Category: Uncategorized

The Soviet Montage is the practice of editing certain film clips or even photos together to send a specific message.  This technique however was used for a very short amount of time.  It lasted from 1924 until 1930 and only about 30 films have been made using this technique.

This method of filming came about after the Russian revolution in 1917.  The filmers were low on supplies like film so they started experimenting with films that were used in earlier projects.

The man that was at the forefront of inventing this technique was Lev Kuleshov.  He carried out an experiment where he would show the same picture of a woman paired with various images of food or something sad.  He found that the viewers opinion of the woman’s facial features changed based off whatever picture was being shown with it.  The viewers were unaware that the photo of the woman was the same in all pairings and their perspective was simply warped by the use of the other picture.

Sergei Eisenstein was a filmmaker best known for using Soviet montage.  The reason for this is he wanted to spread propaganda that people didn’t need to be able to read in order to understand it.  He wanted to “harness the emotion of the Russian people and lead them towards a new revolutionized society.”  An example of this is his film October which was done in 1927.  Eisenstein wanted to portray how he viewed religion and culture.  He did this by connecting different religious scenes, one after another, until they began to blend together and gave off the notion that “all religion is the same”.

Sergei also used Soviet montage to distort the viewers perception of what was happening during a certain event.  In his film Battleship Potemkin in 1925 he took a scene that in reality only lasted a couple of minutes and he altered the films so that it would seem to take seven minutes instead.  Therefore changing the audience’s perception of what is actually happening and what’s just an illusion.

While the use of Soviet montage isn’t a regular thing there are newer movies that have utilized this technique.  One example of this is the movie Rocky from 1976.  There’s a montage of Rocky training for his upcoming boxing match.  The scene shows him running long distances, punching things, running up stairs, all while a song is playing about working hard and getting strong.  This editing method was used in this case to portray Rocky’s determination in his training for the big fight.  It also shows a decent amount of time passing without the viewer having to actually sit through hours of film.

All in all Soviet montage was important in its time because it led to historical revisionism in a time where a fascist leader demanded socialist realism.  It also created a form of propaganda that could be used to reach even illiterate people in a simple way.

Without Soviet montage theory, it would be more challenging for directors to get across their intended message or tone of the film. As stated earlier, Soviet montage is used in the movie Rocky while he is training for his fight but without the inspirational music playing in the background, the clips of him training would not have the same effect. Soviet montage is important to cinema because without it, directors would not be able to display on film what they may be imagining in their head without the right tone or context.

https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=hst_theses (Links to an external site.)

http://warrior-fighter.blogspot.com (Links to an external site.)

https://filmstudies.info/terminology/manuscripts/soviet-montague.html

          My experience of Star Wars: episode IV was one that I did not expect to endure. Usually I am not into the sci-fi, intergalactic type of movies as I had never seen any of the Star Wars movies before. Anyways, my experience was that this was a really exciting movie that is action packed with a great plot and story line. And you can see how this first movie unfolded the path for the success that the series has gone down and still continues to go down now a days. This movie is the second highest grossing movie of all time not only in the US but also Canada. So as you can tell we aren’t the only ones that feel like the Star Wars movies are some of the best ideas ever came up with. When I watched the first movie I definitely didn’t expect to be so locked in and interested in a movie that was based off so much science fiction, but you really have no choice. After watching the first movie I felt as if I had no choice but to continue watching the series just to keep up and know what happened next. 

           A very significant scene in Star Wars was when obi’wan became one with the force. In the entire movie you hear them talking about the force , like the force this, and the force that. Then when he was struck down by Darth Vader his body disappeared instead of being cut in half, which was the first time the force had actually been proven. The force was talked about by the good and evil people in the movies but ultimately the force never really was shown to be a real thing. Another very important moment in the film was when the destruction of Alderaan occurred. This is the first example of the death star being used. The death star was like a huge ball, no bigger than the moon, that had a crater in it and was used to shoot lasers out and destroy planets. The last but certainly not least moment that I found to be very significant in the film was when Luke turns off his targeting computers and uses the force to manually launch the torpedoes in the exhaust port of the death star, at obi’wan’s request. I feel as if there are too many great moments in the movie to really pinpoint just a couple significant times so I randomly chose 3 just to show how good the scenes in the movie really were.

