Lola Rennt

This week we discussed New German Cinema and screened the film Run Lola Run, directed by Tom Tykwer. The film contained many underlying themes and used distinct visuals to reflect German pop culture. According to the article, “Tykwer belongs to a generation of Germans that embraces popular culture rather than criticizes it as a colonization of the mind and a form of cultural imperialism.” The film very well displays postmodern Germany during this time.

The film follows Lola (Franka Potente) who is trying to save her boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) after he loses 100,000 marks he owes to an organized crime boss. Lola is seen running across Berlin, attempting to get an insane amount of money and to Manni before he tries something stupid, and she only has 20 minutes. Lola runs into different characters of the city, and we see each of their fates as she passes them. There are three different narratives that play out and each time leads to a different fate.

There are many ways you could look at this film to get a sense of what it means. The film has multiple themes including time, love, chance, life as a game, and fate (just to name a few). One of the most obvious themes of the film is time. Time is constantly being symbolized throughout the film. The movie starts with an image of a pendulum of a clock swinging back and forth and the sound of ticking noises in the background. There are many moments in the film where the main character, Lola, seems to be running out of time to find and save Manni. Tykwer represented time symbolically by showing images of clocks, incorporating energetic music into his scenes as well as ticking clock noises, and Lola is seen asking people for the time. The film clearly shows how time has this power over the characters. Lola is running in order to save her lover Manni which in itself is also a theme between these different timelines. Love could be looked at as being able to defy the boundaries of time and space.

The soundtrack does a really good job at emphasizing the symbolism and themes of the film. There are many different sounds used in the film other than the dialogue and music, for example, the sound of gunshots, telephones, clocks ticking, sirens, cars, people, and just the sound of the city in general. Some of the sounds used are exaggerated to show the importance of it, for instance, loud ticking noises to stress the impact of time.The electronic techno soundtrack gives the film a more thrilling, fast paced, energized effect and matches well with the connected flow of the editing. The music really helped build the momentum as we watch Lola’s running progress between 3 different alternate timelines. The upbeat rhythm of the film and exciting mood creates a more exhilarating experience for the audience.

Overall I  really enjoyed watching the film, even the second time around. It is still just as fun and exciting, and you may come across new details on each watch. I love the colors in this film and the animations. I also love Lola’s character and her loyalty to Manni throughout the entire film is pretty amazing. The ending of the last narrative was really the ending I was hoping for, if only they would show a little of what happened after they realize they have 100,000 marks for themselves.

I have taken a few film courses throughout my years here and I have loved each one! I always knew I was drawn to cinema but it wasn’t until taking these courses that I grew more of an appreciation and love for specific movements and films that I wouldn’t have even known about if I hadn’t taken them. The first film class I took was international film (which if offered again I highly recommend). Looking into international cinema, I was amazed at how many films open the doors to reveal the culture and history of that specific country. Just from watching those films I was able to learn more about how life was in those specific places during certain times. After taking that course, I wanted to further my knowledge on cinema so I signed up for more film courses as the semesters went on. This then lead me to take a video production course which I also loved (which is also really fun and you should take if offered again!). In this course you get to do hands on work, with equipment and editing. You learn about the processes in video production, basic techniques of digital production, how to edit your videos, how to set up lighting, how interviews typically work, the two types of editing, and you create your own original works with your classmates. Since I loved filming in that class, I even decided to do an independent study called Dance for Camera where I choreograph a dance piece and set it up to be shot on camera. This was amazing to me because I was able to combine the two things I am passionate about, my minor and major in one class. Where I am going with this is.. taking these film courses have opened my eyes to new passions I didn’t even know I had. Although I am sad I won’t be able to take more film classes in Alfred, I definitely plan to continue to expand my knowledge on film and video outside of school and continue to explore the two mediums of dance and film. Thank you Dr. Schlegel for all the semesters full of great films and great lectures!

