This document provides an overview and analysis of Australian film director Baz Luhrmann's films. It discusses Luhrmann's background and influences, as well as analyzing four of his films - Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge, and The Great Gatsby. The author aims to discover the origins and development of Luhrmann's distinctive directorial style through examining these films, and how personal ideas and collaborations shaped similarities across his work. Key aspects of Luhrmann's style discussed include his use of music, theatrical influences, and modern adaptations of classic stories and plays.
Baz Luhrmann is an Australian writer and director best known for his 'Red Curtain Trilogy' of films including Moulin Rouge, which uses fast-paced editing and contemporary music in period films to promote audience participation. While praised for his visual style, Luhrmann's films are also criticized for emphasizing style over substance and for a directorial approach that may be dated in an era where audiences demand more emotional depth and substance from films. There is a question of whether Luhrmann remains a relevant director today.
This document provides a summary of William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It outlines that the story is about the forbidden love between Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, whose families are engaged in a long-standing feud. It describes the main characters of Romeo and Juliet, the youthful lovers, and notes the play is set in Verona, Italy in the 13th-14th century. It discusses the external conflict between the Montague and Capulet families as the main source of drama, which ultimately results in the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
The document discusses the genre conventions of Western films. Some key conventions discussed include the setting on the American frontier during the late 19th century, with landscapes depicting the conquest of wilderness. Plots typically involve maintaining law and order through conflicts between good and bad characters. Common characters include sheriffs and outlaws. The genre depicts ideological conflicts through its themes and elements. While the Western genre declined in popularity by the 1970s, its themes and conventions continue to influence other genres like science fiction and action films.
The document discusses several major themes in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It explores the themes of love, sex, hate, death, fate, loyalty, and language/wordplay. For each theme, it provides examples from the text to illustrate how that theme is portrayed. It also differentiates between different types of love depicted in the play, such as Romeo's initial infatuation versus his true love for Juliet.
The document provides an overview of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby and the 2013 film adaptation. It discusses the main themes of the novel, including the decline of the American Dream. It summarizes the plot, which follows the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy Buchanan through the eyes of the narrator Nick Carraway. The document also highlights elements of the film like its musical style, costumes, and producer Shawn Carter. It concludes with discussion questions about details from the novel and movie.
Codes and conventions of a psychological thrillerpaigewebbx
Shadows, low lighting, mirrors, and urban settings are commonly used in psychological thrillers through mise-en-scene and location to add tension. Eerie music, quick camera movements, and obtrusive editing are employed to build suspense through sound, camerawork, and editing. Flashbacks are also typically used to provide insight into a character's past.
This document discusses conventions of the horror genre including common settings, characters, iconography, narratives, and subgenres. It also summarizes some key genre theories. Specifically, it notes that dark, isolated, or natural settings are commonly used to set the atmosphere in horror. Character archetypes include families, friends, and vulnerable characters. Iconography includes low lighting, weapons, and dark colors. Narratives often involve a group being persecuted by an antagonist with an unpredictable ending. Subgenres discussed are gothic, slasher, psychological, paranormal, gore, and found footage. Theories addressed are those proposed by Altman, Dyer, and Stacy regarding pleasures, escapism, and genre evolution over
The French New Wave was a film movement that emerged in France in the late 1950s and 1960s. Inspired by young film critics writing for Cahiers du Cinema, it emphasized auteur theory and featured unconventional stylistic techniques like jump cuts, handheld camerawork, and location shooting. Directors like Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, and Eric Rohmer made personal, politically-minded films that broke conventions and influenced global cinema.
Baz Luhrmann is an Australian writer and director best known for his 'Red Curtain Trilogy' of films including Moulin Rouge, which uses fast-paced editing and contemporary music in period films to promote audience participation. While praised for his visual style, Luhrmann's films are also criticized for emphasizing style over substance and for a directorial approach that may be dated in an era where audiences demand more emotional depth and substance from films. There is a question of whether Luhrmann remains a relevant director today.
This document provides a summary of William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It outlines that the story is about the forbidden love between Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, whose families are engaged in a long-standing feud. It describes the main characters of Romeo and Juliet, the youthful lovers, and notes the play is set in Verona, Italy in the 13th-14th century. It discusses the external conflict between the Montague and Capulet families as the main source of drama, which ultimately results in the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
The document discusses the genre conventions of Western films. Some key conventions discussed include the setting on the American frontier during the late 19th century, with landscapes depicting the conquest of wilderness. Plots typically involve maintaining law and order through conflicts between good and bad characters. Common characters include sheriffs and outlaws. The genre depicts ideological conflicts through its themes and elements. While the Western genre declined in popularity by the 1970s, its themes and conventions continue to influence other genres like science fiction and action films.
The document discusses several major themes in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It explores the themes of love, sex, hate, death, fate, loyalty, and language/wordplay. For each theme, it provides examples from the text to illustrate how that theme is portrayed. It also differentiates between different types of love depicted in the play, such as Romeo's initial infatuation versus his true love for Juliet.
The document provides an overview of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby and the 2013 film adaptation. It discusses the main themes of the novel, including the decline of the American Dream. It summarizes the plot, which follows the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy Buchanan through the eyes of the narrator Nick Carraway. The document also highlights elements of the film like its musical style, costumes, and producer Shawn Carter. It concludes with discussion questions about details from the novel and movie.
Codes and conventions of a psychological thrillerpaigewebbx
Shadows, low lighting, mirrors, and urban settings are commonly used in psychological thrillers through mise-en-scene and location to add tension. Eerie music, quick camera movements, and obtrusive editing are employed to build suspense through sound, camerawork, and editing. Flashbacks are also typically used to provide insight into a character's past.
This document discusses conventions of the horror genre including common settings, characters, iconography, narratives, and subgenres. It also summarizes some key genre theories. Specifically, it notes that dark, isolated, or natural settings are commonly used to set the atmosphere in horror. Character archetypes include families, friends, and vulnerable characters. Iconography includes low lighting, weapons, and dark colors. Narratives often involve a group being persecuted by an antagonist with an unpredictable ending. Subgenres discussed are gothic, slasher, psychological, paranormal, gore, and found footage. Theories addressed are those proposed by Altman, Dyer, and Stacy regarding pleasures, escapism, and genre evolution over
The French New Wave was a film movement that emerged in France in the late 1950s and 1960s. Inspired by young film critics writing for Cahiers du Cinema, it emphasized auteur theory and featured unconventional stylistic techniques like jump cuts, handheld camerawork, and location shooting. Directors like Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, and Eric Rohmer made personal, politically-minded films that broke conventions and influenced global cinema.
The document discusses narrative theory and its application to film. Narrative is defined as "a chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space." A narrative has two main components - the story, which is the events presented, and the plot, which is the arrangement of those events. Analyzing a film's narrative involves studying both its story and how that story is told through elements like mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound. Narratives function in different ways like being open or closed and can be linear or non-linear. They serve purposes such as delivering the story, deciding the order of information, establishing perspective, and pace.