          Anyone I’ve ever talked to about Star Wars either tell me that they really love it and have seen every single episode, or that they’ve never had the opportunity to really get in the movies. The people who haven’t seen Star Wars usually have a pretty negative opinion on the movie and on the people that watch it. I’ve heard multiple people call people who have watched Star Wars either nerds, lowlifes, or anything else they can think of just to justified to themselves that’s it’s ok that they haven’t had the chance to witness such an experience of science fiction. Anyone I have talked to that has seen Star Wars is simply addicted and are always talking about how they can’t wait to see the next episode coming out. 

          On a technical level I really enjoyed the media and visuals they took the time to put inside of this film. I know it took a whole lot of editing to have to create and entire sequence of movies that all took place in outer space. I would definitely say this this is considered one of the greatest movies of all time and never will lose that title. Even after watching ET and King Kong I was amazed on how great the edits and special effects in the movie were. This movie was released in 1977 and I know it took more than 2 and a half years to get this movie completely produced and finished. So yes, there are films out there that are considered great films, but unfortunately don’t live up to their name. Good for George Lucas, Star Wars doesn’t fall until the overrated category like the rest of the so call “Great Movies” that aren’t really that great. In actuality, this series of movies has been getting greater and greater as time has been passing, technology getting greater, and George Lucas (the director) getting smarter.

sources:

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Episode_IV_A_New_Hope

https://www.metacritic.com/movie/star-wars-episode-iv—a-new-hope

https://www.lucasfilm.com/productions/episode-iv/

         The movie King Kong is definitely one of the top 50 movies ever made in America. I love how the movie shows a clear meaning to what they want people to believe it’s like, but there is also a deeper meaning behind it. Kong is set to resemble a terrifying creature sitting on an island waiting to create mass destruction to anyone or anything that comes in his direction. Little do they know, Kong actually has a good heart and isn’t out to terrorize but really to mind his own business. I definitely feel like the deeper meaning to King Kong is to show human greed and how they will stop at nothing to get what they wanted. 

          One of the moments that really stood out to me was when kong first fell in love with Ann and how his love for her led him to do things he’d never even think about doing. For example Kong fought off dinosaurs in desperation to keep his love safe. Another really significant moment in the film was when they had Kong chained up inside of the theatre in order for the people with cameras to come in and take pictures of him and really harass him to full extent. The final but certainly not least significant moment of the film was when Kong had fallen from the top of the Empire State Building to his death after fighting off multiple fighter pilots with Ann inside of his hands. This was the final scene of the movie and certainly one of the most important. 

          Although the movies graphics weren’t the best I still found them very good and impressive for a movie made in 1933. There were many other movies around this time that didn’t use special effects not nearly as well as they did while creating King Kong. The deeper meaning behind this movie made me appreciate the film for much more than just the visuals, but along with the dialogue and the events they used to build up to the climax of the movie. One of the reviews spoke on how you’d watch the movie and keep in mind that this 65 foot gorilla is not only fake as can be, but hard to believe any of the events he was doing were even possible. Even still, people watch this movie and are filled with excitement and enjoyment seeing the amazing things this huge animal is capable of doing. The art of imagination is really played with in this film and I am yet to see someone watch this movie and complain about how fake it is or how scenarios like this will never come true. I’m very glad that over the years people have watched this film with an optimistic eye and are able to get a deeper meaning out of the concept. I can easily agree that these reviews match the experience I took from watching this film as well. 

          There are only a couple of movies made in this world that you can label under a great/Top of the charts type of movie. I feel like having a consistent storyline where you’re being very persistent with the point that you’re trying to make, along with simplicity can complexity all mixed together is what makes a great film a great film. With the use of all these attributes, along with imagination, I feel like you have the capability to make any regular idea into an award winning movie. When I watched other great movies like ET and Forrest Gump you can also see the complexity, optimism, and imagination it took for them to create these great films with relatable meanings. Not only do the meanings have to be relatable but they need to be simple enough for someone with a 5th grade education to understand, but not in an oblivious type of way where it seems as if you may be talking to the audience in a “dumbed down” type of way.

