Sacrifice Review

I watched this yesterday. Surely, it was a very long movie, and it's not for those with low intention span, but it was a very well-made movie. At parts, it does drag. However, any four hour movie in my opinion is going to drag. Arguably, the greatest American movie of all time -- the Godfather -- had its slow parts.

It has been said that the director, Tarkovsky, was about to die. Therefore, he didn't make this movie for the fans. He didn't make this movie for anyone. He just made it for himself. He wanted to do everything he wanted to do in it, so he could make his magnum opus.

Some say he accomplished that, some say he didn't. It depends on your mileage. Personally, I enjoyed the film. It was something different and unique. With all honesty, though, I wouldn't watch it again, although that's mostly because of the length.

Tarkovsky

As I was reading chapter 12, I read about Tarkovsky. In the USSR, he seems like he was the Martin Scorsese of film making. In other words, he was the best in the business there. I'm in the middle of viewing Sacrifice, and I must say, I like it so far. I'm am just a little deary about its length.

 However, on Rotten Tomatoes, the Sacrifice is actually his lowest rated movie. Some say it was a lazy effort by him and that he cut corners. Most actually say Solrias is his best movie. Which means, if Sacrifice, a movie that has been good so far, is his worst film.....I am curious to see his best.

From reading about him, though, he truly seems like he was a master and a genius at directing -- making the long-shot a famous shot.

Propaganda in Soviet Union

Their films functioned in a way to influence and regulate the public opinion. The Soviet Union altered their cinema and used it as a way to spray propaganda. The Cold War films tried addressing different facades of the battle, and they tried to influence the domestic and foreign opinion. However, the USA had an immense benefit over the Soviet Union. After all, America was very prepared to use their filmmaking attainments as a device to influence the public opinion in a way the Soviet Union simply could not.

The Soviet Union’s film industry performed as a device for propaganda. It was embracive for the major cultural values of the Stalinist era; for example, hierarchy, monumentalize, and cults of heroes that triumphed over the limits of practical human reason and built socialism. Hagiographic biographies were about the heroes of Soviet, and its royal history overwhelmed the filmmaking’s yield. This movement happened especially after World War II. 

My experience so far

So after being done with chapter 10, I decided to write about my experience so far. While I am not going into filmmaking, it is something that I have considered to do possibly down the line. This class has helped me learn a lot about films.

Even though I've kind of quit reviewing movies, as college is enough stress for me to handle, when I decide to redo it, I believe this class will help me improve on doing it. I mean, it has showed and taught me different ways to look at a film. For example, how to really see if the movie is well directed or not, just by the use of camera. It's amazing to me how much camera work can make a film better, using the right shots, etc.

So, yeah, I have liked this class a lot. If I had to do it all over again, though, I think I would take it in class. I believe I could have learned more, and the discussions in class would have helped me learn more.

Propaganda in Films

I've realized that there was a lot of propaganda in all sorts of films around the word. I find this interesting because I have always been interested in how the media sways and influences the masses. It seems like a lot of the propaganda occurred close or during wars. Of course, films want people to be pro-war and make it look like they'e the good people and the people they're at war with are bad people.

It's also funny how these movies make people can shift people's feelings. I've seen people get so mad and angry while watching films that involve war in America. People will say stuff like these people are horrible and I hope we kill them all. It's funny that a fake movie can make people so emotional and passionate towards something.

Jaws Review

This week has been a fun week talking about films. Don't get me wrong: I did like watching the other films and seeing the developments film made in such a short amount of time. That said, some of my favorite movies have come from around this era. They are movies that still hold up today, and aside from production values and effects, are more superior than most - if not all - of the movies that come out today.

Jaws is another one of my favorites. It's such a simple plot, yet it horrified and scared plenty of people, even to this day. It's without a doubt an outstanding movie - with great effects (for the time), great acting, with great build and suspense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW23RsUTb2Y

I love this scene in particular. Mike, who doesn't believe anyone about what they've been telling him, finally realizes that there is, indeed, a big problem in the water. The zoomed close up is a major story-arc of his scared and sweating face. After that, everything from there goes downhill.

Just a great scene and an awesome movie.