Yojimbo

In Yojimbo several major themes are occurring all at once making for a strong character development of several of the main characters. One them I found most interesting was Yjimbo's will to do good by the people, even though many of his practices are unconventional.

Upon first arriving to the town it is almost as if he was pre-informed about the situation that crippled the towns people of Ronin because of his keen eye for the wrongs that exist in the town.

Being thrust into the town and its problematic situation Yojimbo is not given a choice between good and evil as both sides that are pitted against each other are evil vs. evil. Making Yojimbo force the evils to cancel each other out by not staying true to one side but staying true to himself which is another lesser theme that I will not elaborate on.

Yojimbo displays his Robin Hoodesque style to steal from the powerful and give to the weak and powerless. He displays this when he frees one of the citizens enslaved wife and sets them free. He not only sets them free but he gives them all of his current earnings which was a considerable amount to just hand over. This portrays his real mission, do right by the world. 90 percent of what he does is for the benefit of the people and the citizens of Ronin.

As well, the massive war that he indirectly causes makes for a much needed cleansing of the town so that it could be not only a safer place to live but also a more enjoyment to live there. He had no direct motive to organize such a thing but he was more than willing to complete many dangerous tasks to complete his goals. There were no personal gains in his actions especially when it comes to taking a beating for causing so much trouble.

In fact it wouldn't surprise me if Yojimbo sort of stemmed from the idea of Robin Hood completely.

Kagemusha

In Kagemusha there is an interesting use of colors especially near the end of the film when Kagemusha begins dreaming.

There is a direct connection between the dream that Kagemusha has, the clouds during the war and the colors of the warriors uniforms.

The colors are not only representative of war but also representative of the change that has occurred in Kagemusha. He when from being a small time thief to being the leader in a large scale war over the entire military. It was a very big step in his role as the Kings secret replacement.

The colors first are displayed when Kagemusha is having a nightmare about being chased by the old king, possibly to conjure the idea that the old king is pushing him to become a better representative or to prepare him for war and all of the new responsibilities that come with leading a military in to war.

The colors appear also on the uniforms of the soldiers, generals, and even on Kagemusha. This is to help you make the connection that all three of these color instances are not only a transformation forKagemusha but for the nation he leads as well.

The vivid colors depict a sort of abstract and artsy feel to the film making you think beyond just the colors but the symbolism and and finer meaning behind the actions of Kagemusha and the advisers who enlist him to fill this void that only he can fill. Similar to the red depicted on the cover above greens and yellows are also depicted to complete this vibrantly manufacted display of art.

Titus

Titus is a typical Shakespearian play adapted to film that uses a very arts combination of the times to get its message across. Effectively making the film timeless so that the values in the film are not simply perceived as a lesson man once learned a long time ago. Which, is far from the truth considering that each of the characters resemble one of the seven deadly sin which are also timeless because they will occur until the end of time.

Many of the main characters directly display one or more of the seven deadly sins. Take Saturinus for example, he directly displays envy. Although he is consistently angry with Titus and his family it is envy that he most heavily displays, because he kills off people who he underhandedly finds to be a threat. For instance when he orders the deaths of Titus's sons it wasn't because he dislike them but he found them to be a threat. His hate and disdain for Titus directly stems from his envy for his power not only to lead but his military power that Saturinus is technically in control of but he knows that Titus has the stranglehold on the army that he could never match.

Tamora, Saturinus's chosen wife resembles wrath because she constantly seeks revenge against Titus for killing her eldest son. Her constant hate is displayed through the violence she harbors against Titus. She is the strongest arm against Titus and it last all the way up until the bloody and quick ending of the play.

Aaron a personal adviser to the royal family including not only Saturinus but Tamora and her sons as well. He is having a secret affair with Tamora which is why he the direct display of lust. The produce of lust of course is a love child, which comes to fruition at the end of the film when he is confronted by the nurse/nun and he is forced to take arms against her to ensure that his lust for Tamora is not revealed to the masses, but it is inevitably revealed by the end of the film .

