Critical Analysis Link is now Active/New Poll Question

Please note that I have activated the Critical Analysis link (see the tabbed menu above).  Be sure to read through it today, so that you can begin thinking about the topic you want to write about.  Also note that if you want to write on a topic other than the ones I've outlined as options, you will need my approval at least two weeks before the paper's due date.  So email me your topic (if it's not one of the first nine options listed) ASAP. 

I've also posted a new poll question.  Please respond.

Things to Watch For in La Dolce Vita

The following are some things to watch for as you view La Dolce Vita a second time:

• Note the irony in the film's title.
  
  
• Note how the film is divided into 7 episodes and how the action typically occurs in the wee hours of the morning.  Is there any significance to this? 
  
  
• Note the famous Trevi fountain scene. What is its significance?
  
  
• Note the religious imagery throughout the film.  
  
  
• Note the theme of the sacred and the profane. How is that illustrated in the famous opening scene with the statue of Jesus being towed by helicopter?
  
  
• Note the movie posters on the wall where Marcello and his date pick up the prostitute.
  
  
• What does Steiner represent to Marcello? Note the framing of the scene with Marcello, Steiner, and the cross. Note the contrast between Marcello's work and Steiner's? Why does Steiner become a family annihilator?
  
  
• Note Marcello's relationship with his father.  Note the statue of the female body that is present behind Marcello's father while they're in the cabaret. It is featured around him and behind him in every shot. Why do you think this is?
  
  
• How does Fellini portray the paparazzi? What is Marcello's relationship with his co-workers?
  
  
• Note the contrast between Marcello's crush the movie star Sylvia and Marcello's fiance Emma.
  
  
• What statement is Fellini making with the scene of the children and their "miracle"?
  
  
• What is the significance of the leviathan, the stingray-like creature that is washed up on the beach?
  
  
• What is the significance of the young waitress Paola? Note the lighting in the scenes with her. What does it mean when Marcello cannot hear her at the end of the film?
  
  
• Trivia: The film contributed the term "paparazzo" to the language. The term derives from Marcello's photographer friend Paparazzo. Federico Fellini took the name "Paparazzo", as he explained in a later interview, from the name of someone he met in Calabria (Southern Italy) where Greek names are still common. "Paparazzi" is the plural meaning. 
  
  
• More Trivia: When shooting the famous Fontana di Trevi scene, director Federico Fellini complained that the water in the fountain looked dirty. A representative of Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) present at the shooting was able to supply the film team with some of the airline's green sea dye marker (for use in case of an emergency landing at sea). This was used to color the water, and the director was satisfied. 

Things to Watch For in Breathless

The following are some things to watch for as you view A bout de souffle a second time:

• Note the unconventional opening. No establishing shot or shot of the main character. So right off the bat Godard tells us he won't be using the usual film grammar.
  
  
• Note the use of jump cuts to break conventional film continuity.
  
  
• Note the use of handheld cameras, the amount of close-ups, and the long takes.
  
  
• Also note the Griffith-esque iris in and iris out shots.
  
• Note how film plays an important role in this film. For example, who is Michel imitating when he rubs his upper lip in his characteristic gesture throughout the film?
  
  
• Note how Michel breaks the fourth wall by directly addressing the camera/audience.
  
  
• Note Michel's rule for driving.
  
  
• Note the line on the movie poster sign--live dangerously until the end.
  
  
• Note how when Patricia loses her tail by escaping through the restroom window, we hear the gunshots from the Western she and Michel will see in the next scene before the current escape scene is over, i.e., as her tail comes outside looking for her.
  
  
• Note Michel's response to the automobile accident where a man is run over.
  
  
• Why does Michel call Patricia a coward?
  
  
• According to Michel, what are the two things that matter in life?
  
  
• Note the high angle shots in the apartment just before Patricia goes to betray him and again when she returns from doing so.
  
  
• Note Michel's actions as lies dying and his last words.
  
  
• Note Patricia's gesture as the film closes.
  
  
• Trivia: Godard famously said, "All you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun."
  
  
• More Trivia: According to Jean-Pierre Melville, Godard asked him for consultation during the post-production stage because the first edit was too long for distribution. Melville suggested Godard remove all scenes that slowed down the action (his own turn as novelist Parvulesco included). But instead of excluding entire scenes, Godard cut little bits from here and there. This led to the "jump cut" technique this movie introduced. Melville declared the result to be excellent.
  
