Film Study: Singing in the Rain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Singing_in_the_rain_poster.jpg

Getting the number five nod for AFI's 100 greatest American movies of all time, Singin' in the Rain is considered to be the greatest American musical ever filmed. The film was directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen and starred Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen. The story was written by the famous comedy partners Betty Comden and Adolph Green. 

Gene Kelly, who is considered one of the greatest choreographers of musicals as well as a prolific actor and director, will be seen again soon when we watch the luminescent An American in Paris which ironically is the movie he just finished when he was brought on to head Singin' in the Rain with Stanley Donen. He has an amazing dance scene with the transcendental Cyd Charisse (who goes on to star in the Movie Silk Stockings (1957) which is a remake of the movie Ninotchka (1939) which we will be watching later this year.) 

Donen, a protege of Kelly, went on to direct a lot of great movies including Damn Yankees, The Pajama Game and Kismet, as well as the troublesome Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. He also directed the Lionel Ritchie music video "Dancing on the Ceiling".

As we watch this movie we want to pay attention to the use of sound in the movies. We will be looking at this this PowerPoint from the British Film Institute to discuss this further. As we watch, try to figure out:

• How were the tap dancing sounds created during the Singin' in the Rain musical sequence?
•  How were the voices dubbed in the movie? 
• Who actually sang the song Singin' in the Rain during the performance at the movie premiere? 
• How does the music impact the scenes in the movie?
• What is a Foley artist and what do they do?

Algiers/Battle of Algiers

The first two movies we will be studying are linked by place, but not by impact. Algiers (1938) is a remake of the movie Pepe le Moko (1937) based on the novel by Henri La Barthe, a French journalist, detective and writer. Both movies share the same plot, a wanted gangster hides in the Casbah in Algiers protected by friends and the woman who loves him. Things change when he meets another woman visiting from Paris. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Algiers_1938_Poster.jpg

Algiers (1938)  John Cromwell is the director, he prolifically directed 50 movies during his career including The Prisoner of Zenda and Of Human Bondage . He also directed Anna and the King of Siam which Rogers and Hammerstein later adapted into the musical The King and I, a film we will watch during our unit on musicals. 

The movie stars Charles Boyer, Hedy Lamarr, and Sigrid Gurie. Boyer, who we will see again in Gaslight during our look at Film Noir, was famous for his smooth charm and wonderful French accent. Hedy, whose first name is actually Hedwig!, made her Hollywood debut in this movie. She had starred in several movies in Germany before coming to the United States. She was also very intelligent and patented a way for changing radio frequencies during radio transmission to stop signal blocking. After making just a few movies, Sigrid transitioned to creating art including paintings and jewelry. 

While watching Algiers (1938) we want to look at setting. We will book trying to answer the following questions:

1. What is the Casbah?
2. Where is Algiers?
3. Why are the French in charge of the police and military in Algiers at this time?
4. Is there a political bias in this film? 
5. What connection does Pepe Le Pew have with this movie?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pep%C3%A9_Le_Pew.svg

The second movie we are going to watch is The Battle of Algiers. This movie will be a completely different style of movie from Algiers (1938). The first is more of a standard film noir, while The Battle of Algiers (1966) is a much, much different style of movie. It is considered to be a neorealist style, which means it seems real, although it isn't. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Battle_of_Algiers_poster.jpg

Battle of Algiers was directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, an Italian film maker. One of the stars, Saddi Yacef, has a very special tie to the film which we will discuss.

The movie is based on the Algerian War (1954-1962) which eventually led to the departure of French forces and the finish of French control in Algeria. The film depicts accurately portrayed bombings and terrorist attacks from the war. According to Wikipedia, "The Battle of Algiers gained a reputation for inspiring political violence: in particular the tactics of urban guerrilla warfare and terrorism in the movie were supposedly copied by the Black Panthers, the Provisional Irish Republican Army, the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front."