          On a more technical level, I can say that I really enjoyed the audio and sound effects they used to create this film. I also liked the effort they put forth in order to create special effects in such an older type of movie. The actors worked really hard to give a realistic reaction to how scared they were of Kong and I couldn’t tell you how much I appreciate a good actor in a science fiction movie. In all I really enjoyed this film and recommend it 10/10 to my peers.

When someone says they’ve never watched Forrest Gump, people fall back, appalled. They can’t believe you’ve never seen the classic movie with Tom Hanks as main role. Honestly, I was 18 years old the first time I watched this film. I watched it with my two brothers, one which had already seen the film, my mom, and our dog. I couldn’t say I was too excited to see what the hype over this movie was because it didn’t really sound that interesting to me. Two long hours and 22 minutes later, I admit humbly my whole perspective had changed.  Truthfully, I can see why it is such a popular movie among American’s or really any humans that truly enjoy an underdog story. 

My overall experience with the movie was a very enjoyable. I think Tom Hanks really outdid himself as an actor. I have watched other movies with him such as: Saving Private Ryan and Sully. Both films, which I thought were great, and this movie is definitely my favorite. For being a movie that really didn’t seem to fit my genre, it was extremely intriguing, had me on the edge of my seat hoping he would get his dream girl and have the best life. 

The moments that stood out to me in this movie were the famous line “RUN FORREST RUN!” In this scene, Forrest is being pelted with rocks to his body and head. One rock specifically, made his head bleed. In this moment, Forrest is struggling to run on his own, he gets up and Jenny screams those famous words at him and Forrest begins to attempt to run away from the bullies as fast as he can. The bullies get on their bikes and begin to chase him. As their chasing him Forrest breaks out of his support and runs like the wind. The reason this moment stood out to me is because everyone would always say “Run Ty Run” in a voice that I didn’t understand when I was growing up. After this movie, I realized that this was where they had gotten it from. They were mocking Jenny’s voice, so it brought back memories from my childhood, and I felt like I could finally relate to the in crowd of Forrest Gump watchers. Apart from that, the deeper meaning was that beautiful scene where Forrest learns how to run. It was when he finally figured out his purpose and his passion. He claims in the movie, “If I was going somewhere, I was running.” It’s truly a feel good moment. 

Another scene that really stood out to me was when his friend “Bubba” died in the war. Forrest was always so committed and loyal to everything he did. When he lost his best friend it was truly heartbreaking. In the end, when you realize Forrest opened up the famous restaurant Bubba Gump, a place that I had eaten and never was able to make the connection it was even more meaningful. You realize what good and honest of a person Forrest is. It makes you wish only the best for him. 

What the critical conversations that I read all mostly agreed with my experience with the film. A lot matched my experience by claiming that the story of Forrest Gump is a story of love, hope, perseverance, respect, and tolerance. It was hard to find a critic that could disagree with that. 

Why I believe some films are considered “great” is because they teach us lessons, or have a deeper meaning, give us a good feeling. For instances, such as this one Forrest teaches us the importance of never giving up, and moving forward despite his past. The fact that he is honest, inspirational, and has good intentions he can be a motivational person for others. Another reason I believe films can be considered “great” is if they can be great to all different types of groups, not just one. For example, my favorite film The Blind Side is another underdog movie, about a kid who literally came from nothing to become an NFL star. Not only do athletes, as myself benefit from watching this, but a lot of people I know who aren’t athletes, not people of color, really enjoy this movie. I think it’s “great” because a lot of different people can agree it changed them in a way. Contrastingly, I think there are a lot of movies people claim to be “great” that really aren’t that great to me. I think that all has to do with opinion however. Not everyone likes the same thing. What a film critic might claim as “great, best, amazing” a regular movie goer might not agree. Everyone has different ideas to which they think great is. 

