Last class period we watched Sunset Boulevard (directed by Billy Wilder.) I really enjoyed the movie which was one of the first “black and white” movies I watched all the way through. I’m glad we watched it in class because I don’t think I would have ever watched it otherwise. The movie had a lot of really interesting elements in it. Admittedly, I didn’t catch them all until the discussion; however, I think they really affected how I thought about the film, and how many intricacies the plot had. I have always been a superficial movie watcher. I rarely think about movies past being good or bad, or the basic storyline. I’m really glad we are talking about this kind of stuff in class because until now I have been completely ignorant to it. I’m hoping this experience will help me become more aware of these things without being prompted to look intentionally for them.
Color was available at the time that the movie was made. I think it is very interesting that they chose not to. This was in order to help the film fall into the “film noir” category. Every little detail in a movie seems so intentional. The more we discussed about the film on thursday the more I realized I still have a LOT to learn. There is just so much that goes into the screen plays, so much symbolism and themes that are hard to catch as a “superficial” movie watcher. I hope I get past this and maybe next class I will have more to contribute to discussion. I just hope I can get a coherent message or subtle scene in my film. This is a LOT harder than I thought. Thank goodness for Eric appointments.
Yes, leaving color behind was a very interesting choice, especially for a movie that is about film styles that have been left behind (silent films, Nomra). In fact I think it looks great in black and white. The images and shading are very sharp and precice.
ReplyDeleteThe big Q:
Do you think Joe and Norma did the big nasty?
it was definitely alluded to when he grabbed her wrists and straddled her as the scene faded out...
ReplyDeleteI'd say YES.
I've been making my way through the Rocky anthology for the past few days and I've found it hard not to notice little editing/lighting/sound things. I can't decide if I'm annoyed by my heightened sense of film or not. I think I can appreciate all movies, even ones that seemed simple in cinematography, more now....but I'm afraid that my simple interest in plot will be lessened.
ReplyDeleteThere's something I've seen in a lot of blogs about Sunset Boulevard, and I guess this is as good a place to ask about it as any. Everyone keeps talking about how the movie defied their expectations of a black and white film. Why do so many of us have the expectation that black and white equals boring?
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree that the editing project is much harder than I thought it would be. Two days to go and I have next to nothing.
My question is Clint's question. What's the basis for what seems like a universal implicit belief in the class that a black and white or older film is not going to be as entertaining as a color or recent one?
ReplyDelete