This scene from the Godfather(dir Francis Ford Coppola , 1972) is famous because the low key light immerses the characters in darkness and this suits the world of the film , in fact , this film earned the cinematographer , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Willis the nickname the ‘Prince Of Darkness’ due to his work on the film . I believe that the lighting in this film helped to make it as distinctive as it is.
My favourite films are usually within the genres of horror, sci-fi and action. Romance, drama and musicals never really interested me as the plots are usually boring or too predictable to get stuck into. However, a movie in the genre of all three really surprised me to be rather enjoyable and that was “The Greatest Showman”. Although a lot of action and stunts were involved in the movie, which i found really impressive, the plot was also very creative and managed to really draw in an audience. Despite being based around the musical theatre production of Barnum, there was a lot of originality included with the characters and i found this movie highly enjoyable and entertaining. I also think the soundtrack for this movie is one of the best by far.
My favourite performance in the movie was “Rewrite the Stars” performed by actors Zac Efron and Zendaya, as the song was not only catchy but the trapeze art was amazing and the way they both worked together in this scwas absolutely stunning. Many impressive moves were shown specifically by Zendaya and the fact she learned trapeze art specifically for the film made the scene even more impressive and it really makes you appreciate the amount of work and passion that goes into a movie.
The Box office top 10 movie includes: Blank Panther ($700,059,566), Avengers: infinity War ($678,815,482), Incredibles 2 ($605,633,025), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($416,282,080), Deadpool 2 ($318,468,882), Mission: Impossible – Fallout ($216,135,337), Ant-Man and the Wasp ($215,410,791), Solo: A Star Wars Story ($213,765,754), A Quiet Place ($188,024,361), Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation ($165,261,099).
All of these films have the genre of action in common. The movie plots in which there is a villain creating a situation for a hero to solve is involved with the majority of these movies. Another thing in common is that these movies have all been adapted to having sequels and some are even franchises such as Avengers. These types of action movies could be popular due to famous stars being casted, CGI and special effects. Special effects also reduce the price it costs to produce these movies due to the explosions being unreal, whereas movies back in the day would cost fortunes to fake a real explosion. Due to the price costing less to produce the films, it means that highly known actors can be made more for their appearance due to the budget expansion.
Due to most of these films being sequels, or belonging to a franchise, it holds a promise to the fans that they will see more of the plot if they stay interested. Many famous actors are involved in the films such as Chris Pratt: in the Jurassic World movies and Chris Hemsworth who stars in Avengers: Infinity War. These actors are capable of attracting a wider audience.
In conclusion, most successful films have wide view ranges due to multiple factors: Actors drawing in certain audiences, impressive special effects, plots that draw you in and belong to a franchise for the audiences to stay involved.
1) Avengers: Infinity War
2) Black Panther
3) Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
4) Incredibles 2
5) Deadpool 2
6) Mission: Impossible – Fallout
7) Ant Man and The Wasp
8) Ready Player One
9) Hong Hai Xing Dong
10) Tang Ren Jie Tan An 2
Looking at this film, you can clearly tell that the film industry recently is mostly dominated by action films, taking up every single one of the top 10, with 4/10 of them being Marvel films. Looking at that, we can clearly tell that the public want mindless action films with familiar superhero’s. Art films and films that take years to make don’t get as much recognition, Marvel however, sticks to a formula of action, with comedy and a plot twist. With their massive budgets, these films always become big. However, you can also see that there are 2 Chinese films at the bottom of the list. These films are only shown in China; however, china is populated by over a billion people, meaning that a load of people get to see it. These films are usually used as some sort of propaganda, meaning that most of the public end up seeing it one way or another. And considering they’re starved for films over there, because Cina doesn’t get every film that America makes, they usually watch these films over and over because it’s all they’ve got. But as you can see by the list, America is clearly dominating the film market all over the world. Bollywood in India is another big film business, however, judging by the top ten list as of now, Bollywood isn’t as popular as America and China. Cultural films, art films and films just trying to send a message aren’t seen by as wide an audience anymore, this is because when people go to the cinema, they usually want to go to have a good time. A lot of those views at the box-office is children going to see a film, children wouldn’t care about the message of films such as ‘Love Simon’ or ‘The Shape of Water’. Action films appeal to a wider audience, meaning more opportunities to make money off the film, which is the main goal of company’s like Marvel, to make money.
Opinion on Spike Lee’s viewpoint Ayisha Audrain
Personally, I agree with Lee’s viewpoints because Django Unchained and Detroit are very serious and they do not have many positive or uplifting moments, this is because the directors had to default onto stereotypes instead of authentically showing the experiences of the people that they were representing. Lee’s films on the other hand, inject humor and levity into films that deal with otherwise heavy subject matter and he is able to do this because he has an innate understanding of what it is like to be black in America and he understands what it is like to be black anywhere and that is why his movies resonate with me.
