Mise en Scene and Actors: The Bird Cage 1996

•Identify three actors from your film and classify each according to the types of actors listed in your text.

Robin Williams – Wild Card – Realism and Stylized acting – Williams is a wild card actor because he can slip in and out of characters to meet the demands of the script or movie. His style in The Bird Cage is one mostly of realism and you can almost see how he possibly approached the role, “What would a middle aged guy man with a son be like in the situation presented?” However, there are instances when he slips out of realism and into stylized acting because of the material presented and in response to Lane.
Example of Robin Williams stylized – http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+birdcage&FORM=VIRE2#view=detail&mid=A516DC95D1C7280B6994A516DC95D1C7280B6994 the Panic Scene
Example of Robin Williams realism – http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the%20birdcage%20clips&qs=VI&form=QBVR&pq=the%20birdcage&sc=8-12&sp=2&sk=VI1#view=detail&mid=883739D73EAD633FA79B883739D73EAD633FA79B

Nathan Lane – Personality – Stylized acting – Lane is a personality actor because he is a strong personality and has a lot of stage time which lends to his performance in The Bird Cage and his chosen stylized method. Lane’s character is more of a caricature of a gay performer and not very realistic, however his stylized method lends humor and foil for Williams to bounce off of and makes the movie.
Example of Nathan Lanes Performance in stylized and personality -http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+birdcage&qpvt=The+bird+cage&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=3F6A22DA2DFCFFF784B83F6A22DA2DFCFFF784B8

Gene Hackman – Character – Realism – Hackman is a strong character actor and has appeared in numerous movies and usually acts in realism. Realism is a natural and realistic approach to characters and scripts. In The Bird Cage, Hackman portrays his character as a realistic Senator put into an impossible situation.
Example of Gene Hackman and realism – http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+birdcage&qpvt=The+bird+cage&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=1110175429C4373F2F1B1110175429C4373F2F1B

•Consider the impact of any realistic or stylized portrayals within the film.

The impact that the realistic portrayals of Hackman and Williams have in the film is framing Nathan Lanes and Hank Azaria’s over the top stylized acting to give the movie some grounding and this also allows the chaos and humor to escalate without getting to silly or ridiculous. The different types of styles working together give the film a possible realistic touch and a classic comedic style. For example, Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges, Abbot and Costello all had straight men (no pun intended) to balance the loons.

•Focus on one of the actors you’ve discussed. Based on other films the actor has been in, would this actor always be placed in the same category? If so, what does this say about the category or actor? If not, what can you infer about the flexibility of these categories? Provide evidence (references from other films, including film clips and stills) to support your argument.

Gene Hackman is versatile in his characters. He has portrayed various villains and every guys while maintaining the realistic style of acting. Examples range from Lex Luthor which is a realistic portrayal for a fictional over the top character so he adds a small bit of stylized acting in Superman, Avery Tolar in The Firm is portrayed in a realistic manner, and Little Bill Daggett in Unforgiven would be a realistic western approach with more stylized acting to be so evil. Gene Hackman is subtle in his peppering of stylized with his main approach of realism and this allows him to show the character as the character would appear in life and allows the audience to look past the actor playing the role.
Superman – http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=gene+hackman+superman&qpvt=gene+hackman+superman&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=4EE6990B5D06BB3952244EE6990B5D06BB395224

References:
Nichols, M. (Director). (1996, Mar). The Bird Cage [Movie]. United States. United Artists
Donner, R. (Director). (1978, Dec). Superman [Movie]. United States & United Kingdom. Dovemead Films (as Dovemead Limited) Film Export A.G. International Film Production
Eastwood, C. (Director). (1992, Aug). Unforgiven [Movie]. United States. Warner Brothers & Malpaso Productions
Pollack, S. (Director). (1993, June). The Firm [Movie]. United States. Davis Entertainment, Mirage Enterprises, Paramount Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions
Image The Bird Cage retrieved from http://franzpatrick.com/2009/05/04/the-birdcage/

To Kill a Mockingbird/Sound

By defining and applying the three elements in scenes that help move the story forward we can grasp a deeper understanding of the process and meaning in movies. First, dialogue is the conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie. While sound effects are a sound other than speech or music made artificially for use in a play, movie, or other broadcast production. Finally music is vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.

We see in the 1962 movie, To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee and later directed by Robert Mulligan, numerous themes and a quiet approach to social injustices in a small southern town. Sound in the film is primarily dialog and the impact of the word performed by the actors on the audience is commanding and influential. The sound effects adds dimension in scenes such as the attack on Jem where the scuffle is heard and viewed in the dark of the costume. Also, the footsteps following behind the children is menacing and foreboding. The music is indicative of a quite little town that spends lazy days throughout summer and at times with as in the attack on Jem it indicates trouble and helps to heighten the involvement of the audience.

The use primarily of dialog is effective to the themes because it gets the audience thinking more on the subject matter of the film versus the emotional aspect of it, but by doing so it does elicit an emotional expression. The mood of the film is one of lightheartedness and this is heard with the opening credits and the following of Scout on her antics. However, the movie does portray an underlying profoundly somber tone due to the subject matter and this is showcased with the attacks, the absence of music and utilizing only dialog.

The sound of children and their dialog would add to the coming of age theme within the movie. This could also lend explanation of the coming of age and drama genres. Drama can also be applied here through music because of the action scenes and the quite music played during some tender moments. To Kill a Mockingbird has realistic and expected sound effects due to the nature of the film and the themes being expressed. The director would want to express drama in a more realistic take because it would diminish the film and take away from the overall movie.

