French Impressionism and Surrealism (1918-1930)

Through out the silent era, a number of film movements in France posed major alternatives to Classical Hollywood form.  Impressionism was a French Avant-Garde Film movement that was made by the French Film industry and was profitable. Surrealism was made independently of the French System and did not prove financially successful.

Impressionism

In 1915 American Films flooded in to the French Market. By the end of World War I the French Film industry never fully recovered.  The Impressionists focused purely on emotion and subjectivity, but their aesthetic did not take off as an international success

Surrealist

·      *    The Surrealist filmmakers relied on private patronage and screened their works to small artist gatherings.

·       *   Films perplexed and shocked audiences

·       *   Linked to Surrealist painting and literature

Surrealism

Surrealist cinema was directly linked to Surrealism in literature and painting. Automatic writing and painting, the search for bizarre or evocative imagery, the deliberate avoidance of rationally explicable form or style-these became features of Surrealism as it developed in the period 1924-1929. From the start, the Surrealists were attracted to the cinema, especially admiring films that presented untamed desire or the fantastic and marvelous. Surrealist cinema is overtly anti-narrative, attacking causality itself.  The films tease the audience into finding absent narrative logic and events are juxtaposed for their disturbing effect

The End of the French Surrealist Movement

In the 1930’s the movement led by Andre Breton had disbanded. Individual Surrealist Artists like Luis Bunuel, Max Ernst and Salvador Dali continued to paint and make films. Bunuel created films until the 60’s including The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and Belle Du Jour.

Un Chien Andalou

Released in 1929 to a limited showing in Paris and ran for 8 months following the premiere. The only rule for the writing of the script was that "no idea or image that might lend itself to a rational explanation of any kind would be accepted. Moreover, he stated that, "Nothing, in the film, symbolizes anything. The only method of investigation of the symbols would be, perhaps, psychoanalysis.

GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM

In German expressionism, it all started at World War I and their film industry was not that huge, even though some impressive pictures had been made there. Since America and France banned German films from their screens immediately, German government supported their film industry.

Films imports were banned except from neutral Denmark because of the war and an outbreak of murders occurred, has make this an opportunity for the film makers to expression their emotion and frustration into films. There are three popular genres used in German films. First was the internationally popular adventure serial, featuring spy rings, clever detectives, or exotic settings. Another was a brief sex exploitation cycle, which dealt "educationally" with such topics as homosexuality and prostitution.

While in 1919, Erich Pommer’s Decla took an interest to produce a move named The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. The film is written by Carl Mayer and Hans Janowitz.

Expressionism started in painting in 1910 then taken up in theatre, literature and architecture. German Expressionism depends mostly on mise-en-scene. The first film of the movement is Caligari, it is also one of the most typical examples.

                                                                                                                     

In the film Caligari, the characters apply heavy make up and move in unrealistic patterns such as jerky, slow or sinuous way. Also the film makers use Expressionist stylization to show the audience the distorted viewpoint of a madman. 

Since Expressionism becomes accepted phenomenal filmmakers, they didn't motivate Expressionist style as the narrative point of view of mad characters. In German Expressionism, there are four styles and these are the framing; refer to unexpected camera angles and oblique camera angles. Second is chiaroscuro lighting, it is contrast of light and shadow for various effects. Next is surreal content, means unrealistic and exaggerated sets design. Lastly, are characters with heavy makeup, jerky and slow movement. The end of this industry, the Hollywood films began to create their films with a mark of expressionism.

TRAINSPOTTING MOVIE

                        

As I watched the movie I realized that the film "Trainspotting" explores the problems, depravities, and exploitative self-interest associated with a group of working-class unemployed heroin addicts. Trainspotting's representation of the term 'Britishness' can only be seen as depressing, it seems that the film tries to point out the constant negative self reflection that has plagued British youths, particularly in the 1990's where heroin became more easily available. This movie Trainspotting, is a British social realist film directed by Danny Boyle. Rated 18 for 'graphic drug use, frequent strong language, sex, nudity and violence', this controversial text depicts the life of Mark Renton and his circle of supposed drug addict/thieving/psycho 'friends', leading the viewer from the highs of hits to the lows of trying to get clean, ending with a drug deal and a final betrayal.  The genre of this movie is social realist genre that everyone could relate.

