Blog#12 The Mystery of Rosebud

Before I saw Citizen Kane in my Cinema class, I heard the word "Rosebud" when I was younger from a cartoon or two. I never thought that word would mean something in a movie called Citizen Kane from 1941. Once I saw this movie I felt sad for the main character played by the late Orson Welles. You can feel the sadness by his eyes and body movement and I thought of a Bruce Wayne type in the character as well. He also directed, produced, and wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz for this film. That's a lot of power for a man that worked for the first time with RKO Pictures and this film is also know as the "greatest American film of all time". The other movie that is similar to this one is The Social Network (2010) ( I have not seen that The Social Network, I heard from a few people who have seen both films.)

The two scenes that really got my eyes and got me thinking in the first scene were his parents sold him( or was forced). The second scene when he was talking to his first wife once they were newlyweds. When the main character Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) went to live with Thatcher, he was given a sled( I thought nothing of it at first when I saw it but that sled was a clue for the end).

In the second scene I well talk about is when they are having breakfast as newlywed. They are seating close to each other with so much in love in their eyes. Then the camera zooms in to just see their faces and going to his wife then to him when they were talking back and forth within each other for a minute or two. Until they end their discussion the camera zooms out you notice the two characters are now apart showing the years they were growing apart from their love.


Like I said before I feel sad for this main character and I even hear even this film is close enough in how Orson Welles's real life came out to be. Now I would say what the sled mean in the film but it's not fair. If you haven't seen this great movie. Let's just say if you loved one period in your life what would it be in your childhood or as an adult?

The semester is coming to an end sadly, it was a fun ride to start a blog even if I had no idea what it was at first and I'm still learning. I still want to continue my blog but in making background and other things like I said in my last blog. On Fridays I will give weekly updates, I'll be remodeling my blog to have it ready for the first week of January to start the new year right. Good luck in your finals and thank you so much for the comments. Remember stay young^.^.

Weekly Update for November 23, 2011

Hi everyone,

One more blog left to go for the semester sadly. I still want to continue my blog but design background for scrapbooking and other things I have in mind. I'm going to post my last blog for the class this Friday to have that out of the way.

Yes I'm a fan of Citizen Kane movie! I was hoping someone of the group would know that line (Yay Jessica!!). That's the last movie I will review on blog #12. See everyone on Friday, remember stay young^.^

   

Have a good Thanksgiving everyone

(good luck and be safe on BLACK FRIDAY if you go!!)

Blog#11 Metropolis:A Movie that Would Have Be Lost Forever

Metropolis is a German silent film of science-fiction genre which was directed by Fritz Lang but was uncredited. I saw this film in my Cinema 003 class back in fall of 2006( I been at Mission College since fall 2005 as a full and part-time student). The professors at the time with Stan Levine( he was a sweet man). Metropolis was the first silent movie I have seen and enjoyed. Even if at times I don't read the subtitles when they came up to tell about the missing scene that were late years ago. The version I saw was missing 30 minutes to an hour more or less of the footage. Metropolis is a long movie but I have not seen the update version yet. The film was re-release on November 16, 2010 on DVD and Blu-Ray with 25 minutes of restored footage. Also, the film was seen at the TCM Classic Film Festival.

The background was unreal, beautiful, and dark to me and that really catch my eye. It's was just like a master drawing that can not be replaced with anything of our time( I can be wrong, but the scene were hard to explain with my point of view.).

What would you think of this scene once you when it for the first time? Would you like how it looks now or can the scene be better in some other way?


Even in this scene were the cyborg is going to transformation into the female in the movie, the female name is Maria played by Brigitte Helm. This made my mind think in how were they able to make that scene came to life in my eye. You should see this scene for yourself if you have not yet.

Another thing is the actors and the actress in this film were great even if they don't talk. The movement in their hands say it all, when they are mad, sad, in love, happy( in a good and an evil way as well), scared, and so much more that went along with their face movements.The cast and crew from this film is in the TCM website, http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/5892/Metropolis/ check it out to know more about the film and others films as well.

I know there is so much more I can say about this film but I only seen it once sadly. Next week, I will talk about another film I also saw in my Cinema class( I really enjoyed this class. But Rodriguez Aviles is a good professor as well.). I'll see everyone on Wednesday to find out which movie I will talk about next. Remember stay young ^.^ Rosebub

Weekly Update for November 16, 2011

Hi everyone,

The fall semester is over in a few weeks.Yay!!

This Friday on blog#11 I will be talking about a movie that Adolf Hitler don't agree with. The name is Metropolis from  1927 by Fritz Lang. I know that is other movie with the same that is anime from 2001 by  Rintaro but these two movie don't have the same plot.