The Studio System

Book definition:
“Under the studio system, the more of production that dominated American film making from the 1920s to the late 1940s, each move company signed most of its directors to long-term contracts, along with actors and other creative personnel.” (Sikov,120).

“The studio system operated under a mass-production model in which films were made and distributed like sausages or boxes of cereal, and there was not a lot of room for individual directors to put their personal stamp on films they made.” (Sikov, 121)

Resources:

1) Academic:
Author, Tom Schatz, writes in detail about the rise and fall of Hollywood’s studio system era. Before going in depth about the rise and fall, he explains the studio system. Essentially the studio system was a vertical integration of production, distribution and exhibition of films popularized between the 1920s and 1940s. Studios controlling all vertical factors of production established norms for the film industry. Essentially through the studio system, big studio names ;such as Warner Bros., or Paramount; followed production norms to mass produce films. In this system big studio heads contracted the same directors, production teams, and actors to uphold their label. The studio system followed a top-down system in which the executives controlled the business side of distribution and exhibition while producers oversaw the overall production of the film.

2) Journalistic
Writer, Ryan “R.L.” Terry, reveals that during the time of the “studio system”, there were five major film studios known as the Big Five, essentially controlling the film industry from production to distribution. These studios consisted of Paramount, MGM, RKO, Loew’s, Fox Pictures, and Warner Brothers. The studio system contained the collateral that big banks were looking for in order to invest in films, after all, film and television were and continues to be the United States’ largest exports even though they are only recently counted as part of the U.S.’ gross domestic product. The system would prevent independent filmmakers in expanding their creativity within projects and keep established positions in studios as permanent, limiting additional creatives to join the company. This limitation also applied to properties. In the days of the studio system, outside companies could not rent and shoot films or television shows on another company’s lot.

3) Personal
An article on the Hollywood lexicon describes the Hollywood studio system. An interesting take from this article was the allusion to the Ford Motor Company. The similarities between the Ford company and the studio system are not too shocking, but the fact this article touched upon this is good information. The article also goes in detail about the hardships non-studio system theaters went through in order to produce a film. An example of the studio system theaters power was the idea of “block booking”. Block booking was big studio names way of renting out their studios to second grade studios.
Through block booking non-established theaters were required to buy blocks of film that they had to produce on. Sometimes these packages included footage worth 20+ films. Needless to say the big 8 studios controlled over the film industry. More so this article talks about the use of stars to sell movies which created the notion of A-list movies or B-list movies based on who the actors were.

4) Vernacular
Author, Amelia Robinson, describes the studio system as a means of film production, distribution and exhibition dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the 1950s. The term itself refers to the practice of large motion picture studios (1) producing their own filmmaking lots with creatives usually under long-term contracts and (2) proceeding a vertical integration through ownership of distributors and theaters, guaranteeing additional sales of films through manipulative booking techniques. A key part of the studio system was block booking, which entails them selling a year’s worth of films to the theatres that included a number of particularly attractive, big-budget films,
which would therefore, entice theatres to buy the whole block. Additionally, foreign films could not get a foothold in the U.S. unless they had arrangements with one of the Big 5 U.S. film companies.

Sources:
Academic:
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/content/BPL_Images/Content_store/Sample_chapt
er/9781405133876/9781405133876_C01.pdf
(Links to an external site.)

Journalistic:
https://the-artifice.com/after-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-studio-system-could-we-use-it-today/

(Links to an external site.)

Personal:
http://www.hollywoodlexicon.com/studiosystem.html
(Links to an external site.)

Vernacular:

The Studio System

(Links to an external site.)

