Dreams

Akira Kurosawa's dreams are a great cinematic interpretation of 8 dreams of the director. Each film is a visual journey through the mind of Kurosawa. Each film lacks personal narrative, but makes up for it in great cinematography. While Dreams is filled with great costumes, effects, lighting throughout. It also holds deeper meaning under the beautiful visuals.

Sunshine Through The Rain

  A beautiful film about nature, Japanese myth, and traditional value of  obedience. It tells the story of a young boy who disobeys his mother to go see the foxes wedding processions. The foxes wedding processions are sacred and do not want anyone seeing them, interrupting the processional is punishable by death. So when the boy gets caught he runs back home only to find that his mother basically disowns him until he gets forgiveness from the foxes. He runs through a flower filled meadow to ask for forgiveness and the film ends. 

 Sunshine is long, and drawn out with very little dialogue or music. The beauty is all in the visuals, during the processional the foxes costumes are colorful, and uniquely Japanese with the Noh masks and classic robes. The interplay of the smoke and lights only amplify the beauty of the scene more. The meadow scene is beautiful. As Kurosawa cuts to a wide shot of the meadow, we see the great rainbow juxtaposed with the flowers of the meadow signifying the start of this young boy's journey.

Peach Orchard

The Peach Orchard is a tale about the conservation of nature and traditional innocence. It involves another little boy who brings one too many treats to his sisters party on "Doll Day" swearing he saw another girl, he follows the girl onto a hill where the spirits of nature confront him for cutting down the orchard trees. He says that it was his family's fault and not his for he loved the Peach Orchard dearly. The spirits understand him and allow the boy to see The Peach Orchard one more time in all its former glory.

This particularly whimsical piece comes complete with a stunning musical number. The costumes of the nature spirits are bright, colorful, and just delightful. And Kurosawa's staging is that of a Broadway play. The music carries the film, as it switches from eastern music to western music one identifys with the beauty of nature and the innocence of the child. The main theme of this film is that the magic of innocence is something that we should not take for granted.

The Blizzard 

  A traditional film with the values of leadership and perseverance, The Blizzard tells the story of group of mountain climbers climbing Mt. Everest. A giant snow storm hits the group and they are ready to give up. The leader tries to convince them to push forward to the next camp because if they dont they will freeze to death. but the energy is sucked out of them and they decide to take a short break. As they take a break the snow slowly begins to consume them, out of nowhere a snow spirit appears and attempts to take the life of the leader by wrapping him in the warm embrace of death. The leader realizes what is happening and decides he must resist, he pushes the snow spirit away and tries to rally the group up. After he resists the temptations of the snow spirit the storm stops and the next camp appears directly in front of them. It was because the leader was able to persevere the group survived to live another day.

  The scene with the snow spirit is particularly beautiful with it's abstract vocal music and beautiful cloth flowing in the wind.This is another film where music carries the piece. Because the snow spirit represents death, Kurosawa cuts back and forth from the sounds of the snow storm to the beautiful music of death as the leader struggles to survive. And as the leader rallies the group classical music plays to represent the triumph of the group. The snow effects are particularly good and it makes you think as you were on the mountain with them. The Blizzard is a short piece of traditional leadership and perseverance in the face of huge odds. 

The Tunnel 

  The Tunnel is a film with the traditional value of responsibility. As a Japanese officer returns home he must make his way through a tunnel, which represents life/the journey. Before entering he meets a watchdog with red eyes and a nasty growl. Whether its a warning or just a hallucination, the soldier walks through the tunnel anyway.

As he reaches the end he meets one of his former friends who died in the war, the friend swears he's alive and it pains the officer to tell him he isn't. As the soldier leaves he returns with the whole regiment. The whole regiment are ghosts as their faces are painted white, during this scene the officer takes full responsibility for getting them all killed, instead of blaming the horrors of war which is very noble. This guilt is hard on the officer and he falls to his knees almost breaking into tears. As the regiment marches on back into the tunnel the watchdog comes out again and encourages the officer to return home back to his family. 

 The tunnel is probably the most powerful film in this compilation.There is no music and the strong silences only add to the intensity. Kurosawa's use of red lighting to represent hell or the underworld, and the way Kurosawa almost sucked all the color out of the film to represent the bleakness is amazing. The tunnel is a piece of film making where less is more applies. There are no special visual effects or grand music like in the last two. The Tunnel is Kurosawa's quiet, solemn parable of taking responsibility for your actions. 

Crows

Crows is a segment of an art student studying one of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings when he is suddenly he is transported into the scene of one of his paintings. He asks a woman where he can find Van Gogh, but he is warned that Van Gogh is in a lunatic asylum. The man finds Van Gogh(Martin Scorcese) and tries to ask him about painting, but Van Gogh has no time to that he must paint, he is inspired by everything around him and must waste no time. Soon Van Gogh leaves the man, and the man begins to see everything as a Van Gogh painting. As he walks back through a village, he walks through some of Van Gogh's paintings and at the end is he back at the museum. 

Let's get one thing straight. The way Kurosawa created the worlds of Van Gogh is amazing, and is one of the reasons he is considered such a legendary director. Kurosawa's sets and effects are still way of ahead of his time and it makes Crows a visual feast for the eyes. A particular point that stands out is the giant painted sun in the background that illuminates everything and represents Van Gogh's creative energy, his need to paint.

Crow's is unlike any other of the films in Dreams. It doesn't have to do with Japanese values or the environment, but it has to do with the creative spirit of an artist. Which is why, in this reviewers humble opinion it is most reflect of Kurosawa himself. The way Van Gogh devotes himself to his paintings is the same way Kurosawa devotes himself to his films. There is that drive in both of these men to keep creating great art. The main message behind Crows is that great art comes from people who devote themselves entirely to their craft. Their works are a reflection of their artistic inertia or how far they are willing to go. And for Van Gogh and Kurosawa, the sky was the limit.

Mt. Fuji In Red

 

Mt. Fuji In Red starts off with a sense of total chaos, people are running everywhere carrying their belongings or as much as they can take. It appears as Mt. Fuji is about to erupt but the truth is that the nuclear power plant behind the mountain is having a castostrophic meltdown. The powerplant meltdown paints the sky a sickly red and causes radiation to be strewn across the landscape. One man meets up with man II and a woman and her children. The women thought that nuclear power was supposed to be safe and man I says he was responsible for the meltdown and kills himself, then Man II tries to protect the woman and her children as clouds of radiation envelop them. 

