Now that we are well into the semester you have built up a base of information, critique, critical analysis and an ability to look deeper into
In this semesters' term paper you are selecting a movie which engages with and utilizes a city during the plot (not just as a backdrop but as an active and engaging element which drives the plot forward - either throughout the film or in an explicit and notable set of scenes) - examples include Rocky and Philadelphia (probably the best example - Rocky would not be the same movie without Philly!), Roman Holiday and Rome, Amelie and Paris, the Battle of Algiers and Algiers.
Rome has often been the setting for a variety of movies which take advantage of the city's spaces not just as a cinematic backdrop but as places of character interaction where the structures of the city and the spaces within it are fully used by the characters - sometimes in rather extreme methods. In perhaps the most explicit and famous example of this during the the film Roman Holiday actor Gregory Peck tricks actress Audrey Hepburn into believing a sculpture of the city has amputated his hand! (interestingly enough while the script had called for the characters to have this back and forth Gregory Peck breaks the fourth wall in his prank of Hepburn).
Continuing our study of Rome and cinema let us look at the movies depicting Rome in the Roman era in one of the most iconic spaces of the city - the Colosseum - as showcased in the movie Gladiator. Work on this movie involved exhaustive and extensive research and recreation of the likely conditions, decoration, and function of the famed Roman edifice. The movie depicted in greater detail than ever before presented the social, societal, and urban functions and space of the iconic building as the beating heart of not just the city but the capital of an immense empire. The grandiosity, the splendor, the engineering feat, the enormity of the space (at the time the largest building of it's time and the largest capacity stadium for centuries until the industrial revolution) comes across in the movie and plays an active role in embellishing the characters. Commodious, the Roman Emperor, is given extra swagger and importance parading through the streets and arriving at his imperial box draped in rich decor, while the sweat and fight of the Gladiator character is made all the more visceral as he battles lions, other warriors, all under gaze, cheers and jeers of the roman audience.
Several scenes (presented below via youtube links) offer demonstration and illustrations which elucidate this thesis. Watch the imagery and think about the vocabulary developed thus far this semester and how it can be applied here - bringing groups of people together in a settlement, sacred and profane space within the city, sacred etruscan sites, roman organization and engineering.
When choosing and reviewing, and re-reviewing your film/city you will need to closely watch the film, select key sequences (such as these) to analyze and call attention to key moment and details that illustrate your knowledge (beyond mere plot summary) and you will have to augment your arguments by researching both the city and the creation of the film (utilizing maps, historical city data, and cinematic production information) to support your own thesis.
If you have not already you will need to select a film/city combination and email your choice to Prof. Hart and begin watching (and re-watching) your film while taking screen captures, notes, and beginning to select key sequences to utilize in your paper.
Since you will need to view your film multiple times over the remainder of the semester it is highly recommended that you purchase a copy of the film (Blu-ray, DVD or digital download) so that you can review the film as needed and to the fullest extent necessary.
In this semesters' term paper you are selecting a movie which engages with and utilizes a city during the plot (not just as a backdrop but as an active and engaging element which drives the plot forward - either throughout the film or in an explicit and notable set of scenes) - examples include Rocky and Philadelphia (probably the best example - Rocky would not be the same movie without Philly!), Roman Holiday and Rome, Amelie and Paris, the Battle of Algiers and Algiers.
Rome has often been the setting for a variety of movies which take advantage of the city's spaces not just as a cinematic backdrop but as places of character interaction where the structures of the city and the spaces within it are fully used by the characters - sometimes in rather extreme methods. In perhaps the most explicit and famous example of this during the the film Roman Holiday actor Gregory Peck tricks actress Audrey Hepburn into believing a sculpture of the city has amputated his hand! (interestingly enough while the script had called for the characters to have this back and forth Gregory Peck breaks the fourth wall in his prank of Hepburn).
Continuing our study of Rome and cinema let us look at the movies depicting Rome in the Roman era in one of the most iconic spaces of the city - the Colosseum - as showcased in the movie Gladiator. Work on this movie involved exhaustive and extensive research and recreation of the likely conditions, decoration, and function of the famed Roman edifice. The movie depicted in greater detail than ever before presented the social, societal, and urban functions and space of the iconic building as the beating heart of not just the city but the capital of an immense empire. The grandiosity, the splendor, the engineering feat, the enormity of the space (at the time the largest building of it's time and the largest capacity stadium for centuries until the industrial revolution) comes across in the movie and plays an active role in embellishing the characters. Commodious, the Roman Emperor, is given extra swagger and importance parading through the streets and arriving at his imperial box draped in rich decor, while the sweat and fight of the Gladiator character is made all the more visceral as he battles lions, other warriors, all under gaze, cheers and jeers of the roman audience.
Several scenes (presented below via youtube links) offer demonstration and illustrations which elucidate this thesis. Watch the imagery and think about the vocabulary developed thus far this semester and how it can be applied here - bringing groups of people together in a settlement, sacred and profane space within the city, sacred etruscan sites, roman organization and engineering.
In this sequence the Gladiators enter the arena from the lower dungeon spaces where training and equipment is held, suddenly crossing the threshold they are front and center in the spectacle of the space, the close dark spaces of the stone hallways contrasting against the wide open golden sunlit spaces of the arena. The grit, sweat, and tense energy are palpable. This was the entertainment of the age, not unlike a 3D movie with CGI special effects of today - and the designers of the Colosseum continually added to and changed the infrastructure of the arena - adding trapdoors, hoists, and new spectacles of show to entertain their audience, in this scene mounted chariots ride into the arena in a mock historical battle of Egyptians versus infantry.
The grandeur of the promenade street of ancient Rome leading up to the Colosseum from the Roman Forum is on full display as the Emperor Commodious arrives at his celebratory games at the arena. The imperial colors - purple - a very expensive and difficult color to produce in that time are unfurled and lavishly draped, immense crowds and marching soldiers demonstrate how big an event this is (in comparison to the paltry crowds in the smaller arenas shown earlier in the film) this is no doubt the Super Bowl of its time.
In a watershed moment in the film, just before it's climatic finish, the Emperor and the Gladiator meet on the arena floor - the scales of the empire clash in the ultimate pairing of the sacred and the profane spaces and personalities - The Master and Slave, the Entertainer and the Entertained, the Ruler and Subject. There some historical truth here, one of roman Emperors did in fact battle in the Colosseum - which was considered an outrageous and scandalous (imagine the president deciding he will be playing quarterback in the Superbowl!) Likely the emperor never met a Gladiator in this manner - but cinematically this scene would not be half as powerful without the setting of the biggest arena in the world surrounding it on all sides while the camera rotates around the characters.
When choosing and reviewing, and re-reviewing your film/city you will need to closely watch the film, select key sequences (such as these) to analyze and call attention to key moment and details that illustrate your knowledge (beyond mere plot summary) and you will have to augment your arguments by researching both the city and the creation of the film (utilizing maps, historical city data, and cinematic production information) to support your own thesis.
If you have not already you will need to select a film/city combination and email your choice to Prof. Hart and begin watching (and re-watching) your film while taking screen captures, notes, and beginning to select key sequences to utilize in your paper.
Since you will need to view your film multiple times over the remainder of the semester it is highly recommended that you purchase a copy of the film (Blu-ray, DVD or digital download) so that you can review the film as needed and to the fullest extent necessary.
No comments:
Post a Comment