La Jetee Review

La jetee

Figure 1

La Jetee (see fig 1) is a film by Chris Marker that focuses on a 'what if?' scenario of what would happen if world war 3 broke out, the film focuses the setting on Paris, France.


The film begins with a narrator reading the opening text, from there we are told about a man who dies in front of a child and then the city of paris is destroyed 'blown up' the narrator says.
Then we are in the ruins of paris, we are told about a plan made by scientists that means to send men back into the past to send supply lines back to the future, the protagonist who is sent back in time but falls in love with a woman and stays with her, in the end he is killed by the scientists and realises that he is the man who died in the beginning.


The film uses stills instead of full motion video to convey the story, often holding on one while exposition, dialogue or even empty silence plays out. That is until a specific scene where the protagonists lover opens her eyes. (see fig 2)

Figure 2

The film and Chris Marker himself is shrouded in mystery, having made dozens of films, some of which have become cult classics you would think he would hold some fame and yet very little is known about him.

"Marker (born Christian Francois Bouche-Villeneuve in 1921, either outside Paris, as many sources say, or in Ulan Bator, as the writer and director has claimed), has a godlike reputation among cinephiles, thanks both to the ingenious and often playful nature of his essayistic films (he's made dozens) and to his obscurity. He grants few interviews and almost never allows himself to be photographed. Only a fraction of his movies are available on DVD." (Lawrence Levi, 2009)

Mr Levi exclaims how even though Marker is well loved among his fans and "Cinephiles" which are lovers of film and cinema, he never gave much information about himself. Whether this was because of a love of mystery or a fear of what someone could do with that information is anyone's guess.

 "Marker began making 'La Jetee' at the end of France's eight-year war with Algeria, and was still working on it during the Cuban missile crisis. In the film, the merciless experimenters who rule the catacombs under Paris whisper in German (see fig 3), an echo of "Night and Fog," the remarkable 1955 Holocaust documentary by Alain Resnais that Marker helped write and edit." (Lawrence Levi, 2009)

Figure 3

It can be taken from this paragraph that Marker was placing his fears of the future into a film, all the collective fears from the people of paris about the ongoing wars and the aftermath of previous ones all put into a single film. Having used a reference to 'Night and Fog' it's possible that Marker assosiated this future with the fascist regime or thought of the current wars being created by the conflicts that occurred due to world war 2.

"The film achieves the feeling of movement and time lapse mainly through its editing. While Lars von Trier’s film Nymphomaniac captured the human condition in a single dissolve, La Jetee uses dissolves, fade-ins, and fade-outs to provoke the feeling of time lapse." (Lamos Ignoramous, 2017)

Mr Ignoramous explains how the film uses cinematography to achieve it's goals. The use of such transitions could be to not only show time lapsing but also how time works in this universe, the differences between how the transitions function between the "real" or "present" world and the "past" world.

Bibliography:

Levi. L (2009) Chris Marker: La Jetée' by Janet Harbord at http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/18/entertainment/et-book18 (accessed 24/01/2017)

Ignoramous. L (2017) Chris Marker’s La Jetee Analysis: Mortality and the Illusion of Time at http://filmslie.com/chris-marker-la-jetee-analysis-temporality/ (accessed 29/01/2017)

La Jetee (1962) Directed by Chris Marker [DVD] France Argos Films.

Illustrations:

Figure 1 La Jetee Poster (1962) [Poster] France Argos Films

Figure 2 Film Still (1962) From La Jetee Directed by Chris Marker [Film Still] France Argos Films

Figure 3 Film Still (1962) From La Jetee Directed by Chris Marker [Film Still] France Argos Films

Edward Scissorhands Review

Fig. 1. Edward Scissorhands Poster (1990)

Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands (1990) (see fig 1) is a gothic heroes tale of love and loss. The titular main character is Edward (Johnny Depp), a man who was constructed by an inventor (Vincent Price) but was never finished due to the inventors untimely death. Edward is found by a woman who brings him back home to a conventional suburban housing estate, at first everyone loves him but actively uses him, some for financial reasons and others for pleasure. It takes a turn for the worse when the town betrays his trust and runs him out of town, one boy even attempts to murder Edward.

Bo Welch was the production designer for the film, he used creative visuals to show the extremes of both worlds, the colourful suburban housing estate and the gothic castle atop a dark forested hill. “One of the biggest challenges I had was marrying the film’s two distinct visual aesthetics,” Welch said. “It took some time to wrap my head around that.” (Bo Welch 2015) Welch explains that designing the movie was not an easy task. A great example of this contrast is towards the beginning of the film when Peg Boggs adjusts her car mirror and sees the castle (see fig 2) this shows just how juxtaposed the setting is, considering a "modern" american housing estate is accompanied by an ancient european castle.