Mt. Fuji In Red is modern theme of the environment and just how harmful nuclear energy is. The human race has so much power to destroy the only home we have, Planet Earth. With all this new technology, Kurosawa warns us that we must be careful in what we use or this technology can come back to hurt us. Just look at Japan right now with it's nuclear reactor situation and tell me it isn't eerily similar. 

The Weeping Demon

  The Weeping Demon is another cautionary tale, warning us against the horrors of nuclear energy. The film starts off with a man wondering the black, desecrated wasteland when he meets a man in tattered clothes. The man in tattered clothes was turned in to a demon when he survived the nuclear war. The fallout caused the land to turn to black rocks and the plants to mutate along with humans and animals too. There is no food so the demons worked out a hierarchy - the demons with more horns eat the demons with less and serve their punishment of immortality. The more horns a demon has, the more pain it feels and the more it has to deserve it. The demon's horn starts to hurt and approaches the man to become a demon also. 

  This bleak tale of nuclear fallout is a dramatized warning of what could happen in the near future. Kurosawa displays the wasteland with such bleak colors and props. The giant flowers grow taller than the demons, the sky is a bright blood red, and there is nothing but charred rocks for miles. The scene where the traveler is shown the demons crying in pain is dragged out for dramatic effect, almost to the point where it is excruciating. The Weeping Demon, just like Mt. Fuji in red are Kurosawa's modern takes of nuclear energy and the power it has. Since the demons made the Earth this way they are made to suffer in it for eternity.

 

Village of the Watermills 

  A cheerful, peaceful little film about enjoying the beauty of nature. It is my personal favorite out of all the pieces and a great way to end the film. A young traveler wonders into a village along a river with tons of watermills. Enticed by this village, he wonders around until he meets an old man who tells him about the village. This village has no name, no electricity, and is very close to nature. The old man explains the customs of the village and how people today treat the environment with no respect, which will be their demise. As the two keep on talking they hear music approaching and the old man explains its a funeral, the town celebrates hard work and living to old age which nearly everyone does in the village. The old man then goes off to join the ceremony making a remark how he will be celebrated soon. The traveler observes the ceremony which such enthusiasm and then takes a flower and puts in on a stone to preserve the villages custom and walks off to new adventures.

  The message in Village of the Watermills, is a modern one. This film explains how people don't treat the environment with the respect it deserves. One must appreciate nature to fully appreciate life. The message here is the conservation of nature and traditional customs. The village is teeming with life. Flowers, birds, and trees grow abundantly while a calm river flows lazily along. Kurosawa captures this village so beautifully that the colors of the flowers and the people are so vibrant, they pop out at you. The funeral procession which is a custom in the village is somewhat similar to that in sunshine in the fact that it is more like a staged play than a film. This procession is happy which shows that these people love life and are not afraid to die for they have experienced the best of what nature has to offer. The land gives them everything and have no need for anything extra. A beautiful ending piece, Village of the Watermills is clear in its message of preserving the environment and traditional customs for that is all we truly have. 

  Visually, Akira Kurosawa's Dreams is a masterpiece. The sets, composition and use of color are all breathtaking. The pace of some of the stories is a bit slow, but this is still a great and very underrated film. It is Kurosawa's most personal film because he reveals more of himself in this piece than in any other. Dreams is great if you are studying great cinematography. The stories lack substance but the messages are there, hidden in every single film you just have to look hard. From the sets, composition, color, costumes, use of music Dreams is one of Kurosawa's greatest films and will be studied by cinematographers, directors, and visual artists for years to come. 

Danger: Diabolik!

  Welcome to the coolest spy movie ever made. The late great Italian director Mario Bava usually known for his Giallo and Gothic Horror films has taken his talents to the new realm of the comic book movie, before comic book movies we're ever really popular. His set designs and atmospheric visual style takes this low budget b movie to a respected work of art. Diabolik is the tale of an internation criminal Diabolik(John Phillip Law) and his partner in crime, the beautiful Eva Kent(Marissa Mell). Diabolik is your true anti hero, who is only out for himself. His adventure throughout the film takes him across the Italian countryside and his amazing safehouse. I won't spoil anything, for my futile attempt at describing what it looks like would only pale in comparison to seeing it yourself. Bava has taken fresh, new, ambitious ideas and executed with as little money as possible. His atmospheric, psychedelic visuals set the tone of this 60s spy film perfectly. And his set designs in scenes are second to none.

  The music is done by none other than Ennio Morricone, possibly the most famous film composer of all time. His psychedelic score fits perfectly with the visuals Bava provides while never overpowering the scene. Morricone's music is known to take an okay film to another level, but with Bava's superior directing combined the film skyrockets into a level all it's own, a unique film never quite seen before.

  Overall, Danger: Diabolik is not only a great movie, but an exercise in style. Every scene comes with visual flair, something to make it interesting. And there is not shortage of that here. From the colorful sets, creative designs, awesome costumes, great lighting, and cool closeups it is a film that should be studied by directors, set designers, cinematographers alike. It is a work of art made on a budget, unlike some directors which require millions and millions of dollars with all the time in the world. Bava creates this little gem in such a short amount of time it would make Kubrick's head spin. Sure it's campy sometimes but there are so many little visual tricks and ideas to discover in this film, and this is why Diabolik is not only a great comic book adaptation but one of the best undiscovered films ever.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

  Set in the deep depression South. O Brother, Where Art Thou is an homage to the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer. Joel and Ethan Cohen cite the poem as the main influence of this film, even though they have never even read it. There are many similarities that present themselves throughout the course of this film that shows influences of The Odyssey. We have our Oracle played in the form of a blind negro railroad worker. Our Cyclops in the form of Big Dan Teague (John Goodman) and Everett Mcgill(George Clooney) as Odysseus himself. Everett and his 2 friends, Pete (John Turro) and Delmar(Tim Blake Nelson) escape a prison chain gang and chase after a huge treasure. Throughout their chase for this treasure the gang (Sort of reminiscent of Odysseus's journey) get into many crazy and life threatening situations including meeting bank robbers, sirens, and their own cyclops Big Dan Teague. This film combines classic myths with the pop culture of the time including Tommy Johnson a Robert Johnson knockoff who in classic southern myth speaks of selling his soul to the devil.

  The gang of Everett, Pete, and Delmar have such chemistry together, and throughout the viewing of this film you begin to realize that O Brother is just a road movie and the commeradery that develops through it is genuine. Even though this band of brothers have to be some of the foolish people to ever break out of a chain gang they provide satisfying entertainment with snappy one liners, slapstick humor, and classic Cohen comedy.

