Die Hard Explicit/Implicit Meaning

For my final blog posting on the heist movie genre, I am going to talk about a film that you normally wouldn’t think of as your typical heist film.  The film that I am going to talk about is the film Die Hard (1988). 

Through my last posts, I have talked about and explained films that show the stereotypical heist film.  According to CI5472 Teaching Film, Television, and Media,  A heist film typically involve a gang’s attempt to pull off a highly challenging robbery of extensive wealth or executing a forgery or art thief requiring a lot of careful planning. In the actual heist itself, there are often suspenseful moments in which it seems as if things will go awry, which they sometimes do, only to have the heist succeed, but then, once they acquire their wealth, they are no longer satisfied because the thrill of pulling off the heist is behind them.

In the film Die Hard you have all of these elements of a heist film, but the films main character John McClane is a New York City police officer who travels to Los Angeles to see his wife, but gets caught up in a heist plot that happens to be in progress the night that he gets in to attend his wife’s work’s Christmas party.  Once the terrorists take over the large sky-scraper take the entire party hostage, the film really starts to uncover the heist plot. 

The main terrorist Hans and his men take the party goers hostage and explain that they are doing this because they would like other terrorists from around the world released.  This kind of creates the distraction of the police and everyone else in the building.  John McClane is able to sneak away from the terrorists and eventually uncover their real plot which is to steal 600 million dollars worth of bonds held in the building safe.  McClane is able to secure kill one of the terrorists and take control of his radio so that he can remain undercover.  McClane is also able to make a connection with an on duty police officer who happens to be outside of the building.  Once the FBI and local authorities show up on the scene they kill the power to the building and attempted to take control.  The only problem is that the terrorists group has a lot of hostages and a lot of resources.  McClane is eventually able to wipe out the terrorists in the building and take control over the situation. 

To understand this film a little more in detail I should take a look at the different meanings of the film.  To start off I believe that the explicit meaning of this film is just your stereotypical 80s/90s action movie.  A hardnosed cop from New York goes out to L.A. to visit his wife, but winds up in the middle of an elaborate heist.  He is able to single handedly maneuver around the build and escape death to foil their plans.

The implicit meaning of the film is a little more in depth.  According to an article from hubpages.com, Implicit meaning, is the interpretation of the film. Here we are looking for something that goes beyond what is explicitly stated. Interpretation can vary by individual.  John McClane is suffering from the career choice of leaving a job and city that he loves, and watching his wife break through the glass ceiling and becoming a very successful business woman for a major organization.  The only problem is that it’s a company that on the other side of the country.  After going through all the turmoil of the movie, realizes that everything else is very material and the thing that he values the most is his wife’s love.

I would also like to add that this happens to be this film fan blog’s favorite Christmas movie!!        

Works Cited

"CI5472 Teaching Film, Television, and Media." Twin Cities - University of Minnesota. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. <http://www.tc.umn.edu/~rbeach/teachingmedia/module7/Suspense%20ThrillerSpyHeist.htm>.

"The Wizard of Oz - Interpretation of the film." interpretations. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <http://tlap.hubpages.com/hub/Wizard-of-Oz-Analysis>.

Mise-en-scene in Reservoir Dogs

For this blog entry I am going to be talking about the way Quentin Tarrantino was able to use different functions of mise en scene in one of his classic heist films Reservoir Dogs.  Although Terrantino isn’t known for his heist films, this fan blog believes that he did a great job with it. 

The film Reservoir Dogs starts out with a group of six strangers, who all happen to be criminals, who are all hired by one crime boss to pull off a diamond robbery.  The men only know each other by fake names, but are all very sure that they will be able to accomplish the heist.  But when the police show up right when the robbery is taking place the movie takes a different turn.  The men begin to panic and start a shoot out with the police.  After the gang escapes, the men gather together at a predetermined warehouse and they start to point fingers at each other and believe that someone is an undercover police officer. 

First I would like to focus on the way a few of the scenes in the movie are shot.  According to an article from slideshare.net, At the start of the film the characters are all not doing very much, just sitting around a table.  To keep the audiences attention the camera moves around the table to each individual character, as without the movement of the camera the shot would not be very intriguing.  This type of shot is commonly used in heist films.  One example that comes to my mind right away is the scene in the film The Killing where the men are all gathered together in a smoke filled apartment all huddled together at a small table, planning their perfect crime. 

Another function of mise en scene from the film is the way that the characters dress.  Most of the men with exception to two, are usually always in the same black suits.  This simple example can go a long way with the audience because it shows that even though we as an audience know that the characters are supposed to not know each other, this creates a sense of unity with the gang. 

