The Breakfast Scene

Well, this is my last blog... so I figured I'd make it about something that I really enjoy talking about: Citizen Kane.

This clip shows my favorite scene from Citizen Kane, the breakfast montage. Orson Welles transitions through time like no other film maker before him had.  He shows the deterioration of a marriage through multiple breakfasts. The fact that the marriage is shown over the breakfast table shows how boring of a marriage it must've been. Always the same... no real love or communication. At the very beginning of the clip, before the montage, when Mr. Thompson is interview Jedediah, notice the transition. Everything behind Jedediah fades away and then fades into the marriage scene all the while Jedediah is still lighted perfectly and in focus. The technology they had back then wasn't capable of doing that sort of focus, but Orson Welles did it. He did it on accident partially.. he thought that was how film did transitions. He was so used to doing transitions on stage that he simply carried over the technique into Citizen Kane. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/VTyOC8GF-qg

MacGuffin

MacGuffin -a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot.

The MacGuffin is what drives the action in movies.  The audience is never really aware of the MacGuffin. It's an underlying source of the movie. Moviemakers don't take time to specify what the MacGuffin is because we, as the audience, don't care. All the audiences truly care about is that justice is served and the bad guy is caught. Audiences tend to be black and white when it comes to plots and that's why specifying the MacGuffin isn't important. Directors know this. Yet without the MacGuffin a plot would seem empty... or choppy.

Alfred Hitchcock was a pro when it came to using MacGuffins.  The 39 Steps and North by Northwest are prime examples of MacGuffins being put to use in Hitchcock's films. Both movies deal with spies being after something.  By the end of the movie you no longer care about what it is the spies are after. All you care about is that the innocent man gets away free. Another prime example of Hitchcock using a MacGuffin is in the movie The Wrong Man. The Wrong Man is about an innocent man being accused of a crime he had nothing to do with. The crime that he was accused of doing is the MacGuffin. Honestly, I can't even remember what crime he was said to have committed. All that I remember is that he was innocent but everyone believed he was guilty. All I wanted was for his innocence to be proven to the world. And that is what a MacGuffin is.

The Artist

This is a film that I really, really want to see.  For one, it's a silent film!! I love silent films, a lot. The plot of the movie sounds really good as well... a silent actor suffers from a declining career while talkies take over the industry. The idea of making a silent movie, today, when we have the technology to make "talkies" amazes me. The Artist is going back in time with technology... but at the same time it's moving Hollywood forward. Or so I hope.   I really want to see this movie someday, I just have to find a theater that is showing it.

Titanic Rereleased!

I don't know how many people are excited about this.... but I am very excited! I've never seen the entire movie. I'm glad that I haven't because I think that watching it in a theatre will be a lot better than watching it on my laptop screen. But... at the same time I'm not really excited. I mean, I will go see Titanic in the theaters, but movies being rereleased seems to be becoming a trend... and I'm not sure how I feel about. It's cool that people who didn't get to see the movie in theaters when it was originally released now have the chance to watch it in theaters, but it's so uncreative... and I feel like it's just another way for Hollywood to make even more money on their most successful movies. First sequels, then remakes, now rereleased movies.... it makes me cringe a bit.

BUCK

I recently watched the documentary "Buck". I was surprised how much I liked it though at the same time I wasn't at all surprised.  Like most documentaries, it really focuses in on the main character. Buck is a horse trainer. He teaches clinics on how to break your horse. Buck doesn't break horses how they are normally broken... by means that are either abuse or pretty close to it.  Buck views the horse as a small child who doesn't know any better. After learning about Buck's amazing talent with training horses, the documentary focuses in on Buck's life.  You learn that he was abused as a child and doesn't have very fond memories of his early childhood. It's very surprising because Buck is so sweet and gentle with everyone he meets. I really, really liked this documentary. I think it's probably my favorite documentary that I've ever seen. Watch it if you get the chance!

