Throne of Blood used a popular Shakespeare plot combined with Japanese social and cultural elements intertwined together to create an interesting reinvention of a classic that keeps the audience from leaving assuming "the same old, same old Shakespeare flick".
The film had several different effects including heavy use of spot or emphasized lighting. Between the ghost/spirit and the King the use of light on the two of them was significantly brighter than the other characters of the film. These helped to give precedence and draw your eye to these main characters.
The style of Throne of Blood is the classic Noh theme of Geki nō or drama plays that are based around the advancement of plot and the narration of action. It is a consistently fast moving jumping from scene to scene and from action to while the plot develops not only because of the ac tions but around the actions as well.
The facial expressions of the woman were controlled because just like in noh theatre where they use masks to keep the facial expressions controlled, the director wanted a more natural look to the woman while still getting the mask effect. In a sense making her essentailly wear an impled mask.
One of the overwhelming props used in the film was the flags. They replace the typical prop of the fan, considering the fact that most of the acotrs were men.
The chating music and sounds of classical noh theatre are evident in the intro and outro of of the film. Where the men are chanting the story of Spider Web Castle.
These themes of Noh theatre are strong and evident in Thone of Blood, a film that is based on the typcial Shakespere Novel with a Japanese cutural twist.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The Road Home
One element that is very unique about the road home is the use of colors. Especially making a distinction between the past and present.
The use of black and white for the present and the color for the past is a very distinct difference between how many people perceive the past and how the director decided to portray the past. Since in the present the main characters husband has just died and it is a love story, the black and white represents the sorrow, emptiness and despair the main character feels. Most obviously during the funeral precession or "the road home" the dark feeling of death has been given an extra feeling of sadness because of this cinematographic effect. Although this has been done in other movies, it has been most effectively used in this movie.
The transition from traditional black and white to modern color is a well made one because to the average viewer it could be seen as slight or not even noticed. Also the use of blowing trees and yellow effects used to show a memory.
Overall the effect of what I would call the "reverse black and white scheme" I found very creative and distinct because it makes the film so far different from many other movies that use color and black and white transitions and effects. It was clearly a strong way to get across different transitions in time.
The use of black and white for the present and the color for the past is a very distinct difference between how many people perceive the past and how the director decided to portray the past. Since in the present the main characters husband has just died and it is a love story, the black and white represents the sorrow, emptiness and despair the main character feels. Most obviously during the funeral precession or "the road home" the dark feeling of death has been given an extra feeling of sadness because of this cinematographic effect. Although this has been done in other movies, it has been most effectively used in this movie.
The transition from traditional black and white to modern color is a well made one because to the average viewer it could be seen as slight or not even noticed. Also the use of blowing trees and yellow effects used to show a memory.
Overall the effect of what I would call the "reverse black and white scheme" I found very creative and distinct because it makes the film so far different from many other movies that use color and black and white transitions and effects. It was clearly a strong way to get across different transitions in time.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Laughing Club Review
Watching Laughing club from start to finish was the first time I really dove into the style of a documentary. Short, quick, 3-second shots combined with on the spot film and intimate interviews, hardly the documentary I remember watching before.
In Laughing Club I saw the interviews in a way that I had never seen before, intimate, natural lighting giving you the feeling of the interviewer, not necessarily like modern lighting of a new Hollywood film but the same feeling you might get if you were to walk in on a father and son having a heart-to-heart discussion. When the people spoke it was as if they were right in front of you. It is really a beneficial way to get the audience to connect with people they have never met before and understand their circumstance.
The shot times and transitions were very quick. Being that Laughing Club is a documentary it helped to move the story along very quickly, that's not to say that you jumped from theme to theme but you jumped from the main story the the side story and back and so on, as many documentaries do. It not only kept the viewer interested but it also was a good way to get many visually stimulating images running across not only the screen, but your mind. Almost subliminally, the quick shots and transitions make you feel the situation and peak interest by giving you the adolescent like "Did you see THAT?" feeling.
