Rarely has a film impacted an audience and held the test of time as the film Gone with the Wind. I have always been curious if director, Victor Fleming and producer, David O. Selznick and screenplay writer, Sidney Howard knew what they were creating a masterpiece and how this film would have such an enormous impact on audiences for years to come. Interestingly enough there were some who thought the film should not be made, as Irving Thalberg said to Louis B. Meyer in 1936, “Forget it Louis, no Civil War picture ever made a nickel” (Ten Films that Shook the World). This romantic melodrama was released in January, 1940, yet it was at the 1939 Academy Awards that Gone with the Wind was nominated for thirteen awards, the eight awards that were won were Best Picture, Director, Actress, Supporting Actress, Screenplay, Color Cinematography, Art Direction, and Editing (Ten Films that Shook the World). ”If the total income for Gone with the Wind were to be adjusted for inflation, it would be considered the most successful of all time” (Ten Films that Shook the World). When you think of “Gone with the Wind” from a film criticism standpoint, it’s hard to judge it by the Auteur Theory, which states that the director is supreme overlord of a films artistic merit because in the case of Gone with the Wind, Fleming takes a back seat to Selznick. The film chronicles the grandeur and splendor of the Old South, how it crumbles during the Civil War and the New South during reconstruction. The characters are basically simple folk living a simple life until their world is shattered by the Civil War and this devastation creates a new world, one which will require courage and resilience to survive. Selznick genius in the aspects of cinematography lighting, sound, costumes and societal impact and genre…
Movies have been around since Thomas Edison’s invention of the Kinetoscope in 1894. The Kinetoscope, or peep show, was a tall, wooden box that allowed a person to look inside and see moving images. Viewing images was made possible by the film moving past a shutter over a light source. The Kinetoscope, however, had a two major flaws: the images viewed were jerky and didn’t move smoothly, and the viewing time for one show was only twenty seconds. Improvements to the Kinetoscope allowed it to hold more film and present at least a full minute of animation. Many early films had the theme of popular culture: dancers, performances, or reenactments of historical events.…
In the Cold War era of communist witch hunts, and blacklisting, Hollywood executives had even more pressing worries: the imminent death of the studio system and the meteoric rise of television, which subsequently led to a drastic decline in ticket sales. To combat the drop in profits, the studios quickly sought to attract moviegoers—particularly families—from the living room by enhancing and exploiting their medium's technological advantages, namely its relatively large image size and its color format. Not coincidentally, the 1950s were the first decade of drive-in movie theaters, stereo sound, wide-screen formats, and epics shot in glossy color, and a full gamut of movie such as 3-D film technology.…
Advances in technology has affected the ways in which movies are produced, distributed, and exhibited. Today we can arrizcs, watch, rent or purchase just about any major/blockbuster film through hand-held devices, iTunes…
The way films are created and pieced together has progressed greatly over the past century, where before 1910 there was little use of film techniques such as special effects, animation, complex transition sequences and many more. However the introduction of film techniques have helped films gain a sense of genre and establishment as they were used to create specific intensities set out by the director; this is where roles corresponding to certain areas were introduced such as cinematographers, production designers and lighting directors. A classic example of a well-known director would be Alfred Hitchcock (1899 – 1980) who is famous for creating suspense films like The Birds or Psycho. I am mentioning him as he had revolutionised the way films…
The history of film spans from the early part of the nineteenth century. Motion pictures developed gradually from carnival novelty to one of the most important tools of communication and entertainment. Many of the films in the 20th century were silent. In the silent era of film, marrying the image with sound was not possible for the inventors and producers. For the first thirty years of the history of film, they were silent, and sometimes were accompanied by live musicians and sometimes sound effect and commentary were spoken by the showman. In the earliest silent films the actors were responsible for method acting or pantomime to portray their feelings to the audience. This in itself took much talent from the actors and actresses to help the audience feel the total impact of the movie.…
"Full Cast and Crew for All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020629/ (accessed March 8, 2013).…
Each decade brought with it lighter and easier to use camera equipment, as well as film stock which could be used in a wider variety of lighting conditions. This made films easier to make, and the subjects of documentary widened.…
After I have watched "Mad Hot Ballroom" and "Supersize me", I can see the different between direct cinema and cinema verite . Observational mode is more like direct cinema; it is no narration, only a small amount of text to set the time, location, some context of the scene and unexpected action of characters, and even a not predictable ending for filmmaker. Participatory mode makes with Cinema Verite . Filmmakers mostly are one of the characters in the film and have interaction with the film. It contains a narrator, plots and a problem to solve.…
This essay will focus on the current representation of women and men in the classical Holly Wood western film High Noon, focusing on the gender roles of each character and the stereotypical roles that are given.…
Filmmakers were forced to adapt, changing the industry. By the Second World War, the film industry cooperated with the government, to gain support towards the war effort. Cinema began to have a great cultural impact, becoming the mass medium for consumption of information and ideas. This influence occurred slowly and sublimely, deeply rooted and enduring in society. Following the Great Depression and World War Two, the film industry became lucrative before the advent of the home television during the late 1940s. Studios fought for the declining viewing audiences that still frequented the theater, exploiting the advantages of viewing in color on a larger screen as opposed to black and white on a smaller television screen. By the 1950s, fifty percent of American feature films were made in color. The…
The biggest problem humans have been having since the dawn of time is, 'how do we entertain ourselves? '. One would assume it began with fire, something that aroused the eyes and entertained the mind.Though fire may have been the beginning, centuries upon centuries later a much more highly intelligent form of entertainment revolutionized the world, motion pictures. In the dog eat dog world of entertainment Film reigns alpha dog. Film has some of the biggest influence on the world around us. It shapes our adolescence, teaching foreign things to the young developing mind. Cinema has spurred riots, love, and murder. So the question is, whats are these powerful pieces of art?…
This short drama film follows two protagonists and their struggles with bullying, social media and trust. The “popular” girl Abby Hull is beautiful, seemingly confident and can be very mean when she wants to be. Although she has no trouble being a bully in the really world, Abby prefers to do it behind the protection of her computer. Abby picks on numerous girls over social media because of dark issues that reside inside her due to her everyday struggle with her home life. Abby has no control at her house so she feels the need to make others lower than her so she can feel more powerful. When Abby begins to feel more than ever helpless with her home issues she picks a new victim, Erin Geller. Erin is almost the opposite of Abby as she is very self-conscious and is a daily victim of bullying. Because Erin is very critical of herself and is “different “she proves to be the perfect target for Abby to pick on. Abby begins her quest to make Erin’s confidence drop by commenting, messaging and posting awful things on Erin’s profile. After numerous cyber-attacks by Abby, Erin finally decides that enough is enough and takes action.…
When film started to become more prevalent as a mass medium, it was a way to capture and express the world. Initially, the film industry was captivated by the relatively quiet and simple nature of the world around them, but slowly it produced a window into spectacle and wonder that captured audiences. Directors also used film to push their thoughts and perceptions about the world into their films, and over time, film became a mirror reflecting on the world it was formed in once you look deeper than the surface level enchantment. At the same time, events taking place in the world were also influencing the types of films being made. At no time was this more evident…
The film purchase director has 3 subordinates which are under his command therefore the span of control is 3.…