The filmmaker Francois Truffaut has had a long, prolific career in the film industry, with acting, writing, and producing all under his belt, but its his skills as a director that are most remembered. The 400 Blows, Jules and Jim, and Shoot the Piano Player are three films of his and all bear his distinct style. Each is a simplistic portrayal of life for the working class French and involves common, relatively unstylized situations for the characters. Weather it be a child in prep school or two friends falling in love with the same woman, the situations are undramatic, giving each film a simplistic charm. The films are driven not by action or explanation, but by simple, everyday dialog between friends or family. Simplicity is indeed the charm of each of these movies, with only a few locations in each film. All are common, everyday locations such as a classroom, café, or small apartment, but are given such a naturalistic feel with simple decorations that could be found in anyone’s apartment or home. It can be inferred that Truffaut had a specific artistic vision in mind for each scene and location, making the naturalism all the more believable. Natural lighting and poor sound quality also makes one feel as though they were in the room or on the streets with these characters.
With the simple working class being portrayed, the characters themselves are highly relatable to the audience. There is one character in all three of these films, however, that stands out from the rest. Truffaut had a thing for brunets with a playful outlook on life. His female leads were often portrayed as wild storms of positive emotion and independence. For example, Catherine of Jules and Jim acts on impulse constantly, leaping from a street into the river and having multiple affairs after marrying. These girls are only independent to a certain extent, however. Every film housed a conversation between two characters about marriage, usually making marriage seem like a necessity for women and a burden for men. A conversation in Shoot the Piano Player reveals a man’s desire to get rid of his wife after years of marriage, but he instead decides to stay with his wife. One can see from these views on women that Truffaut wanted the focus on the actions and deviations of the men.
The most distinct element of Truffaut’s films is his character’s long voice-overs explaining certain events in the film or expressing their innermost thoughts on the situations at hand. Such voiceovers provided chances for the films to move quickly throughout time, watching the characters advance in their lives. Truffaut uses all of these elements in his films to place character development first and foremost. By simplifying all other elements in the film, his characters shine even brighter. His attention to dialog and understanding of modern French life allows Truffaut to fully express his vision throughout his multiple films.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Pulp Fiction - Casino Royale
Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale is the first novel in the James Bond series. Writen in the mid 50’s, Flemming manages to turn some of the Cold War drama into an interesting spy drama. The main character, James Bond, is a man’s man; the ideal male figure of the time: Handsome, bold, athletic, smart, and dutiful. Whats more, he lives the ideal existence: boldly serving his government, trumping huge threats to his people and the world, driving amazing cars, using interesting gadgets, and most importantly, bedding gorgeous women. To any other man, James Bond would seem like a godly character that they could only strive to, but such characters are not created to cause envy, rather they are used to escape.
Men of the 50’s had a certain stigma attached to them; Almost all were expected to be hard working pillars of the home, dedicated to serving their respective countries, and serve as well rounded members of society. Such expectations surely lead to mundane and uneventful lives. James Bond, however, was nowhere near this. Bond spent his days gambling in casinos, fraternizing with lovely women, and taking down threats to his people. By reading James Bond, modern British and American men could fantasize about being that ideal man, living an exciting life rather than their average everyday life. Reading about Bond put men in his position of power, able to do anything he pleased so long as he gets the job done in the end. Romantically, both Bond and ordinary men view women in the same light: Irrational nuisances who only get in the way when it comes to work. Women are viewed only as objects of desire.
Men of the 50’s had a certain stigma attached to them; Almost all were expected to be hard working pillars of the home, dedicated to serving their respective countries, and serve as well rounded members of society. Such expectations surely lead to mundane and uneventful lives. James Bond, however, was nowhere near this. Bond spent his days gambling in casinos, fraternizing with lovely women, and taking down threats to his people. By reading James Bond, modern British and American men could fantasize about being that ideal man, living an exciting life rather than their average everyday life. Reading about Bond put men in his position of power, able to do anything he pleased so long as he gets the job done in the end. Romantically, both Bond and ordinary men view women in the same light: Irrational nuisances who only get in the way when it comes to work. Women are viewed only as objects of desire.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Screenplay - Boogie Nights
Ashley Lacour
October 4, 2010
The film Boogie Nights takes place in Torrance, California in the late 1970’s. The plot of the film, in a nutshell, follows Eddie Adams, AKA Dirk Diggler, A high school dropout and male prostitute turned highly successful porn star. With the help of his mentor, Jack Horner, and leading lady, Amber Waves, he rises to fame quickly, but as the times change, he and his friends discover that their seemingly decadent and desirable lifestyle choices may have been a good idea at the time, but are slowly ruining their lives. The dangers and temptations of the celebrity life is the obvious lesson to be taken from the story, but I would like the focus of the film to be less on the morale of the story as a whole, but specifically on the individual problems of each character. Each character has a very distinct personality and a very deep set of problems. I would like each actor and actress to play their character with only their problems in mind; Do not think of your characters as a part of a story, but as a story on their own. The audience should be able to see the hidden suffering behind all the lavish Hollywood partying.
Eddie Adams, Dirk Diggler - Jared Padalecki
We start out with struggling high school dropout Eddie Adams. As soon as he is drafted into the porno industry, we see the complete abandonment of his original identity as Eddie and a full-on adaptation of his alter ego Dirk. He immediately abandons his past life of prostitution and a broken home life and embraces the glamorous and dangerous life of porn, drugs, parties, and women. In the beginning we see, through a fight with his mother, his desire to make something of himself. He has a deep desire for success and that desire manifests itself through his work. Even as his involvement in drugs and prostitution worsens, he still holds tight to his principles of dedication and drive that he first started out with in the film.