Overall Laughing Club was not only interesting and informative but developmental in my knowledge base on Documentaries, opening my eyes yet again to the truth behind Cinematography.
In Laughing Club I saw the interviews in a way that I had never seen before, intimate, natural lighting giving you the feeling of the interviewer, not necessarily like modern lighting of a new Hollywood film but the same feeling you might get if you were to walk in on a father and son having a heart-to-heart discussion. When the people spoke it was as if they were right in front of you. It is really a beneficial way to get the audience to connect with people they have never met before and understand their circumstance.
The shot times and transitions were very quick. Being that Laughing Club is a documentary it helped to move the story along very quickly, that's not to say that you jumped from theme to theme but you jumped from the main story the the side story and back and so on, as many documentaries do. It not only kept the viewer interested but it also was a good way to get many visually stimulating images running across not only the screen, but your mind. Almost subliminally, the quick shots and transitions make you feel the situation and peak interest by giving you the adolescent like "Did you see THAT?" feeling.
Overall Laughing Club was not only interesting and informative but developmental in my knowledge base on Documentaries, opening my eyes yet again to the truth behind Cinematography.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Vertigo Review
While watching the film Vertigo I realized that there was one element that gave a stronger presence than the others in this film. Foreshadowing, I found played not only an important role in the plot development of this film, but also can go unnoticed to the naked eye.
The first instance of foreshadowing in the film would have to the title itself. Vertigo, by definition is "dizziness: a reeling sensation; a feeling that you are about to fall "(Princeton.edu). Ultimately this foreshadows the opening scene where Scottie is chasing a criminal on a rooftop and nearly falls to his death. After words he is overcome by vertigo as sort of an after shock to the frightening experience of facing death head on.
Also, when he tries to prove to Midge, a close friend who secretly loves Scottie, that he has overcome the vertigo he has been diagnosed with by standing on a stool and then a step ladder. This foreshadows his future endeavors of having to overcome his fears of heights. Like when he has to chase both Judy and Madeline up the bell tower of the old church.
When Scottie watches who he thinks is Madeline fall to her death it foreshadow when Judy eventually falls to her death at the end of the movie. As well when Gavin insists that Scottie be the one who should follow his wife Madeline (really Judy) it foreshadows the trickiness and difficult of the situation because of Gavin's desperation to have Scottie and Scottie only.
Where Madeline appears to be getting sicker is a clear foreshadowing of Scotties health as well. The more bouts she has with the ghost of Carlotta the more in love Scottie falls with her. The more oobessive she becomes with Carlotta the more attracted he becomes with Madeline.
Foreshadowing is a heavy prevelent and effective tool the the movie Vertigo and gives the audiance a second angle of the movie, if they can see it.
The first instance of foreshadowing in the film would have to the title itself. Vertigo, by definition is "dizziness: a reeling sensation; a feeling that you are about to fall "(Princeton.edu). Ultimately this foreshadows the opening scene where Scottie is chasing a criminal on a rooftop and nearly falls to his death. After words he is overcome by vertigo as sort of an after shock to the frightening experience of facing death head on.
Also, when he tries to prove to Midge, a close friend who secretly loves Scottie, that he has overcome the vertigo he has been diagnosed with by standing on a stool and then a step ladder. This foreshadows his future endeavors of having to overcome his fears of heights. Like when he has to chase both Judy and Madeline up the bell tower of the old church.
When Scottie watches who he thinks is Madeline fall to her death it foreshadow when Judy eventually falls to her death at the end of the movie. As well when Gavin insists that Scottie be the one who should follow his wife Madeline (really Judy) it foreshadows the trickiness and difficult of the situation because of Gavin's desperation to have Scottie and Scottie only.
Where Madeline appears to be getting sicker is a clear foreshadowing of Scotties health as well. The more bouts she has with the ghost of Carlotta the more in love Scottie falls with her. The more oobessive she becomes with Carlotta the more attracted he becomes with Madeline.
