Assigned Films!
Who directed Do the Right Thing? What is the film about (character names and storyline)?
Spike Lee
The narrative follows the lives of people living in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood on the hottest day of the summer, including Mookie, his sister Jade and girlfriend Tina, Sal and his sons Pino and Vito, neighborhood personalities like Buggin' Out, Radio Raheem, Smiley, Mother Sister, Da Mayor, and many others. Tensions rise as Buggin' Out, Radio Raheem, and Smiley confront Sal about the fact that there are no black people in the pictures on the pizzeria's walls, leading to the tragic death of Radio Raheem, and the ensuing destruction of Sal's pizzeria.
Line-based polygonal drawings and the foundation of all 3-D computer animation.
Wireframes
What film led to the demise of the director driven cinema of the 1970s?
Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate
It increased the overall percentage of Danish films produced: only made up 8% of total box office in 1995, but by 1999 it was up to to 28%.
What is the Taiwanese New Wave? When and how did it arise? Who were its major contributors? Name one film in this movement.
Emerged in Taiwan in 1980s-90s after a loosening of Taiwanese political oppression (first native-born Taiwanese president elected in 1988). They rejected the melodrama and kung-fu action films typical of PRC and Taiwanese cinema before this point, instead featuring down to earth, honest depictions of important issues in contemporary Taiwan.
Main contributors: Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao-hsien
City of Sadness, Taipei Story, a Brighter Summer Day, Yi Yi: a One and a Two
Who directed The Celebration? What is the film about (character names and storyline)? What movement is this film a part of?
Thomas Vinterberg
An extended family comes together at the family-run hotel to celebrate the 60th birthday of the family patriarch, Helge. The first-born son, Christian, however, has other plans, revealing his father sexually abused he and his sister, Linda, who committed suicide recently. Brother and sister Helene and Michael are hesitant to help Christian, or even actively work against him, helping to throw him out of the party several times. In the end, Christian is given Linda's suicide letter by Helene, who had found it in her room earlier in the evening. Helge leaves his own party, disgraced and ostracized by his own family.
Dogme 95
The process by which one image gradually transforms into another.
What film clip did we watch in class to demonstrate this? (Describe it if you can't remember the name)
Morphing
Willow
What filmmaker pushed for the switch from analog film cameras to digital cameras? What film did he/she shoot entirely on HD? What camera was it shot with?
George Lucas
The Attack of the Clones
Sony F-900
What are churros films? Why did this genre exist? Why are they called this?
Hollywood regained its foothold on Latin American markets, so feature film production in Mexico diminished very quickly over the course of a few years (136 feat/year in 1958 to 71 feat/year in 1961). However, they still had to employ the talent and crew employed in the industry, since they were part of unions and couldn't be fired. So, the length of production was halved (5 weeks to 3 weeks) and relied heavily on formulas.
They are called churros because, like the pastry dessert, they were rapidly made, quickly forgotten, and nearly identical to one another, thus not very memorable. Audiences invented the term.
How many generations are there considered to be in Chinese cinema? What are they, and when did they occur?
6 generations, or 7 if you count the digital gen.
First Generation - the pioneers
Second Generation - after May 4th movement, emerging in 30s
Third Generation - After Second Sino-Japanese War and Occupation, emerging in 50s
Fourth Generation - Filmmakers who studied film in 50s before the Cultural Revolution but did not enter industry until 70s
Fifth Generation - Filmmakers who graduated from Beijing Film Academy in 1980s
Sixth Generation - Filmmakers who emerged after Tiananmen square occurred, 1990s
Digital Generation - 2000s/now
Who directed Y Tu Mamá También? What is the film about (character names and storyline)? What movement is this film a part of? For what other films is this filmmaker known?
Alfonso Cuarón
Two best friends, Julio and Tenoch, convince a beautiful older woman, Luisa, to go on a road trip with them to the potentially fictitious "Boca de Cielo" beach. The friends' relationship is tested as Luisa begins affairs with each of them, ultimately bringing the boys together in a sexual encounter.
Part of Nuevo Cinema Mexicano (New Mexican Cinema).
He is also known for Gravity, Roma, and a Harry Potter film (Prisoner of Azkaban).
What is the name of the special effects used to create the effect of Neo doing a backbend while being fired by bullets in The Matrix? How is the effect achieved?
Flow-mo or bullet time photography.
