Citizen Kane

After reading a couple scenes and screening Wizard of Oz, please participate in the jigsaw activity as instructed today.

Citizen Kane (intro)

Topping the best films of all time is the important and influential 1941 film by Orson Welles: Citizen Kane (1941). As we view Citizen Kane, there are a series of important elements that can enrich our understanding of this film.

Orson Welles as Auteur:
Welles directed, wrote (partial), and starred in this film (even though it was thought he wasn't old enough to portray Kane). While Welles had direct control over the film and its look, there were other people who contributed artistically. Some of the invention and creativity of film making includes:

Camera Work:

• The Deep Focus shot!
• Low angle shots revealing ceilings!
• Moving shots used as wipes!
• Overlapping dialogue! (not original to Welles, but a trend in Screwball Comedies)
• Long uninterrupted shots!
• Expressionist lighting and photography!

Narrative/Special techniques:

• Multiple perspective!
• Flashbacks!
• Aging!

Motifs and themes:

• The American Dream: For all of Kane's "success", he is not happy. He dies lonely, with only his "possessions" around him. Is all our striving to succeed in America an illusion?

Perspective:
The differing perspectives on Kane's life, especially in the absence of Kane's own point of view, force us to question what was truly important in Kane's life (and by extension what constitutes a life in general.) Judging by Kane's last muttered word: Rosebud, the most important pieces of his life were not the things that made him newsworthy, such as his newspaper successes and political ambitions, nor his friendships and associations. As Thompson interviews different people about Kane, we are given different perspectives on the man (some are unreliable). Odd, though, that we do not see Kane from Kane's POV.

Motifs:

• Isolation
• Materialism/Capitalism
• Old Age

Symbols:

• The Snowglobe
• Sleds
• Statues

Director: Orson Welles
Writers: Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles (screenplay)
Cinematography by Gregg Toland

Orson Welles ... Charles Foster Kane
Joseph Cotten ... Jedediah Leland
Dorothy Comingore ... Susan Alexander Kane
Agnes Moorehead ... Mary Kane
Ruth Warrick ... Emily Monroe Norton Kane
Ray Collins ... James W. Gettys
Erskine Sanford ... Herbert Carter
Everett Sloane ... Mr. Bernstein
William Alland ... Jerry Thompson
Paul Stewart ... Raymond
George Coulouris ... Walter Parks Thatcher
Fortunio Bonanova ... Signor Matiste
Gus Schilling ... The Headwaiter
Philip Van Zandt ... Mr. Rawlston
Georgia Backus ... Bertha Anderson
Harry Shannon ... Kane's Father

Produced by Orson Welles and George Schaefer .... executive producer
Original Music by Bernard Herrmann
Film Editing by Robert Wise
Casting by Rufus Le Maire & Robert Palmer
Art Direction by Van Nest Polglase
Set Decoration by Darrell Silvera
Costume Design by Edward Stevenson
Makeup by Maurice Seiderman

Let's read a little bit of the script together to get you started. Then, we'll screen the scene.

HOMEWORK: Please read the script Citizen Kane and examine the narratology and script writing techniques used in the written script. More information about Citizen Kane will be covered in class. But get reading!

The Wizard of Oz; Gone With the Wind; Citizen Kane

Please turn in your treatments (see previous homework) and your critical analysis of King Kong. If you have completed your answers to The Maltese Falcon, throw that in the in-box too. Otherwise, your homework pile is going to get pretty heavy. A reminder to read about Technicolor and Walt Disney (see previous post) and take notes. These items will be covered on our upcoming test of the Golden Age of film.

While technicolor was invented as far back as 1916, but was not a new invention. Kinemacolor had been around since 1908. These color film inventions were not widely used, and Walt Disney held the contract for the use of 3-strip technicolor, shutting out other animation studios like Fleischer Studios, who had to pay Disney for the rights or use the less brilliant and vibrant cinecolor process.

