Film Essay

revolutionary film for the industry. By using experimental techniques in photography, sound, and editing along with varying the narrative delivery, Citizen Kane broke from Hollywood tradition. The areas that make this movie so remarkable are the use of depth of field, non-linear approach, and mobile camera filming. This film became a benchmark for the film industry by challenging the traditional Hollywood style. The field of depth technique was difficult for me to comprehend before viewing…

In Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 film, Vertigo, certain shots have a certain compositional symmetry and balance to them that helps draw our attention, as viewers, to individual characters, namely that of Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton, portrayed by Kim Novak (because she has these two roles, I will be referring to her actual name when making reference to her). Various balanced shots in the film use Novak as a literally dividing figure, creating a down-the-line symmetry. By looking at these shots one by…

Hollywood invented a new way of presenting films and Television couldn’t. “The Robe” directed by Henry Koster was on of the first to use Vistavision and Cinemascope to film movie; a film in widescreen and color engulfed audiences into the experience of film. Television’s limitations of size and sound at the…

“The Equalizer” directed by Antoine Fuqua is a unique Action- Thriller. It is unique in the way certain aspects of “Mise-en-scene” are used. This film is different from those you usual see in this genre because, in the beginning, it doesn’t jump right into the action. The Director takes his time showing us what type of characters the main characters are like, especially the lead character. He makes sure to show us that he is a meticulous and calculated person from the way he shaves his head, to…

“Demolition”, a stilted comedy drama written by Bryan Sipe, was conceived by an extraordinary director and showcased a no less extraordinary cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, and Chris Cooper. Despite these observations, it’s not an extraordinary movie, showing several problems that turn it into an unfortunate stumble in the filmography of the Quebecois Jean-Marc Valleé. The latter, who deserves all my respect for accomplished works such as “C.R.A.Z.Y”, “Café de Fleur”, “Dallas…

time of the creation of the first films, films have reflected the values society holds at the time of the films creation. The film Imitation of life is no different, in two films adaptations it is easy to see the society and ideals reflected in both movies. Both of the films are similar in the issues that are dealt with in them, but are depicted differently on screen because of the vast time difference between the two periods. In the 1934 Version of the film by Director John M. Stahl the…

successful 1993 American film that captures the interests, mind and heart of its viewers because of its astonishing, innovative, and unique storyline, and in which this requires clear mind when watching in order for it to decode and unfold its purpose and in order for it to discover how great it is. This was directed by Harold Ramis and written by Ramis himself and Danny Rubin, based on a story by Rubin .It was starring by Bill Murray, Andie Macdowell and Chris Elliott. The film garner intense…

One film after another follows a nearly identical premise, depicting a small group of people wandering around a dark, confined area (typically a house or forest) - haunted by a member of the supernatural community. The ghule in question varies based on the story, taking the form of ugly shadow figures, women draped in black, children, and dolls - all focused on causing chaos. That said, this is a genre that has shown little interest in evolving - evident in the recent release of films that…

has a very unique perspective on animated childrens films. She made up her own term called “pixarvolt”. The way she explains pixarvolt is “a new genre of animated feature films that use CGI technology instead of standard linear animation techniques and that surprisingly foreground the themes of revolution and transformation.”(Halberstam 29) In other words, she is identifying different ideas and theories within the typical animated children's film and grouping them together. It is a combination…

Forrest Gump is a film that defies the conventions of filmmaking, and in that sense it is difficult to do a typical analysis of the film. It’s not so much that the film is overly complicated or that reality is always in question or any art house tricks of that kind; it’s just that Gump doesn’t really follow any rules. We begin with the most obvious: the plot. This is a film that should have redefined the biopic. It is completely about the life and times of Forrest, the protagonist, in fact…