  The cinematography of Roger Deakins is reminiscent of old movies from that era. The countryside is rich with different colors of amber, gold, and brown. Deakins manages to show off the Mississippi countryside in all its backwards glory with ranging environments that is sure to please. Everything from the costumes with the inmates in the classic black and white stripes, the ladies in their summer dresses and men in suits and hats all give an accurate sense of the Depression era. Scenes like the Baptism, the Sirens and, the KKK Clan meeting all stand out because of Deakins attention to detail and his fine eye for the Mississippi countryside.

  The music of O Brother, is one of the strongest soundtracks ever put in a film. The bluegrass and country stylings of composer T Bone Burrnett perfectly amplify the setting, story, and characters. The backwoods of Mississippi come to life with old time bluegrass, country, and blues songs taking us to a place we have all heard of the magical South, with it's chain gangs, train hobos, dusty roads, and general stores. Also if you like George Clooney singing then you're in for a treat.

 Is O Brother, Where Art Thou a great movie?

 Yes.

 Is it polished enough, sophisticated enough to be considered a real work of cinematic "art"?

 Sadly not in my opinion.

 O Brother's southern homefried treatment of the Odyssey is a unique take on a classic story. A risk that paid off for The Cohen Brothers. It's southern musings, combined with great cast, and great folk music breathe new life into a dead horse. And takes us on a journey I can guarantee none of us have ever seen before. But great art makes you think, it makes you feel; and this is no different in the film world. Great movies are timeless and unforgettable. The Cohen Brothers take us on an entertaining romp through the south, but once the journey is finished there is nothing to reflect on, or nothing to really remember. Don't get me wrong though, O Brother, is a fantastic film. Beautifully produced, smartly casted, and cleverly written. The regular movie watcher me loves it very much; but the critic me looks pasts its charms to find an incomplete movie with flaws. It is a known fact that some Cohen films are not received well with critics but respond very strongly with the regular movie watcher. This is because the Cohens unique brand of filmmaking is something that entertains more than it makes you think. And there is nothing wrong with that.

Blade Runner

(All images Copyright of their respective owners. Thanks to TheFilmFrames.com for the high quality images)

 Is it morally right to make lifelike androids with human needs and feelings just to keep them your slave? Who's to say that androids don't feel the need to be free? Blade Runner asks many of those questions and more. Based of the Philip K Dick novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Blade Runner is set in a not so distant Los Angeles, where nuclear war and pollution have ravaged the Earth leaving behind only a few livable pieces of land. To combat this problem humans decided to expand into space or "The Outerworld Colonies." To do this they needed some help and created genetically engineered robots or replicates for slave labor. But these replicants have been causing revolts and have since then been banned on Earth. When four Nexus 6 replicants commandeer a space shuttle to Earth, and Deckard (Harrison Ford) is sent to "retire" them.

 The first thing you notice when you watch Blade Runner, is the massive, immersing world the story is set in. This futuristic cyberpunk version of Los Angeles is visually stunning and is complete with everything you'd expect to find. Giant clouds of pollution? Yes. Crowded Streets? Yes. Japanese ladies swallowing pills on billboards? Surprisingly, yes. Everything from robots to flying cars can be found, and when this movie was made in 1982 that was no easy feat. One of the cool things about Blade Runner is the tint of Noir that gets thrown in. The dragging monologue by Harrison Ford combined with the abstract music and raining city streets combine together to form almost a noir story in the future. Whether is was the studio's nervousness about the audience not getting the story, or if it was intended to be like that, the monologue by Deckard helped set the mood of the film tremendously. Too bad Ridley Scott cut out the monologue in The Final Cut.

Blowing Minds since 1982

This noir theme stays with us throughout the whole movie. If you watched noir movies before you know that it almost usually involves a detective trying to figure out a case, his love interest, sparse music, close ups, and the use of shadows and smoke. In Blade Runner, the use of shadows and dark light can be seen everywhere from the interrogation room to the city streets. There are more close up shots than a makeup model photoshoot. The use of close ups and wide angled shots provide good contrast. The score by Vangelis is haunting and beautiful, never upfront in the action but always supporting the scene. The direction of Ridley Scott and cinematography of Jordan Cronenweth have succeeded in not only reaching the standard of what could be done in a movie; but by surpassing it, creating a totally new style.

(Looks like a Noir tribute to me.)

 The characters of Blade Runner are an interesting group of people and replicants. You have Roy Batty ( Rutger Hauer) the replicant leader of the Nexus 6 group who is determined to live longer than 4 years. Pris (Darryl Hannah) the femme fatale replicant of the group. J.F Sebastian (William Sanderson) the genetic engineer who takes them in. And Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) the detective that takes them out. There is not a single bad performance in the cast, and that is saying something. Hauer plays his role with a devoted fire, and a devotion that you can really feel. Hannah is a classic femme fatale using Sebastian for her own gain. Sanderson plays the role of Sebastian with such solidarity, that it's just creepy. And what is there to say about Harrison Ford. Besides being one of the most famous and successful actors of all time, his performance in Blade Runner is great and his complex of his job and personal life is something we all can feel. Harrison Ford has this ability as of all great actors do to take a thing fictional or not, and make us relate to it, to invoke emotion out of us. This is something in Blade Runner that drives the film over the top. The world may be stunning, but it's the characters and the problems they face inside this world that are the true draw.

(Roy Batty)

 Overall, Blade Runner is a phenomenal movie, everything flows together to create one solid work of art. The pacing is great, and the action is never over the top. Every scene flows and transitions beautifully into one another with cuts and fades to satisfy even the most hardcore editor. I would like to say that Blade Runner can be defined as a noir film set in the future, but it is so much more than that. It raises questions that are still relevant today and will be in the near future. While it masquerades as a detective story it is really a forewarning of what could happen to us soon if we aren't careful. Blade Runner joins an elite group of films, that are not only entertaining but makes you think; and has become a classic in film circles everywhere since its release.

(I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I've watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.)

42nd Street Forever

 

Let's take a break from works of art, and explore the other side of cinema. The trashy, campy, downright insane films. The ones that provide entertainment or shock to the general public and the ones that are forgotten only a few days later. These films are not works of art, nor do they have redeeming value; but what they lack in class they make up for in kicking ass.

The 42nd Street Forever series is the brain child behind the ladies and gentlemen of The Alamo Drafthouse and Synapse Films. This series aims to take old exploitation movie trailers who haven't seen the light of day seen they were made, and release them into the general public. The results are hilarious, historical, and very interesting. The 5 volumes pack a range of trailers from every exploitation genre you can think of. From Charleton Heston talking about the MPAA ratings to Pinnochio's Birthday Party. The genius of this series is to show the amount of freedom many filmmakers had at the time, and just how far they were willing to go(or not go) to execute them. No matter how bad they were. Through this ride you discover just how many movies have never really seen the light of day, and some that have the same premises of films today. Some of the trailers are entertaining and actually look good, which you must give many directors credit for. They take an idea and execute it on a limited budget. No matter how bad it may look, it deserves respect.