The Fable of the Scorpion

The Fable of the Scorpion explains how character will always trump logic. A person doesn't do something because it's logical, they do it because it's their character. This fable was told in Mr. Arkadin. The Fable of the Scorpion is the plot of Mr. Arkadin. Instead of the frog, there's a young man in love with an evil man's, the scorpion, daughter. This fable is used in a lot of Orson Welles' plots, it could even be said to be the plot of Orson Welles' life.  Orson Welles denied putting pieces of himself into his movies, like Kane's childhood in Citizen Kane, but yet, the Fable of the Scorpion is one piece of Orson Welles that is in all of his movies.

Simple Math

I meant to post this video back when we were dealing with music videos... but I forgot about it until now. I think it's pretty unique for a music video, plus it's a great song with some amazing lyrics. All in all this is really good.

another citizen kane post

"A man always seems the same size to himself, because he does not stand where we stand to look at him." 

- Roger Ebert

 I really like this scene. What's going on in this scene is Kane's newspaper company has finally come to an end, I believe it went bankrupt.  Kane's newspaper was something he's been doing since his youth, he's been doing it for so long it's probably the one thing he's invested time in. He doesn't bother with investing time with relationships, just his paper. Anyway, this scene is ridiculous because, as you watch it, Kane goes from the table, to the back wall, and then back again. You don't realize how far away, nor how large, the back wall actually is until Kane walks right next to it. Only then do you realize how big the room is. Robert Ebert believes that that movie of Orson Welles' is symbolism - showing that Kane is, in a sense, failing... or shrinking. His claim to fame, his newspaper, is gone. His claim to youth is gone. His first and true love is gone. Everything Kane had known is gone. This is a turning point in the movie, though it may be a bit confusing due to all of the flashbacks and flashforwards. Before this scene Kane was on top of the world. After this scene Kane's life is very sad and very lonely. You start to feel sorry for Kane after watching this scene.

Is this scene really symbolism? Orson Welles always denied that there was any sort of symbolism at all in Citizen Kane. Then again, I think he grew to hate the movie as he grew older... so I'm not really sure. Regardless, I like to look at it as symbolism.

Citizen Kane

Out of all the times that I've watched Citizen Kane it took watching a commentary for me to realize this. The opening scene is brilliant. It's so cool! The window of Kane's bedroom is where the opening scene ends, but it's also where it begins and where it stays. In every single shot in the opening scene the window , or the light from the window, can be seen. Not only is it just seen, but it's seen in nearly the exact same place every scene. I can't imagine how hard that must've been to pull off.... and to come up with the idea to do it. The opening scene is one of my top 10 (no I'm not going to do a list) favorite moments of Citizen Kane... and it's mainly because of the whole window ordeal. As a side note... I like how the very first thing you see is a No Trespassing sign and then the first thing "you" do is trespass, and that's all you do for the rest of the movie is "trespass" until the movie ends with the No Trespassing sign once again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqz2rekeYMc

Rope

Rope - An Alfred Hitchcock classic, though it's not one of his most popular movies I still consider it one of his bests.  I believe that Rope is one of Hitchcock's more creative movies. The plot is very Hitchcockian, the two main characters murder a colleague just because the can... just to see if they can pull it off. One of the main characters is slightly more... twisted than the other and decides to throw a party. He decides to have the food served off of a chest - the chest where the dead body is being stored. He's all doing this for fun.

Where Hitchcock gets creative is the set. The camera never leaves one apartment. The whole movie takes place in a small apartment with the total of two or three rooms.  I didn't realize that the movie had taken place all in one apartment until I was reading about the movie. It amazed me! A similar movie to Rope is Hitchcock's Rear Window. That movie, like Rope, doesn't really involve a whole lot of locations.  The main character never leaves his small, one room apartment.  Yet through the other characters the story leaves the apartment... in a way.

As an added bonus, Jimmy Stewart says one of my favorite lines of the movie, his career, of any movie ever. Here it is! Watch it!!

