Group Presentation and The 39 Steps

This week our group presented on the movie “The Best Years of Our Lives”.  The movie had a really profound effect on me.  I was in tears throughout a bunch of scenes, including when Al forced Fred to tell his daughter Peggy that they couldn’t see each other anymore.  The cinematogrophy in that scene alone was amazing, as you can see everyone in focus, even though Fred is in the background, Al is in the middleground, and Homer is in the foreground.  So much of this movie hits great emotional notes, like when Al is the only person at the bank who truly understands what these veterans have gone through and so he is willing to give loans to veterans who can’t make a down payment or have any collatoreal.  Even though he gets in trouble for it, he still sticks to his guns on it when he’s confronted about it.

Homer’s tale was both tragic and touching, a story of true love and self pity.  What I found most interesting however was the fact that Homer wanted everyone to treat him like anyone else, yet he was the one who was the most self conscious of everyone.   Overall, I found the movie to be really enjoyable, and I’m glad that our group got to present on it.  I can’t wait to see what the other groups have to present in the coming weeks.

We also watched “The 39 Steps”, an Alfred Hitchcock movie.  This was personally my third time screening this film, so I was able to really focus on what the cast was actually saying.  I love how this film goes from a really serious subject matter to a ridiculously fun time.  The romantic interactions between the two unfortunate souls who become handcuffed together are extremely believable, and I especially like how our protaganist goes from terrified to a total charmer while he’s on the run for his life.  I especially liked the joke he made about comparing the sheep blocking the road to the detectives.  Of course, the film was also very well shot, with clever transitions and cuts all over to really give you a feeling of suspense and terror.  I especially liked when he turned a woman’s scream into the train whistle, a technique that is still used in films today, the most recent example being Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban.  There were some really great uses of scenery, particularily the scene where they break away from the detectives in their car.  They stumble around in the fog for a little and climb country fences and finally hide behind a small waterfall.  Another example is when the man who is missing part of his pinky was showing our hero what the police were doing right outside the window.  You can still see the window in the foreground, the police in the middle ground, and the mountains in the background.

I had a ton of fun with the group project and can’t wait to see what the next group can bring.  All in all, this was a pretty fun and informative week.