Saturday Night Feverrrr

I am actually glad I've waited for this post. I had the pleasure of going to New York this past weekend. I was my first time there and I now completely understand the whole 'new york scum/dirty/hole of a place vibe' that comes across in several of the films we've screened.

Granted, these films were New York 30-40 years ago, when New York, from what I've heard, had an entirely different feel. Nonetheless, a remanence of that scum still remains.

I visited my old roommate who lives in brooklyn, and got a feel for his neighborhood and the borough in general. I couldn't help but think back to John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever who is confidently cruising down the street checking out women as they pass him, and he, inevitably being shot down by them.

This film created mixed feelings for me. I kept asking myself, "Do I like Tony's character, or do I hate him? I liked his suave, exquisite dance moves and oftentimes envied his skills. Because I mean, Damn....he can groove. Then on the other hand, Tony is completely unfair to Annette and misogynistic to many. Tony falls under the category of characters you hate to like.

After seeing the environment that these characters live and thrive in, I've developed a new understanding and empathy for them. Seeing this 'scum' of a place and dense character that IS New York, I have a new found respect for it's inhabitants.

Taxi Driver

This was the first viewing of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver for me and I felt mediocre after it.

This same effect has happened to me before when a movie is hyped up by many people. I get the idea in my head that the film I'm about to see is going to be the most influential, thought provoking piece of cinema ever conceived. To a degree Taxi Driver was hyped in this fashion.

Honestly, the only thing I knew about it was who directed it and who stared in it. I hate going into a movie with expectations, but for some reason with this film I had high hopes. I wouldn't say I felt let down afterward, but rather it was a feeling of 'meh.'

There were definitely some beautiful camera movements and metaphorical choices that propelled the unique story of Travis and his downward spiral, but in the film as a whole, those moments didn't stand out to accumulate into a film that I really enjoy.

Perhaps this is one that needs a second viewing. Netflix baby.

Shaft

If I hadn't read the passage about black cinema in the 70's I wouldn't have the respect for Gordon Parks' blaxploitation film Shaft

By understanding the culture at the time of its release and its effects on the black demographic, I enjoyed Shaft much more than if I hadn't read anything prior. Richard Roundtree, who played Shaft in the film was an aggressive, cool cat that provided a face and character for many black men to relate to. I can see why it was so well received amongst this community and raised $12 million in ticket sales.

Hearing Charles' experience with Shaft as a young child really put the film into perspective as well. His account of seeing it in theaters for the first time at the Chicago Theater and the feelings it evoked after viewing it was very, very cool. He felt empowered by this movie and by the character he just witnessed. This movie had an impact that very few films have achieved.

The Black Movie Boooom

The movie boom associated with black culture was one I knew very little about. After reading through this chapter I was intrigued to learn about this influential movement.

The 70's were a time where more black actors and actresses were working in films than ever before. Films that provided a new entertainment for the black community were on the rise, ones that depicted a character that African American's could relate to. Oftentimes overly sexual and extravagant, these were characters no one had ever seen before.

Movies like Gordon Parks' Shaft were so successful that the $12 million it grossed in the U.S are what saved MGM from financial ruin. This was an age in film where an entirely unrecognized community was being voiced and entertained. An age where glamorization of the ghetto and glorifying of the pimp was being viewed by all cultures, and many couldn't get enough.

Jaaaaaws!

It had been probably 6 or 7 years since I last saw Steven Spielberg's Jaws in full. I remember seeing it as a young teen and being enthralled with the story. A film that was released in 1975 still harnessed the thrilling aspects that a kid in the 2000's could relate to.

Still over thirty years later, I, as a young adult, was totally into it. The fabricated suspense and decision in the cut to never completely see the shark until well into the story was a interesting, effective choice. Because once you do see this enormous beast of a fish a few feet below the surface you finally put in perspective what the entire town should have been afraid of.

Similar to Coppola's The Conversation, Jaws' sound design and score create terror when we should be scared, or mystery when we are unsure of what is next. Well before we physically see the shark we have associated it with John Williams' score that goes... 'bah, bum...bah, bum.'

This film is a timeless thriller. The kids of today will find it equally as thrilling as the adults who grew up on it. It will forever live amongst those considered immortal. Jaaaaaaws!

Yummy.

The Conversation

I love to see collaboration that is apparent, yet invisible. The unity of Francis Coppola's vision and Walter Murch's ear in The Conversation creates something that beautifully compliments the other.

I 'm a sucker for interesting, well done sound design in a film. In respect to the marriage of audio and visual: when a sound effect propels the story, or an instrument tells me how to feel; I think that is what movies are. A harmony of audio and visual elements. Especially in this film do sound effects, music and silence create a mood or confusion and even lead you to think one thing, when in reality its the complete opposite.

I feel like this is one of those movies that only gets better with multiple viewings. Upon first seeing The Conversation it is apparent why Coppola considers this his favorite film. He crafts a suspense that is successful by todays standards, and provides the audience with moral questions pertaining to technology, secret intelligence and ultimately asks the question, "how much do we really want to know?"

Coming Home

Hal Ashby's 1978 Coming Home starring the young Jon Voight and Jane Fonda was particularly refreshing. Refreshing in the sense that this film was entirely about the effects of the Vietnam war, and yet the audience never once saw violence or gore. I found this approach more captivating and relatable than the material we so often see is war films-violence and gore.

So often war films explore what life was like on the field of battle, and seldom do we see what life is like AFTER all the death and destruction. Jon Voight's character Luke portrays the youth of the day- the tough, athletic, well respected high school honcho. He has seen life as a soldier and is not only mentally effected when he comes home, but also physically.

It was brought to my attention the correlation between Vietnam and its role in this film, and Iraq/Afghanistan and its effect on todays younger generation. Perhaps this film could be applied to any major war and its youth, but this decades war seems all too fitting. More than ever soldiers are returning home injured from battle. I believe this film could relate to many people today on a multitude of levels.

Coming Home was one that I thoroughly enjoyed for its uniqueness, yet captivating content and its uncanny correlation to todays war.