Experimental film

When first introduced to the film 'un chein Andalou' by Luis Bunuel I was confused mainly because I see things literally, like the close up on the hand with a hole in the middle with ants leaving the hole, I saw that as a hole in a hand and some ants leaving the hole but others saw religious connotations with it. I also didn't enjoy that there was no links with what was happening with the characters in the film, for example with the women outside holding the box with the hand inside the shots were going back and forth to the women and the people inside and to me it looks like the man is wanting the cars to run the women outside over but there wasn't actually a link between the two. 

The second films that I have looked at is 'Fireworks' by Kenneth Anger was easier for me to understand and I enjoyed how this film was very personal to Anger's feelings at the time, this is shown through the fragmented shots of the sailor's arms, chest and back as he flexed his muscles in front of Kenneth and also when the sailors are walking the shots are mainly focused on the couch as they passed the camera. I also liked the references to being fulfilled after coming out and being yourself, this is shown through the scene where he set a firework off in his trousers and then it transforming into a Christmas tree on top of his head as a sign of rebellion towards religion and conforming. Also at the end there is a close up shot of a hand which is now complete as opposed to the start when a couple of fingers where missing.
The third film 'Scorpion Rising' by Kenneth Anger had similar religious references such as the shots of christian symbols such as a picture of Jesus and the film clips of Jesus and his disciples and the Nazi flag, which suggests the gay society in this film rebelling against the religions that dictate to them. But also there are similarities between these religions and their view points, they discriminate towards the people they don't agree with and there is always a leader. I like the start with the man building his bike, which shows that he has a love for what he enjoys and the things that define him.   

How far does Chungking Express differ from the other urban stories you have studied for this topic ?

How far does Chungking Express differ from the other urban stories you have studied for this topic ?

Chungking Express (1994) differs from the other films I have studied because the narrative focuses more on the theme of loneliness and being unable to sustain a relationship. This is shown through the scene where cop 663 is giving feelings to inanimate objects, through the mise en scene the audience can see that he is making a soap, polar bear teddy and a dish cloth feelings which he is feeling because his girlfriend left him, he can't not deal with the change. 'I told you not to cry. When will you stop crying? one must be strong and tough.' This is because of how Hong Kong was changing at this time because it was coming towards the end of them being an independent state, this happened in 1997. This is similar to La Haine (1995) in the scene where the three boys Vinz, Hubert and Said are at an art exhibit and they cannot talk to the women there, they resort back to violence and vulgar language. But what is similar with City of God (2002) is being able to start a relationship but it either breaks or there is something in the way this is seen through Shaggy and Bernice. Shaggy is killed by cops when trying to escape. Also Benny and Angelica who want to live together away from the Favelas, Benny is also killed by someone which starts a gang war.

Chungking Express also differs from the other films in the sense that the roles of the characters the the power they have is reversed. The women have more power and are able to move on with their lives. Also in the second story the women has a name 'Faye' where the men have a number which everyone gets wrong. This power reversal is seen in the montage sequence when Faye is in cop 663's apartment and she is slowly changing things to change him. This is effective because what is happening in Hong Kong at the time. This role is played a little in City of God (2002) in Bernice's house where she has more power and through the mise en scene the audience can see that the house is tidy and clean but the power that Bernice once had is soon lost to the world they live in. The women in La Haine (1995) are seen as domestic, motherly figures and they are rarely shown in the film. The women in Princesas (2005) think they have all the power because they say when, where and how much but the women are all willing to change to suit the men's needs to get more money. This is shown through Caye's character who is saving up to get a boob job and she also changes her hair to get more men.

Presentation Script 3

Presentation script

To what extent does the theme of loss as a narrative device define Christopher Nolan as an auteur?

Projector: Display an image of Christopher Nolan

Speaker: 'An auteur is a director who manifests a consistency of style and theme across his or her films.' [9] If this is the definition of an auteur then I believe that Christopher Nolan is in fact an auteur, due to his continual use of narrative devices and themes of psychological tumours, mainly loss across his films. Christopher Nolan is a director that uses similar themes and character roles/ types. For example, Film Noir's Femme Fatale and non linear narratives. There are other elements which could contribute to Christopher Nolan being an auteur such as working with his brother but I will discuss them later. Christopher Nolan has made a name for himself with his latest blockbusters such as the Batman trilogy and 'Inception' [3]. But he was displaying his techniques long before he was noticed by Warner Brothers with films like 'Following' 'Insomnia' and 'Memento' [2].


Projector: Display scene from 'The Prestige' [1] with a helpful quote (01:53:35-01:55:36) 

Speaker: After Batman Begins Christopher Nolan went on to film 'The Prestige' [1] which also displays a lot of his themes and techniques, although this film is not one of his own pieces, being an adaptation of a novel. Christopher Nolan has found similar themes that work well with his style within the narrative. In 'The Prestige' [1] he uses the theme of loss to challenge the audience, and a non linear structure as a the narrative device in order to leave the audience in the dark for most of the film. In this film both the main characters have suffered loss. Alfred Borden (Bale) is the more psychological and ... as this character suffers loss in a deeper sense, suffering the loss of his wife who committed suicide, the loss of some of his fingers after being shot off in a magic act, loss of his brother and lastly the loss of identity. In order to create the perfect magic trick one of the Borden twins doesn't have his true identity, as the twins take turns playing either Alfred Borden or Fallon. In this scene you have seen Borden confronts Angier and explains about his life and magic trick 'simple maybe but never easy, there's nothing easy about two men sharing one life' [1] this displays Christopher Nolan's recurring theme of psychological loss and is shown in a montage sequence 'we each had half of a full life, which was enough for us. But not for them' [1]. Also Christopher Nolan explains what has happened through mise en scene in the montage, he shows the two brothers behind the trick and switching make up in order for them to play the part. Robert Angier (Jackman) suffers the loss of his wife who drowned in one of their acts, this sends him down the path of revenge. [00:23:05-00:24:35]

Projector:  Display scene from 'Memento' [2] (00:15:34-00:16:17)


