Citizen Kane: Blog Post

Frank Saltiel

            The lighting in Citizen Kane was done exceptionally well.  One lighting fixture that stayed the same throughout the movie which I thought was interesting was how there was always a shadow on the reporter.  There was always more light and therefore more focus on the person that he would be talking to.  I think the significance is to show how the only reason why the reporter is talking to the person is to get information about a word Kane said, and doesn’t actually care about Charles Kane.  He is doing it for his job and he is talking to people who actually had a strong personal connection with Kane and the lighting puts more emphasis on the personal connections.  Another scene where I think the lighting was done well was the scene where Susan is sitting in front of the fireplace making a puzzle and Kane is sitting in a chair in the distance.  The lighting is mostly focused on Susan leaving little light for Kane.  I think this shows how Susan wants to get out of the mansion and do something.  She is considerably younger than Kane and wants to be young and do things.  Kane is different.  He wants to stay there in the mansion and tells Susan “this is our home” when Susan asks to go to New York.  There is more darkness on Kane in this scene to show his old age ambition to not go anywhere but his mansion.  I think one scene where the lighting was off (in my opinion) was when the reporter went to the huge chamber to look through some book.  The camera still made the reporter look dark but I think he should’ve had light shown on him because he was the only character on the screen for the moment.  At the time I was watching it I couldn’t understand why he was so dark and everything else had more lighting than him.  As I pointed to earlier the lighting really emphasizes the concept of what the two persons aims were.  The reporter and the person being interviewed.  The lighting puts more emphasis on the person being interviewed in order to stress their personal connection with Kane.  Another movie where lighting is used very well is any of the three batman movies.  The director always shows batman in darkness, shadows, or just any dark scene.  He does this to emphasize batman’s covert mysterious personality.  He is shown in faint lighting not because he is to be portrayed as evil or the bad guy, but merely because he is a superhero who likes to be low key and unseen. 

1935 Movie Project

Frank Saltiel

In 1935, two women, Natalie and Natasha (played by Patricia Ellis and Joan Blondell, respectively), are completely inseparable. Best friends since children, roommates since their twenties - and now they find themselves in love with the same man. An uproaring screwball comedy ensues as these two battle for the right to this man, Richard Hart, played by William Gargan, in Torn Apart at the Hart.

Directed by William C. McGann, known for Three Ages, I Like Your Nerve, and Times Square Playboy, this film would be a run-of-the-mill screwball comedy of the time. As a Warner Brothers picture, audiences expect either a musical, comedy, or an intense gangster film. Here, they can escape their troubles with a comedy. Audiences would go to see this to laugh and forget the struggles of being an American at the time. As Hitler is coming to power overseas, Americans were having their own struggles during the Depression. Jobs were sparse and money was a tight as it gets, so this film would (hopefully) bring the audience necessary laughs in the hard times.

Aesthetically speaking, this film would be black-and-white, as most comedies during the time. There is hardly a reason for the fantasy feel of color for this film.

As well, this film may need to work around the Hay’s Code of 1935. Both women are realistically attempting to seduce Mr. Hart, which goes against Part II Rule 3 in the Hay’s Code, so both actresses would not flirt with Mr. Hart in a conventionally way, but by speaking in a “flirtatious” manner when saying very lame things. For example, when Mr. Hart asks to come into their home, they would (on script) say “yes, you may” but in a seducing manner to pass the Hay’s Code.

For the most part, comedies at this time did not need a certainly-skilled cinematographer to capture of the film entirely. Robert Martin would be hired as the cinematographer to ensure all humorous aspects of the film are captured in a realistic way to adhere to Warner Brothers’ standards. Martin mostly worked on British films at this time, but Warner Brothers would hire him in order to appeal to audiences worldwide, and Martin would be able to, apparent in his work like It Happened in Paris and No Limit.

