Desperado: A Robert Rodriguez Flick

Desperado, a flick directed by Robert Rodriguez in 1995, has to be one of the most memorable films to ever grace the silver screen. I feel the reason why it is so memorable is due to the amazing shots and the attention to setting details.

From a formalist point of analysis, Desperado has plenty to offer. The film starts with a fade in on a pair of shoes. As the scene progresses, the camera slowly moves up to reveal none other than Steve Buscemi. A quick cut scene is then shown of the setting, which is a run-down bar in Mexico that is full of patrons. Robert Rodriguez gets the point across that this is not a comfortable place to be by making use of colors. The bar is presented in various tones of orange and brown. Throughout the film, the viewers can see these colors as a recurring pattern. There are very few times when colors such as blue or green are utilized. When I see the colors of orange and brown in collaboration, I automatically think of the desert and an uncomfortable setting.

Rodriguez' superb angles throughout the film keep the movie moving at an intense pace. The bar shoot-out is probably the most recognizable part of the whole film. Yet, I feel it is recognizable not because of the cool gun-slinger moves that Antonio Banderas displays, but because of the way that the entire scene is shot. Throughout the entire scene, a variety of shots are utilized. A crane shot is used to see Banderas sliding back, and the bullets zoom right into the camera. One shot is used to see through the eyes of one of the victims, played by Quentin Tarantino. The most impressive shot can be seen towards the end of the shoot-out. Banderas, in an attempt to kill an out-of-reach enemy, shoots a ceiling fan in hopes of it landing on his unfortunate foe. Rodriguez captures the fan as it's falling from the ceiling, and does so by lying down underneath the actor that is playing Banderas' enemy. The shot is very impressive, and it's very interesting to know that Rodriguez actually risked injury to get the shot.

The final thing that I would like to point out is the excellent selection of music. A major component of any Robert Rodriguez film is an intriguing musical score. Desperado features a few songs from a band known as Tito & Tarantula, which is fronted by Tito Larriva who had a small role in the film. Their music really captures the dark, up-to-no-good tones that Rodriguez tries to present. The intro of "Back to the House that Love Built", which is used as Banderas walks into the bar for the first time, really gives the audience the feeling that El Mariachi is going to take no prisoners in this tavern. The music of Los Lobos is also featured, which keeps the Mexican themes in the movie alive for its entire duration. "Bella", performed by Santana, helps to capture the more sultry side of the film.

The link that is atttached is the film's Wikipedia page, which gives some interesting trivia on the film. The video below is a clip of the shoot-out scene I mentioned earlier. As I stated before, this scene makes use of many different camera angles and showcases Robert Rodriguez' directing skills. Two of Tito & Tarantula's songs are featured in this clip as well.

Zhang Yimou: Curse of the Golden Flower

Curse of the Golden Flower is one of Zhang Yimou's most recent films and is one of the most expensive in Chinese cinema history. As with all of his previous films, Curse of the Golden Flower goes back into Chinese history, specifically to the 10th century. Zhang Yimou once again makes use of brilliant color and swordfights to ensure the success of this film. Yet, unlike the film Hero, he avoids involving China's political struggles. The link that I have provided will give you some more interesting information and opinions of the film provided by Wesley Morris. The clip below is a trailer of the film which really displays some of the great directing by Zhang Yimou.

Steven Spielberg: One of the All-Time Greats

Steven Spielberg is without a doubt one of the most critically acclaimed director's of the past few decades. Most of us could probably list a handful of movies of his without hesitation. One of the main reasons why we are able to do this is because of his style of film-making and the way he is able to leave an impression on an audience. People may question where he draws his inspirations from. What was he like when he was a child? What was his first encounter in the film industry like? How has his style evolved over the years? Steven Spielberg may seem extremely mysterious to the general public, but the link that I have provided will give everyone a very detailed biography on the directing guru. I am also providing a video documentary of Steven Spielberg below.

