Please turn in your homework.
The modern blockbuster is not a new idea. In fact, as early as 1915, the Hollywood Blockbuster became a big deal and influenced many directors, writers, actors, and their audiences.
LAB task: before the end of period 1, please read the following article on Blockbuster trends and POST a comment in the section below about what seem to be the trends and tropes of a blockbuster film. Which "blockbuster" films have you seen? Do you like blockbusters? What seems to be the difference between blockbusters and other films in style and content?
D.W. Griffith was called the "Father of film technique" & "the man who invented Hollywood"
Birth of a Nation trailer.
With cinematographer G.W. Bitzer, he created and perfected the film devices:
The film is now regarded as terribly racist as it actually has the KKK riding in to save the day. Here's a few more objectionable scenes:
Negro Majority in the House of Representatives
Origins of the Klan
Controversial Scenes from BofaN
And the suggestive ending...
Here's the entire film, if you have the interest and 3-hours to spare.
A year later his masterpiece Intolerance (1916) was made as a reaction to the censorship of Birth of a Nation
Babylon Long Shot/Crane Sequence (tinted)
The Fall of Babylon from Intolerance
Entire Film: Intolerance.
In 1919 he established the film company United Artists with Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and William S. Hart
Overall, Griffith directed over 500 films. He retired in 1931 and died in Los Angeles in 1948. In 1975 his picture was on a post stamp. But by 1999, The Director's Guild of America's National Board renamed the prestigious D.W. Griffith Award (first given in 1953 to such directors as Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock, Ingmar Bergman, John Ford, Akira Kurosawa, and Cecil B. DeMille) because of Griffith's racism.
Please take a look at these clips and films starring one of his leading actresses: Lilian Gish.
Way Down East (1920) (scene with Lilian Gish) Possibly the most amazing stunt ever pulled in cinema history. Please realize that these actors really were doing their own stunts. That water is cold and yes, those are ice floes.
Orphans of the Storm (1921) (Entire film, with sister Dorothy Gish)
Judith of Bethulia (1914) (part of the film with Lilian Gish)
The Scarlet Letter (1926) (scene with Lilian Gish)
HOMEWORK: Please read the articles (if you did not finish them in class) on D.W. Griffith & The Modern Blockbuster. If you have late work, get it done and turn it in!
The modern blockbuster is not a new idea. In fact, as early as 1915, the Hollywood Blockbuster became a big deal and influenced many directors, writers, actors, and their audiences.
LAB task: before the end of period 1, please read the following article on Blockbuster trends and POST a comment in the section below about what seem to be the trends and tropes of a blockbuster film. Which "blockbuster" films have you seen? Do you like blockbusters? What seems to be the difference between blockbusters and other films in style and content?
D.W. GRIFFITH
D.W. Griffith was called the "Father of film technique" & "the man who invented Hollywood"
Birth of a Nation trailer.
With cinematographer G.W. Bitzer, he created and perfected the film devices:
He directed the very controversial The Birth of a Nation (1915) Based on Thomas Dixon's stage play "The Clansman." Over 3 hours long, the racist epic included a cast of hundreds. The film contained many new film innovations:
- the iris shot
- the flashback
- crosscutting
Here's a clip from Birth of a Nation. and a famous battle sequence with hundreds of extras.
- Special use of subtitles
- Its own musical score with orchestra
- Introduction of night photography
- Used a "still shot"
- Used an "Iris shot"
- Used parallel action
- Used panning and tracking shots
- Used close-ups to reveal intimate expressions of actors
- Used fade outs and cameo-profiles
- Used high-angles and panoramic (extreme) long shots
- Used cross cutting between two scenes to create excitement and suspense
The film is now regarded as terribly racist as it actually has the KKK riding in to save the day. Here's a few more objectionable scenes:
Negro Majority in the House of Representatives
Origins of the Klan
Controversial Scenes from BofaN
And the suggestive ending...
Here's the entire film, if you have the interest and 3-hours to spare.
A year later his masterpiece Intolerance (1916) was made as a reaction to the censorship of Birth of a Nation
Babylon Long Shot/Crane Sequence (tinted)
The Fall of Babylon from Intolerance
Entire Film: Intolerance.
In 1919 he established the film company United Artists with Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and William S. Hart
Overall, Griffith directed over 500 films. He retired in 1931 and died in Los Angeles in 1948. In 1975 his picture was on a post stamp. But by 1999, The Director's Guild of America's National Board renamed the prestigious D.W. Griffith Award (first given in 1953 to such directors as Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock, Ingmar Bergman, John Ford, Akira Kurosawa, and Cecil B. DeMille) because of Griffith's racism.
