Comedies = Laughter

   Did you ever notice there is different kinds of comedies? Well, there are. In my film studies we had watched four great examples of different kinds of comedies. We started with the earlier comedies and worked our way up to present time. We had a lot of laughs, and a fun time looking at what kind of comedies these movies are and what makes them that type. Our first movie was The General, which was hilarious in even though it was filmed in the 20's. Next we viewed the one and only Some Like it Hot. Also in the comedy count down was Raising Arizona and Airplane. 

    The General, a silent film, which was filmed in 1926, starred Buster Keaton as the lead role and was directed by Buster Keaton. The film took place in 1866 during the civil war, which the protagonist, Johnnie Gray, is an engineer of a train called the General, which supplies goods for the
southerners. Johnnie loves Annabelle Lee, who is caught up in a plot to take the General for the Union, she is captured and Johnnie chases his love and his train down into enemy territories. Johnnie takes both his train and his love on a high speed adventure back to the south with the northern trains on their tail, but Johnnie eventually gets the south's help and tells them of the upcoming attack. Johnnie is a hero and awarded by becoming enlisted as a lieutenant for the south, and along with getting his girl.







    The General is a slapstick or physical comedy. A comedy is considered this genre if the humor is coming from the exaggerated movements and the comical face gestures, which most black and white films are slapstick since there is only music for sound. Buster Keaton shows amazing talent as an actor, for it takes a lot of talent in order to make someone laugh with out saying a word. They have always said an action is worth a thousand words and this movie is a prime example of that.

Buster Keaton will make you and your friends laugh, for his physical comedy is one of the greatest. In one scene of the film he is kissed by Annabelle Lee and he leaves her house walking backwards, smiling, and waving good-bye, and as hilariously expected he walks right off the porch. Another part I laughed at a lot was when he was chasing down his steam engine and a cart from the other train is in front of his train blocking his view. He tries ditching it but each time he pushes it onto a separate track it comes back in front of him again. This comedy is a classic that has lasted over time giving laughs to everyone who watches it, so in all respect I would say that four out of five comedians approve of this one.







   Some Like it Hot is a 1959 screwball comedy, where two men, Joe and Jerry, dress up like women to get into an all-female-band in order to escape the mob, who is after them. Joe and Jerry played with a regular band and were running low on money when the speakeasy they worked in was busted. They heard of a
group looking for the two instruments that they knew how to play except they heard that it was a girl only band. Out of luck they go to a car garage and accidentally stumble upon a shoot up between two gangs. The gang, noticing Joe and Jerry had witnessed the shoot up, pursued the two trying to kill them, but Joe and Jerry decided that their only free ride away was to dress as women to escape to Florida with this band. The trick works and Joe falls in love with a woman in the band named Sugar, but Jerry attracts the heart of an older billionaire named Osgood. Through their escapades the mob catches up and Osgood is their chance of final freedom. Jerry and Joe reveal that they are guys and they become accepted for who they are.








   Joe, Tony Curtis, and Jerry, Jack Lemmon, are some incredible actors still mentioned in the comedy world today. This was categorized as a screwball comedy because cross dressing was not a normal thing back then, and today people still look at cross dressers being a little weird but humorous in a way. This movie was really hilarious, for people even based other movies off of it such as White Chicks. I found particular scenes very funny such as the tango scene, where Jerry is on a date with Osgood, Jerry lets Osgood lead him around as a man should to a girl, but in another shot it shows Jerry with a serious and disgusted look to his face leading Osgood and throwing him around as if Osgood was the more feminine dancer.
The scene that had made this movie so funny for me though is the ending scene. Joe had just revealed himself being a guy to Sugar, Marilyn Monroe, so Jerry figures he should try and persuade Osgood that he was not a girl he should be interested in. Jerry makes up excuses like he smokes, he is not a natural blonde, and he can not have children, but Osgood dismisses these excuses with an "Oh well" or "We can adopt some". Jerry tells his truth, that he is not a girl but a man, and Osgood just smiles and says "Well, nobody's perfect.". Some Like it Hot is a brilliant comedy. It has inspired so much and is still laughed at and watched today, and this is why I give it the performance rating of three and a half out of five.







