Joe Katulak
Film History 1
1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the
screening.
Charlie Chaplin, the star of the “Gold Rush” will forever be
known as one of the originators of comedy on the big screen. However Chaplin
was not the only person in Hollywood in the early 1900’s that was pioneering
comedy movies for future generations.
Mack Sennett was one of the first real pioneers of comedy in movies.
Sennett created Keystone Films, and under that he was able to produce many
major comedy stars including Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, two of the
biggest names in comedy during the early 1900’s. There were also visual effects
that Sennett was able to create with the camera such as shooting at 8-10 frames
per second which added a different look to the films. By shooting at 8-10
frames per second and then speeding the film up to 16-20 frames per second in
the projector, it gave the films a more fast paced look which worked for comedy
movies. After working under Sennett,
Chaplin eventually became an auteur of his own and truly began making his movies
stand out from other comedies. Chaplin played the role of the little guy or
underdog that many main characters have not portrayed in the past making his
work unique and ground breaking for his time period.
2) Find a related article (on the
film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize
the content. You may use the library or the internet.
The article “Philharmonic mines
Charlie Chaplin's classic 'Gold Rush',” takes a look at the new way the
classic film “Gold Rush” is being played and reproduced in the 21st
century. The Lexington Philharmonic let by director and conductor Scott Terrell
has reproduced “Gold Rush” in all of its glory except this time it is doing it
with a live orchestra. The score from the original movie is essentially being
reproduced, just being played alongside the film. And even though Scott Terrell
claims he has seen the film 80-100 times, conducting the score alongside the
movie still had its challenges. Even though Terrell and his orchestra know the
movie very well it’s still difficult to keep the exact pace with the movie the
entire show. Terrell however proved himself as a great conductor by being able
to slow down or speed up the tempo of the music in order to keep proper pace
with the movie. Terrell had great confidence in his orchestra and for that
night it was said that, "It's all
orchestral and all Charlie.”
3) Apply the article to the film screened in
class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the
film, director, content, etc.?
After reading the article, “Philharmonic mines Charlie Chaplin's classic 'Gold Rush',” it
definitely gave me a better understanding as to how the film should be viewed
and appreciated. When I first watched the movie I don’t think that I fully
understood how influential the score was throughout the film. In the early 1900’s when the “Gold Rush” was
made there was still no dialogue in films so having a strong score such as the
one in “Gold Rush” really helped to emphasize parts of the movie. A scene such
as the dinner roll dance might not have been viewed as such a great scene
without the strong music playing to back it up. Chaplin was able to write the
music that went along with dinner roll dance and was able to actually have
parts of the dances change on the beats of the music. This was something that
was still new and exciting to movie goers in the early 1920’s and this article
really helped me notice and appreciate that the sound for the movie is just as
important as the visuals.
4) Write a critical analysis of the
film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening,
class discussions, text material and the article. I am less interested in
whether you liked or disliked a film, (although that can be part of this) than
I am in your understanding of its place in film history or the contributions of
the director.
Overall the film “Gold Rush” was a
spectacle to the eyes and ears of movie goes in the 1920’s and there is a
reason why it is still considered one of the best movies all time today. The
film starts off showing the struggle of the many Americans that were traveling
through the cold and snowy mountains during the gold rush. Not long after we
meet The Tramp, Charlie Chaplin’s character, the mood of the story quickly
changes after we see him getting followed unknowingly by a bear on the edge of
a cliff. Charlie Chaplin had a good eye for the screen and knew how to place
the Tramp in many situations that would be enjoyable for the audience. This is
done throughout the film, where we see funny things happen to the Tramp much
before he is aware of what is going on. A prime example of this is when we see
The Tramp turn into chicken and begin walking and flapping his wings inside the
cabin. Also Chaplin was great at the art of slap stick comedy. He knew how to make himself get hurt in front
of the camera by making it look dramatic but also assuring the audience through
his mannerisms that he is never in any real danger. The score to movie also
helps a great deal because at this time there was no real dialogue to carry the
movie, only brief quotes placed on the screen.
The score to movies in this time period is so important, that when it’s
done well it can improve the mood of a scene or make shot that’s boring become
exciting, such as the famous dinner roll scene. There are still some slow parts
in the film, especially when compared to modern movies, but that should in no
way take away from the great triumph this movie was at its time.
CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( ) I
have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 2) ( ) If I reused any
information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly
explain that in the paper. 3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I put
quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the
text. 4) () I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited
in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 5) ( ) I have cited in the
bibliography only the pages I personally read. 6) ( ) I have used direct
quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited
the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) ( ) I did not so
over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.
8) ( ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent
about the research and ideas used in my paper.
Name: _Joe Katulak_________________
Date: _9/23/14_________________
No comments:
Post a Comment