Examination of Your Chosen Script & Color in Film

This morning, please take the first 15-20 minutes to complete the graphic organizers for your film choice. You were supposed to have read either Duck Soup, Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, or the 39 Steps.

When you have completed this graphic organizer, please turn in your work as participation. Then, please use the next 15-20 minutes to discuss the narratology of the film script with other who have also read that script.

• Discuss how the film uses narratology as a device. 
• Examine the genre, the plot structure, the character portrayal, the setting, POV, and intended audience. 
• What elements of the film script are formalistic, which are classical or realistic, etc. 
• How does the film script adhere to the rules of the genre (what are those rules?) and find examples of the narrative style.

Take a few minutes at the end of your discussion to discuss ideas for a film of your own from the genre or style of the movie you read. If you read a comedy, what ideas for a comic film can you brainstorm with your group? If you read a fantasy or thriller, what stories might you come up with for those genres? Etc. Brainstorm your ideas and discuss them with your group members. 

During Period 2, please go next door to discuss Technicolor.

Color in Film

Color tends to be a subconscious element in film. It has an emotional appeal which often suggests mood of the film or characters in it. At its most effective, complimentary characters are dressed in complimentary colors--antagonists are dressed in contrasting colors to their protagonists. Characters can match or contrast their settings and a whole host of other useful symbols can be created with color.

The first Technicolor film was THE GULF BETWEEN (U.S., 1917), a five-reeler made by Technicolor Motion Picture Corp. in Florida mainly for trade showings in eastern cities, to create interest in color movies among producers and exhibitors. It did not receive nationwide distribution. A lost film today, only a few frames survive.

The first two strip Technicolor feature made in Hollywood, and the first to receive nationwide distribution, was the costume drama THE TOLL OF THE SEA (1922).

Another silent movie filmed entirely in two strip Technicolor was the swashbuckler THE BLACK PIRATE (U.S., 1926), produced by and starring Douglas Fairbanks.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (Cecil B. DeMille's epic, 1923) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) BEN-HUR (1925) and KING OF KINGS (Cecil B. DeMille, 1926) used color as a gimmick or in parts.

The first all-talking Technicolor feature was the Warner Bros. musical ON WITH THE SHOW (1929). Various other musicals followed, such as Lockstep (1929), clip shown here and Gold Diggers (1929).

All of the color films up to this point were two-color processes, which could capture only two of the three primary colors of light.

In 1932, Technicolor perfected a three-color motion picture process (also known as three-strip Technicolor, because three negatives were employed in the camera, one for each primary color of light -- red, green, and blue).

It was introduced with the Walt Disney cartoon FLOWERS AND TREES (1932), which won the first Academy Award for Animation. Walt Disney kept a monopoly on 3-color technicolor from 1932-1935.

The first feature-length movie in three-strip Technicolor was the costume comedy-drama BECKY SHARP (U.S., 1935)

Technicolor used a three color system: red, blue, green (these colors therefore are most vivid)

Early color was used as an expression (expressionism) of the director’s or cinematographer’s story, and so early films with color tend to be ones that are formalistic, artificial, or exotic. Color was often not used for “realistic” movies.

Warm colors: red, yellow, orange (brown)
Cool colors: Blue, green, violet (white)

Technicolor fragments.
During the 1930's, technicolor was still expensive. It was still being used as a movie gimmick as seen here. The Women (1939); here's the trailer

It was therefore technicolor and the 3 strip technicolor process that rocketed the Walt Disney Studios into a formidable film studio. Please refer to the chapter on Walt Disney (see previous handout that you probably discarded) and take notes on him, his studio, and why he's important in the film industry.

