SCHILNDLER'S LIST AND ROSEWOOD
So much has been said and written about the achievements of StevenSpielberg and his brand of cinema, that the moment we hear about a newSpielberg film being made, we know what to expect. A high quality actionmovie falling in the genre of science fiction- but when Schindler's Listcame out, it turned out to be visual treat of a different kind. Schindler'sList was unlike most Spielberg films. And it was this aspect of the filmthat took everyone by surprise and the whole cinema world by storm. Aholocaust Drama by Steven Spielberg! Since when did Spielberg getinterested in this genre of movie making' And even if he had actually showninterest in history, does he actually know something about capturingSchindler's List release in 1993 answered all those questions and silencedthe critics for once and all. It proved that Spielberg wasn't the king ofscience fiction alone, he was a master movie maker who knows his job welland so it doesn't matter which genre he chooses provided he is actuallyinterested in it. Schindler's List was a different experience for thedirector, the world of cinematography and film lovers. This wasn't exactly
Where camera work andcinematography are concerned, this film is far below Schindler's List butit is nonetheless does full justice to the issue of violence especiallylynching by applying slightly different techniques. Its beginning and ending is in colorthat says a lot about the sense of hope that Spielberg wanted to instill inits viewers especially the Jews. Inthe opening scenes for example, the contrasts between white and black townsare almost too obvious and are given elementary treatment. Howeverthe most appealing aspect of this color-less film is very seldom but highlyeffective use of color here and there to make a point or to highlight thesignificance of an object or person. Yet suchtouches are forgivable here because they are effective". The zoom shots in thisscene along with musical score is anything but compelling and the same canbe said of the ending where "the camera looks down in a long shot on ashack, and we hear the screams and blows of Fannie, as she is brutallybeaten by her husband, mixed with the lush, poignant music signifyingideological and narrative resolution. Like Singleton's earlier work, it's earnest, melodramatic, sometimesovertly manipulative in a Spielbergian way (that is, effective butunsubtle). The movie was made superbly and techniques it used only enhanced the impactof a powerful storyline. Camera angles carefully and powerfully supported the emotional aspectof a scene. But Spielberg and his team made acommendable effort to bring realism to filmmaking when they recreatedperfect "wartime ambiance" (Doherty, 1994). Schindler notices a little Jewish girl beingherded up in the ghetto, and the audience knows he is watching her becauseher dress becomes a moving patch of red against a background of black andwhite. Apart from thesescenes, there is an important scene where color has been used effectively. To successfullycapture the feeling of claustrophobia and extreme fear, shots are takenfrom inside those hiding holes and that enhances the impact of the wholescene. The pyrotechnics don't exactly disable thecompelling story to be recovered here, but they tend to be distracting. Thereare effective zoom shots and sharp camera angles but it still falls farbehind Spielberg's movie because unlike Schindler's List where thesetechniques proved effective, in Rosewood they tend to distract the viewers.
Common topics in this essay:
Schindler's List,
Survey Cinema,
John Williams,
Rosewood Singleton's,
Cindy Fuchs,
Steven Spielberg,
Spielberg Spielberg,
schindler's list,
Gregory Piorer's,
camera angles,
black white,
,
zoom shots,
unlike schindler's list,
cinematography unique,
scenes example,
doherty 1994,
unique camera,
unlike schindler's,
film camera,
|
Acceptance Essays
