HNC Film Studies
Faustina Starrett
Overview
What do you look for in a film?
Brainstorm 5 Qualities
1.
Genre
2.
Director
3.
Actor
4.
Storylines/Narrative Structure
5.
Issue or Debates raised
6.
Advertising Campaign/Buzz about it?
Historical Context
Background Profiles
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JOHN HUSTON 1906-1987
Legendary, Prodigious, Top-Notch American Director and Storyteller (also Actor
and Scriptwriter) of Brilliantly-Crafted Films From All Genres Suggested Filmography: The Maltese Falcon
(1941), The African Queen (1951), The Red Badge of Courage (1951), Moulin Rouge (1952), Beat the Devil
(1953), Moby Dick (1956), A Farewell to Arms (1957), The Misfits (1961), Freud (1962), The Man Who Would Be
King (1975), Wise Blood (1979), Victory (1981), D. W. GRIFFITH 1875-1948
Cinema's First Major Artist,
Landmark Story-Teller and Feature Film Maker, A Pioneering Silent Film-Maker Often Considered the 'Father of
Modern Filmmaking' Suggested Filmography: The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912), The Birth of a Nation (1915),
Intolerance (1916), Broken Blossoms (1919), Way Down East (1920), Isn't Life Wonderful (1924), The Sorrows
of Satan (1926), Abraham Lincoln (1930), One Million B.C. (1940). Annie (1982), Under the Volcano (1984),
Prizzi's Honour (1985), The Dead (1987).
Background profiles
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CECIL B. DE MILLE 1881-1959
Master Director and "Showman" of the Big Budget, Excessive Historical Epic
and Religious Spectacle/Pageant Suggested Filmography: The Ten Commandments (1923), The King of Kings
(1927), Madam Satan (1930), The Sign of the Cross (1932), Cleopatra (1934), Samson and Delilah (1949), The
Greatest Show on
HOWARD HAWKS 1896-1977
Popular, Versatile, Stylistic Director of Many Film Genres (Screwball Comedy,
Film Noirs, Westerns, Gangster Films, War Movies, Literary Adaptations, etc.) During Hollywood's Golden Age in
the Studio Era Suggested Filmography: Scarface: Bringing Up Baby (1938), Only Angels Have Wings (1939),
To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), Red River (1948), The Thing (From Another World) (1951)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Land of the Pharaohs (1955), El Dorado (1967), Earth (1952), The Ten
Commandments (1956).
Can you name your favourite
Film Genre
Iconic Posters - brainstorm
 What was memorable about
these films

http://www.filmsite.org/posters/exor2.gif
Top Ten Audience Choices
Gangsters
 Horror
 Sci-Fi
 Anime
 War
 Wukia
 Zombies
 Comedy
 Action & Thriller
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Gangsters
The gangster genre is one of the most popular in modern movies
and some of the best film directors alive have produced some
incredible gangster movies.
1949 - White Heat (Raoul Walsh)
1972 - The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola)
1973 – Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese )
1974 – The Godfather: Part 2 (Francis Ford Coppola)
1976 - Bugsy Malone (Alan Parker)
1983 - Scarface (Brian De Palma)
1984 - Once upon a time in America (Sergio Leone)
1987 - The Untouchables (Brian De Palma)
1990 - Miller’s Crossing (Coen Brothers )
1990 – The Godfather Part 3 (Francis Ford Coppola)
1992 - Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino)
1993 - Carlito’s Way (Brian De Palma)
1994 – Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)
1995 – Casino (Martin Scorsese)
1997 – Donnie Brasco (Mike Newell)
1998 – Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (Guy Richie)
2000 – Snatch (Guy Richie)
2002 – Road To Perdition (Sam Mendes)
2006 – The Departed (Martin Scorsese)
2007 - American Gangster (Ridley Scott
Slasher Horror
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Slasher horror films typically present a teenager, or teenagers,
being the victim of a serial killer –
They have typical locations, settings like high school, flats, home
or journeys to destinations.
They tend to be bloody and result in ritualistic and repetitive
deaths. Plots, characters, settings, props usually clichés from
popular culture events.
