Old Cinema Essay

As the years pass, films have become continually more inventive and have grown larger and larger in scale. We currently sit firmly in the digital age as CGI and animation take up a considerable amount of the film industry. But as films advance, modern directors still look back upon the great films and directors that have come before them. Many films use simple elements from the history of film such as close-ups from Sergio Leone or the soft romantic lighting of D. W. Griffith. But some of the greatest moments are more than just elements of style, they are scenes or camera angles that recreate films of the past. This quoting of old cinema is a very common theme in the modern film industry. While many of the greatest directors are known for doing …show more content…
But to better understand the references and ideas that Tarantino uses throughout his work and in his masterpiece Pulp Fiction, the first step is to understand all the trends of modern cinema. As cinema began to move into the modern age, ideas about genre, spectacle, and technology in film moved along with it. While comedy and action films were still popular, the rising genres of Sci-Fi and documentaries grew but for two different reasons. As computers began to be used more often in films, the ideas of bigger and better than life were common in Hollywood. Films could now take people to time periods where cameras did not exist or to places where humans have never seen. It was now the age of spectacle and the thrill of seeing unimaginable places was in. As the usages of CGI rose with each passing year, the documentary crept slowly behind big budget Hollywood. With the release and massive success of Fahrenheit 9/11, the ‘documentary’ style of filming has seen widespread use. The handheld camera was being used in cinema after many years of delicate gliding …show more content…
Focusing on the struggles they have had, the unknown male character comes to the realization that they should rob the diner they are sitting in. They draw their weapons and the title sequence begins to roll. With no connection to the previous scene, the film cuts to two men in suits conversing while driving in a car. As they drive to an unknown destination, you realize that they are talking about nothing that pertains to you. Their conversation has no plot development or points that are in any way valid towards the overall story of the movie. It almost seems like an outtake as they continue to talk as if they are not a part of this film at all. This immense usage of relatable but seemingly unscripted dialogue between characters became to be known as Tarantino-esque. As the car comes to a halt, the first plot development happens. They appear to be hitmen or gangsters as they grab guns from the back of the car. As they approach the building, their conversation switches as they begin to introduce new characters again in this pointless chat style. After confronting several men about a briefcase. The two hitmen proceed to kill the men in the room and as the guns flash, the film cuts once again to a completely new and unrelated scene with a title screen saying Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace’s