It Happened One Night

1. Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

In class, we were introduced to a new genre. The genre is called, screwball comedy. Screwball comedy was very popular during the Great Depression. It started in the 1930s and continued to thrive until the early 1940s. It Happened One Night was the first film to be recognized for screwball comedy in 1934. In screw ball comedies, the female protagonist dominates the male protagonist. Ellen "Ellie" Andrews tries to declare her independence and dominance over Peter Warne. Peter's masculinity is challenged throughout the film on whether or not he's a real man. That is another characteristic of screw ball comedy. Screw ball comedy also has an escapists theme and the plots involve marriage. It Happened One Night is the epitome of a crew ball comedy.


2. Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content.

The article, The art in film history: Frank Capra’s grand slam at the Oscar’s by Katie McGuire talks about how It Happened One Night is a movie worth watching. She starts the article off by telling the basic plot of a rich girl, running away from home because her expectations at home are too high and she just wants to do what makes her happy. Her father, of course, tries to control every decision that she makes. She meets someone on the way that in the beginning, she hates, but falls in love with at the end. This plot was first done by director, Frank Capra. "Director Frank Capra introduced this plot to the world in his 1934 "It Happened One Night” — the first film to win Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress in Oscar history."

McGuire then goes into the fact that this film was the first screw ball comedy and that although it was written in the 1930s, the humor is still relevant today. That is why it is such a great film. She then talks about how much the film cost to make, which was an estimated amount of $325,000 in the 1930s. McGuire likes this film because of the actor who plays Peter Warne, Clark Gable. Clark Gable's career started with this film and continued strong. Capra had to beg Gable to do the film and up the actress who plays Ellie, Claudette Colbert's salary. The two actors stripped on film, which in that time period was frowned upon. In conclusion she includes a fun fact that It Happened One Night is known to be Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin's favorite movie which makes the film internationally successful.

http://volanteonline.com/2014/10/art-film-history-frank-capras-grand-slam-oscars/

3. Apply the article to the film screened in class.

I did not think about the fact that since this film came out in 1934, Ellie and Peter stripping on camera was a really big deal. Also, at the end, Frank Capra included a sexual innuendo when Ellie and Peter get married. They knock down the "walls of Jericho." Frank Capra was a great director because he came up with a plot that no one else had done. His plot is still being used, to this day. That is why the film won Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress.

4. Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

Overall, I think It Happened One Night needs to be recognized more. Frank Capra was a genius for the plot and the fact that it is continuously done over and over and over again is remarkable. Most people do not know where the plot came from and I think they'd be very intrigued to find out. For the 1930s, this film was a huge deal. Not only was it the first screw ball comedy, it also had two characters strip down more than what was appropriate for that time period. On top of that, he spent about $325,000 on it. Capra put his heart and soul into this film and I feel as though it should be recognized more.

The Gold Rush

1. Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

In class, we were told that Charlie Chaplin was born into entertainment. His father was an actor and his mother was a famous opera singer. He had entertainment in his blood and it shows through the film. The fact that he created everything on the screen is epic. Talent like Chaplin's can not be taught. It was hereditary. 

2. Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content.

The article that I found is a movie review. The article explains the synopsis of the movie and then it proceeds to talk about what Chaplin did after the movie came out. He decided to renew the movie by adding sound effects and also a voice-over done by Chaplin himself. The article then talks about how The Gold Rush was Chaplin's first starring role as a collaborator in the United Artists company. The article also speaks of the inspiration for the film. Chaplin also got Lita Grey pregnant at only the age of 16 so he married her and hired another young lady named Georgia Hale. 

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/5779/The-Gold-Rush/articles.html

3. Apply the article to the film screened in class.


"Chaplin was also fascinated by the tragic events of the Donner party, who in 1846, while traversing the United States in the snow, had to resort to cannibalism to keep from starving to death (reportedly the survivors ate the flesh of their dead companions)." When the tramp is in the cabin and his associate starts to envision him as a chicken it all makes sense. They were starving just like at the Donner Party in 1846. They would've resorted to cannibalism. Also, they were trapped in the snow just like the Donner Party.


4. Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the 

The Gold Rush is known to be one of the greatest films in history and that is because for that era, it was amazing. Charlie Chaplin's, the Tramp character is one of the best character's known and the fact that a character had so much depth even back then is interesting. Personally, I found the movie to be boring. However, I do have a great appreciation for it and how evolved it is. The historical influences just pieces the film completely together. It was funny, yet intriguing. 

The Birth of a Nation

1. Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

While discussing D.W. Griffith before we watched The Birth of a Nation, we were told that he grew up in the South. That means that a lot of things that he put into this movie was a everyday thing for him. He did not mean for it to come across as racist, but that is definitely how it was perceived. When watching the movie, I saw the glorification of the Ku Klux Klan. He also depicted every African American male as unintelligent and very aggressive especially towards white women.

2. Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content.  

I chose the article, D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation and it talked about he influence of The Birth of a Nation. The article's first line is "D.W. Griffith's 1915 Civil War epic, The Birth of a Nation, with its groundbreaking camerawork -- including close-ups, night photography, and tracking shots -- transforms forever the way films are made and images perceived. " That automatically glories the film. The writer continues on about the controversy that followed. It is said that most of the white audience in that time loved the film. Also, the KKK used the film as a way to get more members to join. After that, "National membership peaks in 1920 at an estimated 4.5 million, and Griffith's heroic portrayal of the Klan allegedly inspires several lynchings." Obviously, the African American community was not pleased. The NAACP had just been formed and they continuously protested against the film. They did not want it to be played anywhere and it caused so much trouble that the Mayor of Chicago refused to issue a permit to anyone wanting to display it. In the end, the writer explained that D.W. Griffith was and still is recognized for his historical accuracy and phenomenal film making.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/theater/birthofanation_a.html

3. Apply the article to the film screened in class. 

After reading this article, I went back to review parts of the film to see how great D.W. Griffith's film work was. In the article, it said that he had "groundbreaking camerawork." As I was reviewing it and understanding the time that this film came out, I realized how absolutely correct the article was. D.W. Griffith had tremendous camera angles. No matter what the controversy is behind the film, he deserves all of the credit for his genius camerawork.

4. Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

Overall, I have decided that The Birth of a Nation has to be one of the greatest films known to man. I've decided this because D.W. Griffith wanted people to think and feel and that's exactly what he got out of this movie. Everything that he put into it from the camerawork to the stereotypes and the storyline, he is still even today being talked about. He made the film not only entertaining, but also accurate. People were only upset because it depicted the truth. Whether white men of that time thought they really did have to put the African Americans back in place or the African Americans felt like they were being stepped on, it was all true. His historical accuracy makes the lives of people today who want to know the truth about that time period a whole lot easier.