The Title says it all.

Overall, if you like exploitation cinema, if you are a film history buff, or you just want to have a good time. This series is highly recommended. 42nd Street Forever provides us with a rare & interesting viewpoint of the possibilities of filmmaking at that time. As well as bringing unseen films to a new audience.

L.A Noire

 
  The latest creation from Rockstar Games and Team Bondi Studios out in Australia provides us with a fully recreated 8 by 8 square mile historically accurate version of 1947 Los Angeles. Rockstar and Team Bondi have set out to create a rich noir crime story and succeeded spectacularly. But Jake, you say. This is not a game blog, so why are you reviewing video games? Well i'll tell you. L.A Noire is not your typical mystery game, L.A Noire has something special about it, something no other video game has attempted before. Using a new technology called MotionScan (developed by Depth Analysis), Rockstar and Team Bondi have pushed the envelope of human qualities in a game. Every glance, twitch, nod is captured and transfered to an animated character to be used in the game, you will see no blank faces or any static characters, for all the acting and facial movements in this game are done by real actors.

Aaron Stanton reciting lines. ((Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)

  Aaron Stanton from Mad Men plays a lead role, as he sits in a chair in his orange jumpsuit plastered with tiny balls in front of 32 cameras, he is made to recite lines just as he normally would on a hollywood set; but instead there are no co-stars or props, only his face. And only a few days later his image is recreated into his character in the game. Thanks to MotionScan technology, video games can now be given cinematic elements that are desperately missing, this opens up a new door in the world of interactive entertainment and L.A Noire is at the Frontline.

(Property of Rockstar Games/ Team Bondi)

L.A Noire is out right now, and is the only video game to be featured at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Shogun Assassin

Shogun Assassin, the bloody, over the top romp through feudal Japan satisfies audiences with over the top maiming, bloodletting, and adventure. Shogun Assassin is a mash up compilation of "The Lone Wolf and Cub" series from Japan, only to be brought over to America and be cut and dubbed for western audiences. It was released in 1980 when the Samurai craze was just starting off in America, and it became a hit in major city grindhouses and drive ins.

  The story surrounds a lone samurai, a ronin, who travels around with his son in a cradle, only to be constantly attacked by warriors enlisted by a shogun who wishes him to be dead. This lone samurai is known as Lone Wolf and is one of the most skilled samurai who has ever lived of course. His demon blade easily kills almost any one he crosses, and the cradle his son travels in also functions as a weapons storage. Over his travels for revenge he meets many people (whom he soon kills) and most famous, the 3 masters of death. Which set the movie up for a great ending fight scene.

  The violence is over the top but highly stylized, with swords entering at interesting angles, and blood spurting out of bodies like garden hoses. The body count is impossible. But throughout the whole movie you do not get the campy b movie that you expected, what you do get it a serious meticulously re-edited, re-scored, re-dubbed version of a manga story in feudal Japan. The energy never dies down and The Shogun Assassin (Tomisaburo Wakayama) plays his role beautifully.

  The electronic music score is done by Mark Lindsay (a member of the 60s rock band Paul Revere and The Raiders) since the original films had little music, it gives the film the extra boost it needed to satisfy Western audiences; and gives fight scenes much more meaning. 

   Overall, this film is highly entertaining and a good reconstruction of feudal Japan. While the English    dubbing is always annoying in any movie, it manages to fit well here without taking away from the  original films. The highly stylized shots of Robert Houston combined with the editing of Lee Percy and Toshio Taniguchi and the cinematography of Chishi Makiura all come together to make a truly beautiful picture of blood and revenge that differ from your average hack and slash samurai movie. Since its release, Shogun Assassin has become a cult classic; and further more it helped confirm the Asian influence in Western society by setting the way for many other samurai, kung fu, and chopsocky films to come. If you are in for a good time and want to see over the top samurai action presented intensely and beautifully, then Shogun Assassin is the film for you.

The Third Wave( Not Cinema But Very Interesting)

"Listen closely, I have something important to tell you." "Sit down." "There is no leader! There is no such thing as a national youth movement called the Third Wave. You have been used. Manipulated. Shoved by your own desires into the place you now find yourself. You are no better or worse than the German Nazis we have been studying."

When my teacher introduced me to the article by Ron Jones, I thought it was a simple read through. Little did I know that this essay by a high school English teacher would be a powerful account of brainwashing and fascism.

It was 1967, Jones and his class were studying Nazi Germany when he was interrupted by a question. How could the German populace claim ignorance of the slaughter of the Jewish people? How could the townspeople, railroad conductors, teachers, doctors, claim they knew nothing about concentration camps and human carnage? How can people who were neighbors and maybe even friends of the Jewish citizen say they weren't there when it happened? It was a good question and Jones did not know how to answer. So he decided to take a week in class exploring it. So for a week Jones lectured the class with V for Vendettaesque sayings, like Strength through Discipline, Strength through Action, Strength through Unity. Now surely, in our free world of democracy the students would not commit to such a fascist cause with such loyalty and discipline; and Jones figured the project would fall flat on its face. To Jones's surprise, he found students following everything he said, even teachers were getting involved on the "movement." The experiment took on a life of it's own. By the third day Jones's class size increased from 30 to 43 and showed dramatic improvement in academic skills and motivation. Each student was assigned a job like making a flag, or recruiting people. By the fourth day, the experiment was getting out of control. Students who broke the rules of the organization would get reported immediately. The students commitment to the organization were incredible, like they had been brainwashed. It was this day that Jones decided to end the experiment. He announced to the participants that this movement is a part of a nationwide movement and that on the next day a presidential candidate of the movement would publicly announce existence of the movement. Jones ordered students to attend a noon rally on Friday to witness the announcement. Instead of a televised address of their leader, the students were presented with an empty channel. After a few minutes of waiting, Jones announced that they have been a part of an experiment in fascism and that they all willingly created a sense of superiority that German citizens had in the period of Nazi Germany. He then played them a film about the Nazi regime.

  That was the end of the experiment. As the students went to exit the auditorium, their devastated faces told the story. Some cried openly and some wiped their tears away as they exited. To this day they all share a deep dark secret, that if it wasn't for Jones himself writing the original article, none of us would have probably never known.

