| Papers [265-276] of 2816 :: [Page 23 of 235] | | Go to page : <— 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 —> | |
|
|
'Scarface', 2006.
A review of the 1932 film 'Scarface' and the remake 50 years later.
2,854 words (approx. 11.4 pages), 7 sources, MLA, $ 84.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper reviews the original and the remake of the film 'Scarface' and compares the two. According to the paper, a change in the gangster genre can be seen when comparing the two versions. The paper further discusses how while attitudes toward crime changed in some degree between these two films, both films are based on the primary view that the criminal will ultimately fail, a victim of his own evil actions, leading to a well-deserved death.
From the Paper
"The first version of Scarface was actually produced in 1930 and not released for two years while the filmmakers battled "with industry censors over its sensationalism and glorification of the gangster menace" (Dirks para. 1). When the film was released, it had as its subtitle "The Shame of a Nation," a way of telling the public that the production company disapproved of the main character and his style of life. Such disclaimers were a response to public concerns raised after the release of films like Little Caesar (1930) and The Public Enemy (1931), films cited both for glorifying criminals and for excessive violence (though given the way the gangsters in each film were killed, it is difficult to see the film as a whole glorifying them or their crimes). "
| |
|
Responsibility, 2007.
This paper discusses vocational and ethical responsibility as portrayed in the movies.
2,213 words (approx. 8.9 pages), 4 sources, APA, $ 68.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses ethical responsibilities in the workplace and examines how this subject is portrayed in various films. For this purpose, the writer studies the following movies: "Broadway Danny Rose", "The Conversation", "The Hospital" and "Things Change" . The writer points out that if one does not strive to live according to one's personal sense of morality, then one is likely to be haunted by one's own sense of moral inferiority. The writer concludes that "Broadway Danny Rose" and "Things Change" show that taking on more responsibility than one can handle might be dangerous, but the humor of the first film and the compassion of the second film in comparison with the brutal misery of the lives of the characters of "The Conversation" and "The Hospital," make the risks of Danny and Jerry seem like blessings in comparison.
From the Paper
"The Conversation" as directed by Francis Ford Coppola, depicts a man who might not seem to be a conventionally responsible individual even in his personal life. Harry Caul has no family ties. He lives entirely alone, in a small apartment in a city where he seems to know no one other than the persons he works for as a spy. Yet despite the potentially immoral nature of occupation, that a professional surveillance expert, Harry becomes haunted by a sense of moral responsibility for the consequences of listening to other person's conversations."
"The film begins after Harry has left the East Coast because his wiretapping caused the death of three people. Although Harry was just doing his job, and did not want to hurt these people, these individuals died as an unintended consequence of Harry's actions. Harry cannot even bear to confess the action to a priest, even though his evident loneliness conveyed by the starkness of his dwelling-place and his monotonous routine makes him seem haunted by guilt in the eyes of the viewer."
| |
|
Fuentes, Greenaway and Joyce, 2006.
An analysis of sexual narrative in works by Carlos Fuentes, Peter Greenaway and James Joyce.
4,904 words (approx. 19.6 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 124.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper takes a look at 'Aura' by Carlos Fuentes, 'The Pillowbook' by Peter Greenaway and 'Ulysses' by James Joyce. The paper focuses primarily on the sexual narrative used by the writers to illustrate the interaction between the relevant characters.
From the Paper
"You're my husband..." is a very strange remark coming from this 20-year old woman, but obviously the protagonist is so thrilled by the sex he's just enjoyed, hey, whatever works for her, he is thinking, is cool. Besides, she's invited him to meet her in her room that night, the thought of which is a wonderful magic carpet to ride all day in this otherwise murky environment. He is "emptied of desire," so a reader assumes he has had a climatic ending to the adventure; she was "trembling" and she "surrendered" to him, but it also read like he was surrendering to her, as she joined him under the covers, uninvited by heartily welcomed. They surrendered to one another, and Felipe gets out of bed after being awakened by Aura's knocks, and he is "groaning,"
"So the reader has just been through a very sexy scene, a lovely release from the grim surroundings of Felipe's new job, and now on page 80 there are rats "swarming" around the parched manuscripts Felipe is hired to translate and re-write. The rats are peering at Felipe with "glittering eyes" and there on the bed is Consuelo with a white rabbit. Are readers being set up for another lively, intimate distraction away from the challenge of this haunted palace and the senora? "
| |
|
"Hamlet" on Film, 2007.
