FILM 1F90 Sem 2

What are the two basic directions of film

Anti-realism and Realism

Who established realism and anti-realism

The Lumiere brothers- Realism (created unvarnished films with no editing)

Georges Melies- Anti-realism (showman and illusionist, used a lot of editing and elaborate tricks)

Who helped invent actualities?

The Lumiere brothers

What is an “actuality” film?

Short, unedited nonfiction films, shot from a fixed position, with little to no camera movement, and no narration of any kind

Who was also a major pioneer of the actuality film?

Thomas Edison and the Edison company

What film began to raise ethical concerns?

Electrocution of an elephant

Why do documentaries come with ethical concerns?

Real people and real lives are at stake.

What issues do documentaries usually talk about

Social issues

What social issues are talked about in hoop dreams?

Race, education, class, poverty, family, fatherhood, the American dream.

What is the American dream

America is a land of opportunity, anyone can make it regardless of their background. Rags to riches.

What does the American dream have to do with Hoop dreams?

Basketball was supposed to lift Arthur and William out of poverty, it was their ticket out of the ghetto.

Are there genres to a documentary?

yes

Who filmed hoop dreams, what did we connect it to?

James, Marx, and Gilbert and documentary

Who filmed exit through the gift shop, what did we connect it to?

Banksy and documentary

Who directed Koyaanisqatsi, what did we connect it to?

Godfrey Reggio and experimental film

why study experimental film

it has been a major contribution to film history and theory, and to the development of cinematic language

who was arthur lipsett?

master of sound experimentation and collage filmmaking

what is collage

collage involves mixing together various elements from different sources or media to create a new effect

what is a stargate corridor sequence?

the trippy scene from 2001: a space odyssey made by trubel

what was expo 67

a widely successful world fair held in Montreal in 1967, where they showcased expanded cinema. the immersive, split-screen, and multi-screen cinema was produced here =

what is immersive film in current theaters?

IMAX cinema

what is found footage

using previously made clips and re-purposing it

what is a symphony?

cycle of experiential documentaries(1920-1940) focused on capturing the energies and complexities of the modern metropolis

what is the meaning of Koyaanisqatsi?

critique of urbanism, overdevelopment, environmental policy, and cult of progress

when did the Hollywood studio system begin?

1910

where was the film industry originated?

NYC then Chicago

why did they make the move to Hollywood?

cheaper real estate, climate, wide range of scenery within close proximity

who were the big 5

Metro-goldwyn-mayer, warner brothers, 20th century-fox, paramount and RKO

what made the big five so promenade?

they were “vertically integrated,” (production, distribution, and exhibition)

what did the big 5 have?

they made their own films, they ran their own distribution networks, and they owned their own theaters.

who were the two major minor studios?

Universal and Columbia

what made a major minor studio?

Didn’t have their own theaters but were powerful in production and distribution

what did “poverty row” specialize in?

B films

What is a B-film?

low budget, low production, smaller scales stars, lesser genres and a variety of short films.

what was an A film?

a big budget, high production values, major stars and directors

what was handled in house in Hollywood?

producers, directors, cinematographers, actors, writers, set designers, food service professionals, voice coaches, etc.,

Hollywood as “dream studios”

Hollywood’s ideas were characterized by the special effects used, rear projection, matte shots, high production values, settings, leading directors, glamourous stars, etc.,

What was the production code?

A code to protect Hollywood from the controversial issues of cinema (sex, drugs, crime, moral standards, etc.,). directors pushed by by making subtle clues to what was actually going on

when was the production code in place?

1930-1960’s

What happened in the 1950’s in Hollywood?

In 1950’s the classical Hollywood systems were being dismantled for two reasons:
supreme court decision: United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. (1948) and the advent of television

What was United states v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.?

a supreme court decision was that Paramount and a few other major studios were engaged in unfair business practices because they were too powerful, controlled too much of the industry, and violated U.S antitrust laws. This ruled that all major studious were no longer in exhibition and many had to quit production.

what were the three components to the film industry

Production: making of the films

distribution: packaging, marketing and distribution

exhibition: actual screening of films in theaters

Differences between TV and Cinema

Cinema had Colour, large screens, widescreen formats, theatre sound, spectacle, glamour and mature content, and no commercials

What movie was used for Classical Hollywood?

Written on the wind, Directed by Douglas Sirk

what is Frueindian Imagery

Psychoanalysis Freud created approaches to dealing with the unconscious mind and helped study the mechanisms behind repression and the onset of neuroses. he emphasizes sexuality, developing theories of the libido and infantile sexuality.

How was Freudian imagery shown in written on the wind?

Some scenes were sexually suggestive, such as the sister at the end of the movie with the Eifel tower or using the heartthrob Hudson Rock as the main character.

What genre is Written on the wind?

Melodrama (music+Drama)

What was the French new wave?

A film movement that focused on realism films and brought in a new wave of directors who were previously film critics. All of the directors in this wave worked at Cahiers du Cinema, mentored by Andre Bazin.

Who were Fracois Truffaut and Jean Luc Godard?

Two of the most famous directors, they were highly creative, unconventional, focused on low budget filmmaking and made huge profit, by focusing on the youth.

What year marks the birth of new Hollywood?

1967

What is dominate ideology

a term that refers to the attitudes, beliefs, values and morals shared by the majority of the people in a given society.

alternative ideology

viewpoints or belief systems that diverge from main stream or dominate ideology

what were the eight components that contributed to Classical Hollywood’s dominant ideology

capitalism, the work ethic, marriage, nature as agrarianism, nature as wilderness, technology, progress, success, money corruption, and the American dream.

what were some of the characters in dominate ideology Hollywood?

the ideal man: virile adventurer, man of action

ideal female: wife & mother; endlessly dependable mainstay of hearth & home

settled husband/father: dependable/dull

erotic women: the femme fatale

Who directed Safe and what was it connected to?

