Four Masterpieces - Seminole Cinema: SEHS Film - Home



IB Film 2: Week 60.1Seeing Film History Through MasterpiecesHere is a Top 10 Movies list. ?Since film is subjective, do not spend your energy agreeing or disagreeing with the list.Instead, look at how these films reflect society at the time they were made. ?Also, look at how each of these films redefine cinema and move the evolution of filmmaking forward. CinemaA masterpiece film can be defined as one that represents high artistic value and expression and maintains these values outside their historical context.Obviously, there is no formal criteria, nor is there a definitive list of masterpieces.For the purpose of this lesson, we will examine 4 films most critics have included in the canon of great cinema.Four MasterpiecesIntoleranceIntolerance?(1916), directed by the legendary D.W. Griffith, is considered to be the one of the first American masterworks of film.Some critics believe Griffith made?Intolerance?in atonement for the powerful, but blatantly racist,?The Birth of a Nation?(1915).Intolerance?is one of the most significant films of the silent era and was revolutionary in its structure.Four separate stories are taken from history with each story depicting some aspect of the title theme.Griffith was strongly influenced by Giovanni Pastrone's masterpiece?Cabiria?(1914), a ground-breaking Italian film epic.Pastrone's film is a sweeping and dramatic portrayal of a young slave girl in ancient Carthage.The stories in Intolerance are set in four different eras -Ancient Babylon, where Griffith depicts the betrayal and fall of King Cyrus;Judea for the betrayal and crucifixion of Christ;Sixteenth-century France for the story of the slaughter of the Huguenots;and the 'modern'?story, where a young worker is falsely imprisoned for murder ( but thankfully, is given a last minute reprieve ).Griffith tinted each of the four stories different colors on the original prints and interwove the four plot lines, cutting back and forth some 50 times to build up to the climax.He bridged the stories by using actress Lillian Gish as 'Eternal Motherhood',?an iconic image, who is depicted rocking humanity in a cradle, and reminds the audience of the cycle of life and death.The film is important for its ambition and depth, Griffith's use of crane shots, gigantic sets, overwhelming crowd shots, and virtuoso editing.Watch?The Fall of Babylon?clip from Griffith's?Intolerance.Watch -?IntoleranceCitizen KaneCitizen Kane?(1941) is often ranked as one of the greatest films ever made ( certainly on lists of American films ).Its Director, Orson Welles, an auteur of the highest rank, came to be regarded as a filmmaking visionary.The film tells the story of a powerful newspaper mogul, and focuses on a reporter's search for the meaning of Kane's dying word - "Rosebud".Though it was not a great commercial success in its day,?Citizen Kane?was later recognized for its significant technical quality and innovative storytelling technique.Film critics ( notably the French?Cahiers du Cinemawriters ) appreciated the flashback narrative and lush cinematography, including incredible deep focus and low angle shots.Watch -?Citizen KaneThe Bicycle Thief?Bicycle Thieves?(?Ladri di Biciclette -?sometimes known in other countries as?The Bicycle Thief) (1948), directed by Vittorio De Sica, is a masterpiece of Italian neo-Realism ( films that featured working class people and situations ), and tells a simple story of one man trying to support his family.The film is powerful and authentic.The lead actor, Lamberto Maggiorani, was not a professional, and the film was shot on location in Rome rather than on created sets.It highlights the struggles of the lower class as illustrated by the significance of the bicycle that gets Ricci ( Maggiorani ) a job.In 1952,?Sight and Sound, the British film magazine, polled international film critics and writers who named?The Bicycle Thief?as the greatest film of all time.Roger Ebert points out?The Bicycle Thief?has a continuing influence.He cites a scene from the 1997 Iranian film,?Children of Heaven, where a father puts his son on the handlebars of his bike to ride into town looking for work.The Bicycle Thief?won an honorary Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, the 1951 English BAFTA award, and numerous other European film honors.Watch this clip of Italian neo-realism from?The Bicycle Thief.Watch -?The Bicycle ThiefBlade Runner?English-born Director Ridley Scott directed?Blade Runner?(1982), a film that was nominated for 2 Academy Awards, as well as numerous other awards and nominations.The film is a multi-Genre masterpiece with elements of Film?Noir, Science Fiction, Action, Mystery, and Romance.Harrison Ford's Deckard is a jaded Bounty Hunter looking for 'Replicants'?or androids that have rebelled against their human creators.If some of those elements sound familiar, it is because the film includes conventions and themes reaching all the way back to German Expressionist films like?Metropolis?(1927) and classic Noir like?The Maltese Falcon?(1941) or?Casablanca?(1942).If a film masterpiece should be timeless, in other words the film must remain engaging for future audiences, then?Blade Runner?deserves to be considered a masterwork.The special effects were all done the old fashioned way -?matte paintings, flying cars on wires, lots of smoke and fog - yet, still effectively established a futuristic and bleak cityscape.The basic theme, what makes us human, is beautifully handled and even reaches for a kind of 'replicant spirituality'.The acting is superb and believable, and the ending is just ambiguous enough to keep the audience guessing.Like a number of film masterpieces ( including Citizen Kane )?Blade Runner?was not initially a box office success. Scott has since released a number of Director Cuts in which he removed the original narration and clarified the ending.Blade Runner, like other great films, has left a legacy.The film has influenced its Genre and becomes part of any film conversation dealing with androids ( Replicants ), dystopian societies, and - Unicorns.Discussion: Movie MasterpieceNow that you have been exposed to a number of films and filmmakers, what movie do you consider a masterpiece?Post your choice and provide your reasoning.Make sure you post a meaningful response to other classmates’ discussion items. ................
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