Fig. 2. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Welch found a newly built development of homes in Tampa, Florida and knew that was the location they needed, a new slate they could do anything with. The inhabitants were relocated to hotels during production. “This neighborhood in Florida also had a particular graphic quality, and interesting skies with its clouds.” (Bo Welch 2015) Welch states his interest at the time with the location and how he felt it had that particular look that would suit the movie well. In 2015 a photographer named Andrew Creameans traveled to Tampa and took photographs(see fig 3) that matched the stills in the movie to show how the location looks now.

 

Fig. 3. Tampa (2015)

The film's aesthetics are designed to be what Edward see's the world as, the town is the same as any other in reality but to Edward it's a mystical land of fantasy, something he could only see from his window far away in his home, the shapes, the people, the cars and even the colours are designed to be what Edward sees, as the tagline states: "Innocence is what he knows, Beauty is what he see's" (Edward Scissorhands poster 1990) or as Welch puts it: "We designed the neighborhood to appear as though you’re seeing it through Edward’s eyes, the great thrill is the friction between those two aesthetics within a single frame." (Bo Welch 2015) As Welch explains, the point of the set design wasn't just to look nice for the audience, it also acted as a catalyst allowing the audience into the mind of Edward. Beauty truly is what he saw.

Bibliography:

Burton, Tim Edward Scissorhands (1990) Directed by Tim Burton [DVD] USA: Tempa, Florida: 20th Century Fox

Welch, Bo (2015) [Interview by Jason Guerrasio, 12th October, 2015]

Welch, Bo (2015)[Interview by Matthew Chernov, 7th December, 2015]

Illustrations:


Figure 1, Edward Scissorhands Poster (1990) [Advertisement]

Figure 2, Edward Scissorhands (1990) From: Edward Scissorhands Directed by: Tim Bruton [Film Still] USA, (Accessed 13/10/16)

Figure 3, Creameans, Andrew (2015) Tampa [Photograph; Comparison of set design to modern day location] at: http://mentalfloss.com/article/67093/what-edward-scissorhands-candy-colored-neighborhood-looks-today (Accessed 13/11/16)

La Belle et La Bête review

(Figure1) La Belle et la Bête [Poster]

La Belle et La Bête(see fig1) or in english: Beauty and the Beast, was produced in 1946, directed by Jean Cocteau, it tells the story of a man who picks a rose from a beasts(see fig2) garden, the beast gives him the choice of either dying or giving the beast one of the mans daughters, "Belle" the youngest daughter takes the mans place but the beast falls in love with her, as the story progresses she slowly falls for the beast who transforms into the handsome prince he once was.

The film uses visuals to tell the story more than it's dialogue which is far more life-like in acting, the characters natures are always coherent and really feels like something said characters would do in the situations they are placed in, from Ludovic (Belle's brother) teasing his sisters to how Avenant (Ludovics friend) attempted to slay the beast to win Belle's heart.

(Figure2) The Beast [Still]

Visually the film stuns it's audience with it's deep, dark shadows(see fig 3) and contrasting bright lighting that really puts emphasis on what is going on rather than having the set pieces take precedence over the actors.
A lot of the movie is filmed at "Raray" a commune in northern France, praised for being a beautiful place: 'many of the exteriors having been filmed for rare architectural vignettes at Raray, one of the most beautiful palaces and parks in all France' - Bosley Crowther (1947) 

(Figure3) The beasts dining hall [Still]

Upon release the film received critical acclaim, Bosley Crowther (mentioned above) was a critic in New York City at the time and reviewed the film: 'priceless fabric of subtle images,...a fabric of gorgeous visual metaphors, of undulating movements and rhythmic pace, of hypnotic sounds and music, of casually congealing ideas' Crowther obviously really enjoyed the film, praising it in all aspects but mostly focusing on how it was pieced together: 'fabric of subtle images,...a fabric of gorgeous visual metaphors' the fabric of the film that holds it all together that according to his statement was the visual side of the film.

Crowther was not the only reviewer of course, in 1999 Roger Ebert said: 'one of the most magical of all films" and "fantasy alive with trick shots and astonishing effects, giving us a Beast who is lonely like a man and misunderstood like an animal.' Evidently the film reaches deep into the human psyche and pulls fourth emotion and understanding, it's designed to make you care for a monster which at the time was not common at all.

