The Actors of The Dark Knight

The film The Dark Knight is the second film in a trilogy about Batman (Christian Bale) and his struggles with the Joker (Heath Ledger). The three actors that I will focus on from this film are Cristian Bale who plays Batman, Heath Ledger who plays the Joker, and Morgan Freeman who plays the role of Lucius Fox.

I feel that Christian Bale in this movie is an Interpreter Actor.  According to Goodykoontz & Jacobs (2014), an interpreter actor is an actor that, “takes material and puts their own stamp on it”(p. 118). The Batman movies are movies that have been remade countless times, whether it is in cartoon form or a full length movie.  Christian Bale takes this same character of Batman and places his own unique acting style to it; from his voice to his mannerism.  Bale’s decision to have his voice change while in his Batman character is a technique that he himself added to a well known character, separating his Batman character from the previous ones.

Heath Ledger in his unique portrayal of the Joker would fall into the wildcard category of actors. With a performance that is all his own in this film, as well as in many other films, it is very difficult to place him in one category.  Previous films of Heath Ledger range from romantic comedies, Oscar-winning drama, and adventure.  Ledger’s acting style as the Joker is truly unique and his acting encompasses all of the caracter.  His posture, voice, facial ticks, and overall acting make it hard for the viewer to even see the actor; you just see the Joker.

The third actor I chose from The Dark Knight is Morgan Freeman portraying Lucius Fox. Unlike the other actors chosen, Morgan Freeman is a personality actor which according to Goodykoontz and Jacobs is when an actor that is “at some level playing themselves” (p. 119). Morgan freeman, in this film, plays a man with understated confidence and an air of intelligence that seems to come without trying.   Morgan’s acting characteristics play well into the roll of the intelligent Mr. Fox.  This is largely due to the fact that the character is a research and development scientist and that Morgan Freeman’s well known acting style plays well into the characteristics of the character making him more identifiable without needing a complex back story.  Morgan has played in such movies as RED, Se7en, Kiss the Girls, and The Bucket List.  Although these movies are  from different genres, Morgan seems to play the same character. The same confidence that Morgan Freeman gives off in The Batman series allows him to play many roles with familiarity without an extensive back story.  Goodykoontz and Jacobs have stated that, “some actors have become so famous that their personalities become kind of a shortcut, allowing them to relate certain things to an audience simply by showing up on screen” (p.119)  Most of the films that Morgan Freeman has been in he has plays the same personality character, which I do not think is a bad thing, it just makes their acting more one dimensional. Morgan Freeman playing the same type of character does not make him a poor actor, rather a great one in that the public yearns for more of him in his role.

Refrences

Brucebale1. (2012, July 19). Batman interrogates the Joker [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWgyKDfFC_U

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

MovieClips. (2011, May 26). Se7en (2/5) Movie Clip- Apathy (1995) HD. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWZU3pPZWig

Puma Productions. (2010, Dec. 31). Batman the Dark Knight- Blackmailing Batman [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z6o1GIEsQE

SullenToys.com. (2010, Dec. 23). The Dark Knight- Joker- Why So Serious? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0HPrsu6d2U

The Sound of the Godfather

This week I have chosen the movie Godfather to discuss the effects of sound and how they enhance a film.  The three basic categories of sound; dialogue, sound effects, and music, are all excellently displayed throughout this movie.  According to Goodkoontz and Jacobs (2014), these three categories, “require careful balancing to serve the story” (p. 201). The director of Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola, does indeed use dialogue, sound effects, and music, to build up tension and keep the viewer entranced.

Dialogue in a movie is the conversation between characters in a movie (Goodykoontz & Jacob, 2014).  For example, the dialogue between the Godfather (Marlon Brando) and his Godson, Johnny Fontane (Al Martino), where Vito Coreleone reassures his Godson that he will take care of Fontane’s problem by telling him, “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.”  Not only is this dialogue famous and instantly recognizable, it shows the viewers the power and trust that the Godfather possess.