In addition, Lee is able to make his characters seem three – dimensional and he never resorts to stereotyping in his movies and this shows us that he is using his experiences in order to represent the true experiences of African – Americans and Django Unchained and Detroit neglect to do this and they don’t properly represent black people.
For lovers of suspenseful and mysterious horror films, I would recommend the movie “The Boy”. There are minimal levels of gore and violence in this film but it is definitely thrilling and leaves you wanting to find out more as the story develops.
The plot is based around a babysitter, Greta, looking for work in a small town in the UK and is hired as a nanny for an elderly couple with a child. When she arrives to their home she is shown who she is to look after: a porcelain doll named Brahms. This doll, treated as a son by the couple, is said to have “rejected” many babysitters previously.
She is given a set of rules such as speaking loudly when reading to Brahms, leaving food out on the table, and setting up rat traps. Greta ignores these rules and does her own routine while looking after the house. Soon, strange things start happening such as Brahms moving locations, a child’s sobs are heard in the hallways, phone calls are cut off, and the doll seems to move on its own, vanishing and reappearing elsewhere in the house. After receiving a phone call in which a child’s voice urges her to follow the rules, she begins to try and treat the doll as a real boy, until Greta’s abusive ex-boyfriend shows up after months of looking for her and smashes the doll.
There is a big plot twist to the story which links to what we find out about the doll: Brahms was a real boy who died in a fire 20 years ago, and the couple replaced him with the doll. The plot twist is incredibly unexpected and it really makes the movie worth watching.
What makes a good film?
A lot of different micro elements are used when it comes to creating a successful film. This includes the editing, the sound, the cinematography. What other elements are involved with making an enjoyable film? Is it that it has a great story? Great characters? Is it that the cinematography is beautiful? Is it that each actor is giving an impeccable performance? Or maybe even the soundtrack to the film. The answer is yes to all of these.
If you take The Greatest Showman, a highly successful musical film, as an example, it includes all the elements needed. The soundtrack is amazingly popular along with the actors who played the characters. Even each of the performances were incredibly impressive.
All of these elements are important in making a great film, but let’s highlight the one thing that I personally think can make or break your movie: storytelling. Cinema is all about storytelling, and pretty much everything you put into your film, dialog, props, lighting, a song, or even an edit, communicates something to your audience. However, one highly important concept that I believe is one of the most important components within a decent movie — and that’s subtext.
Subtext can be used in just about anything in your film, whether it be in the script, the editing, or the cinematography. Essentially, subtext is all about the subtle messages you’re trying to convey to your audience without explicitly coming out and stating them. When you over-explain your complicated scenes, your story begins to feel too heavy and the audience may get bored or lost. Your audience is being told what’s going on instead of being allowed to explore the story and figure it out themselves. Implications are 100% necessary when it comes to films.
In The Greatest Showman, one of the famous scenes shows, rich and well known, Phillip holding hands with, poor and ill-treated “freak”, Anne. Although finally displaying their first ever on-screen affections for each other and developing their obvious chemistry that has been implied since they met, Phillip notices other rich people eyeing and whispering about them being together and immediately let’s go of her hand. These implications are not outright said to the audience but are rather fed to them through sub-text and creates a plot in the story line between Phillip and Anne.
In conclusion, all aspects to make a great movie are all equally as important. However without subtext and story telling, there is no excitement of figuring out what’s happening in comparison to being outright told. Therefore, I’d say subtext and implications is what makes a great movie.
Activity 2
Historically Significant films: Battleship Potemkin, The Seventh Samurai, Fitzcarraldo, Once Upon a Time in the West.
Art Films: A Bugs Life, the Shape of Water, the Wizard of Oz, Deadpool 2, Submarine, Alphaville, Toy Story.
Mainstream Films: The Breakfast Club, Love Simon, Manhattan.
Film plays a big role within setting the standards of society as the concept of a popular film eventually becomes reality due to the population who watched it wanting to imitate the admirable characters. The mainstream films tend to be based around common real life situations in order to relate to an audience and gain popularity. Art films are based around fantasy and commonly used as an escape from reality and require large levels of creativity for one to become popular. Historically Significant films are based around real life events that happened years ago. Most historically significant films have been modernised and are known to be inaccurate, as directors try to make the situation more appealing and interesting for the audience. The reason popular films make a big impact on society is because life imitates art, so eventually mainstream and semi-realistic storylines can become reality. This is also why movies with dark and triggering concepts, such as suicide, tend to get a lot of hate despite being popular. Film makers tend to romanticise certain events to make it entertaining for an audience rather than depressing, to increase popularity. Therefore, people worry that these films will influence society as they do.
My summer task was focused on the Film Logan (2017) directed by James Mangold. I especially enjoy the cinematography in this film, as it was also shot with black and white in mind, as it is paying homage to old westerns like ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ as well as ‘Shane’. Hugh Jackman gives a very real and grounded performance, especially for a superhero movie.