  Referring back to the original question asked to Jones. How could the German populace claim ignorance of the slaughter of the Jewish people? How could the townspeople, railroad conductors, teachers, doctors, claim they knew nothing about concentration camps and human carnage? How can people who were neighbors and maybe even friends of the Jewish citizen say they weren't there when it happened? Was it because they know that they have gone to far? To answer this question, I would like to quote Jones from his original article from 1972:

 "Through the experience of the past week we have all tasted what it was like to live and act in Nazi Germany. We learned what it felt like to create a disciplined social environment. To build a special society. Pledge allegiance to that society. Replace reason with rules. Yes, we would all have made good Germans. We would have put on the uniform. Turned our head as friends and neighbors were cursed and then persecuted. Pulled the locks shut. Worked in the "defense" plants. Burned ideas. Yes, we know in a small way what it feels like to find a hero. To grab quick solution. Feel strong and in control of destiny. We know the fear of being left out. The pleasure of doing something right and being rewarded. To be number one. To be right. Taken to an extreme we have seen and perhaps felt what these actions will lead to. we each have witnessed something over the past week. We have seen that fascism is not just something those other people did. No. it's right here. In this room. In our own personal habits and way of life. Scratch the surface and it appears. Something in all of us. We carry it like a disease. The belief that human beings are basically evil and therefore unable to act well toward each other. A belief that demands a strong leader and discipline to preserve social order. And there is something else. The act of apology. 

    "If our enactment of the Fascist mentality is complete not one of you will ever admit to being at this final Third Wave rally. Like the Germans, you will have trouble admitting to yourself that you come this far. You will not allow your friends and parents to know that you were willing to give up individual freedom and power for the dictates of order and unseen leaders. You can't admit to being manipulated. Being a follower. To accepting the Third Wave as a way of life. You won't admit to participating in this madness. You will keep this day and this rally a secret. It's a secret I shall share with you." 

It was because of our psychological need to belong, that the students committed to the organization, the reward of feeling apart of a cause bigger than yourself, to be a hero to your comrades even for one second is worth more than doing something for yourself. The Third Wave made people belong, who were left out before. It made people equal, who were discriminated before. The 5 pillars of The Third Wave: "Strength through Discipline, Strength through Community, Strength through Action, Strength through Pride, and Strength through Understanding." Provide a simple yet effective way of living and outline a way to live a successful life, just as the fascist regimes of Nazi Germany and Italy have before. This study of fascism and power has received a lot of attention from psychologists and even filmmakers who seek to understand the power of unity; and what many will do to achieve to be apart of something.






The original article can be found at : http://libcom.org/history/the-third-wave-1967-account-ron-jones 
 

The Road Home

  When we think of 1950s China, we think of communism, oppression, and just general trouble. But what we fail to see in periods of oppression, is the love and compassion people show for each other. We fail to see the victories of life big and small. The Road Home helps us see this in a different light. It describes the love story between two people in 1950s rural China.

  Based off the novel "Rememberance" by Shi Bao. Director Yimou Zhang, and cinematographer Yong Hou create a beautifully plain world for our love story to be set in. For Zhang and Hou, the greatness is not in special effects but in the simplicity of the world around them.

 The Road Home is told through a flashback. The opening scene is a young son Luo Yusheng(Honglei Sun ) coming back to his old village. His father has just passed away and he is coming to take care of his mom, The black and white cinematography set the mood for the dark opening of the film. The weather is very snowy and bleak, they are in the dead of winter. The mother is distraught, having lost the love of her life there is nothing Luo can do to comfort her, except perform the traditional village burial ceremony of carrying his father back home, even though times have changed so much. Luo then remembers the story of his parents first meeting, this is where the story takes a turning point.

  In Luo's flashback, the color is restored too the world and spring has just begun. This world is bright, colorful, and vivid. The people of this village are quite simple in their ways. Zhao Di(Ziyi Zhang) the mother of Luo is young, beautiful and innocent. She spends her days taking care of her blind grandmother. When the village gets a new school teacher, everyone prepares to greet him into their village. When the new teacher Luo Chengyu(Hao Zheng) arrives, Di automatically falls in love. When the men of the village are building a new schoolhouse, she cooks everyday for Luo. She goes to the unused well on the other side of the village just to see him. When the schoolhouse is completed, she walks around the whole school just to hear his voice. When Luo has to leave for two years on government business, Di waits on those mountain sides through all seasons, waiting for his return.

  Back in modern time, the color is depleted out of the world again and returns to black and white. Luo goes to other villages and places to ask for help, with the burial ceremony expecting to pay the men a large amount of money. What he doesn't expect, is the lasting impact his father had on these people. A large crowd of people turn out to carry his father back home. These men were his former students and this is the least they could do. The final scene is the shot of Luo Chengyu's gravestone on top of the old well. And the bright young face of Di running home while the credits roll.

  This movie is catapulted by Ziyi Zhangs phenomonal performance. Her face has the power to convey so many emotions. The long lingering close ups are well deserved and carry the whole movie. We feel all the emotions of Di and really connect with her as a person. She is no longer a character, she is our friend who we feel for. 

  Yimou Zhang, Shi Bao, and Yong Hou have managed to use a seemingly simple story, and create a richly satisfying, almost transcedental piece of art. The rich silences between Di and Luo say so much more than words ever could. The surround landscapes and seasons of the village all give signals and hidden meanings. The sweeping, majestic music of Bao San creates a mood like no other composer. The reocurring themes of music continually signal the small victories and eternal love of Di.

  While this movie strays on the simple side, it does not concern itself with plot oriented matter, or the need to explain everything.  Most love films just shove the story down your throat, forcing you to fall in love with the characters. The Road Home takes love and displays it in it's purest form. The greatest accomplishment of this film is to show characters that have never touched, kissed or had sex, and make us feel for them, without distracting us with fancy visual effects or bombastic musical numbers. The great simplicity in The Road Home is it's greatest special effect and it makes it one of the greatest love stories ever told.

Vertigo

Designed by Saul Bass

  Many film critics view Vertigo as Alfred Hitchcock's greatest achievement. And with the restoration of the film, it serves two purposes. To show the true magic of Hitchcock's directing, and to preserve the film for generations to come. The restoration of Vertigo is great, but there are some spots where the colors detereorate from the film experience and some of the lighting is too overdone. Do not be fooled though. Even with the restoration, Vertigo is still one hundred percent Hitchcock, and Hitchcock at his very best.

