Essay- War of the Worlds
How does the director Steven Spielberg, use film techniques to convey one or more themes in his film, War of the Worlds?
Steven Spielberg utilizes many techniques, in his film, War of the Worlds, including camera work, actors and sound effects to convey various themes such as family relationships. An initial scene, ‘Eve of the War’, establishes the relationships amongst the family especially around the central character Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) which are built upon in ‘Coming of the Invaders’. ‘Worst of Man’ is a turning point in the story where Ray’s character is developed to reveal the love for his children. In ‘The Fight Begins’, Spielberg uses sound-effects to convey the development in Robbie’s relationship with Ray. ‘Underfoot’ and ‘Earth Under Them’, are some of the closing scenes where the extent of Ray’s relationship with Rachel Ferrier (Dakota Fanning) is realized and his love his emphasized, further developing this theme.
‘Eve of the War’ is one of the first scenes in the film where various camera angles and dialogue are used to establish relationships within the family. The relationship between of Mary-Anne (Miranda Otto) and Ray Ferrier in ‘Eve of the War’ is cleverly shown by using a low angle shot to look up at Mary-Anne while she talks down at Ray imparting that she is the superior in their relationship and also more competent. However the key relationship is established in ‘Coming of the Invaders’, between Robbie and Ray when they play catch. As the argument between them heats up, they throw the ball harder at one another until Ray breaks the window by throwing a ball at it showing the tension between them. Through Robbie’s dialogue, Ray’s incompetence as a father is emphasized as “[he does not] pay for [schooling], Tim does”. Robbie’s direct statement to Ray, “You’re an asshole” amplifies how unscrupulous and unusual this father-son relationship is. Ray’s bond with his daughter, Rachel Ferrier (Dakota Fanning) shows how irresponsible he is and
Steven Spielberg utilizes many techniques, in his film, War of the Worlds, including camera work, actors and sound effects to convey various themes such as family relationships. An initial scene, ‘Eve of the War’, establishes the relationships amongst the family especially around the central character Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) which are built upon in ‘Coming of the Invaders’. ‘Worst of Man’ is a turning point in the story where Ray’s character is developed to reveal the love for his children. In ‘The Fight Begins’, Spielberg uses sound-effects to convey the development in Robbie’s relationship with Ray. ‘Underfoot’ and ‘Earth Under Them’, are some of the closing scenes where the extent of Ray’s relationship with Rachel Ferrier (Dakota Fanning) is realized and his love his emphasized, further developing this theme.
‘Eve of the War’ is one of the first scenes in the film where various camera angles and dialogue are used to establish relationships within the family. The relationship between of Mary-Anne (Miranda Otto) and Ray Ferrier in ‘Eve of the War’ is cleverly shown by using a low angle shot to look up at Mary-Anne while she talks down at Ray imparting that she is the superior in their relationship and also more competent. However the key relationship is established in ‘Coming of the Invaders’, between Robbie and Ray when they play catch. As the argument between them heats up, they throw the ball harder at one another until Ray breaks the window by throwing a ball at it showing the tension between them. Through Robbie’s dialogue, Ray’s incompetence as a father is emphasized as “[he does not] pay for [schooling], Tim does”. Robbie’s direct statement to Ray, “You’re an asshole” amplifies how unscrupulous and unusual this father-son relationship is. Ray’s bond with his daughter, Rachel Ferrier (Dakota Fanning) shows how irresponsible he is and