Blog Post # 3 - February 27th, 2011

"It's the noir idea. We don't know what's going on but we do know something bad is out there controlling events." - Errol Morris

The quote above applies to both L.A. Confidential and Out of the Past. In L.A. Confidential, even though the case has been closed by just about everyone, Lt. Exley, Sgt. Vincennes, & Sgt. White all continue to investigate into the murders at the Nite Owl. They believe that the case has more to it and is not solved. None of the three really know how deep all of the crime and corruption goes but they know someone bad is behind the crime at the Nite Owl as well as other possible crimes that may have been committed. The entire film is a maze of corruption, sex, glamour, and crime where the protagonists and the viewers of the film, as Errol Morris puts it, truly do not know what is completely going on but do know justice has not been served. They do not know who is really their friend or their enemy. They lead the viewer to believe that a few characters may be behind the whole thing when really it ends up being none of them and no one figures out how deep everything goes until the very end. In Out of the Past, Jeff Bailey continually knows throughout parts of the film that he is in the middle of something that he does not completely know or understand but does indeed know that it is being controlled by people he refuses to trust including Kathie and Whit. The documentary even shows a part from Out of  the Past where Jeff knows he is being framed be he does not knows exactly what he is being framed for nor the person who is framing him.

"She's very smart, she's very powerful, and she's extremely sexual...She uses her sexuality to get what she's after and what she's after is not the man in the picture, he is another tool. What she is after is something for herself." - Janey Place, Scholar

The quote above is of Janey Place describing a femme fatale. Her description of a femme fatale does best describe Kathie from Out of the Past. Kathie does match all of the these descriptions as she is very smart and powerful and obvious extremely sexual as she seduces Jeff in Acapulco. She uses both Jeff and Whit during different points of the film as a tool or pawn, as I like to call it. She uses Jeff as a means of escape from Whit and continues to try and convince that she still loves him and just wants to be with him so he may continue to do things for her. She uses Whit in the second half of the film to continue to make him believe she loves him. By the end of the film she has tried to kill Jeff and did actually kill Whit. In the end, all of the decisions she makes in the film are for herself as she continually uses everyone in the film and any means to do what is best for her. In my opinion, Lynn does fit the criteria of the femme fatale described by Janey Place. Lynn is very sexual woman in the film seeing as she is a prostitute. She is quite smart and all knowing with her current situation and she must be powerful as she has been with many prominent people in the Los Angeles government that the people above her like Pierce Patchett could you photos to flex power and blackmail politicians. She does indeed use her sexuality for herself and as a tool when she does sleep with Edmund Exley as Sid is taking pictures of it to show Bud White in hopes that Bud will kill Exley. Now she does match these things and could be a femme fatale for other characters in that world as seen with Ed Exley but for Wendell "Bud" White, she does not use him to get after something for herself. she develops a love for Bud and even has him go to Arizona with her at the end of the film. Her relationship with White is what makes her different from the description of a femme fatale. It makes me believe that she is a reluctant femme fatale, she does everything a femme fatale does but, at least with White, does not really want to do it but does what she has to do.

Certains noir elements that fit L.A. Confidential includes location. Most of the film takes place in populated areas within urban areas of Los Angeles just like many noir films do. As the documentary describes about the protagonist, the film do include a good amount of carnage and death all the while our three protagonists remain unharmed throughout most of the movie until Vincennes reaches his demise and the other two remain relatively unharmed until the climax of the film where the shootout at the Victory Motel occurs. Certain scenes happen in tight spaces where things are happening include a small space where the jail fight happens or when Exley kills the suspects of the Nite Owl murders. Other instances in the film also involve this closed quarters combat. The film does have many instances where deep focus is present as people are speaking about something as shown above. Throughout the film, the lighting does seems to have a fade to it as the photo below shows:

It gives it a sense of an older film when really it was made in 1997. Surprisingly, many parts of the film are in the day time but when in the night classic film noir usage of shadow and light are exhibited. The use of color photography changes do indeed effect these elements as shadows and light seem to be much fewer than in classic noir films but it also can make these changes much more noticeable in the film. The color photography does indeed help enhance the feel of the movie and does help try to make it more believable that it is 1953.

