Refective Writing
The Cabinet Of Dr caligari
My initial reaction to the film was that it is going to have a spooky atmosphere to it and/or story I thought this because of the first text card screen with the style of font was crooked and unnatural. I really enjoy the way they have done the makeup on main characters in contrast to the extras in the background or less important characters as their makeup is lighter and darker around the eyes as if they are sick and/or cannot sleep properly due to the worry of Dr Caligari and his next move. The set is very different and unique and reminds me of today’s Tim Burton’s style. With the unusual slants and shapes of the buildings, however it adds to the story. Towards the start of the film there is someone in high power sitting on a ridiculous height pedestal compared to his other workers who are on lower more normal sized stools. This helps picture who is in power whilst making it apart of the setting. My overall thoughts and feelings of the film is that the set and props help make the story feel even more unusual and suspicious which to me completes the film.
Metropolis
The divide and contrast in the two regions are very distinct, although its in black and white you can tell the second area is a lot more happy and brighter. In the city underground they are almost like robots stuck in a routine it makes me feel sorry for them being stuck in this situation all dressed the same and walking like the army. In contrast to the overground where people are dancing and playing games, this reminds me of the golden age in Europe, with glamour parties and flapper girls. It makes me feel free whilst watching it as I now relate more to the group having fun, compared to whilst at school I felt trapped and robot-like just as if the underground people would as well. The war between the two after the underground city finds out about the other life makes me think of the equal rights fight.
Zero for Conduct
Andalusian dog
Overall, this film is very bizarre and uncomfortable to watch, it feels like they were trying to create a hallucination feel to it with the scenes constantly changing from one weird event to another. Some characters make me think they are possessed or even zombie-like with some of their actions where it seems to be, they are not thinking and just acting. I feel like it was taken down from the screens due to the fact of how shocking some of the imagery is.
This film filled me with joy watching the cheeky schoolboys and have fun and prove to the teachers they are smart by conducting a plan and successfully executing it. The set of the schoolboy’s bedroom reminds me of a prison with very basic beds and plain walls, almost as if they are getting punished. This gives me the impression that the school is vile and almost as if they create robots’ characters out of the children whilst they just want to have fun. We see this fun side to the main boys at the start where it appears, they are traveling back to the boarding school and they try to one-up each other’s acts of humor.
Meshes of the Afternoon
I definitely get the impression of watching someone’s dream in this film. The repeating and linking shots and images give the impression of things weighing on the sleeper’s mind. It’s not terribly easy to put a storyline to ‘Meshes of The Afternoon’ but you can see the logic behind the chaos and lack of reality. While the film was a little confusing, it generally felt sinister and prophetic like her dreams were warning her or us to something darker coming. It was very interesting how they used the shadow of the actress. We were given an idea of who she was but no real detail and I wasn’t sure if we would see her face at all throughout the film.
The Elephant Man
This is a rather sad film based on a real man with severe deformities, called John Merrick, who was exhibited at a freak show in London. Poor Merrick is owned by a sadistic ringmaster who keeps his head hooded and beats him frequently. The lighting is quite simple to not distract the viewers from the emotional storyline of our poor protagonist, Merrick. The film is emotional and heartwarming. At the time it would have been unsettling to see someone like this however in today's society it's more welcomed and normal to see people with deformities mentally and physically.
A Matter of Life & Death
The starting scene of the film is calming, then we are dropped straight into the Second World War (WW2). I find this interesting and reflects what the film is about, two drastic differences beating next to each other and this reference of two differences is spoken about a lot throughout the film. The creators of this film had a hard job to show earth and heaven as two different sides. This was done by using colours for the earth, then using black and white for heaven. Normally we would find this the opposite way round as haven being this exciting, colourful new world. I think this has been reversed because we are looking at this from Peters eyes and earth is where he wants to be, so the earth is in full colour for him. I find this was a wonderful creative outlook on the way to portray this and it made the film.
The Scarlet Empress
I found the start of the film to be strange, we are shown ’Sophia’ when she is young, lying ill in bed but then we cross over to this nightmare world of torture and pain. This I find confusing as to why. From the start of the film, you could tell that ’Sophia’ and the ‘Duke’ were not going to be a match. Her beauty is blinding and her capabilities have been restrained but she is starting to grow. The ‘Grand Duke Peter’ is a half-wit and can only do things because of his status. He does not deserve the power he was born into, which others spend lifetimes trying to achieve. I find this contrast between the two beautiful as he is blinded by her beauty and she's blinded by his power they can't see the truth that they are not a good match for one another. Through the film I liked the sets and rooms used to film it in, I could only wise the film was colour, so then we could have seen the vibrant colours, rich woods and sunlight golds they would have been adorned in. I also loved the outfits and costumes that were showed and how ’Sophia’s/Catherine's’ out fits changed to show her growth too.
La Belle et la Bete
Having previously only seen the Disney animated and live-action versions of Beauty and the Beast, I was very curious what the differences would be, especially since Disney is known for taking a lot of death and gore out of traditional fairy tales. I really like the appearance of the Beast. I like that you can still see the actor's eyes, so a lot of emotion can be conveyed through them. I found it interesting that in this version, the Beast loves Belle right from the beginning, like in the fable, whereas in the Disney versions, the Beast doesn't like Belle and stays away from her. Disney clearly wanted a lot more characters, hence why they added all the animated objects, but Cocteau manages to create a world just as magical with only a few characters.
The Naked Civil Servant
The Naked Civil Servant is a wonderful film about an extraordinary man. Quentin Crisp (played by John Hurt) starts his journey of self-discovery after he befriends a group who express their identity wearing clothing and accessories typically associated with the "opposite" sex. What follows is a series of events in Quentin’s life as a self-proclaimed ‘homosexual exhibitionist’.
The scene that stuck with me was the courtroom. The speech was incredible with a fantastic performance by Hurt. What struck me however was the way in which the character holds control over the trial, he is constantly one step ahead as he knows that the officers trivializing his experience as a gay man. That they are assuming they can get away with targeting him because the system is on their side. However, Quentin here composers himself asserts his control and speaks the truth in a manner that makes them look desperately foolish. The character also shows a side of vulnerability that is not often shown through his façade, in a way that really impacts the audience showing the true life of an ‘exhibitionist homosexual’ man.