• A shot in a movie that is of a different subject from those to which it is joined in editing.
• In film and video, a cutaway shot is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else.
• For instance, a shot of a high school teacher lecturing to his students is followed by another one of the principal standing at the door listening. Then back to the shot of the teacher lecturing. The shot of the principal is the cutaway shot.
• Continuity, as it relates to filmmaking or videography, refers to maintaining believable and temporal relationships within a scene in such a way that shots you intend to put together actually fit together in a natural and seamless flow of action, preserving the illusion of reality on the screen.
• Use cutaways to solve continuity problems such as jump cuts.
• Imagine another scene with a man working on a laptop sitting on a train, embarking on a long journey cross-country. Where is he going? What is he thinking? A cutaway out the train window shows passing farmland; the next shot shows him with an overnight bag slung over his shoulder, getting off the train. Clearly, without needing to say it, using only your cutaways, you’ve painted a picture of a businessman going to the city.
• You automatically raise the stakes when you shoot a harried woman with her arms full of groceries unlocking and closing the door to her house at twilight, then you follow up with a cutaway of a set of dangling keys she left behind, still in the keyhole.
• For an illustration to fulfill the purposes for which it is designed, it is often important that certain objects depicted not be blocked by others.

What is the concept?

The major use of a cutaway is to “guide the audience from subject to subject, and on occasion, to place the audience in the position of the actors” (Gessner 89).

It is important to choose cutaway shots that truly represent what the characters are feeling or thinking about or shots of objects – anything that serves the story, not just something you can use as a Band Aid to cover cuts. This is where the art of the cutaway truly lies. You could call this the art of momentarily distracting the audience. In the end, that’s what a cutaway truly is: a momentary distraction to the audience to serve the story.

What are different versions of the concept?

Different versions or types of ways cutaway shots can serve the film include:

• Time Control — Cutaways can emphasize important details or add detail and meaning to a scene. From the cutaway shot of the clock, the audience might rightfully assume some of the following: the woman has to be somewhere on time, she’s probably late and therefore is in a hurry, etc. The assumptions are infinite. Of course, the shot immediately preceding the cutaway and the one that follows it, as well as the context of the scene (whether the woman is actually looking at the clock, her facial expressions, her overall demeanor, etc.), will help in the interpretation.
• Unspoken Words — Use cutaways to increase tension in your scenes. You automatically raise the stakes when you shoot a harried woman with her arms full of groceries unlocking and closing the door to her house at twilight, then you follow up with a cutaway of a set of dangling keys she left behind, still in the keyhole. The audience will have no problem coming to the appropriate conclusions or assumptions.
• Linking Action — You want to break or link action in scenes? Use cutaways. Jump people around by moving them from place to place? Cutaways. Use them for suspense or excitement, to reveal information, to smoothly join one part of the speech in a dialogue with another, to fix screen direction mistakes, even to confuse the audience. Be careful not to resort to cheap cutaways, which will make you look like the newcomer on the block. A cutaway shot whose sole purpose is to mask an overt mistake reminds the audience – or especially a trained eye – that something was fixed or removed. It is a delicate balance.

Sources

• https://www.videomaker.com/article/13850-the-art-of-the-cutaway (Links to an external site.)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutaway_(filmmaking) (Links to an external site.)
• https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01897116
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/774257.pdf?ab_segments=0%252Fdefault-2%252Fcontrol&refreqid=excelsior%3A81ed36f863f25b2e5c3a784155aed674 (Links to an external site.)
•  https://www.videomaker.com/article/13850-the-art-of-the-cutaway (Links to an external site.)

Jump Cut

Our textbook has shown that cut is the simplest form of transition from one shot to another in filmmaking (P225). This helps us understand what a jump cut would be like.  A jump cut is a common technique used in filmmaking. it means cutting together two discontinuous points of a continuous action without changing the setup. When using a jump cut, the audience are allowed to see the same object are taken from a camera position varying slightly because the way the shots are framed in relation to each other. The filmmakers often take the technique of jump cut to create a jump superficially but to create a sense of time passage in the film. For instance, in the video “Royal Tenenbaums”, the actions of the man shaving off his beard varied without changing the position of the camera. These use a lot of jump cuts give a rapid succession of the frames between shots to shots. It not creates a unique visual effect to the audience, but also absorb the audience to consider the implications behind the jump cuts. The audience notice the abrupt transition of the shots that give different looks of the character in a fast way, which appears to pave some clue for the upcoming and unexpected death of the character. Some early use of the jump-cut technique is in the film Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard in the 1960s. In addition to the use for passing of time, jump cuts also are used by filmmakers for other purposes such as the comedic effects and space and mood.

