An actor is “a person who plays a character in a film or play, interpreting a character that a writer has created, under the guidance of a director.” There are five different types of actors such as, impersonator, interpreter, personality, wild card, and character. Impersonators is when an actor copies the manner, dialect, and behavior of a character. An interpreter actor is when an actor puts their own spin on roles, playing characters that others have portrayed as well. The personality actors have strong personalities that shine through no matter what character they play. A wild card actor can play a wide variety of characters. Character actors fit invisibly into a wide variety of disparate characters, adapting to the needs of each script and director they work with (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011).
The movie that I chose is The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. The three actors that I chose to analyze are Philip Seymour Hoffman, Woody Harrelson, and Donald Sutherland.
I would put Donald Sutherland in the category of a wild card actor. He has a lot of films he acted in under his belt and he has been able to play any of the characters and make them each unique with his personal spin on them.
I would put Woody Harrelson in the category of a character actor. He has taken the role of very big characters and also had numerous smaller roles in films and he adjusts to the character he needs to portray and makes an amazing performance no matter the role big or small.
Philip Seymour Hoffman is also considered a wild card actor. Philip Seymour Hoffman is known to play completely opposite roles film to film but when they act they do amazing jobs portraying the character the way that the director wants that they become very high in demand.
The actor I will focus on is Woody Harrelson. He has done so many different movies that he is a household name. I am going to show a clip where he acts in the movie Anger Management as a female prostitute then a clip of him in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay as Haymitch the mentor of Katniss Everdeen.
References:
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Books Access. (2013, November 7). The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Scene 2: Katniss, Peeta e Haymitch [Video file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDLw71fGhKE
Senicide. (2007, January 17). “I feel like dancing!” (Anger Management) [Video file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_VZdQ92pQc
There are three basic categories of sound including dialogue, sound effects, and music. Dialogue is when characters talk to each other. There are three reasons to use dialogue such as, to further the development of the plot, to enhance characterizations, and to establish very quickly important information the audience needs to know to understand the action (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). A sound effect is an imitated sound that is reproduced artificially. Music is played in nearly all films even if it is not a musical. Music is played whether its an actual song or just an orchestra playing a few cues to prepare the audience for a scary or dramatic scene.
In TheWizard of Oz, all three basic categories of sound are used. There is constant dialogue between the characters. In this clip it introduces the lion to the scene. The audience learns just from the dialogue in this clip that the lion is a coward and needs courage, the scarecrow has no brain, and the tin man has no heart and they think that The Wizard of Oz can help them with these issues.
There are many sound effects in The Wizard of Oz but the most recognizable one is in the beginning of the film when the tornado comes. The sound coming from the tornado is a sound effect made to imitate the sound of an actual tornado.
Music is a big part of The Wizard of Oz especially since it is a musical but the characters singing isn’t the only time music is played. To progress the plot, music can be heard in the background even behind the dialogue between the characters this is called a score. In this clip you can hear the score in the background from beginning to end.
The use of sound in The Wizard of Oz helped set the theme of it being a fantasy. Even during the scenes that should be scary such as the tornado and parts with the Wicked Witch of The West there was scary and exaggerated sound effects but the music is very light and happy. The use of sound set the tone and the mood. The dialogue allows you to hear the emotion in a character’s voice showing the tone of that specific scene. Typically the score in The Wizard of Oz was similar to what you would here at a carnival, very upbeat and puts a person in a happy mood. Whenever the music in this film was dark and dreary sounding it was because the Wicked Witch of The West was about to enter the scene.
The music throughout the movie helps the genres of fantasy and musical stand out. The music is what stands out the most and becomes catchy for the audience. The songs performed by the characters go along with the direction of the story line, keeping everything moving.
The sound effects were exaggerated in most scenes but it helped with making it a fantasy film. If The Wizard of Oz would have left out the theatrical songs throughout the movie, it would not be as recognized as it is 75 years later. The songs made this film a household name even if you haven’t had the honor of watching the entire film. The songs performed made it the childhood classic that it is today and will continue to be for the next 75 years.
