Movie Review - The Godfather

This movie follows the story of the Corleone family as they are involved in the Scilian Mafia in NY during the 1940s. Competing against the top 5 Mafia families, they attempt to keep their power and fear among the others. Unfortunately, as other families want to get involved into the drug business, Don Vito wants to keep his business more “pure” (if one can accomplish that in the Mafia business) and more respectable. It is obvious that the Godfather has the most power, but he gains it through respect or forced loyalty. As the family experiences marriages, births, and deaths, the Corleone family has to decide what their future holds in their family and business. The Godfather could be reported as a story in which there is much violence and killing to keep a business growing. Yet, it could be a story about family and trust. The relationships between people are interesting, some are very dynamic and some are very static. In the beginning, it is very difficult keeping the characters straight. Remembering who is who and their relationship in the family would take another viewing for me to easily recognize. I liked how the movie focused on a few different people at different times. The whole thing was not based around “The Godfather,” there were parts in which it would follow the brothers and the different tasks. It shows how each member is different, so how they perceive and act in the family varies. It is also interesting to study the relationships of generations or genders. Normally, the men have certain tasks and the women have tasks in which are not supposed to interfere with the men. And, the power is dependent upon one’s generation. Overall, I think this movie has a good balance between “shoot-em up” and “chick-flick” relationships in which everybody can appreciate, if not enjoy.

Analysis of Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now has a few main aspects of cinematography in which it is recognized and distinguished as a great movie, especially the aspects of color. For one, the color of the movie was a constant reminder of how choosing a color scheme can be so powerful. In the beginning of the movie, we view Captain Willard as he waits for his mission. Once he gets the mission and heads to the jungle, there is an obvious visual pattern in the jungle and the war, fire (yellow, oranges, reds). Fire has been consistently been part of the movie. The beginning of the movie shows blood as he punches the mirror and then there is the shrimp while he gets his mission. Then he is stuck in war and there is clearly lots of blood and fire there. In fact, Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (the surfer) wears a yellow scarf around his neck.

And it continues until Captain Willard gets really deep until the jungle. When he gets close to the crazy Kurtz, the scene gets very dark and misty. There is a lot of fog and darkness. Once he reaches the ruined city Kurtz changed, there is a lot of yellow and oranges in the city. I think it is supposed to resemble the fires that are burning (which also are symbolic) and the reflection from those fires. From the camera angles and highlighting this, it makes it obvious that the colors are not a coincidence, it was planned and arranged.

Then, it is clear how yellow and shadowing cinematography is used when the climax happens. When Capt Willard finally finds Kurtz, there is not a full shot of his looks for a while. I get snippets and undistinguishable angles of him in which I cannot form a look together. By not being able to see his full face, it is very difficult for me to personify Kurtz. The yellow makes it seem much more glum and conveys the image in which Kurtz has more power and fierceness than he actually does. By planning and organizing the shadowing, it changes the basic image and it changes the emotion it makes. Personally, I feel as if Kurtz is more inhuman and much more evil because I cannot picture him as a human. I cannot picture him as a man and performing such horrific acts to the village members. Once I do view Kurtz, he isn’t so scary and intimidating, I do not feel as if his evil is omnipotent anymore. Through the cinematography, a different angle

may evoke a different feeling and mindset towards the story.

Movie Review - Apocalypse Now

During the Vietnam War, U.S. Army Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is delivered an assassination mission. This classified “nonexistent” mission requires Willard to travel to the forbidden lands of Cambodia and kill the Green Beret Colonel Walter Kurtz (Marlon Brando) who has apparently gone made with power, branched off American forces and used his military prowess to make his own missions against the natives. As Capt. Willard attempts maintain his undercover position and privileged information, he is forced to make important decisions regarding his journey, the boat crew, plans, and his own conscience of killing a fellow American soldier. Capt. Willard struggles with his conscious if he will indeed murder a soldier and struggles as he attempts to trek the long journey. Will the forbidden lands destroy him or will his own soul destroy him first?