The jump cut effect is even more disconcerting when it happens between two different subjects. For example, if a shot of one person is followed by a shot of a different person in the same position, it looks like the first person has transformed into the second one. When cutting between different people, pay attention to looking room and other positioning elements.

https://youtu.be/K2GPBBxFpEw

Sources

“Five explanations for the jump cuts
in Godard’s Breathless” https://pov.imv.au.dk/Issue_06/section_1/artc10.html

 

 

The Silence of the Lambs 1991

The Silence of the Lambs is a thriller film directed by Jonathan Demme in 1991. This film is starred by Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and Scott Glenn. In the film, a young FBI trainee Clarice went to a prison to visit Dr. Hannibal, a psychiatrist, in order to find out the clue of a serial killer “Buffalo Bill” who cruelty skin female victims’ corpses. Hannibal gave Clarice some clues, and finally, Clarice found the bison Bill and killed him. In 1992, it won the 64th Academy Awards for best picture, best actor, best actress, best director, and best-adapted screenplay.

The first shot is the dense forest, fallen leaves, and thick fog. The lights of the film were dim. This is a daytime scene, but the natural light during the day is obscured by fog. Then the shot starts to roll down from high. The protagonist runs into the picture from the perspective and runs from the perspective to the close-range, a long shot. Such a slow-paced lens effectively sets off the atmosphere at this time and the basic tone of the whole film. The open and cold forests make people feel uneasy. The protagonist runs in such a forest to show her character or life: she works hard, at the same time she is lonely. Then the camera focuses on the protagonist and the rhythm is suddenly accelerated so that the audience feel the protagonist’s perseverance and competitiveness. Long shots and scenes here have successfully shaped the heroine’s character and laid the groundwork for the subsequent plot development. The protagonist sweats a lot, wearing the school uniform of FBI College and constantly brushing past the detective in suit and leather shoes. Visually, it is obvious that the difference in dress and state, highlighting the identity of the protagonist. In addition, the protagonist does not know why the chief officer wants to see her. this strong visual contrast also creates a sense of tension or depression (THR Staff).

In the scene from 48’ 47’’ to 49’45’’, the director uses a about one minute long full-length shot to show the killer’s home. Because the time shown by the long lens is the same as the time actually watched by the audience, the audience seems to be in the murderer’s house when the lens walks. This shot shows the murderer’s home while increasing the audience’s curiosity about him. This scene has been accompanied by music and a female voice tearing shouting. After a second or two, the camera moves slowly to the right, and the transformed butterfly enters the lens. Next, the lens pulls back. The lens is like a human eye looking around, knife, female model! Cold, gloomy, dark, crowded, chaotic is the summary of what we see. The use of this lens makes the audience feel more truly the atmosphere of terror and tension. When the lens reached the end again, the direction was forced to shift. The murderer ‘s back constituted the visual center of the picture. His snow-white body was very conspicuous in the cold tone. The camera kept pushing forward, trying to get close to the murderer, but as we were about to see what the murderer was doing, a dog diverted our eyes and followed him to a deep well, where we were gradually approaching the scream. But the director apparently didn’t want us to see the desperate figure of the girl in the well. The camera stayed at the edge of the dry well, because the right to solve the mystery was left to the next news. Viewers have a desire to see what’s happening, and if they don’t, they feel fear, tension or mystery. This setting arouses the curiosity of the audience and leaves room for further plot development. Besides, it allows the audiences to clearly know the surrounding environment and even things outside the scene in the shortest possible time by setting the design but also can show the reaction of the surrounding people and the subjective state of mind. Most importantly, the camera setting creates successfully an atmosphere of suspense and dread.

 

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. “The Silence of the Lambs (film).” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2 Jun. 2019. Web. 3 Jun. 2019.

