Musical comparison paper (final paper)

The Commitments (1991)

Director: Alan Parker

Writers: Roddy Doyle, Dick Clement

Genre: Musical

 

Rock of Ages (2012)

Director: Adam Shankman

Writers: Justin Theroux, Chris D’arienzo

Genre: Musical

               

                These films are both full of energy and drama, filled with excitement, a little romance, and of course, music. The strange yet appealing thing about comparing these two films is that although they were shot two decades apart, they revolved around the same time in musical history. And although they are both centered around the late 80’s, and early 90’s, it seems as if they are one hundred years apart since the worlds of Los Angeles and Dublin, Ireland were pretty much polar opposites. Rock of ages is more centrally focused on the story of two lovers trying to make it in LA, while The Commitments is a story of a large soul band trying to leave their mark on the music scene of Dublin, Ireland.

                In my opinion the musical has come a long way, and this is evident when comparing ROA and The Commitments. When musicals first made It it to the big screen it was an abstract idea to put musical renditions in between bits of dramatic or comedic plots, and I felt that The commitments showed a much more scattered scene selection and the music didn’t work as well to enhance the story as it did in Rock of Ages, and other more modern musicals. The text even mentions how awkward musicals seemed to audiences at first when it is said that “Because the new medium of motion picture photography was closely associated with documentation and thus, naturalism, the idea of otherwise realistic scenarios suddenly interrupted by characters bursting into song didn’t seem to fit with the movies”(Barsam98).

                I think both of the films fall under the theory of the Aesthetic approach. Like stated above, the musical is a little bit odd and it is hard to make a character break out in song and have it not disrupt the flow of the scene, and thus, it is more about the aesthetics of everything rather than the technological aspect or feminist ideas, its truly about making something that looks and sounds enjoyable. Cinematics and sound are of the highest priority when it comes to making these types of films.

                In an article written by Peter Travers of Rolling Stone Magazine, claims that The commitments was entertaining but nothing to write home about. Traverse goes on to say “The dozen unknowns he's chosen — ten with no previous acting credits — make a joyful noise and rousing company. Parker, however, hasn't made much of a movie”(traverse1). He goes along with what I had said before, and basically says the film is sort of mish moshed. While Rock of ages caught the eye of the same journalist. who said “It's near impossible not to rock along. No wonder Rock of Ages is known on Broadway as "Mamma Mia! for metalheads."(traverse2) He goes on to say how Rock of ages is also not the greatest accomplishment ever in terms of a film but seems to have faired much better than the commitments.

             Personally, I liked Rock of ages a lot more than The Commitments. I feel that I am coming from a very biased place as I loved the 80’s hair metal and really didn’t care too much for the soul of Dublin, Ireland, but it is hard not to be biased when both films are equally poor as far as plot goes. When it comes down to it I think the Commitments could have won me over had it not been stacked against a movie that is more or less inspired from a playlist on my ipod, but it still made its mark in musical history and was enjoyable enough to be worth a watch.

References

Traverse, Peter. Rolling Stone Magazine. Rock of Ages. 14, June, 2012

Traverse, Peter. Rolling Stone Magazine. The commitments.28, August, 1991.

Barsam, Richard. Monohan, Dave. Looking at Movies an introduction to film, third edition. copyright 2010

The Western

Mike Buska

Film Theory

Professor K. Mirror

12/5/2012                                                           

 

 

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Writer: William Goldman

Director: George Roy Hill

Genre: Western, Action

 

The Searchers (1956)

Writer: Frank S. Nugent, Alan Le May

Director: John Ford

Genre: Western

 

Though similar based on the fact that they are both Westerns, The Searchers and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are two very different stories. The first, revolving mainly around a civil war vet who kind of plays by his own rules, in search of his niece who is kidnapped by Comanche Indians. The second about a pair of slick train robbers that never want anything to do with the law or corporate jobs as long as they live. The Searchers mostly takes place in Mexico, as John Wayne travels for years to find his niece, little Debbie, while in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Robert Redford and Paul Newman are forced out of the USA  into Bolivia when the law closes in on them.

