Film Rant

We have just finished out our Western unit in class, and i have to say, I don't really like the early westerns that much. Although the action scenes and such are very well done, I personally don't like films that go too deep into it's literary element (or maybe it's because I have never seen so many films consecutively in my life). Anyways, I prefer stories that go a little deeper into character development like maybe On the Waterfront.

Now this isn't to say that Westerns are bad, just not what I'd prefer. As you may have seen in the scene linked above, they set the standard for many modern techniques used. The body double for John Wayne that jumped from horse to horse certainly built the excitement. Also, the smooth fading in of the cavalry bugle and the fading out of the music was a great job done by the sound crew. I mean, it's in these old movies that really took skill on the part of the actor. They had to create the feeling or image instead of having technology do it for them. I love CGI no doubt, but you gotta admire the actors skill.

On this note, I would just like to quick talk about Dracula. Now this is truly a film that required talent. For all lovers of vampire stories, everyone ought to see the one that started it all. I mean the skill of Lugosi makes for a much scarier vampire than Robert Pattinson. I'm just saying. I haven't seen his performance in Twilight yet, so i can't really comment too much on it.

PS. Please forgive me for some informal lingo like gotta. I just felt it neccessary.

Westerns - The Good, The Bad, and the Different

Even when I didn't know that the genre was called Westerns, I had already had the theme written into my head. The classic lonely, crazily good shot, outlaw was the hero, and the Indians or some idiot who shot people for no reason being the antagonist. Westerns all generally have the same theme or ideas. For example, the laws of the West never change. The law of lex talionis, of "an eye for an eye", is existent in all Westerns. The people acted their own laws. A great example is the Ringo Kid, played by John Wayne(pictured left), shooting the Plumber Boys in StageCoach.

This leads me into the next theme of the Western. Everyone is a great shot, but the bad guys. The antagonists can't shoot worth beans, while all the hero needs is one bullet per person.
In a 3v1 duel, Ringo guns down 3 people with 3 bullets, while all three shoot at Ringo simultaneously. It is also absolutely hilarious how accurate they are with shotguns at a range. I mean....all the shells that come out are supposed to spread out, but in movie Unforgiven, there is a huge explosion of shells in the chest of the people when shot. All in all, Westerns are great when you want to see some action flicks, but the traditional Westerns do nothing for the folks who want a meaningful plot.

YOU CAN ANALYZE A FILM?!?

I have seen many movies, and some I liked and some i liked a little less. I even started writing my own stuff, so I decided to take a Film class.

There is so much more to film than what you see on the big screen. It is so nice that there are writers and crews who do all the breaking down of what makes a movie good for us. I mean....there's contemplating what camera to use, the angle, lighting, and an infinite amount more of thinking.

I myself prefer to see action pieces with good character development. If one is missing, then I feel like the film doesn't really have closure.

Citizen Kane was one film I was introduced to in this said class. Okay...it had a really interesting story, and the presentation was really inventive. Problem for me was that it lacked action. I mean...the most violent action we see in the movie is the main character smashing his wife's (or should i say ex-wife's) room to smithereens.

It was a good break from such works as HEROES, but with the premiere on 9/22/2008, I think I'm going back to HEROES.