References:
Goodykoontz, B. & Jacobs, C.P. (2011). Film: From Watching to Seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Movie 758. (2012, March 9). The Wizard of Oz Twister [Video file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YLW2MeZCks
Movie Clips. (2011, May 26). The Cowardly Lion- The Wizard of Oz (6/8) Movie CLIP (1939) HD [Video file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2itQkiQUOE
Theairinthebranches. (2009, March 6). The Wizard of Oz – poppies [Video file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG2keYgBiZc
The Wizard of Oz [Image format] (2014). Retrieved September 26, 2014, from: http://quoteshub.weebly.com/the-wizard-of-oz.html
The Wizard of Oz’s beginning and ending, which shows the scenes that take place in real life, are shown in black and white. The majority of the film after Dorothy gets knocked out during the tornado is the fantasy part of the film and is completely in color. The film going from black and white to color is crucial to the entire film. Dorothy’s slippers are ruby red and the yellow brick road becomes essential for Dorothy to find her way to Emerald City. The entire film being shown completely in black and white may have made the ruby slippers and the yellow brick road less significant to the story line.
The scenes that were in black and white used a technique called three-point lighting. Three-point lighting is defined in the textbook as “a lighting style based upon three primary sources of light, a bright key light and slightly dimmer fill light to the upper right and left sides of the camera, aiming at the subject to create a three-dimensional appearance with soft shadows, and a back light placed behind the subject and aimed at its back to create a rim of light that separates it from the background” (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). Using the three-point lighting, it keeps the audience’s attention to the character, gave everything a three-dimensional and realistic look, and during serious scenes in the film it kept the mood feeling light.
The Wizard of Oz is in the fantasy genre with a musical genre mixed in. In musical and fantasy films, high-key lighting is used. High-key lighting is “a lighting style marked by high levels of light, low contrast, and few shadows” (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). Using high-key lighting makes scenes appear very bright but also soft. This lighting technique gives an up-beat feel to the fantasy aspect of the film, making it obvious it was coming from the character’s imagination. If The Wizard of Oz had used low-key lighting it would have made scenes seems gloomy, mysterious, sad, and even ominous which isn’t the direction this film was heading except in the beginning.
References
Dorothy in the poppy field [Image format] (2014). Retrieved September 18, 2014, from: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/the-wizard-of-oz/images/4640408/title/dorothy-poppy-field-wallpaper?ir=true
Goodykoontz, B. & Jacobs, C.P. (2011). Film: From Watching to Seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Writers: Mario Puzo & Francis Ford Coppola (Screenplay) Mario Puzo (Novel)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Actors/Actresses:
Marlon Brando (Don Vito Corleone)
Al Pacino (Michael Corleone)
James Caan (Sonny Corleone)
Richard S. Castellano (Peter Clemenza)
Robert Duvall (Tom Hagen)
Diane Keaton (Kay Adams-Corleone)
Sterling Hayden (Captain MKcCluskey)
Richard Conte (Emilio Barzini)
Story:
The Godfather is about the Corleone Italian Mafia family. The head of the Corleone family is Don Vito Corleone and his sons are Sonny, Freddy, and Michael. It is about the trials and tribulations following the Corleone family when new and younger gangsters attempt to step on the Corleone family’s toes by selling drugs. When rivals try to kill the godfather, it becomes an all out war. Don Vito tries to reason with his rivals. One of the godfather’s sons; Sonny, is killed and his other son Michael kills the family’s main enemy even though he was attempting to get away from the family’s criminal activity. At the end of the movie, the godfather; Don Vito dies and his son Michael becomes the head of the family and begins getting revenge on any enemies of his family.