A battery of still cameras are placed along the path of the camera movement, with the movement photographed as sequential stills. The stills are scanned, composited with the appropriate background, and put into a time sequence.
What is the teenpix film? What director was known for making work in this genre? Give an example of one. Why was this genre created?
A teenpix film is aimed at a teenager audience and falling within the PG-13 rating.
John Hughes
Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Some Kind of Wonderful
This genre emerged after the MPAA system added a new category to their list of ratings (PG-13). They needed a category between PG and R, so that films with violence, gore, etc. like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, or Gremlins, wouldn't receive a PG rating.
Who is considered the creator of the first black African film? Where is he from? What is the title of the film? What are some other films he has directed?
Ousmane Sembène, from Senegal
Barom Sarret ("The Wagoner") in 193, a short film.
La noire de... (Black Girl), Xala, Ceddo, Moolade
What is Third Cinema? How is it defined against First and Second Cinemas? What nations practice Third Cinema? Name one film and filmmaker in this movement.
Third cinema works counter to the mainstream, the institution, the spectacle, the neocolonial; not a movement, but a way of thinking, an attitude towards filmmaking practice and politics; often low budget
1st cinema: free world of Western democracy OR conventional Hollywood narrative, 2nd cinema: socialist world of communist countries OR auteurist cinema of personal expression, 3rd cinema: developing nations OR an alternative to 1st and 2nd cinemas.
Examples of nations practicing third cinema: India, all African nations, Latin American countires
Examples of filmmakers who practice it: Ousmane Sembene (Senegal), Abderrahmane Sissako (Mauritania), Alejandro Inarritu and Alfonso Cuaron (Mexico), Nelson Pereira dos Santos (Brazil) etc.
Examples of films: Simon of the Desert, Roma, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Amores Perros, Vidas Secas, Pather Panchali, Black Girl, Timbuktu
Who directed Raise the Red Lantern? What is the film about (character names and storyline)? What movement is this film a part of? For what other films is this filmmaker known? Describe his/her background.
Zhang Yimou
Set in 1920s during the warlord era, it follows a young woman, Songlian, who must leave home after her father dies to marry a wealthy man, Chen. She becomes the fourth mistress of Chen, psychologically battling the other mistresses, especially 3rd Meishan and 2nd Zhuoyun. After being caught "pretending" to be pregnant, she is rejected by Chen, and lashes out at her servant Yan'er, then inadvertently at Meishan, leading to her death. In the end, Songlian wanders the compound, mentally unhinged after the traumatic experience of witnessing Meishan's murder.
Yimou is part of the fifth generation of Chinese filmmakers.
Red Sorghum, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, The Flowers of War, The Great Wall
Yimou had to prove himself because of his family background (some family members fought for KMT rather than communist party), participating in the Cultural Revolution, then attending the Beijing Film Academy when it reopened. Shortly thereafter he made his first film, Red Sorghum.
What is particle animation software?
Name one film that uses it.
A type of procedural animation in which objects simulate the processes of natural growth, including elements of randomness, recursion, and accident.
Storm Troopers, Twister
What is ILM? What does it stand for? Who created it? Why is it significant? What are some major milestones they set in the early years of its formation?
Industrial Light and Magic, established by George Lucas.
They were forerunner in creating CGI effects in films from the 1970s (even to the present).
They created the the special effects in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), developed the Go-Motion animation system, created the Genesis Effect, first fully CGI sequence for Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982), and created the first fully CGI character, a stained glass knight, in Young Sherlock (1985).
What Hong Kong New Wave figure created films in a new genre called "heroic bloodshed"? What is this genre like? What is the first film he/she made in this genre? Describe his/her background.
John Woo
Revolved around stylized and violent action sequences, with underlying dramatic themes like brotherhood, duty, honor, redemption, etc.
First film in the genre: A Better Tomorrow; we watched Hard Boiled in class.
He fled to Hong Kong with family when he was 5. He entered the film industry as an script supervisor at Cathay, then an A.D. at Shaw Studios. His breakout success was A Better Tomorrow, defining the genre for which he became known. Went to Hollywood in the 1990s, directing a series of (mostly) disappointing action films (The Killer, Hard Target, Broken Arrow, Mission Impossible 2). He returned to Hong Kong in the 2000s, creating Red Cliff and The Crossing.
What is Parallel Cinema? How did it arise? Who were its major contributors? Name one film in this movement. How did the movement change over time?
