Laura – Analysis

Choice of Career Path:

• The career that I would like to pursue is that of a film director, specifically crime and drama but mainly crime. The role of a film director is to control the filming process of the film and direct their artistic vision to the final product of the film. The Director is in charge of many aspects of the film such as choosing the cast, production design and many more creative aspects that are required during production of a film.

History:

• This is the Roundhay Garden Scene (1888). This is the first known footage of film, it was filmed in Leeds by the inventor Louis Le Prince. It is believed to be the first moving picture sequence. It was shot using a single lens camera and a strip of film and lasts only two seconds.

• This is L’Arrivee d’un train en gare de la Ciotat, also known as; The arrival of a train at La Ciotat Station (1895). It was filmed and directed by the Lumiere Brothers; it is a 50 second short film of a mail train arriving in the La Ciotat Station based in France filmed in a continuous shot. It was said that when this film was showcased to an audience they reacted in terror as they believed that the train was real and in the building, it was soon reacted with amazement and joy as no one had seen anything quite like it before. It was also the first known film to use a variety of shots such as long shot, medium shot and a close up shot. The camera is placed in this direction as it is supposed to give the train a dramatic increase of size when it passes the camera thus giving the audience the reaction of shock and terror.

• As there are many variations of crime films there isn’t a full start date to the history of crime, however, one of the first known crime films came in the form of the 1900 film, Sherlock Holmes: Baffled. This film came out at the start of the film industry and was one of the first appearances of Arthur Conan Doyle’s character, Sherlock Holmes. The film is a short one minute film about Sherlock Holmes’ and his confusion as a thief who also may be a magician is stealing from him and vanishing and reappearing before his eyes. This film was created near the beginning of the film industry so many people were experimenting with different genres, however, films such as this and the french film, Fantomas (1913) brought to life the hero and villain dynamic to the film screen.

• By around the late 1920s sound was becoming incorporated in to films and it brought an array of audiences that resonated with what was being showcased. This was during The Great Depression and this helped many people escape the awful times that where happening around them. Following this came many gangster and detective films throughout the 1930s; at first the films were based on novels from the time or before, however, this birthed the genre of film noir in the 1940s and it rapidly took over the film industry. Films such as The Maltese Falcon (1941), Double Indemnity (1944) and The Big Sleep (1946) dominated the theatres and helped sky rocket film stars such as, Humphrey Bogart.

• After World War Two, Noir films were on the decline as a new era was upon us due to the United States fear over Nuclear Warfare with Russia during the 1950s post World War Two as both countries wanted to be the biggest super power and they both disagreed with one another’s ideologies with The United States being Capitalist and The Soviet Union being Communist. The end of the Noir crime film era was with the film, Touch of Evil (1958). During the 1950s the film industry branched off in to different directions with the British audiences favouring comedy crime films such as, lavender Hill Mob (1951), whereas in America the works of Alfred Hitchcock where gripping the US with his psychological thrillers such as, Rear View (1954), vertigo (1958) and Psycho (1960).

•  During the 1960s we got a new series of crime films with the introduction of Ian Flemings British spy, James Bond (007). These films created a series of films throughout the 1960s that are still going to this present day, starting with Dr No (1962). However, by the end of the 60s we had a whole new wave of crime films with the counter culture movement dominating the culture in America. The bright  lights, massive productions and  glamorisation  of crime in Old Hollywood had been overtaken by this expressive, artsy and dirty portrayal of crime in the New Hollywood; sparked by the French new wave (La Nouvelle Vague) this new Hollywood created realistic, dirty and dark crime films such as Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Easy Rider (1969).