Trainspotting tells us a story about Scottish underworld life.Trainspotting, is more complex than a typical social realist film with many 'anti-realist' techniques that bring to the forefront the expert process of film making rather than simply documenting reality in a naturalistic fashion.

I can say that this film has enlightened me to the craft of modern social realism and the twists that you can put upon it to make it more desirable and watchable for the audience. What Danny Boyle does is clash together the realistic 'kitchen sink' social realism and the 'magic' realism that juxtapose each other and create a unique product. The picture that is painted is of an escape from the mundane working class lifestyle, represented by the difference in filming and editing techniques. The 'choose life' line that this film is famous for is referenced throughout, with the characters not choosing life, but choosing an escape from it; much less work than changing your social status. It is a critique on a generation's mind set placed together with seamless editing and influential effects, creating a modern classic that will go down in history as one of the great social. This movie does not simply show the awful world of drug addiction, but hits the viewer with comic points to break up the heavy content of inevitable self destruction. This story can also happen in reality.

FILM NOIR

The film that we watched is a film noir. As I have read, film noir is dark film and  the style of film making is characterized by elements such as cynical heroes, stark lighting effects, frequent use of flashbacks, intricate plots, and an underlyinge extensialist philosophy. 

Based on what I've seen in the film, film noir is not only for film buffs and academics. The film-makers of the were not making “film noir” movies; they were making pictures for a wide audience which is still entertaining. Also, based on what I've read, the film noir retain their popularity, firstly because the noir themes and motifs have universal appeal: films noir are about the individual in a hostile universe, and in the best noirs, the anti-hero has at least a shot redemption. Secondly, they are so well-made with a craft and discipline we don’t often see anymore.        

 While watching the film noir, it was so hard for me if it is a genre or a style. I can say that defining film noir can be a tricky task. I think most people consider film noir to be a combination of genres such as crime, drama, thriller, mystery. One example of a film which not challenge the definition of film noir is Maltese Falcon for the reason that it is one of the earliest examples and because it establishes most of those same elements.  Another aspect of film noir is the period in which they were originally filmed. There are people will say that film noir only existed between the  period of 30's to the 50's which is contributed to the culture of the certain era in which the movies were filmed. 

In the post-war realism of this time period made an audience that claimed a different style of film that showed the real and harsh reality of everyday people. Since film noir cannot be repeated it is rather a genre and     themes from film noir can be easily recurring but not in the same way.

What i have learned in film noir is that, there is still no one specific definition of film noir but rather people’s opinions and observations. I think, it depends on us on how we see the films and understand it. Movies must have entertainment created for profit. I observed in the film that we watched in temrs of the lightings they used is that the common thread of film noir lighting is low key lighting – a style called Chiaroscuro in the art world. Chiaroscuro emphasized shadows and harsh lighting to create a sense of depth and volume in paintings. This film made me see the truth that today's film is very much different in terms of technical and aesthetic qualities, it doesn't mean that we cannot gain learning from it. 

FILM SCHOOL GENERATION

                           

As I’ve watched the film about the directors, I gained a lot of knowledge about it. This segment explores the financial and cultural forces that made their success possible; the influence of classical Hollywood genres, new technology, and the French New Wave on their work; and their continuing evolution as idiosyncratic film makers with commercial clout. 