Cinema Du Look

This week we learned about a French film movement of the 80’s known as Cinema Du Look. The 80’s proved to be a rough time for French cinema. Television and economic hardships were starting to take a toll on the film industry. The new socialist government also enforced spending restraints. Cinema Du Look was able to provide a makeover for multiple genres. Under this government, support for new films was stronger than ever, which was crucial for a declining industry. Cinema Du Look was lead by three directors: Luc Besson, Jean-Jacques Beineix, and Leos Carax. The leaders of this era were well known for favoring style over substance, spectacle over narrative, and all shared and perfected this “look”. Films of this period had a slick visual style and focused on the marginalized youth of France. They also didn’t care so much about the context or substance of the film, but rather the visuals and style. As technology advanced as well, filmmakers got to use these new inventions in their films. These films were majorly influenced by pop culture. Some main themes used in films of this decade included doomed love affairs, alienated youth, lives of young people and their friends, lacks family aspects, dark perspective of police, fetishism to create artistic, political, or psychological substance, and even the Paris Metro being a symbol of an alternative underground society.

I have seen another Jean-Jacques Beineix’s film,Betty Blue. The movie follows two star-crossed lovers who run into trouble around every corner. The movie starts light but just continuously goes in a downward spiral. But there are a lot of beautiful scenes in this movie, especially the first setting with the beach houses. I feel there is also an essence of Godard’s new wave film À Bout de Souffle within this film as well. The film became an international success and is still a notable cult film in France.

For our screening this week, we watched a film directed by one of the filmmakers from this era, Jean-Jacques Beineix, called Diva. I really enjoyed this film. While watching I just thought how could something be so lovely but so absurd at the same time. There were many beautiful scenes that really caught my attention and had me fully engaged with film to the end. It’s a love story and a crime story in one. Ofcourse, as a movie from an era that didn’t care much about storylines at all, I can see how one might find it difficult to follow. I felt there was a lot of randomness that could steer you away from what is going on, but that’s the point. The story isn’t so much as important as the overall visual look. The film covered some of the common themes of this era like the fetish (Jules obsession with opera music, making him fall in love with the singer Cynthia), corrupt police officers, and the Paris Metro. Overall, the combination of action, romance, corruption and crime, and whatever else I must’ve missed, truly made the movie unique and true to the era of Cinema Du Look.

80’s American Cinema

The 1980’s was an iconic period for cinema. The trend of sequels became a legit movie making approach. The movie industry decided to look into what worked and stuck with that. Seems like just the easy thing to do, however, with the repetition in film sequels and series they needed stories that the audience would still enjoy. Very popular series and franchises were created including Star Wars, Star Trek, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman, etc. The 80’s also produced many teen films. Since AIP first started targeting teen audiences, movies in the 80’s did the same but with a slightly different approach. These films portrayed teen life and influenced a generation of teens with films made about them for them. Some of the films are still greatly appreciated as teen classics such as The Breakfast Club, 16 candles, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Heathers, The Karate Kid etc. Genres like sci-fi, horror, and fantasy were also really popular in the 80’s. Films like Back to the Future, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Fly, Alien, Beetlejuice (one of my favs since I was little) were released in the 80’s.

Money was the main focus of movie making in the 80’s and surpassed quality and art. The idea of front loading emerged in the 70’s but solidified itself in the 80’s. Front loading is a process where merchandising and major advertising are released before the initial release of the actual film. Toys, clothes, souvenirs, and other merchandise were released to create hype and to assure the film will become successful. However, in order to ensure no movies would end up unsuccessful after spending money on front loading, studios basically began creating the movies themselves and took away freedoms from directors. The main goal was to create the next major blockbuster film.

The 80’s is argued to be the last decade where there is a clear divide between the mainstream and counterculture in cinema. Since the rise in technology and introduction of the internet, essential subcultures slowly blurred. But would reappear in the 90’s with independent artist who emerged from the 80’s like Jim Jarmusch and Spike Lee.