  The story of Vertigo is adapted from the novel "D'entre Les Morts" by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac and is split up into four parts (or movements). The prologue introduces John "Scottie" Ferguson (James Stewart) as a detective, chasing a crook on rooftops, then falling and hanging from his death while another officer tries to pull him up, the police officer then slips and falls to his death. This scene is crucial because it establishes Scottie's acrophobia or fear of heights, through the use of Hitchcock's directing. He uses a model of the ground and moves the camera back while zooming in and out to create a very dizzying effect. This "Vertigo" will be Scottie's downfall in the movie later to come. No one ever knows how Scottie got down from the heights above, and it is as if he is metaphorically suspended from his inevitable downfall.

  The next movement is the set up to the story. After the dizzying scene on the rooftops, we are taken to the apartment of Midge Wood (Barbera Bel Geddess). Midge's apartment is plastered with paintings and sketches of corsets and different types of clothing. Apparently Scottie and Midge had a romantic past. They were engaged for 3 weeks. They are just friends now but there is some romantic tension between them. In the next scene, Scottie is hired by a rich shipbuilder and his high school friend Gavin (Tom Hellmore) to use his detective skills, to watch his suicidal wife, Madeline (Kim Novak). As he watches her lose her mind, immerse her self in the ideas of her great-grandmother, and attempt suicide. He quickly falls in love.

  Madeline and Midge, the two women in Scottie's life, are complete contrasts of each other. Midge is smart, caring, and sane in the head. While she is not gorgeous, she is an ideal woman to marry. Madeline on the other hand, is drop-dead gorgeous, icy cold, and clearly insane. These differences are portrayed not only in the personalities of the two, but in the costumes of one another. Midge dresses sensible, even though she is a fashion designer. The way she dresses is a direct correlation to her personality. Madeline's fashion sense is a combination of the extravagant and fetishistic. She is a typical Hitchcock blonde. She is cold & icy on the outside, gorgeous, and has a fatal flaw. The make up, and costume design of Edith Head is some of her best work in "Vertigo". Because not only is it beautiful, it allows us to easily distinguish the personalities of all the characters by their costumes.

  The next movement of the story leads us to the Bell tower of San Juan Bautista. Where Madeline appears to commit suicide by jumping of the bell tower.  Once again we have Hitchcock capitalizing on the audiences expectations by destroying them. If you were watching Vertigo for the first time, you were completely unprepared for Madeline's death. She is the heroine of the story, and we are prepared for a happy ending not a grand mid-way rupture. We next see Scottie in a mental hospital, trying to figure the pieces of his life together. He experiences a dream sequence that was the cutting edge of cinematic effects for Hitchcock at that time. This dream sequence is metaphorically significant to the plot of the story. He starts to wonder around San Francisco, visiting the places Madeline used to frequent. All of a sudden, he sees a girl that is similar to Madeline. Scottie follows her to a hotel where she lives. This sets up the final movement of the film.

  This woman, Judy (Kim Novak) is hostile against Scottie when they first meet, but slowly  warms up to him. And Scottie asks her out on a date. It is here in this scene that Hitchcock reveals that Judy was Madeline all along. Now why would Hitchcock reveal this crucial scene midway through the film?
He basically ruined the story for the viewers, and now there is no point to even finish watching the film because we already know everything Scottie doesn't know. Many film critics at the time condemned Hitchcock for this decision to ruin the suspense. But there is a method to Hitchcock's madness. He does this to remove ourselves from Scottie, no longer identifying with him but observing him objectively. This scene serves to sever feelings we attached with Scottie. The feelings we had have just been a painful hoax. Not only is Madeline dead, she never existed at all. This makes the final movement of the film profoundly disturbing to watch.

  We watch as Scottie molds Judy into Madeline again. He is determined to have Madeline back by any means possible. He sees Judy as just an object, while Judy genuinely loves him. All of these emotional feelings come together in arguably Hitchcock's single greatest and expressive scene. It all takes place in Judy's hotel room. Judy comes back from the make over not looking enough like Madeline(she needs to fix her hair). Judy only now realizes that she is being controlled, but because she loves him she accepts this and does the makeover, and walks towards Scottie out of a haunting green light from  a green neon sign outside on the street to resemble a dreamlike effect. The two embrace in a scene that reveals the true character of Scottie himself as well as Hitchcock.

  After Scottie has her women, he takes her back to San Juan Baptista to relive that fateful day again, and to do what he wanted to do. To get rid of his acrophobia and to save Madeline just like he intended. He forces Judy up the stairs in a determined manner, slowly conquering his vertigo. He leads Judy all the way up to the top of the bell tower where she takes a fatal misstep and falls to her death.

  The performance of of our two main characters are phenomenal.  James Stewart plays the everyday man we all can relate to. His innocence is overshadowed by his undeniable love for Madeline, he would do anything to have her, even if he has to make another one. Kim Novak has the best performance of her lifetime. Playing the roles of Madeline and Judy, she manages to capture love, wanting, heartbreak, pain, and sorrow all in a single performance. Her acting elevates Vertigo to another level than just romantic love story. 

  Overall, Vertigo is a beautiful film about love, sorrow, and pain. It is Hitchcock's most expressive film as it dealt with the themes he used in his art, particularly the way he controlled women. The city of San Francisco as shot by cinematographer (Robert Burks), and restored by Robert A. Harris & James C. Katz has never looked so beautiful on film. Combined with the haunting music score of Bernard Herrmann makes San Francisco a haunting stage for this story to be performed on. Vertigo is about obsession, which means that it's about circling back to the same moment, again and again so the music is also built around spirals and circles, fulfilment and despair. Alfred Hitchcock takes extraordinary emotions like fear, guilt, and love, and put them in everyday characters. The defining characteristic of a Hitchcock film is a ordinary man, being placed in extraordinary circumstances. And developing the story through pictures, not words. This makes "Vertigo" a film to be viewed, analyzed, and cherished for years to come.

Rear Window

Rear Window  is a film critics dream, it has everything a movie watcher could want. A beautiful set, A good mystery, phenomenal performances, and the kind of charm Hitchcock brings to all his movies. In my opinion, Hitchcock has never seemed more in control of a movie than Rear Window. It is a masterclass of suspense, and not to mention highly entertaining too.

  The protagonist of Rear Window, L. B. Jeffries( James Stewart) is a adventure photographer who works for a sort of Life-like magazine. After having sustained an accident on a race track, he is stuck in his apartment with nothing to do but look out the window and observe the workings of his neighborhood. He is trapped here, and we are trapped in his apartment with him, seeing as we never leave. Jeffries is occasionally visited by his insurance nurse Stella(Thelma Ritter) a sassy old school type of broad who can smell trouble from a mile away. And his girlfriend Lisa Freemont(Grace Kelly) who is a pampered uptown socialite who is hopelessly in love with Jeffries and will do anything for him.