Also, during this clip for the first time in the entire movie the outside world is heard. You've been stuck inside the apartment for the entire movie, you almost forget about their being a society. When Jimmy Stewart proclaims that society is going to kill the murderers, you are reminded that there is an outside world. When he opens up the window and shoots the gun you begin to hear voices form the outside world. It's an odd feeling... to realize that you've been in the inside the entire movie and now, finally at the end, a bit of the outside world is shown.

The ending to The Third Man

The Third Man is one of my favorite movies. What I find to be most unique about this film is it's ending. Not the ending to the plot... but the ending to the entire movie.

Harry Lime's girlfriend... or ex-girlfriend... is leaving the theater. Harry's friend, Holly Martin, is seen standing by his car obviously waiting for Anna. Yet, Anna does not care about Holly. She does not understand the complexity of the situation. When she gets close to Holly's car she ignores him, doesn't even acknowledge that he is there, and walks right by.  Carol Reed was having an awful time trying to decide what to do for the final shot. Someone on the set, besides Carol Reed.... I forget exactly what his name was... suggested that the final scene be a long shot from Anna walking from Harry's funeral past Holly. It's a very long shot... almost uncomfortably long. Carol Reed was very insecure with that shot, but it ended up being a great ending (though it differs from the ending in the book). As Orson Welles would say... long shots are what separate the men from the boys.

I consider the final scene in The Third Man to be one of my favorite endings.

Twelve: The Stranger [I like this movie = long blog post]

I recently watched a documentary on the effect the Holocaust had on Hollywood and vice versa. Among many films, the documentary reminded me of The Stranger.

Orson Welles plays an escaped Nazi, Franz Kindler, who is running from the government. He takes on a new name and therefore a new life, a life that doesn't involve a past of killing Jews. Edward G. Robinson plays the detective who is searching for Franz Kindler.

That's basically the plot of the movie, a cat and mouse type of thing. Between the chase a romance buds. At the beginning of the movie Franz is married to Mary. Mary plays a big part in the movie, as most beautiful leading ladies do. Throughout the entire movie the audience wonders if Mary will stand by Franz no matter what or if she will stand by her country. It was probably pretty scary for the audiences back then... the fact that they too, like innocent Loretta Young, could fall in love with a Nazi.

With that being said, the moral of the story is to never love a Nazi and if you find one, turn him in immediately.

You might be wondering why I have this film on my top 15 movies list if it is just political propaganda? I'm not all quite sure myself. It was a pretty good hit in box office... which was surprising because it starred Orson Welles. Maybe the public [and Hollywood] liked him better as a Nazi....

I think what I enjoy most about The Stranger is the amount of depth they gave Franz Kindler. This movie was released in 1946, movies involving Nazis and/or Hitler were pretty popular then. What separates The Stranger from those movies is that they showed a Nazi having other emotions rather than hatred.

Franz feared, he loved, he hated, he made small talk, he was a town favorite, he was human. Nazis portrayed in films during or near World War II seemed barely human. Yes, they did absolutely horrible, awful things... but that doesn't necessarily give the whole story.

What makes the Holocaust so awful to me is because so many humans were killed by humans. Jews, gypsies, handicaps, etc. were not killed by monsters - they were killed by humans. I think that's why The Stranger has always stuck out to me.

The audience gets so attached to Franz, or at least I did (then again, I might be a bit biased because I'm such a big fan of Orson). There were times in the movie when I was rooting for Franz and rooting against the investigator. I wanted Mary to stay with Franz, to hide with him and to love him forever.

Yet, in the end the movie's message is clear: a Nazi is a Nazi, no matter how "tender his eyes are"

Watch this movie. It's great [and it's on Netflix and Youtube Movies].

Orson Welles - his cigar was always there for him.

I think a few people already know that I really, really like Orson Welles. I saw Citizen Kane for the first time when I was a sophomore in high school. I didn't become obsessed with the movie until my junior year. Somewhere in between those two years, I came to love Orson Welles. One of the many things that I love to talk about Orson Welles is his career. Here's a little bit about some  of his career.

