This is Not the End!

This class was my favorite class out of all the classes I had this semester. It was so much fun to come to class and discuss movies, which is the main source of entertainment and joy in my life. Getting to pick the movies to analyze made working on the essays so enjoyable, even though english is my weakest subject, next to history. In the beginning, I picked this class for the credit and words. But even if I didn’t have those, with the knowledge of this amazing class, I would have taken it no matter what. I can no longer look at movies the same way anymore, and it’s all thanks to this class.

My favorite movie was definitely Spirited Away, but I’m sure a lot of people share a similar opinion. It was so much fun to watch, and when the class aired it and analyzed it, it made me fall in love with the film even more. My favorite film to analyze was actually Metropolis, the movie was so old and I found so many different interesting elements in the film.

The movie I disliked the most was Hugo, as I mentioned in my Hugo post. I simply didn’t like how magical it was, or how the character acted. Maybe it was a bad day and I was hoping to see another japanese film. But the ending was still good, and it was an overall positive message from the movie.

ENG2300 Film Analysis taught me to be more aware of movies as an art and appreciate it. The research paper on Gattaca I completed was amazing, it was more fun than hassle. Even staying up till 5am doing it was fine. It also helped to have a great Instructor. I was actually in the earlier Film Analysis class, and I am really grateful I switched. This isn’t the end of film analysis, what I learned in this class will follow me for the rest of my life! Thanks for a great semester! And Happy Holidays!

The Last Blogging Crusade

At the beginning of the year, I was an incoming freshman psych major who thought it be cool to take a class analyzing film. With that glorious 24,000 word-writing requirement already met, I felt that it was important to continue analyzing and writing because they were both skills I wanted to further in college and for my career. After taking the class, I am happy to say I have achieved just that. However, I’m even happier to say that I’ve come to have a newfound sense of respect for the art of film. The class has truly taught me a lot about not just technique, but what it takes to make an amazing film that will captivate the minds of its viewers. As we all know, so much goes into to making a movie. Although it is very unlikely that I will enjoy watching every film I see, I will most certainly respect all of them because ENG2300 has taught me how much thought and process goes into making each film.

My least favorite film that we have watched was Mephisto. Although I truly enjoyed the story and the message, I was not a fan of its transitions from scene to scene as I found it very confusing. On the other hand, my favorite movie was Modern Times. Chaplain was truly a genius and definitely deserves to go down as one of greatest ever. I was amazed at how much I laughed for a movie way before my time. Comedy definitely transcends all ages. Also, although the majority of the class did not like it, I’d just like to say that I think Sukiyaki Western Django is awesome! It felt good saying that after all this time.

It was a pleasure taking this class with all of you and I wish you the best of luck in the future!

Last Post- Its Been Real

I chose to take this course because I needed an English credit and I love watching and analyzing movies. I thought that I might as well take a class on something i already did every time I walked into a movie theater. I was blown away by how much I didn’t know went into movies (generally I just focused on acting, storyline, lighting, and setting before the class) and how shallow my knowledge of movies really was.

My favorite films we watched were Modern Times and Spirited Away. I’d never seen a black and white or silent film before, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the Chaplin film. With Spirited Away, I had watched it as a child and enjoyed looking at it through an analytical viewpoint this time around

My least favorite films were definitely Yojimbo and The French version of Beauty and the Beast. While I recognized their cinematic merits, I just could’t really get into the stories or characters.

The thing I learned most about in the class was movie sound, both diegetic and extra-diegetic. Anytime I watch a movie now I’m always listening to the backing track and analyzing how the director is trying to frame the scene and make the audience feel.

Overall this was a very interesting and instructional class, and I walked away with a new appreciation for older movies and a newly analytical mind for film in general.

Now I can be even more annoying to my friends during movies!

Last Words

This class was not exactly what I was expecting, although my expectations were as broad as they were vague. I imagined something more along the lines of analysing specific films, finding hidden meanings and subtext not immediately apparent. That is not what this class is, and I’m fine with that. The things we learned in Film Analysis were much more applicable and useful than what I was expecting.

The choices of films really threw me for a loop, though. I had imagined Metropolis would be on the list, Blade Runner as well, but the rest of the choices I did not really expect. Beauty And The Beast was by far and away my least favourite film, which I will not launch into a diatribe about, but I enjoyed Miyazaki, Django (gasp), and Rosemary’s Baby. For the sake of future generations of ENG2300 takers, please, please leave out Sukiyaki Western Django. It was painful.

