Test 2 PDF - Film Studies Past Paper

Test 2 1. Directors (1): Insiders Key terms Studio system: system whre iectors had limied crtaiv control, were assigned to films only focussed on filming, could only be with one studio Pure cinema: hitchcocks way of expressing films ideas thoru...

Test 2 1. Directors (1): Insiders Key terms Studio system: system whre iectors had limied crtaiv control, were assigned to films only focussed on filming, could only be with one studio Pure cinema: hitchcocks way of expressing films ideas thorugh film lamhagu instead of acting Pre-code era: perio when gay themes were more openly portrayed in films Sign of quality: directors names used by studios to show movie was high quality , didnt represent the actual filmmaker but the studio Key people Alfred hitchcok- famous for suspense and thiellers, experimental filmmaking within studio system loved to experiment with film langauge in unconventional ways , loved pure cinema but often only had occaionaly moment due to studio control, unconvetional dates were in late 50s when studio system was disappearing John Ford: big old west film director Dorothy Arzner: only women director of A-list movies in Classical Hollywood, have unconventional protaganists, feminist LGBTQ Filmmakers: James Whale, George Cukor, Dorothy Azner, Noel Coward, had to be secret, indriect mentions after 1934 in the hollywod code era 2. Directors (2): Outsiders Test 2 1  Key concepts Independent films: any movie made outisde of major Hollywood studios Artistic freedom: rare in classical hollywood era, why Welle’s opportunity was also even more rare Race films: independent films with all black casts made for Black American audiences B movies: Low budget independent films that had more experimentation, played before A list movies , Exploitation Films: Movies focussing on sensational subjects that were outside of the Hollywood censorship, more effort into movie posters than movies, carelsss atitiude did enable some artiistci freedom ex Ed Wood 1948 Theatre Ownernship ruling: Studios could no longer own movie theatres as it hurt competition, 1948 New Theatre Types Drive Ins Used in suburbs and rural areas Exploitation Theatres Showing weird and edgy movies Art Cinemas - specialized in foreign films Citizen Kane- 1941 film made by boy genius Orson Welles with RKO Studios, complete creative freedom Citizen Kane as artistic experiment - no one was ever given complete control, very imaginative and creative use of language of film, editing and sound call attention to themselves rather than being invisble, rebel against hollywood conventions Test 2 2  Key people Independent Film Makers in USA- Maya Deren (Small-scale indep. film) on small screenings at art festivals only did films with her own money Spencer Williams (race films) Known for blood of jesus Ida Lupino (B Movies) Rare female director in classical hollywood Ed Wood (exploitation) Eccentric Key example of exploitation film director given artistic freedom Orson Welles- 24 boy genius of american theatre and radio, was allowed to direct citizen kane with complete creative freedom with RKO studios Paul Robeson - african american theatre star and left wig activist, became a star in Britain due to hollywood not hiring non-white actors Key concepts Citizen Kane (1941) as artistic experiment - no one was ever given complete control, very imaginative and creative use of language of film, editing and sound call attention to themselves rather than being invisble, rebel against hollywood conventions Test 2 3  as a controversy- satriized real life Willaim Randolph Hearst and was only given a limited release as disaster and icon- seen as a mitsake to never be repeated but later became a symbol of art against hollywood and conventions LGBTQ Films & Weimar Germany - period of low censorship allowing direct and sympathetic queer representation, many destroyed by Nazis Differing Censorship- Censorship duirng Classical Hollywood period varied by nation 3. Classical Japanese Cinema Key Dates 1930s: Japanese imperialism and war with China 1941-45: World War II period US movies banned in Japan, Gov ordered studios to make patriotic films seen with banning Jidaigeki movies , as well as themese of suicide and revenge 1945-1952: US occupation period Japan defeated in 1945, cities destoriyed by firebombing and two atomic bombs Occupied by USA until 1952, enforced social and economic reform 1952 onwards: Post-occupation economic boom Japan independence in 50 freed filmmakers of poltical censorship Movies explored horrors of nuclear age (Godzilla 1954) or clashes between traditionalism and modernity Revived the jidaigeki genre, but now see sumari legends wirh more skeptical eye More Japanese films get released in west and begin to influence films Test 2 4  Key concepts Classical Era People preferred locally made films Asian countries made ow film industries