How long can you go to satisfy your pleasure?

photo from Geek Scoop

photo from Tumblr via Late Comers

       From cooking up, to injecting the chemical into their veins, and even the cleansing of body,  I don’t think I have ever seen a movie about drugs this detailed.  Set in Edinburgh, the story happens in Mark Renton’s (Ewan McGregor) point-of-view. Though this film has a lot of voice over/ narration by Renton, it did not make the film boring because we still see the story unfolds through characters’ actions. The narrative style of the film even gives us access to what Renton thinks about.
I always thought drugs are disgusting, I probably would not be able to handle seeing someone do drugs in front of me, but this film did not wrap the whole heroin thing as too disgusting for people to see, but makes it bearable for people to see. At least on the heroin thing level, because the bed sheet filled with faeces scene is just too disgusting in my honest opinion. I am, in fact, still in the process of making sense why it has to be included, I get it, on the surface level, it is for comedic purposes, but beyond that, I question what its relevance to the story is.

The toilet scene
photo from Fancy Dress Costumes

Same goes with the toilet scene; it is just way too disgusting for me to watch. But in this scene, at least, I get the point that it is a fantasy scene, and it is not happening in reality. And I believe this scene symbolizes Renton going through the process of catharsis. But then again, I still think it is too disgusting. I believe that the toilet scene also symbolizes that there is beauty in ugliness. Thus, these these things made up for the filthiness of the scene.  Watch the toilet scene here. 

The hallucination scene of Renton where he was locked up in his room is well done. It is bizarre and terrifying. This particular scene has continuity thus able depicting hallucination accurately. I like how they made being high, or trying to get away from heroin, though all unpleasant, yet were artistically done. 

Renton's hallucinatrion scene
photos from The Cue Dot Confessions

This film is beautifully written. The style of storytelling is beautiful. The dialogues are not to be taken for granted. The things they say are very quotable and rings true to emotions. The “choose life” monologue of Renton is an example. It is brilliant and smart.

"Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?"

Watch it here:

Scenes were shot incredibly. The scene where Renton sinks in the floor is very unique. Of course the opening scene which consists of dolly shots should not be forgotten. The whole film is beautifully shot it even led me to think that this film was made just a couple of years ago, until I saw the VHS tapes in the film. The scene where Renton is lying in the street, the great outdoors scene, Tommy asking Renton for heroin scene, are also some of the scene that  were beautifully shot.

Each character in the story has different traits. We get a glimpse of who they are when Renton hits a car and the rest of the gang when they were playing football. Each of them added colour and created conflict in the story.

The boys. L-R Spud, Tommy, Begbie, Renton, Sick Boy

Trainspotting deals about the issue of youths being involved in drug addiction. It tells about what happens to these lives because of addiction. Trainspotting serves as a warning tool to not do drugs. It also tells us that Renton he hates being Scottish which I think a message the film wants to send to us that this is how Scottish people feels during that time. It also revealed the brutality in the society and I-am-better-than-you mentality, through Begbie, the neglect of people with important things through Baby Dawn’s death and how people, even the one your “so-called mates”, can treat you like dirt.

The main cast
photo from Pinterest 

Trainspotting tells a story with no intention to deceive its audience. A story of youths dealing with drugs, is realistic and brutally honest. It went into details about drugs. How to use it, the pleasure of it, ways how to stop the addiction, the desperate actions just to get money to buy drugs, but Trainspotting does not glorify it. Thus, makes people realize why we should not try it, because Trainspotting also tells us the misery and horrible lives of drug-dependents. Trainspotting tells us how much of life these drug-dependents miss because of heroin. Drugs take away a lot from you. Your life, your soul, your love. The death of Baby Dawn implies that we only realize the importance of one thing until it’s gone. Drugs can take away the most important part of you. Trainspotting wants us to think that everyone can love and be loved no matter miserable you are. And probably the best lesson this film teaches us is that you are not a hopeless case. Even if you are the lowest of the low, there is a room for change, as long as you have the willingness to change. If the failed on the first try, there is always a second one, third, fourth and so on. Just don’t stop trying. You can beat drugs. You can. Choose life. And if in your life you came across drugs, teach yourself to just say no.

photo form Pinterest 

German films were very few during the start of the World War I. German film industry was being dominated by foreign films such as French, American, Italian and Danish films. America and France banned German films, but the German film industry could not do the same to the American and French films because there will be scarce in films.