Speaker: The film that got Christopher Nolan noticed by film production companies was 'Memento' [2] which is another one of the films I have chosen to help me argue my point that Christopher Nolan is an auteur becuase similar to his other films the theme of loss is used as a narrative device to make the film interesting. Once again this film has a different narrative structure 'You cannot remove a scene from the film because each scene depends on its relationship between the preceding scene and the one that follows, it is total linear it's just reversed' say Christopher Nolan [2] and the main character has suffered different types of loss. Leonard (Pearce) has suffered the loss of his wife who was murdered and this sends him on a revenge mission, much like Robert Angier in 'The Prestige' [1]. This is also an genre convention for Film Noir, which influences Christopher Nolan's filming style. But also Leonard suffers with short term memory loss, when he and his wife was being attacked he got hit on the head. This plays a big part in the narrative and the development of the character, 'The noir-ish indie feature starred Guy Pearce as an amnesiac man who relies on Polaroids and copious note-taking while seeking vengeance.' [4]. This results in Leonard never truly knowing the whole truth and will accept whatever truth is in front of him. In the scene I have just shown Leonard is talking on the phone, he is talking about Sammy Jenkis which is the person he uses to explain his condition. In this scene Leonard talks about how he has structure to his life by taking notes and having a system but most of all a purpose for life. Through the mise en scene the audience can see his tattoos of all the facts he has collected about his wife murderer but only once he looks in the mirror do they see his purpose 'John G. raped and murdered my wife' while this is being shown to the audience Leonard actually states 'I'm disciplined and organized, I use habit and routine to make my life possible, Sammy had no drive no reason to make it work, me, yeah I've got a reason' [2].

Projector: Display scene from 'Inception' [3] (01:13:08- 01:18:49)

Speaker: The same themes are displayed in his later work 'Inception' [3]. The main character Cobb has suffered the loss of his wife who couldn't accept what was reality, he then cannot see his children because of his wife. Christopher Nolan leaves the ending up to the audience and makes them question what reality is. Much like with 'Memento' [2] which makes the audience question whether they can trust their own memories,is it fact or has it been distorted over time and with other people's influence 'Memory can change the shape of a room; it can change the color of a car. And memories can be distorted. They're just an interpretation, they're not a record, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts.' These themes are displayed to the audience in a fantasy style of dreams and the sociological aspects to a person's sub conscience. Christopher Nolan uses the theme of loss to ask these questions. In this scene you have just seen Cobb is explaining to Ariadne what happened to his wife and how it affected his life now. Even though his wife has died she still appears on missions as Cobb's projection and she threatens the people that he works with. I have used this scene because it shows a lot of the elements of his continuing theme of loss to develop his characters. Aldo his use of montage to almost fill in the gaps that the audience do not know, in this sequence it is jumping through time from the past to the present to explain and gain knowledge in both times, this is similar to 'The Prestige' [1].

Speaker: From the description of an auteur and the evidence that I have shown you, I do believe that Christopher Nolan is an auteur.

'Total devotion to his art, utter self sacrifice' [1][00:16:42-00:16:52]

Presentation Script 2

Presentation script

To what extent does the theme of loss as a narrative device define Christopher Nolan as an auteur?

Projector: Display an image of Christopher Nolan

Speaker: 'An auteur is a director who manifests a consistency of style and theme across his or her films.' [9] If this is the definition of an auteur then I believe that Christopher Nolan is in fact an auteur, due to his continual use of narrative devices and themes of psychological tumours, mainly loss across his films. Christopher Nolan is a director that uses similar themes and character roles/ types. For example, Film Noir's Femme Fatale and non linear narratives. There are other elements which could contribute to Christopher Nolan being an auteur such as working with his brother but I will discuss them later. Christopher Nolan has made a name for himself with his latest blockbusters such as the Batman trilogy and 'Inception' [3]. But he was displaying his techniques long before he was noticed by Warner Brothers with films like 'Following' 'Insomnia' and 'Memento' [2].


Projector: Display scene from 'The Prestige' [1] with a helpful quote (01:53:35-01:55:36)

Speaker: After Christopher Nolan completed Batman Begins he went on to film 'The Prestige' [1] which also displays a lot of his themes and techniques, although this film is not one of his own pieces, being an adaptation of a novel. Christopher Nolan has found similar themes that work well with his style within the narrative. In 'The Prestige' [1] he uses the theme of loss to challenge the audience, and a non linear structure as a the narrative device in order to leave the audience in the dark for most of the film. In this film both the main characters have suffered loss. Alfred Borden (Bale) is the more psychological and ... as this character suffers loss in a deeper sense, suffering the loss of his wife who committed suicide, the loss of his fingers after being shot off in a magic act, loss of his brother and lastly the loss of identity. In order to create the perfect magic trick one of the Borden twins a main character in the film doesn't have his true identity, as the twins take turns playing either Alfred Borden or Fallon. In this scene you have seen Borden confront Angier and explains about his life and magic trick 'simple maybe but never easy, there's nothing easy about two men sharing one life' [1] this displays Christopher Nolan's recurring theme of psychological loss and is shown in a montage sequence 'we each had half of a full life, which was enough for us. But not for them' [1]. Also Christopher Nolan explains what has happened through mise en scene in the montage, he shows the two brothers behind the trick and switching make up in order for them to play the part. Robert Angier (Jackman) suffers the loss of his wife who drowned in one of their acts, this sends him down the path of revenge. [00:23:05-00:24:35]

Projector:  Display scene from 'Memento' [2] (00:15:34-00:16:17)


