1939-1952: The Devastation of War…And a New Movie Language

• Rome, Open City (1945) dir. Roberto Rossellini
  • Shows the trauma of war in real streets.
• Stagecoach (1939) dir. John Ford
  • Darker view of the west over time.
  • Story about people.
  • Camera emphasizes distance.
• Directed by John Ford (1971) dir. Peter Bogdanovich
  • Director does not see this change over time.
• Osaka Elegy (1936) (introduced in Episode 3) dir. Kenji Mizoguchi
  • Deep staging, similar to Stagecoach.
• Flesh and the Devil (1926) dir. Clarence Brown
• Follow the Boys (1944) dir. A. Edward Sutherland
  • Orson Welles pictured
• Citizen Kane (1941) (introduced in Episode 2) dir. Orson Welles
  • Pushed deep staging to the limit.
  • Kane is shown as an empty person, who has lost their ability to feel.
• Me and Orson Welles (2008) dir. Richard Linklater
  • Story of staging told incorrectly.
• Chimes at Midnight (1965) dir. Orson Welles
  • The power of his films comes from theatrics.
• Cabiria (1914) (introduced in Episode 1) dir. Giovanni Pastrone
  • Mirrored tracking shots in Kane.
• Intolerance (1916) (introduced in Episode 1) dir. D. W. Griffith
  • Mirrored splendor in Kane.
• The General (1926) (introduced in Episode 2) dir. Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton
  • Mirrored cost in Kane.
• The Maltese Falcon (1941) (introduced in Episode 2) dir. John Huston
  • Intense depth to the scenes.
• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) dir. William Wyler
  • Deep staging, the camera does not focus on the tense part of the scene.
  • The front and center is taken by a veteran playing piano, noise covers conversation.
• Code Unknown (2000) dir. Michael Haneke
  • Deep space shows woman escaping harassment.
• Sátántangó (1994) dir. Béla Tarr
  • Deep space is used to move our eyes from back to front.
• How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) dir. Jean Negulesco
  • Deep space went out of style to favor better colors.
• Un Homme et une Femme (1966) dir. Claude Lelouch
  • Shallow depth to show mind of main character.
• Heat (1995) dir. Michael Mann
  • Focus so shallow that background lights blur.
• Raging Bull (1980) dir. Martin Scorsese
  • Used bare light bulbs similar to rubble films.
• Bicycle Thieves (1948) dir. Vittorio De Sica
  • Harsh light shows shame in the event.
  • Things happen without plot relevancy.
• Pin Up Girl (1944) dir. H. Bruce Humberstone
  • Hollywood went on, business as usual.
• Double Indemnity (1944) dir. Billy Wilder
  • Film noire, uses deep depth and staging to present story.
  • Money and lust shown as a great flaw.
• Portrait of a 66% Perfect Man: Billy Wilder (1982) dir. Annie Tresgot
• The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) dir. Fritz Lang
  • Shadows create interesting geometry with hand railing.
• The Big Sleep (1946) dir. Howard Hawks
  • Very snappy dialogue.
  • Most trend setting noire film.
• Rio Bravo (1959) dir. Howard Hawks
  • Very good writing.
• The Empire Strikes Back (1980) (introduced in Episode 1) dir. Irvin Kershner
  • Same writer from Rio Bravo.
• Out of the Past (1947) dir. Jacques Tourneur
  • Shows love as manipulative.
• The Hitch-Hiker (1953) dir. Ida Lupino
  • Masterful lighting and cinematography.
• Little Caesar (1931) dir. Mervyn LeRoy
  • Gangster film actor here put in Double Indemnity.
• Le Quai des brumes (1938) (introduced in Episode 4) dir. Marcel Carné
• La Chienne (1931) dir. Jean Renoir
  • Man loves hard hearted woman.
• Scarlet Street (1945) dir. Fritz Lang
  • Mirrored scene from La Chienne.
• American Cinema: Film Noir (1995) dir. Alain Klarer
  • The great B movie director, Joseph H. Lewis.
• Gun Crazy (1950) dir. Joseph H. Lewis
  • Gave improvisational rights to actors.
  • Very inventive placement of microphones.
• Bonnie and Clyde (1967) dir. Arthur Penn
  • Heavily influenced by Gun Crazy.
• L.A. Confidential (1997) dir. Curtis Hanson
  • Influenced by noire films.
• Blade Runner (1982) dir. Ridley Scott
  • Influenced shots and lighting from noire.
• The Dark Knight (2008) dir. Christopher Nolan
  • Influenced lighting to noire (batman came from that setting.)
• Siva (1989) dir. Ram Gopal Varma
  • Shows noire was international.
• Titanic (1997) dir. James Cameron
  • Shows the persistence of romantic cinema.
• 71st Academy Awards (1999) dir. Louis J. Horvitz
  • Telling reactions from the crowd.
• An American in Paris (1951) dir. Vincente Minnelli
  • Produced right as the studio system began dying.
  • Shows that joy and beauty had not left the studios.
• The Red Shoes (1948) dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
  • Shows all the flashiness of cinema.
• Singin’ in the Rain (1952) (introduced in Episode 2) dir. Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen
  • Performances drawn from vaudeville acts.
• Flying Down to Rio (1933) dir. Thornton Freeland 
• Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) (introduced in Episode 2) dir. Mervyn LeRoy
• Indiscreet (1958) dir. Stanley Donen
  • Challenges censorship with inventive camera work.
• Two for the Road (1967) dir. Stanley Donen
  • Melancholy enters Donen’s films.
• A Matter of Life and Death (1946) dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
  • Very intense war movie. High drama.
• Post Haste (1933) dir. Humphrey Jennings
  • Jennings started out an actor.
• Listen to Britain (1942) dir. Humphrey Jennings and Stewart McAllister
  • Emotional scenes specific to Britain.
  • Composition of shots show deep meaning.
• The Third Man (1949) dir. Carol Reed
  • Cinematography shows moral ambiguity.
  • Very expressionist shots.
• The True Glory (1945) dir. Carol Reed and Garson Kanin
• Taxi Driver (1976) (introduced in Episode 1) dir. Martin Scorsese
  • Similar shot the The Third Man of walking down a street.