Kurosawa and "Star Wars"

George Lucas has stated that a big influence in creating the story of "Star Wars" (Episode 4 if you insist) was Akira Kurosawa's 1958 film, "The Hidden Fortress". In it a fearless warrior rescues a feisty princess, accompanied by two bumbling sidekicks. It is a great adventure film with a fair amount of humor. It is also streamable on Netflix.

Baz Lurhmann by Kristopher Torres

(I tried to post this on Monday and it kept giving me a message saying that it couldn't post because of MET HTML)

Baz Lurhmann is an actor, writer but most importantly a great storyteller. He has directed only four movies but has created a unique style of his own. The movies he has directed are Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge, Romeo and Juliet and his most recent Australia. Baz does more than directs his films, first off he writes the story and the screenplay but secondly, he also has his fingers in every part of the film, such as the music and cinematography.

What is unique about his style is he presents his movies as if he were telling a story, usually involving a narrator. When telling the story he usually gives away the ending of the story in the beginning to give the viewers the urge to watch how the story gets there. His stories sometimes have a hidden social commentary on something such as war or racism. Also, his pursuit of storytelling is very similar to a theatrical experience, which includes clothes that are exaggerated and are somewhat like costumes instead of clothing. There is actually a descriptive phrase used by Baz Luhrmann himself that describes his style, "Red Curtain."

In my opinion, the two movies that show more of his style would be Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet because they have a more theatrical feel to them. Parts of Moulin Rouge was placed on a stage because the story took place in a theater but in Romeo and Juliet some scenes took place on a beach that had a structure that looked like a theater's stage. Another reason Baz Lurhmann’s films seem theatrical are the performances are exaggerated and, in the case of Romeo and Juliet, have a twist to the story. In Romeo and Juliet the story is taken place in what seems like a present day city and instead of having swords, the characters have guns. Also, in both movies the wardrobe is amazingly over the top and sometimes unnecessarily but it created a different and entertaining experience.

I think it is important for a director or writer to find their own specific style in storytelling in order to be successful. Whether the director’s style is camera techniques or cinematography, it should get the viewers attention. As I wrote earlier, he has only made four films but is already widely known.

Favorite Director (Tyler's paper)

For many film students it may be hard to pin point exactly who their favorite director or directors are. However for myself, it is rather easy. Joel and Ethan Coen or known professionally as The Coen Brothers are without a doubt my favorite directors. I could write forever about how great they are. However, for the sake of this post (paper) I will keep it about their style. (As the Cowboy from Lebowski would say, "I dig your style dude.")

The Coens are amongst the few contemporary filmmakers who have shown a great affection for the screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s, and have incorporated thier influences with varying degrees of subtlety, ranging from entire movies in the screwball mode like The Hudsucker Proxy and Intolerable Cruelty.

They are Oscar winners for Best Original Screenplay (Fargo) and Best Adapted Screenplay (No Country...) they are known for having great dialogue in their films. In some of their films it can be Laconic (using very few words) examples are No Country..., Fargo, and The Man Who Wasn't There. Other times they can be Loquacious (very talkative) like their films Lebowski and Hudsucker Proxy. Their scripts typically feature a combination of dry wit, exaggerated language, and glaring irony.

The various aspects that make the character of a city, state, or region of America are an intergral component of several of their films. Raising Arizona strongly features the distinctive Arizona landscape, and some of the characters in the film are highly exaggerated stereotypes of people's notions of people from Arizona. Similarly, in Fargo the accents of North Dakota and Minnesota are an essential part of the film. The Big Lebowski and Barton Fink play off of Los Angeles. O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Ladykillers are distinctly Southern. The Hudsucker Proxy plays off of New York. No Country For Old Men depicts the West Texas and Mexico border. Burn After Reading depicts the culture in D.C. A Serious Man examines a Jewish community in the suburbs of the Twin Cities.

In addition, The Coens often set their movies in times of American crisis. Miller's Crossing takes place during prohibition. Barton Fink is in the time around the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Lebowski during the 1991 Gulf War, O Brother... during the Great Depresssion. WWII is mentioned as an important plot point in The Man Who Wasn't There.

They often use animals that seem to have an understanding of what is happening: the bloodhound who looks suprised in the cabin scene of O Brother..., the scruffy terrier accompanying the tyke in the Rug Daniels scene in Miller's Crossing, the pomerianian show dog (with papers) who becomes agitated with Walter during Smokey's foul in Lebowski, the ever-watching and suspicious Pickles in The Ladykillers, and the pit bull who is seen through binoculars by Moss in No Country For Old Men.

Money is involved in most of their films. The plot of Blood Simple escalates as a result of money. It starts the events of Fargo. It is trying to be collected in Lebowski. In O Brother... they are on a chase for treasure that will make them rich. In Burn After Reading money is needed to pay for a character's cosmetic surgery. The confusion and moral conflict surrounding a suspected bribe drive portions of the plot in A Serious Man.

