I don't really know what to say about this movie, it had an interesting storyline and had Clint Eastwood which added intensity into the scenes he was in. This is by far the most interesting film we have watched in Art of Film in my opinion, probably since it was in color. But this film is important because it revises of the stereotypical western films of the past. A revisionist point of view tries to correct the errors of stereotypes in films. In this film the hero, Will Munny isn't shown as the expert marksman in the beginning of the film, but an old pig farmer and former murderer with two kids. He can't even shoot a can with all six bullets from his revolver, this scene was created to show how he isn't the stereotypical cowboy from the western films of the past. I find it interesting how he turns into that stereotypical cowboy close to the end of the film. He walks straight into the lion's den, the brothel where the sheriff and a whole platoon of armed men were having a meeting. Munny is able to kill the sheriff, the person who owns the brothel, and several other men while able to avoid being shot by another handful of men. This scene is incorporated into the film because it allowed the viewers to compare the two heroes. Munny in the beginning and Munny at the end, two very different people. One being the washed up murderer that can't shoot a can, while the other is fed off of revenge, fearless, and maser marksman. This comparison of the two heroes was my favorite part of the film overall.
Director Hayao Miyazaki is my favorite director of all time. Along with a company called Studio Ghibli which he co-founded, Miyazaki created many memorable animated films. One of which is Tonari no Totoro or My Neighbor Totoro in English. One of my favorite films of all time and the first film by Miyazaki I watched. It was completely different from the films I had seen in the past when I first watched it. It was fun to watch, soothing to hear, an interesting story, and was still able to promote the themes that Miyazaki lives by. This film won the Animage Anime Grand Prix, an award given out by the Animage magazine. It is a well known award when it comes to Japanese anime, and is a pretty important award in the anime world Miyazaki played a huge role in creating this film, mainly because he wrote it. In this film, Miyazaki incorporates Japanese culture, as well as his own beliefs and ideas. A lot of people think Totoro is supposed to be a kami spirit of the Shinto religion, a kami spirit supposedly looks after nature. Causes of thunder, wind, the sun and other natural occurrences. In this film and many other films that were directed by Miyazaki have themes that tie it to nature. As well as how humans interact with nature and technology, how these three things come in contact with one another. In this particular film the technology isn't as apparent as some of his other films, such as Princess Mononoke or Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Another one of his themes that he uses quiet often is how hard it is to become and stay a pacifist, the difficulties of avoiding violence. There are two more things that many of his films have in common. One are the antagonists, they are usually strong headed individuals that follow their own beliefs even though it might seem different from the protagonist. They usually aren't entirely evil, they tend to change through the movie and redeem themselves. Then there are the protagonists of Miyazaki's films. They tend to be young females that are innocent and just seem like a normal person, but they demonstrate their bravery and strength when it is needed in the films. This film demonstrates more of the strong young female protagonist and the connection of humans with nature. Those two things are most common in his films that I have seen. But the films by Miyazaki appeal to me not only because of the themes, but his ability to entertain the people that watch his films. People young and old are able to watch these films and become entertained, even a child that doesn't understand a thing about humans and their connection with nature will find his films entertaining. Without analyzing a anything in his films, I found enjoyment just watching the films. Miyazaki's creativeness and original ideas really make his films fun to watch. Even while making these films extremely entertaining, he is still able to create these interesting worlds in the films based on his themes. I personally love the music created by Joe Hisaishi as well, this music really helps make Miyazaki's films a lot more enjoyable in my opinion. Hayao Miyazaki is definately my favorite director and deeply involved in all of his films. I still don't really know which film is my favorite of his films, but Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind are two films that I highly recommend. I just wish I knew when his next film is finished.
This movie was by far better than Citizen Kane in my opinion. The tune was catchy and easily recognizable as well. I liked the diverse personalities of the characters in the movie, but I felt like there wasn't enough character development overall for each character. I saw a lot of similarities with this film and more recent ones. Although more recent films aren't usually westerns. Though the whole hero in pursuit of a woman, hero prevails over evil, and an American happy ending has definitely been used way too many times. It was probably still quite fresh when this film was created. I just see a lot of the things that turned how films are made today in Stagecoach. For example the Apache Indians chase scene, this seems like an early version of any typical chase scene in a movie, but with a stagecoach and horses instead of cars.
This scene was discussed in class quite thoroughly. How the camera violates the 180 degree rule in filming, the director wasn't trying to prove a point. According to him it was because he got a better shot from that angle and position. Once it had been pointed out, it became pretty obvious. The scene would have the stagecoach and the horses moving in opposite directions, one would think this would make it harder to follow along and make the chase scene less logical. But it didn't, no one in my class had noticed this switching of directions. Everyone in the class also seemed just fine while watching the movie, and was able to understand what was happening in the scene. I was also very impressed by the stunt men, I lost count of how many people were shot and fell off their horses. The movie looked as if it had been made later than 1939 in my opinion, it just didn't look as outdated as it was to me. Then there was the animal cruelty going on in the movie, with the horses being jumped on and falling over. It would be pretty hard to see a recent movie treating horses that way with all the animal rights laws.