     The film, Airplane, directed by David Zucker, is about an airplane's crew and passengers headed to Chicago. The passengers started to become ill and die for some odd reason. The doctor on board, Dr

Ruckman, discovers that it was the fish and who ever ate the fish would become ill like the passengers. All of the pilots end up dying and the responsibility passes to the one man experienced with driving a plane, the protagonist, Ted Striker. Ted boarded the plane because he was chasing after his wife, a flight attendant, who had just recently left him. He use to drive planes in a war, but stopped after he had an incident while landing. Ted safely lands the plane with the advice of his old captain, Captain Kramer.  They safely survive the landing and Ted gets back together with his wife, Elaine Dickinson.




    Airplane, the Citizen Kane of comedies, is one of the best comedies of all time, and one of the funniest I have seen.  Airplane, was made in 1980 and was a spoof comedy that casts comedians like Leslie Nielsen, and infers puny scenes of other movies like Jaws in the opening scene.  All together with it's ridiculous sarcasm and hilarious scenes make it one of the greatest films of all time. Some scenes that had shown great comedy like when Ted, Robert Hays, says "Surely you can't be serious." and the doctor replies "I am, and don't call me Shirley." simple comedy like this makes everyone laugh and airplane is one of the movie filled

with it. Another part that was really exaggerated but funny was how much Ted was sweating when he was landing the plane. Some other mentioned jokes in this comedy were perverted, and some racial, but in a way that is completely unoffensive. This is a classic that still tops the Scary Movie, and Epic Movie franchise. I will rate this movie a four and a half out of five on the laughter scale.







     Raising Arizona, created in 1987, is a film staring Nicholas Cage as Hi/Herbert, who is a repeating convict. He does not stay long in jail because he never arms his guns and never wants to hurt anyone. The officer taking his mug shots, Edwina or Ed, played by Holly Hunter, catches Hi's eyes and Hi promises to come clean if he marries her, which he does. After awhile trying for a child , they find out that Ed has the incapability to bare children.

 One day in the news paper they see that the Arizona family, a rich furniture dealer family, has five babies, and the couple come up with a devious plan to steal a child so they can raise it. When they carry out the plan and return to their house they fall in love with the baby as their own child. Hi's friends from prison suddenly escape and take refuge at Hi's place. Ed does not approve of them, but Hi feels sympathy for them and let's them stay. As soon as his friends realize the reward for the child they take the child, Hi and Ed chase in pursuit but so does this baby bounty hunter that just wants the child for ransom. Through the hilarious comedy Hi and Ed realize there mistake and eventually return the child to the Arizona, but they confess in taking them and they decline the reward money that would have been given to them. They feel like a tighter family now that they passed through that experience, and Hi dreams of a future with him and Ed as a couple watching their own children grow up as they became a happy elderly couple.

 





   Raising Arizona is not only a comedy for me but a touching story too. Although it is a screwball comedy it had such a great plot and story that I was instantly caught up in it, for I am a fan of Nicholas Cage's older films like this one. One of the funniest moments in this film is actually something that is a type of black comedy joke. It is when the rough riding motorcyclist is riding down the road and takes no pity on the small animals, for he throws a grenade at a little bunny on the side of the road, and yet the explosion is very exaggerated. I thought this was funny because it was very random and unnecessary but funny. This is the

picture perfect family, and a criminal that doesn't want to hurt anyone is funny to see in action in local nobody rest stops. It touched me because honestly I only looked at the cons to being a father, but once I saw this movie it showed me the pros to it. How Hi was so happy that he broke down in tears and how he was so ecstatic that he went over the edge to welcome his son home and capture the moment gave me like the feeling of, wow, I want to get this proud feeling sometime. I would honestly suggest this movie to anyone, and I personally think this is a movie that someone could watch more than once. This movie was absolutely my favorite, so over all I would give this movie a five out of five on the development of the movie.

