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Auteur Renaissance: unusual and unexpected Hollywood viewing experience
Robert Altman’s “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” has evoked a great expectation bearing in mid its time. It has been set in the Pacific Northwest sequentially in West Vancouver as well as in Squamish. Self-sheds lighting depicts its unique sequential filming, which shows the harmonious efforts invested by the director, characters, set designer as well as the cinematographer. Snow cover is evident especially when it’s ending as nice shots of the church fire are seen. The snow is genuine as snow fights and snow balls are shown. Shooting did not begin on snow to ensure continuity since the other scenes would demand to be shot on snow. Besides, the characters are gunslingers who appears like those of the modern movies with a conservative western hero who is not so much illuminated. It concludes with a gunfight for the hired gangsters and McCabe, which depicts skilled staging and choreography utilizing the stunning geographical appearances manifest in the film.
One scene, which hooks the audience to the film, is the smartly played scene where a murderer shoots an innocent man along the bridge. Despite for instance the dressings and tools used by of the characters, which reflects this period, it fits a modern audience. It has utilized cinematic icons such as warren Beatty as well as Julie Christie. It involves the western movie genre, counter-culture at the time to highlight on women’s rights. Altman depicts his trademark of coinciding conversation, painterly visuals, and signature pan together with zoom shots not to mention the beautiful images. The movie can be termed as classic New Hollywood due to its genre, focusing on amoral protagonists and art film aesthetics. The musical is done by Leonard Cohen in his debut album, which gives rhythm to the film.
The Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973)
Malick uses a relaxing style in shooting, making Badlands among the best tributes to European Cinema in the nineteen seventies. The film incorporates art-house as well as mainstream feelings as it attracts the audience to a tragic nature. It doesn’t stuff the audience’s atmosphere as it depicts young characters that have fallen deeply in love in a tragic setup, which shows a disillusionment of young people. Neither Kit nor Holly is overly glamourized and creates difficulty in understanding their criminal activities. The film depict pictorial splendor as its music is exalting. The composition is fictional, but it involves actual murder spree done in nineteen fifty eight by Charles Starkweather together with his lover, Caril Ann Fugate.
The main photography happened during the 1972 summer. The film does not overemphasize on the period. Pit appears as a fairy tale, not to give many details on violence. It depict the affair between 25 years old Kit and 15 years old Holly who continues with the affair despite the father’s disapproval as kit murders him, sneaking with Holly to live in sought of a utopian world in the forest where they are forced to escape the law. The film’s composition is lyrical as well as poetic as narrated by Sissy spacek. The character offers intriguing performances in their own world, which is entertaining to the audience. The violence is overlooked as the film is much sedated as a fairy tale pursuing a romantic fantasy even in the chaotic atmosphere they trigger. The film has a visual sense in a sought of a dream, which captivate the audience as naïve narrations are made by Holly who seems unaware of the violence outburst. The visuals are captivating since it has involved more than one cinematographers in its filming but has a harmonious visual style. The setting involves the open fields in South Dakota, mountainous landscapes and sunsets.
A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes, 1974)
According to Ivone Margulies, Cassavetes films are regarded as theatrical, which lack restriction to the free excitement of showbiz in daily acting. This cinema is crossed by a distinct dramatic design and theatrical space. During the mid-70s in the peak of feminism, Cassavetes tackles the issue in his film as he shows a woman’s role. He depicts their creativity and emotional aspects as they resist the domestic confinement, a sociological scenario that fails to reflect a smart, expressive scheme. Cassavetes takes an insane female protagonist and her punitive domestic atmosphere, aspects that questions a casual aspect, which makes his view of the social issue into a tentative of Cassavetes romantic itinerary. The woman is able to accomplish all her homemaking requirements, which questions on the woman’s insanity and whether such a woman is able to accomplish the filmmaker’s aim. Margulies asserts that “can his glorification of marginal eccentric types subsist once it is so clearly presented as the pernicious result of patriarchal hierarchy?” (Margulies 292)
Cassavetes maintains that his portrays both genders irreconcilable differences and the inadequacies of women in fulfilling their responsibilities. Besides, the camera flaming is inconsistent, which detaches some images from the texture of the film such as that of Nick’s violation the date with Mabel’s. The filmmaker comes up with a unique character who challenges the unenthusiastic audiences such as Mabel in the film. Eccentric characters depict human complexity as in the case on Mabel. The woman’s act is odd, pursuing to please others and hence the self is detached from her to become excessively theatrical. The filmmaker involves psychological and social aspects as Mabel is not exclusively put in either side and this peculiarity allows the filmmaker to portray his individual expressions, which is a display of corporeal language.
