Elements of Film

Monday, April 21, 2014

David Cronenberg

This week's in-class viewing will be "eXistenZ", directed by David Cronenberg. Here are some interesting images from his career.

Writer William S. Burroughs, Cronenberg, and actor Peter Weller on the set of "Naked Lunch"

Jeremy Irons and Cronenberg

Cronenberg directs Viggo Mortensen as Sigmund Freud in "A Dangerous Method"

A typewriter with a bug in it from "Naked Lunch"

A gun becomes part of the "new flesh" in "Videodrome"

Two sides of Mr. Cronenberg

Monday, April 14, 2014

Sidney Lumet (1924 - 2011)

Since we ill be watching a film in class by Sidney Lumet this week, here is a sampler of his work.

The Verdict with Paul Neuman

Lumet directs Al Pachino in Dog Day Afternoon

The Hill with Sean Connery

12 Angry Men with Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb

Katherine Hepburn in Long Day's Journey Into Night

Serpico with Al Pachino

Peter Finch in Network

Lumet directs Marlon Brando in The Fugitive Kind

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Fist full of Dollars

I really thought this was a funny scene. After he kills the men and realizes it was four he then apologizes and says he meant prepare four coffins. I really joyed this film

Saturday, April 12, 2014

3… 2… 1… The Countdown to the End of Film on Film
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/04/12/2014-death-film-film.html

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Monday, April 7, 2014

2 hours and 33 minutes, 47 seconds. Not that I was counting.
I liked the blurring of background to focus attention, the lighting was amazing. The choreography was technically beautiful. The constant dancing and behavior of the gang members stretched any hope of plausibility beyond the snapping zone. This was a Broadway version of gangs, and I believe the screenplay was more about Shakespeare than street life. A highly romanticized view.
This was your basic Romeo and Juliet film, story wise.
It was interesting how through camera shots and music I got a feel for the characters...Dialogue was secondary.
Beautifully shot. Looked like a lot of dolly-shots and crane use.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Blade Runner - 1982

Probably one of the three most influential sci-fi movies of all time, "Blade Runner" is a tour de force of visual design. Challenging and thematically dark, it tells the story of a disillusioned man whose job it is to hunt down and kill androids who are struggling to find just a few more years of life before they die from built in obsolescence.