Mom and Dad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfviD4SYpdk

introduction of the main characters

 The first of the main characters to show up in the film is Sheriff Bell. He is only there as a voice over and he talks about how his father being in law infotainment. He talks about how crime was more simple and how its changed. their used to be a motive for a murder and now its almost like theres no reason  for some murders. This shows ho out of touch the sheriff is with the world of crime.

Anton Chigurh opening is very strange. Its almost like he doesn't fit in this world. At first sight this film would be a western and its like Chigurh is from a different genre of film. From the way he dresses and the way he looks and the how he carry a gas tank with and him and  just the way he acts its just all strange. The first thing you see him do is kill a police officer. Just before he does it you see him in the shadows slowly approaching the officer in the shadows like hes a monster in a horror movie. You get a good look at him  and its from the side is a really strange way to introduce a antagonist. The next proper shot of his face we get is when he stops a man on the road . Hes got a very awkward smile which just highlights how weird this character is meant to be. He asked the man to hold still and just kills him with the gas tank.This is meant to be a shock for the the audience but also gets rid of the confusion for why hes carry the tank around.

Llewellyn Moss is shown straight after Chigurh repeating the line  'hold still' but hes trying to kill a deer. This is to create a connection between these two character. When you look at moss you can see that he fits into this world of the film. With his hat, and his cowboy like clothes. The colour of his clothes also match the colour of the background which is a more literal way of saying he fits into this in this film. You see that he doesn't kill the deer which contrasts Chigurh who you've seen already kill 2 people. Mos finds the drug  shoot out  and you can see that the way he walks round its like hes seen something like this before and you do find out later that he is a Veteran. You see he is very smart and capable As hes able to figure things out very quickly.He finds out very quickly that there is money  left over. Moss doesn't use a lot of words which can contrast Chigurh and Sheriff who both talk a lot in the film.

character analysis of cowboy, sheriff and killer

No country for old men is a film that wants it audience to think that it follow a regular film structure when at the heart of it , it doesn't . The set up of the film and the characters follow the structure of a normal western. You have the noble and brave cowboy running a way from the almost unstoppable killer while the sheriff investigates and is on their trial, but what the film does with this concept it completely subverts the audiences expectations.

The cowboy

 The cowboy (Llewelyn Moss) is meant to be the Brave out law with genial morals and who is quite skilled. Moss fines a large amount of money left over from a shoot out with a group of two revile drug cartels. He finds himself on the run from this killer. He uses the money he has to do his best to stay a head of the killer. This character is presented as the protagonist ,this is because of his dislodge. He's confident,witty and he has almost all of the funny one liners in the whole film. The killer finally finds moss  and they confront each other and they both were able to get a shot of each other. Moss escapes him a barely. Hes bleeding out and while watching this you think that he'll    die even though you can see him bleeding out ,limping and struggling to stay conscious because he is the main character that we've been following and rooting for .Later on the film takes a complete left turn by killing Moss off screen. This completely subverts the audience expectations. This character we've been following for the whole film is just killed off screen  and not even by the main antagonist but by the Mexicans. This is a huge risk done by the directors but it adds a sense of realness to film and shows how sometimes the good guys don't always win.

The Killer

The killer (Anton Chigurh) is shown to be a very mysterious character. The only things we know about this character  is that he is very organised and very easily annoyed .He will not hesitate to kill anyone and is also to be really intelligent. This pretty much all we ever find out about this character and with out getting a backstory, your not able to sympathise with him and it creates a disconnect with him and the audience. He is just a pure villein with no redeeming quality and no way to see things from his point of view , he is just evil. He kills moss but I don't believe that that makes him the winner at the end . At the end of the film hes gets in a car crash and is injured and he just walks a way. I think this shows how the thing hat he won in this fight s that he gets away with his life barely.



The Sheriff

The Sheriff (Ed Tom Bell) is shown to be very capable but its almost like he struggle to keep up with the changing world . When Moss died you realises that the real protagonist of the film is actually Bell. Sheriff bell is meant to be one of the old men mentioned in the title and how this world is constantly changing and Bell is struggling to keep up with this unorthodox crime. This is No country for old men only the youth which is why he eventually ends up retiring in the end because he doesn't understand this crazy world.

