I guess since the whole Christmas thing is now but a distant memory, it's time to get back to blogging! I dont want to blog about one specific film or programme i feel over Christmas there have been a lot of films and events to consider....To be honest the TV over the holidays wasn't great. I think i watched Elf (yes) and i think it was mainly enjoyed due to a few too many glasses of mulled wine. Again its the classic comedy for kids( and some adults) and its about the only film i like Will Ferrell in.
On another note, i managed to watch most of the 1974 film Young Frankensein, starring Gene Wilder. This is an excellent film and i think it's one of those timeless comedy. Directed by Mel Brooks. It is a spoof of the horror genre in complete 1930's style, shot in black and white. I think the quality of the film, along with excellent writing and a great cast make this film stand out as a comedy made in 74. I'm sure most people have managed to see this over the years, but if not i would highly recommend it- great fun!
I was also (slightly) forced to go and see the pantomime at the Pavillion Theatre this year, which was 'The Wizard that never was' I'm not a huge fan of pantos in general. To be honest i think it's extremley akward after the age of 10. There's always a group of us 'adults' agreeing before ot starts not to make eye contact with the cast on stage because ..They.Will. Pick. On. You.
So admist all the panic of being singled out and ridiculed that you weren't joining in loud enough, we all had a good time. The production was good, the acting rubbish. Standard pantomime really. It's a good way to just enjoy something for the sake of enjoying it. No-one was taking themselves seriously, which kind of makes the night. And anyone who was taking themselves too seriously...they were spotted straightaway and picked on, just like we guessed.
Other than that, i went to see The Mighty Boosh at the SECC for the 3rd time on this tour ( i'm ashamed to admit) but the tickets were a Christmas present so that's my excuse. This was a great night although it's the type of show that works so much better in a small venue, with a small audience. This was like a theatre show on a grand scale! I thought the writing was great, the production design was great and the acting i also couldn't fault.
I think it's an amazing quality to be able to do something like this show on television and theatre. I think the reason it works so well is because the TV show, is very stagey and they use a lot of 'theatre style' and back projection. I think this show is starting to really take off, i remember seeing it a few years ago live and since then the popularity has grown massivley.
It's one of those programmes you either love or hate, but for me it has a real escapism appeal,
Karen.
Thursday 22 January 2009
Monday 1 December 2008
The 400 blows
I was really glad that we had the opportunity to watch The 400 blows. I found the story extremely engaging. I think the story itself is almost universal and timeless which makes it still stand up today. As i was watching some of the issues the boys were dealing with at school i noticed they were very similar to my own experiences. Just as i was thinking about this a couple of people in the class mentioned the exact same thing!
I think Francois Truffaut had captured this experience perfectly. The story was told in a way in which people can still relate to the story and characters so many years later.
I also felt the visual style was very interesting. I like the opening shots of the Eiffel Tower and i think the iconic shot at the beach at the very end was perfect. I noticed throughout that a lot of shots were held for a really long time. For example, the shot were Antoine steals the milk. The shot is held for a really long time.
Mabey it's because we're so 'conditioned' by modern cinema that we feel so uncomfortable with this. The annoying thing is, although i notice it and think 'okay whens the cut? ' i think it works really well.
I think Francois Truffaut had captured this experience perfectly. The story was told in a way in which people can still relate to the story and characters so many years later.
I also felt the visual style was very interesting. I like the opening shots of the Eiffel Tower and i think the iconic shot at the beach at the very end was perfect. I noticed throughout that a lot of shots were held for a really long time. For example, the shot were Antoine steals the milk. The shot is held for a really long time.
Mabey it's because we're so 'conditioned' by modern cinema that we feel so uncomfortable with this. The annoying thing is, although i notice it and think 'okay whens the cut? ' i think it works really well.
Sunday 23 November 2008
Cry Freedom/ Richard Attenborough visit
I would just like to voice my appreciation, that i know is shared by all of you, to Andy and the academey for arranging Richard Attenborough's visit last week. I was unsure what to expect from the creative talk as there seemed to be so much that he has achieved to possibly condense into one hour!
In person he came across as a very intelligent, kind and passionate man. It struck me how passionate he still speaks about filmmaking and it was extremley inspiring to me and i'm sure everyone else in the class. When he spoke about his personal life, his adopted sisters and the loss of his daughter, it really put things into perspective, and he was extremley graceful when he spoke of this.
A truly wonderful filmmaker, i am very grateful that we had the opportunity to listen to him, it's just a shame there wasnt more time, as i believe we could all have happily listened to him for hours.
This brings me on to Cry Freedom. Id just like to say that for me this was a truly wonderful film. I had never seen this before and was even quite unsure what the story was. After the screening i was still thinking about the film for hours afterwards. I get that quite a lot if sonething has made quite an impact on me. I was in shock that this was still happening in the late 70's and felt almost guilty at my own ignorance. I had no idea the extent of what was going on in South Africa.
I think its a true testament to Attenborough's work to be able to deal with such a sensitive story in such a truthful and subtle way. I normally think this impact normally comes from the 'shock factor' in many films, however i think the story was visually told in such a way, that the impact is already there without that element.
Im really glad that we were able to watch this film, as it is perhaps a film i would never hadve seen otherwise,
In person he came across as a very intelligent, kind and passionate man. It struck me how passionate he still speaks about filmmaking and it was extremley inspiring to me and i'm sure everyone else in the class. When he spoke about his personal life, his adopted sisters and the loss of his daughter, it really put things into perspective, and he was extremley graceful when he spoke of this.