Todd Haynes and ideology

who directed Written on the wind and what was it connected to?

Douglas Sirk and Hollywood

What is Hegemony?

the mechanism by which ideologies take hold within individuals and groups and establish consent for the existing distribution of power and hierarchy... this process leads to social hierarchy

What is an example of hegemonic order in the film Safe?

The upper middle class family having a Latina domestic servant has been normalized. There friends and family see this as normal, For the servant this arrangement is not ideal but has been normalized

what is consciousness-raising?

the way that individuals or groups see things in a fresh way

What does Peter Dunning have to do with ideology (safe)?

New age as an alternative ideology, positive thinking, knowing-nothing-ism, capitalism

What is a Canadian film

All aspects of the industrial, institutional and technological functions within a national framework, including the general attitude adopted toward the arts or toward the cinema in a particular in comparison with other areas.

What distinguishes Canadian film?

It consists of two filmmaking traditions: English Canadian cinema and Quebecois Cinema

What was the first genres associated with Canada?

Northwoods films

What stereotypes did Northwood films produce?

French-Canadian lumberjacks and trappers, shady “half-breeds,” whiskey runners, miners &gold prospectors, and noble Mounties and virtuous heroines.

Where were most Canadian films shot?

Mostly in California

Why was it difficult for Canadian films to be shown in Canada?

Most of the Canadian screens were owned by powerful American interests

Who was Gordon Sparling?

A canadian filmmaker that wanted to kickstart the candian film industry in the 1930’s. he created short films so it could be played in the AB films

Why focus on making short films

cheaper, would be played with big movies, serves ad a training ground for young filmmakers, and there were many places for them in North America, Europe, and beyond

What is the NFB?

National Film Board of Canada formed in 1939, commissioned by John Grierson

What did the NFB specialize in (after Grierson)

Documentaries, creativity and technical sophistication

What was NFB’s primary focus in 1939-1945?

War Information, including clear messages, persuasive arguments, powerful, unequivocal narration, strong visuals, bold graphics, effective editing, and stirring music.

What year did Canadian Cinema take off

In the 1960’s after they renewed the emphasis on Fictional feature filmmaking

What was the Tax Shelter Boom

massive tax incentives provided a huge shot in the arm for commercial filmmaking and genre filmmaking

Who was David Cronenberg?

One of Canadas most important filmmakers, he created low-budget horror films that turned into exploitation films. he made all of these in the tax shelter boom and commented on Media culture in a paranoid and ironic way.

Who filmed Incendies and what was it connected to?

Denis Villeneuve and Canadian cinema

What was Incendies based on?

A play written by Wajdi Mouawad

What drama was addressed in Incendies?

The Lebanese Civil War

What aspect of film form is shown in Incendies?

narrative repetition

What study is Incendies apart of?

Generational Trauma, shows how the twins were products of trauma and helps explain their up brining. also shows that redemption may be possible

What is catharsis

the process of releasing, therefore providing relief from powerful emotions

When did the notion of “word cinema” grow?

in the years after WWII

What are aspects of the Samurai film?

sword fights, usually set between 1600 and mid-19th century and were tales of chivalry and violence

How was the Chinese film industry split?

Into 3: Mainland China (communist), Taiwan (nationalist), and Hong Kong (British colonial)

When did Hong Kong’s film industry become global powerhouse

in the 1960’s-1970’s. this is because millions of people wanted to watch them

What were the Shaw Brother studios?

A film company with distribution in Singapore and Hong Kong. Then moved to Hong Kong and began to remodel based on the Warner Bros. in 1961 they established a massive studio called movietown

What is a wuxia film?

martial arts films set in the distant past featuring wandering soldiers often with remarkable (even super human) skills, especially with swords

Which Hong Kong studio led the cycle of Kung Fu Films in the 60’s and 70’s

Golden Harvest, they had Bruce Lee who was a huge movie star. They helped turned Kung Fu Films into a international sensation.

Who was John Woo

An actor who helped begin a new breed of action films: crime action films

What filmed helped Wong get recognized as an auteur?

Chungking Express (1994)

What are elements of Wong Style?

Gauzy, blurry aesthetics, Slow motion, Off-center framing, Faces are often obscured, Filming in the dark, and Filming in rain

What is Rack focus?

A method to help with Wong’s blurry aesthetics, its focus shifts from one plane to another within a single shot

What is shallow focus?

A method to help with Wong’s blurry aesthetics, as opposed to “deep focus;” here, only elements in the foreground of the image a clear, while elements elsewhere in the image are blurry

What is step-printing?

has to do with duplicating each frame of scene multiple times— this creates a slow-motion effect

What is under cranking?

has to do with shooting film at a slower rate than 24 frames per second

What film was used for National Cinema?

In the mood for love (2000) directed by Kar-Wai Wong

What is a whip pan?

a lateral camera movement that is carried out suddenly and is often used to add a sense of tension or anxiety to a scene, or to highlight what is expected to be a strong reaction to something that was said or done

What is the significance of 2046 in the film in the mood for love?

the year 2046 is the year that Hong Kong will fall under complete control of the People’s Republic of China

who was D.W Griffith?

one of the most controversial directors who was obsessed with race

what are stereotypes?

a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. they aren’t always negative, but always reductive

what are some black stereotypes seen in films?

The Mammy, The Uncle Tom, The Tragic Mulatto, The Buck, the Pickaninny