He is able to depict the social pressure as well as confrontation as Mabel’s quasi-hysterical physique allows the filmmaker to depict irrational language, which portray her authentic self. Mabel is made to adapt to her usual domestic chores to imitate realism and reflect operative social pressures. As she is slapped by Nick, she is cured and returns to normal, which reflect the filmmaker’s aesthetic creed and depict paradigmatic movement, which converges acting and self. The filmmaker’s application of visual style diffuses radical theatricality infusing his cinema. His photography depict visual as well as performative instability in a messy non-poised appearance, which Margulies terms as “he alternates the clear, spatial display of long shots filmed in a wide angle lenses with telephoto shots whose dramatic center is minutely threatened by multiple layering. Bodies, masses and shadows obstruct and reshape the image, abstracting parts of it and commanding an even greater interest for what remains identifiable” (298). He also pays much attention to other characters where minor characters overlook the main ones
Representing Indigenous cultures in their own right
Smoke signals (1998) is composition from short stories The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. The filmmaker pursued to separate debates involving life reservation as well as the American Indian in a hilarious and stunning film watched as Indian first person. It was set in Sundance, essential in articulating Eyre’s requirements of depicting the social lives of Indians as human beings. Thus the film is self-conscious in relating Indians in the cinema, with western shots in a spectacular landscape and their dressing. Poetic language is used substantially in the film in a humorous and friendly manner. The movie incorporates universal qualities such as parenting and social issue extracted from the book into a visual medium. It has been set in the Pacific Northwest, Coeur d’Alene Reservation where Native Americans are depicted as struggling with issues of alcoholism and parenting.
The film links flashbacks and current encounters in a series of attentive style, which aids in understanding the style of characters. The cast is consistently outstanding in their parts as Eyre utilizes long sprawling shots to strengthen the story’s elegiac tenor and visual lyricism. It is a milestone in the American cinema as American Indians managed the whole filmmaking procedures (Feier 16). It exemplifies the initial Native American cinematic disproof of Hollywood’s enduring distortions of America indigenes.
The producer utilizes Hollywood myths especially stoic warrior. It challenges stereotypes and its comic to shows the inaccuracy of the clichés applied. The Hollywood myth effect on the actors is evaluated as victor becomes the stoic warrior and its effect on the self. The film maintains the essence of embracing the past so as to understand the present. It also celebrates the diversity and splendor of the life of American Indians having great effects on the audience such as that of the Hollywood movies that have structured the public misconceptions about Native Americans. It however, uses Hollywood procedure in cinematography and editing neglecting its supposed aesthetic (Feier 17)
Representations of race and gender
Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967), film depicts gender and sexuality in a straightforward way for instance, when Clyde wields his gun to express masculinity. Besides, Bonnie provocatively hits the phallic symbol as Bonnie and Clyde express crime as appealing and linked with sex. Clyde’s impotence prompts his father to bodily persuade Bonnie, which is infuriating. In the film, Bonnie tries to sexually engage Clyde but is muffled due to his inability. This is expressed in an overt way as nothing is hid and enhances the character’s expression of effectiveness. Faye Dunawayis is a beautiful woman, who openly dislikes Blanche Barrow, who instead portrays loves Clyde. As Bonnie and Clyde dies, Pen incorporated multi-camera shooting, montage editing as well as slow motion to visualize and detail the scene as birds fly away following the shooting. The music in the film uses instrumental banjo in an alternating way.