The document discusses the horror genre and the 1996 film Scream. It provides context on conventions of horror films, such as having a final girl, frightening settings, and themes of death/destruction. It argues Scream is postmodern as it references these conventions while also commenting on and subverting expectations of the genre through self-aware dialogue and characters discussing horror film tropes. The film establishes conventions like the final girl but updates them for a modern audience familiar with these tropes.
The document discusses auteur theory, which focuses on analyzing films based on the director's personal creative vision and stylistic choices rather than just the genre or studio production process. It originated in 1950s France as a way to elevate American and French films to an art form by highlighting the director's role. Key aspects of auteur theory include analyzing a director's technical competence, coherent personal style, and consistent worldview across multiple films. The document provides several examples of iconic directors and their recognizable stylistic traits, such as John Ford's use of landscape and Alfred Hitchcock's shot patterns. It also notes some critiques of auteur theory, such as its minimization of collaborative filmmaking.
The document discusses TV drama codes and conventions by comparing the openings of several TV dramas. It analyzes the openings of Neighbours, Hollyoaks, Press, and Killing Eve. Some key elements discussed include title sequences, recaps of previous episodes, themes, characters, and tone set by dramatic scenes, music, and imagery. The document also discusses genre conventions like technical codes, characters, narratives, and challenging genres. It provides examples of how some shows reference or draw from other media through intertextuality.
The document discusses the film technique of mise-en-scene, which refers to everything within the frame of a shot that has been deliberately arranged by the director. It outlines several key elements of mise-en-scene including settings and props, costume/makeup, lighting, positioning of characters, and facial expressions/body language. The document provides examples of how these elements are used to convey meaning, establish time period/setting, develop characters, and influence the audience's emotional response. Directors manipulate elements of mise-en-scene to intentionally create specific atmospheres and thematic messages through their films.
The document discusses Hitchcock's film Vertigo in the context of the auteur theory of authorship. It argues that Vertigo exemplifies Hitchcock's personal directorial style through its suspenseful elements, characterization, and use of techniques like camerawork and editing. However, it also notes that defining an auteur's personal style and identifying their most representative works is complex, as different critics may interpret style differently or focus on different aspects of a film.
The document analyzes the opening sequence of the film Vertigo through its camera angles, soundtrack, editing, and mise-en-scene. The sequence starts with a close-up of a frightened woman's eye that pans up to her face. It establishes an eerie tone using dizzying camera angles and a unsettling non-diegetic soundtrack. The editing employs slow pacing and spirals to mirror themes of confusion and obsession. Elements like the policeman's uniform and use of vivid red contrasted with a washed-out palette set the dark and ominous tone through mise-en-scene.
- The document discusses the setting and characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby, including the main characters of Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, Daisy Buchanan, and Tom Buchanan.
- The setting is in the 1920s on Long Island, New York in areas called West Egg, East Egg, and the Valley of Ashes between the two.
- The document analyzes how the setting and wealth influence the behaviors and relationships of the characters.
The document discusses the French New Wave cinema movement of the late 1950s and 1960s. Key points:
- Film directors like François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and others rejected the classic style of French cinema and experimented with techniques like jump cuts, location shooting, and improvised dialogue.
- They attacked the traditional literary style and established the director as the "author" of the film.
- Films of the New Wave were low-budget and rapidly gained popularity, spreading the movement to other countries and increasingly addressing political topics through the 1960s.
- François Truffaut's film The 400 Blows was personally autobiographical and helped establish him as a
Pan's Labyrinth A-Level Film Studies student booklet e-book workbook study guideIan Moreno-Melgar
A detailed guide and workbook for Pan's Labyrinth as part of the A-Level Film Studies Specification covering context, a detailed analysis of the film, examinations of Spanish Cinema, Civil War, as well as work on representation and aesthetics as well as the aesthetic influences of Director Guillermo Del Toro.
The document summarizes common conventions and narrative structures found in different genres of TV drama, including crime drama, medical drama, costume drama, and soap opera drama. It outlines key elements like settings, character types, narratives, and themes that define each genre. Crime dramas focus on law enforcement and solving mysteries, following Todorov's equilibrium model. Medical dramas take place in hospitals and deal with medical crises and relationships between doctors, while costume dramas dramatize history through period-specific settings and characters. Soap operas have continuous, interlinking storylines and cliffhangers between episodes.
My presentation on the codes and conventions of thriller films which includes what they have to be and whats in a thriller film that makes it a thriller
Camera shots and angles for a horror and thriller filmbilliewilson_
This document discusses various camera shot techniques used in horror and thriller films to build suspense and tension. It describes how high angle shots make characters seem powerless, while close-ups show emotion and detail. Tracking shots establish movement and build suspense as the audience doesn't know what will be shown next. Tilt shots can simplify supernatural elements or portray the camera as a victim. Low angle shots emphasize how intimidating villains are, while point-of-view shots make the audience feel emotionally invested. Zooming and shots involving mirrors and reflections also heighten tension.
Comedy films often use bright settings like cities and social gatherings. The camera work is not meant to draw attention and aims to show equality among characters. Sound effects and dialogue are important for comedy, with slapstick using exaggerated sounds and conversations driving humor. Characters are typically normal people paired with stupid ones to highlight their foolishness through contrast, or highly intelligent people lacking social skills who provide laughs through unawareness of normal behavior.
A melodrama is a dramatic work featuring exaggerated emotions and stereotypical characters intended to appeal to audiences' emotions. Originating in 19th century France, examples include soaps like Hollyoaks and Neighbours. Melodramas employ stereotypes like "the hunk" and storylines involving catharsis, escapism, and characters viewers aspire to emulate. They utilize exaggerated non-diegetic sounds, dramatic lighting, and fast-paced camera work to create tension through their multiple concurrent storylines.
The document summarizes common elements found in romance genre films. It notes that these films typically follow a "boy meets girl" storyline aimed at a female audience. Key plot points include the introduction of the main characters and hints that they would make a good match, an argument that separates them, and ultimately a reunion and happy ending with symbols of love like wedding bells and flowers. Romance films also commonly include emotional feelings and backstories to engage the audience.
Codes and Conventions of Coming of Age FilmsXinnia Ejaz
This document outlines the common codes and conventions of coming-of-age genre films. It discusses character archetypes like jocks, rebels, and outcasts. Typical settings include high schools, homes, and cafes. Soundtracks often include pop, indie, and rock music. Icons seen are phones, books, and branded clothing. Narrative themes revolve around identity, peer pressure, and social issues teenagers face.
Laura Mulvey is a prominent British feminist film theorist best known for her 1975 essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," which introduced the concept of the "male gaze" and analyzed how Hollywood cinema represents women through the heterosexual male perspective and for the visual pleasure of male viewers. Mulvey's influential work inaugurated the intersection of film theory, psychoanalysis, and feminism and analyzed how the symbolic order of society is dominated by the heterosexual male gaze, which objectifies women as representations of male desires.
This document provides an introduction to the film concept of mise-en-scene, which refers to everything visible within the frame of a film including settings, costumes, lighting, etc. It defines the five elements of mise-en-scene as settings and props, costumes/makeup, facial expressions, positioning of characters, and lighting/color. Each of these elements communicates meaning and sends signals to the audience. The document then examines each element in more detail and provides examples to illustrate how mise-en-scene is used and analyzed in film.