The attack scene would be diminished if sound was removed and the music was as well because it adds to the fear of the audience for the children being attacked. So, by defining and applying the three elements in scenes that help move the story forward we can grasp a deeper understanding of the process and meaning in movies.

Lee, Harper. (1960). To Kill a Mockingbird. New York:  J. B. Lippincott

Pakula, A. J.(Producer), Mulligan, Robert (Director). (1962, Dec. 25). To Kill a Mockingbird [Motion Picture]. United States

Neary, L. (2010, July). 50 Years On, ‘Mockingbird’ Still Sings America’s Song. npr Books. retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128340180

Lighting in Psycho

Everyone knows the famous shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, which many a person from that time period refers to as terrifying and I will get to that at some point, however I would like to discuss many lighting aspects Hitchcock utilized to help drive the feeling of the movie through other scenes as well.

To start, the sinking car scene had a low-key lighting by the night sky to emphasis the need to hide a crime and also to hint at the darker aspects of Norman Bates.  Norman’s creepiness is illuminated by lighting him from behind which draws the audience to view and focus in on his reactions as the car is sinking, stalls a bit, then sinks again.  The low-key aspect to the shot is indicative of sneaking around in the dark to conceal a wrong doing.  In this shot through Mise en scène, I found myself as a viewer feeling Norman’s anxiety when the car stops sinking and almost fearful for him, the villain, at getting caught.

In the parlor scene we get a sense of uneasiness due the bright key light on the taxidermy animals through out the room.  The feel of a predator towards prey.  Norman remains in a fill light position to help add to his awkward and unsettling conversation and indirectly this gives the audience a foreboding of Norman Bates.  This in contrast to Marion who is sitting in the full glow of the only light source gives rise to the prey and predator mood once again.  The shot of Norman being in the foreground with the owl overhead behind him and illuminated putting Norman in the shadow is a great unnerving shot of his future acts, his sad life, and his dangerous mind.  It also lends to his inability to overcome his demons showing an all encompassing hopelessness. Then towards the end of the scene when Norman peeps in on Marion, you see the lighting darken and Norman becomes fully engulfed in the darkness of his “sin” of lust and voyeurism.  Again, this is used to showcase the need to hide our transgressions and to add further to Norman’s disturbing behavior.

Next, the final scene in Psycho with Norman being shot in a high key lighting exposes his insanity, like shining a light on the dark places.  This scene is eerie with the response of Norman directly looking into the camera and here you see his mental break in all its frightening reality.  No more hiding.

Now, the shower scene is shot in a high key light that is showing the contrast between Marion’s extreme vulnerability to Norman’s strong attack with him in complete darkness.  The idea of him being engulfed in darkness is used to heighten the fear and mystery of the scene and gives misdirection to the outcome of the plot.  The use of the high key lighting in her death is showing the draining of her hopes as well as her life, while adding the camera shots of the drain and her eyes it gives way to a compelling and powerful scene drawing the audience into the horror.

The lighting used throughout the movie is standard for horror or mystery movies because of the suspense and anxiety needed from the movie to engage the audience.  However, Hitchcock played with the high key lighting in a different way to border his characters flaws and expose them, which is a fear that we all have and can relate; having our darkest desires held up to the light for the world to see.  In a sense Hitchcock is saying with her death and his insanity, here it is and look at it.  This gives way to the themes of the movie lack of privacy and voyeurism.

Hitchcock, Alfred. (1960). Psycho [Motion picture]. United States. Universal Studios – Paramount Pictures.

The Purge: Anarchy – Week 1

The Purge: Anarchy was released on July 18, 2014 and was directed by James DeMonaco. It stars Frank Grillo, Carmen Fiogo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, and Zoe Soul. The Purge is an action, horror, and thriller movie set in the United States and it follows a chronological order.

The Plot revolves around one man, Sergeant, who comes across a group of stragglers that get caught outside during the purge. The Purge is a 12 hour lift on all criminal activity with no fear of punishment for all crimes committed, even murder and rape. Sergeant proceeds to reluctantly help these people find safety while simultaneously fulfilling his desires for the night, which is to kill the man who killed his son in a drunk driving accident.

Being filmed in a chronological order helps the audience establish relationships with the characters and provides a build and a big reveal at the conclusion of the movie. The drama of the story was impacted by the linear storytelling due to the suspense of what was going to happen and how it would resolve itself in the end. Who would be left standing? Who would give in to the allure of the purge? Is our hero a hero or villain?

If The Purge had followed a different presentation style it would have eliminated the suspense and intrigue in the unanswered questions above throughout the movie. However, it could have presented a new direction of why did this happen to this man at the end? The question of who he is would still be there although it would be less anticlimactic.

There is a lot going on in this film with a good degree of undertones and sub plots all of which is designed to get the audience thinking about the current standing of things political, human, lawful, and in their own way of being. Like the question that many philosophers such as John Locke have tackled, are people good because they are good or are they good because of fear of punishment.

Abrams, S. (2014, July 18). The Purge: Anarchy. retrieved from reviews on http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-purge-anarchy-2014

brutalashell.com. (2014).The Purge: Anarchy (Movie). Image retrieved from http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Purge-Anarchy-e1405786432627.png