Unit 26: Film Studies

26.2 The Theory of Films

In this assignment, I will be watching 2 films of my choice and then analysing and talking about them. I have chosen to watch American Beauty and The Shawshank Redemption. I will be giving a short syniopsis of the film, and analysing the genre, narrative and film content.

The Shawshank Redemption was made in 1994. It is set in Maine, Ohio and in the fiction Shawshank State Penitentiary. Frank Darabont directed the film, who at the time was an unknown director of television movies and a writer of horror sequels, was making his feature film debut with a prison movie based on an obscure novel, by Stephen King. It was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment. It was rated a 15 as there is sexual references, minimal nudity, violence and gore, profanity and alcohol, drugs and smoking. The target audience for this film is mostly adults and possibly older and matured teenagers because of its content. The audience is being asked to take the view point of an innocent man being punished for a crime he didn’t commit and working his way to freedom over time, so the plot of the movie is two imprisoned men bond over years finding solace and eventually redemption through the acts of decency. The tag line of this movie is "fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free”.

The main cast in the film is:

·       Andy Dufresne played by Tim Robbins

·       Ellis Boyd ‘Red’ Redding played by Morgan Freeman

·       Warden Norton played by Bob Gunton

The film is based on a book by Stephan King called ‘Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption’. The film I set in 1947 and is about a successful banker, named Andy Dufrane, from Maine. He has been convicted for murdering his wife and her lover and is given 2 consecutive life sentences as the death penalty wasn’t legal, he is sent to the notoriously harsh, Shawshank Prison. From the start Andy claims his innocence but his sometimes cold and measured demeanour led many to doubt his innocence. The film brings us on his hard, new life in the prison as he befriends fellow inmates, gaining their trust and respect, most notably becoming friends with wise, long term inmate, Red.

The genre of the film is a drama/thriller which is a hybrid genre as two different genres have gone into one. Thrillers are usually types of films that are known to promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation and uncertainty. A thriller is usually based around the protagonist, who would be the leading character or one of the major characters in the film and the antagonist, who actively opposes or is hostile. The use of shadows, low lighting and tension music are some typical conventions within Shawshank. It’s more of a dramatic film and follows a lot of typical codes and conventions. The dark lighting, alcohol, knives, these are used a lot in drama films to capture the struggle and oppression of people in these films. The film is done very well and easily manages to capture you, the viewer when you’re watching the film.

The story is told in first person narrative. It’s a monologue in which Red come to terms to his life in prison, and him being the only guilty man in Shawshank. We see the story from his point of view yet he talks about Andy in third person. The whole story is told from multiple other perspectives other than the main character of which the focus is on.This type of movie setup allows for there to be some level of suspense as the audience can never be sure what is going through Andy’s mind.

We follow Red through all his parole meetings, we’re there when Andy arrives at the prison, and we experience when we find out what’s been going on in Andy’s cell. Red provides us with a voice over through out the film telling us the story.  The use of Red’s down to earth voice and character make the whole film and story feel more real.

There is a lot of themes and messages in this film. As it’s set within a prison there is no surprise that there is a lot of talk about freedom, or the lack of freedom. Freedom is something all the prisoners so desperately want but can’t ever have it or at least not until the end of the story.  Everyone appreciates freedom a lot more when we don’t have it and it’s clear that we are repeatedly aware Red and Andy won’t be getting freedom any time son as they’re stuck in Shawshank for a very long time.

Friendship is another major theme within the film. The major friendship being Andy and Red’s. They clearly have a very strong yet silent friendship. Red nor Andy talks about how much they mean to each other yet Red does appreciate the kind gestures Andy does for Red to help improve his living situations within the prison walls, such as getting beer for the crew. Red shows us emotion instead of telling us especially when he gets the letter Andy left him. This very much shows us how important a friendship can be instead of simply just telling us.

As a story that is based in a prison there is bound to be suffering. This is explored in many ways in Shawshank as we see how the guards treat the inmates by beating them and always talking down to them. In Shawshank there is mental and physical suffering. A perfect example of mental suffering is the fact that Red can’t even go to the toilet properly when he has been released as he is so used to being told what he can and can’t do.