However, other themes were also explored in the 80’s like everyday “mainstream” life represented as something to stay away from. Like in the movie Something Wild (1986), where a man (played by Jeff Daniels) is saved from his dead end, white-collar career after a closer look and experience of life on the open road after meeting free-spirited character (played by Melanie Griffith). Or the film Lost in America (1985), when a married couple just drop everything, including their jobs, and go on a cross-country roadtrip. There were also darker themed movies representing teens of this era like in Dennis Hopper’s Out of the Blue (1980), where a 15 year old girl in an abusive family has trouble fitting in but finds comfort through music and the punk scene. Similar to the teens in Penelope Spheeris’ Suburbia (1983), a coming of age drama of suburban punks who run away from home.

70’s Cult Cinema

This week I really enjoyed learning about cult films of the 70’s and “midnight movies”. The 70’s was an extraordinary period for cinema and is argued to be one of the greatest decades for movies. Midnight movies was a phenomenon that emerged in the 70’s and lasted until the end of the decade. What truly began the culture of Cult movies was when Alejandro Jodorowsky’s film El Topo was screened at the Elgin Theater in Chelsea, New York. It became a hit and people were lining up outside the theater every midnight to see the film, some went to see it as many times as they could. According to the documentary we watched in class, after the movie was bought again to be shown at another big theater, it was blown out in 3 days and lost it’s aura and theatrical value, and the craze for the film died down. However, Alejandro Jodorowsky will forever be known as the starter of midnight movies and will go down in cult cinema history. After El Topo, Theater owners realized there was an audience for midnight movies and films began to be shown at midnight in theaters across the country. The documentary explained it as a giant search for the next El Topo.

It is funny because I pass by this theater all the time. What use to be known as the Elgin Theater is know the Joyce Theater. However I never knew about the history, and how this theater started this sub-culture of cinema. Strange how different the theater is know compared to how it used to be in the 70’s.

Soon other odd films, way different from mainstream cinema were shown at midnight screenings, including Night of the Living Dead, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Pink Flamingos, Eraserhead, Freaks, and much more. Most cult films often had themes of immorality, sensitive topics, non-conformity, graphic violence, sex, etc. However the audience or following is what gave that film its cult status. In order for a film to be considered a cult it had to have a loyal following. For example, Rocky Horror Picture Show, one of the most iconic cult films ever created especially when it comes down to the film’s loyal fans. Going to a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show in the 70’s seemed like a whole different experience. People would show up to the theater dressed as their favorite characters, recite the dialogue as the movie played, people made up their own scripts and yelled them out at the screen at the right time, live performances of the movie would be enacted as the actual movie played in the background, audiences would throw toilet paper, rice, toast, their drinks, etc. to react with whatever was happening on the screen. The extreme level of audience participation turned it into its own production. Rocky Horror Picture Show is a great film, it’s fun and colorful, has catchy music, it’s weird and different, it is no surprise it became such a cult classic.

French and American new waves

In the late 1950’s, a movement began in France known as Nouvelle Vague, or the “New Wave”. A new era of young directors who have grown up watching censored films during the war are now not limited to these restrictions. Some of the most influential directors of this era include Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnes Varda, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Louis Malle, Alain Resnais, and Jacques Demy. Movies before the new wave were described as lifeless, lacked emotion, repeated creations with no type of expression. The films of the new wave rejected the traditional style of French cinema. Directors of this era rejected the traditional ways of studio and scripted filmmaking and started creating films for expression rather than impression. As we discussed in class, the new wave was an era where film was seen more as art rather than a product of a studio, filmmakers were artist of their work. This era also brought about breakthroughs in cinema that changed film forever, for example, some features you will see in these films include jump cuts, rapid editing, shooting on location and outdoors, natural lighting, direct sound recording, long takes, conversation rather than dialogue, and improvised plots. Filmmakers also used their films as a way to express social and political issues that were happening during this time in France. Films released during this period had a major influence on pop culture not only in France but all over the world. It had an effect on music, fashion, and advertising.

