Style in Service of Substance

F. W. Murnau, the director of The Last Laugh, used a wide palette of virtuoso film techniques to express the feelings of his everyman doorman: pride, terror, drunkenness, and despair. Focus on a single scene or technique and describe how the technique expressed an emotion, a state of mind or otherwise served to make a point.

Tragedy of the Common Man?

When the unnamed doorman in The Last Laugh is demoted to bathroom attendant, his world collapses. At the end of the film he is estranged from his family, fellow workers and neighbors and only the night watchman gives him succor. Is this film a tragedy in the Aristotelian sense? Is it an indictment of the society of the time? Or, to put the point another way, whose fault is the doorman's downfall?

Can comedies be great movies?

The film we just watched, the General, is considered a good movie, for its plot, cinematography etc. However, can it, or any other comedy movie, ever be considered truly great? (as in on par with The Godfather, Citizen Kane and others). Because they are inherently non-serious, can comedies be considered in league with those others? Or do they just have a short shelf-life, where movies like The Hangover are funny now, they will probably be considered unimportant in the future. What do you think? Do you have any examples of comedies that can be considered great?

Favorite James Bond Movie

In your opinion, what is your favorite James Bond movie you have ever seen? Could be from the 60s with Sean Connery or a more recent one with Daniel Craig (boo).

Hero? Should we care?

This movie has an interesting pull on the viewer. It makes them root for the "hero" when they aren't really the hero in history. As many people know, The Confederacy lost the Civil War and they are considered by most people incorrect in their decisions. Now I would never root for The South if the movie took place during the Civil War, but for some reason this movie is an exception. I can't help but to like the engineer. The comedy overrides the dislike I have for The Confederacy. Why might this happen? Does the comedy make you forget about who the hero of the movie truly is? Is it the fact that the movie portrays the north as abductors? Is it because the engineer is so clumsy and hilarious that you can't help but to like him? What do you think?

Heroes Anyone?

In the movie The General Johnnie Gray, a simple engineer,tries to win the heart of his girlfriend by enlisting in the army. Although he is refused, he eventually takes on a group of Northern soldiers who hijack his train. What does this movie tell us about heroism?

The Thrill Is Gone?

We can no longer view the Lumieres Brothers first films with an "innocent eye." We no longer dive under our seats as we watch an oncoming train approach the screen. From our perspective of computer-generating special effects, early cinema can often appear "charming," but also primitive, naive and perhaps a bit boring. But is that true of all silent film we have seen in this class? Can early cinema having any intellectual or entertainment value for our times (beyond the historical value of trying to recapture the innocent eye)?