Citizen Kane screening report

Citizen kane screening report

1.     Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening

In class we spoke about the golden age of Hollywood filmmaking, which included the likes of Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz and Mr. Smith goes to Washington. One of the reasons that classics such as Citizen Kane

Flourished is because in an era of tight scheduled highly regimented filmmaking studios could bankroll films that might not necessarily be big hits for them to make their money back.

2.     Find a related article and summarize the content

In the article The Mark of Kane by Nigel Andrews the author talks about the monumental legacy that the film has left on filmmakers and film history. He talks about how it isn’t just one aspect of the film that is responsible for the long lasting critical response but many different aspects, which lead to a revolutionary overall vision from an artist with unfettered creative control.

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/ft/2011/05/the_mark_of_kane.html

3.     Apply the article to the film screened in class

The article dives into our conversations from class about the importance and legacy of this film. It came out in a pivotal era in Hollywood filmmaking and still managed to overshadow other classics in its era for being a breakthrough in both technical and visual aspects. It influenced generations of filmmakers and helped to shape ideas about creative shot composition, audio production as well as the role of the director as an auteur.

4.     Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

Citizen Kane has been renown for over half a century for being the finest film ever made and the reasons for this are many. The inventive use of the wide angle lens gives the film a distinct look, the wide angle allows extra space in the frame and you can actually feel movement as the camera moves around Xanadu. Deep focus is also used to fit as much information as possible into a shot, allowing everything to be in focus gave them the ability to paint a more unique picture of the relationship between Charles Foster Cane and the people in his life.

Another aspect of the film that was unique was the non linear storytelling which went against the traditional linear story that had mostly been told in film up until that time. Kane is seen to us through the eyes of many of his close friends and family as flashbacks. We as the audience are viewing the film through the eyes of the news reporter who is out to discover the mysteries of Kane but only end up at the end with more questions than answers about the man and his life. 

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 

1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 

2) (x  ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 

3) (x  ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 

4) (x  ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 

5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 

6) (  x) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 

7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 

8) (  x) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper. 



Name: _______________Matthew Larue__________  Date: ________10/29/14_________

Gone with the Wind screening report

Gone with the wind screening report

1.     Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening

In class we talked about the golden age of Hollywood film, which lasted from the late 1930’s to around 1941 at the beginning of world war two. Gone with the wind is probably the most notable of those films besides Citizen Kane. Gone with the wind still has the highest box office gross in film history after being adjusted for inflation, this shows how impactful and long lasting these great Hollywood films could be to audiences.

2.     Find a related article and summarize the content

In the article gone with the Wind and Hollywood’s racial politics the author Leonard Leff talks about the issue of African Americans in film. David Selznick called it the “negro problem” about how to utilize African Americans in the production of Gone with the Wind. The film in the end utilized black actors but under the guise of white authorities on black psychology, which helped to reinforce the old and dangerous stereotypes pertaining to the old south and African Americans.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/12/gone-with-the-wind-and-hollywoods-racial-politics/377919/

3.     Apply the article to the film screened in class

Gone with the wind was a film concerning the civil war and reconstruction from the perspective of white southern plantation owners and the African American’s shown within the film all exist within a mentality that fits within the white southerner? The slaves are all content with their place in society and not concerned with things such as freedom from their emancipation. They were content with working for their slave masters and knew that their master knew best for them and their protection. Media portrayals such as these have led to people even today claiming that African Americans had it better during the slavery era then they do today under the thumb of government aid. Many of these people who say this with a straight face are politicians or politician candidates in the south.

4.     Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

Gone with the wind is a technical and cultural masterpiece from an era where things were done bigger and better than possibly dreamed about before hand but unfortunately that also includes its poor portrayals of African Americans which further expanded upon the negative stereotypes films like birth of a nation helped to normalize to the viewers. As birth of a nation led to the rise in the popularity the Klu Klux Klan in the era of Jim Crow laws, Gone with the Wind helped solidify negative images of African Americans on the cusp of the Civil rights era. Many people including the producers of the film as well as Elanore Roosavelt screened the film screened the film for African Americans to gauge their responses to the slave portrayals and the reactions were very split with many people feeling that the negative representation was bad but at least there were some great black actors who had a change to shine in a huge Hollywood blockbuster. I believe that even today a film as magnificent as gone with the wind can still divide audiences over the portrayals of the slaves and its implications on society at the time.   

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 

1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 

2) (x  ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 

3) (x  ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 

4) (x  ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 

5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 

6) (  x) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 

7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 

8) (  x) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper. 