Speaker: The film that got Christopher Nolan noticed by film production companies was 'Memento' [2] which is another one of the films I have chosen to help me argue my point that Christopher Nolan is an auteur, and similar to his other films the theme of loss is used as a narrative device to make the film interesting. Once again this film has a different narrative structure 'You cannot remove a scene from the film because each scene depends on its relationship between the preceding scene and the one that follows, it is total linear it's just reversed' say Christopher Nolan [2] and the main character has suffered different types of loss. Leonard (Pearce) has suffered the loss of his wife who was murdered and this sends him on a revenge mission, much like Robert Angier in 'The Prestige' [1]. This is also an genre convention for Film Noir, which influences Christopher Nolan's filming style. But also Leonard has suffered the loss of his memory, when he and his wife was being attacked he got hit on the head which resulted in him suffering with short term memory loss. This plays a big part in the narrative and the development of the character, 'The noir-ish indie feature starred Guy Pearce as an amnesiac man who relies on Polaroids and copious note-taking while seeking vengeance.' [4]. This results in Leonard never truly knowing the whole truth and will accept whatever truth is in front of him. In the scene I have just shown Leonard is talking on the phone, he is talking about Sammy Jenkis which is the person he uses to explain his condition. In this scene Leonard talks about how he has structure to his life by taking notes and having a system but most of all a purpose for life. Through the mise en scene the audience can see his tattoos of all the facts he has collected about his wife murderer but only once he looks in the mirror do they see his purpose 'John G. raped and murdered my wife' while this is being shown to the audience Leonard actually states 'I'm disciplined and organized, I use habit and routine to make my life possible, Sammy had no drive no reason to make it work, me, yeah I've got a reason' [2].

Projector: Display scene from 'Inception' [3] (01:18:53- 01:22:14)

Speaker: The same themes are displayed in his later work 'Inception' [3]. The main character Cobb has suffered the loss of his wife who couldn't accept what was reality. He then loses this children because of his job and his wife; he later choses his reality with his children and Christopher Nolan leaves the ending up to the audience. These themes are displayed to the audience in a fantasy style of dreams and the sociological aspects to a person's sub conscience. Christopher Nolan likes this audience to question things about life, with this film it is making you question what is reality and is it something that we just except. 'Memento' [2] he wanted the audience to question their memory, is it fact or has it been distorted over time and with other people's influence. Christopher Nolan uses the theme of loss to ask these questions. In this scene you have just seen Cobb is explaining to Ariadne what happened to his wife and how it affected his life now. Even though his wife has died she still appears on missions as Cobb's projection and his threatens the people that he works with. I have used this scene because it shows a lot of the elements of his continuing theme of loss to develop his characters.

'Total devotion to his art, utter self sacrifice' [1][00:16:42-00:16:52]

Presentation Script

Presentation script

To what extent does the theme of loss as a narrative device define Christopher Nolan as an auteur?

 

Projector: Display an image of Christopher Nolan

 

Speaker: In this presentation I will be arguing whether or not Christopher Nolan is an auteur. For an audience watching Christopher Nolan's films they can clearly see that there is a recurring theme of loss. Christopher Nolan uses different psychological tumours mainly loss as a narrative device, and I believe this could make him an auteur. In order to argue my case I need to explain what an auteur is, 'An auteur is a director who manifests a consistency of style and theme across his or her films.' [9] Christopher Nolan is a director that uses similar things such as themes, character roles/ types for example film noir femme fatale and non linear narratives. There are other elements which could contribute to Christopher Nolan being an auteur such as working with his brother but I will discuss them later.

 

 Projector: Display clip from 'The Prestige' with a helpful quote [00:16:42-00:16:52]

 

Speaker: Christopher Nolan has made a name for himself with his latest blockbusters such as the Batman trilogy and Inception [3]. But he was displaying his techniques long before he was noticed by Warner Brothers in films like 'Following' 'Insomnia' and 'Memento' [2]. But after Christopher Nolan completed Batman Begins he went on to film 'The Prestige' [1] which displays a lot of his themes and techniques, this is the film I have chosen to discuss in more detail. In 'The Prestige' [1] Christopher Nolan uses the theme of loss in a different way which challenges the audience, the narrative is non linear so the audience is left in the dark for most of the film which is a narrative device. In this film both the main characters has suffered loss. Robert Angier (Jackman) suffers the loss of his wife who drowned in one of their acts, this sends him down the path of revenge. Alfred Borden (Bale) is the more psychological and ... because this character suffers loss in a deeper sense, he suffers the loss of his wife who committed suicide, loss of his fingers after being shot off in an act, loss of his brother and lastly the loss of identity. In order to create the perfect magic trick one of the Borden twins doesn't have their true identity, they take turns playing a part, 'Total devotion to his art, utter self sacrifice' [1]

Projector: 

Speaker: The film that got Christopher Nolan noticed by film production companies was 'Memento' [2] which is another one of the films I have chosen to help me argue whether or not Christopher Nolan is an auteur, and like with his other films the theme of loss is used as a narrative device to make the film interesting. Again this film is non linear and the main character has suffered different types of loss. Leonard (Pearce) has suffered the loss of his wife who was murdered and this sends him on a revenge mission, much like Robert Angier in 'The Prestige'. But also Leonard has suffered the loss of his memory, when he and his wife was being attacked he got hit on the head which resulted in him suffering with short term memory loss. This plays a big part in the narrative and the development of the character, because 'The noir-ish indie feature starred Guy Pearce as an amnesiac man who relies on Polaroids and copious note-taking while seeking vengeance.' [4]. This results in Leonard never truly knowing the whole truth and will accept whatever truth is in front of him. As I mentioned earlier Christopher Nolan's continuing work with his Brother, Jonathan could be another piece of evidence for Christopher Nolan being an auteur. A lot of Nolan's films he has either written with his brother or like 'The Prestige' wrote the screenplay for an adaptation of the novel. Christopher Nolan seems to find work that suits his style perfectly and then he puts his own twist on filming.

 

To what extent are the characters in the Urban Stories you have viewed victims of a more dominant social and political ideology?

To what extent are the characters in the Urban Stories you have viewed victims of a more dominant social and political ideology?

