Alfred Hitchcock, Grand Auteur

Alfred Hitchcok is one of my favorite directors. He had an amazing eye for cinema. One thing that I find consistent with his films is the emphasis on fantastic cinematography. Hitchcock always seems to use cinematography in a specific technique, one which unfolds the narrative with suspense and intrigue. He is able to implement various camera placements, camera angles, camera focal lengths, and tracking shots with artful grace. The reason he puts such a large amount of importance on the camera is because he understands that it is the tool through which the plot unfolds. In so many of his films suspense plays a big role in setting the mood, yet that is often created in silence or soft music. Hitchcock enjoys using the camera to show different angles on a scene, symbolic props, character reactions, and character blocking. These techniques allow him to unfold important plot movements and actions with nonverbal representation. This is how Hitchcock is able to suck in an audience's attention; he can focus our minds on image and its symbolic representation, without simply describing danger or threat with words.
In the film Rear Window, the male protagonist is stuck inside his home directly across from all the action. There is only dialogue while L.B. Jeffries is with his girlfriend or physical therapist, much of the spying he does is alone. While alone there is very little dialogue, this is what builds up suspense, threat, and danger.
Psycho is another film that utilizes cinematography to reveal danger and the possibility of murder. This is why, as a director, Alfred Hitchcock is a brilliant director and his movies all have a similar feeling. One can tell when they are watching a Hitchcock film by the mood, the use of camera, and the cameos. That is a true auteur.

Stranger Than Fiction

Stranger than Fiction is a film that utilizes very interesting techniques in order to tell its narrative. The narrative is told with a narrator, who also happens to be a character in the film. This creates a very unique irony to the action that unfolds. 

More importantly there is a lot of depth in mise-en-scene and the way the sequences are shot. Most of the film is shot on location in Chicago. This really helps to make a fiction narrative seem very realistic, the modern quality of the setting allows the audience to believe the unbelievable is happening in our real world.  There are many unique shots of single characters and their realizations. Harold Crick, the main character, throughout the film shifts his attitudes about life, and this is evident through the camera shots. At the beginning Harold is always perfectly in frame and in very straightforward shots. As the film progresses and he is deeply affected by love the shots become more intimate, there are many close-ups focusing on Harold's true emotions. Another main character, Karen Eiffel, fills the frame frequently with close-ups of her realizations and emotions. I feel this is a very conscious and deliberate choice. Harold Crick becomes more real as the story unfolds and this is evident through his change in costume. Towards the end he begins to wear sweaters, not ties, and begins to love music, not numbers. Karen Eiffel also has a character shift noted by her change in appearance and costume. In one of the last scenes of the film when she decides to allow her character life, instead of tragic death, she is seen wearing full color for the first time and her face looks less androgynous and more feminine. 

Many of the subtle shifts in the mise-en-scene link closely to character shifts. This tool is apparent in many films, yet I feel Stranger than Fiction uses the tool in a very appealing fashion. 

His Girl Friday

In the Howard Hawks film His Girl Friday great techniques for framing the shot in a way that a large group of people can talk is very evident. Hawks is able to allow the camera to keep up with the fast pace of the dialogue and action. I would, however, like to discuss the themes presented in the film. Hawks is known for his subjection of women and that is a strong force in this film. The main character, Hildy, is always being pushed by the men of the film. Her decisions are made to seem like her own, but in reality Walter is always going behind her back, staying one step ahead and planning where she will go next. Though she is an empowered woman she seems to not be able to live without the men in her life. Why does Hawks need to downgrade the power of women?

Do the Right Thing!

The one thing I would have liked to discuss about Do The Right Thing is the link the characters "The Mayor" and "Buggin' Out" have to both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. It is clear that the Mayor continually advocates for the peaceful process to end confrontations. In opposition, Buggin' Out continues to promote the violent destruction of love for Sal's pizzeria. This is where Spike Lee's genius is most evident. His ability to show the two different views of these prominent figures in history through the comical confrontation amongst Sal and the bed sty dwellers is an interesting way to promote the two sides of the same coin.

The Piano and its Mise-en-scene

The Mise-en-scene, specifically the colors of the setting, of the film The Piano, directed by Jane Campion, play a major role in the power created by the film. The forests blue and grey colors illuminate the fact that Ada is traveling through this bleak, colorless, unfair world only to reach her piano and new found lover. Once near the comfort and safety of her piano the colors illuminate red and orange alluding to her new found love in the "home away from home" Baines has created for her. The relationship between Baines and Ada is quite interesting. Though the audience feels Ada's hatred for being forced to use her body in order to do what she loves most, it becomes clear that she cherishes how desired she is by Baines. His love for both Ada's skin and the music she plays build a strong attraction for Ada. This is interesting and beautiful romance. Quite true to the Gothic novel form.