• Mickey Mouse in 1928's short animated film: Steamboat Willie (1928)
• Silly Symphony, Walt Disney: Cannibal Capers (1930)
• Silly Symphony, Walt Disney: Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Pluto in Beach Party (1931)
• Flowers and Trees (1932) Walt Disney, but starring no one important
• Disney's The Three Little Pigs (1933)
• Little Hiawatha (1937)
• Clock Cleaners, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy (1937)
• Scene from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
• Ferdinand, the Bull (1938, Oscar Winner)
• Scene from Pinocchio (1940)

HOMEWORK: Please complete the reading of the handout on Snow White. Also, for Tuesday of next week: Begin writing your script idea. Create a PITCH of your film idea.

What is a Film Pitch and How is it Different from a Film Treatment?
A pitch is used to convince a film company to produce your film. The pitch is usually a one page summary of the main action, characters, and setting of the film. Essentially it deals with the idea.

The film treatment is usually a longer document (some can be up to 50 pages) that tells the whole story presented in your pitch, focusing on the highlights. It is more detailed than a pitch. It can include a scene by scene breakdown of a script. It is used BEFORE writing the real script so the author can plan his/her project.

How To Write a FILM PITCH


What Should Be in the Treatment?

1. A Working title
2. The writer's name
3. What is the genre of the film? Who is the target AUDIENCE for this film? 

4. How much will the film cost to make (approx.)?

5. Introduction to key characters (Who is the story going to be about?) What actors/actresses do you see playing the roles of these characters in the film? Go ahead and suggest famous actors if you like to help your producers "see" what talent your film will attract in Hollywood. 

6. Who, what, when, why and where. (What settings, important plot events, characters, and other key features will your film show us?) Mention what kinds of special effects, or special aspects of your film idea. Why will people pay to see "your" movie?

Tell us more about your film idea/story. Assume we haven't chucked you out of our office.

7. Act 1 in one paragraph. Set the scene, dramatize the main conflicts. Use narratology as a guide!
8. Act 2 in one paragraph. Act 2 should dramatize how the conflicts introduced in Act 1 lead to a crisis.
9. Act 3 in one paragraph. Dramatize the final conflict and resolution. Make sure you tell us the ending of your story! 

10. Tell us why this story should be made into a film. Why make this film? Help your producers "see" why they should give you money to back your film idea.

TYPE or handwrite your treatment. It should be about 1-full page. If it's 2 pages, the world will probably not end.

A NOTE About the Three Act Structure
Basic screenplay structure for a full length film usually has three acts.

In The Poetics, Aristotle suggested that all stories should have a beginning, middle, and an end. Well, duh. You know that. But really. You need to remember this advice.

Breaking the plot of a story into three parts, gives us a 3-part or act structure. The word "act" means "the action of carrying something out. For our purposes think act one (beginning), act two (middle), and act three (end) of your short film.

Act 1, called the Set-up, The situation and characters and conflict are introduced. This classically is 30 minutes long. For a short film it can be only a few minutes or 1 minute.

Act 2, called The Conflict, often an hour long, is where the conflict begins and expands until it reaches a crisis.

Act 3, called The Resolution, the conflict rises to one more crisis (the last one called the climax) and then is resolved.

King Kong: Day 3

As before. Keep taking notes and recording details on your graphic organizers. These will be due when we complete the film.

HOMEWORK: Please read one of the required scripts (see previous posts for info):

ASSIGNMENT: Read one (or more for extra credit) of the following scripts for Thursday, April 30. As you read, examine the script for its narrative style. Choose your preference:

• Duck Soup (1933) (comedy)
• The 39 Steps (1935) (thriller-mystery)
• The Wizard of Oz (1939) (fantasy)
• Casablanca (1942) (film-noir/thriller-romance)

King Kong: Narratology

Examine the STORY of the film King Kong (1933), examining the narratology of the film.

Keep track of the story elements and narratology of the film as you watch today.

HOMEWORK: Please see previous post's homework. Read one of the scripts, examining the narratology.

Narratology & Story

Narratology: the study of narrative forms.

Narratologists (people who study narrative structure) are interested in the rhetoric of storytelling.

That is, the forms that "message senders" use to communicate with "message receivers."

