How Do We Analyse Films- GWL 4

 GWL 4 : How Do We Analyse Films? 

There are a number of ways that we can analyse films. Two ways to analyse films are by analysing the genre of the film, and by applying auteur theory to a film. These help us understand the film better and helps use analyse the films further.

Genre analysis is what is used to analyse films. This means that we will look at what the genre is and the aspects of that particular genre, which will inform us of what or who will be featured in the film.  There are a lot of different genres of films, which also contain subgenres and hybrid genres. Each film genre has codes and conventions, which are used to reflect the genre of the film.  Horror is a genre of film. The common codes and conventions used in a horror film, are codes such as settings. A setting in a horror film is usually based in a secluded location, where no adults will go. More codes and conventions we see in horror films are a lot of gore and blood, the storyline usually contains a killer and a group of friends that are being tracked down by the killer.  A weapon is also seen in a horror film usually a knife.  A horror film which we see this in is Friday the 13^TH. A group of friends go to Camp Crystal Lake, and are killed off one by one by a serial killer named Jason Voorhees, and the weapon he uses is a machete. Another film genre is gangster. This genre also has a lot of codes and conventions such as violence, fighting, guns and death. Drugs are also usually involved in gangster films. We will see a family which usually are part of a gang that fight rival gangs. We will also see a leader of the gang which are sometimes referred to as Don’s. The Godfather is a gangster film, which is about the family called Corleone’s, which is led by Don Vito Corleone. In this film we see a lot of fighting and death, because of the family fighting with rival gangs in. Thriller is another genre.  Thriller films often have a linear narrative, and have a lot of iconography such as guns, police, and crime/murder. The expectations for a thriller is to have a protagonist and antagonist in the film who fight each other, a lot of low key lighting used throughout the film, flashbacks and cross cutting.  We see this in the film Silence of the Lambs. Silence of the Lambs, tells the story of a young FBI agent named Clarice Starling, tracking down a serial killer named Buffalo Bill.  

Applying the Auteur theory to a film also helps analyse it. Auteur theory means that the film reflects the director’s vision, and it is a way of ‘reading’ the film as if it has an author, which is the director. Even after the production part of making a film, the director’s intentions and vision come through in the film, so the audience will know what the director is aiming to do. Auteur means author in French, and the Auteur theory was founded by Andre Bazin in 1951 and the Auteur theory has influenced film criticism since 1954. Film analysists will look at specific directors when applying the Auteur theory to their films. Film director Quentin Tarantino uses postmodern features in all of his films. He uses a variety of postmodern features in his films, to make them seem timeless. Pulp Fiction, one of Tarantino’s films uses a lot of these features, by making references to other films and different eras.  When film analysists will look at this director, they will know that he is trying to achieve this by having specific references in some scenes and they will see that being reflected in the film. Another director that can be seen as an auteur is film director Tim Burton. Tim Burton is known for being influenced by German Expressionist films and is known for using this in his films. He is also known for using a lot of dark gothic imagery in all of his films. He is seen as an auteur because he reflects his childhood into his films, by having the main character seen as an outsider, who doesn’t have a good relationship with their father or have an absent father. Main Characters such as Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton 1990) and Willy Wonka (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 2005) both are characters that are shown to be outsiders who feel like they don’t fit in to the normal suburban life, and who both seem to have an absent or strained relationship with their father.

Moulin Rouge (Baz Luhrmann 2001) is a romantic musical. The film tells the story of a penniless writer called Christian, falling in love with a prostitute named Satine. Christian travels to Paris in hope to achieve his goal of becoming a better writer when he meets Satine at the Moulin Rouge, after being mistaken as the Duke. With Satine being a prostitute, this causes difficulties in her and Christian’s relationship. The relationship between the two is chaotic because of Satine’s job. A musical film will usually have the story of a boy and girl who meet, fall in love and live happily ever after like a fairy-tale.  Moulin Rouge doesn’t have the typical fairy tale ending, but it is still a happy ending although Satine dies, she still declares her love for Christian.

Musical films have a variety of different codes and conventions. These are used to portray the genre of the film, and also the theme of the films. The two main characters in musical films are usually a man and a woman. The two main characters in a musical are usually opposites that attract, this happens in Moulin Rouge. Musicals such as Grease (Randal Kleiser 1978) feature these characters Sandy and Danny, two high school students who fall in love.  Another musical that features this is Hairspray (Adam Shankman 2007), where the two main characters Link and Tracy meet and fall in love. Satine and Christian aren't these types of characters. Satine is a prostitute who doesn't believe in love, after years of selling her body to men. Christian is a penniless writer, believes deeply in love, and writes about it. The Duke is another important character in Moulin Rouge who can be seen as the antagonist of the film. This is because he is getting in the way of Satine and Christians relationship. He discovers that Satine and Christian are in love and seeks to destroy their relationship so he can be with Satine. Satine’s name closely represents Satan. This is to show her “evil” side because she is a prostitute. Christian’s name sounds like Christ, which is a very religious name. This is to represent good because of how innocent and pure he seems.