Dreams figure prominently and frequently into the Coen's work. Raising Arizona and A Serious Man feature several dream sequences. Barton Fink has been described as being very dreamlike, many have speculated that the second half of the film is a dream sequence itself. Blood Simple, contains an important dream sequence, and No Country... ends with a character's vivid description of a dream. The function of the dream sequences in their films is often times to foreshadow the progression of the plot, to reflect on what already occured during the film and, above all else, to reveal the fears, motivations, and introspections of its characters.

Hopefully after reading this you have a better understanding of the style of the Coens. It is easy to see why they are great filmmakers, ("Worthy Fucking Adversaries") there are other great filmmakers however for me the Coen's take the cake. I enjoy all of their films. If you haven't seen any or all of them do yourself a favor and check them out.

Coen Bros Works:
Blood Simple, 1984
Raising Arizona, 1987
Miller's Crossing, 1990
Barton Fink, 1991
The Hudsucker Proxy, 1994
Fargo, 1996
The Big Lebowski, 1998
O Brother Where Art Thou?, 2001
Intolerable Cruelty, 2003
The Ladykillers, 2004
No Country For Old Men, 2007
Burn After Reading, 2008
A Serious Man, 2009
True Grit, 2010

Other Works:
Crimewave, 1985, written by Coens and Sam Raimi. Directed by Raimi.
Gates of Eden, 1998, collection of short stories written by Ethan.
The Naked Man, 1998, co written by Ethan.
The Drunken Driver Has The Right of Way, 2001, a collection of poems and limericks written by Ethan.
Bad Santa, 2003, produced by the Coens.
Paris, je t'aime, 2006, Film segment: Tuileries.
Chacun son cinema, 2007, Film segment: World Cinema.
Romance & Cigarettes, 2006, produced by Coens. written and directed by John Turturro.
Suburbicon, 2012, will be produced and written by Coens. George Clooney will direct.

Fall Blu-ray Buy List

Just wanted to let anybody know that has a PS3 or a Blu ray player about some of the great releases coming this fall.

Apocalypse Now (10/9)
Alien Anthology (10/26)
Back to the Future Trilogy (10/26)
Disney's Beauty and the Beast (10/5)
The Exorcist (10/3)
The Evil Dead (8/31)
Grindhouse (10/5)
King Kong 1933 (9/28)
Rocky Horror Picture Show (10/19)
Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (Criterion) (10/26)
Maniac (10/26)
The Maltese Falcon (10/5)
Ignar Bergman's The Magician (Criterion)
Phycho (10/19)
Se7en (9/14)
The Seven Samurai (Criterion) (10/19)
The Twilight Zone: Season one (9/5)

I want to get a least a few of these.

Top Ten Horror Films

The Media Theory & Criticism class spent the week covering genre studies. More specifically, the assignment was to study the horror genre. They selected and voted on a "top ten" list using an open and wide variety of criteria. This is what they came up with in ranking order, #1 being best.

1. Psycho
2. The Shining
3. The Exorcist
4. Silence of the Lambs
5. Jaws
6. Night of the Living Dead
   
7. Alien
8. The Thing (Carpenter)
9. Nosferatu (silent)
10. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

A great list. Here is mine in no particular order.

Psycho
The Bride of Frankenstein
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Black Cat (1930s Universal)
The Shining
The Seventh Victim
The Cabinet of Dr. Calagari
The Exorcist
Halloween
The Horror of Dracula

Please post your personal list and comment.

Hard Boiled Fiction and Killers on the Run

I will be showing "The Getaway" on Monday and "Gun Crazy" on Friday.


Sam Peckinpah's film of Jim Thompson's tough-as-nails novel features Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw as husband and wife fugitives, running from the cops, a psychotic former partner in crime, and some angry Texas gangsters they have double crossed.


"Gun Crazy" is a great Film Noir. Peggy Cummins stars as Annie Laurie Starr, a carnival sharpshooter who is fascinated by the idea of murder.


Produced on a shoestring budget, the film uses techniques that were almost experimental in the 1950's.

I hope you can attend at least one of these great films. Both are a 5:00.

James Rolfe's Top Ten Lists

Some of you might know James Rolfe for his famous Internet persona "The Angry Video Game Nerd." He is also a Indie filmmaker who provides a lot of analysis and criticisms on films. Be Sure to check out his website http://www.cinemassacre.com

Top Ten Car Chases



Top Ten Shoot-Em Ups



RoboCop needs to be higher.

Top Ten Dumbest Indian Jones Moments



Guess which one in NOT Number 1.

Top Ten Twilight Zone Episodes



I Need to watch some of these.

Top Ten Worst Movie Clichés