This document discusses character archetypes that are commonly found in comedy films and provides examples from two case studies, Four Lions and Love Actually. It identifies 10 common character types - The Square, The Wisecracker, The Bully, The Dork, The Goofball, The Charmer, The Stick, The Sage, The Bigmouth, and The Precocious. For each type, it provides a short description and video example from one of the case studies to illustrate that character. The document concludes by asking the reader to identify which character types are present in the two case studies.
Este documento proporciona instrucciones sobre cómo crear y configurar un perfil de Facebook, agregar amigos, crear listas de amigos, configurar la privacidad, publicar contenido y usar aplicaciones educativas. También discute el debate sobre la edad apropiada para que los niños usen Facebook y el potencial de Facebook como herramienta educativa en el aula.
Film terms and techniques, shots and angles part 2Andy Wallis
This document provides information on various film techniques related to shots and camera angles. It defines common shot types like close-up (CU), medium close-up (MCU), medium long shot (MLS), long shot (LS), and extreme long shot (ELS) based on the relationship between the human figure and the frame. It discusses how different shots like CU can be used to create intimacy or tension. It also explains different camera angles like low angles to depict power or high angles to make a subject seem small. Finally, it covers camera techniques like zooms, rack focus, and dolly shots which involve camera movement.
The document discusses narrative theory and its application to film. Narrative is defined as "a chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space." A narrative has two main components - the story, which is the events presented, and the plot, which is the arrangement of those events. Analyzing a film's narrative involves studying both its story and how that story is told through elements like mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound. Narratives function in different ways like being open or closed and can be linear or non-linear. They serve purposes such as delivering the story, deciding the order of information, establishing perspective, and pace.
The document discusses the horror genre and the 1996 film Scream. It provides context on conventions of horror films, such as having a final girl, frightening settings, and themes of death/destruction. It argues Scream is postmodern as it references these conventions while also commenting on and subverting expectations of the genre through self-aware dialogue and characters discussing horror film tropes. The film establishes conventions like the final girl but updates them for a modern audience familiar with these tropes.
The document discusses auteur theory, which focuses on analyzing films based on the director's personal creative vision and stylistic choices rather than just the genre or studio production process. It originated in 1950s France as a way to elevate American and French films to an art form by highlighting the director's role. Key aspects of auteur theory include analyzing a director's technical competence, coherent personal style, and consistent worldview across multiple films. The document provides several examples of iconic directors and their recognizable stylistic traits, such as John Ford's use of landscape and Alfred Hitchcock's shot patterns. It also notes some critiques of auteur theory, such as its minimization of collaborative filmmaking.
The document discusses TV drama codes and conventions by comparing the openings of several TV dramas. It analyzes the openings of Neighbours, Hollyoaks, Press, and Killing Eve. Some key elements discussed include title sequences, recaps of previous episodes, themes, characters, and tone set by dramatic scenes, music, and imagery. The document also discusses genre conventions like technical codes, characters, narratives, and challenging genres. It provides examples of how some shows reference or draw from other media through intertextuality.
The document discusses the film technique of mise-en-scene, which refers to everything within the frame of a shot that has been deliberately arranged by the director. It outlines several key elements of mise-en-scene including settings and props, costume/makeup, lighting, positioning of characters, and facial expressions/body language. The document provides examples of how these elements are used to convey meaning, establish time period/setting, develop characters, and influence the audience's emotional response. Directors manipulate elements of mise-en-scene to intentionally create specific atmospheres and thematic messages through their films.
The document discusses Hitchcock's film Vertigo in the context of the auteur theory of authorship. It argues that Vertigo exemplifies Hitchcock's personal directorial style through its suspenseful elements, characterization, and use of techniques like camerawork and editing. However, it also notes that defining an auteur's personal style and identifying their most representative works is complex, as different critics may interpret style differently or focus on different aspects of a film.
The document analyzes the opening sequence of the film Vertigo through its camera angles, soundtrack, editing, and mise-en-scene. The sequence starts with a close-up of a frightened woman's eye that pans up to her face. It establishes an eerie tone using dizzying camera angles and a unsettling non-diegetic soundtrack. The editing employs slow pacing and spirals to mirror themes of confusion and obsession. Elements like the policeman's uniform and use of vivid red contrasted with a washed-out palette set the dark and ominous tone through mise-en-scene.
- The document discusses the setting and characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby, including the main characters of Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, Daisy Buchanan, and Tom Buchanan.
- The setting is in the 1920s on Long Island, New York in areas called West Egg, East Egg, and the Valley of Ashes between the two.
- The document analyzes how the setting and wealth influence the behaviors and relationships of the characters.
The document discusses the French New Wave cinema movement of the late 1950s and 1960s. Key points:
- Film directors like François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and others rejected the classic style of French cinema and experimented with techniques like jump cuts, location shooting, and improvised dialogue.
- They attacked the traditional literary style and established the director as the "author" of the film.
- Films of the New Wave were low-budget and rapidly gained popularity, spreading the movement to other countries and increasingly addressing political topics through the 1960s.
- François Truffaut's film The 400 Blows was personally autobiographical and helped establish him as a
Pan's Labyrinth A-Level Film Studies student booklet e-book workbook study guideIan Moreno-Melgar
A detailed guide and workbook for Pan's Labyrinth as part of the A-Level Film Studies Specification covering context, a detailed analysis of the film, examinations of Spanish Cinema, Civil War, as well as work on representation and aesthetics as well as the aesthetic influences of Director Guillermo Del Toro.
The document summarizes common conventions and narrative structures found in different genres of TV drama, including crime drama, medical drama, costume drama, and soap opera drama. It outlines key elements like settings, character types, narratives, and themes that define each genre. Crime dramas focus on law enforcement and solving mysteries, following Todorov's equilibrium model. Medical dramas take place in hospitals and deal with medical crises and relationships between doctors, while costume dramas dramatize history through period-specific settings and characters. Soap operas have continuous, interlinking storylines and cliffhangers between episodes.
My presentation on the codes and conventions of thriller films which includes what they have to be and whats in a thriller film that makes it a thriller
Camera shots and angles for a horror and thriller filmbilliewilson_
This document discusses various camera shot techniques used in horror and thriller films to build suspense and tension. It describes how high angle shots make characters seem powerless, while close-ups show emotion and detail. Tracking shots establish movement and build suspense as the audience doesn't know what will be shown next. Tilt shots can simplify supernatural elements or portray the camera as a victim. Low angle shots emphasize how intimidating villains are, while point-of-view shots make the audience feel emotionally invested. Zooming and shots involving mirrors and reflections also heighten tension.
Comedy films often use bright settings like cities and social gatherings. The camera work is not meant to draw attention and aims to show equality among characters. Sound effects and dialogue are important for comedy, with slapstick using exaggerated sounds and conversations driving humor. Characters are typically normal people paired with stupid ones to highlight their foolishness through contrast, or highly intelligent people lacking social skills who provide laughs through unawareness of normal behavior.