How did Tree Of Life win, guys? No one in class seemed to want to see it, the plot was plodding, and it won over the likes of The Godfather and The Shining. What a strange upset.

All in all, though, it was a good class, and I given the opportunity to go back in time and take it again, I would (Come on, we could have watched Primer or Back To The Future instead of Tree Of Life).

Last Blog Post

After taking this class, I have learned that there are many different techniques of film making such as lighting and camera-work that I have never thought about before when I’ve watched a movie. This class has made me appreciate not only the fact that films are entertaining, but its what goes on behind the scenes that is what makes a film unique. I have a new perspective of films, and I actually pay attention to all the fine details of films and aspects of mise-en-scene.

My favorite film that we watched this semester was Hugo. This film was heart-warming and it made me nostalgic of my childhood; at a time when I could be whoever I wanted and have adventures without a care in the world. I loved the fact that this film also had historical relevance to George Méliès and actually showed footage from many of his films. Since we had learned about silent film in the beginning of the semester, Hugo helped me to have a greater appreciation and admiration of silent film.

My least favorite film was Yojimbo. I thought this film was very boring and the plot was unnecessarily dragged out most of the time. Also, the fact that it was in Japanese was distracting and made it harder to watch. I am not a big fan of western or Japanese films, so it was hard to pay attention to this movie.

I’ll admit this class wasn’t what I expected. I thought we would watch more mainstream popular films, but I think that from a learning perspective, it is better to watch a wide variety of films from every genre and time period. This helped me to better appreciate films in general and realize the importance of the many elements of cinematography.

 

The Last Hurrah

I’ve been trying to get a seat in this class for 3 semesters now and all I really knew about it was that it was called Film Analysis. I knew I loved films and I loved analyzing things, so how perfect, right? Well it was definitely not what I was expecting, although I had already taken a film class at my high school that had some overlap. I was very glad to see some films again, such as Metropolis (which I probably never would’ve given a second chance on my own). But I really did get a lot more out of it from watching it a second time. I learned a lot more about mise-en-scene as well as technical details that I wasn’t aware of before.

My favorite film of the semester (that I hadn’t seen) was Contempt. Seeing more of the French new wave genre made me realize how much I enjoy it and I intend to see other films similar. Watching this movie in class also gave me a different perspective because I wasn’t watching it purely for entertainment purposes. I found throughout the semester that being critical of the movie and analyzing it really makes the experience completely different. I learned to view movies from a more objective perspective if necessary.

My least favorite film was probably Yojimbo. This may be because I really am not a huge fan of western films, but it really just felt like it was dragging on to me. I felt the urge to make fun of everything because of how predictable it was and that isn’t something that I look forward to in a movie. I’m glad I’ve experienced some western films, but I surely will not be watching any more.

All in all, I really enjoyed this class. Remembering to do the blog posts was a struggle, but that’s nothing personal to this class. I liked the diversity of the class and how much input was given from everybody (although I never really spoke up because you guys are like…really intelligent in the land of movies). I’m sad this class is over!

Good times, gang.

Final Blog Post

I took Film classes throughout high school and this class was my first choice when creating my schedule for my first semester here in college. Although everything we learned did enhance my perceptiveness to film techniques and such, what I value most of the many things I will take away from this class is the broad scope of films we watched. I was introduced to many directors whose films I am now eager to watch more of: from Kubrick to Godard to Scorsese. Being introduced to some of their films specifically prompted me to write about other works of theirs in two of my papers, and writing those papers was for me a fulfilling experience. I am eager to take more film classes during my time here at UF.

My favorite film is hard to choose, so I will name my several favorites: A Clockwork Orange (which I had previously seen but had a good time analyzing it in class), Contempt, Yojimbo, and I very much enjoyed comparing the three variations of Django.

Although I did not stay in class for yesterday’s screening, I suspect that Tree of Life would have been my least favorite film, solely based on the excruciatingly boring clip we briefly watched today. But of all the other films, I pick the American Pulse as my least favorite, for obvious reasons. Not so obviously, I disliked Beauty and the Beast for its loose ends, which is disappointing because I always have seen myself as a fan of surrealism; now I am unsure about that.

All in all, I immensely enjoyed this class. I am very happy that I chose it—so much so that I am sad that I did not end up waiting to take this class during a later semester, because regarding my future prospective courses, #ENG2300 is going to be hard to outdo.

