Breathless
Movie: 1960, black and white, 90 min
- Director: Jean-Luc Godard
- Actors: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Henri-Jacques Huet
Breathless tells the story of a young many who kills a police officer and then must live with the consequences as he woos a young American girl and tries to flee to Rome.
How do the different shots affect the movie?
Throughout the film, there is a plethora of shot techniques. The greatest diversity of the shots is their length. They range from extended tracking shots, filled with intricate pans, to shots that last barely a second with the jump-cut editing technique. The long cuts provide little more tension to the film. The most intense of these shots is during the opening sequence in the car when the shot is from the hood of the car and all the camera shows is the trees and other cars. The audience can almost tell that something is going to go wrong due to the tension from this strange, yet powerful shot. The reason for the jump-cut technique was that the producer of the film wanted the film to be shorter. But although these cuts were originally for a superficial reason, they add a sense of anticipation and uniqueness to the film. The quick shots were also powerful in contrast to the longer shots. The jump-cuts also play an interesting effect on the name. The quick cuts and their static manner are like someone panting, someone who is breathless, just like the name of the film.
What is the significance of the consistent music?
The film has very interesting music. It is all very similar and does not seem like the music that would accompany a dramatic thriller such as Breathless. The music seems more fitting to a comedic film. Yet it plays an interesting role as a transition between very different scenes and settings. It provides a sense of continuity in the ever-changing environment of Michel’s life. Michel, although he did not live a perfect, law-abiding life, he was not on the run from cops for murder. But after he kills the policeman, his entire life changes and he must try to start over after his planned move to Rome. Yet throughout all this change, the music remains a constant, the one thing that reminds the audience of Michel’s previous life. Michel even looses his car, one of the most important things to him, as it is his way of life, his transportation in a world where he must travel to make a living.
Rashomon
Movie: 1950, black and white, 88 min
- Director: Akira Kurosawa
- Actors: Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori
In Rashomon, a peasant tells about a mysterious crime where all of the witnesses at the trial tell different stories that don’t match up.
What was the influence of Rashomon on future films?
Roshomon was one of the most, if not the most, influential films of its time. What made Rashomon so original was it was the first film to show the same film from many different perspectives. This editing and storytelling technique paved the way for many more films of similar nature. This new type of filmmaking became so popular because it allowed for a different understanding of a story. In many cases, multiple views of the events in a story provide a deeper understanding, but in the case of Rashomon, all of the different views leave the audience more confused then if they had only been presented with one view of the murder. Also, the film technique forces a deeper audience participation in the film. Instead of just sitting back a viewing a film, the audience must decide which story is the “true” story, or which parts of each story are true. In conclusion, the revolutionary techniques in Rashomon can still been seen in many films being created today.
What is the importance of the fire in the hut?
The hut where the narrators stay the storm has a very strong symbolic meaning in the film. The name of the hut is Rashomon, a name that also his spiritual relevance in Japan. To survive the storm, the men begin to pull down parts of the hut to maintain a fire. The act of using the hut, Rashomon, as something as lowly as firewood symbolizes the loss of good in Japanese culture. The story revolved around a murdered samurai, some of the most respect people Japan. To begin with, the hut is already falling apart. This shows how the culture has gone into a pattern of self-destruction. But the men who stay there do not help repair the hut, they do not even leave the hut alone its painfully lamed state, they begin to remove parts of it and burn it in a small fire. These actions reflect the greed that had grown in Japanese culture at the time. People would do anything for the own wellbeing, even destroy and already hurting culture. All these cultural events are portrayed in a simple way through the fire in the hut, Rashomon.
M
Movie: 1931, black and white, 117 min
- Director: Fritz Lang
- Actors: Peter Lorre, Ellen Wildmann, Inge Landgut
M tells the story of a serial killer and the attempts by both the gang and the police to capture him.
How do the angles change throughout the film?