Some other elements of mise en scene that are especially important to this film are Tarrantino’s use of props in the film.  According to coursework.com, The guns are shown and used a lot in the film but there are no other really important props except for the diamond bag. Although the diamond bag is barely ever seen it is important because that bag is what it is all about and why this is happening. At the end Mr Pink gets the diamonds; out of all the characters, he is the only one alive and he has the diamonds.  Although with many of Tarrantino’s films you usually have plenty of guns (or weapons) and one main treasure (the diamond bag). 

Reservoir Dogs does a great job with the different functions of mise en scene along with outstanding acting in film.  Although this film is getting older and older as the years go by, it still is widely considered many peoples favorite movie. 

Works Cited

"Essay: An Analysis on the Film Reservoir Dogs.." Essays & Coursework Help. GCSE, A-Level, and University essay and coursework library - Coursework.Info. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. <http://www.coursework.info/University/Mass_Communications_and_Documentation/Media_Studies/Film_Studies/An_Analysis_on_the_Film_Reservoir_Dogs_L47498.html>.

"Reservoir Dogs Opening Sequence Essay." Upload & Share PowerPoint presentations and documents. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. <http://www.slideshare.net/dilly90/reservoir-dogs-opening-sequence-essay>.

Blend of comedy in Heist

For this blog posting I will be taking a look at the comedic mutation of heist films.  This seems to be a relatively new take on heist films, compared to how long they have been around, but many films have been able to pull both the comedic elements and the heist elements. 

I feel that the film Kelly’s Heroes (1970) does a great job with blending comedic elements into a war heist film.  This can be a tricky blend because the main goal of a comedy film according to According to Dirks “Comedy Films are ‘make 'em laugh’ films designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are light-hearted dramas, crafted to amuse, entertain, and provoke enjoyment. The comedy genre humorously exaggerates the situation, the language, action, and characters. (Filmsite.org.)  Though when looking at a traditional heist film a lighthearted film is usually one of the last things that come to mind. 

The film Kelly’s Heroes takes place during WWII, when an American Lieutenant learns of a German bank behind enemy lines that has a large fortune of gold bars.  The men decide to had behind enemy lines with a small group and steal the nazi gold for themselves.  This heist film seems to incorporate the comedy portion into the film with its off the wall characters and dialog.  Although the men in the “gang” really don’t seem to fit the traditional heist roles on the surface, but after seeing the film you come to understand that they do.  The men are lead by Big Joe, hustler Crapgame, a strange hippie type character, and three tanks.  The dialog of the film along with the half crocked idea really adds to the comedy of this film. 

Another film that blends comedy into the classic heist genre is the film Tower Heist.  This film is a newer film, which released in 2011, but it still incorporates classic comedy/heist elements.  Although according to Sweany, characters must embody a certain amount of ambiguity, the plot must contain the right level of complexity and the story must be believable for a heist film to be successful.  But when you know that your going to see a movie that was defiantly marketed as a comedy and a heist you can almost know what to expect when your going to see this movie.  But since the major part of this movie was supposed to surround the actual heist, it seemed to miss the mark a little.

My expectations for this film were much higher before I actually saw the movie.  Just from the casting of actors like Ben Stiller, Eddy Murphy, Casey Affleck, and Mathew Broderick I figured that the dialog alone could carry the comedy through the movie while still having a believable heist story line.

Although this fan film blog believes that Tower Heist missed the mark on being able to make comedy/heist hybrid types of movies, I still believe that this is a great genre mutation for both comedies and heist films.  I believe that Kelly’s Heroes was able to prove that point.       

Works sited

"Cinematic Terms - A FilmMaking Glossary." Greatest Films - The Best Movies in Cinematic History. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. <http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms11.html>.

Sweany, Sean . "Cinematic crime capers emerge as fresh film genre." The Observer. N.p., 11 Sept. 2009. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. <www.ndsmcobserver.com/2.2755/cinematic-crime-capers-emerge-as-fresh-film-genre-1.265715 >.

Understanding a History of Heist

For this fan blog post I am going to talk about the different ways the heist genre is used.  The heist genre really seemed to hit the scene in films early, and then in the 1950’s-1970’s the heist genre seemed to make a transformation over seas and change the traditional heist mold. 

In 1903 a film called The Great Train Robbery really set the ground work for what we now know as the heist film.  According to an article from Rotten Tomatoes, Edwin S. Porter's landmark 12-minute short was one of the first narrative films, and it utilized some groundbreaking cinematic techniques (cross-cutting, non-static camerawork) to tell the tale of a railway heist and its bloody aftermath.     