•  With the production code of 1930 being replaced by the 1969 ratings system allowing more violent and realistic takes on crime to be portrayed in films; this ended up reinventing crime films to a younger audience and films like The Godfather (1972), Chinatown (1974) and Taxi Driver (1976) thrived with this new audience and rules on the ratings system in America. By the latter end of the 20th Century with crime being at an all time popularity with the public being so interested in the problems occurring around the world revolving crime due to the many films portraying it throughout the century; many different crime films thrived and were critically and commercially acclaimed such as Scarface (1983), Goodfellas (1990), Silence of the Lambs (1991), Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994) . This carried on until the 2000s and present day with many different sub genres of crime film being watched on the big screen and the silver screen  with tv shows like, Breaking Bad (2008 – 2013), The Wire (2002 – 2008) and The Sopranos (1999 – 2007) being some of the biggest tv shows of the era and new different films from blockbusters like The Dark Knight (2010) to independent films like memento (2000) to Oscar films like No Country For Old Men (2007) performing well and receiving acclaim from critics and the public a like. At this moment in time crime film in cinema is at it’s peak in popularity especially with the recent film, Joker (2019) being a massive hit with critics and audiences across the world.

 

Influences:

As I would like to be a director, specifically in the area of the crime genre. I would take influence from directors such as Paul Thomas Anderson, The Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino but my biggest influence is Martin Scorsese. The film that inspired me the most was Martin Scorsese’s mafia biopic, Goodfellas (1990). The film follows the life of Henry Hill and his success and ultimate downfall in the mafia, the film garnered much praise from audiences and critics alike; it is said to be Scorsese’s masterpiece.

GoodFellas:

Goodfellas is a gangster biopic, it follows the life of Henry Hill from his childhood as a kid living in New York in an area ran by the mob to his adulthood in which he has become a product of his environment and joined the mob. This is my favorite film and is my biggest influence to become a director. The film itself is heavily influenced by the gangster films of the 1920’s to 1930’s; Scorsese himself references Scarface (1932) as an inspiration for the film saying, “in Scarface you have an interesting situation were these characters are despicable but presented in such a way that you like them” and Public Enemy (1931) being the other influence for the film saying, “my father took me to see that movie it was on a double bill with Little Caesar, Little Caesar’s good but I think Public Enemy’s more truthful and it’s that kind of thinking of putting food on the table and protecting your family and then it goes out of control”.

The film opens mid way in to the film were are characters are on their way to bury Billy Batts after believing that they had killed him. Following this we get the title sequence, then the first shot of Henry as a child; we get an extreme close up of his eye. The film then cuts to the outside of his house were he can see the local gangsters hanging out; from this shot we can see that this is from Henry’s point of view and how he sees the gangster lifestyle and how he glamorises it to himself, we can see this by the shots of their cars, suits and jewelry. We then get a shot of Henry looking through his window with his blinds representing the bars holding him back from this luxury life and confiding him to his reality which is poverty. The way Henry sees it is that gangsters don’t have rules and can do whatever they want which pulls him towards this lifestyle.

Scorsese uses the freeze frame a lot during Henry’s childhood; each freeze frame represents a moment in Henrys life to becoming a gangster, the freeze frame also helps us understand what Henry deems important as an adult such as the freeze frame of him after he has exploded the Cadillacs portrays that he finds committing crime fun and not something to avoid, another one is when his mailman gets thrown in to a pizza oven and when his father is beating him for skipping school, this shows to Henry that violence is a means to get your own way and that the aggressor is always more powerful, especially the beating he gets from his father which has a real effect on him by stating that everyone gets a beating sometimes in life; Henry clearly believes this as he then acts this philosophy out on his family when he is older, especially Karen. The freeze frame of the introduction of Robert DeNiro’s character, Jimmy Conway, is a vital part of the beginning for the film as what Henry lacks in a father figure at home he has a father figure in Jimmy who he grows up idolising his wealth and power and they eventually work with one another later in his life. With Jimmy and Paulie acting as mentors to young Henry he finally feels loved and apart of the family. Finally the freeze frame of Henry being serenaded by the rest of the mob after not snitching on anyone shows that this is his official acceptance in the mob and his happiest memory as a child.

