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.