A review of the 1990 Franco Zeffirelli film of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet."
1,081 words (approx. 4.3 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 37.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper discusses the depiction of Hamlet in Franco Zeffirelli's cinematic version of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet." It describes how our view of various relationships in the play are altered due to Zeffirelli's use of imagery throughout the film. The paper concludes that Zeffirelli produced a positive introduction to the play of "Hamlet," however that the viewer is left with memories of the images used, rather than the words of Shakespeare's play.
From the Paper
"Gibson's Hamlet is thus an active, sexualized man in a pared-down version of the tragedy, as envisioned by the director Zeffirelli. Zeffirelli cuts any speech that can be reduced to images, making even the editing of the film seem as unreflective as its central character. Also, gentle and potentially contrasting aspects of the characters that remain are cut as well. In the play, a shaken Ophelia goes to Polonius to verbally reports Ophelia's encounter with Hamlet after Hamlet has first seen the ghost. By dramatizing the scene, this places the focus on Hamlet's emotions, rather than Ophelia's inability to articulate herself, and Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia rather than the girl's frightened difficult relationship with her own father. Overall, what little chance she is given to speak, Helena Bonham Carter's Ophelia seems strong and beautiful, a fit adversary for Hamlet in the "nunnery" scene, which also makes his abuse of her seem less frightening and unjustified than it seems on paper."
| |
|
"Marnie", 2007.
An analysis of the Alfred Hitchcock film "Marnie," from a Freudian, Marxist and feminist perspective.
837 words (approx. 3.3 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 29.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper discusses Alfred Hitchcock's 1964 film, "Marnie." The paper describes the ways in which the film lends itself well to different types of film criticism, including psychoanalytic, Marxist, and feminist criticism. The paper particularly focuses on the character of Marnie and describes her from a Freudian, Marxist and feminist perspective.
From the Paper
"In terms of Freudian psychoanalytic criticism, Marnie herself would be the subject for analysis, though Mark might be analyzed as well. Marnie is a thief, and as the film progresses, it is also clear that she hates men and steals in part as a way of getting even with them for something not stated overtly until the end of the film. She is forced to marry Mark in order to protect herself, but she would be completely frigid even without the added element of coercion. As she begins to care for him, she still remains frigid and is unable to change or to recognize the reasons why."
| |
|
Bram Stoker's "Dracula", 2007.
A review of the 1992 film version of Bram Stoker's "Dracula".
2,431 words (approx. 9.7 pages), 0 sources, $ 74.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine the formal-aesthetic value and social-ideological value of the 1992 film, "Dracula", directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The discussion encompasses different elements of film, including photography, movement, editing, sound, ideology and mise en scene.
Outline
The Love Story
Sexuality
Music
Foreign Language
Silhouetting, or Shadow Puppets
Narrative
Star Power
Dark Tones and Shadows
The Color Red
Studio Shooting
Movement
Depth in Photography
Editing
From the Paper
"The romantic interest between the Count and Mina is not the only romantic elements to the movie- there is also a subplot concerning the suitors of Lucy, Mina's friend and confidant. She is sought by three suitors of varying degrees of breeding and social status (an English aristocrat, an English psychiatrist, and a Texan cowboy). We see from one scene to the next how Lucy entices each man in turn, applying all of her girlish charm. The suitors love her purity, innocence and beauty, and Lucy represents a classical maiden, loved and desired by all. The Texan expressed those qualities of purity by describing her as "fresh as a spring rain..." At the same time, we see her tantalizing all three men at the same time, enjoying the sexual power that she has over them. "
| |
|
"The Bitch is Back", 2007.
