Jun 26, · Example Film Studies Essay. European film movements are most clearly understood as part of the cinema of periphery in relation to popular Hollywood productions. In consideration of examples from one European country, to what extent is this an accurate view? Apr 09, · film Sarah and James by Nikowa Namate offers an opportunity to reflect on the deeper themes in light of several film theories including Freudian theory, Queer theory, and an understanding of realism, naturalism, and kitchen sink drama. This essay will offer a nuanced and thorough analysis of my role in the filmmaking experience your essay. TOPICS 1. Describe at least ONE character who played an interesting role in the film. Explain how film techniques were used to show you the character(s) was interesting. 2. Describe at least ONE important event at (or near) the end of the film. Explain how film techniques were used to show you the event(s) was important. blogger.com Size: KB
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Theorists such as Vogler, Propp, Toplin, and others will also be referenced when discussing these traditional roles in relation to the two films in question. Once this classification has been recognised, an immediate opinion can be formed on the basis of the characters in A bout de soufflé Breathlessand Bonnie and Clyde, and whether they do indeed match these archetypal descriptions.
Initial instinct suggests that both couples are far more complex than that. It is of a young car thief, Michel, who kills a policeman and consequently tries to persuade a girl to hide in Italy with him.
François Truffaut, whose own films, including The Blows, helped the beginning of French New Wave and wrote the original treatment for the film, however Godard merely used his name as credit for the idea of the piece, film studies essay. Inspired by the film, American biographical crime film Bonnie and Clyde was directed by Arthur Penn and stars Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as the title characters.
It is a somewhat romanticised account of the career of the notoriously violent bank robbing couple from the s, and is considered a landmark film, regarded as one of the first films of the New Hollywood era. Cinema reflected the decade of fun, fashion, rock and roll, traditional cultural values as well as colossal social changes, such as the civil rights movement, film studies essay.
However, Hollywood was in decline, unable to keep up with developments in the political and cultural sense that transformed the American society, film studies essay. To survive, film studies essay, Hollywood reacted by cost cuttings, as well as entering partnerships with independent and foreign producers, thus allowing greater levels of experimentation. In contrast, European cinema was in fact already in high esteem, as it was fuelled by government funding and achieved unprecedented levels of critical acclaim and box-office success.
Bonnie and Clyde was one of the first big films during this New Hollywood era, since it broke many cinematic taboos, and was most popular amongst the younger generation.
Bonnie and Clyde is so film studies essay as it had incorporated characteristics that would define Film studies essay cinema for the next decade: explicit treatment of sexual and psychological issues, a negative portrayal of authority figures and societal institutions which will be looked at in more detail further in the essaygraphic depiction of violence, a mixture of comedy and drama, a refusal to resolve narrative conflicts smoothly, film studies essay, and romantic anti-establishment heroes SparkNotes, This new era in American film resulted in a Hollywood renaissance that peaked in the mid-seventies, when directors suddenly became the centre of the American filmmaking industry.
The French New Wave was by the far the most influential postwar movement of filmmaking other movements included: Italian NeorealismGerman ExpressionismSoviet Montage Godard, Truffaut and their peers were encouraged by fellow film writer André Bazin, and created revolutionary masterpieces that held an exciting energy through the use of jump-cuts, non-linear narratives and improvisation.
He steals a car. He wants to film studies essay with the girl again. In the end, he either lives or dies - to be decided Godard, J. Bringelson, M. In s America, crime had become extensive.
There were two major factors that contributed to the widespread of growing criminality: The Great Depression, film studies essay, which made people desperate to obtain money, and Prohibition, which allowed organised crime to expand their operations slideshare, In the opening scene of Bonnie and Clyde, it is quite evident that Bonnie does not fit this description.
She does not want that way of life. When she meets Clyde, an excitement takes over her that makes her leave with him that very moment. The pair embark on an exciting life film studies essay crime together, robbing banks and even murder, whilst picking up friends and associates along the way, until they meet their deadly end.
In reality, Bonnie and Clyde were ruthless criminals. An article in the Los Angeles Times by Mike Royko even tells the tragic stories of families that suffered by their hands Toplin, R. Therefore, it is understandable when critics of the movie were quite distressed about the portrayal of Frank Hamer, the law enforcement officer who ultimately trapped Bonnie and Clyde in Louisiana.
The movie portrays Hamer as cold, mean, film studies essay, and ruthless as he seeks to get his revenge on the crime duo after they captured and humiliated him. At the end of the film when Bonnie and Clyde are graphically shot to death one of the New Hollywood characteristics incorporated by PennHamer is dressed in black, a typical look for a stereotypical Hollywood villain.
This contradiction of a portrayal of the Villain and Hero is therefore understandably confusing for a s film studies essay. A typical villain would more often than not appear in black, or indeed would look altogether unheroic in physical appearance.
For example, films such as Rebecca, where the maid is constantly shown to be wearing a black dress, and the character Norman Bates in Psycho.
In Bonnie and Clyde, the pair do not conform with this traditional depiction. Traditionally these characteristics in filmmaking are used to represent a heroic character, the protagonist of the film, however due to the unheroic acts the pair commit during the course of the film, it is clear why early critics argued over their status as the heroes of the film.