 Bibliography:

• La Belle et la Bête (1946) Directed by Jean Cocteau [Film] France: André Paulvé
• Bosley Crowther (1947) Review of La Belle et la Bête: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critic/bosley-crowther/ (Accessed 27/10/16)
• Roger Ebert (1999) Review of Beauty and the Beast: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-beauty-and-the-beast-1946 (Accessed 27/10/16)

Illustrations:

• Figure 1 La Belle et la Bête [Poster]
• Figure 2 The Beast [Still]
• Figure 3 The Beasts dining hall [Still]

Alien film review

(Figure 1) ALIEN movie poster [Poster]

Released in 1979 ALIEN (see fig 1) Directed by Ridley Scott(see fig2) scared thousands of viewers by placing them aboard the 'Starship Nostromo', a commercial ship on it's way back to earth, the crew intersects a distress signal which is where things turn sour, every crew member ends up being killed by an alien and the female protagonist escapes with her life... and a cat.

The film uses long sequences and close-ups to convey a sense of realism and terror, having the camera focus on a door or hallway that at first has nothing in it worries the audience, it adds suspense as the audience wonders "why? what's going to happen? where's the monster?", the shot will linger just enough to make some people lean forward wondering what it is they are missing in this shot before throwing a jump-scare at them.

(Figure 2) Ridley Scott [Photograph]

Speaking of jump-scares, they are used to good effect in this film, while in this day and age they may seem telegraphed and obvious we need to remember that at the time of filming it was not the norm, you can thank Scott for making it more mainstream in the medium. "No film I have seen in the last year or so, excluding perhaps The Deer Hunter, emanates so strong a whiff of palpable, nerve-straining shock." (Dareck Malcolm, 1979) this quote from 1979 shows the reaction the film had at the time with the audience.

It is common knowledge that H.R Giger worked with Scott to create the art for the film, everything from the alien to the derelict ship was designed by Giger, at the time many considered Giger's work to be too much for the general public but Scott insisted on bringing Giger on and eventually won the argument.
The alien is based on Gigers work "Necronom IV"(see fig 3)

(Figure 3) Necronom IV [Painting]

It is not the first Survival Horror film however, as Roger Ebert put it: "At its most fundamental level, 'Alien' is a movie about things that can jump out of the dark and kill you. It shares a kinship with the shark in 'Jaws,' (1975) Michael Myers in 'Halloween,' (1979) and assorted spiders, snakes, tarantulas and stalkers. Its most obvious influence is Howard Hawks' 'The Thing' (1951), which was also about a team in an isolated outpost who discover a long-dormant alien, bring it inside, and are picked off one by one as it haunts the corridors. Look at that movie, and you see 'Alien' in embryo." (2003) Ebert compares the film to others such as Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975), John Carpenter's Halloween (1979) and Howards Hawks' The Thing (1951) to help readers get a better understanding of the antagonist and where Ridley Scott may have gotten inspiration from.

The film is a must watch for anyone who loves a good, well paced survival horror.
And remember: "In space, no one can hear you scream" (Ridley Scott 1979)

Bibliography:

• Alien (1979) [Film] Ridley Scott.
• Alien Movie Review, Rodger Ebert (2003) [Website] http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-alien-1979 [Accessed 22/10/16]
• Audio Commentary on the making of Alien (2012) [Blue-ray Special feature] Ridley Scott & Crew.
• Darek Malcolm's Alien review from 1979 (2009) [Website archive] https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/oct/13/derek-malcolm-alien-review [Accessed 22/10/16]
• Halloween (1979) [Film] John Carpenter.
• H.R Giger's Website [Website] http://www.hrgiger.com/ [Acessed 22/10/16]
• Jaws (1975) [Film] Steven Spielberg.
• The Thing (1951) [Film] Howard Hawks.

Illustrations:

• (Figure 1) ALIEN movie poster [Poster] (1979)
• (Figure 3) Necronom IV [Painting] (1976)
• (Figure 2) Ridley Scott [Photograph] (Date unknown)

2001 A Space Odyssey (1968) Review

(Figure 1) 2001: A Space Odyssey opening sequence [Still]

A review of the movie '2001 A Space Odyssey'(1968) (see fig1)

Produced by Stanley Kubrick(See fig2) in 1968 the film follows a man named "Dave" as he battles the AI aboard his ship, his crew dies and his mission is unclear, then the film becomes extremely avant-garde with twisted, colourful visuals reminiscent of a drug trip.

(Figure 2) Stanley Kubrick [Photograph]

Kubrick stood by his explanation of the film as being something everyone must interpret for themselves, nobody aside from Kubrick has the correct answer but that doesn't stop viewers from preaching their point of view.
Some even came away from the film thinking it was about homosexual relations, stating that HAL 9000(see fig3) was gay, Kubrick has addressed this statement saying that, in his mind "HAL was a 'Straight' Computer" but did not dismiss the idea.

