Week 4 FIlms

Manhatta (1920) Scheeler and Paul Strand

I appreciated a lot of the shots in this film for their grandness—the buildings still look impressive today. One shot I really liked was an aerial view with a train coming down on the right side—it abstracted the goings on of the city in a well-composed way. The film felt a bit like a documentary I’d watch in a US History class though.

A Bronx Morning (1931) Jay Leyda

I enjoyed A Bronx Morning. It was an artistic snapshot of a specific place in a specific time. The motion of the blurred imagery in the beginning was gorgeous and reminded me of a Mark Rothko painting.  Many of the shots had painterly compositions, and I particularly liked the artistically cropped shot of the first woman pushing her baby’s carriage. Leyda was able to abstract real life, which is what excites me most when I work on my own paintings.

The Life and Death of 9413 (1928) Slavko Vorkapich & R. Florey

The theatrics of 9413’s expressions were a little off-putting for me. But I appreciated how it was honest with emotions. The man labeled with the star drips with such apparent snobbishness when 9413 tries to talk to him. And when the star rejects 9413’s mask and he cradles it, his pathetic-ness was palpable. I also enjoyed how they represented heaven at the end with the layering of shimmering crystals. There were a lot of beautiful gray mid-tones that came across well in the black and white film.

Vorkapich Montage Sequences/The Furies (1928-1937) Vorkapich

This was delightful. The billowing fabric of the Furies’ dresses looked like flames against the dark background. And the cuts between each member of the couples’ expressions were really well done. Whether intentionally or not, those cuts added a lot of humor to the film. As did the expressions of the Furies.

The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) James Sibley

I thought it was very cool to see an actual narrative interpreted in an avant-garde way. That’s another element that interests me in painting and in art—being inspired by another’s creativity and interpreting it in your own style. And it effectively felt like a fever dream—the way the camera floated over the steps at one point captured what it’s like when you just kind of glide in a dream.

The Hearts of Age (1934) Orson Welles & William Vance

I had no idea what to make of this. It had a distinctive feeling about it because the film was over-exposed and all the parts outside felt like a blindingly bright day. I kept expecting that there was some story line I was supposed to be following but couldn’t keep up with. But I didn’t really think of it as a surreal film since it wasn’t very dreamlike, so I was uncomfortable not knowing what was going on.

Lot in Sodom (1933) Watson and Webber

If I had read this story I think I would’ve enjoying seeing it translated more. I didn’t know the story for The Fall of the House of Usher either, but the mood that created was full enough to appreciate it still—whereas for this film, the mood was not as powerful and it was difficult to know what was going on. I did really enjoy the beginning though—the way the debauchery was depicted was so graceful and seemed like a ballet.