Classifying Actors

There are so many films that I could pull three actors from and classify each one according to their types. I have so many favorite actors that no matter what kind of film they are in I will more than likely watch it because of them. The three actors I want to classify are Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, and Michael Madsen. These actors are very well known and very popular. It’s hard to classify these actors but when it comes to Johnny Depp he is a very diverse actor, you could say he falls under the wild card actor because he can be put in any role and do a phenomenal job. When it comes to Al Pacino, what a great actor. Al Pacino is very diverse but plays roles of mobster flawlessly. We could classify Al Pacino as an interpreter because he is always put in a role as a well-known mobster and can pull off being a gangster. Michael Madsen I would classify as an interpreter as well. Michael Madsen has a diverse roll in many movies but is an intense actor and ever role he plays it’s hard to see anyone else in his place.

When it comes to Johnny Depp being a wild card actor you would have to sit through so many movies. Recently I watched him in a undercover FBI movie where he makes his way into a mob life and falls way to deep undercover. There was one scene where they put a hit out on a main mobsters son, and to prove he wasn’t a snitch he was about to shoot this guys son until the FBI broke through and took both Johnny Depp and Al Pacino into custody. Now on the other hand Johnny Depp doesn’t have to even physically be in a movie, his personality and voice is all he needs. Just like in the movie Rango where he played a sheltered chameleon who has an identity crisis. Rango is an computer animated movie and Johnny’s personality shines right through to the characters.

Al Pacino is a interpreter in every movie he plays in. He is well known for the mobster movies he has acted in. He is always placed in a well-known role and interprets the role to a tee. He befriended Johnny Depp in Donny Brasco and brought him in the mobster scene. He was very into his role and plays a very good gangster. When you first see him in this role it’s like he was just born to be part of the mob, he looks, feels, and creates this amazing persona. Now Michael Madsen is classified just as Al Pacino is. He is an interpreter and is always put into a roll that seems diverse but he make the part so intense, he brings out a specific feeling when you watch him on film. You couldn’t put anyone in his place because it wouldn’t be the same.

The one actor I want to focus on specifically is Johnny Depp. Now talk about one of the greatest actors. He has such a great skill and personality that I believe he could take any role and make is amazing. You could not put Johnny Depp in one specific category; he can shine in any category he is placed in. Even all the films he has been in you are so shocked when you see him act in something so different. I’ve posted a lot of clips in this blog about Johnny Depp being a mobster and the persona he puts on and then there’s one where he is just a voice but you can tell he has such diversity when it comes to acting. He could never just play one type of movie; he will forever be the wild card. 

Donnie Brasco – Al Pacino and Johnny Depp.” YouTube. mcsashoto, 29 June 2008. Web. 20 June 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocgGc-l5LuQ&gt;.

Donnie Brasco (7/8) Movie CLIP – If You’re a Rat… (1997) HD.” YouTube. Movieclips, 7 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 June 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT8o1fvTB5Q&gt;.

Johnny Depp Acting In Rango: A Behind the Scenes Look.” YouTube. Pursuitist Luxury, 24 Dec. 2010. Web. 20 June 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDyYGBL0HKw&gt;.

Goodfellas

When it comes to movies that I have seen numerous times there is one in particular that I watch over and over and it still seizes to amaze me on how it feels like I am watching it for the first time again. I find so many things that I have never noticed before and it makes the movie better every time I watch it. There are a lot of things that play into making this one of the greatest films of all time, but in particular I want to look into the dialogue, music, and sound effects of this film. The dialogue will help you capture the story in the eyes of the characters, the music will make the feeling of the movie come alive and sometimes even intensify the scene, and the sound effects make the scene come alive and make you realize everything that is going on within that scene.

 When it comes to the dialogue the very fist scene gives you a complete idea of what you are about to watch. The dialogue of this movie is narrative as well as character interaction. This type of dialogue used is very descriptive of situations and of the character. The characters dialogue shows how cultured the mob is and how they speak to one another differently then they would speak to someone on the outside of the mob. Scene 1 of Goodfellas

Goodfellas came out in 1990, but is set in another era, 1960’s-1970’s. Due to the timeframe of the movies setting, the music had to show that time. So when a scene that was in the 1970 is going on, the music had to be from that time or older so it signified the timeframe the writer was trying to portray. The one thing I loved about the music is that the lyrics seemed to be put in the middle of the dialogue. Making it a very unique duo. Scorsese was said to have some of the music written into the script and he found other songs during editing of the film. Music and scenes of Goodfellas

 As horrible as this might sound, sound effects for this movie of crime are spot on and without them the scenes of killing wouldn’t be as effective. Even in that very first scene of the movie when you hear the roaring engine going down the road and the sound of the gun going off, you get the feeling of intensity because of those sounds. Sound effects have a big role in a movie, to hear that stabbing or glass breaking on a table, it feels like you are there and can hear everything going on in that moment. Sound effects can really draw you and make the movie life like.