  The set of Rear Window is the main star here. As Hitchcock, a master of making so much out of so little demonstrates. The set was built on one Paramount lot and is fully furnished. The people of the neighborhood are as interesting as the story. We have Ms.Torso a ballet dancer who only practices in her underwear, Ms. Lonelyhearts who is desperate on finding a man. The Songwriter who lives in the studio apartment and his constantly playing. The Newlywed couple right next to Jefferies who are happily in love, but constantly argue as the film goes on. An older couple on the floor opposite of Jefferies apartment who have the cutest little dog. And the main act of this show, Mr. & Mrs. Thorwald. Who become the subject of interest during the whole movie. The set is designed (under the clever excuse of a hot & humid summer in New York), so we can see everything without ever having to leave Jefferies apartment, like we are experiencing everything with him.

  As time passes by, Jefferies gets familiar with his neighborhood, as do we. We feel the anguish of Ms. Lonelyhearts. And the parties The Songwriter & Mrs. Torso give. This voyeurism leads Jefferies to the apartment of the Thorwalds.

  Mrs. Thorwald is constantly nagging Mr. Thorwald making life hell for him. On one night at 3 a.m Mr. Thorwald, with blinds closed mysteriously leaves the apartment with a suitcase 3 times, and the next day Mrs. Thorwald isn't there. Jefferies eventually begins piecing parts together (the saw & blade, the wife's jewelery, and the mysterious disapearance) that Thorwald killed his wife. And off goes the story. From now on, every thing Mr. Thorwald(Raymond Burr) does is a closely watched event. And we the audience as well as Jefferies are thirsting for the truth of what really happened to Ms. Thorwald.

   The performances of our 3 main actors, really get take this film to another level. Raymond Burr as the emotionally drained Mr. Thorwald plays his role all the way down to the final scene where he confronts Jefferies with a real sense of fear and suspense. James Stewart has an everyman appeal, but he is not a moralist, or a superhero, he is a man who likes to look. His role as a L.B. Jefferies suits him well here because he is someone we all can relate too. Grace Kelly as Lisa is cool and elegant, yet hopelessly in love with Jefferies. She tries to please him at every turn, surprising him with dinners and gifts, yet nothing seems to work. And there are some scenes where we see the hurt in her eyes. She would do anything for Jeff, even climbing into someones house and grabbing evidence. With her performance in Rear Window she joined the illustrious group of "Hitchcock blondes." These women are classy, graceful, elegant and give each Hitchcock film the feminine touch it needs, and that is exactly what Kelly does here. The love story in Rear Window is just as entertaining as the suspense story.

  The costumes designed by Edith Head give a sense of class to the movie. You can tell it is rooted deep in the hearts of the 50s just by the way people dress. From Stella's nurse dress to Lisa's long flowing dresses and high fashion designs. Everything that has to do with the clothing makes this story seem elegant, and not only looks nice but seems to make this story like a play. The costumes elevate this story from a seemingly simple plot to a full on production of cinematic theater

  The music fits exactly into the story and the period. The opening theme of the movie sets the mood on the 50s New York neighborhood. Hit songs from the time like "Mona Lisa" & "Thats Amore" are nice touches and add some deeper meaning to the subplots the neighborhood residents, including the love story of Jeff and Lisa. The addition of the songwriter and the canned sounds of the city, make this film more of like a play instead of a movie. Everything that the music does, is intentional to set a mood. Or to give some insight into the hearts of the people we are watching. We feel even more for Ms. Lonelyhearts because of the music going on in the background. Overall, the music is superb and guides us through all the events of the neighborhood with a sense of control.

  The suspense scenes in Rear Window, are some of Hitchcock's greatest works. Creating situations and letting Lisa and Stella wonder in them, while Jefferies is helpless. We are helpless too, because we feel for these characters and do not want to see them get hurt. The great thing about watching this movie is that you don't know what is going to happen next. Hitchcock explained once the differences between suspense and surprise, he said that "surprise is a bomb blowing up under a table." The surprise is great only for a few moments but quickly dissipates into a meaningless action. Suspense is knowing there is a bomb under the table, but not knowing when its going to blow up." And Hitchcock illustrates this principal in Rear Window in the scene when Lisa is sneaking into Mr. Thorwalds apartment. We know Mr. Thorwald is coming home but we never know when. The suspense slowly builds into a great climax that sticks with us the whole movie. Its like a roller coaster ride for the mind.

  People view Rear Window as two things. A great mystery story with plenty of action, romance, and suspense. And to others a sick, depraved, story of voyeurism and of meddling into peoples affairs when you're not supposed to be there. But no matter how people look at it, they cannot deny that Hitchcock was in full form here, and everything was executed to perfection. The performances of our characters, to the ambient music and natural neighborhood sounds, to the clothes and little touches of the 50s, and the beautiful set that encompasses all of this. They all come together to make this story seem larger than life. The suspense is so beautifully captured, it makes Rear Window in a special league of its own, far above any slasher or horror film that was out at that time. No matter what people may argue about this film, we cannot deny that Rear Window is one of Hitchcocks greatest efforts and one of the finest films ever printed to celluloid.

Paths of Glory

  

Paths of Glory was Stanley Kubricks entrance into the realm of great directors; and, for good reason too. Every scene from the meeting of the 2 powerful generals to the pointless charge is all aimed to display the brutality of war and the separation of classes on the battlefield. Kubrick and his cinematographer(George Krause) use the black and white film as an instrument to show the darkness of war. This film has no need for color, in fact, if it was shot in color it would take away the effect it has on the viewer. The lighting works hand in hand with the black and white film too create drama; and, enhance the effect of death and destruction of war.

  Paths of Glory was first written in a novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb,which Kubrick bought the rights too from Cobbs widow for $10,000 dollars. The movie starts off with a narration setting up the story. As Germany and France entered the war they dug fortified trenches stretching from Switzerland all the way to the English Channel, by 1916 successful attacks were measured by thousands of yards and paid for by thousands of lives. The opening scene starts off with 2 generals in a palace, the man even has a live palm tree for god sakes. They talk how the war is starting to stalemate and that taking a heavy fortified German position is the only way to move forward, deeming that 60% of casualties is acceptable. We then switch from the lavish palace to the heavily fortified trenches of the battlefield, this is a perfect example of contrast in the sense of the story; and, Kubrick uses this as a visual way to show the major separation of the 2 classes, the ruling class and the workers. The generals are detached from the value of many human lives because they are in a position of power. And this is Kubricks main character in the film, power. The way power is used to kill and maim thousands of men by the hands of the few. The story, in a nutshell is a Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) disobeying his commanding officers General Broulard (Adolphe Menjou) and General Mireau (George Macready) by defending 3 men who were convicted to death by cowardice.