Sound effects were originally used in radio make the broadcast more realistic and tangible to the listener and have since then been adapted into films (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014) to enhance experience for viewers by using recognizable sounds from everyday life. Many directors now use over the top sounds in action movies, such as large explosions to keep viewers entertained. The Godfather did not have to rely on such enormous sound effects but it did still rely on smaller sound effects such as the gunfire and breaking glass form Sonny’s, Michael Coreleone’s brother, death scene.

The use of music in a film is also very important to the overall feel of the film. Music can be used to lighten a mood, to build up tension, or to show the anger in a scene. Music is so important to the feel of a movie that it was even used before movies had sound embedded in them (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014) The music in The Godfather was paramount that it could have been a character in the film itself. For example, in the horse head scene, where the Godfather had his consigliere retierate his, “offer that couldn’t be refused,” by leaving the severed head of a prized horse of a movie producer in his own bed, the music is used to build up the tension, anger, and fear of the producer until he, himself, screams.

The sounds in The Godfather are very important to the overall feel of the film; they help to move the story along and sometimes do more to carry the plot than anything else. The movie really relies heavily on its overall tone that is portrayed by its sounds, from the subtle sound effects, to the intense dialogue, to the haunting music. The film, overall, is dark and the effect of the sounds that were included emphasize that as much as every other part of the mise en scene. The film keeps with the gangster film genre, and more specifically the Italian gangster genre, by playing songs that feature long drawn out violins adding to the intense mood of a great deal of the movie.  The dialouge also enphasized the Italian gangster genre by infusing Italian words and heavy Italian accents with its characters. I feel that if this film had been made with large sound effects, seen in today’s movies, that it would have detracted from the tense captivation experienced by the viewer.

References

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Movieclips. (2013, March 12). I’m Gonna Make Him An Offer He Can’t Refuse [Video File]. Retrieved from   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmX2VzsB25s

Movieclips. (2011, November 22). The Horse Head [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC1_tdnZq1A

Movieclips. (2011, November 22). Sonny is Killed [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJU2cz9ytPQ

The Lighting in Goodfellas

The lighting in the film Goodfellas is an excellent example of the use of low-key lighting.  The use of low-key lighting is very prevalent in  most the scenes in the film where as Goodykoontz (138) says the lighting “is marked by extreme use use of deep shadows, very high contrast between the brightest parts of the scene and the darkest parts”. The low-key lighting is used in the film to show that there is something nefarious going on and also to give it a more serious feel. The movie does use a small amount of high-key lighting to highlight the important and happy times for Henry Hill; the wedding scene is a prime example of this, where the wedding couple seem to be bathed in light the whole time.  The use of less shadows in the wedding is used to show that Henry and his wife are happy seeming that nothing can bring the shadows back into their lives.

Most of the movie takes place in the club that all of the gangsters frequent, where there is subtle overhead lighting as well as lights on the tables that they all talk around which illuminates their faces and throws the rest of the room into shadow. One of the iconic scenes is the funny how scene where Joe Pesci and Ray Liota seem to get into an argument over the way that Pesci is funny. This scene shows how even though the seen is meant to be a comedic one the overall mood of the movie is meant to still be serious.

It would have been very difficult to make a gangster film and use anything other that primarily low-key lighting. If there were to be too much high-key lighting the overall feel of the film would have been diminished, potentially taking away from the seriousness of the acting. This film is an excellent example of the mise en scene being used to showcase the actors and not relying heavily on anything else.

References;

adamfcb10.(2009,August 18.) I’m funny how, I mean funny like I’m a clown[https://youtu.be/E84VqqCPI7w] retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E84VqqCPI7w&feature=youtu.be

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Movieclips.(2013,September 11.)Goodfellas Official trailer #1[https://youtu.be/2ilzidi_J8Q] retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ilzidi_J8Qhttp://https://youtu.be/E84VqqCPI7w

Dancing at Jack Rabbit Slim’s Scene from Pulp Fiction Movie (1994) | MOVIECLIPS

Dancing at Jack Rabbit Slim’s Scene from Pulp Fiction Movie (1994) | MOVIECLIPS.