Vivre Sa Vie (1962)

Greatly influenced by the French New wave, started a new era in Hollywood. It began with the fall of the system. According to Tom Schatz’s chapter, as the control of the major studios  over the movie industry began to collapse, Independent studios began to flourish. This then lead to studios like AIP, producing exploitation films and targeting younger audiences in the 50’s. By the 60’s, the production code has faded and a new generation of directors had the freedom to make movies however they wanted. Meanwhile, the industry and major studios have gone through drastic changes under new leadership and eventually fail. By the end of the 1960’s, a new era in Hollywood rose known as “New Hollywood” or the “American New Wave.” This period in American Cinema produced many film classics that are still loved by many. Influenced by films produced in Europe, directors of this era brought new themes and style to their films.Some of the great directors of this period include, Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Robert Altman, George Lucas, and Peter Bogdanovich, just to name a few. Because of this era of risk taking and artistic expression, these directors left their mark as some of the best directors of American Cinema. Unfortunately, this period came to an end by the 80’s due to directors bringing in major flops, the studios decided to reconsider their freedoms. This lead to cinema in the 80’s taking on a new direction.

Hammer’s horror and Bonnie and Clyde

A “new wave” of cinema had washed over Britain in the late 1950’s, as well as many other countries of Europe such as France, Germany, Italy, and Czechoslovakia. When World War II ended, Europe was undergoing a recovery and cinema was a big part of regenerating Europe post war. The new waves produced new kinds of films that focused on social issues, culture, closer look into the lives of real people, on location. In Britain specifically, in a society that finds the separation of class to be very important, portrayal of the working class in film gave them a voice. The films displayed the daily lives and conflicts of people in the working class. During this time, another new trend arose in British cinema, Horror. The genre of horror became very popular in British cinema, and was dominated by Hammer Film productions. Hammer film productions most successful years was during the British new wave, they even received the Queen’s Award for Industry in 1967. When I first watched Terence Fisher’s Horror of Dracula (1958), I noticed stylistically the film represented a breakthrough for British horror cinema. Keeping with the themes of the new wave, I think Hammer film’s version of Dracula can be viewed as the outcome of the emerging youth culture in Britain. This youth culture being impacted by film, music, fashion, and consumerism of this time.

This week we screened Bonnie and Clyde, a film released in 1967 during the “New Hollywood era” and directed by Arthur Penn. It revolves around partners in crime Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow and their travels around the U.S robbing banks (although not very well), killing people along the way, in hopes of becoming rich and famous. Although they never got to be rich, they became pretty famous and were always on the front page of the papers. During the time of the films release, America as well as the film industry were going through changes. America was going through a depression, facing racial conflicts, rise of feminism and militarism. Changes in audience demographics, and Directors looking for inspiration from European films and influenced by the “new waves”. Bonnie and Clyde was the first film of this new era to start incorporating themes of violence, sex, rebellion, going against social norms. There was also a shift in style and added realism, films were shot more documentary style making things seem more “real”. There were many parts of the film that depicted America’s economic struggle, for example, the first bank they were about to rob until they were told there is just no money. Banks didn’t have money due to the stock market crash, millions of people lost their jobs, the entire country was pretty much broke. Not the best time for Bonnie and Clyde’s plans. I have seen just the ending scene of Bonnie and Clyde before, but after watching the entire film becoming invested in their relationship and seeing the human side of the criminals, it is hard not to sympathize with them, all the way to the end. Although we know their path of robbing and killing would never lead them to a happy ending, being so involved in their lives and romanticizing the partners in crime makes us wish it did.

Exploitation Cinema

In 1948, the supreme court deemed the “the Big 5” of Hollywood’s studio system a monopoly! Surprise! 20th Century Fox, RKO Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer showed clear signs of being monopolistic like having their actors/actresses and directors under contract, making the films and owning the theaters they were played in, even some studios owned the film processing companies, and if shown in an independent theater, studios worked together to have control on how it was being shown. But what really killed them was “block-booking”, where they sold their films in packages and one of the main reasons they were ruled as a monopoly. Independent artist couldn’t get their films into theaters but after the effects of the decision the film industry fell off as independent producers and studios shined without interference of the Hollywood studio system. Also, the paramount case lead to an expansion of television. Major studios sold their libraries to television companies, and actors/actresses under the studios became T.V stars. Television audiences increased as less and less people went to the big theaters.