"We do not fear censorship, for we have no wish to offend with improprieties or obscenities, but we do demand, as a right, the liberty to show the dark side of wrong, that we may illuminate the bright side of virtue - the same liberty that is conceded to the art of the written word - that art to which we owe the Bible and the works of Shakespeare.""If in this work we have conveyed to the mind the ravages of war to the end that war may be held in abhorrence, this effort will not have been in vain." - D. W. Griffith (1915)
D.W. Griffith (1915)
Please take a look at these clips and films starring one of his leading actresses: Lilian Gish.
Way Down East (1920) (scene with Lilian Gish) Possibly the most amazing stunt ever pulled in cinema history. Please realize that these actors really were doing their own stunts. That water is cold and yes, those are ice floes.
Orphans of the Storm (1921) (Entire film, with sister Dorothy Gish)
Judith of Bethulia (1914) (part of the film with Lilian Gish)
The Scarlet Letter (1926) (scene with Lilian Gish)
HOMEWORK: Please read the articles (if you did not finish them in class) on D.W. Griffith & The Modern Blockbuster. If you have late work, get it done and turn it in!
8 comments:
One of the major trends and genres that remain consistent in the Blockbuster film industry is action. superhero movies also play a major role in Blockbuster films. when action, science fiction, and drama are the more successful topics, the superhero tropes grow majorly by the seasons. one popular Blockbuster I am familiar with is the Spider-man series. I followed it from its very first film release as a young child. some differences in Blockbuster films and other films in style with growing content, is that Blockbusters seem to have a bigger spotlight and always get the upper hand. in other words, Blockbuster gets the better credit and attention for critics and fans. Blockbuster films have a bigger stage production.
Most Blockbuster films are action based with special effects, violence, and a chase scene. I found it interesting in the Blockbuster article when they said Blockbuster films have become so predictable that even the unpredictability of the plot is fundamentally predictable. The article provides an example as it raises the question "When half of all blockbusters released since 2010 have a surprise ending, is it surprising anymore?" My guess would be no. The article goes on and says that out of all of the familial relationships portrayed, the most common is the father-son relationship.
The most common trends and tropes in movies are action, adventure, and thriller. Some blockbusters that I have seen are Forrest Gump, Titanic, Harry Potter, and many others. I personally like blockbusters, but they are starting to get predictable. The difference between blockbusters and other films is that blockbusters are movies that get a lot of money in the box office. It has better theatrics than other films.
People always say that all blockbusters are the same movie, especially now a days. It seems like they all follow the same formula, and they do! The majority of blockbusters are set in a dark gritty world, where only one man can save everything by literally blowing everything up or running away from speeding bullets (Looking at Michael Bay especially). I am not the biggest fan of blockbusters, especially newer ones. They are predictable and every "innovation" made for them has been implied in a better movie already that initially flopped. One good thing about blockbusters, however, is that the visual effects are usually well done, thanks mostly to an over sized budget.
Blockbusters are usually action/adventure based movies which can appeal to a large audience. Most blockbusters nowadays are very popular such as guardians of the galaxy, and the avengers. These movies are very oriented around action and cinematic effects being both CGI/special effects and pyrotechnics. The article also talks about how predictable movies have become over the last 50 years. They have generally shifted to a more generic and re-imagined plot. The article shows many different graphs including most common relationships, and most blood/gore/murder etc.
Blockbuster films are often action-oriented film whose premise is centered on more on the action and where it occurs, rather than the world or its characters. These scenes often involve a pursuit of a chase followed by a showdown between the protagonist and antagonist(s). The violence that commonly takes place in these scenes is often sanitized, showing a minimal amount of blood or gore. Since the movie is more so concerned with the events and their actions, characters often have relationships or a love-interest to be more likable to the audience. Unlike common films, which often center themselves around characters, dealing with both internal and external issues that they encounter realistically, blockbusters tend to have a more relaxed approach to realism, instead favoring high-stakes action. I rather like blockbusters as a primary source of action, my favorite being Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, a very humorous and ironic romantic/action-adventure film by Edgar Wright.
I honestly had no idea what a blockbuster was until this assignment. So to my newly acquired knowledge I have viewed many blockbuster films. I've seen Jaws, Titanic, The Lion King, Home Alone and my favorite of them all Grease. The common tropes of blockbuster films are that they usually focus on action, have a lot of chases and shoot-outs. Also they encompass immense amounts of advertising and their budgets also sky-rocket. Another common trope is that they use well-known actors and usually come out with sequels.
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