Foreshadowing is a heavy prevelent and effective tool the the movie Vertigo and gives the audiance a second angle of the movie, if they can see it.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Rear Window
Rear Window is about a newspaper camera man named Mr. Jeffries who is confined to a wheelchair because he broke his leg on the job. Having nothing better to do, he people watches his neighbors in the adjacent apartment building.Each person represents not only a piece of Mr.Jeffries personality but he personality of all people.
Firstly Mr. Jeffries obviously represents curiosity. He achieves this by being the most nosy about Lars Thorwald, I will get to him later. L.B. Jeffries makes an accusation that Lars killed his wife. He tries to figure out how, when and why Lars would resort to murdering wife.
Stella, L.B.'s nurse and Doyle, L.B.'s old Army buddy turned police chief represent logic as well as the conscious and subconscious. Constantly questioning Mr.Jeffries accusations assuming that what he thinks he is seeing and what he is seeing are two vastly different things. Doyle turns out to be the hardest of the two to convince that Lars killed his wife.
Lisa, L.B.'s boyfriend represents love. She represents love because often she tries to love L.B. when his attention is elsewhere, as well she also tries extremely hard to conform to the "kind of girl" L.B. wants. He often tells her that he travels to places and does things that she could never want to travel to or participate in because she is into fashion.
The pianist that L.B. watches represents success and hardwork because he works hard day making songs. He keeps having parties at night where people come to celebrate and enjoy. The lonley woman represents Lisa because just like Lisa she is desperate for love. Interestingly enough L.B. seems more concerned for the lonley woman to find love than to treat Lisa with love. At the end of the story when Lisa and L.B. have solidified their relationship post-murder investigation the lonley girl and the pianist seem to have hit it off fairly well.
The dancer who dances in her underwear represents carelessness. Obviously dancing in your underwear in your appartment without the blinds closed when you have floor-to-ceiling windows is pretty careless. Similar to how careless some of the planning was in L.B.'s investigation of the murder of Mrs.Thorwald. For instance having Lisa explore the Thorwald home while he was out without thinking or planning when he might return or how he would signal for her to leave.
The mixed married couples represent reality, because contradictory to the life Mr. and Mrs. Thorwald seemed to have had, reality is that not all seemingly loving marriges are really loving at all. Fighting and disagreements as well as bickering over petty things is not only common but natural and heathy in any relationship. Maybe the fact that that was never seen led to the murder of Mrs. Thorwald.
The little dog who Mr.Thorwald is suspected of killing represents instinct. This is so because the dog smelled the body of Mrs.Thorwald in the flower bed and got curious and started digging up the body. Mr.Thorwald, not ready to have his secret exposed did the onlything he could think of, kill the dog. Curiously enough though just as the dog was killed for following its instincts, Mr.Jeffries broke his other leg falling out of the window Mr.Thorwald threw him out of when Mr.Thorwald realized that L.B. was the one challenging him and watching him.
To conclude, this is the way the characters were representative in the movie Rear Window.
Firstly Mr. Jeffries obviously represents curiosity. He achieves this by being the most nosy about Lars Thorwald, I will get to him later. L.B. Jeffries makes an accusation that Lars killed his wife. He tries to figure out how, when and why Lars would resort to murdering wife.
Stella, L.B.'s nurse and Doyle, L.B.'s old Army buddy turned police chief represent logic as well as the conscious and subconscious. Constantly questioning Mr.Jeffries accusations assuming that what he thinks he is seeing and what he is seeing are two vastly different things. Doyle turns out to be the hardest of the two to convince that Lars killed his wife.
Lisa, L.B.'s boyfriend represents love. She represents love because often she tries to love L.B. when his attention is elsewhere, as well she also tries extremely hard to conform to the "kind of girl" L.B. wants. He often tells her that he travels to places and does things that she could never want to travel to or participate in because she is into fashion.
The pianist that L.B. watches represents success and hardwork because he works hard day making songs. He keeps having parties at night where people come to celebrate and enjoy. The lonley woman represents Lisa because just like Lisa she is desperate for love. Interestingly enough L.B. seems more concerned for the lonley woman to find love than to treat Lisa with love. At the end of the story when Lisa and L.B. have solidified their relationship post-murder investigation the lonley girl and the pianist seem to have hit it off fairly well.