As Hollywood’s golden era came to an end, new kind of films were being made. We are then introduced to the exploitation film. Exploitation films were typically low budget, and are known to “exploit” some kind of cultural trend or controversy, targeted specific audiences, and consist of themes of sex, drugs, violence, nudity, teenage reality, gore, rebellion, sensationalism, and more. They were played at drive-ins or independent theaters.  An independent studio known as American International Pictures started making films that appealed to specific audiences like teenagers. Teenagers before this period were considered children and weren’t represented in a realistic way. Also foreign films made there way to “Art house” and independent theaters influencing viewers and filmmakers. Exploitation films are not easily defined as one thing, but is based on the audience’s own perception and what they can take away from it if they choose to or not. Some films that are now considered culturally significant were overlooked back then because the films were labeled as exploitation such as, Carnival Of Souls (1962) and Night of The Living Dead (1968). In the documentary we watched, Schlock! (2003), it was mentioned that if Carnival of Souls was made in Europe it would have been considered an art film.  

The documentary we screened in class, Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies, looks at the history of exploitation cinema of the 50’s and 60’s and its genres of nudies, roughies, and gore. There were interviews with notable directors of this period like the “exploitation king” himself Roger Corman, along with Sexploitation directors Doris Wishman, Harry Novack, and David Friedman, and even the legendary Vampira also known as Maila Nurmi. It featured clips from the most notable exploitation films such as Bad Girls Go to Hell, Carnival of Souls, Blood Feast, The House of Usher, The Terror, A Bucket of Blood and many more. I think the documentary did a good job of drawing out exploitation genre from its very beginnings, to what it developed into, to how it’s influenced further cinema.

Casablanca and WWII

This week we discussed how World War II had changed cinema during Hollywood’s golden age and screened Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca. It is no surprise the film turned out to be a classic being a romantic melodrama played out by A-list actors in an elegant setting full of sacrifices, redemption, love, loss etc. The film Casablanca was released in 1942, at that time the United States had just entered World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor. When looking at the context of the film, we are able to better understand why it is valued and important. Underneath the love story in morocco is the ally-propaganda as well as the social and political focus during the beginnings of WWII. By using propaganda through the channel of entertainment, people didn’t realize they were being propagandized. However, it supported the american war effort by inserting values and beliefs of America such as freedom, patriotism, justice, equality, etc. in order to re-shape the audience’s thoughts of the war, since most Americans wanted the U.S. to remain neutral.

We also watched a little of the documentary Film Noir, Bringing Darkness Into Light. The film noir movement began around this time and went on until the end of the 1950’s. Film noir is a kind of styled Hollywood crime-drama. It captured the tension of this time period. Film noir typically had cynical themes, twisted storylines, and focused on the dark side of human nature and usually left without a happy ending. The cinematic style of a classic film noir was mostly shot in black and white, gloomy atmosphere, use of shadows, expressionistic elements, lowkey lighting. Although Casablanca is not considered a film noir, there are definitely elements of film noir. For example the very first scene of the credits over the map of Africa, layed out the noir setting for the rest of the film. The film also analyzes skeptical trends of this era like neutrality/ isolationism. It is almost as if we see the stages of America’s foreign policy within the main character, Rick. Before Pearl Harbor, the U.S was neutral kind of how Rick presented himself in the scene of the chess game. Rick stated, “I stick my neck out for nobody. The problems of this world are not in my department. I’m a saloon keeper.“ And Captain Renault replied, “Wise foreign policy.” But as we watch we notice that Rick is more engaged then he wants us to think and is on the side of idealism and making a clear distinction who is the good side and who’s the bad side. For example, Rick’s conversation with a German customer. Rick was refusing to serve him as he said “Your cash is good at the bar.” The man replied, “Do you know who I am?” Rick: “I do. You’re lucky the bar’s open to you.” Or the scene where the France’s national anthem drowns out the sounds of German soldiers singing nationalist songs. These scenes present to us where Rick lies in all this.