Titus's major flaw is his pride, he constantly wants to gain popularity and advance his family name for not only his but his family members gain as well. He constantly sacrifices things for his family to help them maintain a reputable name which, unlike today, was a very important thing as a family, to have a reputable name in the community. In the end he goes on a murder rampage over pride and pride alone proves to be his downfall.

Tamoras sons represent gluttony and greed because nothing is never enough for them they are constantly grabbing with both hands for anything and everything they can want or have. They have vibrant halls filled with valuable materials but that is not enough, they have to have video games and all kinds if women and the list goes on and on the gluttony is outrageous.

The downfall however of the entire film is that greed and sloth exists in all of these characters in the play. Everyone is looking to move up monetarily because money is the root of all evil and money is a strong underlying cause of the downfall of Rome. Sloth is also a downfall because everyone refuses both to work physically and spiritually meaning that all of them are in poor standing with God.

Flight of the Phoenix

Having watched the 2004 version of Flight of the Phoenix I have found several similarities to other movies i have previously viewed. Firstly, the setting definitely brings about the same feeling as Lawrence of Arabia because the entirety of the movie takes place in the Gohabi Desert. One plot similarity between the two movies is the struggles of both movies include battling not only the harsh desert conditions but all of the companions and a couple of bandits as well. Like the beginning of Lawrence of Arabia and most of this film water plays a very strong role as it would in any desert setting.

Unfortunately, color was not given its due time in the making of this film . Unlike Lawrence of Arabia or Fistful of Dollars color took a back seat to plot development instead of working with plot development hand in hand. To the unassuming movie viewer this may not be as evident because of the constant action and short frame cuts.

There were though a few scenes worthy of mention, including the "lightning storm" and "bandit negotiation scene". In the lighting storm scene as Davis leaves the wreckage during a lightning storm to urinate trips over a rock and falls, tumbling down possibly sand dune after sand dune until he is completely lost and the complete lack of light, except for the flashes of lightning leaves him in one direction, death. He is last shown during a double flash as a decrepit and decayed corpse standing up, reminiscent of the beginning of The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney's Magic Kingdom. The scene is very fitting because many members of the crew had blamed him for jinxing them just before take-off.

The second scene which was the "bandit negotiation" scene was shot during a very interesting time of day. It was shot during the wee morning hours when the light is a very light hue of blue and the entire scene is shot this way. It is very fitting because they were very unaware of what might happen or what these men were all about. A very interesting time of day to shoot a scene and even entrancing in a way, reminiscent of the scene from Vertigo in Judy's apartment as far as the color goes, except for the horribly misplaced green. This seems more effective in this scene though becasue it was done through natural light rather than retouching.

One scene that uses heavy symbolism was when Liddel wanders off and Towns finds him. The symbolism is not only "to look over the untraveled path" but also when they find the scattered books it symbolizes the vast differences of thoughts about what the survivors should or shouldn't do and when the two walk back together it symbolizes that they have agreed on an idea. At the center of all the books however is Kyles body from when he originally fell out of the aircraft and it symbolizes that no matter what death is not only omnipresent but that death is center stage to all.

Much of the plot reminds me of Lord of the Flies in that it gives the scenario that when government ceases to exist that the true wild takes over man. Towns and Elliot remind me of from Lord of the Flies in that they have not only a power struggle between each other but between themselves and their subconscious. Elliot parallels Jack and Towns parallels Ralph, although they do not parallel the each other to the tee the general ideologies over power exist between them both in the plot and subplot.

Overall the movie did have several misplaced storms and a strongly misplaced rainstorm that became so ineffective that they loose all bearing on the film, which having been used in the correct context could have really impacted the film and made the film more effective to the viewer. Though, despite many of its faults the film did have some minor cinematographic successes.

Thone of Blood MIDTERM!

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.

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.

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.