week 4 blog actors The Godfather

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The Godfather (1972)

 

Marlon Brando – Interpreter

Marlon Brando who played Don Vito Corleone in the Godfather is an interpreter actor because he took the role and made it his own. Marlon Brando and Al Pacino both use the method style of acting. The method approach to acting is, “Actors who use the Method rely on using their own emotions from their past in order to bring new depth to a part. By using this method, actors could harness real emotions in portraying their characters.” (Method Approach to Acting, 2003-2014).

Al Pacino – Interpreter

Al Pacino who played Michael Corleone in the Godfather is an interpreter type of actor. An interpreter actor, “Refers to actors who take material and put their own stamp on it. Often this involves interpreting well-known roles” (Jacobs, 2011). Al Pacino is a classic actor in his own right and according to the Bio on the IMDB, “Pacino was an original in the acting profession. His Method approach would become the process of many actors throughout time, and his unbeatable number of classic roles has already made him a legend among film buffs and all aspiring actors and directors” (Stewart, 1990-2014).

Robert Duvall – Character Actor

Robert Duvall who played Tom Hagen the adopted son of Don Vito Corleone in the Godfather. Robert Duvall is a character actor this type of actors, “Are able to fit invisibly into a wide variety of disparate characters, adapting to the needs of each script and director they work with” (Jacobs, 2011).  Duvall proved one of the few established character actors to move from supporting to leading roles according to the Bio on the IMDB (Hopwood, 1990-2014).

 

I have placed Marlon Brando and Al Pacino in the interpreter type of actors because they both studied the method approached to acting and seem to use that type of acting in their roles in the movie the Godfather. Both of these actors seem to take their parts and add their personal stamp to them just like they were the real crime family.

Now Robert Duval is a character actor because he adapts to the character he plays in any given movie. Whether it is playing the mentally disabled “Boo Radley” in To Kill a Mockingbird or the adopted son of the crime boss in The Godfather to the mentor of a car thief ring in Gone in 60 seconds.

 

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Robert Duvall would still be placed in the same category know matter what movie he was to play in. Robert Duvall is the type of actor who can play any role because he plays the character that the role calls for some other movies that Robert Duvall has had roles in are Gone in 60 seconds, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Open Range.  

 

Hopwood, J. C. (1990-2014). Robert Duvall BIO. Retrieved from Internet Movie Data Base IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000380/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

Jacobs, B. G. (2011). Film:From Watching to Seeing. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUENG225

Method Approach to Acting. (2003-2014). Retrieved from WiseGEEK: http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-method-acting.htm

Stewart, B. (1990-2014). Al Pacino Bio. Internet Movie Data Bases (IMDB). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000199/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

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Sounds in The Godfather

 

Movies have many different sounds that make what is being said and the things that we hear and see in movies. Some of the things that we hear are the dialogue, sound effects, and music in a movie.

Dialogue-the things that are said by the characters in a story, movie, play, etc. (Merriam-Webster online dictionary, 2014). Although much of the dialog can be recorded during principal photography, it needs fine tuning later. (Weis, 1995).

When we hear the words that each character says in a movie this is the dialogue of the movie. It could be people talking to each other or to other things say their pets.

Sound effects-effects that are imitative of sounds called for in the script of a dramatic production (as a radio show) and that enhance the production's illusion of reality. (Merriam-Webster online dictionary, 2014). Almost all other sound is added during postproduction. (Weis, 1995)

Without the sound effects the movie would have been just a plain old movie but with the sound effects the movie will keep its viewers watching because we can associate the sounds with what is happening on the screen.

Music-sounds that are sung by voices or played on musical instruments. (Merriam-Webster online dictionary, 2014).

Most all movies have some kind of music to them to let the viewer know that something is about to happen.

The movie “The Godfather” uses dialogue so that those who work for the head of the family can communicate so that they know what he wants them to do and they can report back to him. Without the dialogue we as viewers would have no idea want was taking place in this movie.

In the movie “The Godfather” the gun fire, tires squealing, and the violence are sound effects that enhances the reality of the movie. Without the sound effects the movie would have been just a plain old movie but with the sound effects the movie will keep its viewers watching because we can associate the sounds with what is happening on the screen.

This movie uses music to tell the viewers that something is about to happen such as someone is about to be shot and killed.

The use of sound in the movie “The Godfather” sets the mood for the movie into action and drama. The sounds that are used in the movie helps the viewer to associate what they seeing with what is really happening.

The specific sounds in this movie that would place it in the gangster genre are the murders, drive by shooting, and the beating of those who have done wrong to the crime family.

I would characterize the sound effects in this movie as being realistic and expected because the sound effects that are used is what most people would expect from a gangster movie.

