Breathless

Read this article. Choose a scene in Breathless and respond to the following quote. Be sure to write at least 2 paragraphs. Respond to each others' posts for extra credit. Here's the quote:

"This basic sequence of events is the minimal thread of continuity that holds the filmic narrative together. However, causal development and character motivation in the traditional sense are relatively loose. While the film does not reject narrative conventions as a whole, it goes a long way towards weakening the tight-knit structure and explanatory mechanisms affiliated with dominant narrative. The film's visual construction works even more aggressively against conventional film style. It systematically departs from the aesthetic guidelines and rules defined by continuity editing, relying variously on long-take sequences (often shot with hand-held camera) and jump cutting."

The 400 Blows

Pick one of the scenes below and write a 3-paragraph DETAILED analysis. Include at least one quote from a review that you find on the Movie Review Query Engine. Remember also to come up with an overarching theme for your analysis, state why you chose your scene, and the scene's relationship to the film as a whole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP2eWHdZLDE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9I-gsap0po

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERAGjXnXQwk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r00iQjNtC0k

Bicycle Thieves

Please choose at least two features of neorealism that DeSica presents in the film that effectively convey the overall meaning of the film. Choose one five minute scene and analyze the scene through genre theory, using at least one quote from the articles I have given you. Utilize the Chandler article on genre theory that I have given you as well.

Minimum: 2 paragraphs.

Bringing Up Baby

Think about the film's mise-en-scene. Choose one scene in the film and discuss all aspects of the mise-en-scene (costumes, set, lighting, props, framing) and its relation to the scene and the film as a whole. Use at least 2 hearty paragraphs for your discussion. Your discussion should include insights into the intent of the filmmaker as well as copious evidence from within the frame.

And please post your favorite line from the film.

Grand Illusion

Focusing only on the film's mise en scene (lighting, shot composition, set design, costume design), discuss this quote from the Robin Wood essay I gave you:

"How to belong, how to meet"--another way of putting it is to say that Renoir's perennial concern is with the boundaries; that keep people apart and the possibility of transcending them. The four-part structure enables him to develop this theme through a network of shifting, interlocking relationships presented consistently in terms of difference and the overcoming of difference.

Your response should be 2 paragraphs long and should include a correctly cited quote from one of the essays I gave you.

The Hitchhiker

Lighting (or lack thereof) is extremely important in film noir and especially so in Ida Lupino's The Hitchhiker. Please give 3 examples of instances where lighting creates meaning. Be specific in your meaning as well as how Lupino expresses that meaning on the screen. Be sure to describe fully what is inside of the frame.

Here is a link to the film--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIeFKTbg3Aw

It is in the public domain, so it's widely available online.

If you liked The Hitchhiker, you may also like this one...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tap67KjjPu8

Screenplays!

Here are the ideas. Choose one and get to work...

• Two kids want the same soda. One of them gets it. A chase ensues. Who will get the soda?

• Two teenagers run for their lives after egging the wrong car.

• A man dies, only to discover that he has the chance to relive his entire life all over again. What will he choose? 

Be sure to read a few scripts before you start writing. This site offers a lot of scripts, both contemporary and classic...http://www.dailyscript.com/