The audience is ultimately put in a position where they wind up sympathising with the pair, simply because the film has been constructed in such film studies essay way as to side with them. For instance, towards the end of the film the spectator sees that the outlaws have family attachments, as well as genuine, caring feelings for each other.
Earlier in this essay The Godfather was mentioned, film studies essay, and this film is a prime example of an American Gangster film, similar to Bonnie and Clyde, that broke boundaries, with a central theme focused on families, much like the family attachments in Bonnie and Clyde. All of these factors of a missing identity and a brave film studies essay of an film studies essay figure as a villainous character are, today, considered very modern characteristics incorporated into 21st Century films.
The modernistic implication of the characters in Bonnie and Clyde and Breathless were quite film studies essay of before and during the early s, thus revitalising films of that era and the many films to follow. Powrie, P. The main point here is that all of the aforementioned films incorporated elements into their narratives that paved the way for directors, such as Martin Scorsese and George Lucas, to bring modernistic or at the time futuristic elements to their characters and narratives, forcing audiences to see characters in different shades and perspectives.
Breathless Bonnie and Clyde was influenced by what can be deemed the pioneer of the French New Wave Movement, Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard. Immediately some similarities are noticeable between the two films. Firstly, film studies essay, both films involve characters who embark on a life film studies essay crime and, secondly, both films involve characters who form an intimate relationship.
That, however, is where the similarities end. For the majority of the film, Michel and Patricia are together and work together to avoid detection by the police, and, similar to Bonnie and Clyde, the spectator is somewhat positioned film studies essay side with the characters, hoping that they manage to escape.
Patricia spends most of the film attempting to understand her feelings for Michel, and therefore is conflicted throughout. Contemporary films such as Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street directed by Tim Burton, is an example of a man living life as a murderer with his female accomplice.
Albeit an extreme comparison, this film does have a similar dynamic between the characters. One other contemporary film is the dark thriller Stoker, directed by Chan-wook Park, starring Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode.
Whilst dealing with much darker themes than either Bonnie and Clyde or Breathless, an implication film studies essay incest being one of themStoker is of a young high-school girl who becomes infatuated with the uncle whom she never knew existed. In the end, however, much like Patricia in Breathless, India ends up betraying Uncle Charlie, by killing him. What is also interesting about these two characters in comparison to Bonnie and Clyde is their attire.
Everyone is dressed in the formal attire of black, whereas Uncle Charlie is the only one to be dressed in colour, immediately separating him from everyone else and making him different. As stated previously, the traditional colour for a villainous character is black, or any other dark colour, yet both Bonnie and Clyde, and Uncle Charlie, are dressed in bright colours.
In Breathless, Michel and Patricia are the protagonists, yet Patricia acts in a more heroic way than Michel. Much like Christopher Vogler, Vladimir Propp has his own theory of what roles are playing in a narrative piece. There is: The Villain, The Donor, The Helper, A Princess and her Father, The Dispatcher, The Hero and The False Hero Propp, V. In fact, film studies essay, it is difficult to label both characters as either a hero or not. As film studies essay protagonist of the film, realistically the audience should be film studies essay for Michel and wanting him to escape with Patricia, film studies essay.
Lapsley, R. Film studies essay initially sets off to persuade Patricia to run away with him, convinced that he is in love with her, only to find himself running from the police. Before these pioneering films, the role of a Villain and a Hero were simple; the villain was out to destroy, and the hero was ultimately a saviour and a good person. If anything, Bonnie and Clyde and Breathless represent the emotions of their audiences, particularly American audiences, during an important time in their history; a period where criminal violence was growing widespread.
Furthermore, these monumental films broke the boundaries of filmmaking and including elements that would grow to become exceedingly modern characteristics in film. They are more depictions of lost souls, wandering aimlessly through life with various forms of identity.
They are neither good, nor bad, neither heroes, nor villains. com, Film Studies A Film Buff's Guide To Film studies essay Movements Features Empire. Fordham, G. html [Accessed 18 Jan. Godard, J. and Andrew, D. New Brunswick [N. and Westlake, M. Film theory. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Muller, E, film studies essay. pdf [Accessed 14 Jan. and Reader, K. French cinema: a student's guide. London: Arnold. Propp, V. Morphology of the folktale. Austin: University of Texas Press.
How To Analyse FILM In An Essay
, time: 8:34Film Studies Essays: Examples, Topics, Titles, & Outlines
5 Breathless 6 Conclusion 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 Filmography 12!2 Katherine Burley S Advanced Film Studies Introduction In this essay, a critical comparison between two films from different movements will been explored; A bout de Soufflé, a French film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, and Bonnie and Clyde, an American film directed by Arthur Penn. Predominantly, this essay Apr 09, · film Sarah and James by Nikowa Namate offers an opportunity to reflect on the deeper themes in light of several film theories including Freudian theory, Queer theory, and an understanding of realism, naturalism, and kitchen sink drama. This essay will offer a nuanced and thorough analysis of my role in the filmmaking experience Jun 26, · Example Film Studies Essay. European film movements are most clearly understood as part of the cinema of periphery in relation to popular Hollywood productions. In consideration of examples from one European country, to what extent is this an accurate view?
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