The Graduate

1. In class we discussed about Mike Nichols being a fantastic director, how the camera changes based on how Ben changes, and how Dustin Hoffman was a cute stud. While I personally don’t agree with the ladder, the first two are visible while watching The Graduate. In class we learned that Mike Nichols won the Lifetime achievement award in 2010. Even though I do not remember or have not seen any other of his films, if Nichols did as great of work on those movies as he did on The Graduate, then he deserves the award.  I wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t brought up in class, but the way Nichols shot the film, regarding the angle and closeness of the shots, adds a whole new dimension to the film. You can visibly notice how close up and stiff the camera is when Ben is stuck up and nervous. On the other side, you will also notice how the camera becomes more “relaxed” in a way when Ben does, shooting from a further distance and just being smoother in general.

2. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/18530/The-Graduate/articles.html

Appropriately titled “Why THE GRADUATE is essential,” the article focuses on the impact The Graduate made on society during it’s time and what Mike Nichols thought of the film as well as how it shaped him as a director. The article starts off by giving a couple of different opinions of what message fans may have taken from the film; how it was a sharp satire of the younger generation seeking to break free of the stultifying hypocrisy of their parents, or how it’s a superficially clever and essentially conservative take on the youth culture in bloom at the time. The article then continues to discuss what the final scene was meant to leave behind, and even gives Nichols’ personal opinion on what the movie meant and, particularly, what that scene meant to him. The article wraps up by highlighting Nichols’ superb effort put into The Graduate and how he was rewarded for his work. They even hit on the auteur style of his, and how this, his sophomore effort, helped shape and solidify his own style as a director.

            3. This article helps you realize how Nichols really is a one of a kind director. Just based on the final scene, the effort and thought Nichols put into the scene is Oscar winning alone. When one scene can leave you guessing and arguing its meaning almost 50 years later, you know you’re doing something right. In fact, Nichols said that the final scene is the one thing he likes most about the film. The fact that Ben and Elaine don’t know what to say to each other, how they are ill prepared for what lies ahead. To Nichols, “the last moment shows that Ben and Elaine will end up like their parents, nothing changed with little gained from the moment of sheer impulse.”

            4. Of all the movies we have watched in class to date, this is probably my most favorite. We are now starting to get into more modern films with actors that I have seen before the class, which is part of the reason. Also, the film was surprisingly funny in my opinion. However, from a film study standpoint, The Graduate had more to learn from compared to Stagecoach or Casablanca I thought. The way a film is shot and how the camera is used seems to be a basic theme in this class, since pretty much every movie we have watched has it’s own style in regards to how it is filmed. With The Graduate, I feel that is had a different element to it than some of the other films. How the camera relates to the main character is an aspect that I am intrigued with, and it is certainly something you don’t see in just any film. Citizen Kane is the only movie, I would say, that has used the camera to create a dimension to the film better than The Graduate. In my opinion, that is really something to learn from. All in all, I would recommend The Graduate to anyone, especially friends of mine, just based off of the comedic value it brings. 

Casablanca

1. When we go over the themes in the power points for the movies we’re about to watch, I usually pay attention for them throughout the movie. Most of the time, the themes are easily identified, but that isn’t the case with Casablanca. Romance, honor and self-sacrifice in war were obvious throughout the movie, but I didn’t find Casablanca to be a chaotic place. I know that the movie was based on a time of war, but the way that enemies treated each other with plenty of respect gave it a warm feel, even though you knew it wasn’t. Other than that, I would say that the themes we discussed in class were spot on.

            2. http://www.pictureshowman.com/articles_films_casablanca.cfm

Basically this article gives behind the scenes info on Casablanca. The website gives fun facts that most people wouldn’t know about the movie such as how much the set cost to make, how much the actors were paid and how Ingrid Bergman hardly knew Humphrey Bogart. I personally found some of the facts very amusing; one of which being that Paul Henried, who played Victor Laszlo hated the role and initially turned it down, until he would be paid star salary of course. Also, the salary of all the stars ranged from $5,000 to $1,750 weekly except for Dooley Wilson, the actor who played Sam, who was paid only $150 a week. Finally, one of the most interesting facts to me was that the set of Rick’s Café cost $9,200 to build, which was more than half of the $18,000 set budget!

            3. Normally I would feel very discouraged at humanity to hear how much lower the pay was for Dooley Wilson compared to the other stars, but I also understand that racism was a normal thing in those days, and he was actually lucky to be able to land the acting job, just based off the color of his skin, in the first place. Another story from the article was that Bergman and Bogart failed to get to know each other before working on Casablanca, mostly because of Boart’s “standoffishness,” so Bergman watched The Maltese Falcon over and over until she felt that she knew Bogart well enough. To me, this says a lot about Bogart, mostly about what a personal human being he is. I feel like that trait of his makes his performance as Rick even better, since Rick had that trait as well.