Merian Cooper, producer for RKO and director of King Kong (1933), said he "never wanted to make a black and white picture again" after seeing one of Disney's Silly Symphonies. Warner Brothers soon followed suit to create their Looney Tunes. You'll recognize some of the characters:

• A Day At the Zoo (1939, dir. Tex Avery)
• Bugs Bunny: The Wacky Wabbit (1941, dir. Bob Clampett)
• Tom Turk & Daffy (featuring Porky Pig) (1944, dir. Chuck Jones)

1939 was a good year for color film (and Victor Fleming). MGM's musical-fantasy The Wizard of Oz, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Judy Garland was nominated for 6 Academy Awards, but lost best picture to the epic 4 hour long historical romance-drama Gone With the Wind (also directed by Victor Fleming) and starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh.

Let's take a little closer look at these two films in the handout. Then, let's take a look at scenes and scripts. Play around with a fantasy, musical, or historical drama premise for your own film idea. Let's sketch a bit of it today!

Citizen Kane (intro)

Topping the best films of all time is the important and influential 1941 film by Orson Welles: Citizen Kane (1941). As we view Citizen Kane, there are a series of important elements that can enrich our understanding of this film.

Orson Welles as Auteur:
Welles directed, wrote (partial), and starred in this film (even though it was thought he wasn't old enough to portray Kane). While Welles had direct control over the film and its look, there were other people who contributed artistically. Some of the invention and creativity of film making includes:

Camera Work:

• The Deep Focus shot!
• Low angle shots revealing ceilings!
• Moving shots used as wipes!
• Overlapping dialogue! (not original to Welles, but a trend in Screwball Comedies)
• Long uninterrupted shots!
• Expressionist lighting and photography!

Narrative/Special techniques:

• Multiple perspective!
• Flashbacks!
• Aging!

Motifs and themes:

• The American Dream: For all of Kane's "success", he is not happy. He dies lonely, with only his "possessions" around him. Is all our striving to succeed in America an illusion?

Perspective:
The differing perspectives on Kane's life, especially in the absence of Kane's own point of view, force us to question what was truly important in Kane's life (and by extension what constitutes a life in general.) Judging by Kane's last muttered word: Rosebud, the most important pieces of his life were not the things that made him newsworthy, such as his newspaper successes and political ambitions, nor his friendships and associations. As Thompson interviews different people about Kane, we are given different perspectives on the man (some are unreliable). Odd, though, that we do not see Kane from Kane's POV.

Motifs:

• Isolation
• Materialism/Capitalism
• Old Age

Symbols:

• The Snowglobe
• Sleds
• Statues

Director: Orson Welles
Writers: Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles (screenplay)
Cinematography by Gregg Toland

Orson Welles ... Charles Foster Kane
Joseph Cotten ... Jedediah Leland
Dorothy Comingore ... Susan Alexander Kane
Agnes Moorehead ... Mary Kane
Ruth Warrick ... Emily Monroe Norton Kane
Ray Collins ... James W. Gettys
Erskine Sanford ... Herbert Carter
Everett Sloane ... Mr. Bernstein
William Alland ... Jerry Thompson
Paul Stewart ... Raymond
George Coulouris ... Walter Parks Thatcher
Fortunio Bonanova ... Signor Matiste
Gus Schilling ... The Headwaiter
Philip Van Zandt ... Mr. Rawlston
Georgia Backus ... Bertha Anderson
Harry Shannon ... Kane's Father

Produced by Orson Welles and George Schaefer .... executive producer
Original Music by Bernard Herrmann
Film Editing by Robert Wise
Casting by Rufus Le Maire & Robert Palmer
Art Direction by Van Nest Polglase
Set Decoration by Darrell Silvera
Costume Design by Edward Stevenson
Makeup by Maurice Seiderman

Let's read a little bit of the script together to get you started. Then, we'll screen the scene.