If you were to remove the key sounds from “The Godfather” nobody would want to see this movie because it would not make any sense. The viewers would not know what was happening or why people were being beat up or shot and killed. The movie would not make any sense.

Merriam-Webster online dictionary. (2014). Retrieved March 5, 2014, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theory

Weis, E. (1995, Feb). Sync Tanks. Cineaste(1/2), 56. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu

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Bonnie and Clyde-lighting

 

Identify the type of lighting used in the film (traditional three-point, high-key, or low-key).

The film “Bonnie and Clyde” was produced in 1967 in this film they used natural lighting. This film is a biography so it is somewhat of a documentary film. The use of natural lighting creates the tone of authenticity of the time frame. In the film of “Bonnie and Clyde” the, “The technical aspects of Bonnie and Clyde were excellent. The natural lighting and bleak landscape leant credibility to Bonnie and Clyde’s depression-era Texas home, and the hazy, rosy filter through which Bonnie’s homecoming scene was shot gave it a dreamy, expressionistic touch that provided a window to Bonnie’s thoughts and emotions”.

What are the benefits of the style of lighting used?

The natural style of lighting in biography films gives the films a credibility of the time frame in which the film is portraying.

 How did this technique contribute to the theme?

This technique leant credibility to the depressions-ear of the 1930s when the story took place. The natural lighting showed the film in a natural setting where everything was seen could be thought of as really happening.

How was the lighting technique suited to the genre of the film? For example, documentary films tend to rely on natural light as a way of creating an overall tone of authenticity.

The lighting was suited perfectly to this genre of film because with it being a biography it used natural lighting. “The natural lighting and bleak landscape leant credibility to Bonnie and Clyde’s depression-era Texas home”. The natural lighting that was used in this film made the film look realistic.

Compare how the scene would play if different choices had been made?

If a different choice was made in the lighting of the film “Bonnie and Clyde” the film would have not looked realistic. The film would have looked like it was filmed in a studio with artificial lighting and would have looked like it was a different time period than what the natural lighting did.

 

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Week 1 blog-Bonnie and Clyde

                                                                                                                 

 

BONNIE AND CLYDE

Released: 1967

Writer(s): David Newman

Jack N. Reddish

Director: Arthur Penn

Major Actors: Warren Beatty (Clyde Barrow)

Faye Dunaway (Bonnie Parker)

Michael J. Pollard (C.W. Moss)

Gene Hackman (Buck Barrow)

Estelle Parsons (Blanche [Barrow])

 

 

 

Story:

Bonnie Parker a 20 some year old bored waitress meets a 20 some year old thief named Clyde Barrow when he is attempting to steal her mother’s car. Bonnie is intrigued by the handsome thief. Bonnie joins Clyde and becomes his partner in crime. The two have an exciting time but net very little in way of profit from their crimes. That is until Clyde’s brother Buck is released from prison and they team up with Buck and his wife Blanche. Then they go on a wild crime spree where they add murder and bank robbery to their growing list of crimes. The outlaws become the most hunted gang in American history. Bonnie and Clyde were killed in a police ambush in 1934 after a 156 rounds of ammunition was sprayed into their car.  

Plot:

Bonnie and Clyde were two 20 some year olds that were just petty thief’s until Clyde’s brother Buck was released from prison. They team up with Buck and his wife and go on a crime spree. When they add bank robbery and murder to their list of crimes they become the most hunted criminals in American history. Bonnie and Clyde die in 1934 when they are gun down in a road block by a police ambush.

Was the film presented chronologically or non-linearly?

This film was done and presented in chronologically order this can be seen as to how the events took place. The two meet up and become partners in crime pulling petty crimes, then team up with Clyde’s brother, major crime spree, and then killed.

 How are elements like character development or foreshadowing impacted by the choice of storytelling methods?

The character development impacted the storytelling because you see Bonnie who is a bored waitress become a player in a major crime gang. This was something that women just did not do in the 1930s. “Americans were fascinated by the shattering of conventional gender rules personified by Bonnie—a petite, attractive, fashionable blonde who robbed banks, was photographed smoking cigars, and had a man’s name tattooed on her thigh”.

If the film had followed a different presentation style, how would the general effect on the audience have been different?

If this film had been done in non-linearly order this film would have been very hard to follow. The order of events would have taken place differently and as a viewer it would have made no sense. The film would have too hard to follow because you would not have known what was happening or when it happened.

 

 

 

Bonnie and Clyde. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.pixmule.com via https://search.yahoo.com/search

Bonnie and Clyde (1967). [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from ame width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3ACCpXaA-MU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Ruth, D. E. (210). Bonnie and Clyde. American National Biography (from Oxford University Press), . Retrieved July 24, 2014, from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/delivery?sid=6835608d-406a-4d0f-b350-9ab674853787%40sessionmgr4001&vid=3&hid=4111