Final Blog

A. What are the three most important things the film class has taught you about film? How has this changed your approach to movie watching?

One thing that the film class has taught me is that their are a lot of movies that I would have never even seen if it wasn't for this class. I didn't like every single movie that we watched, but I got to see movies that I would have never seen. I would have never seen the movies like "Casablanca, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, or Something Like It Hot." These 3 movies were made long before I was born. If it wasn't for this class, I would have never seen them. Another thing that this class has taught me was that you cant just assume that because it's an old movie, it is not going to be a good movie. Most of the movies we watched this year were all at least 50 years old, and almost all of them were good movies to me. Lastly, this movie has taught me that you cant just assume a movie will not be good just by looking at the genre. One of my favorite movies we watched this year was "The Sound of Music." This was a musical and I did not think I would like it because it was a musical. But in the end, it turned out to be one of my favorites that we watched this year. 

This has changed my approach on movie watching tremendously. I now look at the dialogue that the Characters use. I pay attention to who stars in the movie. We watched a lot of Jimmy Stewart movies and he was one of my favorite actors. Now, whenever I see a movie, I will pay attention to who stars in the movie.

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

"20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" is a Disney movie directed by Richard Fleischer. The movie mostly takes place under the sea or on top of the Pacific Ocean. The movie stars Kirk Douglas as "Ned Land", James Mason as "Captain Nemo", Paul Lukas as " Professor Aronnax", and Peter Lorre as "Conseil."

I really liked this movie. I didnt know that this was a Walt Disney movie. I had never seen this movie before either. I liked the plot and how the monster turned out to be people. I really did not expect that to happen.

West Side Story

"West Side Story" is a musical that was filmed in 1961.  The movie was directed by Robert Wise. The movie stars Natalie Wood, George Chakiris, Rita Moreno, Richard Beymer, and Russ Tamblyn. The movie is based off Romeo and Juliet.

I kinda liked this movie. I liked how the plot was similar to Romeo and Juliet but was a different movie. After a while, the song's soon got annoying because they were derivative.Other than the songs sounding all the same, the movie overall was not too bad. 

Citizen Kane

"Citizen Kane" was made in 1941 and produced by Orson Wells, who also co-starred in the movie. The movie stars Orson Wells, Joseph Cotton, Dorothy Comingore, and Everette Sloane. The movie is set as a flashback back on Kane's life and everything he accomplished.

The word "Rosebud" comes from the sled that Kane used when he was a little boy. As a child he loved the sled. Although he had a great life with money and being successful at his job, riding the sled was still the happiest moment of his life. The sled was taken away from him after he was taken away.

Beatles movie

"Yellow Submarine" was made in 1968. It starred the "Beatles" throughout the movie. The movie was animated and was a cartoon. "Let It Be" was made in 1970. It starred the Beatles also. This movie was a documentary on the life in the studio of the Beatles.

I did not like these movies at all. I thought that "Yellow Submarine" was really dumb, and that they must have been on drugs when they made it. The documentary was kinda cool but mostly boring. They just played sons over and over again. Eventually it got boring and annoying. But if I had to choose between which one was better, I would say that Yellow Submarine was better because it had a plot and a story and a little funny.

I think that these movies showed how innovative the Beatles were. They had new methods. They had there own animated movie because they were such a hit and were such a big hit. They changed the music world and pop culture. There was nobody besides Elvis to be that successful such as them in that time period.

North By Northwest

"North by Northwest" is a mystery movie, directed by the great, Alfred Hitchcock.  The movie was made in 1959. The movie stars Cary Grant, Eva Saint, James Mason, and Jessie Landis. The movie was later nominated for three Oscar Awards.

I really liked this movie because it was very interesting and always had me thinking what was going to happen next. I like suspenseful movies such as these. I liked this movie because it was never boring to me. I also liked the plot as well. I liked there was a little bit of action in the movie. This made it even more interesting and got my attention.

Ben Hur

"Ben Hur" was made in 1959 and was directed by William Wyler. The movie is set in the time of Jesus's life. The movie stars: Charlton Heston as "Ben Hur", Jack Hawkins as "Quinten Arrius", Haya Harareet as Esther, and Stephen Boyd as "Messala."

One theme in this movie is "Loyalty." Ben Hur is loyal to his city and does not join Messala and the Romans. He is also loyal to his family and never betrays them. Another theme in this movie is "Athletic Victory." Ben Hur shows true athleticism because he does not use any weapons in the Chariot Race, and does not cheat. He won by being athletic. He also showed athleticism when he saved the captain in the water. The last theme in this movie is "Friendship." Ben Hur shows true friendship witht the Judea people. They let him use his horses to race and allow him to live with him as well.