My Dream Team of Producers!

Camera Operator

      A Camera Operator is one of the most important people of the production crew.  Camera Operator's have the responsibility of controlling the cranes and all the different varieties of cameras. They have to be able to follow camera scripts, know how to capture scenes, and can assemble their equipment. 

Information at: http://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/job-descriptions/278291-camera-operator-job-description

Robert Stecko 

Known for:

The Notebook

The Vow

Get Smart

Total Recall

Production Assistant

       A Production Assistant is the beginning level of a film crew, for they can help with specific parts of the production or even all parts.  If you assist the director, art department, wardrobe, or location crew, your job could include just passing back and forth information to other parts of the production crew. 

Information at: http://www.mafilm.org/so-you-want-to-be-a-production-assistant/

Odile Beraud 

Known for: 

 The Pianist

Taken

The Transporter

Alexander

Set Designer/ Production Designer

   Everything that makes up the background is purposely placed in the background, and the men who place them there are the set designers. Set designers have the privilege to show the viewers the director's concept of their production. 

Information at:  http://www.aact.org/people/setdesigner.html

Gene Darnell

Known for:

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 

Serenity

13 Going on 30

Scary Movie 2

Film Editor

     What ever the viewers see as the film is the final product of a film editors hard work. The film editor works very closely to the director and tells the story on how they both perceive it should go. The editor has to match the shots together so the scene unfolds fluently, and edit the film audio to match the shots. 

Information at:  http://m.academyart.edu/film-school/faq/movie-editor.html

Jabez Olssen

Known for:

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Lord of the Rings: Two Towers

The Hobbit: Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug

Gaffer

    The gaffer is the chief electrician on a film production team and the most crucial to the production team. They have a very respected position as the head, for they have their teams place the lighting and cables and all equipment to get ready for the filming.

Information at: http://www.thetapeworks.com/what_gaffer.shtml

Ken Shibata

Known for:

Adventureland

Precious

Man on a Ledge

Movie 43

Best Boy Grip

    The best boy grip is basically the foreman of their department. These people hire, fire, manage, and maintain the crew. 

Information at: http://mentalfloss.com/article/50626/11-strange-movie-job-titles%E2%80%94explained

Les Franck

Known for:

Dear John

Army Wives

The Conspirator

Nights in Rodanthe

Costume Design

    A costume designer is just what it says, the person who designs what the character will wear on film. Really the costumes are very important in films though, for they can show the viewer what age, gender, style, and time period the character being shot is in.

Information at: http://www.aact.org/people/costumedesigner.html

Anna B. Sheppard

Known for:

Schindler's List

Inglourious Basterds

 Maleficent

                          Captain America: The First Avenger

Swing Gang

  A swing gang is a group of four members who put up and take down sets. These are the hard working men who move things around to make the set look pretty, ugly, or even dark.

Information at: http://www.imdb.com/news/ni46840810/

Anya Gripari - known from Bridget Jones's Diary, Spy Game, Gladiator, and The Mummy.

Ben Harrison - known from Kingdom of Heaven, Spy Game, Alan Partridge, and Belle.

Mark Taylor - known for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Hellboy, Babylon A.D., and Equilibrium. 

Pierre Ellul - known for Troy, Children of Men, Kingdom of Heaven, and Stardust.

Foley Artist

    Foley Artists manipulate the audio. They can make the audio sound smoother or replace the audio with something else completely. 

Information at: http://www.marblehead.net/foley/

Marnie Moore 

Known for:

Se7en

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

The Sixth Sense

Jurassic Park

Special Effects Artist 

   Computer generation, and on set effects, this is what a special effects artist does. They are the magicians that work the Hollywood magic. 

