Wednesday, 19 February 2014

Casablanca vs Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Casablanca

Mr. and Mrs. Smith


ü   Narrative
Narrative Structure:
l   Linear and chronological
l   Most accessible to audiences by following the story line.
Narrative Element:
l   At the beginning, it establish the background of the story, it was inside Casablanca, a city which was not yet invade by Germen army, there are a nightclub that held by Rick, and he is fall in love with a pretty women.
l   Rick and Liza was fall in love, however, there are wars and Rick and Liza promise to leave together. Nevertheless, Liza was leave alone and do not keep the promise, that makes Rick very depress.
l   The turning point was Liza was back to Casablanca and meet Rick, Rick was so angry about the leaving of Liza and sad about Liza already has a husband.
l   While he knew the painful embarrassment of Liza, at last, he restore the equilibrium, he decided to help Liza and her husband Victor escape the riots, and he stay in Casablanca.
Ø   Using third person narrative, from the outside angel.


ü   Narrative
Narrative Structure:
l   Using flash back to remind where John and Jane met.
l   It was just a little part of the scene at the beginning, so do not bring a shock effect.
Narrative Element:
l   Opening scene was John and Jane were meeting a professional of marriage, and then flash back to where they met and married in a quick speed, let audiences knowing the relationships between them but not clear about their career.
l   While audiences realize the career of John and Jane, they were both killer, then the turning point came, in a mission, John and Jane noticed that that their lover was a professional killer, this began their fight and tried to kill each other by using various types of methods.
l   While they know they still love each other and conspiracy behind, they tried to restore the problem and fight for survival of both of them.
l   At last, they won the fight and then a new equilibrium built, they live happily with trust and honesty.
Ø   Using the third person narrative, the audiences will know both of the character are the killers.
ü   Theme
l   Very romantic and poignant love story
l   The male character was the superhero.
l   There are conflicts in the war, and also conflicts between twin main character, Rick and Liza.
l   Do not have a line between good and evil, but the hero can do everything for love
l   It was an success at last, he finally send Liza and her husband to America
l   Rick is fail on his love relationship, but success in save the woman he loved
ü   Theme
l   Action movies with romance inside the story
l   Both of the male and female characters, are the hero.
l   There are a lot of conflicts between Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and also killers and their companies
l   A clear line separate two groups of people,
l   Mr. and Mrs. Smith het a great success fight against the killer companies.
l   There are a self – discovery through their fighting, they realize that they love each other a lot.
l   Bring a message out: communication is important in   a relationship, or else it would like a bomb and explode in one day.
ü   Content
l   It was about war and historical events
l   The love scenes were not undisguised, it was very conservative, and .even they were kissing in a dark atmosphere.
l   Do not have meaningless violence, the war was the background of the story was very important.
ü   Content
l   It was about action and romantic movie.
l   There are a lot of love scenes, they are very open, many scenes are kissing to show their passion.
l   Some sex scenes was shown in the movie, both of them were not nude, but the scenes are very hot and outrageous to show their enthusiastic
l   It was not a controversial topic, but it exaggerate the conflicts between a pair of couple.
ü   Characters
l   The male character is the hero, Rick restore the equilibrium, he help Lisa and his husband board on plane escape to America.
l   He was very brave and clever, he didn’t fear of Renalt and the police.
l   The female was the princess, she was helpless while she and her husband cannot escape from Casablanca.
l   The helper was the Renalt, although Rick shoot the police, he didn’t arrest him and let him go.
ü   Characters
l   Different from the classic Hollywood movie, the female character was not the victim, Mrs. Smith is also a hero too, she and Mr. Smith are very brave and fearless in the serious situation
l   The helper in the movie, which was the friend of Mr. Smith, he was not helping to restore the equilibrium, he is making some conflicts between the couple, he is enlarging the conflicts.
l   In some ways, he was also a donor, he gave some advices to Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
ü   Music
Ø   Using a lot of diegetic sound
l   E.g. German army sang the national anthem
l   The French sang the La Marseillaise to against the invasion of the German
l   Using the songs to represent the fight on the war
l   Character’s dialogue
l   Music create by instruments in the opening scene.
Ø   Non diegetic sound
l   The early scene, gun shooting was added, when a man fall on the ground
Thus it use just a little non- diegetic sound
ü   Music
Ø   Diegetic Sound
l   A lot of gun shooting scene, so there are sound about shooting in many scenes.
l   There are a fighting on the highway, there are a lot of crashing with cars, they are all the sound inside the movie.
Ø   Non – Diegetic Sound
l   At the beginning, John and Jane was attracted to each other, there are a part of dancing, the background music was inside the scene
l   At the middle part of the movie, Mr. and Mrs. Smith are dancing tango, the music was insert through editing.




