Horror Genre

Horror films traditionally leave the audience with fear, disgust, and horror. The object of these movies are to scare the viewer. Therefore, macabre and supernatural means are commonly and successfully used. The thriller genre is commonly confused with horror. However, thriller is more tension and excitement rather than the fear from horror. The plot of horror films commonly contain morbidity, serial killers, a disease or virus outbreak, surrealism, and anything else designed to frighten the audience. Common characters in this portion of films include fake characters such as werewolves, vampires, ghosts, demons, zombies, etc. What is considered to be a horror film has rather drastically changed as the decades pass. Currently, most horror films are gory and contain jump scares or supernatural content. For example, Saw films, The Strangers, and The Ring. Early films, on the other hand were based much more off of classic literature. Examples of these are Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Phantom of the Opera. The first horror films were created in the 1890s. There were several silent films produced by film Pioneers like Georges Méliès. In the early years, horror films were a common trend for the Japanese directors. In 1910, the first version of Frankenstein was created by Edison production. However, it was lost for many years until found by film collector Alois Felix Dettlaff Sr. in 1993 and he release the movie. The era of the German Expressionist films gave birth to many fantastic horror movies. Many of these films greatly influenced future film productions, including those made in Hollywood. The hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Monster (1925) were both some of the first Hollywood horrors. These movies both starred Lon Chaney, Sr. He was the first American horror movie star. One of the very first horror films, also made during this time, was called Nosferatu. Nosferatu was a vampire film. The next years if films were the 1930s-1940s. This is the time period when American directors and produces become much more prevalent. For example, Universal Pictures popularized horror films such as Frankenstein and Dracula. They began to blend science fiction with gothic horror. This is also when actors first decided to dedicate themselves completely to the horror genre. One of the greatest make-up artists of all time came from this age. His name was Jack Pierce and he immigrated to the United States from Greece. He helped with the make-up for Universal Studios’ 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Two of the most famous movies from this period were Rouben Mamoulian's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Paramount, 1931) and Michael Curtiz's Mystery of the Wax Museum (Warner Brothers, 1933). Although not the first werewolf film, The Wolf Man (1941) was the most influential Werewolf film. As the years approached the 1960s and 1970s the gothic horror films were becoming less popular and films were becoming more relevant to a late-Century audience. This is also when horror films split into two categories. These categories were the horror-of-armageddon film and the horror-of-the-demonic film. This was a time of very low-budget productions. Many alien, abduction, and mutation films were introduced in this period. Japan also got involved in horror at this time. This is also when 3-D horror films began being produced. In the 1900s horror films faced two major problems. First, the genre wore itself out with non-stop gore films. Second, the desire of the audience was changing. They previously Horror films are commonly made into sequences or series of movies. Ghosts and monsters have remained popular from the very beginnings of horror films and are still used to frighten the audience. The end of the Production Code of America in 1964 was when films began including the Devil as a fear tactic. The devil would possess pregnant women and possess children quite often.  Exorcism movies are still made today such as “The Last Exorcism” or “Paranormal Activity” uses the devil in some way. Many movies made in the past have recently been remade with special effects. This has become very common in the 2000s. Some of these include Friday The 13^th, A Nightmare on Elmstreet, The Wolfman and many more. The early 2000s did not release many movies for the horror genre. It seems as if recently the zombie genre has returned. Another trend that is reappearing is the extremely graphic violence that is made from a low-budget. This exploits the Seventies and the post-Vietnam years. There are many types of horror films that are popular that will come and go through popularity trends and continue to be desired by the viewers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_film

http://www.filmsite.org/horrorfilms2.html

http://www.horrorfilmhistory.com/

Minor Sub Genre- Parody

Comedy is a popular genre, which contains the minor sub-genre know as a parody. A parody is a type of films that takes previous scenes from a movie and mocks or imitates them in a humorous manner. To successfully pull this off, the characters, sound, shot angles, and all other details must resemble the original scene and then shock the audience with a comedic result. The words parody comes from ancient Greek Theater. The word parody means “beside song.” An example of a Parody is the movie Airplane! (1980). This is a parody of the disaster movie. Monsters Inc. (2001) is not a parody but there is a certain scene in the movie, which mocks a similar shot from The Right Stuff (1983). Film parodies date all the way back to Buster Keaton’s The Three Ages (1923). Parody is often connected to satire. Parody films are very tough to please critics. In the 1960’s, many spy movies were made, possibly due to the Cold War, and this led to many spy spoofs. One of the most famous series of parodies is the Austin Powers series. In 2004, Edgar Wright directed Shaun of the Dead intending to mock the zombie genre. This movie remains near the top of the parody genre. The plot is a normal man named Shaun witnesses a sudden zombie outbreak. He must be brave to save his mum and girlfriend from the zombies. When the movie seems as if it would get scary, a surprise turn occurs and forces a chuckle from the audience.