There is a major difference between the two stories when it comes to the concept of camaraderie. Throughout The Searchers, John Wayne doesn’t really want anything to do with his partner Martin. He seems to be more of an annoyance than anything and even when he is helpful doesn’t get the credit he deserves. In Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the protagonists do bicker a lot and are often sarcastic, even when they are about to die together you can see through the sour language that they are like brothers and do care about each other.

I did however find at times that both movies were slow, a mutual feeling shared by Roger Ebert in his article about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. “"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" must have looked like a natural on paper, but, alas, the completed film is slow and disappointing. The problems are two. First, the investment in superstar Paul Newman apparently inspired a bloated production that destroys the pacing. Second, William Goldman's script is constantly too cute and never gets up the nerve, by God, to admit it's a Western.”(Ebert1). Ebert found the movie to be too light hearted and comical to be considered a true western and I agree it could have used a little more grit.

In another article from Film Quarterly, director John Milius speaks of the influence The Searchers has had on him. “The best American movie, and its protagonist –Ethan Edwards is the one classic character in films. I’ve names my own son after him, and seen the film over 60 times”(Henderson 1). The Searchers seems to standout to Milius as well as other great film makers as a staple in American film history, and overall one of the most influential westerns there is.

One big difference I noticed in both these westerns as opposed to other genres of film was the cinematography. There were a number of scenes in both movies that consisted of very wide shots of open plains and rolling hills, while a drama is much more about the expressions of the actors and seems to have much more medium shots and close ups. An extreme comparison would be a movie like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly with countless extreme close up shots and even shots from inside the character’s head while in scenes like the end of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid there are high angle shots  which “have the traditional meaning of making the subject seem inferior”(Barsam 243).

I personally tend to agree with Roger Ebert as far as his review of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and disagree with Brian Henderson’s ideas about The Searchers. I enjoyed the first very little and the second even less, as they were both just not up my alley and The Searchers was especially slow to me. I am not mocking the films based on their technological abilities as I realize it was a different era in the 1950’s and 60’s compared to today, but there were points in both movies that just seemed to drag  and the action that would try to make up for it usually wasn’t enough to peak my interest.

I think it is a generational thing as I asked my dad about the movies and he remembers watching them and loving every second, probably because that was the best there was at the time in the movie industry.  I am not the biggest fan of westerns in general and have not watched any recent ones, and I think when I eventually do it will be a more enjoyable experience.I guess with all the advancement in editing and high quality actors we have today, I as a viewer am just spoiled.

 

               

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                References

 

Ebert, Roger. The Chicago Sun Times, October 13, 1969

Henderson, Brian. Film Quarterly.University of California Press Journals. Winter 1980-1981

Barsam, Richard. Monahan, Dave “Looking At Movies, an introduction to film” W.W. Norton Company Publishing

 

Pan's Labyrinthe Paper

 

Mike Buska                                                                                                                 Buska 1

Professor K. Mirrer

Film Theory

October 23, 2012

 

 

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

Writer/Director- Guillermo Del Toro

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, War

 

The film is set in mountainous 1940’s Spain.  It tells the tale of young girl who leaves her city home to come to the country with her pregnant mother, in order to be closer to her step father when the baby is born. There is an overlying sense of fantasy and wonder that surrounds the protagonist “Ofelia” that seems to stem from her negative feelings about her step father and her new home. She stumbles upon a labyrinth in the woods and delves into a journey that provides her with a great escape from her harsh reality. Drama ensues when Ofelia has trouble juggling her human life with that of her mythical life as a princess, which makes for a great story.

To compare the movie with another would be difficult as it bridges the gap between multiple Genres. Though there are elements of Pan’s Labyrinth that definitely show signs of Realism vs. Antirealism. As mentioned in the text “An interest or concern for the actual or real” vs. “an interest in the fantastic or abstract” takes place. I would argue in that aspect that the film is similar to Fight Club, starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton.  In both films there are depictions of very mundane or depressing real life situations and elements of fantastic fantasies that no one knows about except the protagonist.

