Silent Film Flashcards
Who was the editor for Sunrise?
Harold D. Schuster
Who was the cinematographer for Sunrise?
Charles Rosher and Karl Struss
A quote from Kim Newman about Sunrise?
(modernism)
‘To meld his own artistic sensibilities with the effects, art direction and technical expertise available’
A quote from Variety Magazine on Sunrise?
(melodrama)
‘Conflicts, adjustments, compromises and complexities of man-and-woman mating experiences’
Who are the lead actors in Sunrise?
George O’Brian, Janet Gaynor (wife) and Margaret Livingston (Woman)
Quote from Andre Bazin about realism?
‘Reality is not art, but a realist art is one that can create an integral aesthetic in reality’
What is German Expressionism?
A movement of film that followed WWI that reflected the anarchy, inflation and collapse of the Weimar Republic. As an attempt to make sense of the horror, it offers a subjective, heightened view of the world
What are some of the characteristics of German Expressionism?
Expressionistic shadows
Tilting, physically impossible sets
High and Dutch angles
Asymmetrical cinematography
Themes of madness, identity, guilt, violence and coercion
What is ‘Helldunkel’?
Shadowy, enigmatic interiors or misty, insubstantial landscapes. Reflected the ‘twilight of the German soul’
Who was Andre Bazin? What did he write?
Celebrated and influential film theorist
Cofounded Cahiers du Cinema
Wrote ‘What is Cinema?’ published after his death
What is realism?
Bazin believed cinema had a moral obligation to document the reality of the world
He believed a film’s power should be in the images, not in the tricks or editing
He felt to over-stylise or edit forced an ideology on the spectator
What are the characteristics of realism?
Diegetic sound
Colour
Deep focus
Long takes
Continuity editing
What is American Melodrama?
Initially a theatrical genre that focuses on exaggerated and heightened emotion
Holds conservative and traditional values, looking back at an idealised past
Influential on the early directors of American silent cinema
What are the characteristics of a melodrama?
Sensational and exaggerated narrative
Appeals to the emotions of the audience
Themes of endurance, sacrifice and bravery
Flashbacks
Heightened non-diegetic score
What is modernism?
The belief that traditional forms of art, literature, religion and social organisation were obsolete.
Embraced new ways of living after the aftermath of WWI, hoping for an enlightened existence
Also embraced new machinery and technology
What movements were the result of modernism?
German Expressionism
Soviet Montage
Physical Silent Comedy
What year was Sunrise released?
1927