Who is creative responsible for Casablanca success

Who is creative responsible for Casablanca success


There were a lot of people responsible for the success of the film casablanca , from the studio to the actors and to the director and the producers. With the number of people working on this film , its was gurateed  for success. Casablanca was a very collective film where many people had a hand in making this film. This is different to other films where it seems to be purely the directors vision . The director this film still had a large part of this film but it wasn't his vision.

The studio behind the film casablanca was Warner bros. At the time warner bros were releasing about 10 films a year and casablanca just happen to be the one that stuck and made the most money for the studio at of the films they made that year. The film cost 1.039 million and a bulk of that money came from warner bros. Warner Bros produced the film so they had a very large part in making Casablanca successful.Hal wallis was a producer of the film so he had a large part I funding this film and he was the one that pitched the idea to adapt this film.

There were many writers for hi film which adds to the idea of this film being very collaborative. theses writers all wrote different themes of the the film for example Julius and Philip Epstein who wrote the comedy of the film which means their rolls were very important because this film can get really dramatic at times so the when the comedic moments happen it comes as a really nice surprise. Howard E. Koch writ the over all story of the film . Casey Robinson  wrote the love story of the film which is really important because the love story is what drew peoples  to this film. Some of the story was improved and changed on the day of filming.Michael Curtiz was the director of the film. A director back then doesn't mean the same thing it means now. Now a days films are almost all the directors vision and back then its was just a person that had a job to complete. He had directed over 143 films and he was seen as an expert of movement.

There were a lot of people that went into the background production of the film like the lighting and ........

casablanca final scene

Casablanca has one of the most memorble final scenes of film history. This scene is the climax and caps off   the story in a way that is very hopeful but also very uncertain for the future . Rick wants to help Ilsa and Laszlo escape the country.  Rick threaten Captain Louis Renault by pointing a gun at him so he can assist  the couple to escape at the airport. Major Heinrich Strassert soon comes in with a bang to stop them from leaving. He's about to call for assistance and then Rick points the gun at him. The shot of Rick pointing the gun highlight classic film noir with a man in a trench coat, a hat and pointing a gun. Rick shoots and kills Strassert before he can calls anyone and Laszlo and Ilsa are able to leave and Rick and the captain fine a new friendship between the two and they walk off into the murky fog highlighting how uncertain their furture will be and  the future of the war. This scene has a lot of little details that add to the quality of the film. For example every charter in this seen wears a hat which may show how they are trying to disguise  their true selfs. When Rick talks to Ilsa the camera zooms from the captain which highlights how serious the situation in and the drama of the scene. Rick says to Ilsa that I aint noble but I know that 3 people don't amount to a hill of bean in this crazy world. This line is so ionic, Rick is saying that during this world war us 3 people and our little problems are not important in the grand scheme of things. I think that Rick finally standing up for what he care about and belives in represents america deciding to join the war and stand up ageist the Germans which is what this film was all about , standing up for whats right. 

Colonel Kurtz

How Colonel Kurtz is presented

Colonel Kurtz is a strange character. He's played by Marlon Brando and is the main main antagonist of apocalypse now. It take well over half of the film util we fist see this character. When we first hear about him its almost like we can see him though Willard's eyes. We first see a file of him and we can see that he was a good solider and all of a sudden he had just gone mad. Through out the whole film there is an internal monologue by Willard and most of it i about his opinion of Kurtz and what he thinks of him. he seems to relate to him in some way even without him knowing the full story and when reading his file. I believe that we only see Kurtz though Willard's eyes so that the audience can will see him as the villain of the film. When playing this character Marlon Brando took his roll very seriously and it was like he had became this character behind the camera . This is known as method acting.

When we see Kurt  it's like he's some sort of ruler over this tribe of a mixture of american soldiers, journalists, a Vietnam tribe and even some Vietnamese soldiers. Kurtz is seen as some sort of god for these people but for the audience ad Willard it just looks like him and all these people have just gone mad. Before we see him the tribe mentions to him and talks about him like he's more than human. When we first see Kurtz he's in the shadow which is done to make him come across as more intimidating and maybe even inhuman. Half his face is in the shadow which may represent his change from a soldier to what he is now. He doesn't  talk that much but when he does its at a very quiet and calm tone which contrasts how he's been presented before but his quiet tone is still intimidating. Throughout the half an hour of time he's actually in the film he is only seen in dark areas  with maybe one light on him which could represent him being lost in the darkness with only a little spec of the man  he used to be existing.  