The origin of Slasher Horror can be characterised from the mystery
author Agatha Christie, with her story templates … ‘And Then
There Were none. Examples include Friday the 13th Nightmare on
Elm Street; Halloween; Black Christmas; The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre.
Psychological Horror
This type of genre usually intends to explore what is going on
‘inside someone’s head’. This might include ghosts and
poltergeists or paranormal activity. They give the viewer
more chills and scares than the full on blood and gore of
slasher movies .
 It’s an example of the hypothesis:
‘You don’t need blood and guts to make a horror film scary’
 Filmography includes; Silent Hill, Psycho, Blair Witch Project,
Salem’s Lot, April Fool’s Day, Paranormal Activity.

Romantic Horror
Movies
such as ‘Dracula’ is the most popular and iconic romantic
horror known in film and literature history. Romantic horrors are
sometimes set in the Victorian or in the Baroque timeline, because of
it’s influence upon the gothic culture – specifically these films are
based within settings such as cathedrals, mansions, castles, or in
opera houses. They usually have a romantic tragic story behind it.
Examples of these films include:
Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Mark of the Wolf, The Phantom of the Opera
Zombies
Zombies are regularly encountered in horror
and fantasy themed fiction and entertainment.
They are typically depicted as mindless,
shambling, decaying corpses with a hunger for
human flesh, and in some cases, human
brains in particular. As of 2009, zombies are
challenging vampires for their popularity
The flesh-hungry undead, often in the form of
ghouls and vampires, have been a fixture of
world mythology.
Science Fiction
This is a differs from fantasy in that, within
the context of the story.
Its imaginary elements are largely possible
within scientifically established or
scientifically postulated laws of nature
(though elements in a story are still
imaginative speculation).
SCIENCE FICTION
A setting in the future
 A setting in outer space, on other worlds,
or involving aliens
 Stories that involves technology or
scientific principles
 Stories that involves discovery, time travel
or psionic, robots

Sci-Fi Horror

Sci-fi horror is another popular genre amongst people who
are fans of the movie Alien or Predator. Brilliantly well
blended horror conventions. Sci-fi films are largely inspired by
books, such as Stephen King and games, such as Doom.
Examples of these films:
 Alien, The Virus, Dark Horizon, The Thing, Dream catcher,
Tommy Knockers

Anime
•A Style Of Animation Spawned From Japan
•The Anime Genre Tends To Be Bolder Than Other Forms Of Animation
(e.g. Disney) In Both Its Visuals And Themes. Amines are More Richly
Animated than their Western Counterparts and deal with a much broader
range of themes
•A lot of Anime will have a wide eyed young Protagonist though this is not
always the case but most deal with themes of ‘Going On a Quest of Self
Discovery’ whether this Is to become ‘The Ultimate Pokémon Master’
(Pokémon) or ‘To Try and find the Definition Of Self In A World where
memories and emotions are all downloadable and vague in definition in the
vast net of Information (Ghost in the Shell)
Staples Of The Genre
There Are Two Main Types Of Anime:
1/ Action
2/ Drama
•Examples Of Action Anime would include
•Dragon ball Z, Gundam Wing and Akira
• Although A lot Of these deal with Broad Themes they are presented In
A Hyper Real Fashion. These Animes will have fast paced action in
many ways - from Giant Fighting Robots to Super powered Humans
blasting each other to pieces leading to a climatic finale that brings all
its themes to a conclusion.
•In Dramas You Would Look More To The Likes Of Studio
Ghibli’s Productions Like Spirited Away, My Neighbour
Totoro And Howls Moving Castle. Although These Have
Action They Deal Primarily With A Young Protagonist
Going On An Odyssey In A Strange Land.
Not All These Are For Children Take For Example
Perfect Blue Which Shows A Young Actress Dealing With Paranoia
And A Violent And Obsessive Stalker
War
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually
about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead
on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or
other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily
military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles.
Their stories may be fiction, based on history, docudrama or,
occasionally, biographical.
Anti-War
The term anti-war film is sometimes used to
describe films which bring to the viewer the pain
and horror of war, often from a political or
ideological perspective.
