AS Film - Mise en Scene: Lecture 2 – 03/10/14

In this blog post you will find MP4 files for the film sequences studied in today's session.
Hopefully you are now looking at film in a different way - you should also be thinking of particular sequences I have now shown which you may wish to do for your coursework analysis. You need only do one, but having a few possibilities might not be a bad thing at this early stage.

The Ring (2002) director: Gore Verbinski

Note how Verbinski uses everyday props within the mise en scene, such as the phone, the television, the remote control and the fridge, to create tension and suspense. The setting and location are also typical horror conventions, which allows the audience to immediately respond to the intended meaning: two girls are alone in a house at night and it is raining...this may not end well! Finally note where Verbinski places the character of Katie in the frame before she ascends the stairs - why might this be significant? W shall also cover this particular shot in Week 4's look at Cinematography.

Forrest Gump (1994) director: Robert Zemeckis
In this opening sequence consider how Zemeckis uses a simple prop of a feather to track the 'action'. It floats from one character to another before settling on Forrest, who adds it to his collection - these are also important props which are used to tell his incredible story. Note how we first see Forrest placed at the edge of the frame at 1.23, as if the feather is searching out someone, but he does not yet have any importance.

Don't Look Now (1973) director: Nicholas Roeg
Roeg's background as a painter is highlighted here with his constant use of the colour red in this disturbing and enigmatic opening sequence to his psychological horror film. Note also the significant use of water, the cross-cutting between shots of the little girl by the lake and the actions of her parents in the house (we shall consider cross-cutting in more detail when we look at Editing in Week 8), and the use of the red coat as costume.

Seven (1995) director: David Fincher
Fincher contrasts the two detectives, played by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, by placing them at different heights, angles and positions within the frame, as both to try gain initial dominance over the other. The contrast is also extended to the mise en scene of costume and props, with Somerset, played by Freeman, being fastidious and minimal in his clothes, domestic environment and what he needs to be a detective. Mills, played by Pitt, in contrast, is wilder, brash and informal.

Like last week, I want you to choose one of the four sequences shown in the lecture and undertake an analysis of it. This time the word count is raised to between 600-700 words.

AS Film - useful Michael Caine interview regarding the making of 'Harry Brown'

For those considering revising 'Harry Brown' for the forthcoming exam, it is worth checking out this interview with Michael Caine. In it he talks about why he choose to do the film and his south-east London background. Might be some useful quotes regarding the issues of 'context' and representation.

Michael Caine interview

AS Film - past exam papers

FM2: British and American Film

 

Section A: Producers and Audiences

Section B: British Film Topics

British Film: Social-Political Study – ‘Living with Crime’

Section C: American Film – Comparative Study

Questions from Summer 2012


Questions from Winter 2012


Questions from Summer 2011


Questions from Winter 2011

Fade to Black: Get Carter - parts 7 and 8

Fade to Black: Get Carter - parts 7 and 8: Carter kills Brumby, calls Kinnear about Paice, kills Margaret and plants her body in Kinnear's grounds Kinnear is arrested, Carter ch...

Re-blogged from April 2012

Fade to Black: Get Carter - part 5 and part 6

Fade to Black: Get Carter - part 5 and part 6: Set up by Margaret, meets Brumby at car park, goes back to Glenda's apartment, starts watching the film Jack sees Doreen in film, lock...

Re-blogged from April 2012

Fade to Black: Get Carter - part 4 of 8

Fade to Black: Get Carter - part 4 of 8:  Meets Brumby, arrival of Pete and Con from London

Re-blogged from April 2012

Fade to Black: Get Carter - part 3 of 8

Fade to Black: Get Carter - part 3 of 8: The phone call to Anna, threatened by Thorpe

Re-blogged from April 2012

Fade to Black: Get Carter - part 2 of 8

Fade to Black: Get Carter - part 2 of 8: Part 2 - the funeral, Jack meets Margaret, the race track, Kinnear's house, meets Glenda

Re-blogged from April 2012

'Get Carter' - Crime Genre Themes: 1

This post will look at how Get Carter can be recognised as a crime film, with the emphasis being placed on its 'Britishness'. It will consider how the following generic themes are represented throughout the narrative, with examples taken from the film:

Revenge

Family

Honour

Justice

Moral code

Betrayal

Violence

Death

Retribution

Revenge

Carter wants revenge for the death of his brother, Frank

The Fletcher brothers can be seen to be extracting revenge against Jack. He was warned not

to go to Newcastle, and also sent evidence against the porn film gang, which probably include

the Fletcher brothers. 