  
• Still More Trivia: Jean-Paul Belmondo was very surprised by the warm reception the film received. Immediately after production he was convinced it was so bad that he thought the film would never be released.
  
• Trivia Question: What is the name of the Western film Michel and Patricia watch?

Trivia Answer re Bicycle Thieves

Sorry for posting this so late, but the answer for the trivia question:  

Lamberto Maggiorani's lean, hungry, dirty look reminds me of an American actor in a similar, and quite famous, role in an Oscar-winning American film. Can you name the actor and the film? 

is Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath.

Comment re Tokyo Story and Things to Watch For in Seven Samurai

I just wanted to say that I'm always a bit worried when I assign Tokyo Story to my class due to its admittedly slower pace.  However, I was very pleased that as a class you were able to long beyond that and to appreciate the film for what it is.  If you enjoyed Tokyo Story, I think you would also enjoy Ikiru, which I sometimes assign in its place.  Ikiru is a Kurosawa film and it's astonishing to watch it and Seven Samurai and realize that the lead samurai and the lead character in Ikiru are the same actor.  Anyway, for those of you with extra time (yeah, like I have any of that Dr. B) check it out.

Now for some things to watch during your second viewing of Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai):

• Background: This film is considered the greatest Japanese film ever made and it is Kurosawa's first samurai film and the first set during in the sixteenth century Sengoku jidai era of civil strife and feuding samurai clans.
  
• Note the shot of the horizon that opens the film and the amplified hoof beats.
  
• Note the economy of exposition at the beginning of the film when the farmer overhears the samurai.
  
• Note the motif of the circle throughout the film. Circle not only an organic symbol of unity but also embellishes the end of hierarchy and class distinction.
  
• Note how Kurosawa debunks many of the stereotypes & inflated myths associated with samurai in jidai-geki films.
  
• Note Kurosawa's wide-screen cinematography and large scale mise en scène in the action sequences said to have been influenced by American director John Ford, a hero of Kurosawa's.
  
• Kurosawa had been associated with wide-angle composition in the past, but beginning with this film he begins using a lot of telephoto shots which flatten perspective.
  
• Note also his use of deep focus where we can see characters in the foreground, middle ground, and background.
  
• Note how often he uses the composition of 3's in shots. And note how he uses wipes––both left and right––in the film.
  
• Note Kambei's shocking action when he is first introduced in the film.
  
• Note Kikuchiyo's oversized sword and overaggressive actions as he is introduced.
  
• Note how Kurosawa invents the modern action scene by intercutting slow motion with regular motion.
  
• Note Kambei's head-rubbing as his key gesture.
  
• Note that when Kambei tells Shichiroji that "perhaps we'll die this time." It's ironic as the two of them and Katsushiro, who are all three in the scene, are the only samurai who will not die.
  
• Note how Kurosawa shows us process. For example, how Kambei plans on defending the village with the maps, roads, and discussion of defense with others.
  
• Note the bond between Heihachi and Kikuchiyo, the two clowns among the samurai. Also, note how Kikuchiyo understands what is going on in the village before the other samurai and understands the farmers better than the other samurai.
  
• Note how Kikuchiyo chooses to stay in the barn with Rikichi.
  
• Note the banner and how Kikuchiyo is represented as a triangle unlike the other samurai.
  
• Note how Kurosawa gives us POV shots where we watch the watcher watch as opposed to showing us the watcher then giving us their POV. Also note that we typically get Katsushiro's POV.
  
• Note how Kurosawa deflates the typical heroic ending with a more realistic one.

Things to Watch For in Tokyo Story

The following are some things to watch for as you view Tokyo Story a second time:

• Note the left to right orientation on the first few shots of the film. Then how the train is shown moving from right to left.
  
  
• Note how Ozu uses "pillow shots" like the pillow words in Japanese poetry, separating his scenes with brief, evocative images from everyday life. He likes trains, clouds, smoke, clothes hanging on a line, empty streets, small architectural details, banners blowing in the wind (he painted most of the banners in his movies himself). These are used to reinforce Ozu's consistent theme of "dailiness."
  
