Nosferatu & Horror

This week we will be studying the horror genre, one of my favorites.  Nosferatu by F.W. Murnau (1922), is a gothic masterpiece and set the standard for truly scary vampire films.  Watch this film and notice the gothic imagery and compare the vampire Count Orlok to modern vampires.

Check out this documentary on Horror Films:

One of the first 'horror' films - The Haunted Mansion by Georges Melies:

Edison's Frankenstein (1910)

28 Days Later

Night of the Living Dead created the template for the modern zombie-horror film. 

Innovative filmmakers continue to reinterpret George Romero's "monster," a creation which reflects a self-destructive and violent predilection indigenous to humanity. Thanks to Romero, horror continues to serve as satire, a means to pose questions about society, government, and other serious issues. The best horror is both frightening and thought-provoking.

Director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland's attempt at horror revisionism yielded a classic film. 28 Days Later is stylish, violent, satirical, inventive, nostalgic, and ultimately romantic. The film poses trenchant questions about human nature and addresses a uniquely modern fear: viral outbreak.

What are your thoughts about 28 Days Later? Leave a comment on this post summarizing your feelings regarding the film.

Your post must be submitted by Friday, Nov. 1st.

Here are some ideas to consider:

• Boyle's decision to shoot the film using handheld, digital cameras
• The atmospheric music
• The film's satire of military power
• Rage as a virus
• Interracial romance
• Racism: the chained up "infected" soldier
• Normalcy = "people killing people"
• Normalcy = an end to humanity

The First Annual Zombie Run

Run fuun, Hungryy....BRAINS!!!!!!!!!

Do the Right Thing - Fight the Powers that Be

Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing (1989) is once again at the forefront of the Film Institute.  I hope our

students who viewed the film found it enlightening.  I have always loved this film.  The film tells the story of one block in Brooklyn which becomes the locus for many of the major problems of the 1980's:   racial relations, equality, oppression, violence vs. nonviolence, and human nature - all encapsulated in a 24 hour period.  There are many interpretations of the film - its metaphors and symbolism.  An idea I like is the concept of voice - who is being heard in the film and our society?  What message is the film trying to put forth?  What is Mookie's solution?    How does our society limit or stifle certain messages?  How does the film reflect the issues that plague America, and seem to be unsolvable?

Racism is the major theme.  One definition I found seems useful according to Albert Memmi,  "the generalized and final assigning of values to real or imaginary differences, to the accuser's benefit, and at his victim's expense, in order to justify the former's own privilege or aggression".  Keep this in mind as you analyze the film.

Birth of a Nation Essay is Due Friday 10/18


Assignment for Wednesday 10/23:

1)  Does Mookie 'do the right thing' when he throws the trashcan through the window?
What does this mean?  Relate this defining moment to the rest of the film.  Lastly, what is the film's message about racial relations?

2)  How does this film "fight the powers that be.." regarding racism?  Relate to the opening sequence with Tina (Rosie Perez) - what other forms of oppression are being attacked?  

3)  Most of the time the hero in film (and other media) have defined goals and move toward them in a linear fashion.  Is this true of Mookie?  What is his goal if he has one?  If he doesn't have one - what does the film focus on?  


Here's Spike Lee talking about DTRT back in '09:

Here's Spike Lee's latest:

http://www.npr.org/2013/08/08/210218261/spike-lee-doing-the-right-thing-for-himself


Here's the Love/Hate original from Night of the Hunter:

The Walking Dead's Debt to George Romero and RiffTrax Live is coming to Mays Landing!

In anticipation of The Walking Dead's 4th season, Rolling Stone magazine is posting an interview with a cast member daily. Yesterday's interview with executive producer and special effects make-up consultant Greg Nicotero focuses on the producer's relationship with George Romero, the director of Night of the Living Dead:

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/greg-nicotero-walking-dead-owes-a-lot-to-george-romero-20131012

*     *     *

As you may have already determined, Mr. Weisback and I are in the midst of an on-going debate over which film is superior: Night of the Living Dead or Dawn of the Dead. While I readily admit that I prefer Dawn, which is more of an action movie than a traditional horror film, I must begrudgingly admit that Night is the superior film. It transformed the horror genre and influenced countless other films, and as the aforementioned interview indicates, the film is still seen as the zombie watermark. 