Saving Private Ryan: The History Behind Omaha Beach

Saving Private Ryan is filled with many memorable scenes and they will be mentioned in film classes for years to come. Yet, the most fascinating scene, and possibly the greatest scene in the "war" genre, is the arrival of the American troops on Omaha Beach. With the amazing Steven Spielberg at the helm, the scene really captures the essence of D-Day and is portrayed in a way that no other film has been able to. The fact is that as amazing as the scene appears, younger generations may not understand the purpose of the invasion of Omaha Beach in World War II. If the audience does understand the significance of the invasion, they may not understand why American troops were so easily disposed of on that day. I, sadly, was one of these people that did not comprehend the whole concept of the Omaha Beach invasion in an historical context. As a result, I did some searching and found an interesting website that speaks about the historic event that happened on that beach and logistics of the terrain that the troops were on. The entire page was written by World War II historian Brian Williams and was featured exclusively on the Military History Online website.

American History X: An Ideological Analysis

"American History X: A Critical View of the Movie" is a critical article written by Eric Loveday that focuses on the ideology of the film American History X. The piece was written exclusively for the Associated Press website. As many of us know, American History X is a very controversial film that focuses on several immense issues that currently exist in America. Eric Loveday points out two of these ideological issues by stating what the themes of the film are. The first thing he points out is that this film is built around the ideas of racism and white supremacy. He says that this theme helps the audience to realize that white supremacy groups are still very active and have a certain amount of strength even to this day. The other major theme that he points out is that politics is the fuel to the racism inferno. In short, Eric states that the government withholds jobs from white people. Therefore, they retaliate for this "unfair" treatment. I feel the following quote conveys the idea of Eric Loveday's entire article.

"The government is to blame for much of what is wrong with society today. Derrick blames the government for letting illegal immigrants come to our country and for letting them steal jobs from the whites within this country."

Examining And Writing About A Film Through Formalism

The included article was written by Ted Wing, a professor at Langara College. This is an interesting article due to the fact that it gives helpful tips on how to write a formalistic essay on any film. He does a great job by giving suggestions about what to specifically look for in a film, and he also provides examples. He makes formalistic allusions to films such as Metropolis, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Player. The following quote is an example of what this article can offer a film student.

A classic example of a formalist film from an earlier era is Metropolis, Fritz Lang's 1926 silent movie, which abounds with symbolism and visual exaggeration. It shows workers, dwelling in an underground city and so exploited by the capitalist system that they have turned into automata as they service the machines of industry.

Saving Private Ryan: True to Genre and WWII

"Saving Private Ryan and American triumphalism" was featured in Journal of Popular Film and Television and was written by Albert Auster. Unlike David Walsh's opinion that Saving Private Ryan was a bogus movie, Auster believes that the film was true to the war and was depicted in a very truthful form. He provides many reasons why he believes that the film is very accurate, including references to other films such as A Walk in the Sun, and by referring to specific scenes. Overall, Albert Auster's argument is supported by many examples and is completely viable.

I feel that the following quote justly describes Auster's knowledge of the topic he is arguing and captivates the entire piece.

Despite the originality of the ground-level shots, drained colors, camera lenses spotted with water and blood, and the hellish scenes of GIs screaming or searching for severed limbs, the images still rely for their inspiration on those old, grainy combat photos and newsreels that have been the iconic symbol of the D-Day invasion since the end of the war.

Saving Private Ryan: Truth or Fiction?

"Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan: Small truths at the expense of big ones" is a critical article that was written by David Walsh exclusively for the World Socialist Web Site. The largest point that Walsh tries to convey is that this movie is exactly what it is, a movie. He feels that the movie tries to transform ordinary soldiers into enormous heroes, which he believes did not exist in World War II. He feels that the acting was very sub-par and that it did not convey the real essence of the war.

This link will take you to the controversial article that David Walsh wrote and it may provoke your initial thoughts of the epic movie that is Saving Private Ryan.