A melodrama is a dramatic work featuring exaggerated emotions and stereotypical characters intended to appeal to audiences' emotions. Originating in 19th century France, examples include soaps like Hollyoaks and Neighbours. Melodramas employ stereotypes like "the hunk" and storylines involving catharsis, escapism, and characters viewers aspire to emulate. They utilize exaggerated non-diegetic sounds, dramatic lighting, and fast-paced camera work to create tension through their multiple concurrent storylines.
The document summarizes common elements found in romance genre films. It notes that these films typically follow a "boy meets girl" storyline aimed at a female audience. Key plot points include the introduction of the main characters and hints that they would make a good match, an argument that separates them, and ultimately a reunion and happy ending with symbols of love like wedding bells and flowers. Romance films also commonly include emotional feelings and backstories to engage the audience.
Codes and Conventions of Coming of Age FilmsXinnia Ejaz
This document outlines the common codes and conventions of coming-of-age genre films. It discusses character archetypes like jocks, rebels, and outcasts. Typical settings include high schools, homes, and cafes. Soundtracks often include pop, indie, and rock music. Icons seen are phones, books, and branded clothing. Narrative themes revolve around identity, peer pressure, and social issues teenagers face.
Laura Mulvey is a prominent British feminist film theorist best known for her 1975 essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," which introduced the concept of the "male gaze" and analyzed how Hollywood cinema represents women through the heterosexual male perspective and for the visual pleasure of male viewers. Mulvey's influential work inaugurated the intersection of film theory, psychoanalysis, and feminism and analyzed how the symbolic order of society is dominated by the heterosexual male gaze, which objectifies women as representations of male desires.
This document provides an introduction to the film concept of mise-en-scene, which refers to everything visible within the frame of a film including settings, costumes, lighting, etc. It defines the five elements of mise-en-scene as settings and props, costumes/makeup, facial expressions, positioning of characters, and lighting/color. Each of these elements communicates meaning and sends signals to the audience. The document then examines each element in more detail and provides examples to illustrate how mise-en-scene is used and analyzed in film.
This document discusses character archetypes that are commonly found in comedy films and provides examples from two case studies, Four Lions and Love Actually. It identifies 10 common character types - The Square, The Wisecracker, The Bully, The Dork, The Goofball, The Charmer, The Stick, The Sage, The Bigmouth, and The Precocious. For each type, it provides a short description and video example from one of the case studies to illustrate that character. The document concludes by asking the reader to identify which character types are present in the two case studies.
Este documento proporciona instrucciones sobre cómo crear y configurar un perfil de Facebook, agregar amigos, crear listas de amigos, configurar la privacidad, publicar contenido y usar aplicaciones educativas. También discute el debate sobre la edad apropiada para que los niños usen Facebook y el potencial de Facebook como herramienta educativa en el aula.
Film terms and techniques, shots and angles part 2Andy Wallis
This document provides information on various film techniques related to shots and camera angles. It defines common shot types like close-up (CU), medium close-up (MCU), medium long shot (MLS), long shot (LS), and extreme long shot (ELS) based on the relationship between the human figure and the frame. It discusses how different shots like CU can be used to create intimacy or tension. It also explains different camera angles like low angles to depict power or high angles to make a subject seem small. Finally, it covers camera techniques like zooms, rack focus, and dolly shots which involve camera movement.
The musical elements in Moulin Rouge seem exaggerated and comedic, intended to parody musical genres rather than be a serious musical. The camera work is chaotic, quickly cutting between characters to produce a humorous effect. While some dances like the tango are intense, the dances here are meant to be funny, almost slapstick. Christian also effectively improvises the title song in the "Sound of Music" scene, further poking fun at musicals.
David Yates is a British film director born in 1963. He was inspired to pursue filmmaking after watching Jaws at a young age. Yates directed numerous short films in the late 1980s and early 1990s before breaking through with the 2003 political thriller State of Play. In 2005, he was chosen to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth installment in the popular Harry Potter film series. Impressed with his work, Warner Bros. brought Yates back to direct the final four Harry Potter films from 2009 to 2011, making him the longest-serving director of the franchise. Yates is known for his realistic and politically-themed style of filmmaking.
Moulin Rouge is a 2001 musical film directed by Baz Luhrmann, telling the story of a love affair between a writer named Christian (Ewan McGregor) and a courtesan named Satine (Nicole Kidman) set in Montmartre, Paris. The film uses techniques like close-up shots, high-contrast lighting, and musical numbers spliced together with cuts to convey themes of romance, passion, and the struggle to stay true to love despite obstacles. Red symbolizes passion and lust, while blue represents illusion and sadness. The elaborate set recreates the Moulin Rouge cabaret, and costumes reference historical paintings to represent different fetishes.
The opening scene of Moulin Rouge uses various cinematic techniques to establish mood and character. A single continuous shot introduces the main character, an English poet in 1900s Paris played by Ewan McGregor, as he sits depressed on the floor of his cluttered apartment. Expressive lighting highlights his distressed facial expressions and body language while a melancholy song plays on the soundtrack, conveying the character's sadness.
This document provides an introduction to key film techniques including mise-en-scène, framing, composition, use of space, and shot types. It discusses concepts like tight vs loose framing, the rule of thirds, deep vs shallow space, and establishing shots. Specific examples are given from films to illustrate techniques like framing characters in the background to show emotional distance or using shallow space to create a sense of being trapped. The document aims to explain the technical and symbolic aspects of how scenes are photographed and composed in film.
Drama portrays realistic characters and situations to move audiences emotionally through conflict. It depicts inner and outer struggles and uses climaxes and resolutions to keep audiences engaged. While drama often shows hardships, it can combine with other genres and some films break conventions by having unpredictable endings, like comedy-drama Larry Crowne or the tragic conclusion of Titanic.
Vladimir Propp was a literary scholar who developed a theory of narrative structure and character types. He proposed that all stories contain eight character archetypes, including the villain, dispatcher, helper, princess/prize, donor, and hero. Propp's theory influenced storytelling and filmmaking by providing a framework for crafting narratives with recognizable characters fulfilling specific functions that drive the plot forward.
Evaluation part 4 what you have learnt from your audience feedback. katywrighting1996
The document discusses feedback received from test screenings of a trailer for a psychological horror film called "The Hanging Tree." Positive feedback included that the story was clear and engaging, the soundtrack was effective, and costumes and sets looked good. Negative feedback noted that more should happen later in the trailer, the main character should be shown more, and a visual jump scare was needed. Edits were made to address these points, including reshooting and adding a final fast-paced montage. Further screenings received positive responses, confirming the improved trailer would appeal to its target audience.
Evaluation part 2 How effective is the combination of your main product an a...katywrighting1996
The document discusses the effectiveness of ancillary texts in promoting a main product. It analyzes a movie poster and magazine cover created to promote a psychological horror film called "The Hanging Tree". The poster features a close-up of the antagonist's face with muted colors and distorted text to create an unsettling feeling. The magazine cover positions the antagonist as the celebrity focus to encourage fandom and features blood splatters and an offer for a free poster to entice buyers. The document argues that these ancillary texts successfully sell the stylized nature of the film and work together as a marketing strategy to attract different audiences.
