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.
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.
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