In both films I have studied 'La Haine' and 'Princesas' there is a recurring theme of race. In 'La Haine' the 3 main characters Vinz, Said and Hubert could be argued that they are victims of social ideologies, this is shown through the scene where the media show up to get interviews about the riots and this is shot like a documentary/News style. Also it is shot from a high angel to show that they have a loss of power and deemed as animals in cages. I could argue that they have been made victims by themselves and the media in this situation. But not all the character's ideologies are the same there is always a more violent one in a group, in this group it is Vinz because he likes action films and the violence in them where as Hubert is different. This is shown when Hubert is in his room and through the mise en scene the audience gains his view on race and equality. The theme of a violent person in each group is relevant in the police force as well, it could be argued that there is two scenes where this is shown, one where Hubert and Said are getting tortured by the police and the trainee doesn't agree, and also the scene at the end with the police and the gun, he ends up accidentally killing Vinz. In 'La Haine' people are victims of Political ideologies because the people living in the projects are separated because they are viewed as not 'being French' but also the police are put in a difficult position because they are sent to keep the peace in an environment that maybe they don't agree with, this is shown when a police officer steps in and helps Hubert and Vinz after Said starts something in the hospital.
In 'Princesas' the social ideologies are that the women are not proud of what they do for a living, this is shown when Caye doesn't tell her family what she does for a living. But these women see it as the easiest way to get women and also the believe they have all the power because they say how much, when and where but in reality they don't have power because they want the business, this is shown through Caye's character, she wants a boob job to get more business she does her hair differently because it helps with business. The political ideologies in the film are complicated because prostitutes can advertise for business in the newspaper, it is more accepted but the political ideologies in the film deal with the issue and being an immigrant and what they have to go through, this is shown through Zulema and who she has to sleep with and put up with to get working papers.
In 'City of God' social ideologies are that you will not get anywhere if you are not in a gang and protected by them, this is seen through the montage scene when people are signing up to the two different gangs, these people are of all ages. Also in this film there is a more violent character which is Li'l Ze, this is seen throughout the whole film, and the montage sequence where he is just shooting people. But Li'l Ze obsessed with power and he can not get enough, this is shown through the scene when he is talking to Benny about getting more power you have to take out the best and through the mise en scene and dialogue the audience learns that drug dealer with all the gold is the one that needs to be taken out. But Rocket is a different type of character in urban stories, there seems to be no escape from the gangs and that lifestyle but Rocket manages to make it out in a sense. Rocket grow up with an older brother and a caring father, both of these men didn't want him to go into the life of crime, so Rocket preferred to shot a camera than a gun. Becoming a photographer was his way out and he worked hard to get there, starting from the bottom. the political ideologies in this film are similar to the social ones in a way that the police are corrupt and think about what would happen if they committed the crimes, also the police don't go after the gang leaders or drug dealers. In 'City of God' the political ideologies are different to the other films, this is shown through the corrupt cop such as Melon Head. Melon head has been corrupt from the start asking the other police what they would do with the money that the Tender trio stole, but his corruption is shown through the scene just after 'Uncle Sam' Charlie sold the guns to both sides of the war, Melon Head profited from the war which he should have been stopping.

How far does the impact of the films you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques ?

For this topic i have studied the film 'La Haine' and the director Mathieu Kassovitz has used a lot of filming techniques such as miss en scene to convey the message that people are being influenced by western culture, this is seen through a specific scene where there is a meeting on the roof of the gym. The miss en scene shows that everyone is influenced by western culture because everyone on the roof is wearing sport clothes and trainers, there is graffiti on the walls.







In this topic I have been studying 'La Haine' and the way Mathieu Kassovitz uses film techniques to convey a specific message of how the multicultural France is influenced by America to his audience.  This is shown through the mise en scene of Vinz and Hubert's rooms which are covered in posters of a marijuana leaf and pictures of film stars and athletes. This suggests that they are influence by people from America, Vinz the dreamer likes his action heroes such as Robert de Niro and Bruce Lee. Vinz's room is shown to the audience with a 360 degree pan around the room which suggests that Vinz is influenced by film culture. Whereas Hubert decorates his rooms with his belies, a picture of his hero on the wall and also there is a picture of the Black power at the olympics. The audience is shown to the audience with a static shot suggesting that Hubert's views are fixed. At the time in France there were a lot of riots happening about race and equality but Hubert doesn't agree with fighting like that. Mathieu shows this through two shots, having two characters opposite showing that they are not on the same side.

Also in 'La Haine' Mathieu Kassovitz shows that these people are influenced by American culture through mise en scene of what everyone is wearing. This is significantly seen in the scene on top of the gym, everyone is wearing sports gear and it looks like a scene from an American film. They are shown through a tracking shot following Said around the roof, there a lot of people on the roof from the surrounding area of France and they are all mixed race but they are all wearing similar clothing. Even when the police show up, the police are wearing casual American style clothes, one is even wearing an American football jacket.

Throughout this film there is a strong presents of Hip Hop music which is from American. This is shown through diegetic music in the scene when the DJ plays out the music from his window. He mixes a Hip Hop song with a French classic. This shows the mix of race in that environment and how these people are influenced. Hip Hop is also played on the roof of the gym which supports the American style of that scene. But in this film it is not just Hip Hop that is played throughout this film, Kassovitz shows another cultural mix in different sections of the film but mainly in the opening credits with the non diegetic music 'Burnin and lootin' but Bob Marley.

 A lot of body language in the film are copied from american films, such as Vinz in the mirror copying the scene from 'Taxi driver' but even down to the greetings they give each other, grabbing hands and going in for a slap on the back. There is also a scene where there is a DJ playing out some stereotypical music from both cultures and mix them together like the environment they are living in. 

Catalogue

To what extent does the theme of loss as a narrative device define Christopher Nolan as an auteur?

Item 1
The Prestige 2006
I chose this film because Christopher Nolan focuses upon with the theme of loss and the duality that arises as a result, he does this through a disjointed narrative. By using this method it could be argued as another piece of evidence for Christopher Nolan being an auteur. I think this film is a good chose because 'The Prestige' keeps a lot of the narrative a secret just like a magic trick.

Item 2
Memento 2000
I chose this film because again it is based the theme of lose and how the main character suffers loss. Christopher Nolan use loss in a psychological scene which is the main narrative device. Christopher Nolan has also keeps his work similar in a way they have a disjointed narrative and are presented backwards. I think this will help show evidence to the fact the Christopher Nolan is an auteur.

Item 3
Inception 2010
I have chosen this film because it has the recurring theme of loss as a narrative device but also it deals with the psychological response to the loss and focuses on the idea that the brain/unconscious has different layers. Also this films has a recurring theme of film Noir and the character of a Femme Fatale which he uses in other films. This films was also written by himself which is another reason why he could be an auteur.