Part 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop, or challenge forms...252925
The document discusses how the media product, a trailer for the psychological horror film "The Hanging Tree", uses and develops conventions of the horror genre and film trailers. It incorporates elements common to both psychological horror films and horror trailers, such as an isolated setting, tension-building music, and changes in pace. Body horror elements were also included briefly to appeal to fans of gory horror films. The trailer aims to draw in audiences using familiar genre techniques while putting the filmmaker's distinctive auteur influence, inspired by George A. Romero's use of body horror, on the piece.
Part 3 How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, plan...katywrighting1996
The document discusses how various new media technologies were used at different stages of constructing a horror film trailer project. YouTube was particularly useful for researching existing horror trailers and film reviews. Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and After Effects were used to create the trailer, poster, and other ancillary materials. Social media like Facebook and evaluation tools like blogs, Flickr, and YouTube comments were then used to analyze and gather feedback on the finished products.
This document discusses film analysis through genre analysis and auteur theory. It provides examples of how to analyze a film's genre based on common elements like characters, settings, and codes/conventions. Moulin Rouge is used to demonstrate how it follows the codes of a musical genre through lavish costumes, settings in different eras, a love story between main characters, and more. Auteur theory is also summarized as examining a director's unique style and themes across their body of work.
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Baz Luhrmann is known as an auteur director whose films reflect his personal creative vision. The document analyzes the openings of two of Luhrmann's films, Romeo and Juliet and The Great Gatsby. In Romeo and Juliet, the opening uses a news bulletin, rapid shots, and dramatic music to create tension and anchor the audience. Shots of the divided city of Verona set the scene for violence. In The Great Gatsby, the opening uses a black background, eerie music, and a green light to generate mystery and introduce the protagonist Gatsby. The male narrator and 1920s setting provide context. Both openings effectively set the mood and foreshadow
This document provides an overview of musicals and the film Moulin Rouge. It defines a musical as a film genre where songs are sung by characters to advance the plot. It then gives a brief history of musicals from the 1920s to today, highlighting some well-known examples from each decade. It profiles 8 classic musicals in more detail. The document concludes by focusing on Moulin Rouge, providing links to view key scenes and songs from the 2001 film directed by Baz Luhrmann.
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1. Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film adaptation of Romeo + Juliet seeks to translate Shakespeare's play for a modern audience through revision, such as replacing candles with neon lights, while also celebrating Shakespeare's language through minimal changes to his dialogue.
2. It makes many adjustments to compress and cut scenes from the original play, while also expanding certain scenes like the death scene. This, along with its mixing of genres through visuals and sound at odds with Shakespeare's text, plays with the conventions of adaptation.
3. Despite changes, the film aims to retain the spirit of Shakespeare's tragedy and questions itself as a deconstruction and modern reimagining of the classic story for its audience, through its
This research catalogue outlines various sources for researching the films of Australian director Baz Luhrmann. It includes 4 of his films - Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!, and The Great Gatsby. Sources listed are films, ebooks, YouTube links, articles, and magazines. The sources will provide insight into Luhrmann's distinctive visual style, use of music, adaptations of source material, and collaborations with actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
Baz Luhrmann is an Australian director, producer and screenwriter known for theatrical productions and films such as Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge. He was born in Sydney in 1962 and directed his first film Strictly Ballroom in 1992, which was acclaimed at Cannes. Luhrmann is also known for his modern adaptations of classic stories like Romeo + Juliet in 1996 and The Great Gatsby in 2013. He co-founded the production company Bazmark Films with his wife Catherine Martin in 1997.
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The document summarizes the openings of five films: Amelie, Frida Kahlo, Romeo & Juliet (Moulin Rouge), and Juno. For each film, it outlines elements that establish settings, characters, genres, and provide context without fully revealing plot details. These elements include music, titles/credits, visuals/shots that set locations and times. The summaries convey just the essential high-level information about how each opening orients the viewer.
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Baz luhrmann – Style, Themes, Collaboration
1. Baz Luhrmann – Director Study
‘You can cut and paste the negative criticism of all my films, because it all says the same thing,’
2. My Ideas
• My idea is to research the directional study of Australian film
director, producer and screen writer, Baz Luhrmann.
• I aim to discover where his distinctive style came from and
how it developed throughout his films, and what impact he
was hoping to have.
• My hypothesis is that I will find many similarities throughout
four of Luhrmann’s films. I hope to find out that there are
personal ideas and collaborations that are the reason behind
these similarities.
3. Primary Sources – Focal Films
Baz Luhrmann has a rather small filmography, consisting of
five feature films. Three of these are a part of the Red Curtain
Trilogy, although I have also chosen to also study Gatsby for
the similarities that it has with the trilogy.
4. Secondary Sources
Online secondary sources I will use include:
• Wikipedia
• YouTube
• Articles
I will also be using books on Baz Luhrmann and
some of the actors he has worked with for their
opinions and their insights. Also I will look at
magazines discussing the films and use films,
including the ones I am studying for behind the
scenes and the directors voice on them.
5. Strictly Ballroom (1992)
PG | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance | 12 February 1993 (USA)
“At a certain support you need to inject, within this
construct that you've made, some humanity.”
• Adaption of his stage play
• Strictly Ballroom is based on a critically acclaimed stage play
originally set up in 1984 by Luhrmann and fellow students
while he was studying at the National Institute of Dramatic
Arts in Sydney.
• It drew on Luhrmann's own life experience—he had studied
ballroom dancing as a child and his mother worked as a
ballroom dance teacher in his teens
• Strictly Ballroom grossed AUD 21,760,400 at the box office in
Australia, and a further USD 11,738,022 in the United States.
Worldwide, it eventually took AUD 80 million at the box office,
making it one of the most successful Australian films of all
time.
• In 1993, the film was nominated for best picture (musical or
comedy) at the Golden Globes.
6. Romeo + Juliet (1996)
PG-13 | 120 min | Drama, Romance | 1 November 1996 (USA)
“Shakespeare had an amazing genius for capturing who
we are and revealing it to us. My job is just to re-reveal
it.”
• Adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo + Juliet is a 1996 American romantic drama film adaptation
of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
• The film is an abridged modernization of Shakespeare's play. While
it retains the original Shakespearean dialogue, the Montagues and
the Capulets are represented as warring mafia empires and swords
are replaced with guns.
• The film premiered on November 1, 1996 in the United States and
Canada in 1,276 theaters and grossed $11.1 million its opening
weekend, ranking #1 at the box office. It went on to gross $46.3
million in the United States and Canada with a worldwide total of
USD$147,554,998.
7. Moulin Rouge (2001)
PG-13 | 127 min | Drama, Musical, Romance | 1 June 2001 (USA)
“I think it's about love above all things. A love of the
theatre and a love of art.”
• Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 Australian–American pastiche-
jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by
Baz.