"When I'd left the worst that could be said for me was that I was some kind of artist. When I came back I was some kind of lunatic. No story was too wild - the silliest inventions were believed. The friendliest opinion was this: "Sure, he's talented, but you can't trust him. He throws money around like a madman; when he gets bored he walks away. He's irresponsible." -Orson Welles

Sad isn't? It's sad how someone so talented could become blacklisted in Hollywood. All because ofCitizen Kane.  Citizen Kane was probably one of the more controversial films of that era. Orson always denied the similarities between Charles Foster Kane and newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. It didn't matter what Orson said, it only mattered that Hearst believed that Kane was 100% based on his life - and he hated that. Hearst tried to have Citizen Kane blacklisted and have the negatives burned. Orson likes to tell the story of how he saved Citizen Kane.

"....And I got a rosary, put it in my pocket, and when the running was over, in front of Joe Breen, a good Irish Catholic, I stood up and dropped my rosary on the floor and said,  'Oh, excuse me.' and picked it up and put it back in my pocket. If I hadn't done that, there would be no Citizen Kane."

So, Orson saved Citizen Kane by dropping a rosary - or at least that's how his story goes. Later on in his life, I'm inclined to believe that he would much rather them burn the negatives. Citizen Kane was his least favorite topic to talk about durning interviews. The first and [probably] last time he watched the film was the final cut before it was released. He would've much rather talked about his other films like Mr. Arkadin or The Trial. He never understood why everyone was so hung up about Citizen Kane. It's like Ingrid Bergman and Casablanca. She never understood why all everyone wanted to talk to her about was Casablanca when she had been in so many other great films.

The saddest part of Orson's career was not that he had failed, but that no one allowed him to succeed. No one would fund his films because of the rumours of Orson's irresponsible and spontaneous behaviour. In order to continue to make films he had to cameo in a ridiculous amount of films [and commercials...] and play ridiculous characters.  Orson Welles never had the stability that other directers of his time had, like Alfred Hitchcock and John Houston.

That's why Orson's last interview, the one that Matthew shared, is so heartbreaking. He's spent the majority of his life trying to prove that he's not irresponsible and that he's not a "one-hit wonder". He's spent his whole life running around a Hollywood, a town that despises him, trying to get jobs and find money.  When Orson says that he should have quit the movie business and Hollywood... it's him accepting his defeat.  Then eight days after that interview, he dies. His funeral is mostly empty with a few people filling a few cheap metal chairs.

Orson Welles was born in the wrong time period. He was born a romantic when it seemed everyone else in the movie business was a realist. He was born a renaissance man when everyone else thrived in one talent. Orson Welles' story is a sad one, but yet he managed to accomplish so much in his life. Radio, scripts, editing, directing, producing, plays, magic, drawing... you name it Orson probably did it.

And that is just a little bit of the reason why I enjoy reading about Orson Welles so much. He's so interesting and complex.

The End.

Fourteen: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
The actors: Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur
The plot: I'm pretty sure the majority of you already know the plot to this movie. Don't worry, I'll make it short. A small town hero is selected to be on senate for shady political purposes. Along the way, Mr. Smith realizes that he's being used. He doesn't like what he's being used for, so he decides to fight against his superiors by holding the floor with a filibuster, a very intense filibuster. It's great.
Why I like it: I mean, it stars Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur - probably two of the most lovable classic stars at that time (and maybe still today) - and it's directed by Frank Capra, a very lovable director. I love political films, and I consider Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to be one of the best. It's an early political thriller type, it's romantic, and even funny... It's a Capra film. Also, it's a typical Jimmy Stewart movie. The sincere, lovable, small town underdog wins in the end. If you haven't seen it, you should! Awesome.

and here is my favorite scene - The filibuster.