Websites:
Item 4
Christopher Nolan Biography from bio. website
http://www.biography.com/people/christopher-nolan-20881457#directing-career&awesm=~oGMgLU3dRpC5Ov
I have chosen this to support my argument because it gives a little context about his earlier filming career and the work he has completed now. Also there is some information about Nolan's work with his brother which could be interesting to talk about. I believe that understanding this could help argue why Nolan could be an auteur. This website also talks about his narrative style and how he uses it as a device to make the characters different, this could be seen as an element of him being an auteur.

Item 5
Whatculture.com, December 6 2012
http://whatculture.com/film/5-major-defining-tropes-of-christopher-nolans-films.php
I chose this it talks about how directors use the same techniques to make the film their own, this could be debated as the auteur theory. This website talks about Christopher Nolan's traits and repeated style through the films I have chosen to analyse. I think this will be useful because then I can state facts about his filming style such as noir style narrative and characters, Femme Fatale. I believe this will help when arguing my point about Nolan being an auteur.

Item 6
Life and Illusion, July 22 2012
http://lifeandillusion.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/the-themes-of-christopher-nolan/
I have chosen this website because it discusses in depth about the different themes that run throughout the films, they have been separated into different categories which is better because then it adds evidence to Christopher Nolan using similar narrative traits and the developments of the characters. I think this will help support my argument about Christopher Nolan being an auteur.

Item 7
Wired Q&A with Christopher Nolan, November 29 2010
http://www.wired.com/2010/11/pl_inception_nolan/#slideid-74661
I have chosen this article on this website because it is an interview with Christopher Nolan and he talks about how he developed his ideas for Inception and what he wanted for the narrative and characters. He also talks about his filming process and how he created a psychological dream world where his characters work through their loss.

Item 8
The Guardian, July 15 2010
http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2010/jul/15/christopher-nolan-stanley-kubrick-inception
I have chosen this website because it talks about how Christopher Nolan become a director and how he developed his style quickly and hasn't needed to go independent since Memento. This website is also good because it relates him to other well known directors and states that they bot could be classed as auteurs.

Item 9
B.T.H. Media Group January 30 2014
http://www.bthmedia.com/blog/the-thursday-smokers-break
I have chosen this because it a useful discussion about two views on the auteur theory and how it applies to Christopher Nolan's work. Also it discusses the films that I have chosen to discuss, this will help me when arguing whether or not Christopher Nolan is an auteur because I can use quotes from this as evidence to back up my point.

Books:
Item 10
Teach yourself Film studies- Warren Buckland- 1998
I have chose this because in this book it summaries the auteur theory nicely and I think I can use some quotes to back up my argument about Christopher Nolan being an auteur. Also there is a good quote from the original film critic which will be useful to include when debating whether Nolan is an auteur.

Item 11
Film Studies: The Essential Resource- Pater Bennett, Andrew Hickman and Peter Wall
I have chosen this because it discusses in detail about the auteur theory which can be helpful when arguing if Nolan is an auteur because I can apply the theory to Nolan's recurring theme of loss.

Item 12
The fictional Christopher Nolan- Todd McGowan- 2012
I have chosen this book to support my argument because it discusses most of his films apart from his latest Batman movie. I thought this will be helpful because it goes into detail about the different topics and themes that occur in all three of the films I have chosen. It also talks about different theories which could help when discussing whether or both Christopher Nolan recurring theme of loss and unusual narrative structures is a couple of reasons why there is a big audience for his films.

Magazines:
Item 13
Sight & Sound- August 2012
I chose this article because it includes all the films I want to discuss and also it talks about where Nolan got influences from outside his film career which could be helpful with arguing whether or not he is an auteur. Also this magazine is a critical magazine that the evidence may suggest the use for repeated themes throughout Nolan's work.

Videos:
Item 14
Film 2006 Christopher Nolan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK1XfijGzCE
I chose this because gives a critical view on the films and also it talks to the actors about their experiences and how they appreciate the narrative. The actors also talk about their relationship with the director and Christian Bale comments that he wants the relationship to continue. Michael Caine says that he is an easy director to follow. I also chose this clip because Christopher Nolan comments on the themes. Jonathan Ross also mentions that no one will be surprised that 'The Prestige' has a complex narrative, a key feature of his narratives.

Item 15
The Culture Show about The Dark Knight Rises
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_P2N5GwJOo
I have chosen this because Nolan discusses how cinema should be and what he wants to produce for an audience whether he has a big budget or a small one. I think this will be helpful when debating whether or not Nolan is an auteur, his use of the strange such as a backwards narrative and complex character dealing with a psychological problem, for his audience could make him an auteur.

Item 16
Christopher Nolan at Comic con 2014
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfWOhpaiNv4
I have chosen this because even though it is about his new film, Mathew Mcconaughey talks about who Nolan's work is always original and he keeps rolling which I have heard on other video, this could help to determine whether or not Nolan is an auteur. Also in the Q&A section he answers why he uses a lot of psychological issues in his work, which will help with my topic of loss.


Item 17
Picture of Christopher Nolan behind a camera
I have included this picture to show what Christopher Nolan looks like and to shows him behind the camera because I think it will be nice to open with this on my presentation script.

Rejected items:
Batman Begins 2005
I have rejected this film because even through it is has similar themes with some clear evidence that it is a Christopher Nolan film. It is too well know graphic novel, and although it would have been good to analyse how Christopher Nolan made it his own. I just don't think there is enough evidence with this film to argue that Christopher Nolan is an auteur.

Youtube.com- The making of 'The Prestige'
I have rejected this because it talks more about the costumes and sets rather than the actual making of the film and Nolan's vision for the film and narrative.

Empire Magazine 253 issue
I have rejected this because the issue talks more about Nolan as a director and being a visionary rather than his methods of films and the themes running throughout the films, I don't think this will be helpful.

The Guardian newspaper, September 23 2013- 15 minutes to win the Batman Begins job
I have rejected this because this doesn't help with determining weather or not Nolan is an auteur because it just talks about how he should Warner Brother's his vision and how they like it and gave him the job.