• Luhrmann and his writing partner Craig Pearce began
brainstorming Moulin Rouge! with the Greek myth of
Orpheus in mind.
• Trying to mix comedy, music and tragedy.
• The songs were used not simply as an adornment, but
integral to the story telling.
• Domestic gross: $57,386,607 + Foreign gross:
$121,826,827 = Worldwide gross: $179,213,434
8. The Great Gatsby (2013)
PG-13 | 143 min | Drama, Romance | 10 May 2013 (USA)
• The Great Gatsby is a 2013 3D epic romantic drama film
adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel of the same
name.
• As of 2014, it is Baz Luhrmann's highest grossing film, having
earned over $350 million worldwide.
• At the 86th Academy Awards, the film won in both of its
nominated categories: Best Production Design and Best
Costume Design.
• In the novel, one of Fitzgerald's characters says, "I like large
parties -- they're so intimate." That pretty much sums up
Luhrmann's overall approach: "It's generally a quiet, internal
story about very loud, colorful, intense things. I wanted to make
a film that was a large party -- that was extraordinarily
intimate.“
"And all of my choices – right, wrong or indifferent; all the eyeball-
rolling and easy swipes – which by the way I'm used to … well, he
also suffered from that. Fitzgerald was, in quotation marks, a clown,
just like I am."
9. Why I’ve Chosen These Films
Strictly Ballroom (1992)
Strictly Ballroom is the first film in the Red Curtain Trilogy. It is also the most basic in the sense of mise en
scene, sound and lighting. It is obvious that this is Luhrmann’s first ever film in how his ideas and style has
developed, in comparison to Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby, this film was more personal and Baz
focused more on the characters than the overall appearance. I also aim to find out why Baz Luhrmann’s
films all contain love and romance.
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
This is the second film in the trilogy, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s play but modernised. I aim to find out
why was the 20th century brought into a late 1500’s play, still including the original Shakespearean dialogue.
His editing had also clearly developed from Strictly Ballroom, along with the idea of making this film bigger
and better. I also aim to find out why he used to music that he chose along with the mise en scene, and
how he started to achieve this style.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Moulin Rouge is the final film of the Red Curtain Trilogy. I am going to research what influenced this trilogy
and what he wanted to achieve as none of the films really link together other than Luhrmann’s use of style.
Moulin Rouge also has strong performance elements along with the rest of the trilogy, hence the ‘Red
Curtain’. His use of mise en scene still has similarities although you can see that it has developed and there
are bigger scenes including more people, which relates to the party scene in The Great Gatsby, his most
recent film.
The Great Gatsby (2013)
I’ve chosen The Great Gatsby even though it isn’t a part of the Red Curtain Trilogy because of Luhrmann’s
similar ideas and the development in his style. This is also his second time working with Leonardo DiCaprio
(almost would have been the third), I would like to find out what it is about DiCaprio that Luhrmann is
attracted to and why he feels that he is the right choice for his films. The Great Gatsby is also one of the
most classic American novels, I aim to find out why Luhrmann likes to adapt other peoples work and what it
was about The Great Gatsby that relates to his style, is he influenced by F. Scott Fitzgerald?
10. Luhrmann’s Background
• Luhrmann was born in Sydney, Australia 1962. His mother, Barbara Carmel, was a ballroom dance teacher
and dress shop owner, and his father, Leonard Luhrmann, ran a petrol station and a movie theatre.
• He was raised in Herons Creek, a tiny rural settlement in northern New South Wales. He attended St
Joseph's Hastings Regional School, Port Macquarie; St Paul's College, Manly, performing in the school's
version of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1.
• Luhrmann received the nickname "Baz" from his father Leonard. He officially changed his given name from
Mark to Baz sometime around 1979.
• In 1983, he commenced an acting course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, he graduated in 1985.
• Luhrmann has cited Italian grand opera as a major influence on his work and has also given a nod to other
theatrical styles, such as Bollywood films, as having had an impact on his style. Luhrmann was a ballroom
dancer as a child, also his mother teaching ballroom dancing was an inspiration for Strictly Ballroom.
11. Luhrmann’s Love of Musicals, Novels and Plays
• Strictly Ballroom was created while Luhrmann was at Drama school. He made it in response to feeling
artistically oppressed during the time of the cold war.
“There was seemingly nothing we could do about the state of the world. It seems an odd thing, but when I did
the play and we went to Czechoslovakia all those oppressed countries in the Eastern Bloc awarded it first prize.
They were very emotional about the metaphorical message. It was interesting that when I went about to make
the film and I wrote a naturalistic screenplay, the metaphorical message, or the second meaning was lost.
That's why I reached back to my love of the musicals of the thirties and forties to create a sort of cinematic
language that could contain both the clarity of the story and this second level of meaning as well.” – Luhrmann.
• Of all the projects you could have made after the success of Strictly Ballroom, why did you adapt Romeo
& Juliet?
“I was in a deal with Fox to make another film, and Romeo & Juliet was on a list of a hundred things I wanted to
do in the cinema. I’d always thought about doing a kind of funky Shakespeare, telling a Shakespearean story the
way Shakespeare would have presented the material when he was at the Globe Theatre. For all our love and
our respect for the Shakespeare’s that have been done, the way we view Shakespeare, not just in cinema but
also in the theatre, tends to be really informed by a whole tradition out of the nineteenth century. So it’s not an
Elizabethan notion at all. I wanted to step away from that and back towards the way Shakespeare had
originally presented his story.”
13. Red Curtain Cinema – Luhrmann’s own genre
Red Curtain Cinema is certainly a genre that is opposed to classic Hollywood style and breaks with traditions and rules. The colourful sets,
the modern music and the fast-paced cutting are exaggerated and do not comply with reality as we know it. In Red Curtain Cinema, the
form, structure and presentation of the story are more important than the narrative itself, which is the reason why the ending is always
already revealed at the very start of the film. By giving away the tragic outcome in the beginning, the focus of the film moves away from
the ‘what’ to the ‘how’. What is of interest is not so much what happens in the film but how it is presented.
Therefore, Red Curtain Cinema makes use of an elaborate framing structure that encloses each film in three or more layers of frame. One
of these frames is the name-giving red curtain itself – it literally opens and closes the film Moulin Rouge! – which appears in different forms
– as a TV set in Romeo + Juliet and as a golden frame in The Great Gatsby.
Pam Cook mentions that “Luhrmann exploits the exhibitionist nature of cinema, putting all the elements of the medium on display” and
thus drawing viewers to call his style “flashy”. It is not an inappropriate description of Luhrmann’s style, which crosses boundaries not only
on a filmic level but also in his personal life. Having worked in “theatre, opera, fashion and music production as well as film-making there is
something of the agent provocateur in Luhrmann’s approach to his artistic endeavours”. Cook describes him as a “new kind of showman-
auteur, a mixture of entrepreneur, performer and artist”, he is not afraid of crossing boundaries and polarizing his audience and critics.
Strictly Ballroom Romeo + Juliet Moulin Rouge! The Great Gatsby
Moreover, branding is not only of
relevance in establishing an identity
for his oeuvre, but also in reinforcing
his status as an auteur who is in
complete control of the production
and the final product.