Family

Jack, Frank and Doreen. There is a possibility that Doreen may be Jack's illegitimate daughter 

through an affair with Frank's wife.

Honour

Jack wishes to uphold the honour of his innocent brother, who tried to stand up against the 

criminal gang - in doing so he will seek revenge

He also protects the honour of his niece, or possible daughter, Doreen, for having been made 

to appear in the amateur porn film. The last shot of Doreen in the porn film shows Albert Swift 

on top of her, and the facial expression would suggest that it was not a pleasant experience.

Justice

Strongly linked to revenge.

What is delivered by Carter is 'criminal justice' - this is to say that he sorts the problems

himself, rather than go to the police. He does involve the police when sending evidence of the 

Fletcher's involvement in the porn film to Scotland Yard (he is planning to leave the country with 

Anna, so this would be his 'revenge' on the Fletchers', rather than trying to kill them, perhaps). 

He also alerts the police to the whereabouts of Margaret's body aftyer killing her, and in doing 

so, sets up Kinnear for her death.

 Moral Code

The moral code which Jack follows is dictated by his life as a gangster. His belief is that only
those who deserve punishment should receive it, and the innocent should be left alone, or
protected. This would have been true of gangsters like the Kray Twins, whose lifestyle the 
characters of Carter and the Fletcher brothers were modeled on. There is also a sense that if
one to break the accepted moral code (like Paice, for example, in killing Frank) then one
should expect some form of violent retribution as a consequence.


Betrayal

A key generic theme in crime films, betrayal lies at the heart of Get Carter. Margaret betrays
Frank, Margaret betrays Jack, Jack betrays Gerald, Anna betrays Gerald, Jack (possibly)
betrayed Frank (assuming Doreen might actually be his daughter), Jack and Cyril betray each
other (Jack to the hit man, Cyril to the police), Brumby betrays Jack. In a lifestyle built on an
accepted 'moral code of honour' (see previous themes), there is also a strong sense that you
should trust no one should you chose a life a crime, or a life of crime chooses you.

Violence and Death

Get Carter certainly has its share of these two linked generic themes, which are natural by
products of a criminal lifestyle, particularly where men like the Fletcher's and Jack are
concerned. 

Throughout the narrative there occurs the following violent incidents:

Carter witnesses a pub brawl between two women, much to his amusement
Carter attacks Thorpe in an attempt to get information
Carter hits Margaret on the bridge for betraying him to Peter and Con
Brumby is attacked by Carter in his own home
Keith is beaten up by Kinnear's gang (the attack is unseen, but the result is not)
Carter stabs Albert twice as he kills him 
Glenda is almost drowned by Jack in her bath
The shoot out on the ferry ends with Peter being shot by Carter
Glenda is trapped in the boot of Jack's car as it is pushed into the dock
Brumby is thrown from the roof of the car park by Carter, dying in the process
Margaret is terminally drugged by Carter in order to frame Kinnear
Paice is beaten by Carter at the beach and his body dumped into the sea
Carter is shot by the hit man on the beach as he attempts to get rid of the gun

Retribution

Perhaps the key theme to Get Carter - and for nearly every crime film - retribution is the end
result of a life lived through crime.

For Jack, the retribution he delivers to those involved in the death of Frank and those
responsible for Doreen's appearance in the porn film (who are more often than not, the same
people), is completely justified. His presence in Newcastle is felt the moment he walks into the
bar by the railway station, as he looks and sounds different to all those around him. It is obvious
that he means business, and he will not stop until he has metered out his brand of justice and
retribution. 

His own death does, initially appear shocking, as it comes at the very moment
where he has succeeded in avenging all those connected to Frank's death. However, his fate
had been sealed the moment he went against Gerald's orders at the very beginning of the
narrative, by going to Newcastle. The hit man - 'J' - was on the train from London in the same
carriage, and it is his gun which inflicts the ultimate retribution on Jack, not forgetting he was
also having an affair with Anna, Gerald's wife.