LADY FROM SHANGHAI /BLADE RUNNER

THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI OPENING SCENE 

THE CHINESE THEATRE SCENE ANALYSIS

      Feedback on PresentationFeedback from Patrick 

• Structure and Content of Presentation

• Visual to aid pitch

• Research and analysis

• Presentation Style

• Structure and Content of Presentation

• Visuals to aid pitch

• Research and analysis

• Presentation Style

• Structure and Context of Presentation

• Visual to aid pitch

• Research and analysis

• Presentation Style

• I didn't make eye contact often                                             

-Flows well

-Explores the scene and its meaning to great detail

-Great understanding of the movie

-Structured clearly and understandable

-Crisp, clear visuals that relate to Lady from Shanghai

-Some font colour merges with background

-Includes pictures of the scene talked about

-Bountiful amount of detail

-Written in own words

-Uses key words   i.e:chiaroscuro, long-shot

-Spoke clearly and extremely understandable

-Took

-Extremely well prepared

-Spoke proudly

Feedback from Katrina

-The content is very clearly explained.They also clearly evaluated the scene and the content they analyzed.

-The visuals are relevant but they could have shown them as they explained it to me more effective.They also explained their choice in visuals effectively.

-They show their research through knowing where the scene was filmed and details about the production.

-Does the student speak clearly and audibly? Yes

-Does the student talk to the audience and/or make eye contact? Yes

-Does the student speak confidently? Yes

-Is the student nervous? No

-Is the student well prepared? Yes

Feedback from Khaira

-Micro-features presented clearly

-Could have included an image from the scene-too much text

-There is clear evidence of research done-mentioned aesthetics

   THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI AQUARIUM SCENE

LFS & BR AUTURE COMPARISON

DIFFERENCE

                                                         SIMILARITIES

RIDLEY SCOTT

THEMES

Some of Ridley Scotts films feature strong conflicts between father and son that usually end with the latter killing the former or witnessing the event  As part of the conflict between father and son there are some repetitive scenes: in Gladiator, the son hugs the father seemingly as an expression of love but this embrace turns into the suffocation and death of the father. There is a similar sequence in Blade Runner.

·      Maximus kills his father (Gladiator 2002)

·      Roy Batter's main ambition is to meet and slaughter his father (Blade Runner 1982)

·      The alien kills its own host in order to be born, which is an act of survival (Alien 1979)

·     The character David says "Doesn't everyone want their parents dead?" (Prometheus 2012)

It's as though these characters seek to all kill their makers all for similar reasons, some for revenge, others for survival but all of them seem to relate to this theme of 'becoming the alpha male' as though in order to survive as the superior being they must first defeat their predecessors to earn the alpha male title , this is actually one thing I’ve noticed in Scott's form of developing his characters. 

One of the recurring themes I've noticed within the four films I have chosen to study is the theme of Androids (Cyberpunk). Within three of the films (Alien, Prometheus and Blade Runner) I have chosen to study, Androids have made appearances with very significant roles; although no androids appear in the movie Gladiator(2000), it only seems logical that they don't seeing as it isn't at all a Science Fiction movie, however the other three films that I've listed all happen to include elements of the Sci-Fi genre, one of those main elements is of course Androids.

Scott always presents these androids in a similar way in each film; usually they are classed as a villain within the films, yet they don't always commit actual crimes against the heroes or other characters within the plots, they simply act very intellectual yet with a sinister side to their persona. All the androids in Scott's movies seem to have purpose, they are never minor characters, instead they are very significant to the plot and help to develop the narrative more than most of the human characters do. For example:

·     Ash from the movie Alien(1979) was given orders to "Bring back the Alien life form" this was both a critical threat and unbeknownst to the rest of the crew, all of which were human.

·      David from the movie Prometheus(2012) takes many actions that puts the rest of his crew (again, all of which are human) at risk, although he saves them few times, he is the main reason they are all put in peril countless times, and yet he shows no remorse, even when it results in the death of a fellow crew member

·      Batty is the main villain in the movie Blade Runner(1982) and is known as the world's most wanted replicant for murder and other crimes

Moreover, another theme is a strong female lead; Ridley Scott started having strong female leaders from very early on. Many say he was ahead of his time by doing this, thus it was something very unusual at the time.

·     Dr Elizabeth Shaw (Prometheus 2012): archaeologist and central protagonist

·     Ellen Ripley (Alien 1979): the warrant officer aboard the Nostromo, making her third in command behind Dallas and Kane. Officer or not, she's still a woman a man's world—and this is a man's world circa 1979, not the 21st century's paradise of gender equality. (No, but seriously—things were different in 1979, even though it might not seem like a long time ago.)

In Gladiator(2002) and Blade Runner(1982) the women don’t have as strong as a female lead, because they get used by men:

e.g.

·      Lucilla (Gladiator 2002) is mentally abused by her brother which threatens to kill her son and forces her love him. However, she, in a lot of ways, she's trying to do what Maximus cannot do while he's enslaved: fulfill her father's dying wishes. She puts together the meeting between Gracchus and Maximus, and she's the one who lets Maximus know they must act quickly because Commodus has arrested Gracchus and is getting closer to uncovering the plot.

·     Racheal (Blade Runner 1982)  does not have an identity [as her memories are plant] she gets abused by Decker at some point in the film [he kisses her when she doesn’t want to].

       MICROFEATURES /MOOD&TONE

·     Lighting

Lighting is used greatly in all of Scott’s films, within Gladiator using it so that to show when the character is angry or even disturbed helps accentuate the pain or overall feeling the character is feeling at the specific moment.

Within Alien, Blade Runner and Prometheus, darkness is simply a natural part of the worlds that characters inhabit but using it vast ways. In Blade Runner(1982), it is used when the main character is represented as being darker, trashier place within the city, it helps the spectatorship to gather and understand the dirty feel of the city. On the other hand, within Alien(1979) and Prometheus(2012) the darkness is there to fill some short of cloak for the creature with hunts the protagonist.

Furthermore, Ridley Scott is known for is the way he uses bright lights through steam or fog to create a certain visual atmosphere. In addition, Scott likes to use fog to project bands of light. This is especially prevalent in some of his earlier films, like Blade Runner(1982) and Alien(1979).

·     Sound

He likes to focus on sound and music for tension.

·     Blade Runner(1982) : The soundtrack  deliberately heightens the mystery of the movie. Vangelis doesn't really focus on the gloomy and decay-ridden side of the movie's world; he edges towards something like "teasingly mystical." He uses soaring synths and tinkling chimes to summon a feeling of eternal mystery, which helps give dimension to the pursuit of "more life" and true humanity that make up Roy Batty's quest.

·     Alien(1972) and Gladiators (2000)score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith. About the only through line in his career is that he writes excellent music to heighten the experience of watching movies.

·     The grand sound effects for Ridley Scott's sweeping epic Prometheus(2012) often came from odd, unlikely sources – including Pop Rocks, Xerox machines, and a 35-year-old parrot named Skipper.

·      But even though Alien(1979) and Prometheus(2012) were created in different centuries and Prometheus has more alternative/pop music. In the trailer however, they both have the same spooky sound effect that crates the feeling of horror and suspicion.

Sketches/Story boards

 Ridley Scott learned how to use sketches to visualize his work before he started filming at, he used it through his films which made everything more planned and organize.

Alien 1979

Blade Runner 1982

Gladiator 2000