My love of Dawn began when I was a student at the Oak. Horror films and gory special effects intrigued me, and when I finally tracked down a worn-out VHS copy of Dawn (Rest in peace, Absecon Video. You are missed.), I was not disappointed. The film is cheesy; yes, I admit, but it is chock-full of zombie mayhem, gore, and rampant attacks on consumerism. It was love at first viewing.

Here's the thing: I love low-budget, B-movies. I remember borrowing my cousin's copy of The Psychotronic Video Guide. It became my bible, and with a highlighter in hand, I began making a list of obscure B-movies that I had to see. 

I can trace my love of "bad" movies to one of my all-time favorite television shows, Mystery Science Theater 3000.

The premise of the show is simple: a man stuck in space with his robot pals is forced to watch the worst movies ever made. To keep his sanity, he and his robot companions relentlessly mock the cinema garbage they are forced to consume. The show is off the air, but the creators live on, producing Riff Trax. 

On Thursday, October 24th, our local Regal Theater is hosting a live Riff Trax for Night of the Living Dead.

Clark is going!

A New Cormac McCarthy Film Is On Its Way...

At 80, Cormac McCarthy is still keeping busy. He wrote the screenplay and executive produced the upcoming Ridley Scott-directed film, The Counselor.

Read about it here.

Ridley Scott? Cormac McCarthy? Yes, please!

This American Life

You do not understand Hamlet because you are not a murderer. Find out why:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/218/act-v

This man is not a murderer.

The questions for this radio program are due on Thursday, 10/17.

More Birth of a Nation Ideas

As you finish viewing the 2nd part of Birth of a Nation and start to think about the essay check out some of the following articles and ideas.

The absolute best article about the racism and technical innovations displayed in Birth is "Birth of a Nation - Propaganda as History"  by the late historian John Hope Franklin.  I will copy this article for you by Friday 10/11.  The article gives an excellent background about how Thomas Dixon was able to get D.W. Griffith to make the film, and all the controversy surrounding it.  Dixon wrote to Joseph Tumulty, Woodrow Wilson's secretary in May 1915 that, "the real purpose of my film was to revolutionize Northern sentiments by a presentation of history that would transform every man in my audience into a good Democrat....every man who comes out of our theater is a Southern partisan for life."  Not only did the film distort the truth of the Reconstruction period (1866-1877), but it sparked the rebirth of the KKK in 1915 after having been suppressed from the 1870s, finally reaching 4 million members by the 1920s.

The legacy of Birth is still with America through stereotypes, racism, discrimination and a distorted view of history.  For a more accurate version of Reconstruction, read Eric Foner's  Reconstruction, or W.E.B. DuBois'  Black Reconstruction.   The result of the backlash against black progress during the Reconstruction era -  Jim Crow segregation, rampant racism, and de facto slavery reintroduced.  The legacy of Birth runs deep and keeps running.

Here's some more info. you can check:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/2013/02/birth-of-a-nation-revisited.html

http://www.thefinaltake.com/the-birth-of-propaganda-d-w-griffiths-the-birth-of-a-nation/

Protesting the film:
http://chnm.gmu.edu/episodes/the-birth-of-a-nation-and-black-protest/

Birth of a Nation

Here's the link for Birth of a Nation - remember we are watching the 2nd part, which you'll need to view for the essay assignment.

This Week's Assignment

This week we are finishing Hamlet and watching the 1990 film adaptation starring Mel Gibson.

Not pictured: Hamlet, sanity.

Despite any misgivings I may have concerning the star, the Zeffirelli version is by far my favorite cinematic interpretation of Hamlet.