I'll see everyone on Friday to tell you guys more about this film. Remember stay young^,^

Blog#10 "I Just Finished the Worst Picture in the World."[14]

What actor or actress would say that? Without knowing that film would be the first to won five major Academy Awards for Best Picture (Columbia Pictures (Frank Capra and Harry Cohn)), Best Director (Frank Capra), Best Actor (Clark Gable), Best Actress (Claudette Colbert), and for Best Writing, Adaptation (Robert Riskin). Two other films that won those same awards were One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Also, there was two remakes that were musicals called Eve Knew Her Apples (1945) starring Ann Miller,^[3] and You Can't Run Away from It(1956) starring Jack Lemmon and June Allyson.   


What movie am I talking about, will it's an American romantic comedy "with the elements of screwball comedy" named It Happened One Night from 1934.
 Before Claudette was the leading lady, there were other women offered the role like Miriam Hopkins, Myrna Loy("were then offered the roles, but each turned the script down, though Loy later noted that the final story as filmed bore little resemblance to the script that she and Montgomery had been offered for their perusal.^[4]"), Margaret Sullavan, Constance Bennett( she was willing to play the role but Columbia Pictures didn't allow her.), Bette Davis(she wanted the part but "Warner Brothers and Jack Warner refused to loan her."), Carole Lombard( was unable to play the role, she was working on another film called Bolero), and Loretta Young turn the role down.For the leading man Robert Montgomery but he turn it down.

Claudette had worked in her first movie (For the Love of Mike (1927)) with Frank as director and it was a disaster. She vowed not to work with him again but later she agreed to play the leading lady if her "salary was doubled to $50,000" and to completed filming with in four week, for her to take a well planned vacation.


Frank now had his leading lady but not a leading man. Until Columbia Pictures wanted some kind of  "punishment" for actor Clark Gable, for refusing a role from the studio.


Claudette was unhappy while the filming this film, at one point she was outraged with Frank. When he got a body double for her. She told him, "Get her out of here. I'll do it. That's not my leg!" After the movie she told her friend, "I just finished the worst picture in the world."^{[14]. Once the film was release with the word of mouth the movie became a major hit and the biggest hit for actress Claudette.} 

Notes: "Through the filming, Capra claimed, Colbert "had many little tantrums, motivated by her antipathy toward me," however "she was wonderful in the part."^[14] After her acceptance speech at the Oscars ceremony, she went back on stage and thanked Capra for making the film.^[15]"

^{In 1935, after her Academy Award nomination, Colbert decided not to attend the presentation, feeling confident that she would not win the award, and instead, planned to take a cross-country railroad trip. After she was named the winner, studio chief Harry Cohn sent someone to "drag her off" the train, which had not yet left the station, and take her to the ceremony. Colbert arrived wearing a two-piece traveling suit which she had the Paramount Pictures costume designer, Travis Banton, make for her trip.[18]}

I highly recommend this movie to everyone of any age group. Sometime it's on TCM( Turner Classic Movies (around the world)) or even check it out on youtube (there are some movies that you can watch for free.)

I will see everyone soon maybe with an update or the next blog( I been very busy that I haven't been able to write my updates for the week, I hope for this week I find the time to.). Remember stay young^.^.

Blog#9 I Enjoy....

I always enjoyed black and white( and color as will) film ever since I can remember. So for the next following weeks I'll be talking about movies that are close to my heart and giving some background of the making, actors, actress, and directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Capra, John M. Stahl just to name a few.

So many to choice from I know but it fun to look back to film from the silent era and how much movies have change over a long pointed of time.

Another thing I enjoy more than watching a movie is the making of the film. I have more fun watching the whole road of the making from just an idea in pager to planning the roles to begin filming. It's weird why I do.

I know Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is being use on many films now a day, more in others. It's fine when the workers are using the program to improve their graphics that are difficult to bring in real life by hand. But when the whole movie is in CGI is just a waste of money that may or may not hurt the film once it opens at the box office.

That are other movies that are over looked for many reasons. Story line was not clear enough or it just made the person think too much over it. I will go more on detail on blog#10.

I watch many of the movies in Turner Classic Movies(TCM) that I have not seen before, once I give myself the time to sit and relax, I enjoy the film as if it was made recently. The actor that come together to play the characters( at times) make a person feel what they feel and more. There few actors( I can be wrong, but this is my own input) take a person to the same place as the characters should be at.

There were actors I enjoy that I will (again) in each blog I go over the movies they are in. I don't want to give anything away just yet. Because it would not be any fun if I just told everything in this blog.

So what do you think of  movies that have been made over the years? And do you remember a movie that move you to tears? Or which one made you over think your mind for the answer once the film was over?  These are some of the questions I may ask for answer to(just for fun).

I will continue until the next blog, I will see everyone on Wednesday for my update of the week( sorry for this week, I even thought I wouldn't be able to write a blog tonight, My laptop as a big bug that I need to clean off)

I will see everyone on Wednesday then on Friday, Remember stay young.^,^