A truly wonderful filmmaker, i am very grateful that we had the opportunity to listen to him, it's just a shame there wasnt more time, as i believe we could all have happily listened to him for hours.
This brings me on to Cry Freedom. Id just like to say that for me this was a truly wonderful film. I had never seen this before and was even quite unsure what the story was. After the screening i was still thinking about the film for hours afterwards. I get that quite a lot if sonething has made quite an impact on me. I was in shock that this was still happening in the late 70's and felt almost guilty at my own ignorance. I had no idea the extent of what was going on in South Africa.
I think its a true testament to Attenborough's work to be able to deal with such a sensitive story in such a truthful and subtle way. I normally think this impact normally comes from the 'shock factor' in many films, however i think the story was visually told in such a way, that the impact is already there without that element.
Im really glad that we were able to watch this film, as it is perhaps a film i would never hadve seen otherwise,
Friday 14 November 2008
Recent viewings!
Well it seems that I've been watching a lot of trash TV recently and hasn't seen anything that's particularly grabbed my attention.
The last film that stuck for me was ' Man with a movie camera' which i actually thought was really good. It's very good at capturing your attention, considering it's without narrative or dialogue. I think the pace of the film is crucial to its success. The pace was really good and the shots were really nice, i liked the shots of the 'man with a movie camera' It's the first time I've seen that kind of observant filming of someone filming so early on in cinema. This was a real eye opener for me anyway in terms of advancements in early film.
In other news, i was lucky enough to have a preview of a new series that will be broadcast on channel 4 on Monday made by a Scottish production company. It's an animation show called KNTV, an education show aimed at teenagers. They previous series was KNTV-Religion and KNTV- Philosophy and the one to be aired on Monday is called KNTV- Sex. Now we know that there are many minefields in sex education in Britain today and i foresee some controversy surrounding this. Screened at 11am every day for two weeks some of the language and scenarios could be questionable for this time of day.
Unlucky that the time means we will all probably miss it, but if you get the chance give it a watch...I thought it was great!
Karen
The last film that stuck for me was ' Man with a movie camera' which i actually thought was really good. It's very good at capturing your attention, considering it's without narrative or dialogue. I think the pace of the film is crucial to its success. The pace was really good and the shots were really nice, i liked the shots of the 'man with a movie camera' It's the first time I've seen that kind of observant filming of someone filming so early on in cinema. This was a real eye opener for me anyway in terms of advancements in early film.
In other news, i was lucky enough to have a preview of a new series that will be broadcast on channel 4 on Monday made by a Scottish production company. It's an animation show called KNTV, an education show aimed at teenagers. They previous series was KNTV-Religion and KNTV- Philosophy and the one to be aired on Monday is called KNTV- Sex. Now we know that there are many minefields in sex education in Britain today and i foresee some controversy surrounding this. Screened at 11am every day for two weeks some of the language and scenarios could be questionable for this time of day.
Unlucky that the time means we will all probably miss it, but if you get the chance give it a watch...I thought it was great!
Karen
Friday 31 October 2008
Hello all!
Hmm... not really sure what to write at the moment, although ive enjoyed reading everyone elses so far.
I know we've all watched quite a lot over the last few weeks in class, and we've pretty much discussed these films already so i'll keep it short.
When The Levees Broke
I really liked this documentary...for the first two hours. I was actually dissapointed by act 3 and 4. I think it lacked the drive of the first two acts.
The characters were really strong and i think this was definetely the strong point of the whole programme . Each personal story made you think about the affect of Katrina on the people of New Orleans . I'm still shocked that it took so long to get rescue services there and the lack of support from the American government.
I'm glad it was shown in this way though. Without the strong point of view this documentary would have lost it's impact.
Did anyone else think it was too long?
For me this was the only bad point, on what was otherwise an outstanding documentary.
German Expressionism
I found this really interesting and i loved the clip we were shown from Dr. Caligari.
Has anyone else seen the whole film? Any thoughts?
I'm going to make a point of watching it now. I really liked the still photo we were shown from the film ( inside the house where you can see the dimensions of the distorted room)
I still think old horror films are much scarier than most modern films......
Happy Halloween!
Karen
Hmm... not really sure what to write at the moment, although ive enjoyed reading everyone elses so far.
I know we've all watched quite a lot over the last few weeks in class, and we've pretty much discussed these films already so i'll keep it short.
When The Levees Broke
I really liked this documentary...for the first two hours. I was actually dissapointed by act 3 and 4. I think it lacked the drive of the first two acts.
The characters were really strong and i think this was definetely the strong point of the whole programme . Each personal story made you think about the affect of Katrina on the people of New Orleans . I'm still shocked that it took so long to get rescue services there and the lack of support from the American government.
I'm glad it was shown in this way though. Without the strong point of view this documentary would have lost it's impact.
Did anyone else think it was too long?
For me this was the only bad point, on what was otherwise an outstanding documentary.
German Expressionism
I found this really interesting and i loved the clip we were shown from Dr. Caligari.
Has anyone else seen the whole film? Any thoughts?
I'm going to make a point of watching it now. I really liked the still photo we were shown from the film ( inside the house where you can see the dimensions of the distorted room)
I still think old horror films are much scarier than most modern films......
Happy Halloween!
Karen
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