In cinema, the problem with this triadic communications model is determining who the sender is because while the implied author is the filmmaker, multiple authorship of scripts is common, especially in the United States.

Narration also differs according to a movie’s style. In classical films, boring gaps in the narrative are edited out by a discrete storyteller, who keeps a low profile yet still keeps the action on track, moving toward a specific destination—the resolution of the story’s central conflict.

The story can be defined as the general subject matter, the raw materials of a dramatic action in chronological order.

In the classical narrative paradigm, the established conflict builds to its maximum tension in the climax.

Stories are divided into genres. Each genre has rules and expectations that help define its narrative elements: story, structure, character, plot, setting, etc.

For example, in a science fiction film, we assume that spaceflight is easily possible, or that alien life is probable. These are tropes of the genre. Absurd situations are expected in comedies, but not usually appreciated in dramas. A genre sets forth the rules of what is possible in a film (or novel or short story as well).

In film there are three super genres (broad genres that encompass the whole): they are STYLES of film:

A. Realistic: (qualities: objective, 3rd person POV)
B. Classical: (qualities: objective/subjective, 3rd person, often limited 3rd person)
C. Formalistic: (qualities: subjective, 1st person or unreliable narrator)

When narratives fail to act according to convention or what we have come to expect from tradition or from the genre, we, as viewers have to figure out what is meant from the deviation of the structure and style of the genre.

Good writers are able to push the boundaries of what a story can allow within its chosen genre. When watching a movie, or reading a script or novel, you should be aware of the genre rules and assumptions you are likely to be presented with. In the romance genre, for example, we must assume that people fall in love almost immediately (and that this love is real, as opposed to just a physical attraction). That's part of the genre. When we criticize a movie, we should first check our understanding of what the writer and director were attempting to present to us.

Some classical and formalistic narrative techniques we recognize:

1. The flashback
2. The dream sequence
3. The distorted view (as if the subject or character is drunk, insane, troubled, drugged, etc.) Commonly uses an oblique angle or birds eye angle or view to disorient its viewers.
4. Voice overs (this indicates we have a subjective narrator) 

5. The use of intertitles reminds us that we are watching a story--like reading a book. While outdated today, some films still use this technique to great effect, as in Star Wars (1977)

Other narrative techniques are:

• Crosscutting
• Montage
• Multiple perspective

Classical style narrative plots generally follow the typical 3-act structure. They rise through a series of events (rising action) to a definitive climax, and usually resolve in some definitive way at the end of the film.

These plots are generally linear: telling the story in sequence of time and ordered events or chronological time.

Important symbols or metaphors are usually explained; solutions are offered. These classical films, more than formalistic or realistic films, are directed to a general [genre specific] audience.

Most films fall into this category, but at the far end of the spectrum are the avant garde films that use formalistic narration. Formalistic films rely heavily on metaphor, implied meaning, subjective POV, and surprising special visual effects. Here are a few sample clips of this type of film:

• Le Ballet Mecanique (1924) 
• 2001, A Space Odyssey (1968)
• Eraserhead (1977) (review with clips)
• Destino (2003)
• The Fountain (2006)
• Synecdoche, New York (2008)
• The Fall (2008)

ASSIGNMENT: Read one (or more for extra credit) of the following scripts for Thursday, April 30. As you read, examine the script for its narrative style. Choose your preference:

• Duck Soup (1933) (comedy)
• The 39 Steps (1935) (thriller-mystery)
• The Wizard of Oz (1939) (fantasy)
• Casablanca (1942) (film-noir/thriller-romance)

Be prepared to discuss how the film uses narratology as a device. Examine the genre, the plot structure, the character portrayal, the setting, POV, and intended audience. What elements of the film script are formalistic, which are classical or realistic, etc. How does the film script adhere to the rules of the genre (what are those rules?) and find examples of the narrative style.

