Abbigail Azirou

Apocalypse Now Ending- Scene Analysis Apocalypse Now's end scene was definitely a controversial one. Although our protagonist, Captain Willard played by Martin Sheen, succeeds in his mission of killing Colonel Kurts, the resolution still feels somewhat anticlimactic for a number of reasons in which we will explore. Furthermore the ending plays an important role in conveying the film's central themes such as the nature of war, power  and evil and human nature in general and finally colonialism and imperialism. The scene begins with Willard narrating: "they were gonna make me a major for this, and i wasn't even in their fucking army anymore" indicating what is to happen after all is done,  furthermore adding to the resolution. The cinematography of the scene is very dark, the only hint of light that can be seen is the glow of the moon reflecting on the water. Non-diegetic music begins playing accompanied by the dialogue. Willard states "I felt like he was...

Apocalypse Now Opening- Scene Analysis  This scene opens by fading into a long shot of palm trees swaying in the wind. "The end" by The Doors play and the whirring sound at the beginning of the song replicate those of the whirring helicopter propellers that soon enter the scene. The helicopter passes through the shot from left to right as diegetic music continues to play. The shot becomes layered-very typical of Coppola's editing- as a yellow mist arises.  The landing skids of another Helicopter can be seen passing through with the return of the whirring sound. The yellow mist then rises up as the scene smoothly transitions to flames rising up simultaneously. The deep red hues of the flame fill the entire long shot as the camera slowly pans from left to right, capturing the world around it with all the palm trees on fire and caught in the explosion as Jim Morrison sings his line "this is the end". The yellow mist is still present, establishing almost a blu...

Casablanca Scene Recreation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ3n699l8Ww

Casablanca's Main Characters Richard Blaine (Humphrey Bogart)- Rick is our main protagonist in this film. Initially, he is a blunted and indifferent cafè owner who tends to keep to himself, not really sticking his neck out for anyone. As the film progresses and we are introduced to the love interest-Ilsa Lund- Our rick undergoes some character development. Although we don't get a happy ending for the romantic storyline, we do get to witness the protagonist's cynicism transform into self-sacrifice. A turning-point in the film when Rick pledges to help the Allies in World War 2. We don't get a happy, lovey-dovey ending; we get a realistic one. A love tragedy; the most romantic of all. Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman)-     the main protagonist's love interest in the film. Her function is to create this moral-dilemma situation and eventually to elicit sympathy for Rick when he is left watching her and Laszlo soar into the air on their way to America. She is made out to be...

Summary of the Studio System The decades when studio systems were most powerful was between 1920-1960. The major "big five" studios were RKO Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Fox, Paramount and Warner Brothers. The reason that this factory method of production was so successful was because they had a formula and stuck to the classical style. Furthermore, during this time going to the cinema became it's own social experience. Because of the cultural context of the time, people went to the cinema to forget the hardships of life.  These studio systems were so powerful that they had control over every stage of contribution. 

 Casablanca Analysis  Rick's Bar scene The Scene opens with an establishing shot, typical cinematography of the classical style. We notice a spotlight panning across the view in  the mise-En-Scene; representing the fact that in Casablanca, you're always being surveilled. Next, the camera zooms in for a close up of the illuminated sign above the door marked "Rick's Café Americain", ensuring the audience is fully aware of where we're headed. As the shot heads towards the big double doors of Rick's cafe, it delays and lingers a moment waiting outside, an easy yet effective technique for building intrigue. We hear Sam's singing and at this stage, assume it's non-diegetic music. The camera begins slowly panning from right to left as we finally get to explore the cafe, hoping at the end of our trail to find Rick whom we've heard so much about.  We meet Sam, our first three dimensional character and the music becomes diegetic. We can only assum...

Good Will Hunting Film Review                                                 By Abbigail Azirou Once upon a time back in 1997, a couple of struggling actors experienced a drought in roles coming their way, so they decided to write their own-"Good Will Hunting". Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, boyhood friends from Boston went on to sell their screenplay for big bucks. Additionally upon exhortation, they would act in the film and go on to win an Oscar for best Original Screenplay and Matt Damon an Oscar for best actor. In this review i will discuss how the director, Gus Van Sant uses technical tools such as sound, Mis-En-Scene, editing, cinematography and finally i will discuss the performance of Matt Damon who plays the lead, which all play a roll in evoking reaction and response within the viewers. The protagonist (Matt Damon) is working as a janitor at the Massac...

Film Form is used to create meaning and response, or stating it bluntly, to manipulate the audience. cinematography: Essentially, cinematography involves the use of camera and lighting. This means using different angles, shot types and movement. Shot types can be determined by the distance from the subject. For example, a close up can be used to convey emotion, if the close up is of the human face of course. Furthermore, a mid shot can be used in an action scene to show the action. Finally, in cinematography Director's use a range of different angles. In essence, some may tilt the camera for disorientation, they may use high angles to convey a character's lack of authority or power and so on. Typically, the audience will fill in the gaps and understand what the director is attempting to convey. Editing:  Editing relies on the relationship between the shots, The rhythm of the shots, How fast or slow they cut, what they cut to, fades, the relationship between the shots...