Kurz then goes on to torcher Willard probably trying make him one of his follows Which doesn't work with willard. He barely talks . this can show that he's not letting him and his other follows into his head.

opening scene for Rick

 

 

Introduction to Rick Blaine

Rick is the main character to Casablanca. this is the reason their is so much build up before we see him. In the opening scene the police are checking peoples papers and in a passing shot you see ricks café. The name of his café is Ricks American café . this is done because Americans watching this at the time will notice it straight away. In the next scene Captain Louis Renault meets with some Nazi general and they both mention Rick 3 times saying how its where everyone goes to his café  so the audience know his café is the hotspot. We finally see the café up close in a shot that lasts at least 5 seconds. Now the audience get a good look at this restaurant and know that its going to be important. to the story.

Though out the whole entire film there is this shot like that represents how every one is being watched during this war. You see this spot light shining on a few people as the walk into the cafe which may highlight how this cafe is a refuge for people during the war. We enter the cafe and we see that it is a place where a lot of illegal activity is happening for example gambling, distributing visa etc. we slowly go though the whole cafe seeing the range of different people in there. A lot f the people in there are people that used to be upper class and have very little money since the war started so some of them are just trying to get a bit of money. some people are trying to get avisa so they can escape the country. the camera keeps slowly panning with more references to Rick with people asking id the they can have a drink with him and the waiter saying that rick only drinks alone.

We finally are introduced to him in a very unique way.  We see him writing a check in a close up shot. Then you see a lower shot of ricks arm and you can see that he's playing a game of chess by himself which really shows how he doesn't want to be around anyone so much that he'll rather play a game that require 2 players by himself. Hes also got a cigarette and a drink which was how people were introduced in those days , it shows that he's meant to be a masculine character. The camera then slowly pans up to see his face and we finally see what he looks like. We see that hes wearing a white suit which shows his class and how much money he's making because White clothing in those days were commonly worn by Richer people. This contrasts to the other people who in the cafe. They present themselves as higher class but since the war began they have almost nothing but Rick the business man is the one with the money and the higher status.   

Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now context

Film Context

• Apocalypse Now is based loosely on Joseph Conrad’s 1898 novella Heart of Darkness
• Apocalypse now was directed by Francis Ford Coppola 
• was released in 1979 
• It is set at the height of the Vietnam war 
• This movie was made while the Vietnam war was still happening  
• The Vietnam war was the first televised war 
• Guerrilla warfare was used by the Vietnam soldiers which involve torching soldiers, ambushes raids hit and run attacks etc. 
• The Americans used napalm gas also known as agent orange which can causes death by burns. 
• Coppola had almost full control over this film without any studio influence 
• It took almost ten years to make this film and almost
• the film cost more then 30 million dollars 
•  a large amount of the money used for the film was from Coppola own pocket

Historical context

• the Vietnam war started on 1 Nov 1955 and ended on 30 Apr 1975 
• the war was between America and Vietnam 
• America ended up pulling out of the war
• the war took place South Vietnam, North Vietnam,Cambodia and Laos
•  Vietnam lost over 200,000 – 400,000 civilians and 170,000-220,000 military
• over 58,000 Americans died
• Vietnam War has the longest US combat force participation (17.4 years)
• the Vietnam War began in 1954, though ongoing conflict in the region had stretched back several decades.
• the main form of transport during the war for the american s were boats 

Casablanca

Casablanca

Casablanca is a romantic  drama directed by Michael Curtiz and was released inn 1942. It was set during the second world war and is about a man called Rick Blaine ,who owns a night club in Casablanca, that has to choose between his love for a woman (llsa )or helping her and her new husband(Victor Laszlo) to escape the country.  her husband is Czech resistance leader and hes trying to a escape so he can Carrie on fighting the Nazis.

