City of God
Movie: 2002, color, 130 min.
- Director: Fernando Meirelles, Katia Lund
- Actors: Alexandre Rodrigues, Matheus Nachtergaele, Leandro Firmino
The City of God is a place no one wants to live in. There are gangs, hoodlums, hold ups, drug trades, and rivalries. Lil Ze owns the city, but is soon countered by his rival, Carrot. Will there ever be peace in the City of God?
Q: How do the directors demonstrate Rocket’s love for photography?
A: Throughout the movie, it becomes apparent that Rocket wants to become a great photographer. He first encounters a camera and takes pictures of whatever he can. He later begins taking pictures of Lil Ze and sells them to the local newspapers.
However, the directors decide to show his love through specific shots. Each time Rocket, the narrator, changes his story, the directors take a picture of the upcoming event and leave the picture rolling for a few seconds. In a nutshell, the directors insert freeze frames, which are the pictures Rocket takes, to show the importance of pictures on his life. In addition, these freeze frames emphasize the events and show how important the events are that take place.
Not only do the directors explain Rocket’s love for cameras and photography, but they also insert important pictures into the film in order to show its importance on the movie itself.
Q: How do the directors use different shots throughout City of God?
A: Meirelles and Lund use specific shots throughout the movie for specific reasons. In the beginning, they choose to use tracking shots. When the chicken is on the loose and the kids are trying to catch it, the camera tracks the chicken down the stairs, through doors, and through many other obstacles. The directors choose to use this shot to show the City how it is and also to show where the chicken is going.
When they change from scene to scene, the directors often use a specific type of transition. A vertical black line comes from the right side of the scene and slowly wipes away the old scene, bringing in a new scene.
When two gang members are hiding in the woods, some police come to find them. The directors show a close up of the leaves on the tree, with water dripping. We see the close up and see the water slowly, very slowly, dripping down. This adds to the suspense and gives the scene a very nervous feeling.
Throughout the movie, Meirelles and Lund use specific shots to create different feelings.
Cinema Paradiso
Movie: 1988, color, 155 min.
- Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
- Actors: Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Antonella Attili
Salvatore Di Vita is a famous filmmaker. He tells the story of how he grew to love the film industry and is true friendship with Alfredo, the local theater projectionist.
Q: How does Tornatore use transitions throughout the film?
A: Tornatore uses a specific style of transitions throughout the film. When a character is doing one thing, he changes the scene, but continues the noise or action through another character.
For example, at the beginning, the priest is watching a movie and editing it for pornography. Every time he sees something that he disapproves of, he rings a bell. After a few instances, he begins to ring his bell. However, the shot transitions to large town bells. The bell noise continues from one scene to the next. Although there is a change of scene, the noise and bells ringing stay constant.
Likewise, later in the film, Toto is in the classroom. The teacher asks a student a question, who gets the answer wrong. In turn, the teacher hits the student. After a few instances of this, the teacher hits the student only to have a scene change. To stay constant, Tornatore changes the scene to Alfredo, who is hitting the film reel. We see someone hitting something, and hear the sound, but then see someone else hitting something else, but still hear the sound.
Tornatore uses this transition to add continuity to his movie as well as a very intriguing transitional technique.
Q: How does the Cinema Paradiso become a symbol for Alfredo’s life?
A: The Cinema Paradiso becomes a symbol for Alfredo’s life. When one thing happens to one, something similar happens to the other. In the beginning, Alfredo’s life is at its peak. Likewise, the theater is doing extremely well and has full houses every night.
When there is a fire in the theater, and the theater nearly burns down, Alfredo is hurt, and nearly dies. Luckily the two are saved and when the theater is built back up, Alfredo reenters the theater, healthy enough to walk again.
Finally, towards the end of the movie, Alfredo dies. The Cinema Paradiso dies with him, as it is destroyed once Alfredo passes. Throughout the movie, there is a distinct connection between Alfredo and the Cinema Paradiso, and the theater truly becomes a symbol for Alfredo.
Breathless
Movie: 1960, black and white, 90 min.
- Director: Jean-Luc Godard
- Actors: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, and Henri-Jazques Huet
Breathless is a French foreign film about a man who steals cars. When he takes these cars to Paris to sell, he finds his old lover who he rejoins.
Q: How does Godard use shots throughout the movie?
A: Godard uses different shots throughout his movie. Most of his shots are lengthy shots in the sense that they last for long periods of time. He tends to have periods where there aren’t many cuts, in order to keep the scene realistic and keep the scene true.