In conclusion, I actually liked this film. My favorite character was probably Doc Boone, he just brought laughter with his constant alcohol abuse throughout the film. Then there were more annoying characters like Lucy Mallory that I didn't like. She didn't seem like a very good actress to me, she never really showed any emotion in the film. Even when she tried to show fear and anxiety in the stagecoach during the chase scene but instead she looked constipated or brain dead. I couldn't help but laugh when there was a long shot that was perfectly parallel with the side of the stagecoach because Lucy Mallory's face was looking straight out the window and her face just looked weird. But overall, I liked this movie.
Some call this the best American film. I didn't think it was THAT great, I had no problem with most of the movie, but the loud sounds made to refocus your attention was very annoying. Especially that transparent bird that almost scared my class to death. It was due to the director's history with radio, but it was just very annoying. I'm not saying it wasn't effective, I'm just saying I didn't like it. It had one of those endings that no one would really understand, I just realize that some of those movies really don't have an answer. The director might have just done it so people would talk about it and have their own interpretation, and to confuse people so much to go and watch it a second time. I really don't see why this was such a great movie overall. Susan Alexander's voice was quite annoying as well. In conclusion this movie made me want to stop watching after the scene with the transparent bird and when Susan Alexander was complaining to Kane about her review in the Inquirer. I guess I could say these two things kept me awake in class?
Pan's Labyrinth directed by Guillermo del Toro is a very original movie. It is full of action, suspense, and yet was able to introduce me to a very original story. Most of the credit should go to Guillermo del Toro, who directed and wrote the screenplay as well. It was produced by many people, including Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón, Bertha Navarro, Frida Torresblanco, and Alvaro Augustin. But telling this story would not have been possible without the actors/actresses. There is Maribel Verdú who plays Mercedes the main house keeper, Sergi López who plays Capitán Vidal the main antagonist, Doug Jones who plays the Faun as well as the Pale Man, and many other minor characters that helped bring the story together. But the most important is Ivana Baquero who plays Ofelia, the main character. She seems to handle herself quite well in front of the camera at such a young age. She seems quite real when it comes to her reactions and emotions. She seems more natural while acting than some of the younger American actors/actresses that I have seen. Then there was the way the movie was filmed, it was all shot to seem like a story. The person behind the photography was Guillermo Navarro. He seems to try really hard to always have the actors face shown, every emotion and facial expression is captured. He uses a large number of techniques as well for the filming. The music is very important as well. Javier Navarrete is behind all of the songs in the film, the songs are never too loud, they are soothing yet a bit creepy in a way. It made me relax, yet at the same time gave me a creepy feeling because of the way it is played. I think the best example of this is the theme song from the movie "Long, Long Time Ago". This movie is very original compared to anything I have seen before, but it did make me see some connections to a movie I had seen recently. There are some similarities between Pan's Labyrinth and The Chronicles of Narnia. In both films there are innocent children that step into a fantasy world and have very important roles in those worlds. Pan's Labyrinth is set during the Spanish Civil War in 1944. There seems to three specific conflicts that appear in the film, yet they are connected. The first is between the soldiers who follow the orders of Franco and the revolutionaries, second is the connection between her and the Faun, and third is Ofelia's conflict with the adults around her. The main characters are Ofelia, Mercedes, Capitán Vidal, and the Faun. The story revolves around Ofelia, a young girl who has moved with her pregnant mother to live at a military fort with her step father Capitán Vidal. While she stays there, a fantasy world opens up to her. Mercedes seems more of a mother figure to Ofelia than her actual mother, she becomes a mentor to Ofelia. Capitán Vidal is the antagonist and is the stepfather of Ofelia. The Faun is a creature of Ofelia's fantasy world that she has stumbled upon, it is hard to tell which side the Faun is one, good or evil. The plot of the movie overall is well-structured, the story is easily followed. But there are underlying themes and hidden messages throughout the movie that are a bit difficult to find. Everything seems to be resolved in the end and makes logical sense, yet there are questions that are never really answered that keeps the audience thinking. The dialogue in the movie is very real and what a person would normally say in Spanish. One of the more important themes that I found was that one should not blindly obey to authority without question. The acting was superb in my opinion, Ofelia really showed an innocent child very well and Capitán Vidal actually did such a great job at being the antagonist that I just wanted him to die close to the end of the film. The sets, costumes and makeup was beautifully done, the set in the long hallway leading to the Pale Man's dining room was so extravagant, the Faun and the Pale Man's costume/makeup along with some computer graphics made them come alive and become the creatures of fantasy that they were meant to be. I really liked the way this movie was filmed as well. There were many slow tracking/steady cam shots that just allowed me to capture the emotions of the characters much better. During these slow shots there wasn't too much action going on but when there was, I noticed a lot more cuts during those scenes. For example, the scene with Ofelia and the Pale Man in the corridor. There were many lengthy shots in the film, including a scene that I liked was of Ofelia walking along the edge of the Pale Man's dining table full of food. There was a use of deep focus as well in this scene where the Pale Man was on the right but Ofelia is clearly visible and in focus in the background walking towards the camera. But my favorite shot of all is a medium shot of Ofelia standing in front of the three locks, but with the unfocused Pale Man over her shoulder in the distance. This shot just gave me a slight chill down my spine because I kept wondering when the Pale Man was going to move. Pan's Labyrinth was a very enjoyable movie, and was just so original. It was something I had never seen before. It was a new idea by mixing historical facts with fantasy. I would recommend this movie to anyone who has not seen it, and to anyone who has already seen it, just because it allows people to see things they had not seen the first time around.