To fight these domination of foreign films, the government started to support the film industry, thus signaled the birth of German Expressionism. UFA (Universum Film Aktiengesellschaft) was established in 1917 to promote pro-war films. 

After the militarist propaganda appeared, German films focused on three genres: adventure serial, featuring spy rings, clever detectives or exotic settings. 

Despite negative judgement of America, England and France against German films, these films were able to break into the international market. Ernst Lubitsch's Madame Dubarry helped to reopen the world film market industry to Germany. In 123, Lubitsch became the first German director to be hired in Hollywood. 

As the girl leans, she blends with the curve t\at the background.
still from Genuine. Photo from Silent Era.com

German Expressionism is a highly stylized artistic movement that gives more emphasis on emotions rather than realism. German expressionism relies heavily on mise-en-scene. Set designs are highly elaborated and creative. There is a sharp contrast between lights and shadows. Characters merge within the setting. In German Expressionist film, nothing seem to be real, characters make up their own word. 

One of the first films of the movement, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the classic example of the movement, became the very definition of a German Expressionism film.  The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is about a traveling magician with a hypnotized servant who does his master's murderous bidding under the cover of the night. (Kolar, n.d.) This film used spiky shapes, over the top make ups, creative and unrealistic two dimensional set designs. Dr. Caligari is bizarre, unusual and horrific; perfectly defines what German Expressionism is.

still from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
photo from Mubi.

From 1919 to 1926, German Expressionism is a short lived movement. Because of the popularity of German Expressionism, a lot of personnel were lured to go to Hollywood. Some stayed, but when the Nazi regime gained complete control over the nation, they all left and went to Hollywood. Even if German Expressionism already ended in the country where it started, German Expressionism continued to flourish in Hollywood. And even up to this day, German Expressionism is still present in the world of films. 

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Sources:
Bordwell, D. & Thompson, K. (2008) German Expressionism (1919 - 1926) In Film Art: An Introduction (8th ed., pp. 4470-450) New York: McGraw-Hill

Kolar (n.d.) German Expressionism: The World of Light and Shadow [Web log post] Retrieved from http://mubi.com/lists/german-expressionism-the-world-of-light-and-shadow

In the 1960, Hollywood industry seemed just fine, until studio projects failed. Usually, television networks would bid for the airing of the films after they were released in theatres, but television networks stopped bidding. Hollywood started to loose $200 million annually.

L-R Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Brian de Palma, 
Gerge Lucas, Francis Frod Coppola
photo from you offend me you offend my family

The producers tried to re-establish the industry by producing countercultural-flavored films targeting younger audiences. But most of the "youthpix" failed at the box office. But what helped the industry were the films that targeted  broader audiences. The films that help the industry earn fortunes again are films from the movie brats namely Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Brian de Palma, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas among others.

These movie brats attended film school where they learned about the mechanics, techniques, film aesthetics and film history. Unlike the earlier Hollywood directors, these directors have a wide vast of knowledge about movies and directors.

The movie brats' films are blended with personal, and autobiographical coloring. (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008 p. 466) For instance, American Graffiti, is the director, George Lucas's reflection on growing up in California. Because movies are part of the lives of these directors, a lot of New Hollywood films were based on the Old Hollywood. Example, Brian de Palma's Dressed to Kill (1980) borrowed heavily from Hitchcock. At the same time many directors adore the European tradition.

During the 1980s, a new batch of directors created the New New Hollywood. Huge hits of the time continued to come from Lucas and Spielberg, but a younger wave of directors joined the parade thus creating hits such as The Terminator, 1984; The Terminator 2: Judgement Day, 1991 of James Cameron, Beetlejuice, 1988; Batman;1989 of Tim Burton, Back to the Future, 1985 and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988  of Robert Zemeckis.

Foreign directors flocked to Hollywood such as Tony Scott and Ridley Scott who came from Britain, Peter Weir and Fred Schepisi from Australia, Wolfgang Petersen from Germany, Paul Verhoeven from The Netherlands, and Renny Harlin from Finland. Between 1980s and 1990s, women directors became  commercially successful such as Amy Heckerling who directed Fast Times at Ridgemont High, 1982. This also includes Martha Coolidge who directed Valley Girl in 1983, and Penelope Spheeris who directed Wayne's World, 1992. Several independent filmmakers went to join the mainstream, but others stayed.