Additionally, he often shows one event for an extended period of time. He shows a woman going up an escalator. We see her from the moment she steps on until she reaches the top, a lengthy trip. He does this to show that she is doing something and as she is going higher, she is getting closer to her goal (of helping steal a car). Likewise, Godard shows a shot from the front of a car. We can see the front of the car but not the people in the car. He does this to show where the car is headed and how long the trip is. These extended shots show that a lot of time is passing in between where they are coming from and going to.
At the beginning of the movie, Godard fades out from one shot to the next. Instead of fading through a color, or doing a transition, he decides to slowly fade one shot out and bring the new shot in. This process takes almost 30 seconds, to dramatize what is occurring. Throughout the movie, Godard uses lengthy shots and transitions to help give his movie meaning.
Q: How do Godard’s cuts influence the movie?
A: Godard’s specific cuts influence Breathless. He often uses choppy cuts to change from one scene to the next. For example, he will cut from Michel to his lover, back to Michel, and back again. He does this all in a quick, short period of time. This influences the movie because it makes the viewer more confused. It is difficult to conclude what is occurring.
Godard also often cuts from one shot to the exact same shot. When this occurs, it almost looks like the movie is stuttering. Although I don’t exactly know why he does this, I believe it adds suspense to the movie. It adds suspense to Michel stealing cars and his illegal activities.
M
Movie: 1931, black and white, 117 min.
- Director: Fritz Lang
- Actors: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut
M is a thriller about a child-murderer who cannot be caught. Other criminals join in the hunt to catch the child murderer.
Q: How does sound play an important role in M?
A: Music and sound play an important role throughout M. However, the use of sound is much different than most other movies. Normally, in a film, music or noise plays in between scenes and when nobody is talking. However, Lang chooses to not have any music during the off time. Instead, there is complete silence.
This silence gives the movie a suspenseful feeling. When there is no sound, yet the detectives are looking around for the murderer, we, as the audience, feel nervous and apprehensive that the killer is going to jump out at us at any minute.
Additionally, people will sometimes be talking and are abruptly stopped for no reason. These stops add to the suspense, as we think something is going to happen due to the abrupt stop. The criminal, who whistles the same song all the time, adds a scary aspect to the film.
Although there is no music and oftentimes no sound, this style is crucial to the outcome of the film.
Q: How does Lang use specific shots throughout his movie?
A: Lang uses specific shots throughout his movie for a variety of reasons. In the last scene, Lang uses pans, zoom ins and zoom outs. The criminals are all in the basement and are interrogating the child-murderer. The pans are used to show the amount of people, the fact that they are all angry at him, and that they are all the same in their hatred towards the murderer. We see their straight faces one on next to the other, showing their disapproval.
In earlier scenes, Lang uses close ups. When we first learn of the killer, Lang inserts a close up of a poster, which tells about the killer. Throughout the upcoming scenes, these posters and signs are recurrent, as we continuously learn new data about the killer. These close ups are used to show their importance, as well as deliver the information.
Lang uses pans, zoom ins, zoom outs, and close ups all throughout the film for essential reasons.
Rashomon
Movie: 1950, black and white, 88 min.
- Director: Akira Kurosawa
- Actors: Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori
Rashomon is a film about a terrible crime that is committed. Different witnesses tell different stories about what exactly happened.
Q: How does Kurosawa use shots throughout the film?
A: Throughout Rashomon, Kurosawa uses specific shots to portray his ideas. When the murderer is walking through the forest, the camera turns up and looks at the sky. For an extended period of time, all we see is the trees passing by and the sky above. Kurosawa inserts this shot multiple times to show the sky and heaven above. Heaven and the sky above represent the murderer’s free range and the idea that he can do whatever he wants.
In addition, throughout the different interpretations of the murder, we see the murderer from multiple angles. When he walks through the forest, the camera changes from a head on view, to a behind view, to a bird’s eye view, and constantly changes between these angles. Kurosawa does this to give all angles of the murderer, as well as show what is going through his head. He has so much going on and therefore, we see so many different angles.
Throughout Rashomon, Kurosawa uses a variety of shots to portray free range and the murderer.
Q: How does Kurosawa tell the same story four different times?
A: Kurosawa must tell the same murder story four times with four different people and four different viewpoints. By changing shots, he makes one each a little bit different.
In each different viewpoint, Kurosawa uses different shots. For instance, in one he shows the murder from a long shot, to show the viewer’s perspective. However, in the next viewpoint, he shows the murder from a closer shot to show the different perspective.
Aside from the distance Kurosawa changes, he also changes the angles. Depending on where the viewer was standing, the angle changes from an eye-level shot, to a higher angle, to a lower angle. Every different angle, once again, gives a different perspective.
Kurosawa tells the same murder story four different times by using different shots and angles to give each story its own definition.
