It Happened One Night (Screening Report)

In class we discussed the uprising of sounds in field, leaving behind the silent films of Chaplin and others and entering into the era of the “Frank Capra’s” 1929 where silent field became history. At this time directors experimentation with sound booths synchronization and amplifications although expensive produce large sum of money once they got more familiarized to it. But issues arose at the beginning stages and watching the movie “ It Happened One Night” I closely noticed some sound errors. For example there was so much static, buzz noises and made the actors voices a bit squeaky. Which from information given in class I can conclude that it may have been because the sound booths was a on set person behind a glass window.

The movie “It happened one night” directed by Frank Capra was one of the earliest films with sound, about a spoiled heiress who escapes from her overbearing father and tries to reunite with her money hungry husband. On her way to New York she is helped by a man who is a reporter looking for a good story. At the end they end up falling for each other and gets married. According to an article by Alt Film Guide It Happened One Night was Frank Capra’s first stab at what most critics would label greatness. The fact that the film is a comedy is all the more striking for It Happened One Night lacks the symbolism of some of the great silent comedians, the social satire of the 1960s madcap comedies, or those of Woody Allen's intellectualized Golden Era.The film helped to lift Columbia Pictures from the bottom of the film studio and was the first film to win the Big Five Academy Awards – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Actress. It is ironic how even the actors in the film was not sure if this film was going to hit it big like it did.

The film was well put together, and I agree with the observation spoken in the article about the film, pointing out the frustrations the protagonists went through before inevitably ending up together. My views of the work put into the films change by reading the article. I learned that Capra had to shoot it in less than four weeks, to suit the demanding schedule of star Claudette Colbert, who was on loan from Paramount. Which meant that few sets were built, so that more than many other contemporary films, It Happened One Night was filmed in the real world, with Capra using moving cameras and crane shots.

One thing that I admired and loved about the film besides it’s comical sense was the inclusion of biblical analogies. for example, “ the wall of Jericho” being a metaphor of boundary between the two characters. This help me understand that at that era which the movie was shot there was freedom of religion on the screens that everyone watched, that God was not hidden and the bible was something that was encouraged. As a person who knows the biblical stories of Jericho and the Israelite's I understood the plot and related to it more. It was a wonderful and enjoyable film.

http://www.altfg.com/film/it-happened-one-night-frank-capra/    (Article link)

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) ( ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) ( ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper. Name: _____Kebeh Sando _________________________________ Date: _____9/24/2015_____________

Kebeh Sando

“The Gold Rush”  Screening Report

In class we have discussed about the introduction to American films and how films have developed over the years. We have seen technical developments such as the kinetoscope, which was used to view a short film by one individual at a time through a peephole. The Kinetoscope was not a movie projector but it was the beginning to something much more, which led to films such as the Gold rush. The Gold rush is a film produced by Charles Chaplin, according to sources he was one of the greatest entertainer of his time. His silent film “The gold Rush” was at the time where film development was booming, motion pictures was more sophisticated than previous years,longer in time length, consisted of more actions and understanding of the story being watch.

According to the article from Sierra College Press, by 1924 Charles Chaplin was the highest paid actor, and the Gold Rush was something he cherished and wanted to be remembered by. Chaplin was fascinated with the story of the Donner Party and he endeavored to develop a movie that built upon the themes of enduring great hardships in pursuit of immense riches or a better life. He chose Alaska’s Yukon Gold Rush of 1898 as his setting. Unfortunately Chaplin was too expensive and no studio could afford him, so he contracted with independent film industries and profited half of their revenue with films he was in.

Going back to the development of motion pictures and the few struggles of production, it seem as though most films did not take a lot of time to make. Taking into perspective the time these films were made, probably few of the actors and actresses were local citizens and not professional. Meanwhile learning that “Gold Rush” took seventeen months to complete is an amazing growth in that time period. According to the article,  most films in those years were completed in less than 30 days. It cost $923,886,the most expensive comedy of the entire silent-film era. This article was very helpful in the way that it allowed me to see the work put into this silent film compared to others in that time period; which is one reason why even in the 21st century I enjoyed the film.

The Film was very entertaining. Especially these few funny and surprising scenes such as ,scenes of the hungry men  eating a boiled shoe, battling with a cabin that is seesawing on the edge of a cliff, and performing a remarkable dance using two forks stuck into bread rolls, and the bear chasing and following Chaplin on his journey without and realization of the danger he may have been in. I also admired the way the story was told, it being a love story in a comedic form. There was messages to each person in the audience to receive; whether it be the love story message of love is sweet and not harsh, or the comedic message do not look down on people anything can happen, the film was magnificent.