Thursday, 3 March 2011

Post Three - Counter Cinema

Most Hollywood movies are seen to conform to the same old storylines. Good start, tough storyline in the middle, happy ending. Of course there are the occasional storylines that do not conform to this but eight out of ten films are based around this sort of idea. Every now and again a movie stands out from the rest and changes this conformist view. This is seen as counter cinema. Peter Wollen said "the seven deadly sins of cinema against the seven cardinal virtues". Wollen quoted that to try and achieve counter cinema you needed to try and stick to the seven cardinal virtues and blank out the seven deadly sins.

A movie that does not conform to the usual Hollywood stereotype is the hard hitting film American History X. The movie itself is hard hitting as it is based around neo-Nazis and has very racist views throughout the film. However, the film looks to head down the same path as other movies, as Derek Vineyard manages to try and stop his younger brother Danny from going down the same route as he did when he went to jail for being part of a neo-Nazi gang. It looks to end peacefully as Danny decides to turn his back on all that trouble and concentrate on school. The ending of the film shows Danny getting shot by a young black man in the school toilets. This ends the film with a disturbing and ironic ending that is very rarely done. The director Tony Kaye choice of ironic deaths suits the story perfectly and give the film an ending that is original and outside the norm. The idea of someone escaping the idea of the neo-Nazi world and trying to better him while also trying to better his family allows the audience to feel sorry for the character while also having some hatred towards him regarding the way he acted in the past. However, will the fact that his brother has been killed by a black man anger him to return to his neo-Nazi roots? Kaye knows this will be in the minds of the viewer and therefore gives the audience some doubts about whether or not it was the right idea to try and leave the neo-Nazi regime.

The Blair Witch Project is another movie that does not conform to the usual Hollywood stereotype; the movie was not suppose to become a mainstream movie and was not expected to reach the dizzy heights it reached in the cinematic world. The Blair Witch was originally a low budget movie but because of the movie being something different, it generated mass interest along with mass revenue. The movie is seen as a documentary within a documentary and this one of the few movies that uses a handheld camera. The amateur way the movie is portrayed gives the audience the idea that this has actually happened. The use of hand held cameras to make a blockbuster movie was never used before The Blair Witch and this has started a trend that other movies have imitated such as Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity.

reference: Wollen, Peter. 1972. Godard and Counter Cinema: Vent d'Est

What Makes An Auteur?

Quentin Tarantino - Inglorious Basterds, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs


Quentin Tarantino can be seen as auteur director due to his different sense of direction of movies and this has been a large talking point throughout his career. Three of his main films have been the likes of Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds and Reservoir Dogs. These films demonstrate the auteur qualities of Tarantino and all three of these known as having Tarantinoesque film qualities because of the way he has gone about directing these films. Tarantino comes under what Francois Truffaut’s said which is that “A director can be measured on their unique and perceivable style such as recurring themes, recurring motifs, a distinct visual style or prevailing themes.”

Tarantino is known for many things within his films but the use of violence has become a mainstay within his films. There are a lot of films that have used violence but the way Tarantino uses violence puts his own trademark to the films. He has a way of making his ideas of violence somewhat humorous in a sordid way. In Reservoir Dogs there is an iconic scene where Mr Blonde cuts off a man’s ear to the soundtrack of stuck in the middle with you by Stealers Wheel. This scene shows the irony of a man dancing around to an upbeat song seemingly enjoying the fact he was brutally harming a man. Pulp Fiction has a scene that shows some violence in a humorous way also, when Vincent and Jules are driving away from a murder scene, they have a hostage Marvin and they are asking him some questions until Vincent shoots Marvin accidentally in the face. Inglorious Basterds uses violence throughout the film also however, a memorable part is when the officer, Donny Donowitz (aka. The Bear Jew) batters a German soldier to death with his weapon of choice, a baseball bat.

Tarantino also has a peculiar way of setting out his movies, instead of telling one main story and sticking to this, Tarantino chooses to tell three or four different stories that interlink throughout the film. This also allows Tarantino to cast four or five main characters instead of the usual two or three. The use of several main characters allows Tarantino to manipulate the different stories to follow all the different main characters. Inglorious Basterds has four main characters that the story follows (Hans Landa, Aldo Raine, Shosanna Dreyfus, and Donny Donowitz). Pulp Fiction has five main characters the movie is based upon (Vincent Vega, Jules Winnfield, Butch Coolidge, Marsellus Wallace, and Uma Thurman) and Reservoir Dogs has for main characters (Mr White, Mr Blonde, Mr Pink, and Mr Orange).

Very few directors choose to put themselves into their work however Tarantino is not one of these people. Tarantino has appeared in all three of these movies, he has become somewhat of a cameo in all three, however still chose to cast himself. Tarantino playing a cameo role in a movie gives the idea that the movie is directed or written by Tarantino himself. The part in Inglorious Basterds, he chose not to be credited for, however in Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs he plays part in the storyline.

Reference: Francois Truffaut, 1954. Une certain tendance du cinema francais.


Man With a Movie Camera (1929) Dziga Vertov

Vertov's film has proven to be a real talking point in the early stages of cinema. Vertov felt that films should be based on real life and nothing should be staged; however 'Man with a Movie Camera' was criticised because Vertov had gone back on his original point of view. Even though Vertov went against his first ideas, he still created some important cinematic techniques. The film introduced techniques such as double exposure, freeze frame, split screens, extreme close-ups and tracking shots are just to name a few. The idea behind this movie has become a revelation for other films and the techniques used within this film has proven to be pivotal in other movies.

The Cabinet of Dr. Cagliari (1920) Robert Wiene

Horror films have been a mainstay in the film industry and many say this film could be the influence that hs helped the popularity of horror movies. German expressionism is shown in this film and has impacted on other movies with its peculiar style. "German expressionism in film was an artistic movement advancing the theory that every component of a movie - the photography, scenery, lighting, costuming and acting - should be intentionally stylized and even wildly exaggerated in order to achieve a unified emotional impact". The use of dark mysterious lighting along with the horror style scenery makes this film one of the first movies to create a real horror theme.

The Birth of a Nation (1915) D.W Griffiths

This film has to be one of the most controversial films in the pre 1930 movie era. The Birth of a Nation may be controversial; however it has made a massive impact on American cinema. "Film scholars agree however, that it is the single most important and key film of all time in American movie history -it contains many new cinematic innovations and refinements, technical effects and artistic advancements, including a colour sequence at the end." It is a film based upon the book 'The Clansman' which has been written about the KKK and the film has white actors who have coloured themselves in to become black.

The Great Train Robbery (1903) Edwin S. Porter

The Great Train Robbery has proven to be a pivotal moment in film history because it was based on a real-life train heist but also came from the idea of a stage production. It was the first narrative Western film with a storyline, and can be seen as the first true Western film”. The use of scenes with shoot-outs, a robbery, a chase etc has given the idea for many other Western films since the emergence of The Great Train Robbery. Edwin S. Porter was seen as the “father of the story film” and this ten minute long master piece shows that true meaning of telling a story.

Le Voyage Dans La Lune(A Trip to the Moon)(1902) Georges Meilies

This short 1902 film only lasts fourteen minutes but still played a large part in the progression of film. This film is about a group of astronomers who go on an expedition to the moon. It can be classed as one of the first sci-fi films ever released, and has truly affected cinema to this day. It can also boast one of the first ever animated sequences in film, when the shell of the shuttle falls into the sea. This started animation in film and has now come on leaps and bounds in today’s cinema. Georges Meilies has created cinematic history with this short film and his creation has affected film up till this day and age.