‘A life lived in fear, is a life half lived’
from his logo is from Strictly Ballroom.
14. Plot Giveaway
Baz is known for giving away the plot/the ending at the beginning of the film.
Strictly Ballroom: The opening sequence is a montage giving away the plot of how the equilibrium is disrupted
before we’ve even established the equilibrium.
Romeo + Juliet: The prologue is spoken by a news reporter which says that ‘a pair of star-crossed lovers take their
lives’, which is the death of Romeo and Juliet.
Moulin Rouge!: Christian narrates the film by writing the story on his typewriter, he tells the audience that Satine,
his love interest, had died.
The Great Gatsby: Nick Carraway narrates the film. It starts with Nick talking to a doctor at the sanatorium about
his mental health and what caused it (Gatsby’s death) which is when he starts to typewrite the story of ‘The Great
Gatsby’.
Graham Fuller: You let us know from the beginning that Satine is doomed. Doesn’t that sacrifice dramatic
tension?
No, it’s completely the opposite. It’s a very old device. Shakespeare is probably the master of it. We constantly
remind the audience that Satine is dying so that when she and Christian are having their love scenes, this clanging
bell intensifies the experience of being with her while she’s alive. As for letting the audience know how something
is going to end, there’s no pretence that we’re doing a social or psychological examination of Paris. What we’re
doing is telling a myth, and the resonance comes from the way the story is revealed.
15. Signs and Symbols
Strictly Ballroom Romeo + Juliet
Moulin Rouge! The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby Romeo + Juliet
The Red Curtain Trilogy
16. Signs and Symbols (2)
There are a lot scenes of water in this film, what are the ideas
behind that?
Luhrmann - In truth, with Romeo and Juliet I've dealt with their
world as if their parents are like a Busby Berkley musical on acid
and it's coming at them all the time and it won't shut up. When
you get to Paul Sorvino in a dress you just think please - no more.
Next thing, Romeo is under water - click - silence. It's not a big
symbolic thing, but Romeo and Juliet escape into water. They use
water for silence and peace and their 'There's a place for us'
moments. That final image when they kiss under water - it's just
silence. It comes from a personal experience of mine. My father
used to talk a lot and we'd be in the pool and I'd just go
underwater to hide from him. It was always so peaceful. That's
where that comes from. It's a theatrical device. Everything is about
telling the story. The alchemy or the power or the magic is
something the audience has and there is a gap or a distance
between the experience that audience has, which can be
profound, and the act of making it, which is ultimately mechanical.
It's motivated by a heartfelt spirit, and obviously you tap things
within your own mind, but ultimately it's mechanical.
Water in Romeo + Juliet
As flowers are an aesthetic representation of transitory
beauty, F. Scott Fitzgerald employs their meanings in his
narrative, especially in the names of two of his main
characters, Daisy Buchanan and Mrytle Wilson.
Daisy Buchanan
A fragile flower, the daisy represents innocence, purity,
and beauty. To Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan's name is an
appropriate one; however, her innocence and
appearance of purity are ephemeral, and at her center is
the yellow of her cupidity and moral corruption. For, at
the core of Daisy Buchanan, whose voice "sounded like
money," is the desire for wealth and it accompanying
social position. Like the ephemeral flower, then, Daisy's
love for Gatsby soon withers and dies. Her name, then, is
symbolic of the impermanence of the empty values of the
Jazz Age.
Flowers in The Great Gatsby Myrtle Wilson
An ancient flower, the myrtle became
associated in Greek mythology with
Aphrodite, the goddess of Love. Roman
gardens often contained myrtle as it is a
hardy plant. So, the myrtle has come to
represent joy, love, and immortality.
Ironically, then, it seems that Fitzgerald
used the name of his character to
demonstrate, as Daisy's name does, the
impermanence and falsity of the Jazz Age.
Whatever, joy and love that all associated
with Myrtle Wilson have had--George, her
husband, Tom, her lover, and Jay Gatsby
who is with her on that fatal day--is
destroyed along with her. Therefore, her
name symbolizes the impermanence of
love and the reality of mortality.
In addition to the names of Daisy and Myrtle, Fitzgerald employs
flowers in the characterization of others. For instance, at one of
Gatsby's parties attended by frivolous and dissolute guests
representative of the era, one actress stands in great contrast to
the other guests. In her refinement and rarity, she is described as
a flower symbolic of her character:
Gatsby indicated a gorgeous, scarcely human orchid of a woman
who sat in state under a white plum tree.
Flowers, like Gatsby's great American Dream, symbolize the
illusionary and transitory values of his life and the era in which he
lives. Nick reflects upon this duplicity of flowers that only briefly
create the illusion of beauty, then decay and die:
He [Gatsby] must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through
frightening leaves and shivered when he found what a grotesque
thing a rose is and how the raw sunlight was upon the scarcely
created grass.
For, even the rose, symbolic of great passion and love, decays, an
ugliness concealed by beauty and appeal.
17. Looking and the Male Gaze/Reflections in Photographs and Mirrors
• Mirror imagery is abundant in the three films discussed: In Romeo + Juliet, for instance, Juliet’s
mother Gloria Capulet is admiring herself in the mirror as she praises Paris’ beauty, thus, referring to
her own appearance which she recognizes as ideal in the mirror. Romeo, too, is seen standing in front
of the mirror: In the bathroom scene at the Capulet ball he takes off his mask and looks in the mirror,
but only briefly, for he is distracted by the aquarium behind him. It can be said that Romeo is not
interested in discovering his ideal ego in the mirror, because he is more fascinated with Juliet’s looks
and sees himself mirrored in her eyes. In Romeo + Juliet, mirrors are not the only reflecting surface of
importance: Juliet and Romeo are often seen in water and Romeo even hides in it after escaping the
Capulet mansion. Juliet looks back at Romeo, who has fallen into the pool, and exclaims “O god, I
have an ill-divining soul, me thinks I see thee now as one dead in the bottom of a tomb”. What she
believes she sees while Romeo submerges, is both a mirror of her emotions and worries and a
foreboding of Romeo’s impending death. In this sense, water can be regarded as a mirror as well –
after all, it only shows a reflection and not reality.
• A character that is repeatedly seen looking at herself in the mirror, is Daisy Buchanan. The first thing
she does upon entering Nick’s house is check her appearance in the mirror, and whenever a reflective
surface is near, she is quick to sit in front of it and admire herself. Daisy’s many reflections illustrate
her flippancy and indecisiveness and are best visualized in the triple mirror in Gatsby’s bedroom. She
is mostly interested in herself and enjoys being the centre of attention. Therefore, Daisy is the ideal
target audience for visual media in all its forms.
• The use of technical gadgets like photography and the camera is a recurring theme in The Great
Gatsby: Set in the Golden Age and at the heyday of new inventions, the film illustrates the growing
influence of visual media on the characters. Myrtle’s neighbour McKee takes pictures of the party
guests in Myrtle and Tom’s apartment and Nick is seen filming and photographing Gatsby and Daisy.