Blog Post # 2 - February 12th, 2011

 After recently watching Jacques Tourneur's 1947 classic Out of the Past, I noticed many instances of Nondiegetic and diegetic sound throughout the film. An example of great nondiegetic sound is found early in the film at 4:49 mark into the film. The kid goes out to where Jeff is fishing and spending time with Ann. The background music plays a quite pleasant and harmonious music and tone to the scene to help add romance and beauty to the situation at hand where Jeff and Ann talk about their possible future together and how great things are going. All of the sudden at 6:22 in the middle of the conversation, the music's tone and sound change to a darker, more tense, and mysterious tone once Ann begins to speak about his past and what a mystery he is and when The kid signs to Jeff that a man wants to see him. The still below is right around the 6:22 mark and is the turning point in the scene from happy and pleasant to dark and mysterious that the nondiegetic background music helps to better the narrative. Another example is at the end of the film where the viewer finds that Jeff Bailey/Markham has been killed. At 1:34:06, the music starts low and mysterious while the officers move in on the car to check if the people in the vehicle are alive. The music stays consistent until 1:34:26 when the music comes in loud and hard as the officers opens the door to reveal that our protagonist, Jeff, has been killed. The music in both instances cannot come from that world as no radio or orchestra is out there playing for the characters in their world so since it is not from that world and used as a plot device to him enhance the story, it is nondiegetic.

At 15:00 we see a scene begin with diegetic sounds. The scene begins with a trumpeter playing the intro to a song at a club when the camera pans left to show many people dancing at a club. The music continues during Jeff's time there while he is asking Eunice Leonard about Kathie Moffat's whereabouts. Once his questioning is done at 16:33 the scene cross dissolves with another while the music fades. Another example of diegetic sound is seen in the one of the scenes following the aforementioned scene when Jeff enters Pablo's at 20:08 when a violin begins playing and as Jeff is sitting at the bar the violinist can be seen playing to a couple at their table and as the camera pans left and dissolves to show time has passed the violin has stopped and a piano can now be heard and once Jeff acknowledges it is the second time he went there to wait for Kathie the camera pans left to follow Kathie to her seat where the pianist is playing and as she sits the pianist can be seen playing and seen stopping once the piano has stopped. Once she settles herself a second or two later, both the violinist and pianist begin to play a song together at Pablo's while Jeff comes to Kathie's table and begins to speak with her and 22:14 when the conversation at Pablo's has ended, the music too has ended. Both of those examples of music are diegetic because they are not only playing while the characters are at that same setting and end when they leave but in this case in both instances, the actual musicians are shown in frame playing the song that is being hear and are creating music in the diegesis itself.

An example of a familiar image in the film are one of the first and last shots of the film involving the sign that states Jeff Bailey on the gasoline station Jeff is running. At about 1:30, as Joe pulls up after the opening credits a shot shows Joe looking at the sign that says Jeff Bailey on it. He then proceeds to admit minutes later at 4:35 that he was driving through one day and noticed his name on the sign. At the end of the film, The kid is shown looking at and reading Jeff Bailey on the sign at the gasoline station at 1:35:56 and signs to it with a smile and walks away as the film ends. I believe Tourneur crafted these shots to resemble each other for a few reasons. I believe it shows that an inanimate object can be used for many different things as Joe views the sign and finds his man while The kid views the sign and signals a goodbye as if he were saying goodbye to Jeff himself. I also believe it was an effective way to start and end the film as the first two characters shown in the film look at the sign. Joe sees it and it becomes the inciting moment of the film as he has found Jeff and The kid views it as a goodbye to Jeff by looking at the sign. Both the story and the plot use the sign to start and end the film.