The main message and theme throughout the film is all about Hope. Hope is what get’s each prisoner through the day. Andy’s kind hearted demeanour and inspirational personality helps a lot of prisoners get through.  Hope is what helps Andy try and gain back his freedom, after decades of hard work and hope he finally gets there. Red is also the character that portrays hope as hopeless, which is extremely important in this film. Red told Andy that ‘Hope is a dangerous thing’.He tells Andy this as he is trying to tell him that hope is the last thing he has left, as once that hope has left, he will have nothing left. Red continuously gets his hops up throughout the film as he keeps on getting rejected for release.  

Shawshank redemption is more of a non-linear narrative. Shawshank redemption works on the principal of Warden Norton and Andy being binary opposites. Propp’s theory is based around 8 stack Characters.

·       Andy Dufresne – The hero. He plays both the seeker and the victim hero, by helping tommy and Red but at the same time seeking justice.

·       Warden Norton – The villain. Norton terrorises the inmates at Shawshank with acts of cruelty, abuse, murder and corruption.

·       Tommy Williams – The donor. Tommy helps give Andy evidence to show that someone else murdered his wife, which could get Andy free.

·       Red – He is the Helper. He helps Andy adjust to prison life and helps him overcome his problems.

The music in the film says what words can’t. Music causes people to feel something deep down inside, longing to be free. The music within the film helps the prisoners to forget where they are, who they are, and enables them to be free, even if it’s only for a short time.  An iconic scene in the film is when Andy turns on the music and it blasts through the speakers and all the inmates suddenly just look up and turn silent. It gave them a taste of freedom. It shows that they can connect with things that are from the outside world. They found freedom in the music.

The language used in the film is very powerful. The quotes and speechless are extremely important, for instance when the warden said “Salvation lies within” is a famous quote from the film and at first wasn’t important but near the end of the film it plays an important part. Quotes and literary devices like these is what makes the film so memorable and important.

One of the most cinematic moments in film history is the aerial shot of the prison.  This aerial view is the first shot we see that introduces and reveals the prison in all its dull, glory. The army of prisoners running across the yard to the gates to meet the bus arriving with a bunch of new inmates. It suspends time as we plunge into the depths of this new, scary, dull world of Shawshank. It is a establishing shot to show us the prison.

As for special effects there’s no use of special effects in the film. There is a lack of colour in the film and they use very dull colours, like blue’s, brown. Throughout the movie there is barely any colour at all. Prison is always thought of as a dull, gloomy place and that is exactly how Shawshank Prison is shown and conveyed in the film. The only time we really see colour is when Brooks and Red get released and they are in the real world, and at the end of the film when Red and Andy reunite on a beach with a stunning blue sea and sandy white beaches. Lighting is very important in films and a lot of this film is shot in the dark or with dull lighting. Light can be seen has hope and truth in this movie, as they’re in prison they may see light as a sign of hope and if there’s no light there’s no hope.  The low-lighting also helps with the shadows across the different characters in the film.  A good shot and lighting scene is when the inmates are sitting on the roof after a hard days work and it’s very gentle, soothing lighting and it’s fits with the scene we get the idea the men have an idea what it is like to be free.

In conclusion I have found that Shawshank is one of the most iconic, powerful films ever made. The more you look into the film the more you find, it’s very much about looking between the lines and working out the message behind the words and characters. When looking for reviews I only ever found postivies reviews. It has been number 1 on IMDb’s top 250 films for a number of years and doesn’t look to drop any time soon, and has a 98% score on rotten tomatoes. In my opinion it is one of the greatest films to be made, I think this because I feel Frank Darabont understands the novel and he manages to recreate the book spot on with the help of Roger Deakins' cinematography. I highly recommend this film to anyone and is one of my favourite films of all times.

American Beauty was made in 1999 and was directed by Sam Mendes and produced by Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks. The screenplay was done by Alan Ball and cinematography was done by Conrad Hall. It is set in the suburbs of Chicago but was filmed in California. The film was given a certificate of 18 as there is romance, flirting, fantasizing between a teen girl and an adult. A couple of instances of nudity, drug use, lots of references to homophobia and Nazism. The target audience would be anyone over the age of 18 so they can understand the real concept of the film and the film raises the theme of changes people can or cannot make in their life.

