Classical and Post-Classical Hollywood Cinema INTRODUCTION During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that, examining post classical at which time the relationship between them will become evident. It is my intention to reference films from both movements and also published texts relative to the subject matter. In order to illustrate the structures involved I will be writing about the subjects of genre and genre transformation, the representation of gender, postmodernism and the relationship between style, form and content.
When discussing a film, audiences will recall its story line or characters to exemplify what the film was about. With an audience so focused on narration, a film’s structure is not decided on lightly. According to Luhr and Lehman, because a film’s narrative is crucial to its success, directors “have mastered a long-established and highly profitable tradition of narrative filmmaking- the classical Hollywood style” (29). The classical Hollywood style of narration requires that a film’s “plot should have a clear forward direction” (Luhr, Lehman 29). Every event should lead cleanly into the next to join in a unified whole.
However, “Nights of Cabiria” has a stricter and more traditional narrative structure, while “La Dolce Vita” is basically a series of short films. The combination of all the scenes is what leads to the complexity of the film’s message. When asked, “What are these films about?” there really is no easy answer because they are about so much. Each
He analyzes every film to illustrate his larger point about how Hollywood has struggled with its desires to tell marketable stories and in the process represent history accurately. Toplin is more than aware of the complications that Hollywood brings forth along with the release of films portraying history.
“The complex rhythms of film resemble those of music and poetry, like poetry in particular, film communicates through imagery metaphor and symbol” (Boggs, Petrie, 2008). There are many ways that motion pictures, which many people consider to be an art form in itself, differ from other storytelling media, such as newspapers, television and radio, because of the uniqueness of it’s communication style. One way is through the constant motion provided in a film, something no other medium provides (Boggs, Petrie, 2008). Film can also address a never-ending list of subjects, such as the worlds created in Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. With the help of special effects, talented actors and staging there is no limit to the story that can be expressed on film.
* Expressionism & Surrealism: Are They So Different After All? * The evolution of cinema has been a long and effective process, bringing with it its fair share of cultural shifts and ideological changes. German Expressionism and Surrealism are two very profound and impactful movements. While these two movements occurred amid varying time periods, they both possess homologous as well as divergent aspects. German Expressionist films and Surrealist films are on the same page when it comes to the use of bold images and the unexpected.
HIS212 – History and Film Compare any two films which are produced in Hollywood, and which represent warfare or conflict in the Third World. Comment on the political and cultural messages in these films, and explain how they reflect the politics of the time when they were made. Film as a media has always managed to be one of the most easily accessible, both for the public and also producers as a means for conveying messages and entertainment. Many different aspects of human nature and history is detailed and documented in this fashion across many different fields, such as politics, religion, love and, with often the most poignant and obvious imagery, war. War itself has been an ever-present around the world across thousands of years and has, as the years progressed, evolved and shaped the world in many ways.
Von Trier was known to be more consistent as a director than he was with his visual style. The very fact that he played a pioneer of the Dogme 95 cinematic movement is illustrative of von Trier’s adaptability as a filmmaker, but also that he treats film not as a strict and fixed form of expression but rather as a form of art-making, one that could be shaped according to the changing times. What I think is most impressive about von Trier as a director are the themes that he explores in his films and the ways in which he seeks to express these themes. While he is greatly influenced by many of the philosophies held by filmmakers and non-filmmakers alike, it is the way in which he applies them which is can be described as being “authentic”. Indeed, the idea of authenticity is very important to von Trier.
In the analysis, examples will be drawn from a range of sources to contrast the inferential requirements of portrayals in each medium. There is a focus on two film adaptations in particular, Apocalypse Now and Trainspotting. The former, according to Stam (2005) would more intertextual in adaptation than faithful to Conrad’s novel. It uses a range of strategies to convey the text’s themes in an alternate context which illustrate the choices the director makes in order to balance the depiction and assertion of the narrative. The second adaptation employs highly visual depictions of mental processes which challenge the notion that viewers can only infer mental activity.
Time in classic narrative moves in a similar manner to everyday time.The actions of the people in the film are the reason why things happen in classic narrative films. The actions of people create a series of cause and effects. (Action A causes B. B then causes action C. Action C causes D, and D causes action EÉ and so on to the end of the film.) There is always a hero seen in classic narrative film The actions of the hero are the most