I did find the end of this film to have some extremely scary moments associated with a more traditional horror film, like Saskia when she is attacked by Raymond and the final scene when Rex is buried alive. This being said, I do not believe this film is a horror film because the amount of victims that are able to get away from Raymond make him look more comedic than intimidating which is a trait necessary for villain in horror films.

The Difficulty of Killer of Sheep

Killer of Sheep is one of the most difficult films I think I have ever viewed. I sat down in my living room expecting this film to be about a story of poverty for an African-American family living in Watts District of Los Angeles, and in a way it was but the shocking thing to me was there was no plot throughout the film. I was expecting like traditional films for there to be growth of the characters and plot points that are tied together to reach a climax and conclusion at the end of the film. There is none of this in the film Killer of Sheep it is just scene after scene that depict daily events for people and how poor everyone is in the Watts District and none of the scenes go anywhere and are loosely connected at best. I found myself watching this film and scene after scene people would come into the picture and I would think "Who is this, I don't even know who this character is or how they are related to this film."It would turn out that it didn't really matter, the characters would rarely show up again in different scenes. The only characters I knew were Stan, his son and daughter, and his wife who isn't even give a name in the film, it is one of the few films I have seen where one of the main characters isn't even given a name.

This difficulty of understanding the film I experienced while watching this film I think helps relate you to the main character Stan's struggle and hardship in life. The whole film you see him struggling with poverty, trying to make ends meet for his family by working a terrible job at a slaughter house, while also working on home improvement projects and raising a family and it is like the harder he works to get ahead and make any improvement in his life, his situation gets worse. Two examples of this are when he finally saves enough money to buy a car engine and better his automobile then before he can pull away from where he bought it the engine falls out of the back of the truck and breaks and Stan ends up with less money then he had before and no better engine. The second is when he and some friends try to go to the horse track, it looks like the characters are off to have a good day and enjoy themselves but before they can even get there the car gets a flat tire and they do not have a spare, reminding the characters that they can't escape their situation even for a few hours. Stan's situation is desperately hopeless for ever getting better and it looks like he will be stuck working his terrible job and living in his poverty stricken community until the day he dies. Although this film does not have traditional plot points and makes the viewer struggle with the difficulty of trying to understand where the film is going, it helps the viewer understand what Stan's life is like and how difficult life is in the Watts District in Los Angeles and how he has no chance of ever making his situation better.

The Final Showdown in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The final showdown between Blondie (The Good), Angel Eyes (The Bad), and Tuco (The Ugly) is the finale to a long journey of finding the treasure in the cemetery. The scene is extremely built up with a combination of music, camera movement, and the environment they are in. Their setting of the cemetery adds to the scene because not only does it foreshadow where either Angel Eyes or Tuco and Blondie will end up but the way the cemetery is constructed it is almost like an arena. They are in the the middle which is a large circle with the graves surrounding them on all sides. It makes the showdown feel like an epic battle and the setting reminded me of the colosseum in Rome with the action taking place in the middle.

The music and camera angles also create a great build up to the final showdown, the music which is the same score heard throughout the film creates tension between the characters. The camera movements really add to this, all the shots are extreme close ups of the three characters and the camera either shows their faces which shows their eyes darting between the other two opponents, contemplating when to make their move. It also shows and extreme close up on their gun in holster and their hand quite near it, hinting that any second one of them is going to make a move. The camera jumps between these shots and does not have any pulled back shots between them so you see all of their faces and hands one after the other, after the other. The actions of these showdowns is very little in this scene Blondie pulls out his gun first and shoots down Angel Eyes which happens in a few short seconds, but the build up to it with the music, setting, and camera movements is what makes this a truly fantastic scene.

Awara: A Muscial

After watching the film Awara I would definitely consider this film a musical. Although in some respects it is not a traditional musical. A traditional musical to me is where the main characters use singing for the main form of dialogue, and there is more singing then regular dialogue. Some examples of this in modern film are The Sound of Music or Les Miserables, where in almost every scene there is singing and dancing. In the film Awara the singing and regular dialogue is about the same and some of the singing rather than being sung by the main characters is transitional singing explaining what is taking place at that moment in the film. This to me is what makes it a non-traditional musical. This singing by outside characters explaining or in certain cases reexplaining what is taking place makes this a unique style of a musical. An example in the film of this is when Leela is told to get out of the house by her husband and as she is walking door to door the song being sung by outside characters is saying exactly what she is doing. I was interested to see after watching the film what genre film experts categorized this film as and if they agreed that it would be considered a musical. The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) and Rotten Tomatoes both categorized Awara in three genres drama, musical, and romance. This only confirmed my existing notion that the film Awara is a musical.

The Representation of Women in Detour

The female character's in the film Detour have very interesting roles in the film, yet I would say that none of them play the femme fatale character that is traditional in other film noir movies. The two main female characters in Detour are Sue Harvey, the woman Al Roberts loves and wants to join in Los Angeles, and Vera who discovers Al's true identity and hold it over his head to do her bidding and make her rich. As I mentioned above I do not believe either of these women represent the femme fatale character because Sue Harvey although she is traditionally beautiful, she does not make Al do her bidding (unless you count not marrying him in the beginning so he wouldn't have to travel to Los Angeles in the first place) and Vera is not because she represents a nontraditional beauty as Al says in the film there is a hatred between her and Al, not love. Throughout the film Al makes comments as the narrator saying things like the minutes spent with Vera felt like hours, and he couldn't wait for the time to pass and be through with her. These are not feelings the male character would have if Vera was a femme fatale character.