The narrative of Moulin Rouge is a linear narrative. It is typical for musicals to have linear narratives, because of the songs, and dances that are featured in them which only fit in with certain parts of the storyline and flashbacks are frequently used. Christian is telling the story of him and Satine. A non-diegetic sound of Christian’s voice over is used throughout the film narrating the story. The film is told from Christian’s eyes and his memories; the majority of the film is a flashback. In the film alot of dark themes are used, such as themes of death and jealousy. These themes are  particularly seen when the Duke finds out about Christian and Satine.

A variety of iconography is used in Moulin Rouge, which represents that the film is a musical. The film opens with red curtains opening before the film starts. This gives the idea of a Broadway show as if the audience are watching a play. On the stage in which Satine performs there is a large red heart in the background. This is used to represent one of the themes of the film which is love. The colour red not only represents love , but also represents jealousy, anger and death. There’s a variety of sparkly and flamboyant outfits worn by the dancers which show that the film is a musical. The film is set in Paris, between 1899 and 1900. Paris is notorious for being the city of love. This is the reason it was chosen as the setting of the film, so it could represent the love between Satine & Christian. Even though it is a beautiful setting used to represent the main theme, a lot of darker themes are in the film. This is typical for musicals because it creates an atmosphere in the film for the audience.  The film is really unrealistic because of the way the dancers just start dancing and singing out of nowhere which wouldn’t happen in real life. The entire film is based around Christian and Satine’s relationship and the idea of them creating a show which must go on, no matter the circumstances. The music in the film is created to express the emotions of the characters, in particular Satine and Christians emotions. Songs such " I'll Fly Away" express Satines feelings of wanting to escape the Moulin Rouge and get away from being a prostitute so she can be with Christian freely. The song " Come What May" is used to represent the two characters love for each other with lyrcis such as "Never Knew i could feel like this". Songs like this help the narrative of the film by showing the story of the two main characters and helps the storyline unfold.

TIm Burton is seen as an auteur because of the reflection on his life in his work and for using a particular style when creating his films. He enjoys creating quirky fantasy films, and i am going to be applying auteur theory to him.

Tim Burton is known for being influenced by German Expressionism. In a variety of his films we can see that he has been influenced by it.  This is why  he is known to be an auteur. He uses gothic imagery in almost all of his films, and also has the same dark themes. The themes in his films are usually death, and isolation. A lot of the main characters in Tim’s films are seen as outsiders and outcasts. This reflects Tim Burton’s childhood, as he was also an outcast because of the way he looked and didn’t feel like he fitted in where he lived. Some of the characters in Tim Burton’s films have a strained relationship with their parents, especially the father. This again reflects the strained relationship between Tim and his father throughout his childhood. Tim Burton is known for creating quirky and very imaginative films. Almost all of his films are of the fantasy genre.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Tim Burton 2007) is a horror musical. The film follows a barber called Sweeney Todd, who goes to London in hopes of finding his daughter and wife. He had been banished from London because Judge Turpin wanted Sweeney’s wife Lucy. Sweeney then decides to open a barbers shop above Mrs Lovett’s meat pie shop. The two main characters are played by Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. These two stars are frequently featured in Tim Burton’s films. The two stars have also featured in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (Tim Burton 2005), Corpse Bride (2005), and Alice in Wonderland (2010). Popular characters that Tim Burton has created such as Sweeney Todd and Edward Scissorhands are close representations of Tim himself. The hair styles of the two characters and Tim are very similar.  Sweeney Todd and Edward Scissorhands are very pale characters with dark hair and eyes. This makes them look quite scary looking, and shows a clear representation of German expressionism because of characters like Nosferatu. Nosferatu is a 1922 silent horror film. This is one of the main influences for Tim Burton.  Nosferatu is a vampire also known as Count Orlok. He is very pale and has dark eyes. This is how Tim was influenced to create characters such as Sweeney Todd and Edward Scissorhands  In Burton’s films such as Sweeney Todd we can see clearly how he has been influenced from films such as Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr Caligeri. This can be seen by the way he has adapted scenes from these films into his own. In one of the scenes of Sweeney Todd , Sweeney is seen standing in the doorway of his barber shop. He is seen as a dark silhouette which is influenced by a scene in Nosferatu. Tim also used this scene in Edward Scissorhands, when Penny is stood in the doorway of the mansion. Most musicals have the main theme of the film to be love. This isn’t the case in Sweeney Todd. The themes in Sweeney Todd are betrayal, revenge, murder and death. He uses these themes in the majority of his films such as Beetlejuice , this could be used to reflect some of the emotions he felt in his childhood. Tim Burton creates a completely different musical. In the case of Edward Scissorhands, the story is very similar to the one in The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. A scientist creates a man named Edward, but he is very different to all other men, he has scissors for hands.  Dr Caligari discovers a somnambulist named Cesare, who is a sleepwalker. He uses Cesare in order for him to get money from the public. Tim Burton uses alot of gothic imagery throughout his films, by having the use of dark colours, black costumes, and the pale faces and dark eyes which the majority of his main characters have. In films such as Beetlejuice and Sweeney Todd gothic architecture is used throughout the films.