Screw-Ball Comedy: The Marx Brothers "A Night At the Opera" (1935)

Here's the info on the film:

Directed by	Sam Wood
Produced by	Irving Thalberg
Screenplay by	George S. Kaufman Morrie Ryskind
Starring	Groucho Marx Chico Marx Harpo Marx Kitty Carlisle Allan Jones Margaret Dumont
Music by	Herbert Stothart
Edited by	William LeVanway

Screwball Comedy gained prominence in the film It Happened One Night (1934), and, although many film scholars would agree that its classic period ended sometime in the early 1940s, elements of the genre have persisted, or have been paid homage to, in our contemporary films such as the recent Identity Thief, 40-Year Virgin, Horrible Bosses, My Best Friend's Wedding, Bridget Jones' Diary and others.

Like farce, screwball comedies often involve mistaken identities or other circumstances in which a character or characters try to keep some important fact a secret. Sometimes screwball comedies feature male characters cross-dressing, further contributing to the misunderstandings (Bringing Up Baby, I Was a Male War Bride, Some Like It Hot).

They also involve a central romantic story, usually in which the couple seem mismatched and even hostile to each other at first, and "meet cute" in some way. Often this mismatch comes about because the man is much further down the economic scale than the woman (Bringing Up Baby, Holiday). The final marriage is often planned by the woman from the beginning, while the man doesn’t suspect anything at all. In Bringing Up Baby, when the leading woman says: "He’s the man I’m going to marry. He doesn’t know it, but I am."

Class issues are a strong component of screwball comedies: the upper class tend to be shown as idle and pampered, and have difficulty getting around in the real world. The most famous example is It Happened One Night. Some critics believe that this portrayal of the upper class was brought about by the Great Depression, and the poor moviegoing public's desire to see the rich upper class brought down a peg. By contrast, when lower-class people attempt to pass themselves off as upper-class, they are able to do so with relative ease (The Lady Eve).

Another common element is fast-talking, witty repartee. This stylistic device did not originate in the screwballs (although it may be argued to have reached its zenith there): it can also be found in many of the old Hollywood cycles including the gangster film, romantic comedies, and others.

Screwball comedies also tend to contain ridiculous, farcical situations, such as in Bringing Up Baby, in which a couple must take care of a pet leopard during much of the film. Slapstick elements are also frequently present (such as the numerous pratfalls Henry Fonda takes in The Lady Eve).

One subgenre of screwball is known as the comedy of remarriage, in which characters divorce and then remarry one another (The Awful Truth, The Philadelphia Story). Some scholars point to this frequent device as evidence of the shift in the American moral code as it showed freer attitudes about divorce (though in this case the divorce always turns out to have been a mistake).

It Happened One Night (1934) Clark Gable & Claudette Colbert (Frank Capra director)

The Thin Man (1934) Myrna Loy & William Powell

Cary Grant & Katherine Hepburn
Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell
His Girl Friday (1940)

Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, & Katherine Hepburn
The Philadelphia Story (1940)

King Kong (1933)

One of the greatest and influential films of the 1930's was the adventure-fantasy film King Kong (1933). Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack co-produced and directed this epic film for RKO, starring blonde-bombshell (and the "Queen of Scream") Fay Wray as Ann--the beauty.

At its core is the archetypal Beauty and the Beast archetype. It is a quest and a love story too!

The film takes place mostly in the exotic and fictional setting of Skull Island, and then later in New York City. It is one of the first city-destruction films as well.

Other characters include a filmmaker (Carl Denham) played by Robert Armstrong, and our typical hero-adventurer guy (Jack Driscoll), played by Bruce Cabot. Various victims, sailors, and natives round out the cast. The biggest star, however, is the little clay model of Kong himself.

The screenplay was written by James Ashmore Creelman and Ruth Rose, based on a story by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace. It is further influenced by the works of Arthur Conan Doyle & Edgar Rice Burroughs.

The film was shot in 1932, using set pieces from the film The Most Dangerous Game (1932)--which also starred Fay Wray.