Onto your assignment for this week (10/7-10/11):

Part 1: Morricone

Zeffirelli's Hamlet features an Ennio Morricone score. He is an Italian composer most famous for his contributions to Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy. He is the man responsible for creating the signature sound of "Spaghetti Westerns."

Clint Eastwood's portrayal of the "Man With No Name"  revolutionized westerns in the 1960's.

My favorite Morricone theme comes from the comedy/western, Two Mules For Sister Sara, starring Clint Eastwood and Shiley Maclaine. You may recognize this theme as it was used again by Quentin Tarantino in Django Unchained.

• Your task: listen to some of Morricone's work on YouTube and select your favorite composition.
• Post a link to the video in the comment section of this post and explain why the song is appealing to you.

Part 2: Shakespearean Pronounciation 

A father-son team of linguists have determined what actors performing Shakespearean dialogue actually sounded like when the plays were originally performed. Check out the video below.

• In your comment, leave your thoughts regarding the video and what Shakespeare "actually" sounded like. You may wish to compare it to the more modern pronounciation, such as that used by Mel Gibson.

Your comment must be at least two paragraphs in length.

Comments are due by midnight, Friday the 11th.

Night of the Living Dead: Daring Casting Some 45 Years Later

This guy loves Romero movies. You're about to find out why.

In 1968, George Romero released the modern horror classic, Night of the Living Dead. The low budget creeper invented a horror sub-genre, the cannabilistic zombie thriller, and coincidentally dismantled tropes concerning race in horror films.

Romero's rules! Believe it or not, this guy got his start as a production assistant on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.

Zombies are big business now. The Walking Dead, World War Z, Resident Evil--the list continues almost ad nauseum. However, the original Night contains the most insightful and bold commentary on society and race yet.

Check out this recent article (10/1/13 via NPR) on Romero's revolutionary film and daring casting decisions:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/09/30/227943197/why-black-heroes-make-zombie-stories-more-interesting

Leave a comment! We love those!

Seriously, this guy is my hero.

Thanks for indirectly making this happen, Fred!

Fate vs Choice: Anton Chigurh and True Grit

In the book  No Country for Old Men  Anton Chigurh tells Carla before killing her:

          I had no say in the matter.  Every moment in your life is a
          turning and every one is a choosing.  Somewhere you made a
          choice.  All followed to this.  The accounting is scrupulous.
          The shape is drawn.  No line can be erased.  I had no belief in
          your ability to move a coin to your bidding.  How could you?
          A person's path through the world seldom changes and even
          more seldom will it change abruptly.  And the shape of your
          path was visible from the beginning.

1)  Apply this quote to the film True Grit - how does this relate to Mattie's desire for vengeance?  How does the choices involved in revenge against Tom Chaney end up changing Mattie's life?  Could things have changed? How?  What role does fate play in your own life?  Do we really have 'free choices'?

2)  The opening and ending soundtrack plays and old hymn called 'Leaning on the Everlasting Arms' -

 What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
 leaning on the everlasting arms;
 what a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
 leaning on the everlasting arms.
 Leaning, leaning,
 safe and secure from all alarms;
 leaning, leaning,
 leaning on the everlasting arms.

- Why is this important?  How does this apply to Mattie?  Does Mattie change?  If so how?

Birth of a Nation and the Birth of Racism in Film?

Birth of a Nation and D.W. Griffith:

In 1915 director D.W. Griffith created the film Birth of a Nation which attempted to summarize the Civil War and Reconstruction period.  Using innovative film-making techniques such as iris effects, focusing, varied shot distances, and editing - Griffith created a masterpiece for the time.  Unfortunately Griffith also twisted history and used racist propaganda to distort the Reconstruction Era.  Moreover, Birth  conceives racism and stereotypes in film which continue right through to the present in film and television.

As you view Birth of a Nation - list both positive and negative aspects of the film.  You will have to write an essay on this after the film.