Infrastructure had to be put in place to make it possible: 1951: Central Board of Film Censors is established; 1960: Film Finance Corporation; 1961: Film Institute of India in Pune; 1964: National Film Archive.
Emerged as a parallel to more commercial cinemas: committed to socio-political commentary, dedicated to the everyday realities of everyday people, and the rejection of a hyperstylized cinema.
Figures include: Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak, Tapan Sinah, Girish Karnad, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shyam Benegal
Ray's Pather Panchali is an excellent example.
Over time, there was more censorship of its politically engaging subjects, the lack of financially lucrative distribution routes, an overall shift in the industry towards a “middle cinema”
Who directed Monsoon Wedding? What is the film about (character names and storyline)? What significant genre is this film a part of? For what other films is this filmmaker known? Describe his/her background.
Mira Nair
The film is about the wedding ceremony of Aditi to Hemant Rai. It is an ensemble narrative, following the stories of Aditi and her ex-lover Vikram; Aditi's parents and brother, Lalit, Pimmi, and Varun; cousin Rai and her traumatic past with Uncle Tej; the developing romance between Ayesha and Rahul; and the developing romance between wedding planner P.K. Dubey and Alice.
Bollywood Wedding genre about a joint bourgeois family.
Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala, Vanity Fair, Queen of Katwe
Nair grew up in India but went to Harvard University for college. She made her first film Salaam Bombay! after developing a writing collaboration with college friend Sooni Taraporevala. She continued to make independent features, and found critical success with Monsoon Wedding, which won her the Golden Lion award (first woman to do so).
This device was invented by Phil Tippett and used to create some of the movement of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. What is it called, and how does it work?
Digital Input Device (DID) - blends stop-motion and computer animation technologies by connecting an armature with electronic sensors at the pivot points (joints) that could be captured and applied to a digital wireframe model.
Describe the increasing importance of advertisement on the cinema of the 1980s and 90s. How did it affect the content within a film? How did it affect the style/formalism of the film? Describe an example of a film that reflects this.
More money was spent on advertising, more than tripling from $4.3 million in 1980 to $14 million in 1993.
New forms of advertising were also created - product placement, brand partnership, and tie-in deals. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial had product placement of Reeses' Pieces.
There were formal changes as well: instant capture of audiences attention, instant diversion of attention, frequent change of camera angles, more rapid editing (average shot length dropping from 10 to 6 seconds), colorful and exaggerated lighting for strong visual impact, and catchy soundtracks with greater range and impact.
The High Concept film also emerged from two producers who had a background in advertising (Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson), affecting what types of stories were created/green-lit.
Top Gun
What effect did the partition have on Indian cinema? What types of films were produced during this period (genres)? What film from this period (the 50s) is considered the Gone with the Wind of India? What performer/director played an idealistic common man in comedies (similar to Chaplin's Tramp)?
After the partition, the Bengali-language market was cut in half (going to Pakistan), so production became more geared toward Hindi-language films.
Major genres were historical, mythological, and devotional, and social problem films.
Mother India is the corollary, filmed in Technicolor and with spectacular sequences.
Raj Kapoor was the comedian performer/director.
What is the Dogme 95 movement? How did it arise? Who were its major contributors? What was the list of rules called? And what were the rules? Name one film in this movement. How did the movement change over time?
Began with Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Kristian Levring, and Soren Kragh-Jacobsen. They were fed up with the “auteurism” of the new wave cinema on the one hand and the increasingly complex and over-wrought technology of the Hollywood blockbuster on the other. They came up with a list of rules designed to send filmmakers back to the basics, known as the Vow of Chastity.
The Vow of Chastity rules:
Shooting must be done on location
The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa
The camera must be hand-held
The film must be in colour without special lighting, optical work and filters are forbidden
The film must not contain superficial action
Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden
Genre movies are not acceptable
The film format must be Academy 35mm
The director must not be credited
The Celebration, julien donkey-boy, The Idiots, Italian for Beginners
Initially perceived as a marketing gimmick to promote Danish films, but ended up being a renaissance. Quickly trickled out to become an international movement, with other countries around the world producing their own Dogme 95 films. Part of the reason why: the success of The Celebration (Jury Prize at Cannes film festival) and Italian for Beginners (financially successful). Helped revamp the Danish film industry as a whole, increasing the percentage of the box office made up by Danish films (from 8% to 28% in under 5 years).