We can see that Sweeney Todd isn’t a typical musical just by the visual style. In musicals such as Grease and Moulin Rouge and Hairspray there are a lot of bright and vivid colours as the film starts. This doesn’t happen in Sweeney Todd, as the audience don’t know it’s a musical, it looks more like a beginning of a normal horror film. The beginning of the film is very dark; a lot of dark colour is used. Blood is seen running down the wall which is used to represent the theme of death and the blood is also seen coming out of the pies. Dark piano music is played at the beginning of the film and is played when the blood is seen on screen. The music sounds like funeral music, which fits the theme of the film and gives the audience an idea of what might be seen in the film.  Throughout the film a lot of dark colours are used, mostly when Sweeney Todd and Mrs Lovett are on screen, but a lot of bright colours are used when Johanna Sweeney’s daughter is on screen. Tim Burton has used this to represent the good and innocence of Johanna, compared to the darkness, evil and misery of Sweeney and Mrs Lovett. The narrative of Sweeney Todd is a linear narrative, all the events happen chronologically with a few flashbacks used to show Sweeney's past.During Sweeney Todd the weather is very dark , and rainy, which looks really miserable. This is different during the flashbacks of Sweeney when he is talking about Lucy and Johanna. This is technique called Pathetic Fallacy. Burton has used this to express the emotions of Sweeney Todd , so they audience will feel Sweeney's emotions. Tim Burton also uses dark colours and music in films such as Beetlejuice and Corpse Bride. The music at the beginning of Beetlejuice is quite dark orchestra music which later lightens as the title of the film appears on screen. The music gives a ghostly sounding effect which goes with the glowing effect on the font of the credits, which creates an eeriness. The film title for Beetlejuice is created to look like a headstone with skulls and bones appearing on it.  Corpse Bride has a similar effect as the beginning of Beetlejuice. Dark colours such as black and greys are used with skeleton hands appearing on screen. The music it quite calm and similar to music used in Edward Scissorhands. This is some of the gothic imagery Tim Burton uses in his films.

One of the conventions of a musical is the costumes. In musicals such as Moulin Rouge the costumes are very colourful, flamboyant and over dramatic. The costumes in Sweeney Todd are over dramatic and very over stylized, Mrs Lovetts costume is very gothic Victorian styled, she is seen wearing a very puffy dress with a corset. Sweeney's costume is also very overstylized wearing a waist coat, shirt and jacket. Alice in Wonderland is another Tim Burton film in which the characters wear over stylized, Victorian styled clothing. The clothing worn by Tim Burton’s characters are often over stylized and very dramatic such as Lydia from Beetlejuice who is seen wearing mostly black clothing ,with a veil which looks like she has been to a funeral. The characters in Sweeney Todd each have an important role in the film. Although Sweeney is a serial killer the audience stiill really support the character, because we feel sorry for him because of his past. Mrs Lovett is another really likeable character because she is Sweeney's side kick and the audience want to see Sweeney get his revenge. Mrs Lovett is seen as the 'witch' character. She has a very dark and mysterious aura to her, and she also reveals that she knew Lucy was alive all along, which effects the plot of the film. These two main characters have a very erratic and unusual behaviour , which is often used in Tim Burton’s films. Tim is also known for using stereotypes to represent people in his films. Judge Turpin is a stereotype of a well-known wealthy man , who looks down to the likes of Sweeney and who uses his power against other people. Another character that he has used as a stereotype is Kim from Edward Scissorhands. Kim is a blonde cheerleader, who doesn't like Edward just because of the way he looks. Her boyfriend in the film is also a stereotypical 'Jock' character who also doesn't like Edward and because of this picks on him. Tim Burton tends to use these types of characters in most of his films. The main character of his films is always seen as an outcast who doesn’t fit in, which the audience take pity on, even if the characters actions aren’t good. The main character also seems to have a ‘side kick’ character that helps them. This can be seen in Sweeney Todd , Alice In Wonderland and Sleepy Hollow.

Genre analysis and Auteur theory are both ways to analyse films. Genre analysis helps us understand what characters, setting and story line we can expect in a particular film. One of the main ways we can tell a films genre is by the posters, objects on the poster such as the stars of the film, title of the film and even the use of colour are used to represent the genre. Auteur theory is another way to analyse films. It helps the audience understand the director’s perspective and aim when creating the films. It is a more in depth way for people to understand films more , and gives more information about the film and directors creativity.