Information at: http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/special-effects-artist.htm

Cesar Abades 

Known for:

Pan's Labyrinth 

The Dictator

Che: Part Two

The Skin I Live In

Stunt Man

   A stunt man is basically explained a man or woman, who does the stunts that are to dangerous or almost impossible to do, for an actor. The stunt man is used more than the viewer thinks because stunt people are cheaper to use than an actor and if the stunt man is injured they can still film with the main actor in other scenes.

Information at: https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/stuntperformer.aspx

Male Stunt Man- Mark Chavarria

Known for:

Inception

Iron Man

Pearl Harbor

Terminator Salvation

  

Female Stunt Man-  Allison Caetano

Known for:

Inception

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II

Total Recall

Music

   What sets a movie scene without some music that touches the soul, or sets you on the edge of your seat in suspense? The music editor has to make sure the music fits the scene and does not take away the moment, and they also have to judge if the music is well written and composed for the movie.

Information at: http://www.media-match.com/usa/jobtypes/music-editor-jobs-402743.php

Hans Zimmer

Known for: Many movies

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

Lion King

The Dark Knight

Inception

Director of Photography/ Cinematographer

  One of the most important people hired in film is the Cinematographer. They have the job of filming your movie and filming it with skills that will show off your film to the viewers, who will only see the Cinematographer's perception. 

Information at: http://www.steves-digicams.com/knowledge-center/how-tos/film-and-video-production/what-is-cinematography-in-film.html#b

Wally Pfister

Known for:

The Dark Knight

Inception

The Dark Knight Rises

Batman Begins

Director

  The director manages the whole production team and leads them to work and play out the scenes as he imagines they would look like. They organize the film production while sticking to the budget, and they create the art of the film. 

Information at: https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/tvorfilmdirector.aspx

Francis Ford Coppola

Known for:

The Godfather

The Godfather: Part II

The Godfather: Part III

Apocalypse Now

Actresses that show what it takes to be CRAZY good!

      Have you ever noticed that most of the actresses nominated for the Academy Award are the actresses that play the most dramatic and crazy roles? My film studies class has watched four films involving all actresses that could pull off the emotional roles given to them. Our first film was Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which stared Elizabeth Taylor. The next film we watched was more of a thriller than the first, Misery, which showed the crazy side of Kathy Bates. We watched Blue Jasmine, which showed a more dramatic character played by Cate Blanchett. Our last movie was not rated as highly as the others we had watched, but it is one of my favorites that screw with your mind, Triangle, which Melissa George outstandingly showed her fear and madness as the main character. These four movies show off how a phenomenal actor/actress can show there ability on screen. Most people do not realize how hard it is for an actor to simply know where the camera is at all times, make their part believable while making the objective in the scene clear to understand for an audience. Other things that we as viewers may take for granted are an actors abilities to project their volume so they are heard clearly and if they can really get into character so that a viewer may be able to know the history of them just by watching the characters development. These are the exact subjects that make these actors as great as they are in films today.

    Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, is a black and white 1966 film by Mike Nichols. This film takes place in one night on a New England College Campus, in and by the home of George and Martha. They come back to their house after a party at Martha's dads, which is the dean, and they are a little wasted. The viewer experiences Martha downsizing George with stories that she is always right about, and George just takes the insults she gives him.  Martha had invited another couple to come have more drinks with them at their house, and when they arrive the viewer can already see that Martha just wanted the man over for alone time. George already knows this about Martha and as the movie progresses the characters become less sober and more violent with their arguments, especially when Martha brings up their son when George has told her never to bring him up. It does not end well when Martha gets what she wants and George reveals the truth that their son is dead. 

