Section A - Hollywood: Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958) & Blade Runner (Scott, 1982) Flashcards
What was the main aim of The Hollywood Style?
Realism - compete with theatre. Shot in controlled environments, made look realistic
Aim make cuts invisible: continuity editing, 180 rule, cross cutting, eye line matches
P.O.V. shots - see from character’s perspective, can’t do that in cinema
How were Classic Hollywood films produced?
Assembly line production (100s films/year/studio)
Factory-like environments
Studios contracted actors: guaranteed employment, take risks. Stars popularity brought in money - buying them saved money (investment)
Loan actors between studios for different genres
How much control did a studio have under the Studio System?
Studio had all production and distribution rights (owned own cinemas)
No committee - could make what ever you wanted
Whole creative teams contracted to studios: secured talent
Name the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Studio System
Ads: Lots of films quickly
Dis:
- Long hard shifts
- Women only worked as stars (objectified)
- New tax laws -> actors breaking contracts to earn more money -> studios closing
- Indie cinemas couldn’t compete
How divided was 50s America?
How does this relate to ‘Vertigo’
Racist & sexist - segregated society
Civil rights & women’s movements towards end of decade
Men trying to re-assert control over women. Scottie tells Judy to spend time with him instead of going to work: “Let me take care of you”
Who invented the contra-zoom and how was it used to create meaning in ‘Vertigo’?
Irmin Roberts - uncredited cameraman
Used for Scottie’s ‘Vertigo’; chasing Madeleine in tower, audience feels his vertigo. Used alongside P.O.V. shots
How are P.O.V. shots used to create meaning in ‘Vertigo’?
P.O.V. shots of Scottie viewing Madeleine/Judy - noticing curl in her hair is same as one of Carlotta in painting (male gaze theory)
How are close-ups used to create meaning in ‘Vertigo’?
Close ups on significant details: Carlotta’s grave, Madeleine’s necklace, curl in hair
How is Judy’s suit important in ‘Vertigo’?
Hitchcock controlled Novak through grey suit
Wanted Vera Myles (saw her in black and white). She got pregnant, so angrily got Kim Novak in. Wanted her to wear grey (recreate black and white). She didn’t want to, but Hitchcock made her
Scottie forces Judy to wear it to become Madeleine
How is colour used in the set design of ‘Vertigo’?
How does this relate to the production contexts/auteur theory?
Expressive miss en scene of Classic Hollywood ; use of colour - red in restaurant, love and passion
Hotel = grey, bland, bleak
Green = Madeleine (ghostly effect on her as leaves bathroom - ghost of Madeleine is there)
Mise-en-scene tends to expressive emotion: everything in the film relates to the story, conveys an emotion. Trying to compete with theatre - make the sets look like a theatre set
How is chiaroscuro lighting used to create meaning in ‘Vertigo’?
Green = Madeleine’s colour motif. Sat in the window at the hotel - green hotel light illuminates half her face, half not. Duality of Madeleine and Judy
Hitchcock inspired by German Expressionism - chiaroscuro lighting used commonly in this. Sign of his auteur signature
How does the idea of passive female characters relate to ‘Vertigo’?
Classic Hollywood films have passive female characters who are sexual objects for the active male characters
Madeleine = passive female characters. She doesn’t speak for first 40 minutes. Calls Scottie ‘Mr Ferguson’ at first.
Judy = more active than Madeleine. Protests at Scottie trying to stop her becoming Madeleine again, but lets him do it
Midge = active. Follows Scottie following Madeleine. Puts a note under his door, paints the painting for him
How does Judy’s closet create meaning in ‘Vertigo’?
Closet = Judy hiding the suit in there, repressing the idea of Madeleine, trying to forget it.
Kim Novak trying to forget the idea of becoming Madeleine, not wanting to wear that suit
What is the political regime of L.A. in ‘Blade Runner’?
How does this relate to the political contexts of the time?
Controlled by right wing dictator and huge companies
Ruthless capitalism - build off-world colonies to fulfill dream of escape and pleasure whilst destroying Earth
Rapid growth of advertising and consumerism. Environmental concerns arising on the harm this was doing to the planet (no natural animals left in film - all robots)
How is technology relevant to ‘Blade Runner’?
How does this relate to the technological contexts of the time?
Technology advances -> profit & power, whilst dehumanising the robots it created
Technology evolving quickly: VHS, Walkman, digital camera, original Atari, etc. Robots beginning to do jobs people used to do
What film was a huge influence on ‘Blade Runner’?
How?
Metropolis
German Expressionist aesthetic
Both class-divided cities, vertically arranged: leaders in huge skyscrapers at top, proletariat at dark bottom
How does the world of ‘Blade Runner’ reflect the social anxieties of the time?
Dystopian city - anxieties of rich, suburban, white middle class: view city as dangerous, chaotic, unstable and dominate by lawless poor people with no morals
Rich people in ‘Blade Runner’ have left the earth, leaving the poor people to their own devices
Dystopias always reflect the fears of the time & place they were written
How does the fear of foreign influences relate to ‘Blade Runner’?
Fear of Japan’s growing economic power - wide media coverage of Japanese buying real estate in New York
Fears globalisation and immigration would destroy American culture
Oriental influences in film: Japanese kanji, oriental umbrellas. Many languages spoken in the city
How does the idea of the ‘Mega City’ relate to ‘Blade Runner’?
Mega-City starting to emerge - L.A, Rio de Janeiro, London. Huge populations and uran sprawl - no centre, planning or defined borders
L.A. in Blade Runner is out of control. Ultimate mega city
How was ‘Blade Runner’ received critically and financially?
Financial disappointment - made back half it’s budget
Terrible reviews - “science fiction pornography - all sensation and no heart”
People believed it sacrificed feeling for sceptical - ‘metteur en scene’: not auteur
How are bird’s eye shots used in ‘Blade Runner’ to create meaning?
Bird’s eye shot of the city - sheer height of the buildings. Police station = high above city, oversees everything
How is lighting used in ‘Blade Runner’ to create meaning?
All of the lights are artificial (bar the unicorn scene) - car headlights, umbrellas. Dark gritty feel, film noir aesthetic
Who’s idea was it to remove the voiceovers in the Director’s Cut of ‘Blade Runner’?
Harrison Ford (Deckard) had idea to remove voiceover - less patronising to the audience, we can tell what is happening
3 Main Differences Between Theatrical and Director’s Cut of ‘Blade Runner’
Why were these changes made?
- Removed Deckard’s 13 explanatory voice-overs:
- Harrison Ford & Scott wanted film to tell story itself; felt voice overs were patronising. Studio made them do it to avoid confusion
- Adding unicorn dream sequence: completely different interpretation of film’s ending: Gaff’s origami unicorn, knows Deckard’s dreams, implying his memories are fake and he is a replicant. Meant to show his frustration at being trapped in fake world.
- Removed as it was thought it would cause confusion. The ending where Gaff gives him the origami unicorn is left in though
- Removing studio-imposed “happy ending”: made film end ambiguously when the doors closed. What happens to them next?
- Needed happy ending -> more ticket sales. Few people want to see depressing film
How does lighting create meaning in Deckard’s dream sequence?
Only use of natural light in the film - dreaming of nature, escapism, contrast to the artificial light in rest of film
How does setting create meaning in Deckard’s dream sequence?
Contrast between the setting of the flat - trapped, dark, cluttered and the unicorn setting: green fields, daylight, forest, freedom