  
• Note Ozu's distinctive “tatami-mat” shot, in which the camera height is low and almost never moves. Some say this is approximately the view you would have if sitting on a tatami-mat, though, in fact, it is a bit lower. He actually used a raised set and a short tripod to create the effect.
  
  
• Note how Ozu allows continuity errors and uses a complete 360 degrees in filming as opposed to the typical American 180 degree rule. 
  
  
• Note how Ozu almost always uses a direct cut.  It's rare to see a dissolve, a fade, or a wipe in an Ozu film. Also note the corridor or hallway shots that are typical of an Ozu film.
  
  
• Note the two montage scenes in Tokyo Story -- one for sightseeing and one during the funeral. 
  
  
• Note how Ozu rarely moves the camera. One exception is the tracking shot of the grandparents walking after they return unexpectedly early from Atami when Shige essentially tells them they need to find somewhere else to stay for the night because she is entertaining the other beauticians.
  
  
• As Roger Ebert notes in his review of the film, " Every single shot is intended to have a perfect composition of its own, even if that means there are continuity errors. All the shots are framed in some way. In the foreground of the interior shots, perhaps tucked in a corner, is a little teapot. Ozu loves that teapot. It's like the red signature stamp of a Japanese woodblock artist; it is his maker's mark."
  
  
• Note how Ozu likes to film his characters side by side. Instead of over-the-shoulder compositions, he likes two or three characters all in a row. If this causes violations of the eyeline rules (sometimes they don't seem to be looking at one another when they speak), he doesn't care. The side by side positioning implies balance rather than confrontation.
  
  
• Note the generation gaps in the film. The grandchildren don't know the grandparents. The children have grown distant from their parents and the parents are disappointed in their children. 
  
  
• Note how Noriko is introduced into the film. Note her genuine concern for her in-laws in comparison to the Koichi, Shige, and Keizo who all say the right things but whose actions are at odds with their words. 
  
  
• Note the heartfelt gifts Noriko and Tomi give one another.
  
  
• Note Ozu's use of narrative ellipsis in the film. Many times, scenes that we might expect to be big scenes occur off screen and are elided (like . Similarly, some things are spoken about, but we never see them happen (just like in real life).
  
  
• Note the circularity of Ozu's narrative. We end back where we started the film, but with a difference (Tomi is dead). In Tokyo Story, life is circular yet change is inevitable, a reflection of the Japanese concept of mono no aware, an awareness of the impermanence of things.
  
  
• Note Ozu's philosophy of life.  As Noriko tells Kyoko at the end of the film, life is disappointing but that is inevitable. And, as we see in the scene earlier between Shukichi and Noriko, life is a mixture of joy and sorrow.
  
  
• Trivia: Tokyo Story has twice appeared in Sight and Sound magazine's polls of directors and critics as one of the top 10 films of all time (it was 3rd in 1992 and 5th in 2002). It has a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes out of 21 critic reviews, with also the highest average critical score on the website at 9.7/10.
  
  
• More Trivia: The great actress Setsuko Hara (Noriko) is called "the Eternal Virgin" in Japan and is a symbol of the golden era of Japanese cinema of the 1950s. She suddenly quit acting in 1963 (the same year as Ozu's death), and has since led a secluded life in Kamakura, refusing all interviews and photographs (leading Japanese-cinema scholar Donald Richie to refer to her as the "Greta Garbo of Japan"). Chishu Ryu (Shukichi) appeared in no fewer than fifty-two out of fifty-four of Ozu's films.
  
  
• Still More Trivia: Ozu, known for his themes of marriage, the family, and, particularly, the theme of the relationship between generations, never married or had children. He lived with his mother until she died, just two years before his own death. Ozu was also well-known for his drinking. In fact, Ozu and his co-screenwriter Kogo Noda used to measure the progress of their scripts by how many bottles of sake they had drunk. Occasionally, visitors to his grave pay their respects by leaving cans and bottles of alcoholic drink.

The Midterm Curve

The Midterm Curve is as follows:

160 and above =  A         There were 2.  The high score was a 188.

130 to 159       =  B         There were 5.
110 to 129       =  C         There were 10.

90 to 109         =  D         There was 1.

89 and below   =  E         There were 4.

Be sure and check out your Grade-to-Date on blackboard which combines your grades for the discussions-to-date with your midterm.