ü   Principle interest of the film producers
l   Generate money, the war and romantic film are very popular at that time.
l   The beautiful women fall in love with a hero was the most classic and generic topic at that time.
ü   Principle interest of the film producers
l   Efficiency economics, this was a very commercial movie
l   There are action scenes, love scenes, and famous Hollywood superstar. To support this movie.
l   Guarantee this movie will get a good result
l   A lot of high technology and special effects enrich the movie.
ü   Others
Places:
l   Most of the time was in the studio, in the nightclub called Café Américain
l   Some outdoors camera shooting while there are
ü   Others
Places:
l   It was in a real apartment, this was the house of Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s house.
l    At the last scene, there are some a gun shooting scene, it is in the stdio because it is in a large area

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

Stardom research project - Marlon Brando



Opinions to Marlon Brando
-  Stella Adler: I taught Marlon nothing.  I opened up possibilities of thinking, feeling, experiencing, and as I opened those doors, he walked right through.” 

What kind of role did he play?
- Most of them are appeared in crime movie.
- Handsome guy with a sense of rebel, like fighting a lot

1   Who did they work with? Are they associated with any studio/director etc?
      - He was a full-fledged actor on Broadway before the Studio opened in 1947.
      - He was utterly skeptical about the category of method acting.
      - Brandos schooling as an actor in a year (1943-1944), at the New School for Social Research where he took classes with Stella Adler, daughter of the actor Jacob Adler
      - Sometime he will go to the Actors Studio in Saturday Morning
       
        


      What awards did they win?
      - He won 33 winning awards and 22 nominations, nominates the Oscar for 8 years and won two times.
      - Significant awards: 
  •      1973 and 1955 won the Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Actor by The Godfather and On the Waterfront.
  •      Won three times BAFTA Film Awards by On the Waterfront, Julius Caesar and Viva Zapata!
  •      1955, he won the Oscar Best Actor Award by the On the Waterfront, and in 1973, he won the Oscar by the Godfather.
  •       In 1972, he won the KCFCC Best Actor Awards by the Godfather.

3.    What are their most memorable performances?
 - There are a Broadway show, A Streetcar Named Desire catapulted the 23-year old to worldwide fame.  Huge success    in Broadway
 - Brandos first Hollywood role, as a paraplegic veteran in Stanley Kramers low-budget social
problem picture, The Men (1950) 
-     - The Godfather was the turning point and let him back to top ten and won his second Oscar Award. The Godfather become a model of patriarchy, Brando is as much cultural icon as actor. 
      - On the Waterfront also very impress by the audiences, Because it is defining an ideal of failure and redemption in On The Waterfront.  

        
   



      What notable information do you know about their real lives?
      - Brando had a number of affairs with women, and was married twice - to Anna Kashfi (1957) and Movita Castenada (1960) - to legitimate his children.  
      - He also have a romantic relationship with Tahitian Tarita Teriipaia, and he had two children     with her, and adopted two of her other children. He had three children in his seventies with Maria Ruiz. 
      - Brando was notorious for his ability to attract women and preserve their loyalty over time, and also for his inability to be loyal to them.  But he always supported his children, those he adopted as well as those who were his by blood.
      - Social life:
  • He has an early promoter of women’s suffrage
  • Black civil rights
  • protections for migrant laborers

Brando was moved by the unjust treatment of North American Indians, in 1973, he refused the Academy Award  to protest Hollywood’s negative stereotyping of Indians, he had been active on their in two decades and was planning to held an agressive Indian film project. 
He responded by making his own film with a 16-millimeter camera about the starving Bihari Children in India.--  Brando considered himself a global citizen, so he always care about the issue all over the world, especially the different nationality.
    
     In what way do their role cross over from their real lives?
 -     - In the Wild One, Marlon Brando play Johnny Strabler. The character is quite rebel and desire for justice. It was quite similar with Marlon when he was young, he was kind of rebel but on the other hand he concern the society so much.
      E.G. Protect the Black movement 

Anything else?
- Marlon Brando had dancing lessons with Katherine Dunham when he was young actor in Manthattan, and he had a native flexibility, described as a panther.
- He had a broad taste, he love to collect books about religion and philosophy, politics and histories, and language like French and Spanish.

Video Clip: 

Top 10 Marlon Brando Performances