Article in today's NY Times...

There's a really good article in today's paper about Fritz Lang, director of M.

Blood Simple

In case you are interested in reading the script for Blood Simple, it can be found here.

Roger Ebert's essay on the 15th anniversary of the film can be found here.

Ebert's original review of Blood Simple is here.

Blog Post #9--Film Noir

Having read Paul Schrader's Notes on Film Noir, please discuss Double Indemnity and your choice of another film noir that Schrader talks about. Discuss, in at least 3-4 well-developed paragraphs, the films' implicit meanings and how the directors portray these meanings cinematically. Be sure to use lots of visual examples (camera angles, shots, movement, editing, sequencing, lighting, mise en scene, etc.). Look at representation of the characters and issues. Ask yourself, Why? For example, Why did the director choose to light a scene a certain way?

In order to make this a manageable task, choose a 5-minute scene from each film and focus on that scene and how it relates to the film as a whole.

Remember, these exercises are preparing you for the Presentation assessment.

Be sure to read Schrader's essay and tie in some of what he says into your essay.

I'm looking forward to reading your essays. (Really, I am!)