the taxi driver (1976)
The paper should include: (1) narrative structure (direction, acting, characters, theme, plot and story, etc), (2) the film′s time (time manipulation, editing style, etc), (3) space (images, composition, tone, camera movements, etc), (4) sound (special effects, music, human voice, etc) Tips: Avoid plot summary and extended visual desсrіption. Aim instead to analyze how specific cinematic techniques function to underscore the film’s themes and ideas. Organize your essay around key points in your argument, rather than a chronological examination of the sequence. Avoid evaluative language. (“The costumes are beautiful.”) Aim instead to analyze the effects of the techniques used. (“Ada’s restrictive, layered clothing impedes her movement through the natural surroundings and symbolizes her oppression.”) Use precise film terminology. (Is the camera movement a track, tilt, pan or zoom? Is it a high-angle shot or a low-angle shot?, etc.) When in doubt, consult the book or me. Avoid vague language. (“The use of lighting in this scene is very effective” or “Parallel editing helps to create suspense,” etc.) You are not required to do any additional research for this paper. • General Guidelines for Film analysis – Do not research the film. Just analyze the films according to the following instructions. 1. This guideline contains film review questions and detailed information about what to write about. Try answer most important questions (2-3) of those review questions from each categories in your paper. 2. Write up your notes on each film as soon as possible. 3. Check the readings to see how they relate to the film. 4. Don′t deal with the film sequentially (″and then, and then″) but group your observations into areas of technique (e.g. camera position, camera angle, editing), characterize that technique overall, and illustrate what you say by making particular citations. 6. Avoid words like, ″great,″ ″good,″ ″effective,″ ″emotional,″ ″interesting,″ and ″well done,″ as simple adjectives in phrases like: ″The use of location was very effective,″ or ″Light was used in a very interesting way.″ Statements like these do not say anything. 7. Try to write transitional sentences between paragraphs so that you have constructed a unified well-organized theme. 8. Check the Glossary in the textbook for the correct definition of film term. 9. Use the present tense, and characters′ names (not actors′ names). • What to write about 1. Narrative structure – Is there any clue to the film′s emphasis in its title? – Does the dialogue offer any obvious expressions of what the film is about? – Do the characters themselves suggest the theme – through their names, their personalities, their clothing, their occupations, their situations? – If the characters are inarticulate, do their actions indicate the theme? – Are there any discrepancies between what the characters say and what they actually do? – Are there any discrepancies between what the dialogue indicates the theme is and what the form and structure of the film indicate the theme is? – Do the characters′ relationships with their surroundings have any meaning? – Does the form of the film (the lighting, composition, the sound other than the dialogue) reveal the theme? – Is it clear that I am interested in the character rather than in the actor? – What is the character′s function in the film? Is she or he the main character or is she or he a secondary or minor character? Is the film about the character or is the character a device through which the filmmaker can make a statement? – Is my interest in the character based on what the character represents? If so, what is it precisely that is represented? – Does the character stay the same or change and develop through the film? What is the significance of the lack of change or of development? – Where is the evidence in the film to support my interpretation of the character′s significance? 2. Time – Was the editing noticeable? – If the editing was not noticeable, was it traditional invisible editing in service to the narrative? Or was it mise-en-scene, using camera movement and long takes to establish editorial relationship? – In those scenes in which the editing was noticeable, was it used as a signal, a signpost of something important? – Did the editing create meaning? How? – Did the editing contract or expand or distort chronological time? How? – What rhythm did the film have and how did the editing contribute? – What are some of the reasons the filmmaker might have had for editing the film the way he or she did? 3. Space – What is the tone of the film? (romantic?, lyric?..) – Does the film′s tone change or is it consistent? – If the tone shifts, where does the shift occur? is it gradual or abrupt? Why does it shift, for what purpose? – How is the tone revealed? (Through the lighting? the editing? music?…..) – What relationship does the tone have to the theme of the film? Is it supportive or contradictory? – Was the film′s imagery particularly expressive? – What elements of the cinematography (film stock properties, composition, lighting, camera angle, movement, and so on) stood out, either because of their artistry or because they seemed inappropriate? – Did an awareness of the technique clarify the content and theme of the film – or did it obscure them? – With all the various aesthetic possibilities, why did the filmmaker choose to create the images just this way? How does choice of the stock, composition, angles, lighting, decor, and movement function? 4. Sound – Was the sound noticeable? (Did the viewer pay more than usual attention to it?) – What kinds of sound were used in the film? What were their separate functions? – Did the sound support or complement the image? Was it synchronous or asynchronous? Did it authenticate the image or invalidate it? – Was sound at any time isolated, distorted, heightened, or obscured? If so, to what purpose? – Did sound serve as a transitional device? What images and/or scenes did it link and how did it function? – Was silence used to any special effect? – Was the use of sound of more than average importance to the film?