Title: Pulp Fiction

Writer: Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Actors: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, and Ving Rhames

Story: The story told during the film is about two hit men, a mob boss and his wife, and an aging boxer who refuses to loose a fight he was paid to lose. The mob boss, Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), pays a boxer, Butch (Bruce Willis), to take a dive in a fight that he has bet heavily on. When Butch fails to go down in the fight, the two hit men, Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules (Samuel L Jackson), must find him after running a particularly difficult errand. The story also involves Vincent Vega taking out Maresellus’s wife, Mia (Uma Thurman), in order to keep her company, and the events that unfold within that night.

Plot: The film begins in a dinner where there are two criminals discussing how hard it is to be “stick up men” in an age where robbing the local convienence store, or liquor store is very dangerous. They both decide to change tactics and rob the diner that they are both currently having breakfast in.

The film then cuts to the two hitmen who are on an errand for their boss, Mr. Wallace. They encounter a large deal of trouble on the way to retreving what they are asked to retrieve and are forced to execute some people who posses the item they need, a briefcase. After all the trouble their mission has caused, they in the end, failed to do what Mr. Wallace has asked them to achieve.

The film next jumps to Vincent taking Mrs. Wallace, Mia, out to dinner so that she is not lonely while Mr. Wallace is away on buisness. They meet up in her home before goung out to the Jack Rabbit Slims Diner for dinner. After dinner, they enter a  dance contest and win, causing a very uncomfortable moment of attraction when they return home. Vincent feels this attraction and realizes he has to leave, but before this happens Mrs. Wallace finds his heroine and, expecting it to be cocaine, overdoses. She is then brtought to Vincents drug dealers house where she is dramatically revived with a shot of adrenaline.

The film then jumps to the chapter about Butch; the story where he does not throw the fight as he was paid to do, rather he  wins it killing the other boxer in the process. Upon returning to the motel he finds that his girlfriend has left his prized watch at home where the people looking for him are sure to find him. He returns home to find the watch but he also finds that Vincent is there to kill him. Butch finds Vincent’s gun on the counter and when Vincent exits the bathroom Butch kills him. Butch is jubilent about his good fortune during his plan but sees his nemisis, Marsellus, crossing the road and attempts to run him over. While the fight ensues they end up in a pawn shop with sadistic owners, which ends up with Marsellus being raped and Butch coming to his rescue, thereby relieving Butch of any wrongdoing in Marsellus’s eyes

We are then taken back to the second time we see Vincent and Jules together. The two hit men are killing the men that Mr. Wallace sent them to kill. They do not know that there is a third man in the other room with a gun and his attempts to kill the two hit men are miraculously inaccurate. They keep one of the hostages alive in order to bring him directly back to their boss to answer for his crimes and end up killing him accidentally on the way. They go to the home of a friend in order to clean up the crime and Mr. Wallace calls, “The Wolf” over for the cleanup. After the cleaning is all taken care of, they choose to go to breakfast before returning the suitcase to Mr. Wallace; bringing us back to the scene in the beginning of the movie with the  two criminals that were about to rob the dinner. These criminals rob the diner and Jules refuses to let them have the case they are to return to their boss. This conflict allows Jules to transition to his life of wandering the Earth in search of God, a most poetic outlet.

Chronology:  This movie was filmed non-linearly.  According to Goodykoontz and Jacobs book, Film from Watching to Seeing (2014), Quentin Tarantino’s non-linear use of chronology helped this filmed show, “Perhaps the best known modern use of an uncoventional narrative” (p. 56).  This film is a story of three different character time-lines that in some way are all related and the viewer does not find out the connection of these story lines until the director chooses to reveal them.  The non-linear format of this film allows viewers to witness a man’s death and then later of in the film see this same character once more.  It kept those who were watching constantly engaged and guessing as to how the movie and it’s characters would “fit” together.

Not only did the non-linear format keep viewers constantly engaged, it allowed them to get to know a little bit about each character in each set segment.  It left the viewer wanting more and had them excited for the next chapter in which the character would again reveal themselves.

If this film were both presented and narrated in a chronological format I feel that it would have lost it’s uniqueness and the viewership would not have been as fanatic.  To me, what makes this story so interesting is the manner in which it is told; the mystery of the characters and the plot that is laid out before them.

References:

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

“Pulp Fiction (1994)- IMDB. “The Internet Movie Database (IMDB). N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2015. < http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3216480512/tt0110912&gt;

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