films
I have chosen to do my journal entries on films dealing with revolutions. All of the films I have chosen deal with the theme of over throwing the old regime.Open City was one of the first films out of post-war Europe; in fact, it was shot right after the liberation of Rome, with whatever film stock available. Because of this, even the most pristine archival print of the movie will inevitably display visual impurities-film grain and the like, but lots and lots of them. One question I have is why the DVD presentation isn't quite full-screen, but with slight borders all around, when the original aspect ratio was clearly the standard 4:3 of a regular television set.The story concerns members of the local resistance and the bystanders around them. The friendly neighborhood cop is sympathetic, but will do nothing. The priest's helper minds his own business. Others have their own lives to lead, or petty fortunes to make. In this environment, Mandfredi, "the Engineer," finds himself on the lam and takes shelter with another partisan, Francesco. But the German authorities are close behind, and their Italian lackeys and informers magnify German policing prowess many fold.... This
If this is representative of the Taiwan "New Wave," than the movement still needs at least a few years to mature. ) The Battle of AlgiersBATTLE OF ALGIERSThe BATTLE OF ALGIERS was supposed to banned (somewhere) for many years. To make this point, Fritz Lang co-ordinate a huge project, involving thousands of extras, a mighty budget and astounding, futuristic sets. One of these involves Freder, when he starts hallucinating after the shocking explosion. One, which may not have garnered as much attention, had the circumstances surrounding its production been less melodramatic. Bisected into two distinct levels, the sprawling city consists of a powerful elite, living on the surface, who control and subjugate the subterranean masses. This early Algerian production is a gritty drama about the liberation of Algiers from the French. Before his very eyes, the machine dissolves into a divine, malignant shrine, eagerly gobbling up human sacrifices and demanding more (which is, in effect, the reality). Venturing into the steam and smoke, he takes over on some demonic electricity routing device, forced to work for the first time in his life. ) Moreover, despite his fondness for the fantastic aspects of chambara (sword fight) films, he deplored their conventional style and hopped to spoof the conventions. Technically groundbreaking at the time, with its mixing of models with live-action, it is still impressive today. Blinking and gasping in awe at the magnificence, they are soon hurried away. His human figures move through abstract and (treated) real landscapes, but their movement is usually "clipped," as if seen through strobe lights.
Common topics in this essay:
Blade Runner,
Fortress Enemies,
Francesco German,
Hidden Fortress,
City City,
Brigitte Helm,
Star Wars,
Unfortunately Joh,
Taiwan Wave,
Caravaggio Jarman,
battle algiers,
hidden fortress,
algiers battle,
box office,
algiers battle algiers,
battle algiers battle,
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Acceptance Essays