Again we will be revisiting setting in this film as well as discussing the following questions:

1. What impact did this film have worldwide?
2. Which side, as depicted in the film, is morally superior?
3. How did the style of film affect your understanding?
4. At any time during the film did you think you were watching real footage from the war? 

Interestingly enough both films were nominated for Academy Awards. Algiers received four nominations while The Battle of Algiers earned three, but neither won. Which movies won the awards in those nominated categories?

Algiers Worksheet

Battle of Algiers Worksheet

Film Study: An American in Paris

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:An_American_in_Paris_poster.jpg

An American in Paris (1951) is a musical that was inspired by the composition An American in Paris by George Gershwin. It is directed by Vincente Minnelli and was written by Alan Jay Lerner. The music, of course, is Gershwin's with his brother Ira supplying the lyrics. Some additional music is by the music director Saul Chaplin.

The movie stars Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Nina Foch and Georges Guetary. It was a winner of 9 Academy Awards and is listed as number 8 on the AFI's Greatest American Musicals list.   

Film Study: Singin' in the Rain (1952)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Singing_in_the_rain_poster.jpg

Getting the number five nod for AFI's 100 greatest American movies of all time, Singin' in the Rain is considered to be the greatest American musical ever filmed. The film was directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen and starred Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen. The story was written by the famous comedy partners Betty Comden and Adolph Green. 

Gene Kelly, who is considered one of the greatest choreographers of musicals as well as a prolific actor and director, will be seen again soon when we watch the luminescent An American in Paris which ironically is the movie he just finished when he was brought on to head Singin' in the Rain with Stanley Donen. He has an amazing dance scene with the transcendental Cyd Charisse (who goes on to star in the Movie Silk Stockings (1957) which is a remake of the movie Ninotchka (1939) which we will be watching later this year.) 

Donen, a protege of Kelly, went on to direct a lot of great movies including Damn Yankees, The Pajama Game and Kismet, as well as the troublesome Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. He also directed the Lionel Ritchie music video "Dancing on the Ceiling".

As we watch this movie we want to pay attention to the use of sound in the movies. We will be looking at this this PowerPoint from the British Film Institute to discuss this further. As we watch, try to figure out:

• How were the tap dancing sounds created during the Singin' in the Rain musical sequence?
•  How were the voices dubbed in the movie? 
• Who actually sang the song Singin' in the Rain during the performance at the movie premiere? 
• How does the music impact the scenes in the movie?
• What is a Foley artist and what do they do?

Film Study: Algiers (1938) and The Battle of Algiers (1966)

The first two movies we will be studying are linked by place, but not by impact. Algiers (1938) is a remake of the movie Pepe le Moko (1937) based on the novel by Henri La Barthe, a French journalist, detective and writer. Both movies share the same plot, a wanted gangster hides in the Casbah in Algiers protected by friends and the woman who loves him. Things change when he meets another woman visiting from Paris.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Algiers_1938_Poster.jpg

Algiers (1938)  John Cromwell is the director, he prolifically directed 50 movies during his career including The Prisoner of Zenda and Of Human Bondage . He also directed Anna and the King of Siam which Rogers and Hammerstein later adapted into the musical The King and I, a film we will watch during our unit on musicals. 

The movie stars Charles Boyer, Hedy Lamarr, and Sigrid Gurie. Boyer, who we will see again in Gaslight during our look at Film Noir, was famous for his smooth charm and wonderful French accent. Hedy, whose first name is actually Hedwig!, made her Hollywood debut in this movie. She had starred in several movies in Germany before coming to the United States. She was also very intelligent and patented a way for changing radio frequencies during radio transmission to stop signal blocking. After making just a few movies, Sigrid transitioned to creating art including paintings and jewelry. 