Empire online
 http://www.empireonline.com/features/40-great-actor-director-partnerships/default.asp?c=14
I have rejected this because it talks more about using Christian Bale in most of his films because he is a serious and intense actor. I don't see how this can be helpful because it doesn't discuss the theme of loss or Nolan filming style. I couldn't use this in my debate because it gives no evidence to whether Nolan is an auteur.

Just a little some thing

[1] 'The Prestige'
[2] 'Memento'
[3] 'Batman Begins'
[4] http://www.biography.com/people/christopher-nolan-20881457#directing-career&awesm=~oGMgLU3dRpC5Ov
[5] whatculture
[6] http://whatculture.com/film/5-major-defining-tropes-of-christopher-nolans-films.php
[7] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/ChristopherNolan
[8] IMDB
[9] Teach yourself film studies
[10] Sight and sound- august 2012
[11] Youtube video 'Film 2006'
Christopher Nolan: The Prestige (2006)
He used some actors from his Batman film 'Batman begins' (2005), Christian Bale, Michael Caine) because he liked the partnership they had made and it worked while filming.

This film is dark and mysterious.

He wrote this film with his Brother Jonathon Nolan.

All three films I will be analysing are in the genres mystery and thriller
Mystery: The Prestige, Memento
Thriller: The Prestige, Memento, Batman Begins

For two of the films The Prestige and Batman Begin use the same filming editor Lee Smith

All three films has a sense of lose in them, in The Prestige their is a lose of career and family at the start and at the end, there is a element of lose of identity. This drives the characters to continue down a certain road. This is similar to Batman Begins. In Memento there are some similarities to the fact that there is a sense of lose, his wife is murdered and this sends he down a certain road. But this character has lost a part of himself and has to struggle everyday.

All three films has been written by Christopher is some way. The prestige and Memento are actually written by him and his brother where as Batman he writes the screenplay with David s. Goyer.

Auteur theory:
Christopher Nolan style of making films
Christopher doesn't really like CGI and he tries to stay away from using while filming, Batman Begins.


Christopher Nolan is known for his use of  uses a lot of


http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/ChristopherNolan

http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A22928772
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2430271/Watch-Christian-Bales-Batman-Begins-audition-tape--featuring-Val-Kilmers-old-Batsuit.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrTPQU4rJrg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghp2h1mak8o
http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/ReviewComplete.asp?FID=10967
http://movies.about.com/od/theprestige/a/prestigcn101606.htm






The guardian newspaper
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/09/in-praise-of-christopher-Nolan


Relevant Magazine




https://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/film/qa-christopher-Nolan


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_P2N5GwJOo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp0pP9HMa8M

Important things for exam

Section A:
American blockbuster- Star Trek into Darkness
This film is a sequel, and based on a successful TV franchise. Big audience because people are fans of the show.
Released May 2013 in the cinemas and then released on DVD September 2013, the distributor is Paramount.
The Rating is 12A meaning there will be a wider audience.
The production budget was $190 million and made over $467 million worldwide
The actors have a big fan base:
Chris Pine (Pine nuts)
Zachary Quinto
Simon Pegg
Benedict Cumberbatch (Cumberbitches)
They advertised well with different posters and trailers.

I didn't watch this film because I don't like the star trek franchise to begin with but if I was to watch it, it would be mainly because of the actors, I have seen them all in other things and liked their acting.

British film- My week with Marilyn
Produced by BBC Films
Filmed in various places around Britain
Keeps old fashioned British traditions
Most of the actors are British
This film was released first at 7 different film festivals then was released November 25th 2011 and released on DVD March 2012 and the distributor is Weinstein Company.
Production budget £6,400,000 (estimated) made over $14 million worldwide.
They advertised well everything was an enigma code

I have watched this film but it did bore me, I only watched it for Eddie Redmayne because I think he is a great actor. I didn't watch it in the cinema or on DVD I downloaded it, I didn't think it was worth buying.

Independent film- The Whistleblower

Key themes for both films

The American dream: Badlands- Kit bases himself on James Dean and he wants to be famous like him, if he cant be an actor he wants to be an outlaw, but not as big as he is in the end, also he doesn't have a good job and he also cant keep them for long, first he is a duct bin man then he works on a cattle ranch. When he goes to see Holly's Dad he tries to fill the hole in the board the father is painting. Also Holly's house is a nice white picket fenced house.









Natural Born Killers- Mickey wants to be an outlaw and he states that his competition is Charles Manson. Also when you 'firstly' meeting Mickey he is a butcher boy.

Dysfunctional family: Badlands- Holly comes from a one parent home because her mother died 10 years before. When Holly goes against her father's wishes which is stay away from Kit, he shoots her dog.

Natural Born Killers- Mallory's family is more dysfunctional because her father rapes her and her mother doesn't help her. Also Mickey comes from a dysfunctional family because he had a violent father who also committed suicide in front of him in some fields.

Rootlessness:

Fairy-tale: Badlands- When they are living in the woods and it is just them and it is like domestic bliss. Also when they are dressed up in the rich people's clothes when they are trying to act like a posh couple while leaving.

Natural Born Killers- Their wedding on the bridge, when they cut their hands so their blood mixes and falls in the water 'we'll be living in all the oceans now'.

Animalistic nature: Badlands- When they are living the woods Malik shows a lot of close ups of insects and wood to show that their behaviour at this point and from now on is animalistic.

Natural Born Killers- Mickey and Mallory are shown as rattle snakes in different scenes also Mickey has rattle snakes in a heart as a tattoo, and their wedding rings are snakes. Then when they do something that they see as bad the rattle snakes attack them.

Charles Whitman

In Natural Born Killers he was mentioned, he had killed Scagnetti's Mother.


Charles Whitman served in the Marines before he enrolled in the University of Texas. At the time he was suffering with mental illness and acute fits of anger, Charles killed his mother and wife and than on August 1, 1966, he went atop a 300 foot tower and targeted people below. He killed 16 people and injured many more before he was killed by the police, who stormed the tower.

