Very few men capture my heart.

Honestly, I could dedicate this whole blog to one person: Gene Kelly. One of my goals I had when I was younger was to watch every film on AFI's 100 greatest movies of all time. I can say I have successfully done so. When it came to the top 10 movies, Singin' in the Rain

took number 10. I knew I had to see it, and of course I loved it. More importantly, I grew fond of Gene Kelly.

First off, Donald O'Connor is a wonderful dancer, but Gene Kelly can not only dance, but make it look easy. The scene where he is dancing in the puddles and rain is very hard to do, and Kelly made it look effortless. He makes other's wish they could dance, and almost think they can, just by watching how he well he does. Kelly is what we call today a triple threat, and I think he should be given more credit then what he has been given.

Getting into the Artificiality of the film, I feel like that was the whole point of the movie. The reason why it was so jumpy and scenes were switching quickly one into the next is because they were showcaseing how Hollywood really was back in the 1930's. The producer is a prime example of this. He would change his mind about what was right for the industry and what wasn't, just for the mere fact he want to get more money. He was willing to not give credit to Kathy for dubbing Lena becuase in the end it would ultimately cost him more money.

The scene where Kathy and Don have their first encounter show perfectly how still to this day Hollywood people are, well most. Don took on this arrogant attiude towards Kathy, acting as though it was so hard for him to find love in such a hectic life as his. While on the other hand you have Kathy trying to pretend she didn't care for the movies and was straight out lying that she was a actress of the stage. This showed how these people are always just putting on a show, no matter how big their audience may be.

Singin' in the Rain may not be my favorite musical (nothing will ever compare to West Side Story for me), but it certainly is one that I can watch over and over again. Musicals are for a certain taste, but I can't see why everyone couldn't fall in love with this film, even if it was only for the mere fact that Gene Kelly got to dance.

I couldn't hear my own footsteps... it was the walk of a dead man.

Who doesn't love a good old film noir? Double indemnity became that film for me that topped The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca.  The first time I saw this film I was about six years old with my dad and all I really understood from actually watching it was the leading actress had a really ugly hairdo.  I saw it again later on in my high school years and have grown to love it.  

After watching this film for a third time, I realized what draws everyone in to this film is the quick raunchy dialogue that is played out through the course of the film.  Learning about the Hays code and how the government liked to control everything within the movie industry, it came across clear how films, such as this one fought back.  The whole content of the movie first off completely goes against the code.  In the article it states that "No picture shall be produced which will lower the moral standards of those who see it." This meant that no one should ever feel sympathy for someone doing acts of crime or sin.  Honestly, I felt bad for the main character, even though he was a scumbag, he still was a human who realized he made a mistake and had to pay for it in the end.

Even within the dialogue they are making sexual suggestions without actually acting out on these ideas.  When Walter says " How could I have known that murder can sometimes smell like honeysuckle?" is a very loose metaphor which audience members DO understand.  

 I also found that when our class discussion went into certain scenes and why they are in that particular location it got me thinking more indepth about the grocery scenes. I agree that it is as if we the audience are looking in and listening to their conversation, but I also feel like it is foreshadowing to that not all secrets can be kept hidden. Towards the end of the film, the secret comes out of the murder.  

Everything about this movie kept me on my toes, and even at the end when Walter is asking for a cigarette, I felt a sigh of relief that finally all that weight was lifted off from his shoulders, and mine. 

She Was Not Alive Nor Dead, Just a WHITE ZOMBIE

Even after discussing this film in class to understand the significance that it may have had on U.S. imperialism, and how the U.S. forced Haitions into a forced labor system, I still just see it as a crappy 1930 horror film. It is very hard for me as a film buff to get past the horrible script and crappy casting, to see what this film ultimatly ended up doing.

I will say the filming technique that was used throughout the film reminded me of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Right at the beginning of the film when the couple was riding in a coach towards the castle in which they were to be wed, the use of shadows and darkness to set the scene, had a lot of the same essence that Dr. Caligari did. For some reason Bela Lugosi's character in some bizarre way reminded me of Dr. Caligari. The way that Legendre posed a threat over the leading woman in a more sexual manner, was a lot like how the character of Ceaser in Caligari wanted the female lead and both main characters ended up turning these women into "Zombies". I know that may be a big stretch in trying to correlate these two films, but the whole time I was viewing White Zombie, Dr. Caligari kept coming across my mind.

Even in the reading it states that "Legendre's threats towards the heroine seems exclusively sexual. But if the repressed returns in a distorted form containing elements of the forbidden, then Lugosi's representing Legendre functions similarly." This made me realize how Dr. Caligari and Legendre are similar in having complete control over humans, and creating them into their own type of zombies, but also how Legendre does link to U.S. imperalism over other countries and how we as Americans are filled with guilt from what we have done in the past, and essentially are still doing.

