Thornton Wilder

Hollywood movie goddess Angelina Jolie Workout and Diet Plan Born on June 4, 1942 in Los Angeles, California, Angelina Jolie is one of the most popular and celebrated American actress and filmmaker. Ex-wife of wealthy Hollywood star and producer, Brad Pitt and mother to six children (three children are adopted), Jolie is a woman of substance who is known for her work for humanitarian causes. She has been leading actress of many Hollywood hits - Tomb Raider, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Wanted, Salt and…

The opening scene of Rear Window (1954), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, acts as a prologue of the film: we are introduced to the space where much of the narrative will take place, to the protagonist, his background, and his neighbors through entirely visual means. Hitchcock created an entire film from the rear window of a Greenwich Village apartment symbolizing a certain “movie-watching” experience. Hitchcock uses mise en scène to show how the film is going to progress, uses camera movement…

This essay will provide an overview of a clip from the beginning of the movie Double Indemnity. The clip has a runtime of two minutes and thirty-three seconds and contains five shots in total. This paper will provide an in-depth analysis of each shot in the clip. It will examine the types of camera angles used, the lighting direction and the composition of objects and figures on the screen. The elevator encounter between Walter Neff and the Watchman in the first scene is a two-shot captured at…

In Los Angeles, California in 1926, Norma Jean Mortenson was born to Gladys Baker. Norma grew up damaged by foster homes, neglect, and abuse as a result of her mother's mental instability. Despite her troubled childhood, she managed to become a successful model and screen actress later in her life. Norma would change her name to Marilyn Monroe, and become one of the most famous stars of the 20th century. Her rise was rapid, but so was her downfall. She became increasingly unstable.…

Complex characters such as Norma Desmond and King Lear are often used to display the effect people have on other’s realities and beliefs. In Sunset Boulevard by Billy Wilder and King Lear by William Shakespeare, complex characters are used to demonstrate how permissive relationships can create the false reality and ultimate madness one may endure. In Sunset Boulevard, Norma Desmond experiences a sheltered life that leads to a state of insanity. While much of this insanity comes from her own…

Billy Wilder is an American film maker who has produced more than 30 films in his lifetime. Three films in particular though have caught critic’s eyes everywhere. Double Indemnity, made in 1944, The Seven Year Itch, made in 1955, and Some like it hot, made in 1959. Billy Wilder’s style in his films could be described as comic in most of his films but some of them like Double Indemnity could be described as dark as it is a film noir. Over the decades Billy Wilder’s films do improves in style. In…

through three different cinematography components: lighting, camera angles, and composition. Over the course of 107 thrilling minutes, Walter Neff becomes a whole new person due to his relationship with Phyllis. In his film Double Indemnity, Billy Wilder uses cinematography to demonstrate the progression of Walter Neff’s character from a seemingly innocent insurance agent to a criminal. In the beginning of the film, Walter Neff is viewed as a happy and confident insurance agent, and…

Billy Wilder’s classic film from 1944, entitled Double Indemnity displays many of the traditional traits of Film Noir. During the opening scene an extremely dramatic silhouette of a mysterious man on crutches limps towards the viewer. You can’t help but wonder who this character could be. Ultimately Walter Neff betrays his superior, Barton Keys. Keys thinks very highly of Neff and believes he has what it takes to become a great investigator for the insurance company. Neff is an insurance…

Marilyn Monroe is dead. (Dramatic pause) I am Lee Strasberg, Marilyn's acting teacher. I'm delivering this speech because she had no close family whatsoever. Only me. (Gesture to myself) Although my Marilyn had the "perfect life" (hand motions for quotations), it drove her to the extremities of ending it. Her lifeless body was found face-down in her bed on Sunday, August 5, 1962. Monroe had her telephone in one hand, and sleeping pills placed around her body. Marilyn had…

Norma Jeane Mortensen, also known as Marilyn Monroe was born on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California. In the beginning Marilyn had a rough start at life. She didn’t know her father, and her mother Glady Pearl Bakers developed psychiatric problems and was placed in an institution. Monroe spent a lot of her time in foster care and in an orphanage. In 1937, Doc and Grace Goddard took care of Monroe for only a few years. At seven years old Marilyn was placed back in a foster home where she had…