Mockumentaries

Expository Writing

Woody Allen as Zelig

I can't wait to hear what the class thinks of Zelig. It's such an unusual movie, although not as unusual as it seemed when it opened back in 1983. Its fake-documentary (or "mockumentary") format wasn't as common then as it is today. This Is Spinal Tap opened the next year, followed by similar movies like Best in Show from essentially the same group of people who made Spinal Tap. And now, of course, we have TV shows like The Office and Parks and Recreation and Modern Family that are presented as mockumentaries. Still, Zelig remains its own particular thing because Woody Allen, who made it, is his own particular thing.

Talking Points: His Girl Friday

Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell

Honors Comedy

1) What does the title mean?
2) From whose perspective is the movie presented?
3) What does the film have to say about journalists?
4) What does the film have to say about marriage (and divorce)?

Watching the Detectives

Composition

We watched Double Indemnity last week and Body Heat this week, a film noir and a neo noir. To set the mood, I played Elvis Costello's "Watching the Detectives" at the start of class. I explained it was a song about film noir and that it was perhaps the only song I know that's about a film genre. I don't think anyone in the class had ever heard the song, though. Then I went home and watched the new show Elementary, an updating of Sherlock Holmes on CBS. (It's not bad, BTW.) And what do you know? The show ended with that very song.  Here are the lyrics:

WATCHING THE DETECTIVES

Elvis Costello

Nice girls, not one with a defect
Cellophane shrink-wrapped, so correct
Red dogs under illegal legs
She looks so good that he gets down and begs

(CHORUS) She is watching the detectives
"Ooh, he's so cute"
She is watching the detectives
When they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
They beat him up until the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart

Long shot of that jumping sign
Visible shivers running down my spine
Cut to baby taking off her clothes
Close-up of the sign that says "We never close"
He snatches at you and you match his cigarette
She pulls the eyes out with a face like a magnet
I don't know how much more of this I can take
She's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake

(REPEAT CHORUS)

You think you're alone until you realize you're in it
Now fear is here to stay, love is here for a visit
They call it instant justice when it's past the legal limit
Someone's scratching at the window, I wonder who is it?
The detectives come to check if you belong to the parents
Who are ready to hear the worst about their daughter's disappearance
Though it nearly took a miracle to get you to stay
It only took my little fingers to blow you away

Just like watching the detectives
Don't get cute
It's just like watching the detectives
I get so angry when the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart

Watching the detectives
It's just like watching the detectives
Watching the detectives
Watching the detectives
(REPEAT AND FADE)

More Fargo?

Cinema Criticism Writing

Interesting development about Fargo:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/sep/25/coen-brothers-fargo-tv-series?fb=optOut

Wednesday, 9/26/12

Expository Writing

Remember that class is cancelled this Wednesday, 9/26. Use the week to start thinking about or researching your final paper. See you in class next week!

Talking Points: The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

Honors Comedy

OK, campers! We're back to work this Monday evening (9/24). Some things to think about for our class discussion about The Miracle of Morgan's Creek:

1) What, specifically, are the targets of this movie?
2) What would have been shocking to the audience in 1944? Why?
3) What's the significance of the title?
5) How did Preston Sturges get this movie past the Hays Office and its Production Code?

 

Double Feature

Composition

Body Heat

Double Indemnity

The movies we'll be watching this week and next are related. This week, we'll watch Double Indemnity, a class film noir. Next week's movie is Body Heat, which is heavily influenced by the film noir spirit but is not, strictly speaking, a film noir. What is film noir, anyway? Finding that out is one of the things on the schedule for this week.

Daryl Hannah Under Fire

Expository Writing

Good discussion, this past week, about Roxanne. A lot of people seemed to like the movie, but not everyone, which made things even more interesting. There was a pretty strong anti-Darryl Hannah sentiment, even among the film's fans, which was also interesting. She may represent a type that is no longer in style. Then, when we work-shopped the students' papers, the class was generous with its comments. Things are  coming together nicely. Almost everyone seems to want to make a contribution.

Watching the Detectives

Cinema Criticism Writing

We'll be seeing Body Heat this week, a 1981 movie in the film noir tradition but not, strictly speaking, a film noir. This class seems to be familiar with the term film noir but I'm not clear on how much the students know about it and about how these films came to be. Guess I'll find out on Tuesday. And while we're on the subject, have they heard Elvis Costello's "Watching the Detectives"?

Reminder

Comedy

Remember, Honors Comedy students: No formal class this coming Monday (9/17). Explore some options for your final papers.

Lanewatch: Lane Change?

Things seem to have changed for Anthony Lane, a film critic for The New Yorker -- and a proud Brit. I like the magazine, but I've been irritated (and also amused) by Lane's totally Anglo-centric perspective on American movies. In fact, I was able to construct a 10-point checklist of mainly British topics (Shakespeare, Dickens, etc.), at least one of which (and usually about three of which) Lane would feel compelled to reference in nearly every piece he'd written on movies. But he may have changed. He has now written three substantial pieces in a row in which I could not detect excessive Anglo-centricity. I wish I could take credit for this shift, but I have to assume other forces are at work. Anyway, "jolly good!" for Lane. (But I'm still watching...)

Office Hours Change

Comedy & Cinema Criticism Writing

Something came up at the last moment and I couldn't be in my office for my 2 pm office hours on Tuesday (9/11). Hope this didn't inconvenience anyone. I also have to skip those hours next week. Please message me if you'd like to make an appointment.

JB

Talking Points: Back to the Future

Composition

1) What is the name of the mall where Doc Brown and Marty first test the time machine?
2) Who is the central character of this movie?
3) When does the camera movement or position contribute to the comedy?
4)  When does that tinkling sound occur? What does it mean?
5) What is the major theme of this movie?

Talking Points: Roxanne

Expository Writing

What is the point of the scene with the boy on the roof?

What do you like – and what don't you like – about this movie?

What do you think about how C.D.'s nose is revealed?

What sort of a sense do you get of the town (and its people) in which the film is set? 

What's the point of the scene in the bar in which C.D. makes many jokes about his nose?

Describe C.D.

Describe Roxanne.

 

Talking Points: A Night at the Opera

Comedy



1) Who's your favorite Marx Brother? Why?
2) What targets are being subverted in this film?
3) Why do the Marx Brothers' characters care about the movie's young lovers?
4) To which social class do the brothers' characters belong?

Talking Points: Fargo

Cinema Criticism Writing



1. Where is this movie set? Why is it called Fargo?
2. Is there a point to the scene in which Marge meets her old friend at the hotel?
3. Why does the movie declare itself a true story when it isn't?
4. Marge's husband is named Norm. Is that significant?

As Time Goes By

Composition

I always wonder about the reactions of students to a classic movie like Casablanca. Does the film hold up "as time goes by"? We watched Casablanca this week and I heard a lot of laughter in the room, which is usually a good sign. Some of the laughter, however, seemed to be in places where the movie used old-fashioned filming techniques, like having a fake background when the characters are seen riding in a car while talking. This was necessary back when practically everything in a movie had to be shot on a sound stage. Should be interesting to hear everyone's comments next week and to read the students' reviews of the film.