Lethal Weapon 2 and Acting Styles

Lethal Weapon 2  (1989)

Directed by: Richard Donner

Starring: Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs

Danny Glover as Roger Murtaugh

Joe Pesci as Leo Getz

Lethal Weapon 2 is an American buddy cop movie with action and adventure and some comedy thrown in the mix. It is the sequel to the 1987 film Lethal Weapon. The film is about two L.A. P.D. officers who have to protect an annoying federal witness, while trying to take down a gang of South African drug dealers, hiding behind their diplomatic immunity.

Mel Gibson has proved himself as a versatile actor, from action, drama, suspense, adventure and comedy. I would have to say his that his acting style is in the Star category. He has been a box office drawn in the past. According to Goodykoontz & Jacobs, (2011) Star is an actor that has  a distinctive screen persona, who is well known and popular with moviegoers. (Ch. 3) Mel Gibson has starred in Hamlet (1990), We Were Soldiers (2002), The Patriot (2000), Braveheart (1995), What Woman Want (2000). Mel Gibson’s acting style has a wide range that he could also be categorized as a wild card actor too because some of his characters have been widely diverse. Here is a couple movie clips of his work.

 

My second actor from Lethal Weapon 2 is Danny Glover, I believe he is more of a method actor. Goodykoontz & Jacobs (2011) state that a method actor is one that draws on upon their one personal experiences to play what the character experiences, even to the point of going out and experiencing something just for the role. Danny Glover has been in many movies and also has played in diverse roles. He always seems so authentic in all the roles he plays. Some of the films he has been in are, The Color Purple (1985), Bat* 21 (1988), Predator 2 (1990), Angels in the Outfield (1994), 2012 (2009)

The third star of the film is Joe Pesci, I believe Joe Pesci is more of a personality actor. As Goodykoontz & Jacobs (2011) state a personality actor is one whose own personality tends to define all the charatcers he portrays, so that the actor’s name alone lets audiences know what their screen character will be like. (Ch.3) Joe Pesci  tends to be cast as someone associated with the mob or as a criminal. His is very funny at times such as his role as burgular in Home Alone (1990). he has also been in such movies as, Goodfellas (1990), My Cousin Vinny (1992), Casino (1995),

Mel Gibson, Danny Glover and Joe Pesci all work so well together in Lethal Weapon 2 and the following sequels in the Lethal Weapon movies. Because of this chemistry between the three made this series of films very popular. All their acting styles worked rather well together, Here is a scene from Lethal Weapon 2.

 

References:

 

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000582/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000418/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000154/

Goodykoonyz, B. & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Films: From Watching to Seeing. San Diego, CA> Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mummy / Sound

The Mummy (1999) Directed by Stephen Sommers. Cast, Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo.

Dialogue is the spoken words by two or more characters they tell the story of the movie. (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). Movies also use voice-over, which is words spoken by a narrator not seen on the screen, who may or not be character in the film.(Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). Voice-over in The Mummy is used through out the movie but is prevalent in the beginning where the narrator is setting up the story line. The narrator is also a character in the movie it is Ardethbay a sacred protector.

One sound effect used in the mummy is wild sound, this is sound recorded when no picture is being photographed  and for which precise synchronization is unnecessary such as crowd noises, wind and traffic, this is all added to the film during post-production. (Goodykoontz & Jacobs 2011). In the scene when the heroes are chasing the mummy back to Humunaptra, the mummy creates a sand storm with wind. The wind and special effects were all added at post-production.

The score is the back ground music which helps intensify the action in the scene. With this music it helps to heighten what emotion the audience should be feeling at the time. The score is usually composed specifically for the film. The score in the following scene is not in the beginning of the scene but gradually intensifies when our heros find the treasure. This helps intensify the astonishment of the actors at what they are viewing.

