"Ivan the Terrible" Part 1

After viewing the first part of the film directed by Eisenstein, the leader Ivan gave me a strong first impression because he was very powerful as the first Tsar of the Russian nation. His personality seemed like he had a mental illness, as he would show extreme rage but he also was intelligent at the same time. I have to add that i felt like some of the actors were over acting, like I was watching a Shakspearian play. The different language of the diologue, the dramatic music, and the slow pace of the overall film was a bit hard to follow, but it was a different experience. I did not enjoy it as I thought compared to Eisenstein's silent film, "Battle of Potemkin".

"Burnt by the Sun"

The film "Burnt by the Sun" is a 1994 directed and starred by Nikita Mikhalkov. The film depicts the story of Col. Segei Petrovich Kotov from the Red Army and his family in 1936 Russia. Joseph Stalin was taking over during this time. We are then introduced to another character, Mitya, who is a veteran of the anti-communist White Army. It is learned that at one point, Mitya was previously involved with Kotov's wife, Marussia. Mitya sees Marussia again, and visits the Kotov family like he means no harm, when is really seeking vengeance towards Kotov by wanting to arrest him. He befriends Kotov's younger daughter, Nadya as she calls him "Uncle Mitya".  Towards the end of the film, a black car arrives to arrest Kotov. When Kotov is summoned to the car he ends up being beaten to a pulp. Mitya revenge seems to be more of a personal vendetta though as he is sad to see Marussia in love with his enemy. This film really shows how much the Russian government caused so much trouble for the people of Russia. The title of the film "Burnt by the Sun" is a great metaphor as well because two people end up dying, Kotov and Mitya. I saw a lot of similarities between Kotov and Chapaev because they were both national heroes and they were good men.

"Circus" response

The film "Circus" is a Socialist Realist film made in 1936, directed by Grigory Alexandrov. The main female lead, Marion Dixon, is a gifted singer who has an African American baby and deals with all the racial issues surrounding her child. She escapes from the U.S. because she was no longer accepted and ends up staying in the USSR. Marion hides her child from the circus community so she doesn't get shunned again. Her life does seem to take a turn for the better as the Soviet people welcome her and her baby in their world with love and happiness in the end. I liked how in the finale all the Soviet people are passing the baby around and singing him a lullaby, and he no longer cries anymore. 

I noticed once again there were more diegetic music provided in the film as we see Mary and other characters singing throughout the musical, compared to the other vintage silent films. Everything was non-diegetic in the past films. It was nice to see women playing bigger roles in films as well. There was some political context in the film. For example, there was the rise of European fascism and also the end of class warfare in the USSR, guaranteeing all rights to minorities. I really liked how this had more light-hearted, comedic, optimistic moments compared to the other films I watched in this class. They were darker because they related on war. In my opinion, this was a well made film with a good message. The whole story in general was very unique and creative. The fact that racism is seen everywhere, not just in America, and everyone should be accepted no matter where you came from.  

"Chapaev" Analysis

The film today felt like an actual movie. There was an actual plot, actors, spoken dialogue, and very few intertitles. The film was all in subtitles. I have to say it was easier to follow this film compared to the silent films, because just hearing the actor's voices definitely makes me understand what they are trying to say and I can feel their emotions by the sound of their voice. It also felt really historically accurate, compared to present hollywood history films.

The main character, and also the name of the film title was quite fascinating to me. Chapaev was not only the commander of the Red Army, but he proved that he was a Russian national hero. All of his troops consisted of poor people, but he was there helping them side by side. My favorite scene of the entire movie, was him showing his people different battle tactics, such as moving the potatoes on the table. He was a brilliant leader! Finally, the music was "diegetic" as in, it was interesting to hear the Red Army characters sing creating their own music, it was definitely entertaining.

"Man With A Movie Camera" reflection

'The Man With a Movie Camera" was an interesting short film. What really stood out to me the most was the wide range of cinematic techniques, such as the tracking shots, split screens, freeze frames, fast motion, slow motion, etc. I felt like there was so much going on, it was kind of hard for me to grasp the real message of this film. The term I would describe this film, is "avant-garde" style. For instance, one second I see the cameraman setting up the camera, the next I saw a woman giving birth and a baby getting bathed. It was a different style compared to most of the short films I have seen in the past classes because it did not flow smoothly. They were basically random clips being put together and there was no smooth transition into the next scene. One thing I really enjoyed though was the soundtrack of the film. It made my heart race everytime I would just hear a booming sound, making the audience be at the edge of their seat wondering what will happen next. It was quite intense.

"Battleship Potemkin" response

Today's silent film was definitely a very entertaining one. The use of dramatic music from the orchestra in the beginning drew me in wanting to know what will occur next. I liked this film though, because it felt more realistic with the revolutionary propaganda theme going on. Einsenstein really knows how to capture an emotional response because he tries to make the audience sympathize with either the rebellious sailors or the cruel overlords. I however sympathized with the sailors after watching how they were being treated so poorly.

What really stood out to me the most was the camera angles and how fast paced the scenes were. I never found myself distracted or falling asleep because there was just so much going on. At times, it actually felt like a documentary to me because I felt like I was living in that moment, witnessing the mutiny. My favorite scene that stood out to me the most, was the the religious portrayal of the cowardly priest who falls down the steps pretending he is dead or just knocked out during the mutiny. It was a clever way to connect atheism in the film because Russian Soviets are known to believe in atheism. My favorite scene, was how the film briefly show the red flag, the only color that stood out to emphasize on the Soviet army.

"The Dying Swan" reaction

Today, we watched three short, silent films. One of them was called "The Dying Swan." The film is about a ballerina, Gizella who cannot speak at all, but her soul and beauty is what reveals her true self.  She falls in love with a man named Viktor.  Viktor ends up cheating on Gizella with another woman. Gizella is heartbroken and cries to her father. She goes away and turns to her passion, which is dancing to pursue her dreams. Along the story, we see a very strange artist, Valerly who is seems to be obsessed with the young ballerina. At the end of the film, Valerly kills Gizella because she wasn't showing enough emotion or sadness when she was posing for him to make an artwork.

The use of the music throughout the film shows emotion for the characters. For example, in the beginning of the film, a slow, mellow type of instrumental music of what sounds like cello, violins, and piano is playing. This indicated to me that this was going to be a tragic story. When Viktor, the man Gizella falls in love first takes her out, the music increases faster to more upbeat, like something good is going to happen between the two of them, but at the same time there was a sadness tone to it, foreshadowing that their relationship are going to end badly. Another thing that stood out to me, was the narrated diologue throughout the film so the audience can understand what the characters were saying to each other. I could also understand the facial expressions each character were displaying. Overall, this was a very good, different film from what I am used to seeing, but I did enjoy most of it even if the ending was a bit depressing.