Film 110; Chapter 12
Subjective Evaluation of the Film: Questions to ask:
-how well does the film utilize the full potential of the medium -what inventive techniques are employed and how impressive are the effects they create -judged as a whole, is the film technically inferior or superior -what are the films strongest points and what are its weakest
Theme: what you really want to ask it
-what is the directors purpose or primary aim in making the film -what is the true subject of the film, -what kind of statements, if any, does the film make about that subject
The Film as Showcase for the Actor: The personality cult must be familiar with the
actor/actress other films to evaluate the performance compared to their other roles
try to see a film twice for a better
analysis
Jungian Criticism: basic
assumption
The film as Gender or Racial Statement: any controversial group may be
at the thematic center of the political approach to movies
The Film as Insight to the Mind: The psychoanalytical approach: Freudian criticism: shift away from director to
audience
The Eclectic Approach: the most valid approach is the one that
best matches the directors stated and demonstrated interest
The Film as Emotional or Sensual Experience: anti-intellectual
biases
Evaluating the Reviewer: figure out how well they
carried out their duties
The Relationship of the Parts to the Whole: at this point all elements should be
considered
The Films "Level of Ambition": should be able to defend
every judgement with a just argument
The Film as Insight to the Mind: The psychoanalytical approach: Freudian criticism: -believes movie is an expression of
filmmaker psyches and that a film's meaning lies beneath the obvious images on the screen
Objective Evaluation of the Film: #1 question:
given the films level of ambition, how well does the film succeed in what it tries to do
The Relationship of the Parts to the Whole: basic question is:
how do all the separate elements of the film relate to and contribute to the theme, central purpose, or total effect?
The Film as Repeated Form: The Genre Approach: judge the film by
how it fits into a body of films having essentially the same setting, characters, conflict, resolution, and value
The Relationship of the Parts to the Whole: after identifying a theme we should move on to see
how well our decision stand up under a complete analysis of all film elements
second time watching the movie you can pay attention to
hows and whys
The Film as Moral Philosophical or Social Statement: often called
humanistic approach
The Film as Showcase for the Actor: The personality cult leading actor has most
important effect on film
Jungian Criticism: the hero struggles to become
independent
The Relationship of the Parts to the Whole: if were can see clean & logical between each element & theme or purpose than we know our decision about theme
is valid
The Films "Level of Ambition": every part of the evaluation should be
logical and rational
The Film as Repeated Form: The Genre Approach: should look for variations that
movies film differently
guidelines can be
necessary, but they can be influence
The Film as Product of a single create Mind:The Auteur Approach: a good movie according to auteur theory is
one whose every element bears the director trade mark (casting and story)
keep an
open mind
The Film as Showcase for the Actor: The personality cult want to focus on the
performance of major actors
might be helpful to develop some
personal criteria for film evaluation
The Film as Product of a single create Mind:The Auteur Approach: the directors _____ comes out in films
personality
first time seeing a movie you can pay attention to
plot, emotional effect & central idea/theme
The Film as Emotional or Sensual Experience: judge film by
reality and intensity of its impact on the viewer
we need to be confident in our
review and not be over influence by a different critic
The Film as Moral Philosophical or Social Statement: if the characters have
significance or meaning beyond the context of the film itself
Subjective Evaluation of the Film: our reaction to a movie will include
strong feelings and be based of our personality
The Film as Product of a single create Mind:The Auteur Approach: focus on
style, technique and philosophy of the films dominant creative personality
The Film as Insight to the Mind: The psychoanalytical approach: Freudian criticism: believe directors rely heavily on
symbols and purposely cloak or mystify events that require interpretation
The Film as Moral Philosophical or Social Statement: the statement
teaches us something
The Eclectic Approach: eclectic approach acknowledges
that all approaches have some validity and it selects the aspects of each approach that are appropriate and useful
The Film as Moral Philosophical or Social Statement: we judge the film based on
the ability to influence our lives for the better
Subjective Evaluation of the Film: more concered with how
the director communicates
The Films "Level of Ambition": need to adjust our expectations to what
the film aims to do
The Film as Repeated Form: The Genre Approach: begin evaluation by determining in what ways
the film conforms to the genre it represents
The Film as Technical Achievement: want to focus on the tecchnical devices that
the filmmakers uses and the importance of these techniques to the film's overall impact
The Films as Political Statement: based on
the premise that film is a passive product of the economic aspects of a culture and that all movies are ultimately statements about the struggle for power
after seeing a movie we should read
the reviews in entirely different ways in which we read it before
The Film as Moral Philosophical or Social Statement: focus on
the statement of each film
Theme: the first step of analysis should be
to get a clear idea of the theme
two spirit minds, the reader and the critics come
together on the same work seeking agreement but also relishing arguments
Jungian Criticism: believe all stories and legends are
variations or aspect of a central myth, a monomyth, that undergoes all archetypal images and suggest their relationship to an archetype
Subjective Evaluation of the Film: question to ask:
what is our personal reaction to the film? -what are our personal reasons for liking or disliking it?
The Films "Level of Ambition": must consider the question:
what is the film level of ambition
The Films "Level of Ambition": judge the film based on
what the director is trying to do and level at which he is trying to communicate
The Films "Level of Ambition": #3 question:
which element or parts make the strongest contribution to the theme and why
The Films "Level of Ambition": #2 question:
why does the film succeed or fail why and where?