(Figure 3) Hal 9000 [Image]

The simple fact that hundreds of fans are arguing over the sexuality of a computer within a movie speaks volumes for what the movie means to people, what it represents and the amount of weight it holds within the film industry.

Grossing approximately $190 million worldwide at the time of writing and $8.5 million on release, winning 9 awards including 3 Bafta's, the film is loved world-wide.

A sequel was created but fell short of expectations and thus only the original is mentioned when talking about Kubricks greatest movies.

Bibliography:12 Facts about 2001: A Space Odyssey (2016) [Website article] http://mentalfloss.com/article/78437/12-out-world-facts-about-2001-space-odyssey [Accessed 17/10/16]2001: A Space Odyssey awards [Website Archive] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/awards [Accessed 17/10/16]
Stanley Kubrick Explains 2001: A Space Odyssey (2010) [Website article] http://kottke.org/10/11/kubrick-explains-2001 [Accessed 17/10/16]
Straight, Gay or Binary. [Website article] http://io9.gizmodo.com/5899656/straight-gay-or-binary-hal-comes-out-of-the-cybernetic-closet [Accessed 17/10/16]

Illustrations:
(Figure1) 2001: A Spacey Odyssey opening sequence [Still]
(Figure2) Stanely Kubrick [Photograph]
(Figure3) Hal 9000 [Image]

Animator Review Bill Plympton

Born on the 30th of April in Oregon, United States, Bill Plympton(see fig1) served in the National Guard from 1967 to 1972 and during his time in the National guard he moved to New York and studied at the School of Visual Arts, from here he spent 15 years as an illustrator and cartoonist designing the following magazines:

Cineaste, Filmakers Newsletter, and Film Society Review.

Plympton also had his illustrations in the New York Times, Vogue, House Beautiful, The village voice, Screw and Vanity Fair.

(Figure1) Bill Plympton [Photograph]

In 1975 Plympton started a cartoon strip called "Plympton" in The Soho Weekly News, it was a political comic and by 1981 it was syndicated in over 20 papers by Universal Press Syndicate, a subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal.

Loving animation from a very early age Plympton sent his drawings to Disney as an attempt to be hired, however considering he was 14 they politely refused his offer, however he would later be offered a place as Director and Animator for the film "Boomtown"(1985) by Valeria Wasilewski of the Android Sisters.
The film was about Ronald Raegans administration and how his spending on defense was causing fear and speculation in america.

After "Boomtown" Plympton created two films, one of these was called "Your Face"(see fig 2) which won an Oscar in 1988 which began his career in commercial animation, working with the likes of "Taco Bell", "Trivial pursuit", "Nike" and "Mercedes Bens".
Eventually Plympton had the chance to create a feature length film "The Tune" which consisted of over 30,000 hand drawn cels was a hit and won Houston WorldFest Gold Jury Special Award as well as a Spirit Award nomination for Best Film Score.

(Figure 2) Your Face [Still]

Plympton has created many films since he first started, currently he is working on Hitler's Folly a mock-umentary about Hitlers love of animation and a film called Revengeance which is being partially funded by a Kickstarter.

Bibliography:

Bill Plymptons biography [Website] http://www.plymptoons.com/about/[Accessed 17/10/16]

Boomtown (1985)[Animated Musical] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088839/ [Accessed 17/10/16]

Cineaste Magazine [Website] http://www.cineaste.com/ [Accessed 17/10/16]

Filmakers Newsletter (1967-1970) [Magazine] Suncraft international, New york

Film Society Review (1963-1965) [Magazine] The Federation, New york
House Beautiful [Magazine and Website] http://www.housebeautiful.co.uk/ [Accessed 17/10/16]
New York Times [Newspaper and Website] http://www.nytimes.com/ [Accessed 17/10/16]
Screw (1968 - 2003) [Magazine] Al Goldstein, USA
Soho Weekly News [Magazine and Website] http://www.sohoweeklynews.com/ [Accessed 17/10/16]
The Tune (1992) [Animated film] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105654/ [Accessed 17/10/16]
The village voice [Magazine and Website] http://www.villagevoice.com/ [ Accessed 17/10/16]
Vanity Fair [Magazine and Website] http://www.vanityfair.com/ [Accessed 17/10/16]
Vogue [Magazine and Website] http://www.vogue.co.uk/ [ Accessed 17/10/16]
Your Face (1987) [Animated Musical] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094364/ [Accessed 17/10/16]

Illustrations:
(Figure 1) Bill Plympton [Photograph]
(Figure 2) Your Face [Still]