HOMEWORK: Please read the script Citizen Kane and examine the narratology and script writing techniques used in the written script. More information about Citizen Kane will be covered in class. But get reading!

Maltese Falcon: Day 2; Color in Film; Masterclass

During period 1, we will conclude our viewing of The Maltese Falcon. Please note that you should have completed your King Kong critical analysis and your Screwball Comedy Treatment. Please turn these in today. If you did not complete them, please add these assignments to your growing list of homework (see below!)

After screening the film, we will be moving to the Black Box theater for our masterclass with Maria Brandt. Please bring notebooks/journals, questions about college, etc.

HOMEWORK: Over the long weekend, please complete the following tasks:

• Please read the article on "Walt Disney and Snow White" (1937) 
• Take notes on the links for color in film [this information will be on an upcoming test--view and record titles, dates, key personalities, innovations, etc.]. 
• Create a 2nd treatment (1-2 pages in length) for an adventure or film noir script. 
• Complete the questions/analysis for The Maltese Falcon (handout) and turn in for credit.

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.

• Flowers and Trees (1932) Walt Disney, but starring no one important
• Disney's The Three Little Pigs (1933)
• The Band Concert (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and others) (1935)
• Mickey and the Polo Match (1936, try to spot and name the famous actor caricatures...)
• Scene from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937); About Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (short historical bio); Look here for an irreverent Disney abridged parody of Snow White (27 min.)
• Ferdinand, the Bull (1938, Oscar Winner)
• Scene from Pinocchio (1940)

At Paramount Studios, animation by Max Fleischer (creator of Betty Boop, Popeye the Sailor, and the animated Superman) was also becoming a big thing. Here's the full version of Gulliver's Travels (1939) [You can watch and analyze this film as extra credit for MP4.]

Other animated films: If you have access to the Disney films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), or Bambi (1942) you can watch these and analyze them as well. 

Rushing On: Film Noir & The Maltese Falcon

Please hand in your homework (the treatment and the critical essay; see post below this one) if you did it. If not, please complete the critical lens essay on your own time. If you are having trouble screening King Kong, please see me to schedule alternative times to see the film.

I hate to do this, but since we only have so much time left (and so many films to see...) let's learn a little bit about Film Noir. There will be homework over the weekend (and those of you who have not completed your King Kong material can use the time then to complete it!)

Film Noir:

Here are a few things to watch for as we screen The Maltese Falcon:

1. A protagonist that is cynical or detached
2. A femme fatale who leads the protagonist astray
3. A mystery, crime, or use of suspense
4. A naive scapegoat to take the rap of some "crime"
5. Goons (hired criminals who give the protagonist a hard time)
6. Razor sharp dialogue
7. Reference and description of low key lighting

The Maltese Falcon, directed and written for the screen by John Huston
Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett

• Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade
• Mary Astor as Brigid O'Shaughnessy
• Gladys George as Iva Archer
• Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo
• Barton MacLane as Lt. of Detectives Dundy
• Lee Patrick as Effie Perrine
• Sydney Greenstreet as Kasper Gutman
• Ward Bond as Detective Tom Polhaus
• Jerome Cowan as Miles Archer
• Elisha Cook, Jr. as Wilmer Cook

As you watch the film, begin to think of your own Film Noir treatment. Similar to King Kong, please take a look at the script and read it as a model for good film writing. You can read the script here at this link.

Our next creative assignment will be to create a short film treatment for a film noir or adventure film. 

HOMEWORK: Please read the article on Film Noir. We will complete this film next class. Coming up: Masterclass with MCC professor and novelist Maria Brandt (Thursday), Color in Film and Walt Disney.

King Kong (1933); Day 1

Your task will be to write a film essay on the film King Kong (1933). Choose one of the critical lenses and use this critical lens to make sense and analyze the film. You may find the handouts, script sample, and the material posted here as helpful aspects of your essay. Each film essay should be about 500-1,000 words in length.