Freeze frames are also used when Henry is an adult, however, not as frequently. We get one after Jimmy and Tommy kill Billy Batts as he gets a sudden realization that crime wasn’t exciting anymore and there was nothing to gain from killing Batts but actually they had put themselves in a lot of danger. Towards the end of the film we get a scene of Henry and Jimmy at a diner eating together the difference is however that Jimmy is no longer his friend and mentor but his enemy. We get a freeze frame on Jimmy and a freeze frame on Henry; unlike before when most of the freeze frames had positive connotations and showcased Henry falling in love with organized crime, Henry is pictured with nobody looking scared and alone as he knows he has to leave the life of crime and betray his friends.

The film also touches on masculinity as we find out early on the mob is a boys only club. We are shown this by them using excessive violence to get what they want and having girlfriends on the side when they already have wives. No one proves this more than the character, Tommy DeVito. Insecure of his small stature Tommy feels the need to prove his masculinity through acts of violence such as smashing a glass on the bar managers head and killing a young waiter when he makes a joke at him. His temper is the reason they kill Billy Batts which is the beginning of the end for our characters. This is the reason Scorsese places the scene at the beginning of the film so when we get to it we understand the importance of the scene. I say it is the beginning of the end for the characters as afterwards Tommy is killed for the murder of Batts which makes Henry and Jimmy paranoid of one another thus making Henry turn on his friends and lead them to the police in the end; all of this is caused by one scene. Henry is also a fairly violent human, however, his violent outbursts are to do with the women in his life; whether its protecting Karen or hurting her or roughing up his girlfriends boss; even when he goes to Florida with Jimmy to beat up some guy it is Paulie who tells him to leave due to his trouble at home with Karen. These violent outbursts are due to Henrys frustration of not being able to balance his mob life and his home life, this is another factor that leads in to his eventual downfall.

This leads us to Karen, Karen is one of the most important pieces to the film as she is also the only one who has a narration alongside Henry. She gives a feminine and outsiders view on the mob lifestyle. In the film Karen is used as the vehicle that takes us through the life of the mob; as just like us, Karen is a normal person who just happened to fall in to the lifestyle and be swept by the luxuries. To showcase the luxuries Scorsese uses long duration takes in order for our eyes to fully be immersed in the life; mainly the perks of the mob lifestyle. The best example of this is the Copacabana scene; in this scene we get a three minute long continuous take of Henry and Karen as they enter the Copacabana. As we see in the film the camera stays eye level with Karen which means that we are experiencing her perspective as they walk through this secret entrance. The scene is all about intoxicating us and Karen in the world of the mob; we get these workers coming and going through a busy restaurant, however, no one is annoyed with Henry and Karen walking through but they are happy to stop and talk showing their respect, we also get the upbeat romance song ‘Then he kissed me‘ by The Crystals which intoxicates us more into the life as well as Karen. This intoxication and need to have this life is one of the reasons Karen stays with Henry for as long as she does; she even gets involved gets in Henry’s drugs business in Pittsburgh.

Henry’s eventual downfall is due to his drug business and this leads us in to the latter stage of the film; this is were we get one of the most contrasted edits in the film. Henry is coked up and is trying to balance multiple responsibilities in one day. This is were Scorsese uses his techniques to gear into the final moments of the film. We no longer get the slow long duration shots but these quick cuts, snappy shots and sudden changes in music; we also stop hearing the classy and suave music of the 1950s anymore but this rough, fast paced and beefy rock n’ roll of the 1960s and 70s. This style of editing is used to portray scenes of chaos, a scene edited like this is used earlier on in the film with Karen when she is talking to all the mob wives, in that scene the quick cuts are used to show that Karen is disorientated and uncomfortable around the other mob wives. Whereas, in this scene the shots are used to portray Henry’s rising paranoia whilst being watched by the police. The entire montage is meant to feel uncomfortable and tense with time stamps being thrown in so the spectator knows everything that is going on in that day; it feels like a deadline and that is how Henry sees it during this scene. During the end of this sequence when Henry is leaving the house to drop his children’s nanny off he is eventually stopped and arrested by the police.