Plot:
The Godfather begins at the Don’s daughter, Connie Corleone’s wedding where the godfather listens to the plea of a man that is looking for revenge for a brutal attack on his daughter. This man comes to the godfather with his plea due to the lack of help from the justice system. The godfather agrees to take revenge against the attacker in exchange for this man’s loyalty. The Don built his empire with situations similar to this with the promised loyalty from others. The Don was asked for protection and money for Virgil “The Turk” Sollozzo to begin selling drugs in New York City in exchange for 30% of the profit he brings in. The Don refused on moral grounds even though his oldest son Sonny and the consigliere Tom Hagen thought it would be a good idea. When the godfather refused to help Sollozzo, he goes after the Corleones by kidnapping Tom Hagen and shooting Don Corleone five times in attempts to kill him. With the Don recovering he gives Sonny control over family decisions and Sollozzo tells Tom to convince Sonny to accept the deal he offered but Sonny was too mad about the murder attempt on his father that he wouldn’t so he attempts to get the Don’s youngest son to agree. Up until this point, Michael Corleone has remained neutral and has stayed out of any family business, but the recent actions towards his father brought Michael to be completely involved in every aspect of his family’s business. Michael agrees to meet with Sollozzo along with the crooked cop; Captain McClusky. Prior to the meeting, Michael fully plans to murder both men by pre-arranging a gun to be planted in the restaurant bathroom ceiling.
Michael flees to Sicily to avoid the war that is going to come from the five families and any charges from law enforcement. While in Sicily, Michael gets married to a woman named Apollonia, but she eventually is killed from a car bomb that was meant for Michael.
When Michael returns home, his brother Sonny is killed and his father, The Don, makes a truce with the Dons of the other five families. Michael marries Kay and begins to take over the family business. The Don has a conversation with Michael giving him advice and sharing his wisdom. The Don also tells Michael how he never thought he would be the one to replace him. The Don dies and Michael immediately orders hits on numerous people including family members that betrayed the family, enemies, and whoever got in the family’s way.
Chronology:
The Godfather was presented chronologically which allowed the audience to follow the plot smoothly without confusion. Each member of the Corleone Crime Family had certain positions in the family which was understood by the audience due to their actions on screen.
The characters were introduced in the very beginning but the only character that really developed into something that originally he wasn’t was Michael. Initially Michael said to his girlfriend “that’s my family, Kay. That’s not me”. That statement pertained to Michael not wanting to be in the middle of the crimes and illegal activity that his family was apart of. When Michael’s father; Don Vito was shot, Michael immediately gets involved with the ways of organized crime by ordering hits, murder, extortion, and being an overall gangster.
The way The Godfather story is foreshadowed in some scenes does have the audience knowing that some type of revenge and payback is coming just not knowing what exactly is going to happen. For example, when Don Corleone sends Tom Hagen to visit Jack Woltz to “give him an offer he can’t refuse” and Jack did refuse, the audience immediately knew something bad was going to come from this but didn’t expect the head of Jack’s very expensive horse to be in his bed. So the audience expected a repercussion, just didn’t know what to expect.
If The Godfather film was presented to the audience in another way I am unsure there would have been two more movies after this one. For example, if the director would have skipped Michael telling Kay that he is not who his family is than the character development would be gone because then Michael would be portrayed as a gangster immediately instead of becoming one when his father was shot five times.
Resources:
Movieclips. (2011, November 22). The Godfather (5/9) movie clip – Michael loses Appolonia (1972) HD [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/SWAJPB_5rSs
Movieclips. (2011, November 22). The Horse Head – The Godfather (1/9) movie CLIP (1972) HD [Video file] Retrieved from http://youtu.be/VC1_tdnZq1A?list=PL4DD9B97A46400466
Movieclips. (2011, November 22). The Godfather (3/9) Movie CLIP – Killing Sollozzo and McCluskey (1972) HD [Video file] Retrieved from http://youtu.be/ppjyB2MpxBU?list=PL4DD9B97A46400466
The Godfather [Image format] (2014). Retrieved September 9, 2014, from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/
Original Film Gangsta 