Unlike Metropolis, this film broke all previous box-office records in Hollywood and helped save RKO from bankruptcy. The film was re-released 4 times (1933, 1938, 1942, and 1946). Parts of the film were cut, censored, and then restored, or lost. One scene was the gruesome spider pit scene--that is shown in its glory by Peter Jackson's recent remake of the film. Here you go, brave-hearts.

The film received no awards at its time of release. Special Effects awards were not yet invented. The use of rear projection, miniature models, trick photography, stop-motion animation were superbly done by chief technician Willis O'Brien, famed for his feature film The Lost World (1925).

Musical score is by Max Steiner, who also composed the score for Gone with the Wind and Casablanca. and was the first feature length musical score written specifically for a talking film--it actually has a thematic score rather than background music, and a recorded 45-piece orchestra. All sound effects were recorded on 3 separate tracks, so one for dialogue, one for music, and one for sound effects. This becomes standard in most films of the decade.

Consider the Japanese kaiju (giant monster) films that come after this one to see how it was influential. Stop-motion models inspire filmmakers like Ray Harryhausen to make their own epics, and was the typical style used in monster movies until Star Wars (1977)--the last major use of the form being The Clash of the Titans (1981).

King Kong (1933) inspired the following sequels:

• Son of Kong (1933)
• Mighty Joe Young (1949)
• Godzilla (1954, Jp.)
• Konga (1961)
• King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1962, Jp.)
• King Kong Escapes (1967, Jp.)
• King of Kong Island (1968)
• King Kong (1976)
• Queen Kong (1976, UK)
• King Kong Lives (1986)
• The Mighty Kong (1998, animated)
• Mighty Joe Young (1998)
• King Kong (2005), dir. Peter Jackson with Jack Black (as Carl Denham), Adrien Brody (as Jack Driscoll), Naomi Watts (as Fay Wray's character Ann), and a CGI 25-foot tall monstrous ape.

HOMEWORK: None.

The Music Box (Laurel & Hardy); 1930's Films, Style, and Important Genres

After our screening of The Music Box, starring Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy, we'll take a look at some important genres and influences in film during the 1930's. Please take notes, as per usual.

Universal Horror Films:
Dracula (1931) Bela Lugosi (Tod Browning's version)
Dracula (clip 2)
Frankenstein (1931) with Boris Karloff
Frankenstein (2nd clip)
The Bride of Frankenstein (1932) with Boris Karloff
Bride of Frankenstein (2nd clip)
Freaks (1932) Tod Browning director
The White Zombie (1932) Bela Lugosi
The Mummy (1932) Boris Karloff, directed by Karl Freund
The Invisible Man (1933) with Claude Rains
The Black Cat (1934) Karloff & Lugosi

Screwball & Marx Brothers Comedies:
Animal Crackers (1930) with the Marx Brothers
Duck Soup (1934)
A Night At the Opera (cabin scene) (1935)
A Day at the Races (1937)
Bringing Up Baby (1938) with Katharine Hepburn & Cary Grant
The Thin Man (1934) with Myrna Loy & William Powell

Frank Capra films:
It Happened One Night (1934) Claudette Colbert & Clark Gable
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) Gary Cooper
Lost Horizon (1937) and clips from the film...
You Can't Take it With You (1938) with a very young Jimmy Stewart
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) with Jimmy Stewart

Gangster Films:
The Public Enemy (1931)
Scarface (1932)

Westerns:
Cimarron (1930)
Stagecoach (1939) John Wayne (John Ford directing)

War Films:
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Musicals:
The Gay Divorcee (1934) Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire
Top Hat (1935) Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire
Swing Time (1936) Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire (again)
42 Street (1933)

Animation:
Flowers and Trees (1932) Walt Disney, but starring no one important
Popeye the Sailor (1933) with Betty Boop (and Popeye, of course)
Felix the Cat (1930)
An early Looney Tunes cartoon starring Bosko in Congo Jazz (1930)

Then, with any time remaining, let's begin King Kong (1933) which is an inspired reimagining of the film The Lost World (1925)

1930's Golden Age of Film; Metropolis Paper Due!