Fifteen: Tomorrow is Forever

Making a top 15 classic movies list! Woo.
Tomorrow is Forever
The actors: Starring Claudette Colbert, Orson Welles, and little Natalie Wood.
The plot: A young married couple says goodbye to each other as John leaves for the war. Elizabeth continues living life waiting for her husband to return until the fateful day where she learns that her husband, John, is dead. After a period of mourning Elizabeth remarries and has a family of her own. Meanwhile, John, who now goes by the name of Erik, has spent the last 20 years of his life as a disfigured man in Europe. Erik returns to he and Elizabeth's new house, with his own adopted daughter. I won't spoil the ending because I know all of you are going to go out and watch it as soon as possible!
Why do I like it?: First off, I am a huge fan of Orson Welles. Though at first I was hesitant to watch it because, let's face it, Orson had to be in a lot of bad movies to make his films. Fortunately, Tomorrow is Forever isn't one of the bad ones. I also like it because of the love story it portrays. Choices are made that one wouldn't think would be made.... It's a very sad Christmas movie. It's really almost too sad to be considered a Christmas movie. Regardless, I love it and it's number fifteen on my list.

I tried finding a trailer or something of the movie but all I could find was the entire movie... so I guess here's your chance to watch it if you're interested!

Holiday Inn (1942)

Needless to say, Holiday Inn is one of my favorite Christmas movies. I like it for a lot of reasons... one of which is because it stars Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. The movie is unique because it goes through the story of a love triangle throughout every holiday. And for every holiday, you get a neat song and dance number. Occasionally Fred Astaire will sing and Bing Crosby will attempt to dance. It's great. Depending on which version you watch of it... you may get the chance to see a very controversial scene. The scene includes a dance number with Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, and Marjorie Reynolds put on "black faces"... a common form of entertainment back then. Now, the scene is considered racist, then it was funny. It's an odd scene to watch now. Anyway, if you ever see it on tv or happen to get the chance to watch it... you should! As an added bonus... Holiday Inn is the movie where Bing first sings White Christmas. He sings it with Marjorie Reynolds and it's beautiful duet. I love this movie so much!

Choose a Different Ending

You may have already seen these videos.. but I decided to post it in a blog in case some hadn't already. Choose a Different Ending is a web series of 21 films with 10 different endings. The camera is in the point of view of the main character. You, as the young boy, get to choose his actions which in turn will choose a different ending. Anyway, I've always thought movies where the camera is in the first person point of view were neat... and I really like this series for various reasons.

Here's the link to the promo....
http://vimeo.com/26861656

Here's the first video....

"I'm not sure I deserve it, but I embrace it everyday."

What Would Jesus Do? It's a question that most Christians would admit to having learned during Sunday school. It's a question that a person asks when facing a tough situation. It's a question people ask in order to put their life back on track. It's a question that floats around in my head occasionally.

During today's class, "What would Jesus do?" came to mind once more. Although this time, it was in a different form. What kind of movies would Jesus make?

I'm sure that some of you cringed when you read that last bit. I'll be the first to admit that I would cringe if someone else had posted it. Why? Is it really such an awful question? Maybe it is. Either way, it's what I've been thinking about since class.

I don't have the answer to the question. I feel like when I know God, I'll be able to answer that question. Getting to know God has been a struggle for me. For a very long time I lacked any motivation to put time aside to get to know God.

A spiritual walk is full of ups and downs, highs and lows. Due to a series of unfortunate events, I've been on a low for a long time. My passion for God has seemed to run dry. I find I try to make sense of life without God. I try to find meaning or answers without God.

The path of faith is easy to get off of. It's easy to stray. It's easy to be proud and believe that everything is ok. It hurts to get back on the path. It's painful to realize how far off the path you've gone. It hurts so much to look God in the face and not know who he is.

Spiritual lows are horrible. I've never understood how Christians could turn against God. I've never understood how a person could desert their faith - now I do. Though I hate spiritual lows with a passion, I thank God for them. I thank God that I can look at faith and love and at Him from a different view. Viewing God from the same angle for an entire lifetime is an awful way to live a life. Or at least it is for me.  I thank God for the Intro to DMA class. I feel like without that class, I wouldn't think. I wouldn't ask God who he is. I wouldn't have the passion to know Him. I don't believe that I can make anything but trash without truly knowing God. The more films we watch in class the more I want to know God and the more questions I ask myself.