    Elizabeth Taylor, an actress recognized for her beauty and luxurious lifestyle. She played parts in many movies during Hollywood's Golden Age. In this film, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, she releases some of her best acting by changing her emotions so easily on demand, for she even won the Academy Award for the Best Actress for this film. Elizabeth had really made her character believable the way she first appears abusive to her husband and always searching for a drink or cigarette to hold in her hand. The viewer can deduce that Martha has been carrying on with this lifestyle for many years the way she pushes George around and even when she was sitting beside Nick, a guest in her home, flirting in a manner that she knows will catch his eye for her, while ignoring his wife. Martha's character develops into a more emotional wreck through out the film when her husband repeatedly stops her from getting her way. A very good example of 

this is when Martha is at the diner with George and the other couple to "dance and have fun". George hurries to put an end to her fun, which is some of the beginning of his madness, Martha does not like this and pouts the rest of the time in the bar,which later she cries and explodes in anger at George in the parking lot when she does not understand why he can not take her behavior anymore. This is the way the movie progresses while Elizabeth plays her role completing her objective of moving the plot along by pushing Georges limits over the edge until he flips and spills the secret to her. Elizabeth Taylor may not always be looking directly on the camera, but that is 

because she knows where ever the camera moves. This unique talent makes every director want the actors/actresses because it will take less tries to get a shot perfect if the acting person knows what to do and can play their part like Elizabeth Taylor has done in all her films. I would have to give a 4.5 out of 5 to Elizabeth's performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wool?.

     Misery, a film based on the novel written by the famous author Stephen King. Misery is a thriller about a writer, Paul Sheldon, who has just finished a novel and wants to head back to his publisher, but his drive suddenly ends when a snow storm hits. He is lucky though because a stranger, Annie Wilkes,  takes him home to revitalize him all by herself. His luck runs out once he figures out she is a psycho  that wants him to continue the Misery novel series and once he is done with the copy she will claim his work and kill him. Paul has a search party of one man, a sheriff, out looking for him. The sheriff's search ends and Paul carries out his own escape by ending the madness of Annie Wilkes, and although this tragic event scarred him for life, he still thanks her for inspiring him for his newest novel.

   Kathy Bates, who acts as Annie Wilkes in Misery, is a fantastic actress. She has performed many roles over the years in different films, but this specific role asked a lot of her, for she had to escape her normal acting in order to play the biggest fan of Paul Sheldon. Annie Wilkes is a psycho killer, and Kathy Bates does an amazing job of developing her character. When the viewer first meets her, they get the impression that she is a very nice, religious, and caring being, but as the movie progresses on she reveals her true self as being too controlling and willing to even kill or break ankles to get what she wants. Her life revolved around the Misery novels, and when Paul mentioned he is killing the series off, Annie flips out and smashes stuff around her house. No doubt about it that Kathy makes her role as a psycho path believable, for she even won the Golden Globe and Academy Award for this part. Annie Wilkes rose Kathy's career as an actress to the top. Kathy completed her objective when she told the part of Annie Wilkes, when watching the film the viewer can notice that every shot with her in it has a reason for being 

shot. Each time an actor or actress, such as Kathy, completes their objective in a shot it moves the plot forward into motion and keeps the plot going at a steady pace until it reaches its climax. Kathy makes her performance so believable that if was to meet her in person I would actually be quiet scared that I would say something wrong to make her psycho side come out again, but I would be the victim. As an actress Kathy's job is to know where the camera is at all times, and she shows this with every bit she acts, like in the scenes where Paul is looking out the window watching Annie leave and she keeps in view of the camera to the car. Another good example of this is when Paul is bed ridden and Annie would hurry up and pop open the door with her gleaming smile, and it is no mere incident that she is faced straight at the camera. Kathy Bate's performance in Misery, deserves a very high rating for acting the role out the best anyone could have, so I would rate her a 4.9 of 5.