At the end of the film, both women would meet separate men and fall in love with those men instead of Mr. Hart. This is to teach the audience a lesson of respecting friendships and how they are more important than finding a husband. Both women are independent in their own ways unti they meet Mr. Hart, and this film can be seen as highlighting a woman's’ independent nature. Both women are married off, and move out of their shared home, as if to magnify their newfound independence, and to show young women they can also move live freely, as these women did.

This film would be a success with women, as romantic comedies of today are. With the help of Robert Martin’s cinematography skills to capture every joke and William McGann’s ability to showcase a woman’s independence, this film would do very well in the box office. Women would feel a sense of self after viewing this film and men would learn to not lead women on for their own pleasure. Warner Brothers would be happy with the success, for commerce purposes mostly.

MYST Post #1

Star Wars: A Phantom Menace
          Before I start talking about the plot or theme or any of the outright things let me talk about the more subtle aspects that make this movie great.  The first “cinema” component that came to mind was Lucas’s use of sound/music.  In my mind, If you were blindfolded you would still be able to create a picture in you mind of what’s going on.  The soundtrack is unlike any other movie soundtrack.  The music sets the tone of each setting whether Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan are in the middle of a battle or when Anakin is saying goodbye to his mom to leave with Qui-Gon.  Although the music and sounds play a huge role it is really the animations and computer work that make this movie.  Its pretty amazing how director George Lucas was able to combine real people with animated characters like Yoda.  I think one of the best scenes portraying this is when Anakin is racing against non-human like creatures in a desert/canyon place.  They race on vehicles that hover over the ground and zip across the plain.  And when I saw 8-year-old Anakin driving one, my mind was blown. 

          

         There are 7 Star Wars movies so far but I have only seen 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7.  But in each one that I’ve seen, George Lucas stays consistent with his cinematic elements.  When comparing this movie to movies in the past I would link it to the Star Trek movies.  Both sagas take place in extraterrestrial areas, both deals with war, and they both have very noticeable sound/music elements.  I believe one major theme in this movie is, never pass up an opportunity to potentially do something great.  Anakin was told by Qui-Gon that he would train him to become a Jedi.  As much as Anakin wanted to, he also didn’t want to leave his mother alone in this desert town.  Qui-Gon talks to his mother and tells her how her son is the “chosen one” and she quickly realizes that she must let her son go with them and do good.  She knows that anything would be better than staying in the little desert town as a slave.  There is also a huge component of deception in the movie, for deception is used often.  Although deception is used often I don’t think it is important enough to use as a theme because every time deception was used, it was merely to get out of a bad situation.

         

          One of the greatest scenes in the whole movie is when Qui-Gon and Obi-Won are dueling against a dark-side Jedi, Darth Mol.  The scene starts of with a heated battle placed on the plane runway of a star ship.  They are both able to push Darth Mol back into a huge cylinder room with a bottomless pit.  The battle continues.  Then, they are able to drive Darth Mol back into a secluded chamber.  But Obi-wan had gotten hit and had fallen to a lower level.  As he struggles to get back up, Qui-Gon is left to battle the skilled Jedi himself.  He gets stunned and Mol is able to run by Qui-Gon and separate themselves by a shield to regain composure.  However, there are a series of shields to get by and Obi-won is about 4 shields back whereas Qui-Gon is on the other side of Mol.  So when the shield is lifted the two Jedi’s go at it again and all Obi-Won can do is watch until the shields are lifted.  He watches for what seems like years and finally, Qui-Gon is over powered and is killed by Darth Mol.  This infuriates Obi-Won, and when the final shield is lifted and the movie soundtrack intensifies, the two Jedi’s now battle.  Qui-Gon was his mentor and he was ready to do whatever it took to kill Darth Mol.  During the intense battle Obi-Won is kicked and fallen into a hole barely hanging on.  He then thrusts himself up, uses the force to grab a light saber, and finally kills Darth Mol.  The hectic scene ends by Obi-Won weeping for the death of his best friend and mentor, Qui-Gon Jinn.

                              4 STARS