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 story. 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. The similarities are obvious... 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, incidentally, also starred Fay Wray. You may, if you wish, watch the complete film: The Most Dangerous Game (1932) as extra credit.

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. Peter Jackson also recreated the sequence by stitching the original footage remaining together with Hollywood magic...Lost Spider Sequence.

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 (1939) and Casablanca (1941). 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) trailer
• Mighty Joe Young (1949) trailer
• Godzilla (1954, Jp.) trailer
• Konga (1961) trailer
• King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1962, Jp.)
• King Kong Escapes (1967, Jp.)
• King of Kong Island (1968)
• King Kong (1976) trailer (with Jeff Bridges & Jessica Lange)
• 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. After screening the film in full, please use your notes to write your essay. Essays due Monday, April 18.

The Marx Brothers: Duck Soup

This morning, please complete part 1 of the quiz on narratology, Screwball comedy, and Duck Soup. After screening the film, you should complete part 2 of the quiz as a take-home quiz.

Information about the film:

Taken from: Tim Dirks: AMC Filmsite.org: 

"The Marx Brothers' classic comedy Duck Soup (1933) is a short, but brilliant satire and lampooning of blundering dictatorial leaders, Fascism and authoritarian government. The film, produced by Herman Mankiewicz, was prepared during the crisis period of the Depression. Some of its clever gags and routines were taken from Groucho's and Chico's early 1930s radio show.

It was the Marx Brothers' fifth (and last) film in a contract with Paramount Studios, before they went on to MGM. The film was directed by first-class veteran director Leo McCarey, and its screenplay was written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby (with additional dialogue by Arthur Sheekman and Nat Perrin). The film was devoid of any Academy Award nominations.

The outrageous film was both a critical and commercial failure at the time of its release - audiences were taken aback by such preposterous political disrespect, buffoonery and cynicism at a time of political and economic crisis, with Roosevelt's struggle against Depression in the US amidst the rising power of Hitler in Germany. 

Insulted by the film, fascist Italian dictator Mussolini banned the film in Italy. Fortunately, the film was rediscovered by a generation of 1960s college students, and by revival film festivals and museum showings. As a result, the film has attained immortal status. 

This was the last of the Marx Brothers films to feature all four of the brothers. Their next film (without Zeppo), for MGM and its producer Irving Thalberg, Hollywood's most prestigious studio, was their landmark film A Night at the Opera (1935), with a more developed and polished plot-line.

The comedians in the film attack the pomposity of small-time governmental leaders (Firefly as President), the absurdity of government itself (the Cabinet meeting scene), governmental diplomacy (the Trentino-Firefly scenes), an arbitrary legal system (Chicolini's trial), and war fought over petty matters (the mobilization and war scenes). 

The non-stop, frenetic film is filled with a number of delightfully hilarious moments, gags, fast-moving acts, double entendres, comedy routines, puns, pure silliness, zany improvisations, quips and insult-spewed lines of dialogue - much of the comedy makes the obvious statement that war is indeed nonsensical and meaninglessly destructive, especially since the word 'upstart' was the insult word (Ambassador Trentino called Firefly an 'upstart') that led to war between the two countries. 

Unlike many of the Marx Brothers other features, there are no romantic subplots (with Zeppo) and no musical interludes that stop the film's momentum - no harp solos for Harpo and no piano solos for Chico. There are, however, a couple of musical numbers that are perfectly integrated into the plot.

The film's title uses a familiar American phrase that means anything simple or easy, or alternately, a gullible sucker or pushover. Under the opening credits, four quacking ducks (the four Marx Brothers) are seen swimming and cooking in a kettle over a fire. Groucho reportedly provided the following recipe to explain the title: "Take two turkeys, one goose, four cabbages, but no duck, and mix them together. After one taste, you'll duck soup for the rest of your life."