Unlike in the earlier eras, where films movements were present, during the 1970s and 1980s there were no coherent film movements. Directors continued the traditional storytelling. They also started to use visual technologies, and special effects. While other filmmakers who cannot afford high technology effects focused on using flamboyant styles like camera movements and slow motion to create emotional impact. 

While in the 80s and 90s adapted classical conventions to modern taste, there are independent filmmakers began pushing the envelope. Independent films began to attract larger audiences and major  studios eagerly acquired distribution companies. 

The Sundance Film Festival, founded as a forum off-Hollywood scene, became an avenue where studios bought films to line up the filmmakers for mainstream projects. Big-budget independent films conveyed an experimental attitude. Following the pat of Pulp Fiction, studio pictures began to play with the narrative form. (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008 p. 468)

At the start of the new century, many of the Hollywood hits were created by the younger generation of directors. In the era where audiences are brought up to video games, Internet and new technology, directors are reshaping their styles where their audience will be able to relate to. 

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Source:
Bordwell, D. & Thompson, K. (2008) The New Hollywood and  Independent Filmmaking In Film Art: An Introduction (8th ed., pp. 463-468) New York: McGraw-Hill

     

photo from Perks of Being a Wallflower Facebook Page

       One of the problems of novels being adapted into films is how the story becomes different once they hit the big screen. You’ll end up asking if the film is really based on the novel or they just used the name of the novel and to attract more audience. I am not saying these films are bad, but I think they should not be called film adaptations because the stories become different. But Perks of Being a Wallflower is not like that. Of course the film adaptation of Perks is not totally the same with the novel. There are minor and major changes in the film, but those changes did not affect the totality of the story. Given the time constraints and the aim for a favorable rating, those changes are understandable. I guess Perks of Being a Wallflower movie is what it is because the author, rather than asking someone else to interpret the story for the big screen, he did that himself. Stephen Chbosky, the author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower is also the screenwriter and director of the film adaptation. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of those film adaptations that still rings true to the story it was based on.

Logan Lerman as Charlie (c) Perks of Being a Wallflower Website

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a story about an introverted and emotionally unstable Charlie (Logan Lerman), who is starting his freshman year in high school. In the book, the story unfolds through his letters to his “friend” whose name was never revealed which I like because it adds mystery to the story. His letters to his friend are really personal, which led me to think that maybe there is no friend he is writing letters to, that maybe it is Charlie’s diary. In the film, he still writes letters to his friend, but the story unfolds through the natural way of narration, which I also like because it will be a total disaster if the whole movie unfolds through Charlie’s narration of his letters like how it happened in the book and also because we are able to see more of his friends, his interactions with them, and how things happen outside of Charlie’s mind.

In the story, Charlie was having a hard time in high school, and then he met Patrick (Ezra Miller) in his Shop Class. In a football game, he saw Patrick then he sat next to him, then later he met Patrick’s step-sister, Sam (Emma Watson).

L - R Logan Lerman as Charlie, Ezra Miller as Patrick, Emma Watson as Sam
photo from She Knows Entertainment 

That’s how Charlie found where he belongs,  and met the other troubled and free spirited kids he became friends with. I like how each of the characters have their own charms and stories. Like how Alice steals jeans even if she’s rich and how her friends do not judge her. How Mary Elizabeth is bossy, opinionated and rocks a weird hairstyle. How Patrick does not like to be serious, who is openly gay that has a secret relationship with a popular kid, and how Sam is the “bad girl” who tries to turn her life around. There is so much depth in their portrayal that I still see Charlie in Logan Lerman and Sam, not Hermione, in Emma Watson.  Those raw emotions these people radiated to the audience are so deep that I am sure I would not forget them anytime soon. 

I love how Perks bravely tackles about breakups, heartaches, sex, drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, homophobia, depression, incest, suicide, live performances of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and other misfit experiences of young people. What makes this story special is that it does not glamorize these things, but is being true to the fact that these things are real and they happen. Though I did not experience those misfits Charlie did, this is one of those stories I can relate to.  I am an introvert and a wallflower myself. I am, most of the time unnoticed. I a m quiet. I had experiences of feeling like an outcast and later finding where I belong.  Even if I see things, I just pretend I don’t. I understand. I also had a teacher who became a friend and a confidante. There was a scene in the movie where this teacher was asking questions to the class, though Charlie knows the answers, he does not participate. That happens to me most of the time because I don’t really like to participate. I write. I also don’t understand why teens wear letter jackets when it’s 98 degrees outside. I love how it is fictional, yet the story is realistic, honest, and personal. 