After this scene we get no music throughout the rest of the film until the very end. This signifies that any status and luxury that Henry had has, is now gone and he has nothing; realising that life in the mob is short lived. With nowhere to go Henry finally gives up Jimmy and Paulie to the police and testifies against them in court. This is were we get a fourth wall break. The reason for this is because Henry is now one of us, the average person and he feels the need to address that to us and himself as a realisation kicks in that his life of luxury and status is gone for good. The final shot of the film is a tracking shot of Henry’s new home as he steps out to pick up his morning newspaper, as he turns his back on to the camera and closes his door we get the sound of a jail cell closing, this signifies that he is behind bars in his mind and right back to were he started in the beginning of the film. A nobody trapped in an average life. I believe that Scorsese is trying to prove that like Henry, we want to be like these people. We want the wealth and status that Jimmy possesses and we want to be as cool and funny as Tommy, even though these people are despicable they are extremely likeable and aren’t straight up bad guys but they’re just like us, an average person trying to make themselves a somebody and that is what Henry embodies, Henry; like us, wants to escape life as average nobodies, however, he is willing to take that step further to succeed that dream.

This is the reason why Martin Scorsese is such a big influence on me. I love his attention to detail on everything and the themes that he implements in to his films as, however, distant from our actual reality his characters may be, his themes always seem to connect with the audience and be relatable. The way he uses camera movements and shots I find interesting as he will use slow methodical techniques in the build up of a film and then it will turn into fast paced quick cuts to drive the story forward, however, it never feels rushed or just thrown in. I also enjoy his use of music as in many of his films he will use the old and classy music of the 1940’s and 50’s and then he will also use the fast paced heavy rock of the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. Finally I like the diversity in his filmography as he explores different types of films from gangster epics like Goodfellas and Casino to drama and artsy films like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull to finally high energy crime films such as The Departed and The Wolf of Wall Street. I enjoy the fact that although he has a wide range of films and great films, Scorsese films always feel like a Scorsese film as he uses recurring motifs throughout his filmography.

Moving Forward:

Moving forward I would like to finish my second year of Creative Media Level 3 and continue on to University. I plan on going to Salford University and studying Film Production; I’m also leaning towards doing  a sandwich year on my course and gaining work experience whilst I am at university to help me gain the knowledge and experience on working in an industry as hectic and big as the film industry, After I finish university I would like to potentially produce my own independent film and showcase it in film festivals thus slowly getting my name out there in the industry.

Strengths of personal skills/ Things to improve:

I believe I have many strengths as I am a hard worker and  like to push my ability at all times. I always believe I can do better and never settle for a level I am at which I consider a skill as it means I can only progress as a filmmaker. I am very creative and enjoy coming up with my own ideas for films which I like to write down in a book at home, it is filled with many ideas, however, they are highly ambitious to produce but I see my ambition as a strength. I am useful at cinematography and have filmed a lot for projects in the past. I can edit films and I believe I have a good amount of knowledge about the techniques used in film. Another strength of mine is that I am very interested in cinema and love to watch and analyse films which helps me collect a vast knowledge and understanding of filmmaking. However, I do believe that there are many things to improve on and I do have weaknesses such as I am not very good working in groups as I like to do all the work myself and struggle to change my views on things. I am also bad at listening as, if I am not interested in the subject or project I won’t put my full effort in as it doesn’t interest me and I become very bored and disinterested quickly. I also believe that my editing could be improved as there have been times in which my edit hasn’t been very strong with quick cuts or being lazy and leaving things to last minute, thus rushing the process and finally not having a good final product. I can also improve on my filming as there has been times in the past were my filming has been very poor and it is difficult to create a good edit with poor footage.  The one thing that I need to be improve on vastly is my time management as I have noticed that I have terrible time management and leave things until the last minute on many occasions, that is something I need to work on greatly.