http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Independent-Film-Road-Movies/Parody.html

http://www.onlygoodmovies.com/blog/good-movies/10-good-parody-movies/

Minor Sub Genre- Superhero

A superhero film is sub-genre of action and science fiction. These films focus on the actions for one or more individuals who possess superhuman abilities and use them to protect the public. This character will commonly have an archenemy or supervillain who wants to terrorize the public. Many superhero films have been made based off of comic books such as The Incredibles and Hancock. Some of these comics were originally targeted towards children while others have been targeted towards adults. However, they now appeal to all audiences. Some of the earliest comics have very recently been made in to very successful movies. For example, Batman, Iron Man, and Superman have all been made into well-known movies. There are certain things that help to contribute to a successful superhero film. Sticking to the heart of the character creates a connection between the audience and the hero. Vivid descriptions of the superheroes personal life is vital. Another idea that works is giving the superhero average human problems. This adds conflict that superpowers cannot solve. It also allows the viewer to at least somewhat relate to the protagonist. The music to this movie is very important as well. The sounds should resemble and define the superhero. Sounds can affect the intensity of the impact that the characters have on their surroundings. One of the movies that followed these rules was Richards Donner’s Superman (1978). This was the first major superhero feature films. The 2000s was a time in which some of the most profitable superhero franchises in history were made. It all began with Bryan Singer’s X-Men (2000), which was also a comic. Some of these movies were animated, like The Incredibles (2004), but most were played by actors. Currently, The Dark Knight (2008) is the highest grossing comic book film of all time. It was also nominated for eight Academy Awards, which is the most ever for a superhero film. Acting and costume design greatly improved this film. The Joker, played by Heath Ledger, had make-up painted on his face in the perfect way to reflect his character. Special effects gad a large impact on this movie as well. This brought drama and intensity to crash scenes and explosions. The location of the film is also very important to portray the culture of the society. Many scenes of the Dark Night were filmed in Liverpool and many other parts of London. One common trend in recent years, is combining superhero films with comedy. This is very challenging and very few have become successful. This is because this allows the viewers to not take the characters seriously. Minimal jokes and irony are acceptable, but the characters must be taken seriously. One must find the perfect balance.


http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2010/01/14/what-makes-a-good-superhero-film/
http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/2010/05/can_superhero_movies_be_works.html

French New Wave Film Era

French New Wave

The French New Wave, La Nouvelle Vague in French was a blanket term that was created by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s. Some of the major influences to this movement included Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood Cinema. The French New Wave was never an actual formally organized movement but their self-conscious rejection of classical cinematic form and their spirit of youthful iconoclasm linked the filmmakers of this movement. Many used social and political confusion in their work. The people most involved in this movement were François Truffant, Jean-Luc Godard, Éric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol, and Jacques Rivette. The French New Wave was mainly popular around the time of 1958 until 1964. The socio-economic forces following World War II had an immense impact on the movement. New Wave critics and directors studied the work of western classics and applied new avant garde stylistic direction. Many French New Wave films had a very low budget. Part of this is because many of the filmmakers used to be critics. These critics-turned-filmmakers did not know much about film production and worked on a low budget. Jump cuts, shooting on location, natural lighting, improvisation, direct sound recording, and long takes were all consistently used in the majority of films during this period. Many of these films had loose story plots. The viewer was able to interpret the movie as they wanted and it made the audience really think about the movie. Also, with much of the films being improvised, actors could add their own twist to the movie. A jump cut is a cut in the film from one shot and beginning with a new shot with a very slight difference. An unnatural jump cut could be accomplished by placing two shots next to that have a person in one position and in the next shot have a person in a different position. No one is completely certain what the first film of the French New Wave was but most of the first were short films. For example, Jaques Rivette’s Le coup du berger and Franois Traffaut’s Les Mistons. The French New Wave had a major impact on film from there on out. Even today, many films have been influenced from this period. It created many other new waves and directors to emerge and become well known. The French New Wave was a world known idea. One of the most famous directors that commonly uses New French Wave influences in his movies today is Quentin Tarantino. He dedicated one of his movies, Reservoir Dogs, to Jean-Luc Godard and named his company after him too. The Left Bank, or Rive Gauche, group is a contingent of filmmakers associated with the French New Wave, first identified as such by Richard Roud. Left Bank directors include Chris Marker, Alain Resnais, and Agnès Varda. The corresponding "right bank" group is constituted of the more famous and financially successful New Wave directors associated with Cahiers du Cinéma (Claude Chabrol, François Truffaut, and Jean-Luc Godard). The two groups, however, were not in opposition; Cahiers du Cinéma advocated Left Bank cinema. 

City Lights Response

City Lights

City Lights is a film directed by, starred by, and written by Charlie Chaplin. It is an 87 minute movie filmed in 1931. The plot is mainly about a tramp, who is broke and homeless until he meets a millionaire who he saves from committing suicide. However, this rich man only remembers who Chaplin is when he is drunk. This causes a conflict in the story. He also loves a blind woman, who he gives money to, to get back her vision. After she gets her eyes fixed, she sees Chaplin again and they are together and happy.

1. How does Chaplin make you feel like you are a part of the scene?

Chaplin puts the viewer at eye level in many scenes and has the actors looking at the camera. For one scene, he tilts the camera to make you feel as if you are falling on the floor with the actors. He uses many different shots and actors to make the viewer feel like they are a character in the movie. Each angle and shot is filmed which such eloquence that the viewer feels as if they are a character in the scene.

2. Why was the conflict in the movie so effective?

There were two main conflicts in this story. One was that Chaplin wanted to be with a certain girl but she was blind. The way Chaplin shot this showed how he cared for the girl. This added romance to the conflict. This is a common conflict in movies and usually viewers enjoy conflicts such as this. The other conflict had comedy involved. Charlie’s friend did not know who he was when he was sober. These two were great friends while the rich man was drunk but the man completely forgot who Chaplin was when he was not drunk. This led the audience to laugh even though it was a problem in the story. The way he was able to shoot these shots also made them more comical. Angles and shots used in this movie and all movies are vital to the success of the movie.