Sam's tunnel scene photo from Courier Press

I like the different angle shots in the tunnel scenes, and the fact that it symbolizes "change" or "rebirth", the message it sends that you can change, that you just have to do it. I am no expert in cinematography but I know the cinematography was not done poorly. I like how the church scenes became the avenue to change scenes smoothly. I would like give kudos to Stephen Chbosky for being such a great story teller, for choosing the perfect ensemble, and for staying true to the novel but at the same time made use of the advantages of visual presence of films. The film’s music score and soundtrack gives a whimsical feel into the film. Plus, I like The Smiths. The writing is so true that the conversations of the characters are the kinds of conversations that actual teenagers share. It is not overly dramatic and yet, still able to evoke emotions.  

photo from The Perks of Being a Wallflower Online 

The best part of the movie for me is how at first you may think that the story is just about an introvert who is trying to fit in. But as the story progresses, it reveals more of Charlie and the other characters. Charlie, the good kid then, had his experiences in bad things such as drugs and almost getting caught making out. Charlie also revealed about the suicide of his best friend, Michael, as well as the story of his most favorite person in the world, his Aunt Helen and why he blames himself for her death which I thought are the only reasons for his depression. Until the major turn of the plot happened. It is when it was revealed that Aunt Helen molested him.

It is good to see a film that inspires you. Charlie had experience so much at such young age and it is good to see an ending where the protagonist tries to get back on his feet, forget about the bad things and start anew. It is good to see a film that makes you feel that the story is your story. At the closing scene Charlie said: “I can see it. This moment when you know you are not a sad story. You are alive…” I feel the same. And lastly, it is good to see a film that changes you. When Charlie said he might be busy trying to participate, I know I will do the same. 

During the 1920’s film movements in France offered alternative to the classical Hollywood style of narrative. Some of these film movements are not French but instead part of the growing international avant-garde. But two alternative film movements are French in nature. These are French Impressionism and Surrealism. In this post, let's talk about the former.

French Impressionism

After the World War I, the French Film Industry was left paralyzed. Hollywood films dominated the industry. The French film industry people tried to regain audience acceptance by imitating Hollywood productions. Until the French industry encouraged  four young French directors, Abel Gance, Louis Delluc, Germaine Dulac, Marcel L'Herbier, and Jean Epstein to try their hands making new films. This signaled the birth of French Impressionism. These young directors became experimental on making their films. Psychological narrative dominated their practice. The interest fall not on external physical behavior  but on inner action. (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008 p. 450) Flashbacks are common. They are used to depict memories. Impressionism’s emphasis in personal emotion give the films’ narratives an intensely psychological focus. (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008 p. 451)

 Another Impressionistic style is showing characters point-of-view, by having camera shots of what the character sees and/or perceive in his/her head. To show dizziness and drunkenness, they make distorted or filtered shots or vertiginous camera movements. (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008 p. 451) French Impressionism is also known for  rhythmic editing. It is used to express the character's feeling. During climactic scenes, rhythm accelerates and shots gets shorter. Impressionists also tried using new lenses, multiple frame images and widescreen ratio, which Gance is famous for using such. Impressionists strapped their cameras to cars, carousels and locomotives. L'Herbier had his camera gliding through huge rooms and even plummeting straight down toward the crowd from the dome of Paris stock exchange (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008 p. 451).

L'Argent . An example of French Impressionism film

French Impressionism movement died around 1929 but the influences of the movement remained and continued to be used by directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Maya Deren.


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Source:
Bordwell, D. & Thompson, K. (2008) French Impressionism and Surrealism (1918-1930) In Film Art: An Introduction (8th ed., pp. 450-452) New York: McGraw-Hill

Eye slitting scene in Un chien andalou. 
An example of Surrealism film

One of the two alternatives for Classic Hollywood Style (see my post about Classic Hollywood Style here.) in the French Film Industry is Surrealism. The other is French Impressionism (see my post about Impressionism here.) While French Impressionism worked inside the French film industry, Surrealism, on the other hand, worked outside the industry, the Surrealists screening their works in artists' gatherings.