An analysis of the book, "The Bitch is Back: Wicked Women in Literature", by Sarah Apleton Aguiar.
1,763 words (approx. 7.1 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 56.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper discusses the book "The Bitch is Back: Wicked Women in Literature", by feminist writer Sarah Apleton Aguiar. It discusses her position that for a while the bitch was banished from feminist fiction as it became politically incorrect to create evil women in literature. The paper describes the roles of women in literature from as far back as the wicked stepmother in Cinderella, to more modern films and novels.
From the Paper
"It could be argued that she is a new representation of an old, basic type in fairy tales--the stepmother who hates and resents her stepchild. It helps to consider the historical context of the stepmother in fairy tales in order to understand her. Mothers often died in childbirth, which left the home motherless. A new wife, who married to earn a living, agreed to raise the surviving orphans. Sellers (2001) argues that the stepmother is really a victim herself of patriarchy. Be that as it may, the stepmother is self-absorbed and heartless. She interprets everything the stepchild does maliciously, as though the child were out to ruin her. The fairy tale stepmother also wants to be certain that her own child reaps all the material advantages and inherits the father's money. She wants to turn the father against his own child. The twist is that in Ordinary People, Beth's "own" child, Buck, is dead. Both boys were in the sailboat when the storm came up, but Buck "let go." Conrad, on the other hand, hung on and lived. So she hates him for it. Her own child is dead, and she's stuck with the stepchild."
| |
|
"Picturing Japaneseness", 2007.
A review of Chapter 7 of Darrell William Davis' "Picturing Japaneseness: Monumental Style, National Identity, Japanese Film".
1,009 words (approx. 4.0 pages), 0 sources, $ 35.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper looks at how in Chapter 7 of Darrell William Davis' "Picturing Japaneseness: Monumental Style, National Identity, Japanese Film", Davis analyzes the film "The Abe Clan" (1938) in terms of its complex portrayal of ritual suicide.
From the Paper
"The film can be read to show how historical appropriation can be used as a tool of propaganda of the state. The film is not primarily interesting for its accuracy in its depiction of feudal Japan. Rather, the potency of the film for viewers of the 1930s was its ability to move the audience believe in a myth, what Davis calls a canonized view of feudal Japanese ethics. The surface reading of the film is a romanticized, simplistic and beautiful vision that celebrates the virtues of the hierarchical family system and the worship of a daimyo that functions as a stand-in for the Japanese figure of the Emperor, for whom ordinary Japanese soldiers and civilians would later, in wartime propaganda, be encouraged to die for. "
| |
|
Film: "Gladiator", 2006.
This paper discusses Plato's concept of heavenly love versus common love as presented in the film "Gladiator".
1,335 words (approx. 5.3 pages), 2 sources, MLA, $ 44.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper explains that, in Plato's "Symposium", Pausanias describes common love as being about the body and not the soul, dishonorable rather then honorable, and based on selfish desires; whereas, heavenly love is more pure, for honorable reasons, of the soul and intellect and long-lasting. The author points out that, in the film "Gladiator", the character Maximus represents heavenly love because he loves with honor focused on the soul and not the body; therefore, he receives the same kind of love in return, receiving honorable love that cannot be destroyed. The paper relates that the film's character Commodus represents common love because he gives love dishonorably, is selfish and does not love the soul, thereby, he receives the same kind of short-term love in return.
From the Paper
"Another important point is that the love that Commodus receives is only given as a service to him. The people of Rome only show him any love for their own reasons or for what they have to gain. The same is not true for Maximus. In loving Maximus, the people have nothing to gain. They simply become inspired to love him without being required to and without having any reason to. This means that the love that Maximus receives is honorable. In contrast, the love that Commodus receives is not honorable since it is only given for selfish reasons."
| |
|
"Strangers on a Train" and "Vertigo", 2007.
This paper argues that "Strangers on a Train" and "Vertigo" are the quintessential Hitchcock films.