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is an epic 1998 American
war film set during the invasion of Normandy in
World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg
and written by RobertQuickTime™
Rodat. The filmand
is notable
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27see
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the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944.
Afterward, it follows Tom Hanks as Captain John H.
Miller and several men (Tom Sizemore, Edward
Burns, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi,
Adam Goldberg, and Jeremy Davies) as they
search for paratrooper Private James Francis Ryan
(Matt Damon), who is the last surviving brother of
three fallen servicemen.
Saving Private Ryan
Rodat first came up with the film's story in 1994 when he saw
a monument dedicated to four brothers born to Agnes Allison
of Port Carbon, PA, who died during the American Civil War.
The monument was erected
twenty-three
years after Allison's
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decompressor
first son was killed. Inspired
by the story, Rodat decided to
are needed to see this picture.
write a similar story set during World War II. The script was
submitted to producer Mark Gordon, who then handed it to
Hanks. It was finally given to Spielberg, who had previously
demonstrated his interest in WWII themes with films such as
Schindler's List, and decided to direct Saving Private Ryan
after reading the film's script. The film's premise is very
loosely based on the real-life case of the Niland brothers.
WUKIA
•Wuxi fiction is translated as martial-chivalric fiction.
•Wuxi originated from stories in the second and third century BC.
•In 1917 China’s Film industry where Wuxi was introduced to
cinema.
•One of the first major Wuxi films ever made was in 1928 called
Burning of the Red Lotus Monastery.
•Both fantasy and magical elements took over the Wuxi films in the
50’s and early 60’s.
•In the mid 60’s a new wave which was strongly influenced by
Japanese Samurai action.
•In 1966 Wuxi genre changed from magical people to hero’s with
superhuman skills.
•Wuxi films in 1993 pushed the boundaries of pre-CGI effects and
wire-enhanced action choreography.
•In 2000 Wuxi was introduced for the first time to Hollywood studies
by Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
WUKIA
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This genre can be versatile with highly stylised technical and artistic
elements. A good examples of this is Hero and Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon. This makes the viewing for the audience aesthetic
pleasing and entertaining.
Here are some
Memorable stills
from the movie
Comedy
Hypothesis
“Spoof
genre films essentially ask the audience “do you still want to believe
this?” Popularity is the audience answering “yes.” Change in genre occurs
when the audience says, “that’s too infantile a form of what we believe.”
Show us something more complicated.”
Quote from
(Barry Keith Grant)
Film genre from iconography to ideology (2007)
That is what spoof genre films do, constantly challenge audiences and
producers to stretch the concept of genre further.
The Carry On Saga
The infamous carry
on films were founded
in 1958 with ‘Carry on
Sergeant’ and ended
in 1978 with carry on
Emmanuelle. This was
the most prominent
of the post war
comedies as it ran for
20 years.
Carry on Carried on ?
The films hit their highest in the late sixties
early seventies and petered out in the mid
seventies as people grew tired of watching
the same actors over and over again with
the same lines repeated in some case’s.
People got fed up with carry on as they
had matured slightly and the films had not,
if anything they had become smuttier.
Action & Thriller
The genre I choose to talk about is the action/thriller as it is one that
has so many types’ example action, crime, and psychological etc.
In the thriller genre you will get dialogues with lots of action they are
usually more fast paced and very quick in the running of the movies.
This type of genre usually involve guns and fast cars and in the case of
more action thrillers there are explosions
In psychological thrillers it’s all about mind game or a character in a
life or death situation and with Action films they are usually bigbudget with lots of physical stunts and lots of chases scenes, the
expected battle scenes and the usual destructive crises and the most
common thing is the two dimensional characters with the heroes
and/or heroine battling against the baddies. This makes great
escapism for audience that like unrealistic and over the top action to
enjoy.
Typical style of Thrillers
These are the usual suspects when it comes to Action Thrillers and would
Be the typical type so be used over again the main characters in smart suits and
Being cold, calm and collected.
Magic Moments Best film scenes
http://www.yahoo.com/
http://www.filmsite.org
/featured/greatest-plottwists.jpg
Best
Performances
http://www.filmsite.org
/greattwists.html
Best Film
Speeches
and
Monologues
Trademarks of an Auteur
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What were some of the criteria used to select these Greatest
Directors?
