Task 1 - Genre analysis
Films are separated into genres. Which genre a film falls into depends on what the film’s about. For example, a film that makes people laugh usually falls into the comedy genre. If a film shows two people falling in love - it probably falls into the romance genre. Genres can be mixed with other genres such as action-thriller and romantic-comedy, and certain films can fall into subgenres. I will be analysing two films (both 2012) from the ‘Superhero’ subgenre - The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man.
The Dark Knight Rises is the third instalment in the latest Batman films, directed by Christopher Nolan; the film follows a retired Bruce Wayne living in Wayne Manor, until a new threat emerges in Gotham, Bane - an evil villain who aims to take over Gotham City. A large part of the film follows Wayne rather than the Batman, as he decides his crime-fighting days are over. We don’t actually see Batman until nearly halfway through the film, indicating that this is a lot more about the man behind the mask. When Batman does confront Bane, he is no match for the Supervillian, after eight years of retirement Batman’s fighting skills are not what they used to be. Bane severely injures Batman’s back and he is thrown into a prison. After months of recovery, Batman escapes the prison and confronts Bane again, this time in Gotham City. Batman finally defeats Bane and stops his evil plans. The Dark Knight Rises is one of the most successful of its genre (the most successful being its predecessor - The Dark Knight).
The second film I will be analysing is The Amazing Spider-Man. This is the first instalment in a new Spider-Man film trilogy. Directed by Marc Webb, the film follows awkward, nerdy student - Peter Parker, as he becomes Spider-Man through a bite from a radioactive spider at Oscorp Industries. We follow Parker as he learns of his new powers and what they can do, we see him changing from a small-time amateur crime fighter, to a Superhero, as well as finding time to balance his life to include his relationship with fellow student, Gwen Stacy. Spider-Man’s ability is truly tested when a doctor by the name of Kurt Conners creates a formula turning him into a huge man-like lizard of incredible strength and speed. Peter is forced to use his new powers to protect New York as The Lizard runs rampage in the city. Spider-Man, along with the NYPD does everything in their power to stop The Lizard. But as Spider-Man finally defeats The Lizard, Gwen’s father, a police captain of the NYPD, tragically dies at the hands of The Lizard. His last words to Peter telling him to stay away from Gwen, as he didn’t want her in danger. The rest of the film follows Peter settling into normal life, keeping Gwen’s father’s promise. Gwen figures out that her father told Peter to stay away from her and at the end of the film Peter indicates to Gwen that he can’t keep his promise. People have different opinions on whether the new Spider-Man films are as good as the original films. The new Spider-Man films are more true to the Spider-Man comic books but many people prefer the style of the original films.
The two films are obviously quite similar fitting into the same subgenre, the key difference being that these two characters (Batman and Spider-Man) come from different universes, one being DC - the other Marvel. Some of the scenes in the two films may remind you of the other. In The Dark Knight Rises we physically see that Batman is weaker as he fights Bane, this remind us of The Amazing Spider-Man when Peter first learns how to use his powers. Both characters don’t really know what they’re doing. Batman was in retirement for so long he was not at his physical or mental peak, and Spider-Man was just a normal college student who didn’t know how to fight. The scenes are relatable to each other and more importantly; it shows us a weaker side to a strong character, which increases character depth as it makes us remember they are still human.
Special effects play a vital part in both films. In The Dark Knight Rises we see EMP launchers and the latest addition to Batman’s vehicular arsenal, The Bat - a monstrous, intimidating flying machine. The Special effects in The Amazing Spider-Man were more frequent, as almost every time we see Spider-Man he is shooting webs.
These two films also used a helicopter to get many of the shots. When we see aerial shots of Spider-Man swinging across the city from above, a helicopter with an on-board cameraman is used. It was the same with The Dark Knight Rises, helicopter cameramen were used when we see aerial shots of Batman when he’s being chased by police on the Batpod.
Task 2 - Auteur theory
‘Auteur’ is the French word for ‘Author’ and in terms of film means to be a key creative force. There are many Auteur directors, one of them being Tim Burton.
Tim Burton was born on the 25th of August 1958 in Burbank, California. He was interested in art from a young age and attended the California Institute of the Arts where he studied animation and was spotted by Disney where he later went to work for. Burton helped work on The Fox and the Hound (1981) but found that these types of film weren’t the type he wanted to make so Disney allowed him to create his own. Burton went on to make a six-minute long film called Vincent and a 27-minute long film called Frankenweenie which was never released as it was seen as unsuitable for children. However, another director saw Burton’s films and decided he was perfect for a directors role for his film, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. It turned out to be a massive box-office hit. From there Tim Burton directed Beetlejuice (1988) and the very expensive Batman (1989). He started working with popular actors such as Johnny Depp and creating films such as Edward Scissorhands and much later, Sweeney Todd.
