•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/
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