French New Wave (Georgia)

French New Wave Video Essay - Breaking the Rules 

 The French New Wave

The French New Wave, spanning from the years 1958 to late 1960s, was a major cinematic movement which afforded itself to breaking the rigid structures of conventional Hollywood Cinema. Through an experimental, often self-conscious and way of film making (including the use of jump-cuts, location-shooting, hand held cameras, improvisation and disregard for continuity) many French New Wave directors manipulated their medium as a form of social protest.

Origins:

The movement first came to light under the French magazine Cahiers du Cinema (1951), in which critics such as Francois Truffaut laid out a groundwork of revolutionary cinematic concepts (most notably the Auteur Theory) on which the French New Wave was built. The first considered films of the movement were Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alain Resnais, 1959) and A Bout de Souffle or Breathless (Jean Luc Godard, 1960).

Prominent Figures:

·        Jean Luc Godard

·        Francois Truffaut

·        Claude Chabrol

·        Jacques Rivette

·        Agnès Varda

Prominent Films:

·        Breathless (Jean Luc Godard, 1960)

·        The 400 Blows (François Truffaut, 1959)

·        Jules and Jim (François Truffaut, 1962)

·        Cleo from 5 to 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962)

·        Band of Outsiders (Jean Luc Godard, 1964)

L'Age d'Or (Ross)

L'Age d'Or

L'Age d'Or is a French surrealist film directed by Luis Buñuel that explores themes like desire and the sexual mores of bourgeois society as well as the religious system of the Roman Catholic Church. 

Themes 

The themes of the film follow the concerns of Un Chien Andalou:

• frustrated love 
• societies oppression of sexuality
• the constancy of physical violence 
• opens up as a documentary 
• ends with snow and blowing wind

Un Chien Andalou follows the same themes, ideology and represent the same beliefs of the original surrealists. An example of this is at the end of the film, there is a crucifix which has hair on it. This scene is the final scene of the film and shows the religious iconology and the surrealists disbelief in religion as a whole.

Another reoccurring theme in both films is violence. In L'Age d'Or at the very beginning of the film there is a close up shot of scorpions, this represents violence as they as known as being dangerous and have the power to kill. Un Chien Andalou also explores this theme, as at the very start of the film there is an eye cutting sequence which is incredibly graphic and vulgar to watch. The surrealists where intrigued by Sigmund Freud and the idea of psychoanalysis. This is where Freud believed that people could be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations, therefore gaining insight.

Being John Malkovich (Rosie)

Being John Malkovich 
Link to trailer 
Malkovich inside Malkovich scene 

Plot Summary 
Unemployed New York City puppeteer Craig Schwartz reluctantly takes a temp job as a filing clerk for the eccentric Dr. Lester. While at work, Craig discovers a portal that leads into the mind of renowned actor John Malkovich. When he lets his attractive co-worker Maxine in on the secret, they begin both an unusual business scheme and an odd relationship that involves Craig's restless wife, Lotte.

Auteur theory (James)

Auteur theory 

Auteur theory - The theory of filmmaking in which the director is viewed as the major creative force in a motion picture

Notable auteurs

Wes Anderson

When it comes to distinctive style, there’s probably no better modern example than Wes Anderson, the director of Moonrise Kingdom, The Royal Tenenbaums, and last year’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. The writer-director is one of the best examples of a modern auteur, with a whimsical visual style all his own and narrative tendencies that remain consistent across his body of work.

Chances are that if you know of Anderson and his past films, you can spot whether a movie is directed by him within five seconds of watching one his works or viewing a trailer for an upcoming film. With a distinct colour palette that links everything from a the production design to the outfits, Anderson adheres to a meticulous set of visual flourishes that give the director’s films the specific fantastical feeling that all Anderson films have.

When it comes to framing, Anderson is known to keep his camera mostly stationary, preferring to shoot scenes in straight-on fashion — something most directors avoid because it prevents the scene from taking on a three-dimensional feel. This is what Anderson prefers, and the net result is a series of a shots that often feel as if they are part of a painting rather than a three-dimensional, moving image.

Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese is one of the most prolific American film directors ever. While Scorsese’s career has been marked by a concerted effort to make films in varying genres — even if the crime genre seems to be his favourite — there have been several stylistic flourishes that are associated with the director. 

When it comes to Scorsese’s visual style, the three things that immediately come to mind are his frequent use of slow motion, long tracking shots, and the use of popular music. Beginning with his first film, Who’s That Knocking at My Door (1967), slow motion has often been used as a way to heighten a moment, particularly during scenes of psychological duress. Tracking shots, on the other hand, are often used for the opposite reason: to ground a moment or scene in reality — such as the long, extended shots in Taxi Driver and Goodfellas.

Music, too, has been a consistent factor in Scorsese’s directing career, with his use of The Rolling Stone’s Jumpin’ Jack Flash in Mean Streets becoming one of the most famous scenes in his career. And Gimme Shelter, another song by the Stones, has appeared in three of Scorsese’s films: Goodfellas, Casino, and The Departed.

Surrealism - general and influence (Hannah)

Surrealism - general and influence

The surrealists were a group of people that wanted to go against the bourgeouis. Their intentions were to shock people through their bizarre and illogical works on religion, gender and other social taboos. They didn't want to be defined. Surrealism was created by Andre Breton in the 1920's. It originally stemmed from the avant garde movement Dada.

Surrealism is everything that breaks tradition. It isn't real, normal but does question realistic expectations. Surrealism aimed at expressing imaginative dreams and visions free from conscious rational control. 

Man on Wire (Eleanor)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIawNRm9NWM

Man on Wire is a documentary about Philippe Petit's shocking wire walking stunts that gained worldwide recognition, directed by James Marsh. It was released in theatres August 1st 2008 by Magnolia Pictures and earned £2,600,296 at the box office. 

On August 7th, 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the New York World Trade Centre's twin towers. After dancing for nearly an hour on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released.

The documentary contains real footage, re-enactments and interviews with the key people involved in these events (such as Jean Francois Heckel and Jean-Louis Blondeau). It follows a timeline of events and Philippe's stunts as they happened, showing his battle of overcoming his greatest obstacles in order to achieve his dreams.

Specific techniques are used in Man on Wire to make it more appealing and entertaining to the audience. The layout is carefully structured in the best way to capture and consume the spectator's constant attention throughout. Suspense is a key aspect of this as it is manipulated at heights in the story to further heighten the spectator's interest.

There appears to be a lot of focus on the mise-en-scene, especially the use of diagetic and non-diagetic sound. The music heavily contributes to the success of the documentary in subtle ways. For example when something exciting/dangerous is happening, the music will change to something fast beat and up paced to create tension.

Chaplin (Emma & Jade)

Chaplin


Charlie Chaplin was born on the 16 April 1889 to 25 December 1977. He was an English comedic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent era. Chaplin became a worldwide icon with his Tramp character and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry. His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977

Charlie chaplains life in London was difficult as it was full of poverty, his mum struggled financially and Charlie had to work in the workhouse and worked there twice before he was nine. When his mum got taken to a mental asylum, Charlie started to work in music halls at an early age and started working as a stage actor and comedian. 

When he was 19 he was signed to Fred Karno company and was taken to america. Chaplin was then scouted for the film industry and began appearing in Keystone Studios. This is when the Tramp character was established. His first appearance Kid auto races in Venice.

in 1919, Chaplin co-founded the distribution company, Untied Artists. This gave him complete control over his films. His first feature-length was TheKid(1921). Chaplin wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in and composed the music for most of his films.