� each one has made a significant, indelible and influential contribution to
the development of film and the film industry
� each one has directed a consistent body of work with a number of great
movies (of predominantly English-language films) - usually three
unquestionably great films mark a top film-maker
� each one has a compelling vision and groundbreaking style that has
helped to define cinema as we know it today
� each one has a personal stamp that cuts across films, genres, and
decades
Great Directors - Critics Choice
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Stanley Kubrick
Alfred Hitchcock
David Lynch
Martin Scorsese
Joel & Ethan Coen
Steven Sodenbergh
Terrence Malick
http://www.filmsite.org/directors1.html
Great Director’s Audience Choice
Steven Spielberg
 Tim Burton
 Quentin Tarrentino
 Peter Jackson
 Martin Scorsese
 James Cameron
 Brian De Palma
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World Cinema Favourites
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Pedro Almodovar
Michel Gundry
Shane Meadows
Ang Lee
Terry Gilliam
Jean Luc Godard
National Cinemas
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the term "national cinema" is hard to define, and its meaning is debated by
film scholars and critics. National cinema is a term sometimes used in film
theory and film criticism to describe the films associated with a specific
country.
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A film may be considered to be part of the "national cinema" of a country
based on a number of factors, such as the country that provided the
financing for the film, the language spoken in the film, the nationalities or
dress of the characters, and the setting, music, or cultural elements present
in the film
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_cinema
Art Cinema
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Film critics and film studies scholars typically define an “art film” using a “...canon of
films and those formal qualities that mark them as different from mainstream
Hollywood films”[2], which includes, among other elements: a social realism style; an
emphasis on the authorial expressivity of the director; and a focus on the thoughts and
dreams of characters, rather than presenting a clear, goal-driven story. Film scholar
David Bordwell claims that "art cinema itself is a [film] genre, with its own distinct
conventions.
Japanese director Akira
Kurosawa made a number of
films in the 1950s and 1960s
that broke the conventions of
mainstream filmmaking.
Script to Screen
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The Girl with the
Dragon Tattoo
The Da Vinci Code
Bright Star
Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter
Twilight
Film Festivals
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation
of films in one or more movie theatres or screening
venues, usually in a single locality. The films may be of
recent date and, depending upon the focus of the
individual festival, can include international releases
as well as films produced by the organisers' domestic
film industry. Sometimes there is a focus on a specific
film-maker or genre (e.g., film noir) or subject matter
(e.g., gay and lesbian film festivals). A number of film
festivals specialise in short films, each with its defined
maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual
events.
Best Known Film Festivals
•Edinburgh International
•Cannes
•Sundance
•Raindance
•New York
•Venice International
•Foyle
Film Clubs
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Pulp Fictions & Reservoir Dogs @ The Playhouse
Monday 7th December, 8pm
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The Playhouse Cinema Club is delighted to announce that on Monday 7th December, 8pm, it will be showing two
classic Tarantino films, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, both for just £5!
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Pulp Fiction (1994) is an American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for
its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humour and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references. The film
was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture; Tarantino and Avary won for Best Original Screenplay. It was also awarded the Palme d'Or at
the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. A major critical and commercial success, it revitalized the career of its leading man, John Travolta, who received an
Academy Award nomination, as did co-stars Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman. A cultural watershed, Pulp Fiction's influence has been felt in
several other popular media.
Reservoir Dogs is the 1992 debut film of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It portrays what happens before and after a botched
jewel heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast with Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen,
Quentin Tarantino, Chris Penn and Lawrence Tierney. Tarantino has a minor role, as does criminal-turned-author Eddie Bunker. It
incorporates many themes and aesthetics that have become Tarantino's hallmarks: violent crime, pop culture references, memorable
dialogue, profuse profanity, and a nonlinear storyline. The film has become a classic of independent film and a cult hit. It was named
"Greatest Independent Film of all Time" by Empire.
This classic double bill will be screened on the Playhouse big cinema screen on Monday 7th December, 7pm. Box office: (028) 7126802
NWRC Film Club Project