Allusions in Blade Runner Blade Runner arose out of a post-modernist society, as is evident by the many illusions found and Postmodernism's focus on mixing previous ideas and arts to create something new. There are subtle and direct intertextual references within the film’s dystopic depiction of mankind's loss of humanity and an inability to recognize a difference between the natural and the artificial. Filmic Allusions Stylistically, Blade Runner borrows from previous films and film movements to set specific moods and allow is heavily influenced by the film noir movement of the 1940s and '50s. Rachael’s clothing and hair styles are reminiscent of the film noir style. Many scenes are cast in dark shadows with lighting used to embody conceptual ideas of alienation and dehumanisation.
Film Noir – The Protagonist Nicky Khilnani An Introduction to Film Noir To fully understand the characteristics of a particular component of ‘Film Noir’, it is essential that we also firstly understand the basis upon which ‘Film Noir’ was initially established as a genre within the Film Industry. ‘Film Noir’ isn’t really a genre of film on its own but merely a coined term literally meaning ‘Black Film’ or ‘Dark Film’ which refers to a class of Hollywood features produced between the 1940’s and 1950’s respectively, that were based particularly on Detective or Crime-related films. The genre of these films can easily be classed as Suspense films or Thrillers. They were introduced as feature films progressively during the 1940’s after the Second World War. Feature films produced in the USA only got a chance to spread to most of Europe after the mid 1940’s and after many war stories were exchanged between these European nations and the USA, films produced in America tended to have a darker side to them with cinematography and directory of the same being heavily influenced by themes incipient as death.
Double Indemnity: The Creator of the Cliche Double Indemnity is a taut movie, with no wasted motion and where every word spoken and hand gesture has a purpose. Double Indemnity is a film noir and, despite the fact that several people do not even acknowledge film noir as an actual movie genre, this film is one of the most perfect examples of it. Discussing this film with fellows has brought on complaints that the movie is rife with clichés. However, from where I am standing, between the year of it’s making and looking at what other film works were being put out there, Double Indemnity wrote the clichés. My main focus when watching this film was the relationship between Phyllis Dietrichson and Walter Neff’s characters.
Analyse the editing style and technique of a film, describing its effectiveness and commenting on its function in respect to the film’s narrative construction, focussing on one sequence in particular. (Films: Hitchcock’s Rear Window) “What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out” Alfred Hitchcock. This quote from Hitchcock resonates throughout Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954, USA) as it is a prodigious example of his auteur style as he turns the mundane and ordinary lives of the protagonist’s neighbours into a suspenseful thriller. This essay will provide an insight to the effectiveness of the editing style and technique also in relation to its function with the films narrative. The film is set around L. B.
This also implies that the characters do not have a real future, as your past, in other words memories are what your future is based upon. This is where the genre of the film can be described as noir, as it aesthetically reflects the darkness of the ideology with the use of expressionist elements such as the urban locations, extreme angles and lighting. Choice of extract- The choice of extract I have chosen to analyse is the opening scene of this movie, which is from the 0:50 seconds to the 6-minute mark where it shows John Murdoch, the main character awaking in a hotel bathtub, who seems to be suffering from a form of amnesia. He then wondered around the hotel room, hoping to find documents that can prove his identity. He soon receives a phone call from Dr. Daniel Schreber, who urges him to leave the hotel room, as he is wanted by a group called “The Strangers”.
Sirk uses colour to define paradigms and redefine ideas through the lighting and costuming decisions made. There is a clear polarization of red and blue throughout the film, which conveys not only emotional intensity but a dichotomy of classes. Red and orange create an inviting authenticity to scenes which represent or display the middle-class way of life while blues signify the removed lifestyle of the wealthy. The tone and shade of the colours give a clear indication of Sirk’s views of this theme, with the warm, inviting reds conveying comfort and joy contrasting starkly with the bright, cold blues which place Cary’s highbrow society in a harsh perspective. The lighting is often hued more than the props in the scene, with artificial blues bathing scenes in Cary’s mansion home and the clubhouse.
Both Citizen Kane and Arbitrage convey very similar themes throughout both films. They do so in a way which helps the audience develop different emotions towards each of the characters throughout. Two very similar, yet different scenes which portray main themes such as power and wealth are the first, opening scenes of both films. In the opening scene of Citizen Kane we are immediately greeted with a non-diegetic musical tone, this automatically gives us the sense that the film is going to be a film noir, thriller type, as the use of shadows and entrapment convey that message. However, in Arbitrage there is only diegetic sound, and silence and the scene is bright and open.
During the film Good Night, and Good Luck, George Clooney and Grant Heslov express their concern of fear through acting stylisations, authentic footage imbedded within the film and effective choice of music and lyrics. A secondary idea presented by Clooney and Heslov includes initiating a visual sensation of time and place for the audience, with the use of film noir and effective employment of set design. The era of McCarthyism encompassed fear and concern, the acting and char acterisations in Good Night, and Good Luck effectively conveyed this idea. The expression of the characters, in particular Ed Murrow, during the See It Now sequences, portrays expressions of grim anxiety. The dramatic acting in the film is abundant with prolonged eye contact and intense line delivery, combining the two to illuminate the fear of persecution and job loss.
It’s tough not to draw parallels between Black and Barfi! with so many striking resemblances, overlapping of themes and equally emotional popular response. Yet, they are at the opposite ends of the spectrum, despite their distinctively different European treatment. If Bhansali and Ravi K Chandran chose to paint their canvas in shades of gothic black, Basu and Ravivarman bathe their film with beatific light. If Black tried to make you cry, this one tries to make you laugh.
The great French director Francois Truffaut once said: “You respect him because he shoots scenes of love as if they were scenes of murder, but we respect him because he shoots scenes of murder like scenes of love.” While it was a playful statement by Truffaut, he makes a good point. A Hitchcock film normally has incredible characters on moral journeys that shatter the laws of black and white expectations and subsequent answers. In Rope, the moral journey happens in one room in one evening. The film makes a large statement about morality in a small intimate setting, ironic in itself that the film makes a big statement about debilitating moral philosophies of the world post World War II. This certainly isn’t the first time Hitchcock has dealt with international governments (This is apparent even in early works such as the early masterpiece The 39 Steps) and this also isn’t the first time Hitchcock would film an entire movie in one room (the well-renowned Rear Window).