Alfred Stieglitz

Wong Kar Wai is probably the most innovative and avant-garde director to come out of Hong Kong. As part of the second New Wave of Hong Kong cinema, Wai moved far away from the traditional, Jackie Chan and Shaw Brothers style of films, which focused on action, and explored more substantial themes, icnluding human psyche, politics and the social conditions in Hong Kong. His aesthetics are quite similar with Jean-Luc Godard and the French Wave, in general, particularly because he also took apart…

English Assignment 1 Romeo and Juliet Olwethu Masiza 16013255 Question 2 : Filmic devices This essay will discuss the different filmic devices in Romeo and Juliet, namely extreme close-up; low angle shot; tilt; zoom and flashback, and why Baz Luhrmann has chosen to use each one of these filmic devices. Luhrmann has chosen to use all these different camera shots so that he creates a meaningful scene full of mixed emotions. Extreme close up is when the camera zooms in very closely…

Throughout the film industry, Alfred Hitchcock’s film Psycho has revolutionized the horror genre with his ways of merging the obvious with the mysterious. Alfred Hitchcock, ‘Master of Suspense,’ is known for his filming techniques which made his film stand out compared to other horror films during his period. Hitchcock used these techniques throughout the film Psycho to allow the viewers to get an insight of what is happening in the film. One of the most important scenes, where Hitchcock used…

Orson Welles’ first film, “Citizen Kane,” richly realizes the full potential of excellent craftsmanship. Every perceivable element of cinema is expertly utilized to drive the story, themes and tones that “Citizen Kane” present. This is especially apparent in the scene that follows Susan leaving Kane. This scene’s manipulation of mise-en-scène, editing and sound bring together all of Welles’ ideas and drive them beyond the finish line. Mise en scène is what appears in the frame, what the viewer…

Spring, summer, fall, winter and spring is one of the representative movie of director Kim Ki Duk. I appreciate what he had done in this movie and I think the movie spring, summer, fall, winter and string is a good movie. The reason why I have that thought is because director Kim Ki Duk can produce the movie with deep insight in a short period and limited budget. Furthermore, the movie can bring out the Buddhist core value, for example, the concept of reincarnate, karma etc. In the first scene…

Tim Burton, a person who started out as a kid fascinated by other famous directors and then became one himself. What did he do to become such a famous director? He is known for his disturbing and yet child-like movies, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Edward Scissorhands. Everyone of all ages can be able to enjoy his movie. Tim Burton’s style is kid-friendly at first, but then it takes a disturbing and twisted turn. One of Burton's cinematic technique he uses is…

Week 11 French New Wave Breathless 90 mins, 1960, French Directed By: Jean-Luc Godard Written By: Jean-Luc Godard Synopsis: Paying homage to the numerous crime thrillers of Hollywood’s Golden era, this film charts the relationship between Michel, a stylish but unpredictable criminal, and his estranged American girlfriend. Again, the notion of escapism through the cinema is key to this most famous of the new wave pictures. Essential Readings: Hart Cohen, Juan Francisco Salazar and Iqbal Barkat.…

“Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown” (Film “Chinatown”, Roman Polanski) The brilliant film “Chinatown” has longstanding entered the lists of the greatest films of the twentieth century. This statement applies, of course, to the lists compiled by the American film critics. It is considered that the film is made in the style of Noir, but, first of all, it felt not Noir but outstanding so-called Hollywood style. At least I feel the author’s handwriting Roman Polanski - Polanski, whom we know from his…

In a movie do you wonder why a character is so close to the camera, or why it started raining out of nowhere ? The reason why is because the director is using cinematic effects. In the movie White Chicks, the director, Keenen Ivory Wayans, used many different cinematic effects. Wayans like to use long shot and close up shots in this movie, but also low and eye level angles. Wayans used different kinds of lightings like; high-key, neutral, front, bottom, and low-key lighting. Over all, the…

Double Indemnity, a film based on fraud and betrayal in regards to insurance money, carried out by Walter Neff and Phyllis Dietrichson. This film is a perfect classic example of film noir, as the film has various aspects of depicting characters in an ambiguous manner with the addition of dark shadows, moody aesthetics, intense music and mis-en-scene to express the shots well. In particular, the opening scene of Walter entering his apartment building to his room is divided into five simultaneous…