THR Staff. “The Silence of the Lambs’: THR’s 1991 Review”. Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/silence-lambs-review-1991-movie-1084731 February, 14, 2018. Web. June 2, 2019.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102926/

Citizen Kane 1941.

Citizen Kane is a documentary film made by Orson Welles in 1940. The film opens with a newspaper tycoon dying alone in his mansion and follows his extraordinary life through the words “rosebud”.

In the film “Citizen Kane”, the information flows through the reporter Thompson. As this reporter interviews Kane’s friends, cooperators, and ex-wife, the causality and relationships between characters are gradually unfolded. The narration in this film is unrestricted. we know more information than any character in the film. We know the causes and effects of the story. At the beginning part, our sight along with the camera over the words “No Trespassing” and iron fence goes into Kane’s castle. We watched Kane’s death, his last words “Rosebud”, and the scene crystal ball falling down from his hand. Characters in the film may only know one side of Kane’s life, but with unrestricted narration, we the audience know different versions of Kane’s life story.

The stories recounted by other characters about Mr. Kain are reflective of their own opinion and how they are. For example, Thompson visits Leland who used to be Kane’s good friend. Leland describes Kane as a person lived by his power and a poor newspaperman. From Leland’s narration, we know Kane’s unhappy marriages. It also reflects Leland’s disagreement with Kane’s operation principle in his career and disappointment towards Kane life attitude. Another example is Susan who used to be the wife and lover of Kane. When the reporter found Susan, he was rejected to have an interview. Along with her telling, we gradually know that she has suffered from marriage. In some sense, she hates Kane.

The narrations of those characters reveal who Mr’Kain is. Their understanding of what kind of person Kane is is just from their own perspective, not a comprehensive and overall version of Kane. Each character has different experiences and interactions with Kane. Their recounts of Kane are largely affected by personal emotions.

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/

https://www.warnerbros.com/citizen-kane

https://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/a-viewers-companion-to-citizen-kane

REAR WINDOW (1954)

The rear window is a mystery thriller suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1954. Rear Window is one of the representative works of Hitchcock’s suspense films. He creates an atmosphere of terror and suspense and vividly explores everyone’s hidden peeping psychology. Photojournalist Jeffery broke his leg

in an accident, so he was confined to his wheelchair for some time. Be free and at leisure’s Jeffery always liked to watch his neighbors through his window. During this period, he observed various stories of his neighbors and witnessed a murder.

In terms of plot structure, the film consists of three stories. First, the love story between the photographer Jeffrey and her girlfriend, the beautiful, gentle and wealthy girlfriend wants to get married, while the poor, lazy and adventurous Jeffrey wants to keep the status quo. There is an irreconcilable contradiction between the two. Second, the neighbors of Jeffrey. All of them are good movies, disappointed but talented composers, beautiful but vain dancers, miss Lonely Fangxin who longs for love but can’t get it. Three: Family murder, the film simply explained the reasons, but the story has been passive, but even so it also contains all the elements of a good film. Almost all the scenes in the film are peeping lenses, which are contacted with the eyes of others.

In addition, the film also is characterized by long shot. The film begins with a long lens, showing audiences all kinds of information including the hero’s leg was in plaster and he had a telescopic camera. The function of the long lens is to give the audience a god’s perspective. When the audience sees the whole picture of the object, they get rid of the dual limitations of time and space. The director takes the actor’s eyes as the lens, prying into the lives of his neighbors. The audience gradually sees a murder surface with the hero’s eyes, but the murder is not the whole movie, it is just a movie in this movie. In this movie, every window is a screen, and every moment is a movie.

This movie doesn’t have any real bloody scenes, but it shows the audience a lot of interesting details, such as suitcases, flower beds, dogs, specific scenes and time, lighting contrast, including the life scenes of each neighbor, all of which make the audience feel real.

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047396/

http://mentalfloss.com/article/84880/12-thrilling-facts-about-rear-window

https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/jul/25/my-favourite-hitchcock-rear-window