The dancer who dances in her underwear represents carelessness. Obviously dancing in your underwear in your appartment without the blinds closed when you have floor-to-ceiling windows is pretty careless. Similar to how careless some of the planning was in L.B.'s investigation of the murder of Mrs.Thorwald. For instance having Lisa explore the Thorwald home while he was out without thinking or planning when he might return or how he would signal for her to leave.
The mixed married couples represent reality, because contradictory to the life Mr. and Mrs. Thorwald seemed to have had, reality is that not all seemingly loving marriges are really loving at all. Fighting and disagreements as well as bickering over petty things is not only common but natural and heathy in any relationship. Maybe the fact that that was never seen led to the murder of Mrs. Thorwald.
The little dog who Mr.Thorwald is suspected of killing represents instinct. This is so because the dog smelled the body of Mrs.Thorwald in the flower bed and got curious and started digging up the body. Mr.Thorwald, not ready to have his secret exposed did the onlything he could think of, kill the dog. Curiously enough though just as the dog was killed for following its instincts, Mr.Jeffries broke his other leg falling out of the window Mr.Thorwald threw him out of when Mr.Thorwald realized that L.B. was the one challenging him and watching him.
To conclude, this is the way the characters were representative in the movie Rear Window.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Paths of Glory Review
In Paths of Glory their are several factors which contribute to the theme of the film. The theme being having to face the realities of war and unlike how the title portrays, war is not always a path to glory.
At the beginning General Mireau is asked to lead an attack to take "the ant hill" of which he advises against. Thought when the thought when the idea of a promotion is thrown around he is convinced that the once impossible mission is now seemingly possible. This first part of the movie works as a foreshadowing for the rest of the movie because as I later explain General Mireau's worst fears will soon materialize.
When the day of the attack arrives the men under heavy fire are ordered to advance to "attempt" to overtake the ant hill. Many advance, several stay behind unable to advance under the heavy enemy fire. Angered by his soldiers unwillingness to take (a seemingly impossible advancement) orders, he orders the artillery commander to fire on French coordinates. The artillery commander denies the General Mireau's request. This represents the greed that comes with war because the General was willing to lose thousands of lives for his own advancement even going so far as to order hundreds of his own men be killed on the spot by the artillery commander. Which was to me done so that a reason could be supplied to the the higher ups as to explain why the men did not advance on the anthill and pose as a rebuttal to the soldiers refusal to follow orders.
Mireau, obviously unsatisfied decides that as punishment, one man from each company will face trial. The chosen men are Corporal Paris, Privates Ferol and Arnoud. The trial though is a going throught the motions act to adhere to military protocol and the defendants are volintarily defended by Colonel Dax, a former lawyer. Though defended well General Mireau gets his wish and the men are sentanced to death by firing squad to be an example to the rest of the soldiers. Corruption continues to bleed throught to this part of the story. Very similar to the movie/book "To Kill a Mockingbird", no matter how effective the defence, a vertict was reached before the trail ever began. As well the fact that French law states that you are guilty untill proven innocent didnt help the defendants either.
Dax tries to help the soldiers by approaching General Broulard , the superior to Mireau, at his party that evening to tell him of Mireau's original plan to fire on his own troops. General Broulard is baffled and surprised at this announcement but decides to go through with the sentance anyway. Lt. Roget is then assigned by Dax to be head of the firing squad because he chose one of the men to be sentanced out of his own greed as well. This sequence of events not only shows Dax's determination but it also shows how far somone will go to have faith in one person over another and also how Dax assigns Lt. Roget to head the firing squad is Dax's way of making Lt. Roget see the reality of his decision and a way for him to take revenge on one of the men who reveled in the idea of putting three men in front of a firing squad.