The Story

---

The film opens with the flag of Freedonia (emblazoned with an "F") flying over the small village. The government of a "mythical kingdom" - the Balkan state of Freedonia, is suffering an emergency. It has gone bankrupt through mismanagement and is on the verge of revolution. The country's richest dowager millionairess, the wide and widowed benefactress Mrs. Gloria Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) has offered $20 million to sponsor and support the cash-poor government, but only if it is placed under new leadership.

The opening scene is the classic inaugural ceremony and lawn party for the conferring of the Presidency of the tin-pot republic to a newly-appointed leader, Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx), characterized by a supportive Mrs. Teasdale as "a progressive, fearless fighter." 

In the coronation setting (a spoof of all such gala events), royal court guards at the entry announce the guests. Meanwhile, the representative of the neighboring Sylvania [the name of the country where Jeanette MacDonald ruled in Ernst Lubitsch's The Love Parade (1929)], Ambassador and rival suitor Trentino (Louis Calhern), schemes to win Mrs. Teasdale's hand in marriage by wooing the rich heiress (with the ultimate goal of annexing Freedonia to Sylvania). He has hired the seductive, sultry, and sinuous Latin temptress/dancer Vera Marcal (Raquel Torres), to function as a secret agent and keep Firefly distracted [in a satire of all Mata Hari films]."

As you watch (or read), notice characteristics of Screwball comedies:

• Mistaken Identities
• Crossdressing
• Romantic storyline or plot (often with the lovers being mismatched)
• Class or economic issues
• Fast-talking dialogue (witty repartee) 
• Ridiculous situations
• Farce (sudden or unexpected entrances or exits, physical humor, etc.)

From: IMDB:

Duck Soup (1933)Full Cast & Crew
Directed by

Leo McCarey

Writing Credits

Bert Kalmar	...	(story) and
Harry Ruby	...	(story)
Arthur Sheekman	...	(additional dialogue) and
Nat Perrin	...	(additional dialogue)

Cast (in credits order)  

	Groucho Marx	...	Rufus T. Firefly
	Harpo Marx	...	Pinky
	Chico Marx	...	Chicolini
	Zeppo Marx	...	Bob Roland
	Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Teasdale
	Raquel Torres	...	Vera Marcal
	Louis Calhern	...	Trentino
	Edmund Breese	...	Zander
	Leonid Kinskey	...	Agitator (as Leonid Kinsky)
	Charles Middleton	...	Prosecutor (as Charles B. Middleton)
	Edgar Kennedy	...	Street Vendor

HOMEWORK: Complete the quiz (part 2) and turn in completed by next class.

Narratology; Screwball Comedy

EQ: What is narratology and how does it work? What is screwball comedy and what are some examples/techniques found in the genre?

You should be able to answer the essential question at the end of class today. Please take notes and watch the clips for the film examples.

WRITING EXERCISE: This morning, take 5 minutes to come up with at least 2 PREMISES for a film. Answer: "I would like to write a film about..." and then flesh out the idea in your notes/journal.

NOTES: Please read and take notes on the following information. Watch the film clips at the links and take notes on them (who directed them, who are the major actors in them, what year were they made, notes about style, etc.)

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 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. Should we credit the director, writer, editor, actor, or cinematographer as the author whose vision controls the project? Or perhaps we should credit the viewer who is responsible for following the film story?

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 maintains to keep the action on track, moving toward a specific ending—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. Films are often written in 3-Acts, each with a beginning, middle, and end of an established or introduced conflict.

Also, 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, George Lucas) or Inglorious Basterds (2009, Quentin Tarantino)

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) Stanley Kubrick
• Eraserhead (1977) (review with clips) (David Lynch)
• Destino (2003) 

• The Fountain (2006)
• Synecdoche, New York (2008)
• The Fall (2008)  

READING ASSIGNMENT: Read the following script. As you read, examine the script for its narrative style. There will be a test on the script/film next week.

