Nowadays, cinema is significantly commercial and digitalised. However, the unique and often interesting dark and white motion pictures of the first twentieth century shouldn't be forgotten. They should in truth be revered as videos in their own right.
A perfect example of early theatre at its peak is A Trip to the Moon (aka Le Voyage dans la Lune), that was aimed by film pioneer George M li s in 1902. The majority of films from this period handled simple views of each day life, such as the knocking down of the garden wall or the arrival of a coach. However M li s made the change from these early shorts to a more modern form of montage, which led A Trip to the Moon being seen as a masterpiece of early on cinema.
The first landscape of the film starts with a group of astronomers holding a gathering in order to discuss how to go to the moon. The primary astronomer, enjoyed by M li s, suggests that they build some type of capsule and fire themselves at the moon. After some debate, the scientists acknowledge and build a cannon and a bullet-shaped capsule. They may be launched at the moon via cannon by a group of showgirls and land comically in the eye of the moon. Once on the lunar surface, they meet up with the Selenites, the alien hostile inhabitants of the moon.
One of M li s main inspirations for the film would be Jules Verne s novel From the planet earth to the Moon, that he got the idea of the projected capsule at the moon. The film also contains elements from H. G. Wells novel The First Men in the Moon, for example, the underground moon cave with gigantic mushrooms and the prone inhabitants, the Selenites.
M li s was a grasp of visible illusion due to him being a professional magician and a developer of theatre. He implemented the business lead of other nineteenth century stage magicians, such as Jean Robert-Houdin, by integrating the hottest technology into his theatrical spectacles. With film, M li s embraced its theatrical possibilities and through experimentation, he made swift developments in special results, film editing, intricate sets and costumes, and literary content.
The set design of the various scenes is sophisticated. The decorated backdrops merge perfectly with the constructed parts and props, creating adjustments with great depth. The set in place design, outfits, and anthropomorphic objects provide the film with a fantastical surreal charm, which both attract and astonish followers.
M li s was main filmmakers to make use of special effects, by using a number of ingenious ways to create illusions. Cinematic devices such as stop-motion photography and film splicing were used to provide the illusion of things vanishing or changing. Types of these techniques is seen in the Selenites disappearing into a puff of smoke when strike by the experts and the strategy of the capsule towards moon.
For the length of time of the film, spectacle, burlesque, and even absurdity frequently dominate over scientific reasoning and realism. For example, in the supposedly medical field of the starting of the capsule, the cannon is packed by the troupe of showgirls dressed up in a burlesque version of sailor suits (Gunning ). M li s openly recognized the dominance of special results over the storyline in his films as he once published, As for the scenario, the storyplot or tale, I considered it last I utilised it only as a pretext, a context for tricks or pleasing theatrical effects (Gunning ).
A Trip to the Moon is not a forgotten gem of early cinematic background, but a film of energy, thoughts, exploration, and humour that still pleasure audiences today.
2. A film overview of Duck Soup (1933)
The film Duck Soup, starring the Marx Brothers, is a funny satire with energetic gags plus some of the greatest physical comedy ever before in cinema. Although it is nowadays regarded as a comic masterpiece, the film received poor reviews when it first arrived in 1933, mainly because of its satirising of politics and warmongering.
Even even today the Marx Brothers are greatly revered for their masterful ability to take care of their audience to riotous slapstick funny, puns, deadpan one-liners, brief perception gags, and other subtler humour. Every one of the Marx Brothers comedy films were extensions of their vaudeville days and nights. Duck Soup is a perfect example, where the visual gags that possessed previously did wonders on the level are incorporated in to the film. The 1933 film was directed by Leo McCarey.
The film stars Groucho Marx, who performs Rufus Firefly, the new appointed president of the imaginary country of Freedonia. Firefly has a questioning frame of mind towards work ethic, which is often viewed as he attempts to decrease work time by shortening the distance of meal breaks for the workers. Rufus becomes infatuated with Mrs. Teasdale, but he is in competition for her hands with Ambassador Trentino of the neighbouring country of Sylvania. Rufus immediately insults the Sylvanian ambassador by slapping him over the face rather than shaking his palm. War is therefore declared between the two countries.
However, the plot of the film is not of any real importance as it mainly serves as a chance for the brothers to make fun of dictators, administration bureaucracy and the irrationality of reckless warfare.
Duck Soup features the Marx Brothers at their absolute best. Both the continuous sequence of laughs and the satirical storyline are hilarious in their own right, but the film also provides the individual humor sequences for the brothers, which will be the real high light of the film. The film has some of their finest material, providing a number of comic adjustments and dialogue and some quite amusing musical sequences. A few examples could be the mirror sequence, the telephone collection, the peanut stall interchange, the riddles, and the final battle.
The mirror collection is by far the most entertaining landscape in the film, where Harpo, and Chico, and Groucho are dressed up the same and they mimic one another s movements as though they re looking in a mirror at themselves. Another excellent example of Marx funny is the peanut stand scene where Harpo and Chico offer an altercation with a guy who runs a lemonade stand next to Harpo s peanut stand.
The film is a continuous reel of humor, from Groucho s entry in the first scene to the bombing of the shelter in the final scene. Just like other great comedies of the 1930s, Duck Soup does not require special results or a totally logically storyline to get an audience. Nowadays, Duck Soup is generally regarded as a stunning success of film comedy, and the Marx Brothers' best film.
CU4026: Advantages to Film Studies - Film Review Assignment