seperte from hollywood Created distinct conventions Jidaigeki - traditional samurai films showing loyalty values Extreme ‘Japanese Style’ used by Yasujiro Ozu Symmetrical compositions to suit traditional japanese. arhcitecture’s strong verical & horizontal line Composition is frontal (faces characters head on), and has both charadters in each frame, allows audience to have objective perspective frontal compostion creates eyeline matches (look thoirugh eyes of each people) Less extreme Japanese Style Seen in films not made by Ozu, ex Akira Kuraosawa Cross cultural infleunces world began to infleunce each other more in postwar world Classical Japanese cineam showed western filmmakers no universally correct way to make films Led to more experimentation in western films with languge of film and new film foms Key people Test 2 5  Akira Kurosawa japanese director who loved american films and mixes japanese and hollywood styles uses symmetrical and frontrol compostions onlu at special times to emphasize traditionalism and formality Directe experimental film Rashomon (1950) uses origanl fomr of stroyelling not used before , raises awarness of Japanese culture Yasujiro Ozu Japanese director with extreme use of japanese film uses Symmetrical compositions to suit traditional japanese. arhcitecture’s strong verical & horizontal line uses Composition is frontal (faces characters head on), and has both charadters in each frame, allows audience to have objective perspective uses frontal compostion creates eyeline matches (look thoirugh eyes of each people) 4. Rashomon, Japanese Cinema, and Formalism Rashomon (1950) Post occupation film directed by Akira Kurosawa Narrative structure original and unexpected, undermines confidene in flashbacks being seen as real, each flashback is seen as untrustworhy Draws attention to our desire for certainity even when it cant exist Film draws attention to its language of film, asking to notice menaings of differenr choices Draws attention to our desire for certainity even when it cant exist Formalist Films Test 2 6  Ex rashomon (1950) Focus attention to act of stroyetlling itself Any art that draws attention to how its made ex german expressionism and soviet montage Narrative experimentation When films play with how the narrative of film is made ex Rashomon and Citizen Kane Both use different voices to describe same events But Kane facts are absolute and not in doubt, characters just interpret them differently due to diff biases 5. Variations: international models and the birth of TV in 1930s Television invented , disrupted movie industry Key concepts Classical Film Variations Indian Cinema Canadian Cinema TV India Film Industry with large pop’ could sipport large commericial industry, indian films more popular than us ones popular in India, Middle East and Asia, rivaled Hollywood in size Test 2 7  Film capital was Bombay (Mumbai) aka Bollywood, had big cinematic world audience got exposed to India Film Feautures All films musicals Films stars had more finanicla power and control than in Hollywood Parallel Cinema India made West independ. films that reject Bollywood style for realism Contrast between glamouris cineam and realism arose more in 1950s Awaara aka Vagabond ( 1951) global sensation except in West, popualr for decades in India China and Soviet Union underdog movie facing oppression and overcoming socialist themes Starred Raj Kapoor and had iconic sttaus simialr to chalri chaplin in the west Canadian Cinema in 1940s canada considered quota system to stimualte canadain films which worried hollywood Canada Co-operation Project (1948-1958) Deal between Hollywood and Canada, Hollywood promised to film a few movies in Canada and include positive references Prevented development of Canadian classical film industry Only independent films possible Test 2 8  TV Tech Telegraphy 1850s invented converted messages into electrical pulses using morse code made foundation for electrical communication precursor for radio Telephone 1870s turned acousic vibrations into eletrical signals enabled real time communication commonplace when cinema invented Radio 1890s - 1920s Wireless transmission of audio signals Created first mass broadcasting medium Dominant home entertainment Theatres had no sound and radios had no picture TV Development Stages Transmission Process (1800s-1900s) Uses photosenstive cells and mechanical scanning disks to turn images into code of electric pulses and transmitted could scane images and instantly transmit them across distances Test 2 9  tevelision camera scanned 16x per second to transmit mobving images by 1920s television= distant sight created new method of making moving pictures TV vs Cinema Two diff methods for creating moving pictures in classical era vs current digial age TV was live, cinema was recroded Cinema was better qaulity and viewing experience TVs very expensive