Rick Blaine

Rick played by Humphrey Bogart is the main protagonist of the film and is shown to have a very cold and hard exterior with him only really caring about him self shown when he repeats the line "I don't stick my neck out for no one". This quote can show how he might of  helped people in the past but something change so he no longer does that. He's like this because Ilsa broke his heart and maybe since then he's gated himself off from other people. At the start of the film its almost like there's this build up to meeting Rick. He's mentioned many times before we see him and the sigh for his café is shown a few times as well so before we even see him we know that he's going to be an important character. at the end of the film he eventually helps Ilsa and her husband because its like he learns that if he really loves someone he should let them go and them be happy.

Ilsa Lund

When we first meet Ilsa  we see that she is extremely loyal to her husband and his political stance but you don't really understand her because she claim be in love with Laszlo but she also says that she loves Rick so you don't really get a sense of what her goal is. She may just be in two minds and might think that she made the wring decision marring Laszlos. In the flash back you can see her being really affectionate and loving towards Rick but when you see her in present day she can barely look Laszlo in the eyes when rick is around.

Captain Louis Renault

The captain might bet the shadiest character in the film. he's constantly bouncing from both sides in the war maybe just following who is winning at the time. when we see he's on the side of the Nazis. He provides visas for people but is they are unable to pay he will sleep with them. at the end of the film him character in redeemed when he decides to help rick and stop being a Nazi

Victor Laszlo

Victor is like the white night of this story. He's seen as a noble hero. He's such a good man that even when Ilsa tells him  what rick was to her he says that he understands. He is willing to sacrifice himself so that Ilsa can escape Casablanca safely. His primary motive is to defeat the Nazis. Casablanca is filled with shady character and Victor is meant to contrast that.

Pulp fiction Film Review

Pulp Fiction is a drama / crime film where you follow 3 different plot lines throughout the film. This was directed by Quentin Tarrantino and it came out in 1994. At the time this film was very unique in many ways. the film does things that you don't expect and take the story in different directions. It doesn't follow the normal narrative structures like most films. The film is separated into 3 different parts. these 3 stores are loosely connected. The film begins with a little prelude where there are two thieves ,that are as married, contemplating weather they should rob the diner that they are eating at. this scene interesting because it establishes these two people and shows that they are used to doing this and they are decent at doing what they do. You can also sense the chemistry between these two characters with the audience not knowing exactly knowing  what their relationship is until you see them kiss. The scene is shot in a strange way with it jumping around from a wider shot with both of them in the booth or the close up shot of their faces. this is probably done to show how fast their conversation is going. 

The first  story follows two hit men called Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield  son a mission to receive a briefcase for their boss, Marsellus Wallace, . The scene leading up to to them getting the briefcase is very interesting in the way the two characters interact with each other. As a watcher I can relate to these characters because they are coming across as real people have a real conversation. Their conversation is very simple with them just in the car having a talking about the differences between the McDonald menu in Europe and the U.S.A. Watching this i fell that this can easily be a conversation I can have with my friend. The film does a good job of establish these two people as friend which makes me care for them more as an audience member. there are a lot of close up shots from the side of the two main character faces in the car. this is done so the viewer can easily put them self in that seat and see from their point of view.  

The film ends with Vincent and Jules getting some breakfast and a diner. While in the restaurant they have one of their strange conversations again. Jules says how he doesn't eat pork because he believes that pigs a filthy animals. The director does this because the general audience might just see these two as hitmen and nothing else but Tarantino wants to show as normal people that are just talking like friends. Jules then goes on to talk about leaving the life of being a hitman. this conversation is only shot with close ups bouncing from the two actors face. This is done to show that their conversion is getting very intense and heated.Then we find out that the restaurant that they are in is the same restaurant that the two thieve were in at the start of the movie , just before they decide to rob the place.

The two thieves pull out their guns and they go crazy threatening to shot people and just trying to scare everyone in the restaurant. I really enjoy how this scene is shot. There's a lot of shaky cam and the camera follows them around while they're  threatening every one. This is done to show how manic and crazy this situation is and maybe to show the fear of some of the people in the restaurant . While this is happening it cuts to Vincent sitting on the toilet peacefully reading a book which contrasts all the wild things happening outside and it also comes across very comical for the viewer. One of the robbers then goes to Jules and you can see that he his very confidend you can see it in the way he's sitting, he's very relaxed. even when a gun is pointing right at him. Jules then show him whats in  the briefcase and. this is shot very interestingly because we never see what is in the briefcase throughout the whole film. Tarantino said briefcase contains whatever you want it to.