Final Post

Although I have always considered myself a cinephile, this course has widened my appreciation for other elements of the art. For example, I have come to acknowledge sound as a more crucial aspect of film. Once believing sound was nothing more than an enhancement of what it is the image is communicating, I now see sound as having its own profound effect. A moment that comes to mind is when we watched an excerpt from Halloween in class with and without sound. What a crucial role sound played here to create the mood so important to the horror. I also came to better appreciate the role genre plays in explaining a film. Although I have held to my belief that a film can be pretty much independent from any genre association, I now see the cultural and critical importance of categorizing films that are readily classifiable.

In terms of a favorite film, what seems most memorable to me is Contempt. I think I picked up on more important cinematic concepts here than I did in any other film. Although I was already familiar with Godard, Contempt was a film that I might not have ever seen, and the unique aspects of his cinematography and staging are techniques I do not see myself ever forgetting. To name some other films just for the sake of relaying my general enjoyment of them, Modern Times, Hugo, and Spirited Away quickly come to mind.

Least favorite is a little more challenging. Obviously, the American version of Pulse is an easy response. As I mentioned in class, I personally did not care for Rosemary’s Baby. I enjoy many aspects of the horror genre, but this film basically took every aspect I don’t care for and compiled it into one film. I didn’t like the satanic realism, the odd imagery, or the discomforting ending. But I can definitely notice the film’s general achievements.

All in all, it’s been a great semester. Definitely my favorite class so far, and I look forward to further studying film here in the future.

Final Blog Post!

When I first heard that this class existed, I decided that even if I couldn’t have it for the fall semester, I would have to have it at some point in my career here at UF. I have always loved movies, even though prior to this class I didn’t even know of many of the great directors of our time (or really any time).  When I initially signed up for classes, ENG2300 was full, and I was pretty disappointed. I checked ISIS frequently, and eventually, a space opened up that fit perfectly with my schedule, and I was so excited that I tweeted “GOT FILM ANALYSIS FOR THE FALL YESSSSS”.  Needless to say, I was looking forward to this class.

As I’m sure most people were, I was expecting more mainstream films that even I, with my little knowledge of the world of film, would have heard of. At first, I thought maybe I had gotten in over my head, because I knew so little about the movies and techniques we were talking about. As I learned more and more, I became more excited to watch films and apply what I knew so that I could better understand the more subtle messages that come from mise-en-scene and sound. I find that as I re-watch movies I saw before I took this class, I am more attuned to how a film is made and how the world of the film is constructed, and I ultimately get much more out of the viewing experience.

My least favorite film was probably Yojimbo. I understand the value of watching it and comparing it to other films like A Fistful of Dollars, but I felt the storytelling was really lacking and I had trouble paying attention to it after a while. My favorites were probably La Belle et la Bete and Contempt. I really enjoyed the mise-en-scene in both films and the stories were interesting enough to keep me engaged through the whole screen time.

Thanks for an awesome semester! I learned a lot and really enjoyed listening to and reading everyone else’s comments and opinions on the films!

Final Post

This class has actually ended up being among one of my favorite classes. In all honesty I registered for the class due to the fact that it sounded intriguing, who does not like movies, and I was in need of a course that would help fulfill the writing credit. Now, at the end of the semester, I find myself walking away with more than I could have ever bargained for. I’m not sure I will ever look at movies in the same manner. There is no doubt in my mind that when I sit down to leisurely view a film I am going to end up critiquing every second of it. Hopefully my family and friends do not mind me talking throughout the film from start to finish. I also could not be more thankful that this class forced me to watch several movies that I would never have picked up to watch on my own. It really helped broaden my horizon in terms of cinema and has made me more willing and likely to watch a movie despite the have negative preconceived notions I may have formed. Before this semester, I automatically assumed that black and white films were not ones that I would enjoy because of their age and lack of technology. However, this class definitely cured that ridiculous assumption. Silent films are probably the types of films that I attempted to avoid at all cost before taking this class. I did not think that my attention span and interest could last long enough to pay attention only to things moving on a screen. However I have come to thoroughly enjoy such films after viewing multiple of them during in class screenings. As a result of watching the silent films, my appreciation for sound integrated within films has increased tremendously. Needless to say, I am taking away things from this class that I never expected to and I could not be more thrilled.