Tim Burton is known for his unique style of film, quite dark, strange and often bizarre. One of Burton’s most popular films ‘Edward Scissorhands’ is about an inventor who creates a man (Edward) but dies before he can finish the hands, leaving the man with scissors for hands. It’s surreal but it is a very good film. The idea of having scissors for hands is a morbid idea and it makes Edward sound like a freak, but for a lot of the film Burton manages to make Edward seem like an outcast rather than a freak, until Edward murders a man. Burton enjoys using gore effects as seen in both Edward Scissorhands and another film of his (his most gory), Sweeney Todd.
Sweeney Todd is a film about a ‘demon barber’ who murders people out of anger and spite. It’s dark, violent and morbid, very much a Tim Burton film. The story is relatively simple; a man seeks revenge after being cast out of London by a corrupt judge after the judge takes his wife. He returns to London several years later under a different persona and tries to find a way to kill the judge, he sets up a barbershop hoping to lure the judge in, so he can slit his throat. The film is a musical that makes Todd’s murderous rampage seem ‘fun’. Sweeney Todd features Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter as the main characters, there’s a natural chemistry between them which Burton uses well as the two main characters become a couple.
The two films are both dark, gothic-type films that are very much Tim Burton’s style of film. Whilst Burton has made less dark films in his career such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, he is much more recognized for his darker films such as Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd, Beetlejuice and Sleepy Hollow. The characters Burton uses are always strange and interesting, Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka, Jack Skellington and Beetlejuice just to name a few. No matter how dark or not it’s usually very easy to spot a Tim Burton film just because they’re so unordinary. The characters are eccentric, wearing crazy costumes and having bizarre hairstyles.
In many cases Tim Burton has made his dark films seem quite fun. Having Mr. Todd enjoy himself as he murders his customers by singing and turning them into pies for example. Whilst many of his films may seem quite gory, he doesn’t take it too seriously as he’s not really the sort of director who enjoys violence - this is especially noticeable when watching Sweeney Todd as the blood looks a lot more like tomato soup than actual blood.
There’s usually a gothic design in building and set design in Burton’s films, his characters tend to be intelligent and moral. His films always include fantasy elements. Burton is known for working with specific actors for example Johnny Depp, who plays a main character in Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd and Alice in Wonderland. Burton is married to Helena Bonham-Carter who also features in many of his films, usually playing some relation to Johnny Depp’s character. On top of this there’s also a certain type of character you’ll see in almost every Tim Burton film, for example a chubby character, Augustus Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Beadle in Sweeney Todd and The Penguin in Batman Returns. There’s also usually a kind parent figure, for example, The Inventor in Edward Scissorhands, Elder Gutknecht in Corpse Bride and The Bucket Family from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But there’s always an outcast in every Tim Burton film, Edward in Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland.
Tim Burton’s films are extremely unique in many different ways, he is one of the best auteur directors and has made many hugely popular cinema classics that we all know and love.
Task 3 - Presentation
I completed a presentation on Tim Burton as an auteur to the class. Below is the script for my presentation.
Script:
Tim Burton was born on the 25th of August 1958 in Burbank, California. He attended the California Institute of the Arts, studying animation. He was spotted by Disney and was offered a job to work on their films. Whilst working at Disney, Burton wrote two films - Vincent and Frankenweenie. But he was told that the films were too dark and unsuitable for children and was fired for wasting the company's money on the developments.
Tim Burton has a very recognizable style to his films, often bizarre with unusual characters such as Willy Wonka, Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice. You can usually tell if a film is made by Tim Burton by looking at the characters. The settings of his films are also often unusual, for example, The Chocolate Factory from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Victorian Village from Corpse Bride.
Tim Burton had a love for film-making since he was 13 when he made a short film called The Island of Doctor Agor. His first official films were made with Disney but were never released as Disney said they were too dark for children. Burton's first official film was Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, which was a big success. He then went on to direct Beetlejuice, Batman and Edward Scissorhands in the late 80's/early 90's.
Tim Burton is often known for using the same actors in many of his films. Johnny Depp has been a main character in eight of Burton's films, from Edward Scissorhands to Dark Shadows. Burton's wife - Helena Bonham-Carter has also played a main role in seven of Burton's films. Burton likes to use Johnny Depp especially because he's renowned for playing all sorts of roles extremely well.
Tim Burton's gothic/dystopian style of cinematography is reflected in almost all of his films. For example, most of his films are set during the night, and the characters faces are usually very pale - take Willy Wonka, Edward Scissorhands and Sweeney Todd for example. He was of course fired from his original position at Disney as his films were too dark for children.