While watching Algiers (1938) we want to look at setting. We will book trying to answer the following questions:

1. What is the Casbah?
2. Where is Algiers?
3. Why are the French in charge of the police and military in Algiers at this time?
4. Is there a political bias in this film? 
5. What connection does Pepe Le Pew have with this movie?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pep%C3%A9_Le_Pew.svg

The second movie we are going to watch is The Battle of Algiers. This movie will be a completely different style of movie from Algiers (1938). The first is more of a standard film noir, while The Battle of Algiers (1966) is a much, much different style of movie. It is considered to be a neorealist style, which means it seems real, although it isn't. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Battle_of_Algiers_poster.jpg

Battle of Algiers was directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, an Italian film maker. One of the stars, Saddi Yacef, has a very special tie to the film which we will discuss.

The movie is based on the Algerian War (1954-1962) which eventually led to the departure of French forces and the finish of French control in Algeria. The film depicts accurately portrayed bombings and terrorist attacks from the war. According to Wikipedia, "The Battle of Algiers gained a reputation for inspiring political violence: in particular the tactics of urban guerrilla warfare and terrorism in the movie were supposedly copied by the Black Panthers, the Provisional Irish Republican Army, the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front."

Again we will be revisiting setting in this film as well as discussing the following questions:

1. What impact did this film have worldwide?
2. Which side, as depicted in the film, is morally superior?
3. how did the style of film affect your understanding?
4. At any time during the film did you think you were watching real footage from the war? 

Interestingly enough both films were nominated for Academy Awards. Algiers received four nominations while The Battle of Algiers earned three, but neither won. Which movies won the awards in those nominated categories?

Godzilla (1954)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla_(1954_film)#/media/File:Gojira_1954_Japanese_poster.jpg

Godzilla is the longest running franchise in movie history. As Yoda might say, the reboots are strong with this one.

1954 must have been Japan's 1939, the greatest movie year in the United States. We watched Seven Samurai, but the year also boasts Samurai 1: Musashi Miyamoto which won a special Academy Award for best foreign film and Sansho the Bailiff, an amazing film.

Godzilla is probably a psychological response to the atomic bombs being dropped as well as the fear of nuclear proliferation that was very scary and very real in the 1950's. Who knows what monsters will be revealed?

Seven Samurai (1954)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Samurai#/media/File:Seven_Samurai_movie_poster.jpg

Seven Samurai is arguably the greatest film from arguably the greatest Japanese director. Akira Kurosawa and his writers created the plot elements of recruiting heroes and starting the film with the hero undertaking a mission unrelated to the actual plot. He used multiple cameras and telephoto lenses to capture the action, which was almost as unusual as his insistence on creating the entire village away from the movie studio to make it more authentic.

Probably the most well known actor in this film is Toshiro Mifune, probably because he made 16 movies with Kurosawa. I suspect he is second only to Godzilla when it comes to recognition from audiences outside of Japan.

Into the Woods (2014)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Woods_(film)#/media/File:Into_the_Woods_film_poster.jpg

Into the Woods (2014) is a movie based on a stage musical of the same name written by Stephen Sondheim. This is an amalgamation of classic fairy tales with the outcomes being much more like the original tales than the Disneyfied versions we may be more used to.

Whenever I watch this film with students I enjoy the surprise that they have to the end. We so rarely see the fairy tale end badly that when it does happen, it has a real impact. As you watch this film, identify as many fairy tales as you can. What happens to the characters in the movie compared to their stories as you know them. 

Mary Poppins (1964)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Poppins_(film)#/media/File:Marypoppins.jpg

The story of the film Mary Poppins is really the story of how hard it can be to bring a novel to the screen. The differences between the Disney company and PL Travers are well documented and even, strangely enough, became a Disney film itself, Saving Mr. Banks.

There were over 30 songs written for the film, with most not making it into the soundtrack. That means only the best of the best made it in. So, for this film we will focus on the music. Identify the song you like best, the song you think moves the story forward the best, and the song you (or the film) could do without. 