Although since then there have been many other memorable heist films; The Unholy Three (1925), Raffles (1930), and High Sierra (1941), there seemed to be a change around the 1960’s with in the American heist genre.  According to Palmer, The heist genre found greater life in Europe were several key texts modified its conventions.  In France the heist film Rififi highlights the exploits of the noble yet downtrodden protagonist.  Where the protagonists are an ex-con who appears to have tuberculosis, and another who is portrayed as a heroin addicted gambler.  “The genre mutated further when transplanted to Italy where the heist emphasized comic rather than tragic dimensions” (Palmer).             

Now when viewers look back at more recent heist films, you may be able to make certain connections.  In the Oceans movies the main character Danny is an ex-con who is nobble, yet downtrodden.  He plays the same role as the fearless leader in all three of the films, but usually always has a hidden objective because of events happening in his life. 

Another movie that uses the mutation of the heist genre is a 2011 film called Tower Heist.  This film is really able to emphasize the comic dimensions while being wrapped up in a classic heist story line.  

Works Cited

"A hundred years of heist films." Rotten Tomatoes. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. <www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1207149-taking_of_pelham_1_2_3/news/1825803/a_hundred_years_of_heist_films/>.

Palmer, R. Barton. The philosophy of Steven Soderbergh. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 2011. Print.

Analyzing a scene

For my sixth blog post I am going to take a look at a scene in Christopher Nolan’s film Inception.  This does a great job portraying the heist genre.  According to dcist.com, Nolan structures the film in classic heist fashion, as Cobb assembles a team to enter Fischer's head to pull off the seemingly impossible. Despite the sci-fi trappings, Nolan is a classicist through and through, from his insistence on film over digital, and the fact that he prefers to use as few computer-generated effects as possible, even in a film as fantastical as this. Insisting that effects be created practically rather than digitally makes the world of the film one that, like a dream, feels utterly real, no matter how surreal it gets.  

If you follow Christopher Nolan’s work, then you would know that he is a master at taking the impossible and putting his own spin on it to make it seem realistic.  In the film Inception the hallway fight scene as has come to be called really stands out as one of the best fight scenes in a long time. 

First I should set the scene up.  The main character Cobb and his team are trying to plant an idea or accomplish “inception” into the mind a man named Fischer.  In order to accomplish this his team must create three different levels of dreams so Fischer wakes up to believe that the idea the had was really his idea.  Fischer’s mind is trying to defend against the team and treats them as intruders in his different dreams.  The team sets the different levels up so that they would receive a “kick” to jolt them into the next level of their dream state.  So what makes this particular fight scene so special is the fact that in the movie it is supposed in zero gravity, which is difficult to portray, and it also is done without the use of CG special effects.

The hallway fight scene was shot using a very large rotating set the turned so that Gordan-Levitt had to maneuver his way the entire time.  The crew built a series of different hallway settings to make it look like there was zero gravity.  According to Ditzian, the scene ended up taking about Five-hundred crewmembers who were involved in the scene, which took a full three weeks to complete. In a World War I-era airship hangar just outside London.  Also the cinematographer for Inception Wally Pfister explained that "We run the fight scene for as long as the actors can pull it off," Pfister explained. "We begin with a camera that's not fixed to the set and shows a bit of the rotation, and then you quickly jump to where you're rotating with the set. It creates this bizarre, strange movement. It's an exhausting process for the actors” (Ditzian).

This fan blog believes that this scene was not only a very important scene is the film because of the drama that builds up to the next kick in the movie, but also the way that the film crew and the way that it was shot makes this scene all the more beautiful and realistic.

Works Cited

Ditzian, Eric. "'Inception' Hallway Scene: How Filmmakers Pulled It Off - MTV Movie News| MTV ." New Music Videos, Reality TV Shows, Celebrity News, Top Stories | MTV. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2011. <http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1643947/inception-hallway-scene-how-filmmakers-pulled-it-off.jhtml>.

"Out of Frame: Inception: DCist." DCist: Washington DC News, Food, Arts & Events. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. <http://dcist.com/2010/07/inception.php>.

Editing

For my next fan blog posting I am going to talk about film editing within the context of the move The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009).  Although this movie is a remake from its original version in 1974, the director still does a great job with the film editing so the movie has a certain identifiable flow. 