In the beginning of the film, the angles are all stagnant. They do not change much and are all at eye level. As the film progresses, the angles begin to change to reflect the change in public opinion of the murder and the fear that is gripping the city. There are high angle shots looking over crowds of terrified civilians. Also, the angles change to show the hatred everyone holds for the killer. When one of the fake killers is captured, the angles change to put down the killer. Although he is standing above the crowd being escorted by police, the high angle from the killer’s point of view looking down on the crowd reveals the intense hatred they all hold for him. The angles are also very important in the final scene. In this scene, Lorre’s character confesses to the killings in front of the gang and explains that he was not in control, he was forced to kill. Also, the souls of all those that he killed and there parents were always haunting him and making him kill more. During this scene, when the camera focuses on Lorre, it is always a high angle. This angle makes the audience pity Lorre because it makes him appear helpless and almost childlike. The angle places Lorre in a place of inferiority and makes him seem innocent. Throughout the film, Fritz Lang proves himself as a master director especially with his use of angles.
How does Lang use descriptions as transitions?
During M, I found Lang’s transitions very interesting. Instead of putting the focus during a scene on the speaker for the duration of the scene, Lang uses the speaker’s descriptions as transitions. The scene will change to what the speaker is speaking of, before he or she has finished. One example of this transition technique is when the first victims mother is talking about searching for her daughter and the scene changes to show “missing” signs posted all around town. By using these transitions, Lang brings the viewer closer to the characters because he is using more pictures instead of just language.
City of God
Movie: 2002, black and white, 130 min
- Director: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund
- Actors: Alexandre Rodrigues, Matheus Nachtergaele, Leandro Firmino
City of God follows the early life of a young boy growing up in the slums of Rio de Janeiro as he tries to become a photographer in a world full of violence and drugs.
What is the importance of the editing style at the beginning of the film?
The opening scene of City of God is one of my favorite scenes. There is festive music playing and it is a quick sequence of extreme close-ups of the people in the city preparing for a party of sorts. The pace is very high and the camera never remains on one shot for more then a few seconds. Because everything is so close up, it is hard to gather what is going on. This sense of confusion, and the tenseness provided by the quick cuts, sets the mood for the entire film. I found the scene very captivating and watched it multiple times.
What is the importance of the beach in the earlier scenes?
Throughout Rocket's early life, everything was very stressful and he found very little peace. The one place where he could lay back and relax was at the beach. He would go there after school to enjoy his afternoons of freedom. Unlike everywhere else in his life, the beach was a place free of the violence that had engulfed the rest of Rio de Janeiro. The beach was also the place where Rocket first began taking pictures and really began the pastime that would come to define his life. He would take pictures of his friends while at the beach and really began to comprehend his passion. Without photography, he would have nothing. The beach also helped Rocket grow into a man. The tranquility that he found at the beach played an important role in his development and without it he may not have become the good man that he was.
8 ½
Movie: 1950, black and white, 88 min
- Director: Akira Kurosawa
- Actors: Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori
8½ is about a famous pilot who is in love with his friends wife. When this friend has a party, all decency is lost when everyone falls in love with everyone and multiple love triangles erupt.
What is the importance of the radio?
During the movie, the radio provides a sense of consistency. At the time, the radio was the most modern way to get news and other information on social events, especially after WWI. The radio is in a sense a connection between each character and the outside world. The radio is especially important when the pilot is at his home alone, thinking about the woman of his dreams who is married to his best friend. The radio also brings the pilot to fame, as it is how the news of his arrival is shared. It is through the radio that the audience learns of the pilot’s love for this woman because he tells the radio reporter that he made the historical flight in hopes of finding his lost love. The radio plays an important role in the film, bringing together parts that may seem distant at times.
How does the director reveal character during the initial interactions of the party?
When all of the characters first come together at the party, it is very interesting how they react to one another. Some of the characters run to each other to say hello, while others stand solemnly in the corner and refuse to take to the other people in the room. Through this initial meeting, the audience is able to understand nearly everything they need to know about the different characters and their relationships. The director uses every tool he has, such as cameral angles, character proxemics, and different shots, to explain the relationships in the most efficient and realistic way.