The Invisible Man (1933)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invisible_Man_(1933_film)#/media/File:The-Invisible-Man.jpg

Does the drug make him crazy or just allow his crazy to 'show through?' That is the real question I am left after watching The Invisible Man (1933). How do you make the star of the movie invisible and continue to move the plot along while seeing nobody? The special effects in this movie at the time were state of the art.

The Mummy (1932)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mummy_(1932_film)#/media/File:The_Mummy_1932_film_poster.jpg

This version of The Mummy (1932) is another classic that probably has had fewer views than we would expect. I also happen to think out of the four Universal classic horror movies that this one is the best. Interestingly enough, there was never an actual sequel to this movie. There were a couple reboots, most notably the 2017 version starring Tom Cruise which doesn't resemble this movie in any noticeable way. It also isn't as good as the original. 

Dracula (1931)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_(1931_English-language_film)#/media/File:Dracula_-_1931_theatrical_poster.jpg

The second movie in the Universal Studios horror movie series we will be watching is Dracula. It does follow the book much more closely than Frankenstein (1931) did. 

As you watch notice the obvious transitioning from silent to talkies, there are still lots of long periods with no dialogue and close ups of the actors to convey mood. 

Are you surprised about how tame this movie is? Why would audiences 80 years ago feel any terror from this film? 

Frankenstein (1931)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein_(1931_film)#/media/File:Frankenstein_poster_1931.jpg

The first of the classic Universal horror movies we will be watching is Frankenstein (1931). You may want to look at the IMDB page for the movie as well.  Although it is based on Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, it is if you can forgive the expression a whole different monster.

Some of the most iconic scenes from the movie never took place in the book. Obviously we won't be reading the book, but you may want to at least read the summary on Wikipedia. 

It is important to remember a few things here, one is that the movie is different because the medium is different. It is also different because this is the story the director of the movie wants to share and not the author. 

Other than being in black and white throughout, do you notice anything else strange about this film? Something that is different than a typical film today?

Film Study: Wizard of Oz (1939)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz_(1939_film)#/media/File:WIZARD_OF_OZ_ORIGINAL_POSTER_1939.jpg

Our next movie is The Wizard of Oz. It stars Judy Garland, who was married to the director of An American in Paris, Vincente Minelli. Are there other ties to movies we have already watched?

This movie intersects two of our themes this year, musicals and movies from 1939. I wonder if you will think this is the best movie of 1939 like most critics believe. 

Film Study: An American in Paris (1951)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:An_American_in_Paris_poster.jpg

An American in Paris (1951) is a musical that was inspired by the composition An American in Paris by George Gershwin. It is directed by Vincente Minnelli and was written by Alan Jay Lerner. The music, of course, is Gershwin's with his brother Ira supplying the lyrics. Some additional music is by the music director Saul Chaplin.

The movie stars Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Nina Foch and Georges Guetary. It was a winner of 9 Academy Awards and is listed as number 8 on the AFI's Greatest American Musicals list.   

The Battle of Algiers (1966) Film Review

No war in anger was ever won. This saying describes the 1966 French film “The Battle of Algiers”. The Battle of Algiers was directed by Gilo Pontecorvo. Fun fact the only real actor was Jean Martin. Jean Martin played as Coloniel Matthieu, Brahim Haggiag played as Ali La Pointe, and Fusia El Kader played as Halima.

The Battle of Algiers is about two different nations and one land both people want. The Battle of Algiers is an interpretation of the eight year long war going on in Algiers. In The Battle of Algiers the French want to keep Algiers but the FLN want Algiers to be free again.

The most memorable part of the film for me was that the FLN stood up for their country and they wanted to keep Algiers away from the French.

I noticed that the director of the film made the film look like a documentary but the director states not one inch of that film is a documentary it is all staged. I also noticed that even the smallest role in the film made the biggest difference to the story line.

In all I did like the film, but it was confusing to me because of the language difference. You should watch this movie. I give this movie a 4 out of 5 star rating.  

By Felicity