Film Theory and Analysis Lesson 10

Film Theory and Analysis Manu Scansani Office Hours: (Room 1#511) Monday 11.45/12.45; Wednesday 16.00/17.00 QQ: Niko Brauer Office Hours: (Room 1#519) Thursday 12.30/14.00 QQ:

Film Screening (next week) War Films – Monday 17.20/20 1.Apocalypse Now [ 现 代启示 录 ] (FF Coppola) (Cinema) 1. Jarhead [ 锅 盖 头 ] (Sam Mendes) (1#416) 2.Full Metal Jacket [ 全金属外壳 ] (Stanley Kubrick) (1#412) 4. Inglorious Basterds [ 无耻混蛋 ] (Quentin Tarantino) (1#410) Second Screening: The Hurt Locker [ 拆 弹 部 队 ] (Katherine Bigelow) (Cinema) – Tuesday (to be confirmed) Film Corner – Monday (3 ♯ 102-1/102-2)

This Week Info about Essay Film Directors -Stanley Kubrick -Quentin Tarantino

Essay: Assessment I Your essay will be given marks in three categories (40 points total): Language and Structure (15 marks) How good your English is and how well you follow essay structure Content (15 marks) How well you analyse your film and how relevant your content and evidence are to your chosen topic Creativity (10 marks) How creative you are in your writing

Handing in Your Essay And now for the good news... Essays are now due Friday, May 14th, 5pm (Week 11)! Hand in your essay before 5pm into the essay box in Niko‘s (1#519) or Manu‘s (1#511) office Submit your electronic copy before 5pm to the following address:

Stanley Kubrick

Born July 26, 1928 in Manhattan Died March 7, 1999 in London Produced 13 feature films during his lifetime Started as a photographer, moved to film because of greater artistic control Considered dialogue, mise-en-scène, music and especially editing elements that had to be in balance and harmony

Stanley Kubrick Maintained exceptionally much artistic control over his films and moved to England to have more freedom from studio pressure Unlike many independent directors, had large financial support from big studios Supported many technical innovations Explored many different themes in his career – including horror (The Shining), Science-Fiction (2001: A Space Oddyssey), War Film (Full Metal Jacket), Social Drama (A Clockwork Orange) and Satire (Dr Strangelove)

Stanley Kubrick: Clips The use of colour in Eyes Wide Shut (00:25:45) Special effects: Stargate Sequence in 2001 Long take: Beginning of Full Metal Jacket Long take: Beginning of A Clockwork Orange

Stanley Kubrick: Recurring Elements Shots down long parallel walls, sometimes combined with long takes Characters are either blank slates (Full Metal Jacket, 2001: A Space Oddyssey, Eyes Wide Shut) who things happen to, or already completely mad characters who make things happen (The Shining, A Clockwork Orange) Slow-paced films that leave the audience time to reflect on what they are seeing Often films use classical music

Stanley Kubrick: Legacy The strong use of symbolism has led to many references to Kubrick‘s films in other work and the media (i.e. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – chocolate bar is like monolith) Most of Kubrick‘s films are now considered amongst the best ones ever made in their genres Many of his unfinished projects were taken up by other directors (AI by Steven Spielberg etc)

Quentin Tarantino “ Violence is one of the most fun things to watch ”

Quentin Tarantino Italian-American Quentin Tarantino was born in the USA in Tarantino is one of the most popular film directors among young people and film critics, mostly due to his impressive innovative talent. He is a film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor, and has released almost 14 films. Films such as multi-award winner “Pulp Fiction”, “Kill Bill”, “Inglorious Basterds” are among his best motion pictures.

Quentin Tarantino Tarantino is known to have a gigantic knowledge of films, although he never attended any film school. During his youth, he spent his free-time working in a film-rental shop. Tarantino is mostly famous for his extraordinary use of alternative narrative styles (i.e. Pulp Fiction shows one of the greatest examples of non-linear narration) At the same time, Tarantino rejects the use of CGI (Computer Generated Imagery), commonly used by contemporary filmmakers to improve special effects in his films. His preference goes for man-made (rather than computer-made) special effects, and for the use of real stunt-men ( 替身演 员 ) instead of computer graphics.

Quentin Tarantino Tarantino has been praised by critics and audience for his talent in reinventing genres (gangster film, war film, comedy, horror film, action film), thanks to his large knowledge of films and his personal admiration for “B-movies” from the 1970s and 1980s (i.e. Italian Gangster films or Western Spaghetti). Tarantino’s films are also known to be extremely conversational, with conversations’ subjects being often useless for the aim of the narrative (they don’t advance the plot). Actors will talk for many minutes about common and random things, from food to music, to films to other triviality. This makes his films more realistic.

Quentin Tarantino Three elements are omnipresent in Tarantino’s films: long conversational scenes, non-linear storylines, aestheticization of violence. In Tarantino’s work, violence is something recurring frequently. “Violence is rooted in modern society, and audiences like it”. In portraying hyper-realistic violence Tarantino is highly inspired by B-movies from the past. [A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture not conceived as art, and made to receive a limited distribution].

Quentin Tarantino: Pulp Fiction storyline Pulp Fiction: final cut of the film Pulp Fiction: chronological order of the event 1. “Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife” “Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife” 2. “The Gold Watch”“The Bonnie Situation” 3. “The Bonnie Situation”“The Gold Watch” The film is compounded by short sequences belonging to different episodes and showing the same scene from a different point of view (i.e. The film starts with a clip from the end of the last episode, “The Bonnie Situation”).

Quentin Tarantino Clips: -“Reservoir Dogs” (1992) -“Pulp Fiction” (1994) -“Jackie Brown” (1997) -“Kill Bill” (2003) -“Inglorious Basterds” (2009)

Readings for next week Must make sure to have read by next week: [Theory] Unit 1: History & Genres Unit 2: Character and Performance Unit 3: Narrative Unit 4: Style [Genres] Unit 6: Blockbuster Films Unit 7: Comedies Unit 8: Social Drama Film Unit 9: Action Film Unit 10: Neo-noir Film Unit 12: Gangster Film

Films analyzed For next week, you MUST have watched at least the following films. -“The Matrix” -“Forrest Gump” -“American Beauty” -“James Bond” -“Se7en” -“The Godfather”