Usually disturbing, Surrealism is said to be directly linked to Surrealism in literature and painting. According to André Breton,  "Surrealism [was] based on the belief in the superior reality of certain forms of association, heretofore neglected, in the omnipotence of dreams, in the undirected play of thought." Surrealism is influenced by Freudian psychology.  Automatic writing and painting, the search for bizarre or evocative imagery, the deliberate avoidance of rationally explicable form or style-these became features of Surrealism as it developed in the period 1924-1929. (Bordwell & Thompson, 2008 p. 452) Luis Buñuel became the most popular filmmaker of Surrealism. 

Surrealist cinema is overtly anti-narrative. Many surrealist films tease us to find a narrative logic that is simply absent. Causality is a dream. We find events juxtaposed for their disturbing effect. (Bordwell & Thompson, 2008 p. 452) Character psychology is nonexistent in Surrealist films. Surrealists hope that the free form of the film would arouse the deepest impulses of the viewer. (Bordwell & Thompson, 2008 p. 453)

Plot is not present in Surrealist films. They can jump from one scene to another without any justified reasons. They are illogical and nonsensical. You will often find yourself thinking what is going on in the film. And most of the time, they are horrific and terrifying.

The style of Surrealist cinema is eclectic. Mise-en-scene is often influenced by Surrealist painting. Discontinuous editing is also commonly used to fracture any organized temporal spatial coherence.Surrealist film style refused to canonize any particular devices, since that would order and rationalize what had to be an "undirected play of thought." (Bordwell & Thompson, 2008 p. 453)

Surrealism movement ended in 1930. 

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Source:

Bordwell, D. & Thompson, K. (2008) French Impressionism and Surrealism (1918-1930) In Film Art: An Introduction (8th ed., pp. 452-453) New York: McGraw-Hill

 (c) PBS American Cinema

In my Cinema class, we've been watching episodes of PBS' American Cinema - 100 Years of Filmmaking, so expect that I'll be blogging a lot about American Cinema's episodes. So to start, let's talk about the first episode. The Hollywood Style. So what is the classic Hollywood Style?

PBS American Cinema Episode 1: The Hollywood Style 
(c) PBS American Cinema

American Cinema is enjoyed not only by Americans but also by different races from different parts of the world. Its style is almost invisible, which serves a purpose to let you come into that world it presents to you. American cinema is loved by people because "it is like a dazzling journey in a life and a place that has little resemblance to your own." - Sydney Pollack, American Cinema

It gives a sense of escapism from their world to a world they want to go. Its Classic Hollywood Style contributed to American Cinema’s success. 

The Classic Hollywood Styles are the following:

     Classic Hollywood style is almost invisible

     American cinema is like a fairy tale

     It is a cinema that always tries to work on the identification level

The Wizard of Oz photo from PBS American Cinema

    Love stories depend on great obstacles. Great love stories depend on non-overcomable obstacles.

     Love stories were always tragic love stories

Casablanca 1942 Warner Bros / Turner photo from PBS American Cinema

    Costume dramas

    Everything is at the surface of the narrative of the story

The Heiress photo from PBS American Cinema

     Hollywood style began as a studio style

Paramount Pictures Studio. photo from PBS American Cinema

Editing is invisible to the audience, the only things left out in screen is the story and actors
Invisible style of story telling.

Camera shots: 
                     - long shot, work in way to closer shot, and go over shoulder and then close up.

long shot, closer shot, shoulder shot  from Casablanca 
photo from PBS American Cinema

                      -  The style becomes illusionistic; the style is saying “come in to this world”.
                      -  Lets the actors move just across the frame
                      -  Defocused shots: everybody is in focus

defocused shot from Carrie (1952, Paramount) (c) PBS American Cinema

                       - Close-up shots: Character becomes you at the moment

close up shot from Rear Window (1954, Alfred Hitchcock / MCA)
photo from PBS American Cinema

                         - Uses emotional point-of-view
                         - Uses basic action
                         - Uses long shots
                         - Uses MTV cuts

      Simple emotional ideas are strongly and clearly presented

      It is Character driven

      Exaggerates character and situations in order to make a point

      Influenced by European films

      Told in subjective description

      The audience is the invisible witnesses of what is happening

      Characterized by self-consciousness off the old Hollywood

Films are versions of the universe as the directors perceive it. All of life's riddles are answered in the movies. Classic Hollywood Style has not ended; it continues to be visible around the world. The only things changed are the tools which they work with. Classic Hollywood Style is still used up to today. Classic Hollywood Style is like doing something you’ve never done before; it is always experimenting.