References:

Movie clips http://www.youtube.com

Photo http://www.imdb.com

Gooddykoontz, B.& Jacobs, C.P. (2011). Films: From Watching to Seeing. San Diego, CA. Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Week 2 Blog The Wizard of Oz and Mise en scene

The Wizard of Oz (1939) Directed by Victor Fleming

Cast: Judy Garland. Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Burt Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton

Mise en scene encompasses the recognizable attributes of a film. Mise en scene describes what is in the scene and the way it is shown and arranged. This includes setting, lighting, costumes and staging. In The Wizard of Oz high key lighting is used. High key lighting is used in musicals and comedies of the classic Hollywood era. High key lighting involves lighting used in the three-point technique at a lower level. In the first part of the film it was all filmed in black and white. This gives the film a serious and sober tone. The lighting is lower key lighting giving it the feeling of sadness and disillusions that Dorothy is feeling in the beginning of the film. The first scenes of the movie show that Dorothy lives with her Aunt and Uncle on a farm. The black and white filming helps promote the feeling that the Aunt and Uncle are no-nonsense and hardworking people. When the tornado comes and Dorothy runs to the house when she can not get in to the cellar the lighting is low which helps to show the danger of the situation and ominous  tornado. Here is a clip of the tornado scene.

As the house that Dorothy is hiding in as the tornado hits the film is black and white and low-key light is being used. The house is picked up by the tornado and carried off as it is being tossed around. As the house is coming down a rainbow appears in the bottom corner of the screen and when the house is dropped in the land of Oz the film has switched to full color. The colors are bright and vibrant giving the scene a magical and fantasy feel.

Technicolor was used in the scenes of Oz and the film has a happier tone now. Technicolor was a fairly new 3-strip process. The camera used for this process were huge. For the more complex scenes in The Wizard of Oz they needed to use multiple cameras and the production needed as many as nine cameras for some of the scenes. Intense lighting was required and temperatures on the sound stages could reach 100 degrees. This led to having cast members faint from the heat. The elaborate set of Munchkinland had a fire inspector on duty.

 

This relatively new technology was costly and at times dangerous but it helped to make Oz look like a magical place. The color helped contrast with the black and white of the beginning of the film to show the change in tone of the movie. The soberness of Dorothy’s life on the farm compared to the bright cheeriness that color brings to the land of Oz, making it seem like the fantasy world it was.

 

References

http://boktowergardens.org/calendar/flicks-in-the-garden-the-wizard-of-oz/

http://maxadaland.wordpress.com/2012/07/

http://www.todaysaccheadlines.com/2010_12_05_archieves.html

http://www.glogster.com/lmylmy1205/yellow-brick-road/g-6o40fqa9rekvfdprmljcakq

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/the-wizard-of-oz/images.5590344/title/dorothy-with-munchkins-photo

 

 

Week 1 Blog – Gone with the Wind

The movie I chose to write about  in my blog is Gone with the Wind. It was directed by Victor Fleming, written by Sidney Howard, produced by David O. Selznick.

The cast: Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O’Hara) , Leslie Howard (Ashley Wilkes), Olivia de Haviland ( Melanie Hamilton), Clark Gable (Rhett Butler). Release date: December 15, 1939

Gone with the wind is an epic American film and was adapted from Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer winning 1936 novel.

It is set in 19th century American south, the film tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara’s romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes and her marriage to Rhett Butler. It is during the American Civil war and Reconstruction era, the story is told from the perspective of white southerners. The plot is chronological order and starts with a barbeque at Ashley Wilkes’ planation, Twelve Oaks just before the start of the civil war. Discussions of war took place at the barbeque with Rhett Butler saying, that the south has no chance against the superior numbers and industrial might of the north. The barbeque id disrupted by the declaration of war and the men rush to enlist. (Wikipedia, 2014).The aesthetic look in this movie is ever changing, it is bright and festive but as the war progressed it becomes more dim and dark.  Vivien Leigh’s character is obsessed with her feelings for Ashley Wilkes and she does everything possible to have him no matter what, she even promises his wife Melanie that she would look after Ashley if Melanie dies from childbirth. The character of Scarlett finally realizes that Ashley only ever loved Melanie and Scarlett realizes she loved Rhett all along and never really loved  Ashley. In the end she lost Rhett with her obsession with Ashley. The movie ends with Rhett walking away and Scarlett weeping and vowing that one day she will win him back. Here is a clip of Rhett leaving and Scarlett realizing her mistakes: http://cli.ps/trB5 This is a long movie at 220 minutes and I think that changing any of it would have been a mistake. The way it was written and the plot is what has kept this movie an American classic. 

References:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_ wind_(film)

http://movieclips.com/?q=gone%20with%20wind#p=1