Charles Whitman was born on June 24, 1941, in Lake Worth, Florida. Charles was a good student and Eagle Scout who left home early to escape a violent father. Also at a early age Charles was taught to handle guns. Charles joined the Marine Corps to be a sharpshooter and then enrolled in the University of Texas, where he met his wife Kathryn Leissner (they married in 1962).

Charles Manson

Charles Manson is a known serial killer, who in the 1960's found a hippie cult called 'the family'. Charles manipulated these people into brutally killing others on his behalf.

Charles was born to a 16 year old runaway for spent some time in jail, because his mother couldn't take care of him he spent a lot of time in homes of relatives and often at special reform schools and boy's homes. He then started committing petty crimes then moved on the burglary and grand theft auto.

After spending some time in prison he was release in 1954 age 19 for good behaviour. In the next year he met and married Rosalie Willis, a waitress. They then had a son together in March 1956 Charles Manson Jr. Charles Manson continued to make extra money by stealing cars and in April 1956 he went back to prison. After Manson had been in prison for a year, his wife found someone new and divorced Manson in June 1957. Once he was released in 1958, Manson started to commit more crimes such as pimping, stealing checks from mailboxes, and conned a young woman out of her money. He also got married again to a prostitute called Candy Stevens (Leona), and fathered a second son, Charles Luther Manson. On June 1, 1960 he was arrested again and his wife divorced.

For the six years that Charles was in prison he befriended the infamous Alvin 'Creepy' Karpis, former member of Ma Barker's gang. Alvin taught Charles to play the steel guitar, Charles became obsessed with making music. He wrote dozens of original songs and even started singing. Charles believed that when he got out of prison, he could be famous. (This is just like Kit and Mickey, but Charles wanted to be a musician)

On March 21, 1967, Charles was once again released from prison. This time he went to San Francisco with his guitar and some drugs it was there he began to get a following. In 1968, he and several followers drove to southern California.

Charles still seeking a career in the music industry, Charles hung out with Dennis Wilson from the Beach Boys. Charles didn't have much luck becoming famous with Dennis but the Beach Boys did record one of his songs 'Never Learn Not To Love' which appeared on the B side of their album 20/20. Through Dennis, Charles met Terry Melcher, Doris Day's son. Charles believed that Terry could advance his music career but nothing happened.

During this time, Charles Manson and some of his followers moved into the Spahn Ranch. Located northwest of San Fernando Valley the Spahn Ranch had been a popular location to film westerns in the 1940s and 1950s. Once Manson and his followers moved in, it became a cult compound for "the Family."

Charles was good at manipulating people, he used different religions and his own philosophy to do this. When The Beatles released 'Helter skelter' (1968) he believed that it was about an up and coming race war in the summer of 1969 and persauded them to move underground. When this didn't happen to told his followers that they should show the 'blacks' how it is done.

Charles then told four of his followers to go to10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles, the house was formally owned by Terry Melcher.  On August 9, 1969, the four followers carried out Charles's ordered and brutally murdered everyone inside. But Terry no longer lived there, he had rented the house out to Sharon Tate and her husband. The four murdered her, her unborn baby and four other people who was visiting her (her husband was in Europe). The following night the followers brutally murdered Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in their own home.

 In December 1969, Manson and several of his followers were arrested. The trial began on July 24, 1970. On January 25, Manson was found guilty of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. On March 29, 1971, Manson was sentenced to death.

Manson was reprieved from the death penalty in 1972 when the California Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty. Charles Manson now serves a lifetime sentence and periodically comes up for parole.
Though he's been in prison for over three decades, Charles Manson has received more mail than any other prisoner in the U.S. Charles Manson is currently being held in California's Corcoran Prison.

source: http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/p/charlesmanson.htm

What is the significance about setting and/or place in your chosen American films

In both films there is alot of setting that show significance for the characters or the narrative.

American blockbuster 2

Star Trek into darkness
This film is a sequel, and is successful because it is from a successful TV franchise. It is about the enterprise crew saving the universe from an evil force.

It was released May 2nd 2013 in the cinemas and then released on DVD September 10th 2013. This is good because when it was released in cinemas it is near half term so more people will be able to watch the film. Then the film being released on DVD in september is also good because then it is really close to christmas and the sales will rise. This films rating is 12A meaning there will be a wide audience of teenagers and adluts but the audience is limited because children cannot see this film meaning there will not be as big of an audience.

The production budget for this film is $190 million and it made $228,778,661 in America and $ 467, 365, 246 worldwide. This means that the film as done really well.

The stars:
This film is good because there is a lot of actors in this film that have a big fan base and the fact that there is someone with a big fanbase from England helps the film grow popular.

Chris Pine (Pine nuts):
Zachary Quinto:
Simon Pegg:
Benedict Cumberbatch (Cumberbitches):

The poster:
The poster is good because there is a lot of action going on and it is eye catching. The main audience is male so covering the poster is effective. The fact that the picture invovles a picture of Earth makes it relateable and then the ship that is fallen and is smoking creates questions in the audience.
There is also a lot of different posters which is effective because then there is a lot of advertisement around and it appeals to a wider audience.


The trailer:

I didn't watch this film because I don't like the star trek franchise to begin with but if I was to watch it, it would be mainly because of the actors, I have seen them all in other things and liked their acting.

How far do the two films you have studied for this topic present similar messages and values ?

In both films Badlands and Natural born killers they had the same message of the American dream, which is that you can be rich and famous. In Badlands Kit doesn't have the best career opportunities as others, he starts out as a bin man and then he works at a cattle ranch. This shows that he doesn't doesn't have the American dream but wants it because he dresses and does his hair like James Dean. In Natural born killers Mickey is first a butcher and then goes to prison, he also wants to be famous but he is influenced by not just films but television and music as well. Both men believe that if they can't achieve fame the right way they will achieve it through other ways, even Kit says that he wants to be an outlaw.