In the film, four armed men lead by their leader Ryder, board a New York City subway train and take control over it.  Ryder disassembles the subway car from the rest of the train and takes total control over it by killing a police officer on board and holding all of the passengers hostage.  He then makes contact with Walter who happens to be working dispatch at that time.  Ryder demands 10 million dollars of he says that he and his gang are going to start executing hostages onboard the train.  Over the next hour Ryder and Walter develop a strange relationship with one another through negotiation talks.  Ryder and his gang are very well equipped with technology and weapons and have their big score figured out perfectly.  Ryder then demands the Walter delivers the ransom money himself to the train.  When Walter shows up with the money Ryder and his gang exit the train, without the police knowing, and escape through a subway tunnel underneath a hotel.  When the men resurface two of the gang members are killed by the police and Ryder flees in a taxi with Walter pursuing him.  Walter eventually catches up with Ryder who demands that Walter shoots him before the police do, he counts to 10 and before firing at Walter, he gets the shot away.  Walter is praised by the mayor as being a hero for his role in the situation. 

According to O’Sullivan, Dutton, and Rayner the four main functions of film editing are make sure that the production is the required length of time, to remove unwanted material or mistakes, to alter if necessary the way or sequence in which the events take place, and to establish a particular style and character of production.  In Pelham 123 the Tony Scott is able to make the subway and subway car a character itself.  The story really revolves around 3 main characters with the scene of the subway being a major character.  You feel that Ryder is isolated within that particular area with his only friend being Walter who is working for the police. 

Also the use of juxtaposition plays a major role in the film.  According to filmsite.org,  juxtaposition is the contiguous position of two images or scenes in sequence in order to establish a relationship between them. When Walter agrees to meet Ryder in the subway car the cars movements are being monitored by the police.  The car briefly starts moving then stops, then moves again the police are lead to believe that Ryder’s gang and Walter are still on board, but they really rigged the car to accelerate by itself while they flee.  But as an audience member you see the subway car accelerating out of control while you watch the gang make an escape.  This works well to “trick” the police and make it look like the men are still on board the train.      

Works Cited

"Cinematic Terms - A FilmMaking Glossary." Greatest Films - The Best Movies in Cinematic History. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. <http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms11.html>.

Sullivan, Tim, Brian Dutton, and Philip Rayner. Studying the media: an introduction. 3. ed. London: Arnold, 2003. Print.

The Shot

This is my forth film fan blog posting.  For this post I am going to talk about the shot with a focus on framing within Christopher Nolan’s film Inception.  Although this film is relatively new, (made in 2010), I believe that it fits in with some of the classics of the heist movie genre. 

Now, explaining this film to someone who has never seen the film before can be a little tricky.  The main character Cobb is a very skilled dream thief who is able to enter people’s minds and extract their deepest darkest secrets through forming a dream world and accessing the victim’s deepest thoughts.  He was eventually caught, and is considered a fugitive.  Now his only way back to his children is to pull off the opposite of a perfect heist.  He doesn’t need to steal and idea, he needs to plant one in someone else’s mind (inception).  Cobb goes out and assembles a team of individuals who each have their own unique talents and has everything funded by a man who wants the idea planted in someone else’s mind.  While overcoming many different problems and trip-ups, Cobb eventually goes deeper and deeper into the human brains dream states and has to figure out for himself what is real and what is really just a dream. 

According to Robinson, In the Long Shot (LS) the whole subject is in frame. The usual convention of the Long Shot (LS) is the character's head and feet are nearly touching the top and bottom of frame. As we are now closer to the subject, it is easier to identify aspects of the character and their performances, but also retain the audiences' awareness of the overall environment they are in, which makes the Long Shot (LS) a good framing for action scenes and observing social groupings.  In the movie inception because most of the film is shot from the idea of being in a dream or a dream within a dream within a dream, the use of the long shot really plays a vital role because of the intricate detail that each character needs to perform in the scene, while also making the audience still be aware of what is happening with other characters in the scene. 

Like I stated before, this film can would be very difficult to make because of the many dream within a dream scenarios, but according to dcist.com, Nolan he has qualities of the art house auteur, challenging his viewers intellectually. But he's also a people's filmmaker, issuing those challenges to masses of viewers who flock to his films in contradiction to popular wisdom that populist audiences don't like dark or difficult work.  He is able to incorporate many different kinds of shots to make the audience aware of what is happening within the story.  Even if it’s a close up shot, which he uses often, to let the audience know what is going on without directly stating it.       

Works Cited

"Digital Mise-en-Scene : Shot Composition - Long Shot." Welcome to the E-Portfolio of Annabeth Robinson 2006. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. <http://www.annamorphic.co.uk/machinima/ls.htm>.

"Out of Frame: Inception: DCist." DCist: Washington DC News, Food, Arts & Events. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. <http://dcist.com/2010/07/inception.php>.