initially, expensive as cars WWII disrupted televisoions growth, less ownership in 1940s 6. Early debates in film theory Key concepts Film as inferior to theatre literature and music before 1960s could not study film at university , but others argued for its value film and protogrpahy only reproduce reality vs artists own creative skills film theorists defended it with formalism and realism Films critiqued Formalism Test 2 10  celebrates differences between film and reality emphasized editing, cinemgrapthy and created choices beyond reproduction used experimental films to showcase unique language of cinema critiques hollywood films invisible editing techniques Key Formalists Sergei M Einsteain Soviet Director cinema was unique art form focused on montage and editing emphasizes films distint expressive abilities Rudolf Arnheim German pyschology professor Wrote film as art 1933 Argues against film as mere production Emphasize artistic choices hat took it beyond mere reproduction Realism celerbates ability to reproduce reality as its special quallity minmal ediitng and long takes to avoid distorting reality advcated for tehcniques like deep focus to capture reality more truthfully critiques hollywood movies as not real enough Test 2 11  Key Realists Siegfriend Kracauer German sociology professor Wrote from Caligari to Hitler (1947) Believed cinema should emrbace abiltu to repdoce reality as uniquw ability Show relkatio ship between film and poltiics during rise of Nazis Expresisionim seen as coward response to confronting reality Andre Bazin French film critic Write what is cinema Advciated for long takes and minimal editing Promoted deep focus technique Believed editing distorted reality 7. Italian Neorealism Historical context Mussolin overthrown during WW2 After war film industry in ruins , all studios been bombed, hard to find actors, creating more realism in the films and inspriing neorealism Key terms Test 2 12  White telephone movies- classical italin cineam of 1930s with galmopurs hollywood style tales about rich people Open city (1945) italian movie after ww2 with surprising intl success Important people Vittorio De Sica Director who made Shoeshine (1946), Bicycle Thieves (1948) and Umberto D (1952) Cesare Zavattini Screenwriter Famous for detailed exploration of simple moments , taking brief holluywood film moments and exploring for hours Neorealism Characteristics Avoid beautifying world Films in real locations not studios Uses natural light whenever possible Casts non professional actrs with amateur actros that play charcter simialr to them or hold public auditions Tells stories of ordinary people and their problems No formalist effetct, use invisible editing Fascination with real world, camera lingers on shots of everyday life Dialogue was often written after the filming gave actors more freedom to express themselves naturally on set Test 2 13  Neorealist storytelling simple storiylines with indepth examination of charcaters lives and social contexts gives filmmakers excuse to travel the city Aimed to depict problems important of the time not timeless films cotinue to infleunce modern directors but movement declined in 50s 8. Bicycle Thieves and realism Key concepts Neorealism and ethics The challenge of telling the truth in film Ethical dillmema btw natural/spotanous filming and artificial elements Can be accused of being melodramtic or manipulating audence using cinematic trcicks Uses Music to emphasize emotions already onscresn Add melodramtic situations to add tension Uses Sentiments to try to move you (ex cute little boy) End with dispari or hope with social problems ? no hopeful ending with bicyle thief extra shot added for soviet union of them listening to communist advocating for revolution Neorealism rules bicycle thieves break Test 2 14  One or two scenes shot in studio Antonio’s voice dubbed by another actor Rain is fake The casual shots were designed to fit the films themes Hollywood Social Realism in 1950s inspired by italian neorealism shot on location or studios based on reality use some but not all techniques always cast actual actors Subtly critique institutions to avoid accusations of anti-Americanism and getting black listed often include sequecnes to prove they werent anti american Ex Blackboard Jungle (1955) highligthing education system issue Hollywood Blacklist Created in 50s due to cold war fear of communist infiltrating america HUAC searched for suspected commuists in Hollywood Key people Ella Kazan director of House committee on Un-American Activities blacklisted hollywood ten in 1952 Test 2 15  Dalton Trumbo One of the blacklisted screenwriters as a result of HUAC naming names in 1952 Carried on working in Hollywood under fake names 9. Changes in the 1950s: wide screens and eroding censorship Key concepts Tv Crisis Tv came part of ordinary life in the 1950s People preferred to stay home and