The American Cinema series takes a look at recent filmmakers who were also film buffs and went to film schools to learn their trade. The film also shows what this episode basically does is look at the "new" type of filmmakers that were taking over the early 70s and each one are able to discuss their first movies, how they got their break and go onto discuss some of their bigger pictures. Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, John Milius, Teri Garr, Brian DePalma, David Brown and author Linda Myles are all interviewed. Spielberg probably gets the most attention as he talks about shooting 8mm films as a child, getting to work at Universal on TV projects and then of course breaking big with JAWS. Lucas talks about feeling that he only had one shot in Hollywood and discusses how the studios just didn't think his films were going to connect with an audience. Even Scorsese talks about thinking that no one would see MEAN STREETS and he discusses what he thought were going to be a disastrous preview at Warner. Another running theme deals with the foreign influence that all of these filmmakers had. Each talk about the foreign directors that influenced them and we hear how DePalma wanted to be the next Godard but instead went towards Hitchcock. So I guess they are classified those who are thinking of people. Because, they think what people wants and they make fiml that people can relate.

                                 

                           These are the directors:  Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Francis Coppola, Paul Schrader, John Milius, Brian De Palma, Kathryn Bigelow, Robert Zemeckis, Spike Lee, David Lynch, John Carpenter, Martin Brest, George Miller, Martha Coolidge, Joel Coen, and Edward Zwick all studied film in college and/or graduate school. From commercial blockbusters such as Star Wars (Lucas), Jaws (Spielberg), and The Godfather saga (Coppola) to smaller, quirkier films such as The Comfort of Strangers (Schrader), Strange Days (Bigelow), and Barton Fink (Coen), these films reflect the tastes and worldviews of the individuals who directed them, but they also reveal the imprimatur of an educational system that teaches students how to write, direct, and criticize motion pictures. 

HOLLYWOOD STYLE

                              As I've watched the film about the Hollywood style, it made me realized that there are big differences between the Hollywood movies and the local movies. Hollywood movies, as opposed to international films, have been defined as having unique and distinct characteristics. These films are described as an art form necessitating a great deal of skill in order to be created. The question is what makes a Hollywood movie a Hollywood movie? I think the characteristics of a Hollywood movie are invisibility, editing style, and narrative story. The Hollywood style is fundamentally built on the principle of continuity editing or "invisible" style. That is, the camera and the sound recording should never call attention to themselves (as they might in films from earlier periods, other countries or in a modernist or postmodernist work). I can say that the Hollywood style is much more advanced in terms of technical etc. I also noticed in the film, the Hollywood movie is continuous, since non-linearity calls attention to the illusory workings of the medium. The only permissible manipulation of time in this format is the flashback. It is mostly used to introduce a memory sequence of a character.

                           The unifying force behind the classical Hollywood style is motivation and conventions. In the development of the narrative every event is motivated, follows a causal relationship. In the same way the use of cinematic style is generally motivated by the narrative. The connection between narrative and cinematic style is highly conventional. Due to the dominance of the style viewers come to expect certain stylistic choices for certain narrative situations. All of the above results in what Bordwell has called "an excessively obvious cinema,". in that it follows a set of norms, paradigms, and standards that match and gratify viewers expectations. In other words by the end of a classical Hollywood film answers for all questions have been provided and one doesn't leave the cinema perplexed and startled as one would after some New Hollywood films or European Art films.

                              The Hollywood style can teach us more techniques in terms of making film that can make the viewers more interested and amazed. Many of us have watched the Hollywood movies than the local movies because of their styles, techniques and how they begin and ended the story. The Hollywood style draws the audience into the story making them feel like they are taking part in the story. I would say that a movie that has poor editing distracts the audience and pulls them outside the story. The film we've watched about the Hollywood style helps me to understand the styles, the way they act, the narration and etc. This made me more interested in watching movie and understands it well.

About the blogger..

I DON'T REGRET THE THINGS I HAVE DONE. I JUST REGRET THE THINGS I DIDN'T DO WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE...

This is Hazel De Guzman. 3rd year Mass communication student MC1138. Studying at Far Eastern University. Though i’m excelling in my course, Mass Communication wasn't my first choice. But now I am enjoying my studies.
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