Cast:

·       Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham

·       Mena Suvari plays Angela Hays

·       Thora Birch plays Jane Burnham

·       Anette Bening as Carolyn Burnham

·       Wes Bently as Ricky Fitts

A middle-aged dad named Lester Burnham is suffering from his mid-life crisis. He has a wife named Carolyn and a daughter named Jane. On the outside they’re the perfect family, living in the perfect neighbourhood in the perfect house.  Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a depression and becomes infatuated with one of his daughter’s friends, Angela. He begins working out and turning his life around to try and impress Angela, while his own daughter begins to fall in love with Ricky Fitts, who lives next door and is a drug dealer/documentarian and lives with his strict father and speechless mother.

The genre of the movie is a mix of comedy and drama. There’s a good blend of fantastically funny scenes yet also deeply serious conversations and the movie transitions perfectly. As this film is a mix of two genres it is classed as a hybrid genre.

There are many themes in this movie, one being appearances. The tag line got the film is ‘Look Closer’ so we instantly know we need to look beyond the surface to find the deeper meanings. The film is centred on Lester’s decision to stop caring about superficial things in order for him to find what he wants and likes. All the characters in this film struggle with the way they are perceived by others. The big discovery is with Lester when he realises once you look past all the superficial things, you can get to the true beauty.

Love and sex as well as family and marriage is all a major theme. The film draws a line between what you feel in a marriage and your family life and the satisfaction and lust that Lester feels for Angela. The film does very much tell us how important family and life is to everyone and how important building relationships are. At first Lester’s journey of his self-discovery is selfish and very much on his own, at the start it is all about sex but towards the end of the film he spends his last moments thinking about his family. The best example of love in the movie is when Lester picks up the picture of him and his family happy together, seconds before he is killed.

The film is very simple and it’s straightforward story telling but with a twist. Lester is the main narrator through the film, he takes us through the last year of his life. We see the good and we see the bad that ends his life. What is interesting is that from the start of the film we know that Lester is going to die, one way or another, due to the conversation Jane has with her boyfriend.  There a lot of suspense as we all begin to think who’s going to kill him.

American beauty is focused around the white, middle class American lifestyle and American values. It’s suburban America, and we see this from the bird’s eye view shot of the neighbourhood which shows us rows and rows of identical-looking housing.

American Beauty is a Linear film.

As like most drama’s there isn’t many special effects in this film. The only exception is during the dream sequence when the rose petals float everywhere. The scenes contain music with a variety of instruments, which help to create a mood in the dream sequence. Also helping to go along with the theme of things not always being as they seem.  A lot of the scenes are metaphoric and what is seen in the shot symbolizes a higher, deeper meaning.  The special effects are mainly just used for the dream sequence. No text is needed unless it’s needed eg: the end credits.

The lighting is very good in this film. It’s used very well to create a mood In each of the scene.  The lighting fits every scene perfectly. A green and soft light is used in the scene where Ricky gets hit by his father and looks at his beaten up face in the mirror and wipes the blood from it. This makes the mood of the scene feel not dangerous and fearful, but almost depressing.

Each character has a distinct and interesting personality. All of the characters do a great job of representing many types of people. Angela is a prime example of a teenage girl arrogant about her looks, Ricky is an introverted only child, and Jane is a typical teenager.

A very simple editing technique can be very powerful. After Lester is murdered, he delivers a spine-chilling monologue about the beauty of life. He ends with “You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry...” and then the screen fades to black. “You will someday.” It’s obvious what is being communicated here, but it is done so well that it really sticks in the viewer’s mind. The final cut to black is much more effective than showing a gravestone, which would just be cheesy.

Barthes’ theory is linked in with American beauty. The film open with a teenager who states that she wants her dad killed. This is part of the enigma code due to the fact the audience immediately question why on earth she would want her dad killed and who she is talking too as we don’t know.

In conclusion I think you’ll be in for a real surprise when you watch American Beauty. It shows us that a drama can be funny and a comedy be serious. Every scene captures your attention, there isn’t a second where you are bored or want to turn away. Personally I think Sam Mendes did an exceptional job with directing as he is very familiar with the script and he has picked it apart and knows that there is a hidden meaning in each scene. The film was also cast extremely well with each actor fitting perfectly with their character. I would 100% recommend this film to anyone.