theatre attendance dropped Tried new ways of making cinema better but most failed as they required new technology More impressive visuals Looser censorshp Targetting diff audiences The Academy Ratio 1.33:1 ratio sqaurish rectangle standard for almost all cinema until 1953 North american wide screens 1.85:1 ratio most common new widescreen formats Test 2 16  Cinemascope ratio 2.35:1 ratio Only one method of achieving it Wider image and expesive to film, sometimes a directors’ preference Widescreen Advantages Images are bigger and more immersive Fill audiences peripheral vision so can only see the screen Didnt need to install new equipment just wider screens Instant popularity in 1953 Became Hollywood standard by 1955 Widescreen Challenges Had to invent new ways of composing the shot with extra space Early methods were clumsy Larger film gauges 35 mm was standard celluloid size since early days Looked blurry or grainy on bigger screens 1950s some major films shot on 70 mm but didnt become common as thetres not big enough to show the difference Modern imax is 70 mm w simialr effect Causes for Hollywood to erode censorship Production code governed the censorhsip rules, pressure to be diff than TV 1. Free Speech in Cinema (1948) Test 2 17  Free speech applied to films as ruled in ciruts in 1948 Could no longer ban films through censorship 2. Diversification of theatres (1948) 1948 courst decded studios coudk not own theatres anymore as it hurt competition easier for theatres to show non hollywood films not made under production code Art films exploitation films independent films created new kinds of theatres Drive ins - for people in rural or suburbs Exploitation - eccentric and edgy films Art Cinemas - foreign films 1953 Production Code Tipping Point after 1948 production code still used to differntiate quality , seeing production code as higher and more tasteful movies Moon is blue (1953) romantic comedy with mild sex references, was ordered to tone down the sex references and said no, was a big intl success due to scandalous nature Gradaul death of production code began Rating system -New hollywood modern rarting system -Seperates audiences by age Test 2 18  -Followed after years of confusion followed the fall of production code Key films Baby Doll (1956) Steamy drama Released amid huge controversy shows media outrage can generate big office The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) first movie about heroin abuse The moon is blue (1953) comedy released with mild sexual references againt Production code started gradual decline of production code 10. Signs of the future: teenage rebels and Technicolor Key concepts 3 strip Technicolor (1930s) First system to reproduce all colorus vividly First used in three littel pigs (1933, Disney) First used in live action in Becky Sharp (1935) Test 2 19  Technicolor characteristics Bright saturdated colors Required three strips of celluloid at once Compnay controlled directors’ color choices Limited use in 30s and 40s due to cost Eastmanncolor (1950s) replaced technicolor used film strip more realistic, less saturated Colour in Film Culture Used mainly for galmour, fantasy or historical films Black and white associated with realism Colours used symbolically Melodramas in 1950s some call some rebel teenage filsm of 50s melodramas have situuations , raw emotions and pathos as in silent era rare to have moral polarization and have more complicated heroes and villains Family / domestic melodrama- movies about lives of ordinary people More teenage audiences Test 2 20  movies became more popular with youg adults than families because teenagers liked to get out of the house at first hollywood was confused on their audiences but learned overtime to prioritze young audiences signaled with teenage rebel movies with rebel protagonoists Auteur directors with distinct style first used to descirbe Nicholas Ray No word in english but was forming due to Hithcock’s popularity and recognition to general public as kown for dark comedy Now started to expect his experiments with language of film Framed as an individual and not part of the studios End of studio system Auteur changed attitude toiwards directors 1948 changes and tv criis destrieyd finacial strength of film industry Studios began losing individuality and was the end of modern Hollywood Key people Nicholas Ray french director first to be described as auteur and showing directors unique brand Alfred Hitchcock Recognized American director popular for dark comedy Test 2 21  helped popualrized director as indivdiuals with unique style Key films Rebel without a cause gritty teen drama bright colour photography makes it more epic The wild one (1953) first film with teen protagonist Rebel without a cause (1955) first film to portray rebls among middle class teenagers Crazed Fruit (1956) highlighst intl phonomeon of teen rebel movies Test 2 22