  The actors performances are fantastic. General Mireau(George Macready) is played with such fire  and conviction. Kirk Douglas' performance is stone cold and resolute, yet never over the top. He is a man following orders; but, when hes angry you could tell. There is power and conviction in his role and is one of the main reasons why this movie is exceptional.

   The costumes of Paths to Glory are fully realistic of the French army clothes at the time, from the tiny metal hats all the way down to the dirt on the mens faces. Costume design and make up was crucial in enveloping the viewer of what trench warfare was really like. Every man has character, they look like they have been through the war itself and that not only enhances the effect Paths of Glory has on the viewer, it is the result of good costume design. While there is not much blood shown it is revealed tastefully, and here we see Kubricks experience with directing his earlier film noir movies, he knows how to place blood only in the most crucial of scenes.

   While there were not much special effects in the movie, the futile charge Colonel Dax leads is full of explosions, smoke, gun fire, and many many extras dieing. This is such a crucial scene in the movie from a technical aspect and a plot aspect, it is the turning point in the movie; and, Kubrick executes it to perfection with such stunning realism of what war actually looks like. All the shots in this movie are long and drawn out. The trench scene just before the troops charge into no mans land, the wide angeled shot of the carnage, the long trailing shot of the generals ball; and, the funeral parade of the 3 "convicts." This is a classic trademark of the Kubrick style, drawing scenes out to stress their importance. These shots are crucial to the advancement of the story; and, are used to emphasize their  importance on us and reveal certain things like the hypocrisy of the ruling class, and trench warfare. These shots are not for looks but are aimed straight at your heart. This movie is not beautiful, and that is intentional. We all know Kubrick with his skill, could have made the most beautiful anti-war movie ever with every color of the rainbow imaginable, with colors so vivid and shots so beautiful they'll make your head spin; but, that is not the point. Kubrick directed this film in such a way so the viewer can get a glimpse of what war is really like and the sorrow it causes men.

The Futile Charge.

Our 3 "convicts."

   The music is typical of the time, back in 1957 all soundtracks were made with a full orchestra and this film is nothing different. The French national anthem in the beginning scene was a nice touch in setting up the story. But after that there is not much music till the end, only war drums in some parts . This was a smart choice by Kubrick seeing as full score music would only distance the viewer away from what the film is trying to achieve. Silence is the main music here and it does a good job in maintaining the vibe, ESPECIALLY during our time with the 3 convicts, the stark silence in the cell does its part to make us feel for the convicts.The final scene with the German singer is a surprising twist  and a classic example of how audio in a film can be used to make it spectacular. The singing of the men, singing out with cathartic voices tug on your heartstrings; and, bring a great climax to the end of the film, only to be ruined by the ending movie credits with full orchestra. Great audio in a film only exists to enhance certain scenes and in Paths of Glory while there is not much music, the sound and silence speak for itself.

   Overall, Paths of Glory succeeds in what it sets out to do. Create a true anti-war movie. Kubrick succeeded so much that the film was banned in France, Switzerland; and, Spain for a number of years.  While this movie is short for a Kubrick film, the cinematography shows greatness and hints of Kubricks future projects when they are more expansive and groundbreaking. Every scene is carefully crafted to greatness, Kirk Douglas called it the "Best acting performance of his life." And my god, the ending scene will continue to cause viewers to cry for many years to come.

Lawrence of Arabia

     When Lawrence of Arabia first premiered in 1962 it seemed to take a back seat to other classics at the time. Including, John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Howard Hawks’s Hatari!, Vincente Minnelli’s Two Weeks in Another Town, Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita, John Frankenheimer’s The Manchurian Candidate, and Sidney Lumet’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night. In fact in a issue of American Cinema many critics rated it below excellent. This was during a time of cinematic rebellion against all the old characteristics of film, the literary theater has taken a new direction and Lawrence of Arabia was the last of a dying breed, of classic epic cinema. 

      While it may has not been revered back when it was released, Lawrence of Arabia is now considered one of the best movies of all time, this is all due to the fantastic direction of David Lean and the electrifying performance of a young Peter O' Toole, who's blue eyed English features stand out in the brown arab desert. Peter O' Toole manages to capture the character of who Lawrence should have been; not, a man, but a legend. This costumed epic is rich in classic touches of literary film. The costumes are extravagant, beautifully decorated, and historically accurate, from the extras clothes, to Prince Fisjals ornate robes. The makeup give a touch of old English theater where it is used to make the characters seem more than life, more than they really are. The blood is displayed in a classic Victorian sense, a touch of film noir where barely any blood is displayed but just enough so you know the deed is done. These touches give a sense of class to the movie at a time where many people were trying to break out of the mold. 

   The shots in this movie are some of the greatest shots to ever appear in a movie. Lean manages to capture the immensity of the desert, the terrifying beauty it contains, and believe me it doesn't look that bad on 70mm film. The shots in this movie are so good that  you could stop at any time in all of the 216 minutes and make that picture your wallpaper. The visuals including transitions to lighting all do their part to move the story along, and entertain at the same time.The set is all natural the desert itself, the amount of time it took assembling, shooting, and breaking down are so time consuming in those conditions not to mention expensive that the shots itself are to be appreciated for what the production crew was able to accomplish . The film is chopped into many different scenes which employ transitions. The transitions do their part to entertain and move the story along. This epic does exactly what it sets out to do. Entertain in the only way it knows. Bigger and bigger shots.

     The audio, from the beginning to the end uses instrumentation of a army band, playing army marches. The music is in your face and basically guiding you on when the plot changes, and when the scene changes. For example when Lawrence gets promoted to Lieutenant and walks down with General Allenby to the recreation room the music playing is a typical army march. The effect is like a virtual parade. And this is true of all scenes in Lawrence of Arabia. When the action gets intense the music gets more intense, when a battle is won the music gets more triumphant. The music serves only as a tool by Lean and Maurice Jarre(The composer) to move the story along; and, does a fantastic job about it.

   There is no doubt about it, Lawrence of Arabia is one of the best films ever made. While it may not be historically accurate; and, may have some acting flaws: It is mysterious, magical, handsome, sophisticated, narcissistic, brilliant, bombastic, and proud just like Lawrence himself. But it's not really a film that has hidden meaning - the ironies and ambiguities are all on the surface; but, in the film there are so many exceptional entertaining scenes, it only leads me to believe that Lawrence of Arabia is one of the greatest movies of all time.