Rambo: First Blood Part II (George P. Cosmatos, 1985) employs great scenery and cinematography having a female as a main actor, who is equally as strong as Rambo (Sylvester Stallone). Rambo is strong as he engages in the hard labor in prison and after his release as he crosses the Vietnamese jungles, where he comes across Co Bao (Julia Jackson) as they navigate upstream. When Rambo is held captive, Co pretense to be a prostitute aids his escape as she nurses him and displays her sexuality to seduce Rambo and is later killed in the jungle. The two portray romance even in scenarios that would be unexpected. The popular shot in the film is when Rambo ties his headband to become ready for war. John Rambo is seen as superhero with his strong masculine physique illuminated in a dark mine, which bullets cannot go through. As a war hero as he is guided by Co Bao, a woman who appears to be overwhelmed by the role she is given. Amid the scenes of violence, Rambo portrays romances to her as heroic action musicals are played.
Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994) restructured the cinematic landscape as it features two male protagonists who become unskilled gangsters as they pursue a search for a briefcase whose content is unknown. Marcellus fix fights and has a violent attitude especially when it comes to touching his wife, Mia. There are also homosexuals in the film who rape Marcellus, depicting alternative sexuality. The musical makes it essentially cinematic as it involves rock and roll or soul, which adds life to the scenes particularly those with Mia and Vincent as they dance to the tunes. Mia becomes intoxicated with heroin and goes into a coma to be revived by adrenaline injection, which portrays feminine weaknesses. Sexuality is depicted as Vincent and Jules comically talks of Mia’s foot massage and if it’s similar to oral sex. Besides, the cab in which Butch takes is driven by a female, Esmerelda, who figures a relationship. In Noir style, Esmerelda offers Butch a cigarette as she lights it while in Butch’s mouth from the dashboard. These marks sexual connotations as they flirt, triggering noir sensations as they drive at night, open beside the process shot background. Jules &Vincent on the other hand are beyond noir as they talk of mundane things as drugs and violence. The film explores the issue of masculinity in a revisionism manner contributing to sentimental cinema.
My Own Private Idaho (Gus Van Sant, 1991) addresses the relations between two men Mike and Scott, who are involved in drug abuse and prostitution, both to men and women. Here the three are reversed roles such as that of men of prostituting themselves to women. The two are in love affair are portrayed as homosexuals. While in Idaho, great camera shots and sounds are highlighted such as the motorcycle scene. Besides, there are erotic scenes as Scott becomes close to his fiancée Carmella. This is depicted as small static shots as the character poses where photography becomes essential as the two bodies are seen connected and frozen. The snapshots are emotionally demanding. Diversified sexual orientations and needs are seen as causing many issues to the characters as artistic prose is depicted. Self-discovery is also allowed in the film as various characters pursue this motive.
The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
The film is great as a trilogy of three gangsters where one of the characters becomes a tragic hero. The acting is well managed, the photography is superb while the choreography reflects authenticity with regard to the time the film was made. It is based on a romantic relationship blended with gangster violence. The film has forbidding, dim passages as well as cheerful exterior scenes, which reflects skilled cinematography done by Gordon Willis. Besides, the musical done by Nino Rota has a lasting memory which keeps on reminding the experiences in the film. Moreover, the movie has had a significant effect in me since it has tragedies that follow instantaneously.
Main photography depicts the autumn in Pacino & Keaton, which is captivating. In the film, there is an actual detached horse’s head in a scene shot in Port Washington. The firing of Moe Green via the eye and the McCluskey’s shooting are my best scenes since their filming appears technical and real. The first scene has long, three minutes slow zoom and charming scenery. The film is informative as it reflects violence, legality and the sociological aspects surrounding the issue. There are romantic setups in a family life such as weddings and baptismal ceremonies celebrated through winning and dining, but which are ironically linked with scenes depicting terrible violence as well as several killings. The film is therefore, far from being boring as the audience remains hooked to the screen due to the great performances from the characters. Its lighting appear superb, as well as its auditing, shot assortment, camera angle and most importantly, the production scheme. As a result the, The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972) has had the most significant effects in me among all the films that I have watched in this class.
References
Feier, Johanna. We Never Hunted Buffalo. Munster: LIT Verlag Münster, 2011. Print.
Ivone Margulies. John Cassavetes: Amateur Director, in Jon Lewis edition. The New American Cinema. Durham: Duke University Press, 1998. Print.
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