Fridge didn't bother me. I wasn't disturbed by the language. I remember Prof. Leeper asking if the language used in the film bothered anyone. He went on to say that is should bother us as Christians. Ever since that day I've been walking into trees.

With that being said, I really like our Intro to DMA class. It's been so hard for me to get back on the path, let alone find it. The films that we watch in class have helped bring me closer to God, in one way or another. I'm not exactly sure how it happens, but I do know that God works in amazing ways that I can't comprehend. I completely understand how the films shown in class can be offensive to people. Once upon a time it would've been uncomfortable for me to watch those films too. But today, I look at those films as beautiful blessings.

Romantic Comedies and such...

I've been putting of blogging about this movie just because I didn't want to. But I'm behind in my blogs, so here it goes.

Long story short, three friends and I went to the movie expecting to see a certain movie. To our dismay the movie had sold out before we got there. I'm not really sure why, but for some reason seeing a movie at that theater right then became the most important thing in the world. We had to choose between the movie 50/50 and What's Your Number. We should have left.

We chose What's Your Number, assuming that it would be a nice, R rated, romantic comedy.  Even as I'm sitting here now I cringe at the fact that the marketers got the best of us so easily.

I'm not going to give a review of the film because honestly I don't remember much about it. All I remember was how I hated the way that women were portrayed in it. The movie made it seem ok to have sex with 20 different guys and then later search for "the one" in those 20 guys. I think a lot of romantic comedies do that now; they make the main character's characteristics or lifestyle desirable to the audience. Maybe it's just me, but usually when I watch a romantic comedy I want to be like the leading lady in someway.  Even in older movies this is true for me. Especially when watching Breakfast at Tiffany's, I mean, who wouldn't want to be Holly Golightly?

I believe that it's obvious that any movie you see will effect you in one way or another, big or small. What's not so obvious is exactly what the movie effects. I'm so used to people talking about how a movie effected them spiritually, emotionally, etc. I've always assumed that I didn't need to think about how a movie effects me because I've already been told how it effects me. It just dawned on me how much a movie effects my self-image. I don't think I'm effected majorly, but overtime I'm sure it does damage. When I was little I wanted to be Pocahontas, when I got older I wanted to be Mary-Kate, and now I don't really want to be anyone exactly, but I'm influenced by many movie characters (new and old).

I wonder though, how many young girls watched What's Your Number and want to be like Ally Darling? I wonder how many girls have watched a romantic comedy and wished that they could be more like the main character?

Perhaps this is why I don't gravitate toward romantic comedies in movie theaters. I don't like being forced into liking the main character and hating a guy character and then loving the couple in the end.

Un Jour - One Day

I thought it was very interesting how heartbreak was portrayed in Un Jour. I really liked it. Normally, heartbreak is portrayed as a heart literally breaking or as a woman's heart being stolen. I liked how, instead, the man became a part of the woman. I believe that most women, when they are in love, feel like the man is a part of her rather than her heart has been stolen. When that man leaves the women her heart and spirit are crushed. A part of her is gone. The healing process of heartbreak is long and hard. To me, putting back together a shattered heart sounds easier than some how managing to fill in a hole in yourself. Healing a broken heart requires a substance to "put the heart back together". Filling a hole requires a perfect fit. One day, the man who had become a part of the women left, leaving the woman shocked and empty. She would try to fill that hole but could never find that perfect fit. The woman would try to find a man who could somehow compare to the man that had left her, but would never succeed. She had loved the man so much that she let him become a part of her and she had loved the man so much that no other person could fill that hole.

I always felt like heartbreak stories were all the same, cliche. It's so refreshing to see a new take on heartbreak and not have it be portrayed as another heart literally breaking. A hole in a person speaks more to me than a shattered heart does.