I watched Elizabeth on the TV the other night. Again. It must be the third or fourth time that I have seen the film. It never ceases to amaze me. It is the ultimate political thriller and still manages to rack up the tension even though you know she survives and thrives in the final [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Film Narrative'
Elizabeth – The Ultimate Political Thriller
March 18th, 2010 · No Comments · Film Narrative, Genre
Tags: cate blanchett·elizabeth·period drama·political thriller
Westerns – Part 5 – Rebirth
February 3rd, 2010 · No Comments · Cinematography, Film Criticism and Analysis, Film Directing, Film History, Film Narrative, Genre
The western as a genre was dead until 1989 but was revived by, of all things, a made for TV mini series directed by an Englishman. That series was Lonesome Dove, a four part drama, that rekindled an American love for the western. It was made for the small screen but it had epic ambitions [...]
Tags: clint eastwood·dances with wolves·gettysburg·glory·gods and generals·into the west·kevin costner·lonesome dove·open range·robert duvall·tommy lee jones·unforgiven·westerns
Westerns – Part 3 – Easterns
February 3rd, 2010 · No Comments · Cinematography, Film Authorship, Film Criticism and Analysis, Film Directing, Film History, Film Narrative, Film Sound, Genre
John Ford’s westerns have influenced so many directors throughout the world so it was not so much of a surprise when “westerns” started being made outside the Hollywood system.
The most famous mutation of the traditional western was the spaghetti western. These were films made largely in Europe (Spain being the most believable location to double [...]
Tags: fistful of dollars·kurosawa·once upon a time in the west·segio leone·sergio corbucci·spaghetti westerns·the great silence·the magnificent seven·westerns
Westerns – Part 1
February 1st, 2010 · No Comments · Film Criticism and Analysis, Film Narrative, Genre, Screenwriting
I haven’t really posted anything about genres so far so I thought I would start with one of my favourite genres – the western. Genres are a way of categorizing films that have a loose set of similar characteristics. They are inevitably vague with flexible boundaries but include sets of conventions that recur in many [...]
Tags: american dream·cowboys·Genre·Hollywood·John Ford·westerns
Brilliant Beginnings
December 18th, 2009 · No Comments · Cinematography, Film Directing, Film Editing, Film Narrative, Screenwriting
A film lives or dies by its beginning. If you haven’t hooked the audience within the first twenty minutes it is an uphill battle from then on. The first twenty minutes of a film are crucial to its success artistically and, no doubt, financially. A brilliant beginning can make a good film great or a [...]
Tags: aliens·apocalypse now·babel·beginnings·dawn of the dead·set up
Old Boy – Asian Extremism
July 25th, 2009 · No Comments · Film Authorship, Film Criticism and Analysis, Film Directing, Film Narrative, Genre
To pigeonhole it, I suppose you might call it a revenge thriller. You have to admire its bravado and confidence in the cinematography and acting.
More thoughts about Montage.
December 13th, 2008 · No Comments · Cinematography, Film Criticism and Analysis, Film Editing, Film Narrative
I know I’ve already done a post about Continuity and Montage editing some time ago but I’ve had some more thoughts recently that help explain and develop the idea of Montage. As you will know from my previous post, the idea of montage is to put seemingly unrelated pictures or scenes together that leaves the [...]
Tags: adverts·commericals·continuity·editing·film trailers·montage
Manhunter vs Red Dragon
June 19th, 2008 · No Comments · Film Criticism and Analysis, Film Directing, Film Narrative, Genre, Screenwriting
Many people have read the books by Thomas Harris that introduced the serial killer, Dr Hannibal Lecter, to an unsuspecting world. Who can forget Anthony Hopkin’s performance in Silence of the Lambs when that story was transferred to the silver screen.
However, his first appearance was several years earlier in a small but pivotal cameo role [...]
Tags: Anthony Hopkins·Brian Cox·CSI·forensic criminal investigations·Hannibal Lecter·Manhunter·Miami Vice·Michael Mann·Red Dragon·serial killer·Silence of the Lambs·Thomas Harris
The Best Epic film? (Part 2)
June 9th, 2008 · No Comments · Cinematography, Film Narrative, Film Special Effects, Genre
As you can see from the first part of this I am a fan of the old style epics which are usually historical stories with universal themes involving large scale conflict, and where no expense is spared, either on the costumes, settings or numbers of extras to fill the screen. However, apart from Gladiator and [...]
Tags: best epic film·braveheart·curse of the golden flower·dances with wolves·gladiator·hero·kagemusha·last of the mohicans·lord of the rings trilogy·ran·star wars·the matrix trilogy·troy
Atonement – Post Script
March 3rd, 2008 · No Comments · Film Criticism and Analysis, Film Directing, Film Narrative, Film Sound
Well, I did watch it again with my wife this time. It is a film that bears watching again and I appreciated much more the good points of the film. However, I still stand by my comments about the ending.
The beginning scenes give you all the clues to the film in a really cinematic way. [...]
Tags: Atonement·confession·Ian McKewan·Joe Wright·literary references