Please complete your Metropolis papers. They are due today. If you finish early, please go on to learn about Hal Roach and watch some short films. 

The 1930's: The Golden Age of Film

The 1930's is considered the Golden Age of Film. Please review and take notes on these following film clips. You should note who is starring in which roles and how certain actors and directors helped shape the genres we now recognize in film today. You will be tested on the material found here, so please watch attentively and make some observations about film in the 1930's.

As for camera work, there are few tricks being used with cameras. Angles are mostly eye-level, with medium, long, and close up shots being used with transitions such as the wipe, the iris, fade to black to indicate scene changes. There is still rear projection, tracking shots, dolly shots, and elaborate sets (particularly for war and epic films), but overall, the feel of 1930's film is like watching a play.

With the invention of sound, movies rely on written dialogue to move the plot and develop character (as opposed to using solely a visual medium). Famous directors and writers such as Frank Capra, Walt Disney and writer George S. Kaufman to name only a few make their appearance in this era. Since sound is a new invention, the use of music is an important element. See what other details you can observe as you watch the clips:

Hell's Angels (1930) Premiere clip (not the film, but the hubbub about the film)
Hell's Angels (1930) clip with Jean Harlow
Anna Christie (1930) With Greta Garbo
Tarzan, The Ape Man (1932) Johnny Weissmuller
Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich

Grand Hotel (1932) with Joan Crawford & John Barrymore
King Kong (1933) starring a large gorilla, Robert Armstrong and Fay Wray
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) Clark Gable & Charles Laughton
Captain Blood (1935) with Errol Flynn & Basil Rathbone (documentary clip)

Hal Roach was born in Elmira, NY (near us!), before moving to Hollywood. He worked for the Pathe Exchange Co. before working for MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) as a producer. He is best known for producing the comedy teams of Laurel & Hardy and The Our Gang comedies (or Little Rascals).

Laurel and Hardy
Not all silent film stars made the transition to talkies. One comic duo that did, however, was Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. This iconic duo made over 100 films together, initially short films, before expanding into feature length films by the end of the 1930s. More can be examined by clicking on the link of their name above. Here are a few clips/films:

• The Music Box (1932) Winner of the Academy Awards for Best Short Subject
• Our Wife (1931) Laurel & Hardy with comedian Ben Turpin (see Slapstick section several posts ago!)
• Sons of the Desert (1933) clip/trailer
• Babes in Toyland (1934) clip/trailer
• Way Out West (1937) (full film)
• The Flying Deuces (1939) (full film)
• Nothing But Trouble (1944)
• Utopia (1951)

The Little Rascals (sample films):

• 3 Men in a Tub
• Honkey Donkey
• Spooky Hooky
• Beginner's Luck
• Mama's Little Pirate
• Bored of Education
• Readin' & Writin'
• Mush n Milk
• Little Rascals (Greatest Hits, 1)
Whatever Happened to the Little Rascals (information, although a bit grim)

HOMEWORK: A Technicolor treat: watch this Disney film and notice: A). how sound is used & B). If you notice the caricatures, note who these famous actors are and get a point of extra credit for each recognizable famous actor. Turn in answers Thursday.

Metropolis: Day 3

We will screen the rest of the film today. If you missed any scene or need to reference it or the links, you may do that below this post.

After screening, please retire to the lab to complete your research and begin writing your film history paper.

HOMEWORK: The Film History paper on Metropolis is due at the end of next class. Please be prepared to complete it and turn it in, Tuesday, April 14. The marking period ends next Friday, April 17.

Metropolis: Day 2

We are continuing to screen the film during class. Please continue to take notes and research your chosen topic.

If you missed part of the film, it can be found here: Metropolis (1927, restored version with alternate sound track)

HOMEWORK: See below.