    Blue Jasmine, directed by Woody Allen, is about a recent widow named Jasmine, who was a multi-millionaire, and had lost all her money because her recent husband embezzled the money. Jasmine moves in with her sister, Ginger, but is so deeply deprived of money that she becomes addicted to anti depressants. Jasmine convinces Ginger that she could get a rich man's heart and live better off than how she is living. When she tries getting a job at a dentists, the dentist hired her only to try and forcefully woo her. She gives up on jobs and decides to try and marry into money again. She finds a man with money, but she does not tell him how her husband died and that she is poor and does not have a job, which costed her, for he broke the future engagement because of the lack of trust. Ginger was only being used, so she went back with her old boyfriend, which made her happier. Jasmine lies to her sister saying that she is getting married and she will not need to stay anymore, but really she is just giving up life. 

    Cate Blanchett, in Blue Jasmine, won an Academy Award for Best actress in a leading role because of this film. Cate Blanchett played this role as if she really went through it, there was so much depressing emotion involved that makes it not a real happy film. She real made this part believable, and apparently others believe so too since she won an Academy Award for it. The parts where she showed the most emotion was when she would get frustrated with her sister, Ginger, or at her two sons for being too loud. Cate always knew where the camera was because the way she just kind of acknowledges the camera makes the viewer feel as if they are her little third person conscious. In this film she did not have to really 

memorize where the camera would be for some action scene, but would have when she was trying to escape the dentist when he sexually assaulted her. Her character had a slow development to madness and depression. Through the film it shows Cate in flashbacks when she was rich, and these flashbacks showed how before she really only enjoyed the pleasures that money gave her. When she was broke she started to become more humble and actually wanted to work. She gave up on that quiet quickly and the viewer sees her spiral down into a deeper depression. Cate completed the object in every scene, but they were not as clearly completed like the other actresses in this blog. Cate did a fantastic job acting over all and that is why I feel she deserves a 3.9 out of 5.

   In Film Studies, we have watched a movie that has sent my mind and many of my friends minds down a spiral of confusing thoughts, but it has made it in my top ten favorite movies, Triangle. Triangle, which was made in 2009, is a horror film about a girl named Jess. Jess is a single mom who goes on a yacht trip with one of her friends that brings along some of his old friends. They sail into an electrical storm and the yacht flips, but they are saved by a cruise ship. Once they get on the cruise ship, they find no one on board except for someone that keeps stalking them that keeps giving clues that its Jess. When people start dropping over dead they start blaming Jess for it when she was no where near them. When Jess dispatches the killer she re-experiences the same event, but from a by-standards point of view. This keeps happening and she goes from accidentally killing them to purposely killing them to restart the experience so she can get off the ship to her son. When she does get to him, she realizes she is still stuck in this continuous loop of time. 

   Melissa George, who played Jess in the film Triangle, did not win any special Academy Award for acting in this film, but never the less her acting was superb. Melissa's role was to play Jess as if she had been scared for life it looked. Every scene, especially the scene where Jess is on the dock walking towards the yacht, looks as if she had seen ghosts. If this was Melissa's acting the part or the director's orders it match the role and made her character very believable, for as soon as the viewer is finished watching they realize why Jess is so freaked out that she looks like there is no color in her. The madness and horror that the viewer can observe that is stricken into Melissa through out the movie and the multiple slasher scenes flows quiet 

smoothly because Melissa looks as if she believes it is real, which in return makes the viewer believe it is real to. Melissa completes the director's objective to confuse the viewer and show them that she slowly is becoming the mad killer. It seems as though each actor and actress knows where the camera is and Melissa especially. Most people take it for granted, but imagine how hard it would be to do the scary-dash-across- the-screen scenes such as when Downey and Sally are in the ball room and Jess dashes through the hall and only a glimpse is caught of her. Melissa would have to know exactly where the camera was in order to get that shot perfect with no mistakes. Melissa did not do as well as most actresses and actors do when it comes to the character development. She showed her struggle through the plot and how it effected her, which was mostly on the ship , but it seemed as though she learned nothing and did not really change through out. That did not change my opinion on her rating as an actress though because I would give her performance a 4 out of 5.