Fargo

Fargo is a 1996 thriller/crime film directed and written by Joel Coen. The film was also written alongside his brother Ethan Coen. The film is set in Fargo, a tate of North Dakota. The film is based around a car sales man, Jerry Lundegaard who hires 2 men to kidnap his wife. The kidnap is all part of Jerry's plan to get an $80,000 ransom of his father-in-law, the ransom is to then be split between the 2 men and Jerry.

The film starts off with a longshot of a very snowed up road. The long shot shows time passing by as a car is being filmed getting closer and closer. The long shot is cut with a small tracking shot of the car towing another car. There is also music alongside this shot, the music is very big and dramatic however it could also be seen as a bit sad and content. The music is a composed piece of what sounds like classical music, however it is made more dramatic through the drums which are introduced. When Jerry walks into the pub to meet the 2 men his hired the music is suited to the conversation. The conversation is very dark and menacing, this contrasts to the music as the music is very dramatic.

The first proper scene we see is set in an old bar in Fargo. The bar is set out just like a proper one, with people playing people and other customers having a drink. This makes the scene more realistic. The lighting in the bar is very dark and dim. Having the lighting dark and dim creates an atmosphere that tells the audience things aren't right between the characters and something is going to happen. The bar also has a smokey atnosphere to it because Gaear Grimsr (Peter Stormare) is sat there no intention of listening to what Jerry and the other kidnapper are talking about, he just sits there half asleep with a cigarette in his mouth.

The film is set in Fargo, North Dakota. Here the climate is very cold which means there is a heavy snow fall. This results in all the out door set scenes are all around or in snow. The snow makes the film more interesting. It's more intresting because it is more attention-grabbing when someone is murdered or gone missing. Having snow as one of the main features of the film creates the tension of finding the missing persons as it is harder for the police to find them. Knowing where the film is set also makes the film feel more realistic and dramatic. This is because the plot is based around a true story, the will make the audience more aware and intrigued.

I enjoyed what i saw of this film. I got really interested into what was going to happen with each of the characters. The storyline made me what to know what was going to happen next. I didn't really think there were any boring parts to it, however there were some scenes which should have been a little shorter as they got a little bit dragged out. I think that the snow and the music made the film. This contrasted with what was going on in the film and helped tell the story.

The Graduate

'The Graduate' is a 1967 film directed by Mike Nichols, Staring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. The film is based around 'Benjamin' a 21 year old college graduate. Benjamin is very worried about his future career, as he does not want to continue with what he is doing. It does not help that his parents have very high expectation of him in what he is currently doing. The parents celebrate his graduation with a 'homecoming' party where his fathers business partener's wife is there. Benjamin soon later falls into Mrs Robinson's seduction when he drives her home, which leads to the two having an affair. Mrs Robinson is very powerful compared to Benjamin. She takes control of him and is able to lead him on through the affair. Mrs Robinson has full control of his mind. The affair is soon broken off, but it doesn't end there. Benjamin falls in love with the Robinson's daughter, Elaine. However when the affair ended between him and Mrs Robinson because Enjamin had fallen in love with her daughter Elaine, Mrs Robinson forbid him from seeing Elaine.. This results in an uproar between Mrs Robinson and Benjamin. Elaine later goes off to universsity, where she meets and gets engaged to another man who Mr and Mrs Robinson actually like. Benjamin drives miles to prevent the wedding going ahead, but he is to late. Elaine is already married, but Benjamin put up his fight and managed to leave with the women he loves.

The film is introduced with a tracking shot, which follows Benjamin on the escalator. During the opening scene many close up shots are used to show Bejamins fear and worry over his future career, and what he is going to do. The close up shot is used to show the facial expressions that will allow the audience to percieve Benjamin's mood, and also personality. A point of view show is used in eyes of benjamin showing what he captures when he walks through the door to a lot of family and friends congratulating him. There is a brilliant shot at benjamin's birthday party when he is presented with a scuba dicing suit and his parents just insist he wears it now. The view we see is from Benjamin's eyes when he is under the water and looking out at the party guests. We can also hear the diegetic sound of him breathing as he is in the water.

Near the begining there is the sound of bubbles coming from the fish tank positioned behind Benjamin. The bubble sound is diegetic sound as it is a sound captured on the film. A soundtrack which is non diegetic sound is added in through out the film. It is the same soundtrack which is played through the running of the film. The song was written by Simon and Garfunkel. The soundtrack shows emotion through out the film, as when it plays in is interlinked with the scene at the time.