During and after watching this movie, I did not only dislike it, but I also was extremely confused on the aspects of the mission. It was obvious that Capt Willard had a mission, but the mission of the movie was pointless to me. I did not think differently or view the world differently, or have a better understanding of life. I did not feel changed or impacted, so I feel as if watching this movie was a waste of time. The climax of me being lost and dumbfounded was the point when Willard’s boat crew stops for a “routine check” and their actions with the natives. The thing I liked about the movie is that it showed its expertise of shadowing and light. The shadows through the trenches, the river, and through the camps were astonishing. But if I could change this movie to make it better, I would take out a lot of the guns/bombs (but realistically, violence is involved during a war), edit the narration voice and script, change the character development (especially Willard/Sheen), and definitely add some respectable female in the mix. If you do not like movies with lots of shooting, death, blood and guts, then this movie is not for you. Usually, I can overlook the gore and grossness, but the plot was just as gruesome to experience.

Analysis of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

After watching The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, I already had a first impression of the movie. Overall, I thought it was a beautifully sad and moving life. The second time I watched this I realized that the movie had many more dimensions that just the characters’ interaction and development. For one, the opening scene has a very blurry frame and it is set at a very low point of view. From this low position, I am expected to feel like I am actually the character, Jean-Do, who is in a hospital bed. The camera movement, most likely on a handheld, is accurate in the sense that it attempts to portray what a paralyzed person feels. No movement of the “neck” (handheld, again) allows the attention to be on the focus and depth of field. In this opening scene, not only is the camera position low, but also the depth of field is very limited. At most, a hospital room is 10 feet from the bed to the end of the room. Ten feet does not provide a very spacious feeling, rather, it feels claustrophobic and constraining. Also, Jean-Do’s “eyes” attempt to take in as much information as possible, so they range from a very deep focus to a very blurry shot. This iris shot directly relates to how Jean-Do experiences his new perspective. At one point, we see the stubble on a doctor’s face and we can almost see ear hair. If anybody has ever had to get their eyes checked and they get the eye drops, this is what the camera does. It goes from very blurry, almost as if there is a water-like film over the vision, to a very crisp deep focus. The position of the camera, paired with the deep/lack of focus and limited depth of field conveys the constraining feeling one feels in a hospital bed. From Jean-Do’s position of the hospital bed, it also has very skewed angles, also known as canted frame. It is obvious that the camera is a handheld and not set on a tripod well until the second or third scene. This could symbolize how Jean-Do is unconscious and unstable (handheld) to when he begins to recognize and consciously understand his surroundings (tripod). Overall, the beginning shot to me was one of the most important because it easily set me into his position. I could already relate to Jean-Do because I have experienced the constricting hospital room setting. Being put into Jean-Do’s head was a brilliant and effective idea for me to easily share and associate myself with the main character. Je suis dans la tête du Jean-Do!

Movie Review - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Last evening, we watched The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, during class. The movie opened up to a series of images that went from incredibly blurry to clear and crisp, then back to blurry. The audience realizes that we are Jean-Dominique Baudy position. Jean-Dominique (Jean-Do to friends) had been in a coma and suddenly woke out of it. Yet, he has an acute paralysis diesease, known as locked-in syndrome, which leaves him controlless from his head to his toes. The only remaining body part in his control are his eyes. The rest of the story is him remembering his previous healthy life and attempting to rehabilitate from accident. From a series of positive and hopeful nurses, to previous women in his life, and some friends, Jean-Do begins to realize his current world is very different from his previous one and begins to accept his new "normal" lifestyle.
I would say that this movie is tres bon ("very good", in french). Personally, I think I was half distracted with them speaking French because I could kind of understand them. (Mimi-we should watch this movie together! Vous regardez les film avec moi, s'il vous plait! Thanks to summer French class, I was brushed up and ready to watch). This movie, regardless if you speak French or not, was beautifully sad. This man is completely depedent on other people, which he is not used to and also feels helpless. I think I liked the parts where Jean-Do realizes his regrets, like he could have been a better father, and where he begins to love again, like how he takes trips to the lighthouse and lives through his imagination. Overall, this movie is wonderfully moving in the fact that a person, who is completely paralyzed, begins to become a human and experiences regular human emotions of great joys and deep sadnesses. Le film est tres bon, mais non tres bien parce ce c'est retarder, un pou. J'aime The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, au revior!