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Notations! |
To E-Mail Robert Wright: ! |
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Views on Movies Styles:
Movie Stylse:Animation, War Movies, Westerns. Spy Flicks, Musicals, Comedy, Science Fiction, Adventure, Drama, Biblical Epics
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Notations! |
To E-Mail Robert Wright: ! |
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General Viewpoint: Movies address a wide variety of emotions for me
and I suspect for all of you as well; serving sometimes to compliment
the moods one is feeling at the time; sometimes to soothe one's
self, and at other times to get their blood pumping from viewing
a suspense movie. Still at other times; movies may serve only
to bring us back to our own childhood as we remember the excitement
as seen through the eyes of a child. Because many movies may bring
out the same kinds of feelings, I have chosen to group my more
general feelings in one place.
It does not seem to make any difference whether a movie is produced
by Warner Brothers, MGM, United Artists, 20th Century Fox, or
Paramount. They all have produced a wide variety of movies over
the years.
The one exception, that I might make is with
theWalt Disney company. Walt Disney's company began originally
in the animation field of entertainment. I was a young child,
when I was introduced to black and white television and it was
around the same time that I was introduced to the movie theater.
To me as a child, I was fascinated about all of this new technology,
so this has had a very strong memory to my life. When Walt Disney
brought his work to television this was a very unique technique
used to introduce his own creation of Disneyland. At first, I
even believed that somehow Walt Disney owned the National Broadcasting
Company. Each Sunday night, this elderly, Grandfatherly type gentleman
would open his world to us; presenting Dramatic features, presenting
Adventure features, presenting Science Fiction (for that time
period), presenting comedy features, and presenting animated features
(those that we only saw at the movie theaters).
Animation: Movie Animations, were perhaps where the ideas of
humor and comedy originates in a child's life. My childhood was
not all that a happy one, at that age and so anything that would
allow me to escape it for a time was something to which I was
always attracted. It also was the easiest form of entertainment
to unknowingly captivate my attention for hours at a time.
Today, I can watch a movie like Walt Disney's Sword in The Stone, and remember the same feelings I felt, when I saw
that movie for the first time. Unfortunately, as political correctness
is becoming more a part of society, I am sad to see that some
of the movie classics I remember as a child are now replacing
the soundtracks of the originals theatrical releases with sometimes
a totally different voice to a character. To me, this destroys
the movie and the memory I have of the movie. I have been fortunate
enough, however, to have had a father who was able to purchase
many of these classics before these changes were made, eventually
to be passed on down to me.
Westerns: My favorite movie westerns came during the days that
Clint Eastwood was taking his days off away from this hit television
series "Rawhide" to go over to Italy to do these spaghetti
western style movies like "The Good , The Bad, and the Ugly",
"For A Few Dollars
More", and "For a Few Dollars More". In this style of movies, one could find fast
paced, lust based plots. To Italians, it was a comical view of
American Cowboys in the West. When I look at a western, often
times it is because of who is acting in the movie and in the charisma
they have in portraing a role that a reputation developed for
actors such as John Wayne or Clint Eastwood.
Spy
Flicks: This style of movie has always
been exciting to me, because it employs the use of futuristic
technologies used in an adventurous format. You see the bad guys
being eliminated, but you do not see the gory details of the kill,
as a body are riddled with bullets. This form of movie has suspense
generated in how the good guys can escape without the use of much
gun fire. And one of the best examples of this kind of movie can
be seen in the James Bond Series; 007 movies. Doctor. No,
From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, Her Majesty's
Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, Live and Let Die,
Octopussy, Moonraker, For Your
Eyes Only, Licensed To Kill, A View To A Kill,
Golden Eye, Tomorrow
Never Dies, and The World Is Not Enough;
all of these movies have entertained us all for decades, and I
applaud them for keeping the surrealism out of these movies.
Musicals: Musicals have always been a delight to see. They
may be more expensive to produce or they may not be as much the
attention getter, they do represent the more wholesome form of
movie watching. Many of these movies contain moral significance,
but all are uplifting to the spirit within all of us. Our problem
seems to be in the giving of our spirit the ability to inhale
some fresh air from times much forgotten. Can you remember musicals
like The Sound of Music, Fiddler on
The Roof, The King and I, South Pacific,
Paint Your Wagon, Yentl, State Fair, Oklahoma, or My Fair
Lady.
Comedy: The perfect medicine for sadness or loneliness is
Comedy, and it could be found in another form of movie style produced.
You can find it in some movie classics such as Blazing Saddles,
or in Some Like It Hot, or in the television series "Batman",
and "Get Smart". Long before these productions, comedy could
be seen in the Marx Brother movie series, and the Abbott and Costello
movie series and again in Laurel and Hardy. To satisfy a more
demanding audience, actors must do more to capture the audience'
applause, when it is shown, many people enjoy being given a good
laugh.
Science
Fiction: Science Fiction, by Webster's
definition is fiction dealing principally with the impact of actual
or imagined science upon society or individuals. Broadly stated,
it is literary fantasy including a scientific factor as an essential
orienting component. While I was a child, when my grandfather
introduced me to this concept of the unknown, it taught me the
value of pushing my true limitations. When I go to a science fiction
movie it might be seen as wanting to see how far another sees
the future. Great examples of these kinds of movies might be 2001, A Space Odyssey; Star Trek; This Island
Earth; Forbidden Planet; or Fantastic Voyage.
Adventure: These movies to me are most often fantasy, in nature.
They are movies like Jason
and The Argonauts, or Odysius.
They are perhaps the farthest from reality a movie can be and
still seem real enough. It is therefore, these movies that can
reach the 12 year old in me, now at a much older age. Movies can
be a great distraction, when it is age you are trying from which
to run.
Drama: Drama plays on the emotional fears of the audience.
The goal of the film maker is to be able to shock the audience
by how far he can push a mind's fear. It is through Drama, that
the fear of loss can be explored. Sometimes drama is developed
in not knowing how the movie will end. Will Good always win over
Evil, or how will Evil be more creative than Good? Movies that
use drama well are such films as Under Siege, Dante's Peak,
Paper Chase; or Enter
The Dragon.
Biblical
Epics: I enjoy viewing Biblical movie presentations
primarily for the religious theme to them. The Bible clearly tells
us that the world will be "Going To Hell". I have been
brought up on religion and so when I see a movie of this kind,
there is a great amount of respect to the subject matter at hand.
Most of them today are classics and ones that I will watch if
I want to become closer to the Bible. Among my favorites are "The Ten Commandments", "Ben
Hur", "Sparticus", and "Jesus of Nazareth".
Though I am not Jewish, I hold great respect and praise for their
place their people have had in the world throughout time. People
may be critical about the Bible and the messages it unfolds to
the sincere seeker of knowledge, but as you look to how society
is becoming, you might consider your own viewpoint on how men
thousands of years ago could predict society so accurately in
the future.