Below are select movies that film scholars chose to argue if they belong in the list of 100 Great Films or not. Evidently, we are able to articulate and argue better our opinions about a film because of the vocabulary we learned studying film. We are able to specify and accurately voice our opinion with the cache of terms we have at our hand. Here are the films:
Arrival by Denis Villeneuve
Reordering
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- Villeneuve’s method is not unique in a general way, but the specifications that composes his method to communicate to his audience amplifies and elaborates the story. By subverting the order of how the story unfolds, Arrival’s plot becomes far more robust. If films have the dichotomy of restricting the information or providing an omniscient stance to the audience, Villeneuve amalgamates the two by restricting the information that he is providing omniscience. For example, the introductory scene is an encapsulation of Louise’s relationship with her daughter, but the audience does not find out that this scene is an introduction to Louise’s acquiescence of the alien’s non-linear language. Every aspect that Villeneuve presents is an invitation to an assumption based on expectations but is subverted once the arrival of the climax and the denouement.
Arrival belongs in the Top 100 films. It uses the medium of film and applies it to a familiar aspect of our lives—communication. The film is significant because unlike any other film, Arrival explores the audience as the one subjected to the lens of the camera. It applies all the audience’s biases and subverts all their assumptions. The film pushes critics to analyze a subject in a critical manner than before. It can only be unpacked with the technical diction that is learned through studying filmmaking. Because of the subject matter it explores, the filmmaking lexicon provides a more specific analysis of Arrival.
The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan
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- While using shots, M. Night Shyamalan makes their shots to convey varied messages and emotions to the audience. For example, in the magic scene when Malcolm talks to Cole, there uses a tracking shot that move the camera to Malcolm. While moving, the audience only see Malcolm on the middle of the screen talking to someone in the chair. When the shot shifts to Cole, Shyamalan makes the audience a little confused about this “magic” moment and therefore pave a deeper clue for the existence of Malcolm. Then, Shyamalan uses a lot of continuity editing in many scenes to create a sense of smooth and flow for the story. For instance, in the scene of Cole is trapped by the other two boys, the shots of Cole’s mother’s upstairs create a high level of continuity that makes the body actions of the character natural.
Structuring
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- The biggest feature of this film is the complexity of its narrative structure. The director divides into two storylines, one is the romantic story between Malcolm and his wife and another is Cole and his mother. The narration is developed between the two storylines. Early clues make audience understanding of the film into confusion. Audiences will completely understand the whole story after the disclose at the end of this film. In this film, the director used temperature several times. There are times when the temperature drops and the characters breathe white. Among them, when Malcolm approaches his wife, she wraps her shawl tightly around her in her sleep, a clue that Malcolm is dead.
Sound/Eeriness
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- A key element of thriller films like this one is the method of editing used throughout the film. “To intensify feelings of fear in the audience, film artists use sound, lighting, timing, motion and other stylistic devices” (Fu). In The Sixth Sense they altered the lighting and sound during the suspenseful parts to create a deeper reaction in the audience. In the opening of the film you can hear an eerie sounding violin playing and the theme of classical music carries on throughout the film. The high pitched whining of the violins really seems to put people on edge and adds to the suspense of the situation. Another aspect that adds suspense is how light or dark a certain scene is. For example, whenever Cole runs into his ghosts the lighting gets really dark and the violins in the background get louder. “The unusual lighting causes tension in the audience” (Fu).
In 2016 The Sixth Sense was number 89 on AFI’s Top 100 list of movies from the last 100 years. When this film was first released in theaters it was number one at the box office for a solid 5 weeks and raked in 40 million dollars (Atlantic). The reason behind The Sixth Sense’s immense success is mostly due to how well they pulled off the twist at the end. The movie started off with a graphic scene of an old patient breaking into the psychologist’s home and shooting him in the stomach. Before finding out what happens to the psychologist the plot line introduces the boy and you kind of assume that he just healed from his injury. At the very end it is revealed that the psychologist actually died from his gunshot wound and was one of the many ghosts visiting Cole to try and find the help they need.
Oculus by Mike Flanagan
Chunking
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- A way to analyze the segments of this film, you’d have to break the film into smaller more explainable chunks. The movie can be looked as broken into 3 chunks. Life prior, during, and after the encounter of this evil mirror. Some chunks are spoken in past tense but during present time, something similar to a flashback. These chunks are unified by action due to the mirror and all characters being present in each segment. Some segments are in fact out of order. During some scenes the producer would have the character experience a in-depth flashback, allowing the viewer to build a logical bridge between the two actions. The producer also kept the actual meaning of the mirror away from the viewers to create a more dramatical suspense feeling. If the meaning was revealed earlier than the movie would not be as interesting.
This film wouldn’t be considered a great film due to it not having a significant impact on the overall genre of horror. The cinematography of this film is elite and usage of each individual segment plays a role in the huge success this movie had. Oculus is a tightly enacted chamber drama that just happens to include supernatural phenomena. By analyzing films critically, it allows viewers to get a better and well rounded understanding of the film prior to watching it. This way of analyzing films also allows the viewer to grasp a more enhanced ,thought out ,analytical conclusion.
Daughters of the Dust by Julie Dash
Atemporality
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- The film also plays with diasporic temporality. The film does not have a linear, straight plot line, which was a very different narrative style that was in opposition of the traditional Hollywood blockbuster storytelling. Dash wanted the audience to experience the film through the various connections between generations. The film is not plot-driven and is dependent on the relationships and dialogue between the family members. There are three narrators: unborn child (of Eula and Eli), matriarch Nana, union of what represents all of black women. We can see it as a visual poem – a focus on women and their bodies that doesn’t objectify or sexualize them. The broader theme of the film is thereby amplified by the interactions and visual images of and between the females of the film.
Daughters of the Dust, without a doubt, should be included within the top 100 list because of the groundbreaking historical factors in being the first feature length film directed by an African American woman and therefore distributing a story and perspective that was ignored for generations. It stands as a classic not only within the independent film industry, but of all cinema for its beautiful portrayals of female relationships, fearless themes and cinematography, and the cultural meaning for so many people of color around the world. It is incredibly important to analyze films critically because whether we want to admit it or not, they lead us as a culture. We invest so much time, money, and efforts in celebrating this industry. It is extremely personal when you bring into context of how we, as a society, plan dates or events around going to the movie theater or having movie nights in our homes. It is especially important in this newer generation, considering how we have such easy access to online media sites such as Netflix. We are bombarded with so many narratives and characters that we become desensitized to it all. However, those images and themes stay with us. But only the movies that have the big bucks and people who allow these films to be distributed are consumed by the mass. It is crucial that we participate in researching the development, production, politics, social, and historical factors that go into creating a movie.