Einstein and Hitchcock

Watch the clip from Battleship Potemkin. What film techniques does Eisenstein use in the Odessa Steps Sequence?

After watching the Shower Scene from Psycho, compare and contrast the film techniques. What makes the scene memorable?

MONTAGE SCENE IN BATTLESHIP POTEMPKYN
things coming at the camera quickly (the umbrella, the woman's face going toward her child)
people falling down slowly
the music is very intense
the woman is going in the opposite way.
violence- child being stepped on
close up on the belt buckle. swan. swan song?
jump cut

SHOWER SCENE IN PSYCHO
close up of the hand
shot reverse shot of the killer and the victim
the close up of the shower head
close up of the drain
close up of the shower curtain falling
close up of the her eye- it looks like she's dying

The Master of Suspense

Why is Hitchcock the Master of Suspense? What techniques does he use? Have you noticed any of these techniques so far in Rear Window?

Hitchcock is known as the master of suspense because he has made mostly thrillers. His heart racing thrillers create suspense that keeps you glued to your seat.

The Showdown

Analyze the film techniques Sergio Leone uses in the final shootout among Blondie, Tuco and Angel Eyes. Think of the camera angles, music, and camera movement especially. How does he reinvent this typical Western device?

quick cuts from person to person
pan
extreme close ups on faces, hands, eyes
wide angle shot
long shot
medium shot
birds cawing
tense music- bells, flamenco clappers, drums, cymbal

Evolution of the Western

Read the article about Westerns. How has the Western changed over time? How does this reflect changes in the U.S or the world?

Over time, the western has developed to be more modern. We see westerns being about controversial issues such as the film Brokeback Mountain. Also, they have developed into action movies and science fiction movies, such as Star Wars. This change reflects what issues and what genres are acceptable in the US and in the world. The western has many key elements and a certain style, that by applying it to a different genre, it's still a western.

Reinventing the Western

Look back at your original Western Blog. What were the characteristics of the Western? How was The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance a Western? How is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly different from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance? (They both have really long titles!)

The characteristics of the western were having the film set during the civil war/post civil war time, and there being an official hero, an unofficial hero and a bad guy. The unofficial hero is the one that has to work harder to show that he is a good guy.

Film Timeline and Film Techniques

Right now we are around the 1950s, such as in 1959 with the French New Wave.
In the 1960s, American cinema was challenging the Hays Code.
In the French New Wave, some film techniques are jump cuts, tracking shots and mise en scene.
Kurosawa used tracking shots, shot-reverse shots, flashbacks, point of view shots, low key lighting and wipe transitions.
In Children In Heaven they used a close up of the shoes everywhere, and the tracking shots of the children running.

Cost of a Soul

I thought that Cost of a Soul was an amazing movie. The acting was fantastic and the way that it was filmed made it seem more real life. The film was really good and I dont think that there needs to be any improvements.

Film Critic

Group 1 Alex Robles & Diriye Ibrahim:
Acting 3
Film technique 3
The scene choice was good, try to eliminate back ground noise and maybe add some more editing.

Group 2-21:
Acting 3
Film Techniques 4
the scene was really well done. The use of voice over and the sound editing added a lot and was really well done.

Iranian Cinema

What makes Iranian Cinema unique is the choice of actors that it has, also the history in where they film their sets. Like they can film in some historical villages or landmarks to the country. Mainly it was influenced by its history and the little movies that came about like Taste of Cherry and also Gabbeh. So really we know that it had a good history and influenced by actors and stories that came abroad

Film Festival

Short Films
A Bike Ride
Daughters
Brothers
Grande Dame
Diplomacy

Features
Semshook
The Puck Hogs
Peepers
The Pit
Upperdog

Cinema in Iran

1. Iranian cinema began long before 1997.
2. and has become an international phenomenal, a New Wave on par with the French movement of the 1950s and 60's, the German movement of the 60's and 70's and the Hong Kong movement of the u80's and 90's.
3. The directors behind the two groundbreaking films were Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Abbas Kiarostami.
4. Iranian filmgoers knew their names long before we did, of course, as evidenced by Kiarostami's extraodinary 1990 film Close-Up.
5. Kiarostami also made the discovery that government censors tended to more quickly approve stories about children, many other filmmakers would follow suit over the next 20 years.

Dogme

Dogme:
All filming must be done on location. All props &sets can not be brought on location. If a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found.
Sound can not be produced, it must be real.
You must use a hand held camera, and it cannot stand still.
Only natural light. Only, if necessary, use ONE lamp connected to the camera.
Optical work and filters are forbidden.
The film must not contain superficial action
Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden (that is to say that the film takes place here and now).
Must not have a genre.
The final picture must be transferred to the Academy 35mm film, with an aspect ratio of 4:3, that is, not widescreen.
The director must not be credited.
This is different from neorealism because not only is it reality, its also very strict and has lots of qualities of a low budget films.

Italian neo-realism

neo realism originated around wwII and put a realistic view on what was going on.

It's no accident that Michael Tolkin chose neo-realism's classic Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves, 1948) to rock his studio exec's world in The Player. Though it's in some ways anti-Hollywood, neo-realism drew a great deal from American noir writing and films. Luchino Visconti based Ossessione (Obsession, 1942) on James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice. Visconti used long takes and complex shots to convey the dismal and ridiculous world of the three protagonists, the lovers (played by Massimo Girotti and Clara Calamai) and the husband they bump off (played by Juan De Landa). Visconti's neo-realism heightens the interplay between characters and surroundings, the bleak, unforgiving interiors and street shots reflective of the lousy hand these no-hopers have been dealt.

International v. Hollywood

International Cinema: Metropolis, The Last Laugh, Battleship Potemkin, Arrival at a Train Station.
Hollywood Cinema: Angeles With Dirty Faces, Modern Times, On the Waterfront, Double Indeminty, His Girl Friday, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, What a Wonderful Life.
They both have great story lines. Only international movies have less restrictions, The acting styles are almost the same, The stories don't end the same, and the heroes are some what different.