When It comes to theories, I feel there is an Eisenstein esq aspect to the movie. It does a good job of narrating and foreshadowing, while fragmenting some scenes such as when Ophelia goes into the dungeon with the pale man. She looks around seeing the paintings of him devouring children and she remembers what the faun says about not eating the food or else. It is definitely much more advanced due to modern technology compared to that in Eisenstein’s day so things are nowhere near as choppy, but there are similarities none the less.

As stated in Roger Ebert’s Article for the Chicago Sun Times, "Pan's Labyrinth" is one of the cinema's great fantasies, rich with darkness and wonder. “Ebert goes on to compare the film with the likes of Alice in Wonderland, and The Wizard of OZ. He does a great job of giving words to the emotions I felt while watching this movie, and I feel that his comparisons are spot on.

Another Article, written for film quarterly in the University of California press journals takes a more analytical approach to discuss how the use of factual, historic situations mixed with a compelling story can make a film a success all over the world even in countries that do not speak Spanish.  “Pan’s Labyrinth reveals that, given sympathy and attention, films based on local events can have immediate and profound significance for global audiences.” This is a great point to be made as it shows you don’t have to be the grandson of George Lucas and have a baptism by fire into the film industry to produce a successful movie; however those connections certainly wouldn’t hurt.

 

I personally had mixed feelings about the film. It was definitely out there as far as the fantasy aspect goes, and usually that’s not my cup of tea; now adding on the fact that the entire film was in a foreign language and I have a recipe for disaster but somehow I couldn’t have been more enthralled in the plot. I always love a movie that you just can’t look away from and Guillermo Del Toro did an outstanding job of creating just that. The biggest impact I got from the whole experience however had to do with the second article I referenced, and how powerful a story can be regardless of where it comes from. I’ve seen movies where they dub over the actors voices with English, and it totally destroys the dramatic experience. Even if you don’t understand the words themselves, being able to hear the tone in which an actor is speaking is plenty powerful enough and makes watching a movie with subtitles almost no different than one in English.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Ebert, Roger “Pan’s Labyrinth” The Chicago Sun Times, rogerebert/suntimes.com, December 29, 2006

Smith, Paul Julian “El Labertino del fauno” Film Quarterly, University of California Press journals. www.jstor.org, Summer 2007

Barsam, Richard. Monahan, Dave “Looking At Movies, an introduction to film” W.W. Norton Company Publishing

Film Theory Presentation 1

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Mike Buska
Film Theory

Prof. Mirrer
Fall 2012

 

By now, I’ve seen enough movies to make choosing just one as the most influential is considerably difficult.  However If I had to pick one that was influential in the most ways, my choice would have to be Fight Club. Not only was it monumental for the careers of all the main actors, as well as a major cult classic, but it stands out to me as one of the only movies to bridge the gap of multiple genres simultaneously.  As it starts in its narrative fashion, It draws the viewer in. We can’t help but relate or at least empathize for the main character as he goes day to day living a monotonous and in his opinion pointless life. From there the plot twists and turns with elements of drama, mystery, and action that keep  us guessing and is only twice as enjoyable the second time you watch it. There is however one scene in particular that made a significant impact on me. Tyler Durdan takes a convenience store clerk into an alley at gunpoint and asks what he wished he was doing with his life. Upon finding out the clerk has dreams of becoming a Veterinarian, he gives him the ultimatum of either going back to school and taking the first step toward his dreams, or he would find him in six weeks and kill him. That scenario got me thinking about how many people decide to take the easy route and not go after what they truly want. It made me set goals for myself in order to avoid this in my life, and so far its working well. Of course there has been other “inspirational” movies but the aspect of society settling for mediocrity has never hit me like it did when viewing that scene, and for that reason Fight Club is my most inspirational movie.