Overall, I found this movie only amusing for the mere fact I could draw connections to a wonderful silent film such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, but other then that, I wouldn't really waste my time on watching a horror film that ultimatly, had me laughing.

"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."

Even though the viewing of the movie was quite hard to sit through ( with the blurring of the screen and all), I found myself laughing at this fast paced screwball comedy. With the relationship between the butler and the rich woman, I found myself comparing it to Bringing

Up Baby. Katherine Hepburn's character

was probably just as insanely in love as Carole Lombard's character Irene, if not more, and both character's did everything in their power to make the leading man fall in love with them.

William Powell's performance was what helped made this film Oscar worthy. His comedic timing and pace helped to bring out my laughter. How he showed the many different sides to his character made him so interesting to watch, and want more of. His and Carole Lombard's witty banter back and forth helped to create that screwball comedy feeling and the audience wanting them to fall in love at the end. At least, I'm always the type to want those kinds of endings. Truly this movie would not have captured my interest if it wasn't for Powell's performance.

Although I am not really fond of the film a

s a whole, I did find certain aspects to be quite amusing. It did hold up to the title of being a true screwball comedy by having the wacky characters and even the quick witty dialogue that walked the line of the Hays Code turned it into a classic. Robert Sklar notes that "tight fast plots that leaped from improbability to incongruity to reassuring resolution" helped mold My Man Godfrey into a screwball comedy. This quick scenes really make a audiences not even manage to find the time to question the craziness of what just happened and is quickly lead into another scene that may be more outrageous then the last. Although this film dealt with more deep social issues, it ultimately succeeded in being a screwball comedy. Although I do recommend to anyone who would like to see a similar yet more enjoyable screwball to watch would be Arsenic and Old Lace. (Cary Grant makes me weak in the knees.) (Pictures both from Wikipedia)

Scene that captured my interest

I keep thinking about one Scene in Stagecoach that was beautifully executed, that it helps me understand why Orson Welles watched the film 40 times.

To set up the scene for you, Ringo Kid (John Wayne) sees Dallas speaking to one of the mexicans in a hallway which leads to the outdoors of the place the were staying at. The lighting of the background was dark and as Dallas walked off towards the outdoors she began to become a blur in the distance. When Ringo Kid approached the Mexican shortly after, John Waynes' character began to illuminate amongst the dark background. His height and way his body shaped with the light hitting him, made him stand out from all the rest of the characters at that moment for me. It made him the hero of the film. It was as if he was a beacon of light , and as he walked through that door towards Dallas, it was as if he was bringing the light to her and rescued her from what her life could only be.

Fun Fact : After listening to the character Buck's voice, I thought I recognized it from another film that I have watched many times before. I IMDB'd him and found that he was Friar Tuck in Disney's Robin Hood.

Stagecoach : Visual Aspect

I remember the first time I ever watched Stagecoach I didn't quite grasp any real concepts or themes that director John Ford wanted audience members to get from the film.  Getting the chance to watch the film for a second time I started to pick up on some of the elements that really made Stagecoach the classic western that it is today.

I really liked how John Ford used visual style throughout the course of the film to emphasize the the main themes such as the social prejudices that were made between the main characters.  In the reading, it talked about how Ford would use deep space and deep focus to put certain emphasis on characters.  The reading gave the one example with Lucy, her friends, and Hatfield , in which it showed how Hatfield's character  was being judged by others and only in the end of the film perceivers  to become a noble character. A lot of the way Ford did the lighting for this film really changed general assumptions about characters that were made from the beginning , and slowly changed throughout the course of the film. The character named Dallas was a prostitute who was  getting kicked out of the town she lived in and to everyone else she seemed like a horrible person, but slowly she became a more likable character and by the end of the film not only do audiences pity her, but the others around her start to treat her more like a lady and less like a prostitute.  Ford accomplished this by having the lighting soften when ever it is a close-up shot on Dalla's face.  It makes her into more of a  lovable character.  

This was really shown during the scene where Mrs. Mallory conceived her baby.  As Dallas walked out of the bedroom holding the baby within her arms, all of the men in the room stood up to see it.  As each of their eyes met the baby's face, the noticed how Dallas was caring for it.  The focused shot of Dallas face to John Wayne's character's face, almost made her more innocent in the way the lighting softened her and caring for something that was at that point in time still innocent.  Without the different lighting and visual appeal in the film, I feel like the characters wouldn't have been given a chance to allow viewers to attach themselves to any of the characters.  After watching that scene with Dallas's character,  I honestly began to pity her because knowing that she was a prostitute she may never get any respect from anyone and may never have gotten the chance to have a baby.  

The Beginning of this Youtube clip shows the scene in which started to change feelings towards Dallas's character.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfnsKAdr0t4