Tim Burton has used Stop Motion in several of his films such as Frankenweenie and Corpse Bride. In this video, Burton explains how he makes Stop Motion and how it is a lengthy and often stressful process:
(Play video).
Thank you for listening.
Script:
Tim Burton was born on the 25th of August 1958 in Burbank, California. He attended the California Institute of the Arts, studying animation. He was spotted by Disney and was offered a job to work on their films. Whilst working at Disney, Burton wrote two films - Vincent and Frankenweenie. But he was told that the films were too dark and unsuitable for children and was fired for wasting the company's money on the developments.
Tim Burton has a very recognizable style to his films, often bizarre with unusual characters such as Willy Wonka, Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice. You can usually tell if a film is made by Tim Burton by looking at the characters. The settings of his films are also often unusual, for example, The Chocolate Factory from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Victorian Village from Corpse Bride.
Tim Burton had a love for film-making since he was 13 when he made a short film called The Island of Doctor Agor. His first official films were made with Disney but were never released as Disney said they were too dark for children. Burton's first official film was Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, which was a big success. He then went on to direct Beetlejuice, Batman and Edward Scissorhands in the late 80's/early 90's.
Tim Burton is often known for using the same actors in many of his films. Johnny Depp has been a main character in eight of Burton's films, from Edward Scissorhands to Dark Shadows. Burton's wife - Helena Bonham-Carter has also played a main role in seven of Burton's films. Burton likes to use Johnny Depp especially because he's renowned for playing all sorts of roles extremely well.
Tim Burton's gothic/dystopian style of cinematography is reflected in almost all of his films. For example, most of his films are set during the night, and the characters faces are usually very pale - take Willy Wonka, Edward Scissorhands and Sweeney Todd for example. He was of course fired from his original position at Disney as his films were too dark for children.
Tim Burton has used Stop Motion in several of his films such as Frankenweenie and Corpse Bride. In this video, Burton explains how he makes Stop Motion and how it is a lengthy and often stressful process:
(Play video).
Thank you for listening.
Task 4 - Old films for new
Classic popular films often get remakes, such as The Italian Job and King Kong for example. Remakes are made for a number of reasons, some films have even received multiple remakes. One of the reasons for a remake is for the implementation of modern special effects (SFX) that we couldn't create in the past. SFX can make a film look a lot better. For example, King Kong was originally released in 1933, but had a remake in 1976 and another remake in 2005. To the right is a picture of King Kong from the three films comparing the three versions.
I will be comparing the original 2002 Spider-Man film (directed by Sam Raimi) with the 2012 remake - The Amazing Spider-Man (directed by Marc Webb). Whilst these two films are only ten years apart, there are some key differences that should be noted. The story is the main difference between these two films. There were mixed opinions with the story of the 2002 film as it didn't follow the comic book's storyline particularly well, lots of plot points were altered or completely missed out, for example Peter's girlfriend was Mary Jane in the film but was Gwen Stacy in the comic books. Peter also developed his web-shooting abilities with all his other powers when he was bitten by the radioactive spider in the film, but in the comic books he makes the web shooters himself, and the first super-villian Spider-Man faces in the 2002 film is the Green-Goblin, whereas in the comic books the first super-villian is The Lizard. If you compare the 2012 film to the comic books instead, you can see it is a lot more accurate, Peter's girlfriend is Gwen Stacy from the start, he develops the web shooters himself and the first super-villian Spider-Man faces is The Lizard, as it is in the comic books. Whilst the 2012 film may have been more accurate to the comic books, many people didn't feel it was necessary, there was no real reason why the story of the film had to perfectly match the story of the comic books, the 2002 film's story was roughly the same as the comic book's story anyway, it just altered some small details.
The two actors who played Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the two films were Tobey Maguire in the 2002 film (left) and Andrew Garfield in the 2012 film (right). Most people think that Andrew Garfield is better suited to the role. Peter Parker was originally a nerdy outcast and Andrew Garfield plays this perfectly, he always felt awkward and jumpy when talking to people and came across as intelligent, just like Peter Parker. But whilst Andrew Garfield played the role of Peter Parker better, many people prefer Tobey Maguire as an actor, he's more likeable and relatable than Andrew Garfield, and played the role very well.
|
There was a fairly large difference in the two films concerning Spider-Man's costume. In the 2002 film the costume (right) was the original costume from the comic books, it was a classic, formal and recognized costume. Whereas in the 2012 film it's more believable that a teenager designed it, it's more informal but profound with it's art. The 2012 film goes into more detail showing Peter collecting materials for his costume and making it himself.