Also the media plays a big part in our the main characters are influenced. In Badlands Kit is influenced by James Dean who is a film star in the 1950's, he was seem as the first teenage heart throb and everyone love him at the time. The girls fancied him and the men wanted to be him because he was cool and handsome. Kit dresses like him and does his hair like him also in certain scene Kit trys to react in a cool way like getting out a cigarette and leaning on the fridge after killing Holly's father. This is more naive then Mickey's influence. Mickey has a lot more media to be influenced by for example rock music and violent films. Natural born killers highlights different media texts in different parts of the film for example in the diner scene Mallory puts on grunge music and starts dancing, the lady behind the counter switches the channels on the television before turning it off. When the two men come in one man flirts with Mallory and then makes BEEP BEEP sounds at her which shows that even cartoons such as Roadrunner have a violent influence on it audience. This is shown through Mallory attacking this man and then Mickey shooting his gun and the bullet stopping before hitting the women in the head.

Also that fact that in both films the main men hardly show any emotion for what they have done. Kit is to concerned on being cool and looking after Holly. Where as Mickey see it as a game, this is shown in the diner scene when they are picking which person to kill and save. It is only when they kill someone that showed them kindness to they feel remorse, in Badlands Kit puts the body in a train carriage so it would be out of the sun and goes behind it to kick out and rant at himself. In Natural born killers Mickey goes outside of the hut and sees horrible faces, Mallory covers the body in a blanket and then they both get bitten by rattle snakes.

How far do the American films you have studies for this topic depend on well established narrative and/or genre conventions

Badlands rounds along the typical narrative for a 'lovers on the lam' genre as well as Natural born killers. Both couples are in love and the family is the obstacle that they have to over come, so they kill them and go on the run.

But these films do not convey the conventions in the same way, for example in Badlands Kit is shown to have all the dominance in the murder of holly's father by showing him in mainly low angles, also Holly stays away from the two men. Where as in Natural born killers Mallory gets involved in the murder of both her parents, this is because of Mallory being raped by her father and her mother not helping her. Also in the murder scene in Natural born killers is more fast pace and there is a lot of things going on to explain the situation, for example while Mallory is sleeping her bed sheets have smiley faces on them but when she stands up the walls have sad faces on them which shows that she is happier in a fantasy life which suggest her naivety. In Badlands Kit spends more time talking to Holly's father about taking her away and then shoots him and then ttys to look cool, like James dean by get a cigarette out and leaning against a fridge, Holly wants to help her Father and is naive about his death. Badlands don't conform to the convention of having a dysfunctional family in the way that the father doesn't do anything to harm Holly but he is a single parent, Holly's mother died 10 years before. Also the Father killed Holly's dog as punishment. Where as in Natural born killers Mallory's parents are more dysfunctional because the father raped Mallory and the mother died help also the mother look ill and was lying in bed. The way Mallory's father reacts to things is really violent because he swears and insults people. This is reflected in the show he was watching before Mallory appeared.

The opening scenes to both films are very different in the fact that in Badlands it shows that Kit is a dustbin man and is picking up rubbish and daring his friend to eat a died dog, this shows that he is beneath people and he isn't living the American dream like he wants to, he walks through the street the shots getting smaller and closer as he gets closer to Holly. Where as in Natural born killers the opening scene is more violent and shows how media creates a more violent life style for us. This is shown through different filming methods such as cartoon, 8mm and 16mm film. Also a lot of their actions are like a video game, this is where it shows that this film is a satire. Where as in Badlands it is more realistic and linear. This is a reflection on how we live our lives, in the 1958 people's lives who shielded from violence and life could be described as slow where as in 1994 with media and video games life speed up and violence was more seen and accepted in the eyes of the audience. The couple in Natural born killers were seen as murderers and cop killers were as in Badland Kit is shown as a celebrity through him giving away personal items to the surrounding people and answering their questions. Another thing that Badlands did differntly to Natural born killers is that they had Holly doing a voice over explaining their story but it sounds impersonal as if she is reading a fairytale, this voice over is consistant all the way through the film.

Lovers on the Lam

This link to some examples of the film based on this genre:
http://www.allmovie.com/characteristic/theme/lovers-on-the-lam-d1472

information about the subgenre:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/25-films-about-lovers-on-the-lam-20130821

This genre consists of different convention such as:

-The car which is an emotional cage for the main characters- this goes with the road movie genre.

-The guns- this goes with the crime genre.

-The obstacle which in the case of these film is main the family- this goes with the crime because the leading man has to get rid of the family in order for him to be with the girl, this then also falls under the romance genre.

- The dysfunctional family- this could suggest why the characters are the way they are, for example in Badlands the Father is a single parent and wants to control Holly and her actions, when she defys him he kills her dog. This is different to Natural Born Killers because the Father rapes Mallory and the Mother doesnt help her, therefore Mickey is her savior.

-The animalistic behaviour- this is shown in Badlands through Kit saying to his friend he will give him a dollar if he eats the dead dog, when he stands on the dead cow, also at the end when the police have found him they have him on a lead suggesting that he is an animal. Also in Badlands there is a sequence where they are living in the woods and there is different shots of the wildlife showing that they are animals.

Some of these conventions can fall under the narrative because of these things lead the couple to carry out certain deeds. For example in Badlands the Father saying no to Kit's request to see his daughter and also threatening to call the police while Kit is in the house, this is Kit's obstacle and he has to get rid of it by shooting him. In Natural born killers Mallory has had enough of the abuse at home and assists Mickey in killing her parents.



Badlands I feel is the better film because it tells the audience things about the real killers in suttle ways and keeps alot of the story the same, it is more serious about a serious matter. It takes in the views of the time it was set. Where as in Natural born killers it is like taking the mick out of it, I understand that this film is a satire but it shouldnt be a joke all the time. But I did find it cleaver how it was presented to the audience through different media texts that everyone would relate to, it was shouting to the audience in a very secret way that media is making these killers, because of all the violence we see on the tv. Everything now has violence it is more accepted.

My practical Project

Establishing shot: Back to the future prom scene

 

13.1.14

I have taken some pictures for my story board. They are looking really good
If I could do it again I would:
-improve the lighting because it is really bright and I wanted it set as a evening dance
I am pleased with most of the pictures but they need editing.

These are a couple of examples of what I have taken, there is some work I need to do on them.