Films narrative forms are continually changing. Some directors play with the narration, some stick to the classic. Camera shot changes, editing becomes visible, the storytelling changes. Everything changes. Films are ever changing. But despite that, the Classic Hollywood Style is still present. And even if they say, this film is the opposite of the classic style, tracing down from where it came, it still came from The Classic Hollywood Style. Things in the film come and go, but something remains, The Classic Hollywood Style.



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Source:
Pitkethly, L. (Director & Writer). (1995). The Hollywood Style [documentary episode]. In M. Ornati (Producer), American Cinema- 100 Years of Filmmaking. Arlington: PBS.

(c) PBS America Cinema 

Remember my post about The Classic Hollywood Style? In my Cinema Class, we watched yet another episode of PBS' American Cinema - 100 Years of Filmmaking. This post will be about the 9th episode, The Film School Generation.  

PBS American Cinema Episode 9: The Film School Generation
(c) PBS American Cinema

At the end of the sixties, when the Hollywood studios are floundering, a group of young directors,  called the movie brats, came into power. These directors are George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Brian de Palma, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. These young directors changed the landscape of the Film Industry and made the blockbuster movies. But who, among these directors have the audience in mind while making their films? And who, on the other hand, have themselves in mind while making their films? And what are the effects of their film to the film industry and the art of cinema? Let's find out the answers. 

L-R Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Brian de Palma, 
Gerge Lucas, Francis Frod Coppola
photo from you offend me you offend my family

The directors who have the audience in mind:

George Lucas

Steven Spielberg

Brian de Palma

The directors who have himself in mind:

Martin Scorsese

Francis Coppola

Effects of their films to the industry and the art of cinema

Jaws directed by Steven Spielberg

Came from #1 bestselling novel so the studio gave a little topspin from the advertising program

The worldwide massive success of Jaws put the idea of a blockbuster movie

Watch the trailer here:

American Graffiti directed by George Lucas

The overall real American memory

Became a massive surprise his with a budget of $ 1 M dollar, it earned $ 55 M

It was an exercise in the raft of storytelling and character development

Usually shows parking lots while songs are playing

Developed depth-of-field

A kind of documentary-film in a dramatic context

Watch trailer here: 

The Rain People by Francis Ford Coppola

A lacrosse country journey

An existential heap to the unknown

THX1138 directed by George Lucas 

“It’s not a film from the future; it’s a film about the future.”

Watch trailer here:

Mean Streets directed by Martin Scorsese

Scorsese, before the production starts, knows every set up and every shot is all drawn out

Watch an excerpt from the film here:

Taxi Driver directed by Martin Scorsese

Has one of the most violent scenes in American Cinema

Watch trailer here:

Star Wars directed by Geroge Lucas

The movie that has product placements

First concept of movie franchise

Watch trailer of Episode IV: A New Hope here: 

Duel by Steven Spielberg

Was discovered to be loved overseas

watch trailer here: 

The Godfather directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Biggest grossing film of all time ($81 M)

watch trailer here: 

Apocalypse Now directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Taboo topic

Watch trailer here: 

Other  films that were mentioned

Francis Coppola

Apocalypse Now

Rain People

The Godfather

Steven Spielberg

Jaws

Duel

George Lucas

Electronic Labyrinth

THX  1138

Star Wars

American Graffiti

Martin Scorsese

Who’s that knocking at my door?

Mean Streets

New York, New York

Taxi Driver

Brian de Palma

Hi Mom

Sisters

Untouchables

Causalities of War

The movie brats undoubtedly changed the landscape of the film industry. The blockbuster movies were born, taboo topics were touched, storytelling was changed, depth-of-field was developed, movie franchise was born, product merchandises of films became available. Because of these directors, we now enjoy the kind of film industry we have today. 

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Source:
Jenkins, S. (Director). (1995). The Film School Generation [documentary episode]. In American Cinema- 100 Years of Filmmaking. Arlington: PBS.