Blog Response #14 -- Bringing Up Baby

Think about the film's mise-en-scene. Choose a scene in the film and discuss the mise-en-scene (costumes, set, etc.) and its relation to the scene and the film as a whole. Use at least 2 hearty paragraphs for your discussion.

Also, please post your favorite line from the film. Mine is: "In a minute, Mr. Peabody!" We use this at home a lot.

George Eastman House

I hope you all had a good time on our field trip and learned a little something. I learned that George Eastman left a death note that read: Friends: My work is done. Why wait? I also learned a bit about how photos were taken during the Civil War. Thanks, Miles, for pointing out the interesting video.

Oh, and I had no idea that the George Eastman House is home to Selznick School of Film Preservation. Check it out: http://selznickschool.eastmanhouse.org/

Please let me know what you learned, found interesting, etc. And, have a great weekend! Don't forget to watch a film from the film movement you've chosen for your Independent Study!

Blog Response Lucky 13--The 400 Blows

I hope you all have read the essay by Marilyn Fabe. If you haven't yet, go away from your computer right now and take 15 minutes to read the essay.

OK. Now, take a look at this quote from Truffaut in a 1966 interview:

"Before I met Rossellini, I wanted to make films of course, but it seemed impossible. A dream. He made it all seem easy. He has a powerful gift for simplification. He told me, it isn't hard to write a screenplay, you only have to look at the reality around you...The 400 Blows owes a great deal to Rossellini...[H]e showed me that things must be close to life."

Think about this quote and respond to it, using at least one scene from The 400 Blows. Feel free to include evidence from Rome Open City to back up any statements you make regarding Rossellini's filmmaking style. Write at least 2 meaty paragraphs (be sure to write cinematically) and use at least one quote from the Marilyn Fabe essay.

Due: Wednesday, April 13.

Don't forget to choose your film movement and at least one film for your practice Independent Study--write this out and hand in by Monday, April 11.