Name: _______________Matthew Larue__________  Date: ________10/22/14_________

Stagecoach screening report

1.     Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening

In class we spoke about the sound revolution and how it affected the changing guard in movies. We also spoke about genre pictures from gangster flicks to westerns and how the studios were able to boil down a formula to mass-produce films for movie going audiences. By 1939 the western genre was considered to be played out and John Ford’s Stagecoach film revitalized this film genre.

2.     Find a related article and summarize the content

In the article John Ford: at war and out west once again the writer talks about John Wayne’s performance which helped to skyrocket his career thanks to the direction of John Wayne. Before this film Wayne had appeared in 78 other movies but he was relegated to the status of B movie actor. For the next four decades Wayne created monumental performances onscreen in the shadow of the monument valley.

http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2010/05/23/with_stagecoach_ford_delivered_iconic_images/

3.     Apply the article to the film screened in class

The article talks about the relationship between John Wayne and John Ford. The director and the actor, and how they helped to shape and revitalize each other’s careers. John Ford helped Wayne become a huge movie star and Wayne working with Ford helped him craft a series of westerns that brought the genre back from its laughable status to one of serious acclaim. Thanks to their collaborations the western genre was immensely popular from their work on stagecoach until the late 60s where Europeans like Sergio Leone once again redefined the genre boundaries of the western for a new generation.

4.     Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

Stagecoach is a western masterpiece because it both revels in and transcends the themes and boundaries of the genre. John Ford, although he would never admit it has put layered his film with many different subtexts that the viewer can ascertain. The role of the banker is a sly dig at the greedy and corrupt bankers that have no concern for the average man but only for himself.  The relationship between the Ringo kid and the sheriff shows a darker world of the west where revenge and violence is overlooked by the law if it is perceived to be justified. The perception of the Native American in the western has never been exceptionally accurate and I felt that the spoke so highly of the military skill of Geronimo and his warriors but the fight scene on the stagecoach did not do them any justice as they all were inept and could barely ride their horses and fire their rifles at the same time.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 

1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 

2) (x  ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 

3) (x  ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 

4) (x  ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 

5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 

6) (  x) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 

7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 

8) (  x) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper. 



Name: _______________Matthew Larue__________  Date: ________10/8/14_________

                                         

It Happened One Night

It happened one night

1.     Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening

In class we talked about the age of early silent comedies dominated by actors and comedians such as Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and fatty Arbuckle. When the shift from silent to talkies happened it was hard on some of these men to shift their work to fit these new advances in technology. Chaplin was one specifically who took years to add dialogue to his films even though he started using musical scores in his films soon after sound recording came into the picture.

It happened one night is a comedy, which is made on the backs of its two lead actors and their comedic wit fired back and forth at each other. Films like this had become the standard bearer for comedy and few people were still working in silent films by 1934, even though Chaplin’s Modern Times was still technically a silent picture made two years after this film.

2.     Find a related article and summarize the content

In the article It Happened One Night overcame tough odds to become a classic the writer talks about how It Happened One Night is not just the quintessential romantic comedy but the first film to win multiple awards for best picture, director, actor, actress, adapted screenplay. A feat, which took another 41 years to achieve. The article also talks about how the success of the film not only helped elevate the careers of the actors and director but also Columbia Pictures as well. Columbia was basically a B picture studio and received an elevated status after It Happened One Night because of the acclaim and Oscar glory.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/moviesnow/la-et-mn-en-oscar-archives-it-happened-one-night-20131114-story.html

3.     Apply the article to the film screened in class

In the article they talk about how the success of this comedy film helped to establish Columbia as a major film company but also helped lay the ground for the romantic comedy genre, which in the following years became one of the most important and popular types of films. The charismatic lead actors as well as the witty dialogue were key in capturing the public’s attention.  

4.     Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

The screening of It Happened One night left me feeling thoroughly entertained and enamored with the picture. It was funny and heartfelt and  overall a well made film by Frank Capra. The only thing that stuck out in my mind in any negative way afterwards was the ending with the walls of Jericho fall, that scene left me feeling so unsatisfied because you do not get to see the two lovers together at the end of the film. They do not have a lover’s embrace, a tender kiss before their implied sex scene. It felt so unsatisfying to just be told that they were happily in love when you don’t get to see them act it out in the end. I know a reason for this was the motion picture production code called the Hays code enacted in 1930, which was responsible for toning down sexually and morally explicit content in Hollywood.  These codes were very rigid and forced filmmakers to learn how to work around these codes with editing techniques leaving many things involving sex and violence implied but not seen on screen.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 

1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 

2) (x  ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 

3) (x  ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 

4) (x  ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 

5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 

6) (  x) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 

7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 

8) (  x) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper. 



Name: _______________Matthew Larue__________  Date: ________10/1/14_________