Most notably however, photography is illustrated as influential enough to be accepted at face value:
To prove his stories and adventures, Gatsby shows Nick a medal from Montenegro and “something I
always carry with me, a souvenir of Oxford days”, he says and pulls out a photograph from his time in
England. He explains that it “was taken in Trinity quad. The man on my left is now the Earl of
Doncaster”, in the knowledge that a picture tells more than words and that Nick needs photographic
evidence if he is to be persuaded.
20. Love/Romance
All of Baz Luhrmann’s films have been a romance genre. He says that he has always been drawn to “tragic romance.”
What is your idea of love? Is love not possible?
“I believe in love. Sounds like a song, but I do. All my works have essentially been about some degree of love. It may be a
word, but in truth it’s a profound emotion that is, in your body and your veins, chemical. Do I believe in the extraordinary,
passionate mad things people will do for love? Yes. Is young love a lethal and dangerous drug, in a world of learned hate,
where you are being told to hate someone because of their name or skin colour? Do I believe in that primary myth?
Absolutely I do. Am I telling it in an offhanded way to disarm people? Yes. But I do ultimately hope that you are moved by
that tragedy.”
Do you think love is the same now as it was at the time that Romeo and Juliet was written?
“I think everything human is the same at all times. I don’t think the human condition changes. The conditions around us
change, but what makes us human beings does not change. You see it in Shakespeare’s other plays. Hamlet. The genius of
Shakespeare is not his stories. He did not write Romeo and Juliet, he stole it, a long poem that was based on an Italian
novella. He stole it, but his genius is his understanding of the human condition and his ability with words.”
Note:
Theme of love not meant to be
as all of the films I am studying
apart from Strictly Ballroom have
love stories that don’t succeed.
21. Drama/Performance ( including Tragedy)
In the Red Curtain Trilogy, Luhrmann employs a theatre motif to forward the narrative and engage the audience. In Strictly Ballroom, the protagonists
illustrate their emotions through dancing, in Romeo + Juliet, the characters speak in iambic pentameter to communicate the drama and tragedy of
Shakespeare’s play, and in Moulin Rouge!, the characters express their thoughts and feelings by spontaneously breaking out into song.
Although Luhrmann’s newest film – an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, The Great Gatsby – comprises all important narrative and
stylistic devices that mark it as a successor of the Red Curtain Trilogy. The Great Gatsby illustrates how the excessive visuality and symbolism that are
an integral part of Red Curtain Cinema and a trademark of Luhrmann, have returned twelve years after the completion of the Red Curtain Trilogy.
Bringing the Old into the New (Use of Anachronism)
The myth or simple narrative, which provides the basis for the plot, is easy enough to detect in Romeo + Juliet and The Great Gatsby, which are both
based on well-known literary works. While Shakespeare’s drama and Fitzgerald’s novel are familiar to most viewers, the underlying myths of Moulin
Rouge! are not quite as obvious. Luhrmann points out that Moulin Rouge! includes elements of the Orpheus myth, La Bohème and La Traviata. Most
notably, Orpheus’ descent into the underworld to bring back his wife Eurydice is the narrative on which the figure of Christian and the love story
between Christian and Satine are based. Furthermore, these myths are then set in a heightened and modernized world viewers can relate to: Romeo +
Juliet is set in modern day Verona Beach, Moulin Rouge! takes place in an idealized 19th century Paris and The Great Gatsby is set in New York City in
the 1920s, with the focus on how the characters must have experienced life in the Roaring Twenties. The aim of Red Curtain films is to create the
same sense of wonder in film spectators today, as the characters have experienced in the face of new inventions at the time.
“Luhrmann’s Red Curtain films have a lot more in common than just their borrowings from the world of theatre: As will be explained in this master
thesis, Luhrmann’s films can easily be recognized as such through a series of narrative structures and aesthetic devices that are especially noticeable on
a visual level. Moreover, these structures and devices are not limited to the three movies Luhrmann constitutes as a trilogy; rather, they are a common
thread running through his entire oeuvre. Luhrmann’s newest film – an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby – comprises all
important narrative and stylistic devices that mark it as a successor of the Red Curtain Trilogy.” - Anett Koch.
http://www.grin.com/en/e-book/275231/the-visual-aesthetics-of-baz-luhrmann-s-red-curtain-cinema
24. Baz Luhrmann does not see himself as an auteur,
but rather as “part of a team that makes things”.
That team consists of Catherine Martin, the film’s
production designer, and Bill Marron, the associate
production designer, both of whom share a house
with Baz in Sydney.
25.
26. Costume/Production design
Baz Luhrmann’s wife, Catherine Martin, has taken part in the costume and production design of
all of Luhrmann’s films.
Catherine Martin (born 26 January 1965) is an Australian costume designer, production designer,
set designer, and film producer. She won two Academy Awards for Moulin Rouge! in 2002 and
another two for The Great Gatsby in 2014. Having won four Oscars, she is the most awarded
Australian in Oscar history.
She recreated her designs for screen-version of Strictly Ballroom (1992), for which she won two
Australian Film Institute Awards (Best Production design and Best Costume design). She won an
Oscar nomination (as a production designer) for Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996). She also
made her debut as an associate producer for the same film. She married Luhrmann on her 32nd
birthday, 26 January 1997.
She designed Nicole Kidman's vintage wardrobe for Baz’s 2008 film Australia. In 2009, she
received a fourth Oscar nomination for Best Achievement in Costume Design for Australia, but
lost the award to Michael O'Connor for The Duchess.
She has also launched a range of home wares, featuring paints, wallpaper and rugs.
28. Costume Design
Moulin Rouge
Strictly Ballroom
The Great Gatsby
Catherine Martin: "There’s a very famous illustration from the mid
’30s by J. C. Leyendecker of a man in a pink striped suit. But Baz
always likes to know that there’s a precedent. In 1925 when the
story is set, did anyone wear a pink suit? We researched and
researched, and after working with Brooks Brothers’s archivist, we
found they’d been making seersucker suits from the late 19th
century, so tick! We worked really hard on the silhouettes. In the
late teens, all the suits were very body conscious and really tight.
But by 1925 to the late ’20s, it was a baggier silhouette. We made
the call to go with the more flattering, tailored look to get that
feeling of Dandyism that really needed to be clear with Gatsby. But
the details were very 1920’s—folded-back cuffs, fantastic seaming
down the front, and pocket detailing."
Romeo and Juliet
"You need to justify each piece of
clothing, in serving the story."
The "Red Curtain" style was instrumental in creating this world. Luhrmann: "One
of the characteristics of the 'Red Curtain' films is the use of classic cinema
references. In MOULIN ROUGE we have utilized this mechanism both in making
reference to classic hair styles and costume silhouettes of the great divas of the
'40s and '50s. Marlene Dietrich, with a sprinkle of CABARET (1972) and a nod to
Rita Hayworth in GILDA (1946). It is this constant referencing and re-referencing
that we hope allows a modern audience to decode the historical setting. The ease
with which the audience understands the story is crucial. In this musical we are
not revealing the characters or plot slowly and invisibly, but quickly and overtly. "