Fritz Lang & Metropolis

Fritz Lang born in Vienna, Germany, 1890 -- the son of an architect, he dropped out of college to fight in the Great War (WWI)

After the war, Lang met producer Erich Pommer who worked for the movie company Declar--
Later Declar becomes UFA (the largest film company in Europe)

1919 - Lang directs his first film “Halbblut” (the Half-Caste)
1920 - Meets writer Thea von Harbou, marries her in 1922

Thea von Harbou wrote all of Lang’s films (including Metropolis) until 1933 when they divorced.

1925-1926 - Lang makes the film Metropolis which is drastically cut and distributed over the world Lang forms his own production company; Thea is his main writer
1931 - Lang directs M (with actor Peter Lorre)
1932 - The Testimony of Dr. Mabuse (banned because it criticized the Nazi party)
1933 - Lang immigrated to the U.S.
1934 - Lang is offered a contract by David Selznick, producer at MGM. He goes on to make several films (mixing styles), ends up going blind and dying in 1975.

MAJOR FILMS: Halbblut (Half Caste) (1919) Dr. Mabuse (1922) (serial) Die Niebelungen (Siegfried; Kriemhild's Revenge) (1924). Metropolis (1926) Spies (1928) M (1931) The Last Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1932) Fury (1936) You Only Live Once
(1937) Western Union (1941) Man Hunt (1941) The Ministry of Fear (1944) Cloak and Dagger (1946) Secret Beyond the Door (1948) The Big Heat (1953) Moonfleet (1955) While the City Sleeps (1956). Die Tausend Augend des Dr. Mabuse ("The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse") 1960

Film history and analysis:

Reviews are written to encourage an audience for a film. The film historian's job, as mentioned earlier in the course, is to connect history (both world history and events, as well as the history of film) with the artistry of film and the film industry (including the actors, director, producers, editors, technicians, cinematographers, and writers).

You are going to pick a topic for a film PAPER--a scholarly research paper that examines an aspect of Metropolis, the film.

1. Write about the effective use of special effects (including titles and music to affect tone); You may look here for further help in writing your paper.
2. Write about the effectiveness of the cinematography (the shots, angles, lighting, composition of the shots, mise-en-shot, mise-en-scene, etc.) and the cinematographer of the film: Karl Freund
3. Pick a major character in the movie and analyze the actor's portrayal of the character: i.e., examine his/her acting, effective portrayal of the role, etc. The cast list can be found here at IMDB.com.
4. Write about the effectiveness of the plot, film script, and story elements of the film: Frequency, Narration, Story, Plot, Order, Narrative Format, Sequence, etc. and the film's author: Thea von Harbou (see link above).
5. Write about the film as a historical vehicle. Answer: how is Metropolis the epitome and culmination of the Golden Age of silent film? What events in the 1920's triggered it--how did it affect the people of its period, etc?
6. Write about the effective use of theme in the film. Why is the film still relevant today? How has the film inspired other films after it? Why is this theme important for us to learn? What does it say or criticize about humanity?

The nitty-gritty details:

• Your paper should be between 3-5 pages, double spaced.
• It should include AT LEAST 3 secondary sources that are referred to and cited in your paper. (please include an MLA formatted works cited page with your paper). MLA format can be found here. 
• PLEASE NOTE: You may not use Wikipedia as one of your 3 sources. You may use it as a 4th or 5th or 6th source, if you wish.
• Your MLA formatted citation page does NOT count as one of you4 3-5 page, double-spaced pages.
• You will need to take notes, research your topic, and type your final paper. 
• Please include a title for your paper that clarifies to your paper's thesis/topic. 
• The paper is due April 14 by end of class. As we watch the film, you should begin to conduct your research and gather your sources. You may find it helpful to use the links I've provided as a starting point:

Metropolis Restored
Roger Ebert's Film Review
IMC's Film Review
Metropolis' Occult Symbolism

HOMEWORK: Begin researching and taking notes about the film on your own time as homework. Bring your notes to class during the viewing of the film.