• Duck Soup (1933) (screwball comedy)

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.

To help you understand the genre:

Screwball Comedy:

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, Trainwreck (2015), When Harry Met Sally (1989), 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)

Some important actors of the Golden Age of film:

• Katherine Hepburn
• Rosalind Russell
• Cary Grant
• Jimmy Stewart
• Clark Gable
• Groucho Marx

If you did not watch any of Hal Roach's Little Rascals episodes, watch one (particularly if you have the time in the lab!) See POST below.

HOMEWORK: Read the script Duck Soup. Examine narrative structure and technique. Take notes and identify aspects of narratology within the script. There will be a test on the script after we screen the film next week.

Sound in Film; Laurel & Hardy: The Music Box

Please turn in your silent film analysis (see previous homework assignments!)

The Invention of Sound in Film

Joseph P. Maxfield (AT&T’s Bell Laboratories) invented the first phonograph linked to film (licensed by Victor as the Orthophonic Victrola) which became the basis for the
Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.

The Vitaphone allowed actors to lipsync their performance while the sound was recorded after; (This helped to popularize animation!) An example is from the very young Disney Studios: Steamboat Willie (1928. The first Mickey Mouse cartoon--based on Buster Keaton's Steamboat Bill).

The first sound film was Don Juan in 1926. The Jazz Singer (cantor);  The Jazz Singer (1927), directed by Alan Crosland, starring famous vaudeville actor, Al Jolson is popularly given this award. Really both films were songs (or just music in Don Juan's case) that were played along like a record as sound was synched with the film. The Jazz Singer gave birth to the Hollywood musical genre.

Warner Bros. and Fox Film began wiring their theaters for sound as early as 1926. By 1928, Western Electric developed a sound-on-film system, which later developed a new competitive major studio: Radio-Keith-Orpheum or RKO.

The conversion to sound created both positive and negative effects for film:

Positive:

A. Led to a revival of national film elsewhere in the world
B. Cinema owners did not have to hire musicians for an in-house orchestra
C. Silent films were easier to distribute across the world (no need to translate) which later creates the need for dubbing (1932 -- ex. Paramount studios); before this, multi-lingual films make stars like Marlene Dietrich, Maurice Chevalier, Bela Lugosi, Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo, and Peter Lore more important--since they can speak different languages (and therefore sync their voices to film).
D. Film became a single media event
E. Films came to the theatres as final products, whole and complete
F. The immersive qualities of film and the viewer become inseparable
G. Dialogue became a necessity to tell the plot of a film

Negative:

A. Produced panic and confusion in Hollywood
B. Many musicians lost their jobs
C. Early sound films from America were boycotted by certain countries; films were not as widely distributed, more costly to translate.
D. Silent film culture was destroyed
E. Films did not require additional music, some ambiance was lost -- sound film was seen as the killer of “film as the seventh art form”
F. Film was no longer a “theatrical” or “artistic” event
G. Dialogue became a necessity to tell the plot of a film

Sound Film Comedian Stars

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
• Sons of the Desert (1933) clip/trailer
• Babes in Toyland (1934) clip/trailer
• Way Out West (1937) (clip/song)
• The Flying Deuces (1939) (full film)
• Nothing But Trouble (1944) (trailer/clip)
• Utopia (1951) (full film)

The Little Rascals (sample films):

• Honkey Donkey (1934)
• Spooky Hooky (1936)
• The Pinch Singer (1934)
• Mama's Little Pirate (1934)
• Free Eats (1932)
• Readin' & Writin' (1932)
• Mush n Milk (1933)
• Little Rascals (Greatest Hits, 1)

Whatever Happened to the Little Rascals (information, although a bit grim)

HOMEWORK: Please read the chapter on "Sound in Film". Complete the graphic organizer for participation credit. Watch any of the shorts or feature films above. Note how diegetic and non-diegetic sound is used with the new technology from the golden age of film.