I feel that the following quote is a good representation of the argument that David Walsh is presenting.

I would say that Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan is a film that is truthful about small or obvious things and untruthful about big or complex ones.

Young Frankenstein: The Comedy Classic

This post is for the fans of comedy...great comedy! Young Frankenstein is still as funny today as it was 30 years ago. Starring Peter Boyle and Gene Wilder, the film is able to combine comedy with a decent storyline. It was directed by Mel Brooks which you may remember as the creator of other great comedies such as Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. While I'm well aware that most people would rather choose an action or drama movie over a comedy, I believe that Young Frankenstein would be a perfect candidate for the research project. If one wanted to talk about the film in a "historical" sense, they could mention movies that inspired this film such as Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. If you wanted to talk about the film in a "formalist" approach, you could mention the nice long shot that was used of the hermit's cabin. You could also point out that Mel Brooks shot the film in black & white, despite the fact that he shot Blazing Saddles in color several years before he directed Young Frankenstein. If a person wanted to mention the film in terms of "auteur", they could speak of Mel Brooks previous films and discuss how farce was used in each one.

The link that I'm providing leads to a detailed page about the film and the other is biographical information on Mel Brooks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Brooks

This clip is one of the most memorable from the film and features a cameo from the great Gene Hackman.

L'Avventura: A Movie of Love, Loss, and Adventure (What else were you expecting?)

L'Avventura was directed by Michelangel Antonioni and is mentioned in Corrigan's Short Guide to Writing About Film. Seeing as this film was made in the early 1960's, some of us may be unfamiliar with it. In brief, the movie is about a girl who goes missing. Her boyfriend and close friend begin to look for her, but eventually fall for each other. The film has some interesting elements, including some angles that were not used at-large in that era. Despite the movie being old and odd in some ways, it could also be used as a candidate for our final project in class. Almost all six approaches could be applied to the movie. As we can see in Corrigan's book, a person could write a lengthy essay on just one scene alone.

The link that I am providing includes an analytical piece written by Gregory Solman, a film scholar. The other link that I'm including has some quick facts about the film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053619/

I'll be honest, this trailer really doesn't explain what the movie is all about. Yet, it does have a catchy tune and shows a good amount of the scenes. Pick up the volume and nod your heads to this one!

Jackie Brown: A Tarantino Masterpiece

Jackie Brown was directed by Quentin Tarantino and features a star-studded cast. While it's probably Tarantino's most underrated film, I feel that Jackie Brown is a great movie and it's my personal favorite. Considering that this is a Tarantino film, most would probably say that it's a good candidate. If a person wanted to write in the "formalist" style, they could talk about the cool and unique shots that were used throughout the movie. As with all Tarantino movies, the soundtrack would definitely be a key part in an approach of that style. The "auteur" approach would be great because the writer could cite such movies as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Kill Bill.

The link that I have included gives some interesting facts about the movie and provides some cool pictures. The other link that I am providing gives some more information on the legend that is Quentin Tarantino. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quentin_Tarantino

This is my favorite scene from the movie, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Here we can see Tarantino's ability to combine comedy with seriousness.

Desperado: Robert Rodriguez' Epic

Desperado is an amazing movie that was directed by Robert Rodriguez and features a great cast. It is the epitome of what an action movie should be and it has some great comedy too. I think it is a great candidate because it can be approached in several different styles of writing. One could take the "formalist" approach and speak about the amazing camera angles that are used throughout the movie and the brilliant use of colors. The writer could also mention the great soundtrack that is fueled by the tunes of Los Lobos and Tito & Tarantula. One could also take the "auteur" approach and write about Robert Rodriguez' style of directing. They could also compare Desperado to other films directed by Robert Rodriguez such as Once Upon A Time In Mexico and From Dusk Till Dawn. The link that I'm providing gives some more information about the film including quick facts and trivia. Also, the video is a clip from the movie and it's one of my favorite scenes of the whole film.