Amber Waves – Ali Larter
Amber may seem like a glamorous porn star living a charmed life, but underneath it all her maternal instincts make up a majority of her personality. She engages in a custody battle with her ex-husband after losing her child due to her drug use and criminal past. Her maternal instincts are what leads her to care for Eddie early on. Her helps him transition into the world of porno and the two of them soon develop a relationship. Her drug use should be seen as a means of coping with the loss of her child rather.
Jack Horner – Aaron Eckhart
Jack, the legendary porn producer, stands alone in his principles. While he has produced some of the best porn in the business, the times are changing and he faces the dilemma of either conforming to the changes and compromising his vision or remaining the same and losing business. He sticks to his principles throughout the entire film however. His drives for excellence and dedication to his artistic vision are the main things that connect he and Eddy.
Rollergirl - Gillian Jacobs
We meet the young Rollergirl in the club, living a crazy life of all night parties and prostitution. While she may seem like just a girl in the party/porno crowd, she is actually still a high school student. Unlike Eddie, shes chosen to stay in high school for the most part, despite being teased and harassed by classmates over her sexual deviance. She still holds on to her youthful ways throughout all the drama, having fun in her roller skates and snapping Polaroid picures everywhere, but underneath that, there is a hurt, attention starved little girl yearning to get out.
Maurice Rodriguez – Rick Gonzalez
Maurice is the owner of a popular club that the porn stars frequent. He is a well-known, friendly figure in this circle of friends, yet he is somewhat of an outsider. He has no role in the production of these pornos, despite being around them. He has a desire to be as famous as his friends and let his family back home know that hes a success. He tries multiple times to land a role in one of Jack’s films, but to no avail. He begs Rollergirl to take a nude photo with him, but said photo doesn’t come out right. He has a strong desire to impress his friends and cousins by sending them these pictures and videos so that they think he has a glamorous life.
October 4, 2010
The film Boogie Nights takes place in Torrance, California in the late 1970’s. The plot of the film, in a nutshell, follows Eddie Adams, AKA Dirk Diggler, A high school dropout and male prostitute turned highly successful porn star. With the help of his mentor, Jack Horner, and leading lady, Amber Waves, he rises to fame quickly, but as the times change, he and his friends discover that their seemingly decadent and desirable lifestyle choices may have been a good idea at the time, but are slowly ruining their lives. The dangers and temptations of the celebrity life is the obvious lesson to be taken from the story, but I would like the focus of the film to be less on the morale of the story as a whole, but specifically on the individual problems of each character. Each character has a very distinct personality and a very deep set of problems. I would like each actor and actress to play their character with only their problems in mind; Do not think of your characters as a part of a story, but as a story on their own. The audience should be able to see the hidden suffering behind all the lavish Hollywood partying.
Eddie Adams, Dirk Diggler - Jared Padalecki
We start out with struggling high school dropout Eddie Adams. As soon as he is drafted into the porno industry, we see the complete abandonment of his original identity as Eddie and a full-on adaptation of his alter ego Dirk. He immediately abandons his past life of prostitution and a broken home life and embraces the glamorous and dangerous life of porn, drugs, parties, and women. In the beginning we see, through a fight with his mother, his desire to make something of himself. He has a deep desire for success and that desire manifests itself through his work. Even as his involvement in drugs and prostitution worsens, he still holds tight to his principles of dedication and drive that he first started out with in the film.
Amber Waves – Ali Larter
Amber may seem like a glamorous porn star living a charmed life, but underneath it all her maternal instincts make up a majority of her personality. She engages in a custody battle with her ex-husband after losing her child due to her drug use and criminal past. Her maternal instincts are what leads her to care for Eddie early on. Her helps him transition into the world of porno and the two of them soon develop a relationship. Her drug use should be seen as a means of coping with the loss of her child rather.
Jack Horner – Aaron Eckhart
Jack, the legendary porn producer, stands alone in his principles. While he has produced some of the best porn in the business, the times are changing and he faces the dilemma of either conforming to the changes and compromising his vision or remaining the same and losing business. He sticks to his principles throughout the entire film however. His drives for excellence and dedication to his artistic vision are the main things that connect he and Eddy.
Rollergirl - Gillian Jacobs
We meet the young Rollergirl in the club, living a crazy life of all night parties and prostitution. While she may seem like just a girl in the party/porno crowd, she is actually still a high school student. Unlike Eddie, shes chosen to stay in high school for the most part, despite being teased and harassed by classmates over her sexual deviance. She still holds on to her youthful ways throughout all the drama, having fun in her roller skates and snapping Polaroid picures everywhere, but underneath that, there is a hurt, attention starved little girl yearning to get out.
Maurice Rodriguez – Rick Gonzalez
Maurice is the owner of a popular club that the porn stars frequent. He is a well-known, friendly figure in this circle of friends, yet he is somewhat of an outsider. He has no role in the production of these pornos, despite being around them. He has a desire to be as famous as his friends and let his family back home know that hes a success. He tries multiple times to land a role in one of Jack’s films, but to no avail. He begs Rollergirl to take a nude photo with him, but said photo doesn’t come out right. He has a strong desire to impress his friends and cousins by sending them these pictures and videos so that they think he has a glamorous life.
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