FILM REVIEWS
WEEK 1
WEST SIDE STORY
West Side Story was a very enjoyable watch. One scene that particularly stood out to me was when Tony left Maria and had fallen in love and was singing the song 'Maria'. He was the only person in the scene and it was shot in a completely different place to the rest of the film which mostly used the same areas. I thought this reflected the love that he had discovered for Maria, showing that nothing else mattered to him in that moment apart from her; all of the issues caused by the rival groups weren't on his mind anymore because he had found something new. The green light used was also really interesting as it created a different lighting effect to what I saw in the rest of the movie. I think it also made Tony stand out because of the contrast in colours between his suit and the background. Overall this created quite a pivotal point in the film because it is when he fell in love and didn't want the violence between the groups anymore. However the harsh contrast may have also been reflecting the challenges that the couple would face further on.
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SWEET CHARITY
WEEK 2
I enjoyed Sweet Charity but not quite as much as West Side Story. I especially didn't like the ending because I prefer when the love story works out! One of my favourite parts of this film was when the three girls were singing about their dreams of leaving their jobs as taxi dancers and becoming something else. In my opinion one of the best shots was when the three of them were on top of the building on this scaffolding like structure- possibly an electricity pole. I love the triangle that they created with their dancing which I felt gave the scene really good dynamics. It helped even more that one of them was up higher. The outfits corresponded perfectly with this moment, almost separating the girls as they were different colours but still working perfectly together as a whole. All together I just found it a very satisfying scene to the eye. This also could be reflecting a turning point for Charity and in the movie as she realises that she could do something else and it also results in her meeting Charlie.
WEEK 3
CABARET
Cabaret reminded me of one of my absolute favourite films- Burlesque. From the club Sally was dancing in to the outfits, it all seemed very similar. I think the storyline was engaging and covered a lot of different topics. One part that caught my eye with the set design was Natalia's house (pictured on the right). It was so grand compared to some of the other areas of the film. I particularly loved the wall covered in greenery and the large front door. It is so grand that Ritz looks very small in comparison to it. I felt like it reflected Natalia's character perfectly- she was never boastful of her riches, and the green wall could symbolise that she hides away from people and doesn't want to stand out, possibly because of the situation the Jews were in at the time. Another thing I found impressive about this film was the underlying theme of the Nazis and the gradual build up to the war. I've never watched something that shows when the Nazis first started to change things. Towards the end I felt like there was an underlying foreboding presence; mostly feeling like people new something really bad was coming but it was only outrightly spoken about a small bit. I think it was really clever how they incorporated this into the film.
AMERICAN GRAFFITI
WEEK 4
American Graffiti captured my interest from the beginning because of the scene with the diner and all the cars surrounding it. I loved the typical old-fashioned American diner, with the bright lights and contrasting colours. I felt like it created an interesting atmosphere that carried through the whole film, and matched with the teenage characters' vibe. I feel like the diner is a staple part in the movie and a meeting point for the characters. Milner's yellow car matches this vibe perfectly and I think it just creates a cool style and aesthetic ambiance to the whole film. This all works along with the title of this film, as it has 'american' in the title and I feel like it is a typical american style film. It reminds me of films like Grease, where it follows a group of teenagers.
WEEK 5
TINA THE MUSICAL
I recently went to watch Tina the musical, which was an incredible adaptation of The life of Tina Turner. It went through from when she was really young to her height of fame. It covered a lot of really hard hitting topics such as domestic abuse, oppression of black people and black women especially. It was much more dramatic than I expected - before this stage show I had only watched very easy going musicals like Aladdin and hairspray. It was very eye opening to watch something in the west end that really made me think as it was very emotional and so well portrayed by all of the actors. My favourite parts of the design were the beginning and the end, which couldn’t have been more different. The beginning was Tina in a church, and all of the colours were quite dull and beige, but it gave a huge sense of family and support, but it was obvious that Tina’s character wanted to break free from this normality. The ending is the complete opposite - she’s finally free from everything that was tying her down, and is dressed up in full glitz and glam, singing her heart out, with much more eccentric backdrops and lighting being used.
DAISY JONES & THE SIX
WEEK 6
There was a new series put on prime that I watched called ‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ which was based off a book, about the rise of a band in the 1970s. I really appreciated some of the sets that were created, specifically the recording studio that was shown in a lot of the film. It had subtle additions, such as the lamps on the walls, and the stone wall. I felt that it created quite a wholesome feel, which reflected the fact that most of the best bits for the band happened in that studio - all of their milestones. This was contrasted with the deeper darker colours used in all their performances, the studio was a much safer place for the whole band.
I thought they were so successful in creating such a classic and timeless seventies feel to the whole program, with the use of sets on top of costume and hair too. It captured exactly the kind of experience that bands can go through. I also thought the whole layout of the program was very clever, where there was lots of flashbacks whilst in the current day, the band was doing an interview. On the screen you could even see that the interview had been recorded on an older camera which made the difference between the two easily distinguishable.