In my opinion the film could of had a lot more to it. The film really did not have my complete attention at any time. There is definately room for improvement within 'The Graduate'. I think there could of been a lot more drama when the affair came out, it was all quite calm which just wouldn't happen. I also think that Benjamin and Elaine's love was all a bit fake to begin with. He was having an affair with Mrs Robinson one minute and in love with the younger Robinson, Elaine the next. I would never chose this film to watch myself, however it was semi intresting to see what unfolded with the Benjamin/Mrs Robinson relationship, but that really was a bit disapointing. I don't think i would watch this film again, unless it was necessary.

Editing

Editing also plays a very important part in the final edit of the film. Editing is used to create a film that makes sense when watched by others.

Shots are selected and edited together so they flow into a sequence. Editing is used for many reasons, like placing in CGI (Computer-generated imagery), or placing two separate scenes in to one big action scene, doing this can build atmosphere, emphasize at moment in the film, bring a new element to the film or just bridge one part of the film to another. An example of CGI would be King Kong. The reasoning for doing this is to let the viewer perceive what the director wanted them to view, in turn this also makes the viewer think about what they are seeing and provoke emotions from the audience.Another form of editing is time and sound editing, for example slowing down a scene can add effect and also let the audience take in the full scene, again this also emphasize and builds atmosphere at a point in the film or a change of mood e.g. like in any cliché romantic film you will have the slow motion run, this normally occurs after feelings have changed for a person and they want the other person to know. Slowing down the time of a scene gives the audience time to think about what will happen. Slowing down and speeding up scenes can also have a different effect depending on the genre of film. If you wanted to have a scary film, which creates a lot of tension and suspense you would have lots a slow shots. However having slow shots means that you can have more to create the tension and time which will build up the suspense for the next scene where everything comes together and falls into place.

Costume and Makeup

Costume and make up is very important in the film industry. It is able to transform an actor/actress into the character they are playing. Make up is able to characterize the person as old, ragged, young, or even like a monster. A good example of use of costume and make is in the film ‘Mrs Doubtfire’. Robin Williams who plays the house keeper Mrs Dountfire and also plays Daniel (the father of the family he house keeps for) in the film is miraculously made into a woman. This is done in hope for him to spend more time with his children in becoming the house keeper for them. Williams is transformed into a women by using heavy makeup and prosthetics. The prosthetics help to make his face more feminine and to have more defined features, such as his jaw line and cheek bones. However he is also made to have a few wrinkles to create the effect of an older woman. The wrinkles are painted on to the prosthetics so that they are the right colour tone to what he is wearing. Costume also plays a big part as it builds the character up and adds to their personality of the role. In ‘Mrs Doubtfire’. The costume he wears reflects his role; it is also stereotypical clothing of what an old women would wear.

Leon-Luc Besson

‘Leon’ is a film released on 3rd February 1995. It was written and also directed by Luc Besson. The film is set in the Little Italy suburb of New York.

Leon is a thriller based crime film. The film is based on the emotional relation ship between Leon (Jean Reno) and Mathilda (Natalie Portman). Leon is brought to the attention of Mathilda when she comes knocking on his door hysterically crying after her family have been caught up in a dealing with drugs and shot by a DEA officer. Leon has it forced upon him to help Mathilda out. She is a young girl of 12 who wants to know the trick of the trade of being hit man. She is inspired to learn Leon’s ways in an attempt of getting revenge on the DEA officer who killed her family, especially who little brother. Whom she had an extremely close relationship with. Leon is very reluctant to introduce Mathilda into his job. The two start to bond, a strong father/daughter relationship soon develops. I think this happens because Mathilda finds Leon more of a father figure than she ever did with her own father. The relationship builds between the characters throughout the film, and becomes stronger and stronger. Leon tries to protect Mathilda and be responsible for her. However the more the relationship builds up, the more Mathilda ‘falls’ for Leon which does become cringey at certain parts within the film.

There are many significant items through out the film, on of which is a plant. The plant is like a friend to Leon. Something he looks after, cares for and makes sure its watered everyday. He has a ‘special’ bond with it. The plant is almost like a real friend, or child to him. The plant is taken everywhere by Leon and is never really out of sight. It is almost as if the plant gives him strength, and to live. Another significant prop in the film is the guns used. The film is based around guns, drugs, and money. The guns are not any guns, they are big mean and powerful. As the film gets towards the end, the guns become more powerful and even lead up to the used of a grenade. A glass of milk is also a reoccurring item too. I think the milk is meant to represent the fact of growing strong and healthy. This may suggest that hit men are also strong and healthy, and this may be why Leon is so faithful in drinking at least a glass a day.

In conclusion I thought the film was absolutely fantastic. Leon would never be a film I would choose personally to watch, but I enjoyed every minute of it. The minute the story line began to unroll I was engrossed. The editing, the props, the lighting, it was all perfect. Camera angles made the important parts stand out to the audience. In my opinion the best bit was the ending, I liked this because there is no music to the death of Leon it just cuts silence to a point of view shot and you can tell exactly what has just happened to him.