3,304 words (approx. 13.2 pages), 4 sources, APA, $ 94.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper examines the universal and enduring appeal of Alfred Hitchcock's films. The author defines two films in particular -- "Strangers on a Train" and "Vertigo" as the quintessential Hitchcock films. The author contends that although Hitchcock's films may no longer have the capability to shock their audience, they feature several recurring plot devices that capture the imagination. These plot features include an ingenious criminal scheme, the use of doubles, a guilty person who manages to cast suspicion upon a non-guilty person, and an amoral person being punished. The films "Strangers on a Train" and "Vertigo" demonstrate Hitchcock's best use of those devices.
Outline:
Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion
From the Paper
"Alfred Hitchcock's thrillers, though filmed half a century ago, have maintained their ability to keep an audience enthralled. Part of the initial impact of Hitchcock's thrillers is that they were groundbreaking, and they offered a vision of the ugly side of humanity that had not been explored in cinematic media. However, a modern audience does not experience the same shock at those revelations that the original audience experienced. Therefore, the permanency of the movies' appeal must be attributed to something besides the shock factor. Many attribute the lasting greatness of Hitchcock's thrillers to Hitchcock's use of several important cinematic themes."
| |
|
"Crash", 2006.
A review of the film "Crash" starring Matt Dillon and Sandra Bullock.
3,378 words (approx. 13.5 pages), 6 sources, MLA, $ 96.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper discusses how the film "Crash" is more than just a collision of cultures. The paper also takes a look at reasons for "Crash" winning an Oscar for "Best Picture", some believing that it was due to the film's theme of a realistic urban clash of racial conflict and community chaos.
According to the paper, this film clearly grabbed the issue of racial intolerance and cultural stereotyping by the neck, and shook it.
Outline:
Introduction
The Characters in the Movie
The Nuts and Bolts of the Movie -- Lighting
The Nuts and Bolts of the Movie -- Direction
The Nuts and Bolts of the Movie - Music
The Nuts and Bolts of the Movie - Script
The Nuts and Bolts of the Movie - Cinematography
The Nuts and Bolts of the Movie - Action
The Nuts and Bolts of this Movie - Editing
The Nuts and Bolts of this Movie - Casting
From the Paper
"Dillon is a total prejudiced, hateful jerk towards the couple he stops and towards a black woman who works for the HMO that his father is a member of, and yet Dillon is very kind to his suffering father; "we understand why he explodes at the HMO worker," Ebert writes. Dillon "victimizes others by exercising his power, and is impotent when it comes to helping his father." But then Haggis maneuvers the story so "the plot turns ironically on itself," Ebert continues; both Dillon's character and the young cop who despises Dillon wind up saving the lives of the black couple (a TV director and his wife) who were stopped (and harassed) without justification earlier in the film. "Is this just manipulative storytelling?" Ebert wonders."
| |
|
"Dune" and "The Matrix", 2007.
A comparison of the religious themes in "Dune" by Frank Herbert and "The Matrix," directed by Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski.
1,585 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 2 sources, MLA, $ 51.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts some of the themes in the novel "Dune" by Frank Herbert and the film, "The Matrix," directed by Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. It specifically focuses on the several religious themes and parallels that can be seen in both works, such as the ideal and work of the messiah figure. It then looks at lesser thematic ideas such as the advances of scientific manipulation and predestination.
Table of Contents:
Religion
The Messiah and the Prophesy
From the Paper
"The most prominent parallel in the two works, apart from the generally religious themes, is the specific messianic reference as it relates to Paul Artreides and Neo. Like Neo, Paul is a reluctant savior, but he accepts his role for the good of all. Unlike Neo, however, Paul Artreides is aware of his status as savior from the beginning of the novel. This knowledge comes to him through his gift of precognition, passed on as a Bene Gesserit gift from his mother. While he attempts to resist his destiny in order to prevent the resultant suffering and war that he can foresee, his destiny nonetheless finds him."
|
|
|