This being said I think this film shows women as being very strong characters, even dominate over Al Roberts the main male character. Sue Harvey at the beginning of the film decides to leave Al and postpone their wedding so she can try and make it as a singer in Los Angeles. This causes Al to be heartbroken and eventually start on his fateful journey west. This to me shows a position of power, that she does not submit to Al but rather puts her own career ambitions before her love life. Vera is also a dominate female character, she is given the power of Al when she is smart enough to discover that Al is not Mr. Haskell and blackmails him to do all her bidding to make money or else she will turn him in to the police. Once given this power she uses it in every scene until her death, telling Al in multiple scenes that all the plans they make are going to be done her way and Al will do exactly as she tells him, to which Al obediently agrees with throughout the film.

Detour shows women as dominate characters over men, represented by the two main female characters Vera and Sue Harvey. Although other minor female characters are being treated as inferior by men who say things like "doll, honey, and glamourous" the scene that comes to mind is the opening scene where the truck diver asks the waitress in the  diner "Hey glamourous, do you have change for a dime?" The two main characters do not fit into this stereotype, they dominate over the male character in this film and although they are not the femme fatale character like in other film noir movies, they both represent a position of power over Al Roberts.

Freaks: A Horror Film

Throughout the film Freaks, the audience is aware that Cleopatra and Hercules are playing with the emotions of Hans and plan to poison him and take his fortune. I found myself waiting for the other characters in the film to discover their plan and see how they would react. There are hints given throughout the film such as when Frances says Cleopatra will be in trouble if she does anything to "one of us" referring to Hans. I believe the entire film is building to the scene when the characters become wise to Cleopatra and Hercules plan and seek revenge on them. The building to this final scene as well as how the revenge scene is shot with creepy camera angles to me is what makes this film a horror film. When the little person throughs the knife to stab Hercules when he is fighting Phroso, and he walks toward the camera with another knife in his hand it reminded me of when Jason walks toward the camera with his long bloody sword in one hand with his hockey mask on his face in those horror films. Also seeing the other freaks crawl through the mud towards Hercules was extremely creepy and reminded me of more modern day horror films like The Grudge. This revenge scene and the building to it throughout the film is why I believe Freaks should be considered a horror film.

While watching this film I believed this film was trying to show the equality of people with deformities and not exploit them or show them as monsters, which is what I think most people thought of these kinds of people when the film was released. HOWEVER, the final scene when the get revenge on Hercules and Cleopatra I believe this exploits them and shows them as monsters. The way they crawl through the mud towards Hercules and the looks on their faces, or the way they chase Cleopatra through the woods after her and turn her into a freak. I was almost disappointed because it was like they were playing into the stereotype of being monsters and acted exactly the way people expected them to act. Don't get me wrong I believe Cleopatra and Hercules deserved the punishment they received, but showing the Freaks this way would not help people be more tolerant of them or treat them equally.  

Comedy of Sherlock Jr.

In the film Sherlock Jr. Buster Keaton plays a film projectionist who dreams his way into being a detective. This comedy displays physical humor throughout the film, Buster Keaton's character is constantly slipping, falling, or getting hit by something throughout the film. This film and the comedians of this time period I believe had to resort to this type of comedy because they were unable to speak to the audience other then through cue cards shown during scenes. The actor had to "show" their humor by falling or slipping rather then like most comedies today where the actor "shares" their humor in the form of dialogue or a funny line. When I think of popular comedy films of today, I find them hilarious not because of what the actor is doing but what they are saying and I am able to repeat the lines outside of watching the film and still laugh. This being said both styles of comedy can still have me rolling on the floor laughing.

Buster Keaton should be praised for his modernity in his films as well as his cinematography, both were extremely impressive for the 1920's. Throughout the film of Sherlock Jr. Buster Keaton is constantly interacting with modern technology or machines of the time. There were numerous scenes where he was interacting with a train, car, or motorcycle and using them to perform his physical comedy. The cinematography in the film is extremely well done for the time as well. The scene I was most impressed with was when he falls asleep next to the projector and his dream self steps out away from his sleeping self and there are two Buster Keatons on the screen. I actually said allowed to myself while watching the film "wow that is pretty high tech for 1924." There are numerous other examples throughout the film where Keaton pushes the limit of film making through cinematography and effects but I found the sleeping scene to be his most impressive.

The Basics of Graham Gilmer

Hello,

My name is Graham Gilmer, I am a fifth year Urban Planning student (in my final semester yay!) The reason I am taking this class is because I have always had a love for the movies either going to the theater or watching them at home I love being able to just sit down and be taken away to another place through film. I am not the kind of person who could tell you my favorite movie because I think that is an impossible question to answer, I would have to give you my top 20 and even then I would feel like I am leaving a few out. As far as cinematic knowledge I would consider myself a newbie I have great admiration for great screenplays, cinematography, and directing but have never attempted to do any of it myself. This is where I hope this class will help me grow the most and increase my knowledge of the skills needed to make a great film.