Just like Film Noir, Casablanca did not have a typical Hollywood happy ending but ended a little confusing, for Rick at least. He has to split up with the women he clearly loves for the second time and neither of them really know how each other feels. However, Rick starts a friendship with Lois. The ending isn’t happy but it isn’t sad either.

MGM and Grand Hotel

MGM studios is known to be among one of the greatest in Hollywood history. Even though it wasn’t even really located in Hollywood, but a few miles away in Culver City. MGM got its name in 1924 when Metro Film Company owned by Marcus Loew (yes.. like Loews theaters), Samuel Goldwyn, and Louis B. Mayer came together to make up Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. MGM was at the top of the five major studios of the time and known for its glamorous sets, luxurious costuming, and of course had “More Stars Than There Are in Heaven.” This was MGM’s way of bragging about all the big names on their list but there were definitely a lot including Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Buster Keaton, and Greta Garbo, just to name a few. It’s easy to recognize the studios glossy, high saturated, technicolor style. During the studios prime time, they produced at least one film a week! The same year they released the widely loved The Wizard of OZ (1939), they released Gone With the Wind  which is still the highest-grossing box office success in movie history, according to the Guinness book of records.

Just like the Hollywood studio system, there was a star system as well, and MGM realized this after releasing their first all-star film Grand Hotel, directed by Edmund Goulding. “The greatest cast ever assembled.” Before this movies release, Hollywood films typically kept their star count to one or two per film, that way people had no choice but to go see each film with their favorite actors/actresses in them. This was the very first movie that modeled the all-star ensemble and would be established in later movies like “Ocean’s Eleven.” Not only did the film have an amazing set but the all-star cast each shined within the different storylines. We are introduced to all the stories at the very beginning and as we watch we see how they intertwine and unfold. The film won best picture the same year, which was also its only nomination.

You Go Eisenstein!

The most important part of post-production is the “invisible art” of film editing. The reason for it being called an “invisible art” is because an editor’s goal is to make the finished product look as seamless as possible with no signs of them ever messing with it. This is the part of filmmaking where meaning is constructed. Editing is separated into two categories: continuity and montage.

Before the introduction of digital editing, the only way to go about making these changes was to literally take the film, cut the scenes, and glue them together in the order you wanted it. As you can imagine, editing by hand was probably a lot of work, which is unfortunate because at that time editors were not given as much credit as they deserved. However, the editor’s role is very important when it comes to creating meaning. The Kuleshov experiment is a perfect example of the power of editing. Lev Kuleshov was a Soviet filmmaker who spliced together the same image of a man with three other images: a bowl of soup, a little girl in a coffin, and a woman. When people watched these images they thought the man expressions changed with each shot, however it was the same image shown each time. It was the editing of the two images together that the audience was able to perceive and create meaning out of.

Montage is a style of editing that is used by putting different shots together to drive a specific point in a way dialogue can not, and presents it to the audience. Sergei Eisenstein once said montage is the “essence of cinema”. I find it amazing that even back in then in the 1920’s silent era, when editing was still in its rough early stages, Eisenstein came to the realization that he could use editing to make audiences actually feel something. What Eisenstein did in the Odessa Steps Sequence in his Russian propaganda film Battleship Potemkin was unlike anything anyone has ever seen before during this time. The way he filmed the scene as well as editing techniques were very different from how other films were being made in 1920’s silent era. They took the filming outside, positioned the camera at different angles that were considered “odd”, the camera was even moving up and down the stairs. The way he arranged the type of shots is fairly similar to how modern films are edited. The film blew up on a global scale, changed the way editors edited their films, and transformed filmmaking FOREVER.

Everyone else:

The screening for this week was the Bride of Frankenstein (1935), directed by James whale.  The mise-en-scene of the film really reminded me of German Expressionism, and was probably an influence for the film’s low-key lighting, high contrast, and dark and gloomy tones. As well as the scenes where we see the monster emerging from the dark or wandering outside at night. I overall enjoyed the film, especially the scene where Dr. Pretorius was showing his little creations.