            4. Overall, and I know I say this regarding pretty much every movie we watch in class, but I can see why this film has gone down of one of the best in history. My father always used to tell me how we should watch Casablanca together. He would frequently quote the film around the house, particularly “of all the gin joints in all the world, she has to walk into mine,” which I now realize isn’t the exact line, but that is what he would quote. Its films like these that make you better appreciate great acting and even better directing. Obviously Humphrey Bogart and Michael Curtiz have gone down in history for their work in this movie, and rightfully so. I would rate this movie a 10 out of 10, and would definitely recommend the film to anyone, regardless of age.

Citizen Kane

1. In class we discussed Citizen Kane in a couple of different ways. We went over Orson Welles and how this was his first film, we discussed the basic background and plot of the film itself, and we discussed the different accolades the film has received. Obviously the plot that we talked about it class would hold true to the movie, but without talking about the background and going into detail about the film, I might not have noticed a couple of things. For instance, I definitely would not have recognized the scenes that had the snow globe in them, outside of the very first scene of the film, without going over beforehand that it was there. Also, I may not have looked at the different lighting situations as critically as was described in class. I surely would have noticed that the lighting used in the film was a little odd, but I probably wouldn’t have thought so deeply about it.

2. http://www.decentfilms.com/reviews/citizenkane This article, as wonderfully worded and rich in vocabulary as it is, basically just talks about how the writer thought the film was great. The article talks about different aspects of the film and how they made this film so great. These different aspects included describing the film visually, narratively, and thematically. Visually, the article refers to the unordinary camera angles and unconventional use of lighting. Narratively, referring to the storytelling of multiple points of view and the dramatic span of decades. Thematically, the article discusses how Kane was a mystery man from nearly every angle, and the films famous twist.

3. The article, again as wonderfully worded as it was, basically just tells you everything you already know after seeing the film. If I had read this article before I had watched the film, it would have been more than anxious to watch it. The article speaks so highly of the film, bringing up every great aspect about it, that it would literally be difficult to wait to watch the film. However, since I have already see Citizen Kane, the article was nothing special to me. It basically just summed up everything that we went over in class and that you saw in the film and sugar coated it.

4. While I did greatly enjoy the film, and I can see the genius behind the plot and execution of it, I honestly wouldn’t put it as the best film ever made. I acknowledge that it is a great piece of film history, but to rate it that high just seems too much for me. On the other hand, if you were to ask me what the greatest movie of all time was, I wouldn’t have an answer for you. Anyway, I did enjoy the film, I would recommend it to someone else, but I wouldn’t tell them it was the best movie I had ever seen.

Gone With The Wind

1. In class we talked briefly about African Americans in the film industry during this time, and how they, like all other African Americans in this time period, were treated terribly. Normally, if they were casted, they would only have a minor role. However, Hattie McDaniel had a major role in Gone With The Wind, something nearly unheard of for this time. African Americans, no matter how crucial their roles may have been, were not allowed to attend the opening night of their film, which happened to Hattie McDaniel as well. Regardless, Hattie still won the Academy Award for best supporting actress.

2. http://www.filmsite.org/gone.html The start of this article talks about Gone With The Wind’s incredible success, and gives credit to those who earned it by reminding the reader of how many awards it has won. Just a handful of these awards include Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress given to Hattie McDaniels, the first African American to win the award. In total, Gone With The Wind won thirteen awards, all of them rightfully so. The article also gives the reader a full synopsis and break down of the entire movie, piece by piece.

3. Even though many to all of the people that can recall watching this film can also recall it’s cinematic brilliance, being reminded of just how successful and popular it was may never get old. Some films are lucky to get mentioned for an Academy Award, let alone win one, and Gone With The Wind won thirteen. Most great directors would be lucky to be mentioned for an Academy Award once in their life, while Victor Fleming won two in his. In my opinion, being reminded of the impact this film had gives me goose bumps.

4. Much like other Clark Gable films I have seen before, it seems that whatever role he plays is perfect for him. The way he interacts with his co-stars; it makes it seem like they were childhood friends and have been as tight as can be ever since. The chemistry he brings to a cast is marvelous, and like any top-notch actor, he makes everyone around him better. Perhaps it was just the work of Gable that makes me think this, but while the movie was playing I couldn’t help but tell myself that this was the perfect cast. Everyone played their part the way it had to be played, and many were awarded for their work. Also, while I was sitting their watching the movie, eventually the length had gotten on my nerves, perhaps ruining my viewing experience just a little bit. However, in retrospect, the movie used up the entire 238 minutes the way it needed to. In my opinion, I would recommend Gone With The Wind to literally any person that has the attention span to sit through a four hour film.