During the post meeting when Dax, Mireau and Broulard meet Mireau shows no remose and Broulard procedes to bring up the fact that he is going to open an inquiry about the fact that Mireau ordered his own men be fired at and procedes to offer the promotion Mireau as supposed to recieve to Dax who rejects because of the corruption. Here is the example of goodness occurign too little to late because had Broulard acted sooner than the men could have been saved, Dax's wish, and yet Dax's good will disables him from accepting a promotion on account of Mireaus misfortune, even though he disliked him for his wrong doings. He acted upon the do on to others cliche and how disrespectful it would have been if he had benefited from the demise of three innnocent soldiers.
When Dax finds the 701st they are in a bar and the men beginb are blessed by the presence of a German woman who is pushed to entertain and she beings to sing The Faithful Hassar. The men begin to hum along and even tear becasue they realize that everyone the German woman, the French, and the German troops are all in the same boat Prisoners of the same war.
At the beginning General Mireau is asked to lead an attack to take "the ant hill" of which he advises against. Thought when the thought when the idea of a promotion is thrown around he is convinced that the once impossible mission is now seemingly possible. This first part of the movie works as a foreshadowing for the rest of the movie because as I later explain General Mireau's worst fears will soon materialize.
When the day of the attack arrives the men under heavy fire are ordered to advance to "attempt" to overtake the ant hill. Many advance, several stay behind unable to advance under the heavy enemy fire. Angered by his soldiers unwillingness to take (a seemingly impossible advancement) orders, he orders the artillery commander to fire on French coordinates. The artillery commander denies the General Mireau's request. This represents the greed that comes with war because the General was willing to lose thousands of lives for his own advancement even going so far as to order hundreds of his own men be killed on the spot by the artillery commander. Which was to me done so that a reason could be supplied to the the higher ups as to explain why the men did not advance on the anthill and pose as a rebuttal to the soldiers refusal to follow orders.
Mireau, obviously unsatisfied decides that as punishment, one man from each company will face trial. The chosen men are Corporal Paris, Privates Ferol and Arnoud. The trial though is a going throught the motions act to adhere to military protocol and the defendants are volintarily defended by Colonel Dax, a former lawyer. Though defended well General Mireau gets his wish and the men are sentanced to death by firing squad to be an example to the rest of the soldiers. Corruption continues to bleed throught to this part of the story. Very similar to the movie/book "To Kill a Mockingbird", no matter how effective the defence, a vertict was reached before the trail ever began. As well the fact that French law states that you are guilty untill proven innocent didnt help the defendants either.
Dax tries to help the soldiers by approaching General Broulard , the superior to Mireau, at his party that evening to tell him of Mireau's original plan to fire on his own troops. General Broulard is baffled and surprised at this announcement but decides to go through with the sentance anyway. Lt. Roget is then assigned by Dax to be head of the firing squad because he chose one of the men to be sentanced out of his own greed as well. This sequence of events not only shows Dax's determination but it also shows how far somone will go to have faith in one person over another and also how Dax assigns Lt. Roget to head the firing squad is Dax's way of making Lt. Roget see the reality of his decision and a way for him to take revenge on one of the men who reveled in the idea of putting three men in front of a firing squad.
During the post meeting when Dax, Mireau and Broulard meet Mireau shows no remose and Broulard procedes to bring up the fact that he is going to open an inquiry about the fact that Mireau ordered his own men be fired at and procedes to offer the promotion Mireau as supposed to recieve to Dax who rejects because of the corruption. Here is the example of goodness occurign too little to late because had Broulard acted sooner than the men could have been saved, Dax's wish, and yet Dax's good will disables him from accepting a promotion on account of Mireaus misfortune, even though he disliked him for his wrong doings. He acted upon the do on to others cliche and how disrespectful it would have been if he had benefited from the demise of three innnocent soldiers.
When Dax finds the 701st they are in a bar and the men beginb are blessed by the presence of a German woman who is pushed to entertain and she beings to sing The Faithful Hassar. The men begin to hum along and even tear becasue they realize that everyone the German woman, the French, and the German troops are all in the same boat Prisoners of the same war.
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