This classic film noir does indeed show some great elements of film noir while it does have some parts that do not fit that billing. First off, the protagonist is a picture perfect example of film noir as Jeff is a detective who works between the law and crime and indeed is a bit of an outsider. Jeff is indeed an antihero as he does not always error to the side of the law. Another example, is the cinematography of the film as it uses contrast to create shadows as shown in the photo below. Many of the exterior shots are at night and in urban areas. The contrast of light and dark is classic cinematography in film noir as the name is French for "black film".

The plot structure is complex and the plot is not very predictable with many twists and turns that change characters plans throughout the film. Narration from the protagonist is also common in film noir especially when in reference to flashbacks like the one in this film. The setting does at times fit into film noir and at times it does not as many film noirs settings are in urban areas of big cities and while they are for a time in San Francisco, they spend much of the time in the film in lesser places like Lake Tahoe, Bridgeport, and Aculpoco. The theme of the film matches the way film noir theme is described in the textbook as, "the themes are fatalistic, the tone cynical." Out of the Past's theme is fatalistic for sure and the tone set by the protagonist is cynical. Lastly, Kathie is also a great example of a femme-fatale as she was quite seductive of Jeff and very deceptive to mostly all of the people she encounters within the film. She is quite violent as she kills two men in the film and continues to work both sides and confuses many to what her actual intentions are but she is smarter than Jeff and seems to be ahead of him in many ways throughout the film.

Blog Post # 1 - February 4th, 2011

Thousands of movies are released every year. Yet only a small percentage of those movies can be described as compelling and amazing. Movies are an art form and just like all other art forms, there are two important aspects that are examined: form and content. The content of a movie tells a story or multiple stories. It can teach, inspire, entertain and do many other things to a viewer. Content within a movie is the most important aspect. A movie with amazing form but has terrible content is no good. If the story/stories are compelling and people are experiencing something that teaches, inspires, or entertains them, then a film is good or even great. Form is what turns a good/great into a classic that would probably be proclaimed as "one of the best films of the year" as the critics usually put it. The form of a movie can do many things for the content and movie all together. Both together in top form make a movie compelling. When both aspects are perfected is when the magic and beauty of cinema takes place.

Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men is a film that fits this criteria. The content of this film is amazing. It is a Science Fiction film so it tells a story no one can relate to but is compelling and exhibits realism.  The story depicts many themes and has the ability to teach many things to people. This story is great but the form of the film that Alfonso Cuaron and his crew exhibit make the film a classic. The scene composition, tone, and symbolism are amazing throughout the film.  The photo below is an establishing shot of the current state of a street in London in 2021 that depict the composition and mood quite well.

In many instances the cinematography almost puts the viewer in the scene as if they were another character with the main characters. The tracking shots keep people in the story and are beyond amazing. Many scenes are longer than a minute, many other eclipsing two minutes and the uprising scene that lasts over seven minutes is arguably, the best cinematography in history. The acting within the film, also really impacts the story telling and take the story to a whole new level especially Chiwetel Ejiofer's performance as Luke, the main antagonist. Children of Men is a perfect film with top notch form and content that entertain, teach, and inspire people. It is a beautifully made film that is a complete masterpiece.




Ruben Fleischer's Zombieland is another film that I completely believe fits into this criteria. The form is nothing phenomenal but it is still a terrifically made film. As with many zombie movies, the zombie make-up is great and is the apocalyptic scenery exhibited throughout the film to make a well put together film as shown in the still below that shows the scenery around the two main characters. 

The content of this film is quite amazing. This movie has scenes or parts that can trigger many different emotions or genres. It is a zombie comedy that it is horrifying, hilarious, sad, surprising, and definitely entertaining. It is an ambitious film as it perfectly blends two things that most would not see going together. It blurs those lines perfectly. This film is much more on the entertaining side of content compared to the teaching or inspiring side even though things can be learned as there are many themes in this movie that are present in many films. The performances by the main actors and actresses really develop a great characterization for each of them to help further the story. The content of this film makes it a fantastic film. Zombieland is a very well-made film with excellent content, which makes for a compelling movie. As comedy films go, this one is a classic.