As you can see the dialogue, music, and sound effects can really make or break a film. You have to have all the pieces in a movie correct and actually fit the movie and story you are trying to portray. I highly recommend this movie to anyone and pay attention to the above, I promise it will help with the story.

Goodfellas. (n.d.). IMDb. Retrieved June 12, 2014, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099685/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Tom Seago’s AS Media Blog. (2013, October 6). : Goodfellas: Diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Retrieved June 12, 2014, from http://tomseagomediablog.blogspot.com/2013/10/goodfellas-diegetic-and-non-diegetic.html

 

Lighting

There are many things that make a film come together, but one of the most important is lighting. When you look into lighting of films there can be traditional three-point, high key lighting, and low-key lighting. When looking into my favorite film, The Shawshank Redemption, I found that the majority of the film uses natural lighting and also low-key lighting in a lot of the scenes, which draws in the drama of the film and makes it a more intense movie. Low-key lighting is used to create the suspense and mystery that is trying to be portrayed in a film. With the low-key lighting, especially in the prison scenes, it makes you feel like you are actually in the prison with the characters. You can actually feel the intense feeling that they feel because of the lighting. The lighting technique was suited for this type of film because it is suppose to show you how prison can be such an awful place and scary place. Even when they are released from the prison the low-key lighting surrounding the bars as they are walking out, portrays that they might be free but now they are imprisoned in their own world alone. Low-key lighting creates this intense feeling throughout the movie that makes it real and you can understand why the characters are the way they are.

If the lighting was different I don’t think the film could be portrayed as an intense drama. With all the scenes that are sad and drama filled and intensified with the low-key lighting, if it was high key lighting I don’t think the feeling of life and realness would come out like the writer wanted. It would make the film confusing and boring and wouldn’t draw the viewers into the movie. The realness of the scenes and the suspense is what got me so into this movie in the first place.

 

 

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From watching to seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

 Phillips, K. (2007, May 2). The Cinematography and Lighting of the Shawshank Redemption. Yahoo Contributor Network. Retrieved June 5, 2014, from http://voices.yahoo.com/the-cinematography-lighting-shawshank-redemption-318701.html?cat=40

The Shawshank Redemption

One of my all time favorite movies is The Shawshank Redemption. I have seen this movie over 50 times and still watch it all the time. Frank Darabont, the writer, based The Shawshank Redemption off of a short story by Stephen King; the name of the story was “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”. The director of this film was also Frank Darabont and the film was released in 1994. There were some major actors in this film like Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, and Bob Gunton.

The Shawshank Redemption was basically a narrative film based on two guys who became friends and bonded over the years while serving their time in prison. This movie was presented in chronological order and set in the 1940’s. The Shawshank redemption starts by showing the trial for a banker, Andrew Defresne (Tim Robbins) because his wife and her lover were murdered and Andy was convicted of the charges and sentenced to two life terms. He is then sent off to Shawshank prison where he becomes friends with Red (Morgan Freeman) who is the go to guy for contraband. Andy asks Red to get him a rock hammer because he loves to sculpt rocks and also asks later for a poster of an actress. Andy gets in pretty good with some of the officers and the Warden whom he will help with his and the prisons finances due to him being a banker before. Andy and Red become so close that Andy tells Red that when he gets out on parole that he is to go to a special spot and find a rock next to an oak tree and there will be something there that he wants him to have. Years pass and one morning during count, Andy is nowhere to be found. The officers and the Warden go into his cell to look for him and the Warden gets upset and throws a rock at the poster and it goes right through the poster down a man made hole in the wall. Andy had used his rock hammer to sculpt his way out of prison. When Andy is free and clear he goes to all the banks where he was putting the Wardens money and makes his way to Mexico. Not long after that, Red makes parole and starts working and staying at an apartment. He decides one day to go the place him and Andy had discussed and finds money and a postcard telling him that since he’s already gone so far that he should make his way towards Andy in Mexico.

The Shawshank Redemption. (n.d.). IMDb. Retrieved June 1, 2014, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/