The Femme Film Fanatic

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Color One’s View- Vertigo

Through these special uses of color, Hitchcock adds a whole nother level of depth to his masterpiece, Vertigo.

Color played a huge part in the message behind Vertigo. Even in the first segment, reds, blues, yellows, and greens flash across the screen. The main two colors that are used in the film are red and green with the secondary, background color battle being yellow and blue. Both pairs are opposite each other on the color wheel, so Hitchcock’s use of these colors as contrasting ideals works well.

Red is used to represent love, desire, and Scotty, while green is used to represent something ghostly, uncanny, and Madelline/Judy. A really great use of these colors is in the scene where Scotty sees Madelline/Judy for the first time. The restaurant, Ernie’s, is bright red with all background characters are wearing blacks and reds. Madelline/Judy, however, is wearing a bright green dress that stands out against the crowd, making ours and Scotty’s eyes to turn to her. As she’s leaving the restaurant, we get a side profile of Madelline/Judy and the red restaurant around her glows even brighter, showing that Scotty has started turning to desire.

Blue is used to represent justice and truth in Vertigo while yellow is most commonly associated with Midge and reality. Midge’s house and all of its appliances are various shades of yellow, and when Scotty is in court after the death of the real Madelline, all the suits are blue.

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Opposition to Authority- Black Panther

In Coogler’s Black Panther, there are a couple forms of opposition to authority. First off is the most obvious: Erik Killmonger opposing T’Challa’s reign. Killmonger believes that because of his heritage and the rules of Wakandan society, he should take the role of king.

There’s also T’Challa fighting the reign of Killmonger after he takes the throne. T’Challa didn’t die in the fight or surrender because he was thrown over the cliff, so he still is considered king and deserves to oppose Killmonger’s new authority.

Another form of opposition to consider is the opposition to the authority of Wakandan politics- staying out of the public eye and lying about how advanced they actually are. Some believe they should come out of hiding and take part in more political debates in the world, while others want to stick to the way it’s always been and hide.

Finally, a bit more hidden is T’Challa’s opposition to his own authority and bloodline. He questions his father and himself and isn’t sure of how to rule his kingdom in the best way for his people. It opens up a lot of room for character development throughout the film and results in a satisfying growth of character and climax of the film where T’Challa takes charge of his birthright, but in his own fashion, opting to show love and forgiveness towards Killmonger than hate and murder like his father.

Another note could be made about the film itself as an opposition to the authority of mostly white casts in films, especially superhero flicks, but that’s for another post.

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Blocking a Scene- Vertigo

The way that Alfred Hitchcock blocks a scene tells a lot about the way a character feels and can foreshadow plot twists in his films. A great example of this is the scene between Scotty and Gavin Elster where Gavin is telling Scotty about Madeline and her symptoms.

The way the characters move throughout the scene is almost like a dance, showing who is in “control” of the conversation and who is being manipulated or a plethora of other things that only viewers who rewatch the film can pick up on.

In the beginning, it’s Scotty who is standing and Gavin who is sitting, showing that Scotty is acting as investigator, trying to figure out what exactly is going on. When Gavin starts weaving his lies, it’s his turn to stand and who actually goes up a step and is above Scotty, who actually goes to a corner to sit, like Gavin is on stage and Scotty is watching his performance. Scotty seems like he’s going to leave but Gavin approaches him and this is when Scotty is completely manipulated.

Watching the blocking of this scene through a second viewing really tells the true story and not the one that is being told by Gavin. After rewatching it last night, I saw this scene and so much more that “gave away” the truth of the story before its reveal. Alfred Hitchcock did this masterfully and it’s impressive to watch.

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Pans, but not the Cooking Type

Citizen Kane just wowed me with stunning camera angles and pans. For a movie from the late 1940s, it really had some next-generation-style techniques. The shot that not only goes through a neon sign in the rain and a sunroof was absolutely stunning. I have no idea how Orson Welles managed to pull that off.

Then there were the shots where they actually cut into the floor to make the characters seem like giants on screen. That was super ingenious and new for the times. It was really cool to see the origins of shots like that.

Also, the shot where Mr. Kane is losing a lot of his business and starts walking towards what seems like an average window but gets lost in it completely. That really showed how wealthy those guys all are. I can’t even imagine how expensive all of those windows would have been; they were absolutely ginormous.

But my favorite shot had to be when Mr. Kane was giving his speech in front of a crowd and the camera is below him. It really emphasizes how much bigger and more powerful Mr. Kane had become than the ordinary man. Excellent film, for sure.

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The Leitmotifs of the Dark Side

Star Wars is known for its stellar music. It’s been spoofed over and over again and even if you aren’t a fan, you can recognize the Main Theme immediately. However, what most people don’t know (well, might know but not know the actual term for) is that there are numerous leitmotifs present throughout the saga.

The Imperial March only plays when Darth Vader is present. That’s a leitmotif. It lets you know that “Hey, the bad guy is here.” When Luke is thinking of Darth Vader, sometimes there are variations of the Imperial March that are played beneath whatever music is playing at the time.

Another leitmotif (which is my personal favorite) is Duel of the Fates from Episode III. This is played when Darth Maul fights Qui-Gon Jinn and young Obi-wan Kenobi. The piece is full-on and aggressive while Darth fights and quieter while the force fields force them to pause. It even sounds like the choir is screaming “Darth Maul” throughout. It seems like whenever Darth Maul is present throughout the first movie, a similar theme is always present, even if it’s faint.

Star Wars is an amazing saga with an even better soundtrack to boot. With its use of leitmotifs with major, important characters, you always know a character’s feelings when another character is around.

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The Juxtaposing Styles of The Great Gatsby (2013)

The Style of The Great Gatsby really makes the film stand out as beautiful (romantic), and heartbreaking (realistic). You feel elated at the mansion parties and distraught at Myrtle’s death. You crave the life of a millionaire or a party-goer but dread the thought of living like Gatsby had been. It’s a combination of perfectly woven styles and storytelling that makes these reactions feel so real.

When I first saw the trailer for The Great Gatsby, I was awe-struck. Only age 12, I hadn’t seen many “big” films other than the MCU and Star-Wars franchises, so seeing a trailer oozing golds and The Roaring Twenties really threw me for a loop. Immediately, it was the only film I wanted to see. My mom the English teacher glowed at this and insisted that I read the book, which I did, and loved the idea of seeing the film even more.

When it finally came out, I was not disappointed. The Great Gatsby seems like it fits both the styles of realism and romanticism. For one, it does not waiver from showcasing the faces of The Roaring Twenties. You see the mansions, money, flappers, middle-class, lower-class, everything. It doesn’t shy from the bad sides (i.e. mistresses, drunkenness, anger) but it also doesn’t keep us from the exciting (i.e. flappers, mansion parties). Those two juxtapositions were like the gold and black in the trailer- really shining and bringing out each other more and making them more noticeable, as a foil does in books.

The colors really help this as well. In the mansion party scenes, you see blues, blacks, pinks, and whites. Nightlife colors. In turn, in scenes like where Carraway meets Myrtle, it’s creams and reds. Bright and vibrant. The battle of cool versus warm colors only makes the film seem that much more vibrant and fun to watch.