There are many gothic conventions in ‘Dracula’, and this is what makes it an eerie delight for the viewers, as well as making it fit into the ‘gothic’ genre. The movie is cleverly adapted from the book, sharing the same title- that was scribed by Bram Stoker. Some very common gothic elements include the theme of isolation and security. Both of these things can be seen in ‘Dracula’ The theme of isolation is presented by the way Dracula’s castle is shown to the viewers- dark, isolated from any form any other form of civilization in the middle of a great landscape consisting of myriad and secret passageways and being a ruin in itself. The settings presented are also dark and eeire, and Dracula himself lives in solitude with no other companion.
The lighting, costumes or settings can make ur think about a character differently. Edward is on the light side but he is almost stuck on the dark side because that is where almost all of the townspeople think that he belongs. Edward is stuck in the middle. His costume, hairstyle and his scissors for hands, which people perceive them to be weapons, make him look like a gothic demon but really he would never intestinally hurt anyone. In the last scene he tries to save Kevin, and does by pushing him away from the van but in the process cuts his face, everyone thinks that Edward is attacking Kevin and Jim beats him up.
Donnie Darko shows how the monstrous can be represented or misrepresented depending on the interpretation by the viewer. This is a film filled with elements of science fiction, horror and drama but does not come under one genre. Its appeal is in its eccentric way of telling a story, and its ambiguities of both the characters and the exploration of determinism and free will, sanity and insanity, loneliness and love. However it also rejects most common conventions having the main monstrous figure -Frank the bunny- also the one responsible to get Donnie (the protagonist) ready before the world ends, thus saving the original world by causing the destruction of the tangent world. It uses the story to convey its meaning primarily through dialogue and meticulous editing and leaves the majority of the interpretation of the film up to the viewer’s imagination.
For a novel to be considered gothic, it must contain certain elements; Dracula reflects many of these unique principles. The setting largely affects the gothic feel of the novel. The medieval castle, the literally dark location, and the gloomy and suspenseful atmosphere, which are all utilized in the novel, are examples of a gothic setting. In his journal, Jonathan Harker described Count Dracula’s castle as he approached it: “...in the courtyard of a vast ruined castle, from whose tall black windows came no ray of light, and whose broken battlements showed a jagged line against the moonlit sky” (Stoker 22). This quote shows the medieval castle aspect almost always found in the gothic novel type, but also even begins to set up the dark, gloomy, and uneasy atmosphere that is so important in this kind of literature.
Meghan Browne Mrs. Lorencz English 12A Per. 1 27 November 2007 Beowulf vs. Bulvine Only Hollywood can take fantasy and have people question the reality of the story. In the movie, The Thirteenth Warrior, they have taken the fiction, epic poem, “Beowulf”, and made the monsters, heroes, and situations real. However, there is still likeness in the two stories. One main similarity between the movie and the story (and probably the most important) is the element of an epic hero whom dies after saving his people.
“All Directors have their own unique style”. Tim Burton is a great director and like most great directors, Burton has his own unique style. His style is unusual, strange, and gothic. Tim Burton like’s to explore the living and the dead in a lot of his moves and he also likes to explore reality vs madness in his film through different personalities, gothic themes, colour and symbolism. Colour is used very well in Tim Burton’s films for example in sleepy hollow (1999) it is a very dark film, not just in terms of themes but also in the images and shots themselves.
You really need to look at the main characters to see any major similarities and differences between this book and this movie. Comparing Jonas in The Giver and David (Bud) in Pleasantville, they both seem to be from a different time. Although we know David is from a different time, seeing him being sucked into the television right at the beginning of the movie, but there is just something about Jonas that makes him seem that way. With Jonas, there was a sign, his eyes that were lighter than the others. With David, there were not any specific physical features that set him apart from the rest other that he looked completely different from the real Bud which no one in Pleasantville seemed to notice.
Another way in which diegetic sounds prove to be effective is by showing a specific character’s mood or emotions. For instance, in the fight scene in the first act, the diegetic sounds were of objects being hurled, swords clanging, people screaming and cursing. This shows the audience that there is a considerably high volume of hatred between these two houses and thus the characters are feeling both frustrated and violent. In the last scene there is no diegetic sound when the Prince speaks. All that can be heard in the background is the echo of the Prince’s voice as he forces both Lord Capulet and Lord Montague to gaze upon the consequence of their feud.
“How does ‘Shadow of a Vampire’ appropriate the earlier texts of Nosferatu and Dracula and create something new?” Shadow of a Vampire (2000), directed by Elias Merhige, is a film that recreates the making of the 1922 film ‘Nosferatu’. Shadow of a Vampire distorts the reality of what actually went on whilst filming Nosferatu yet appropriates the text to make it entertaining and scary. As Nosferatu is based on Dracula by Bram Stoker, Shadow of a Vampire also becomes an appropriation of this text, mainly using the elements of gothic to create what is essentially a horror movie. An appropriation that adds to the scary nature is the behaviour of Nosferatu director Friedrich Murnau. Murnau’s behaviour is questionable from the early stages of the film.
In contrast to the novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley, the movie had background music to each scene that set either an anticipant, nervous, worried, happy, or excited mood for the viewer. For example, before the monster would kill someone, the music in the film would go from pleasant to fast paced and terrifying. This music very adequately portrayed the horror genre of the story Frankenstein. The novel, although I am sure was meant to be terrifying, did not as effectively convey the emotions of terror that the screen play adaption was successful in doing. However, it must be taken into consideration that it was probably a very scary story years ago, but today horror stories are much more terrifying and intense than Frankenstein