The Wizard of Oz is a timeless classic, hailed by many to be one of the best movies of all time, and while it's praise may be sung more highly than it deserves, the Wizard of Oz has definitely stood the test of time. The transition from sepia tone to heavy use of color at the beginning of the movie is one of the most excellent uses of color in cinema history, and I found myself amazed even today at the wide shots that show off the explosive backgrounds very well. Even today, the Wizard of Oz can be watched and thoroughly enjoyed for the masterpiece it is
Reviews
8 Reviews
Citizen Kane
(1941)
Factory made Perfection
8 December 2017
Citizen Kane had always been a movie I've been excited to see. Numerous sources all my life cited this movie to me as the pinnacle of cinema, a shining jewel in the crown of the movie industry. After seeing it, I have started to learn why. Citizen Kane, after the initial viewing, struck me as an amazing movie, but one that was lacking of charm. It did everything right, but didn't do it in a way that stays with you. The camera-work is excellent, using different angles to influence your perception of different characters. The heavy use of lighting and shadow really brought the movie together, and the writing was especially impressive, after going back and reading about William Randolph Hearst. However, the movie does nothing to stand out, in my mind at least, which is when it struck me. This movie was the best movie of all time for a while,And movies today still use what it brought to the table. However, just as people cite Ocarina of Time as the best video game of all time, the world keeps spinning, and newer movies take what Citizen Kane did and improve upon it to make truly good movies.
Fantasia
(1940)
A human Movie
18 October 2017
2017 is a year of technical marvel. Looking at movies of today, we see massive, stunning works of animation. We can now achieve computer generated images that look nearly indistinguishable from reality, and at the forefront of movie making today is Disney. Through Marvel, Disney creates multiple action packed superhero blockbusters a year. Star Wars, after it's 2015 revival, has new movies being released annually. Pixar, after creating several successful franchises, is now resting on its laurels, creating sequels like Finding Dory, Toy Story 4, Cars 3 and Incredibles 2. Even Disney's in house animation team is finding success, bringing back the Disney princess formula with movies like Frozen and Moana. However, amidst all this success, we have lost the truly human touch. Fantasia perfectly captures all that was lost in today's Disney movies. The movie has a very personal and human feel to every aspect of it. The orchestra, a very tangible presence in the movie, feels alive. They laugh, play their own little tunes during the intermission, but most importantly, they make mistakes. The animation is the same way, It's very rough at times and sometimes lacking, with some animations being reused, however every shot is filled with passion. You can tell that people worked on this, people with ambition, though they were not perfect. In modern movies, this beautiful animation that looks so real lacks the touch of individualism that Fantasia has in spades. The scene of the Sorcerer's apprentice dancing around the broom is burned into our collective memory for a reason. In all its flaws, its rough edges, it feels real to us. We can see all the raw effort and energy that the animator's put into each of Mickey's footsteps and that resonates with us. Fantasia speaks to the viewer not because it's perfect, but because it's flawed.
Young Mr. Lincoln
(1939)
Too slow to Hook me
11 October 2017
In order to truly get a viewer hooked on a movie, the movie needs a strong start with a decent premise. Some very good examples range from something as simple as falling in love or as outlandish as an alien invasion. Young Mr. Lincoln begins focusing on an unfocused young Abraham Lincoln, currently without purpose in life. This decent enough start is compounded by a loss motivating him to be someone, do something. This premise is very strong. However, The premise alone cannot carry a movie. The plot quickly hits a slump where nothing interesting happens, and scenes that don't even belong in the movie go on way too long. I made it 25 minutes into the movie before giving up. There is no reason that a prolonged rail splitting contest and tug of war should go on as long as they do in a movie about Abe Lincoln maturing into a proper adult. After watching 3 movies consecutively that I did not like, I just quit. I couldn't make it through Young Mr. Lincoln.
His Girl Friday
(1940)
Noticing a pattern
4 October 2017
I've noticed a pattern with the movies I've watched for my American Cinema class. They are all identical in execution to the movie we watch in class that week. "His Girl Friday" does not stray from this pattern at all. If anything, it reinforces it. The plot once again follows an unlikely couple, only this time both people are at least competent. No one is stupid to levels of annoyance except for the female's initial love interest. Despite the characters being more likable, the genre of the screwaball comedy is just so uninteresting to me, which severely hindered my enjoyment of this movie. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's a bad movie, but this sort of back and forth lighthearted comedy is not for me.
Dracula
(1931)
It's no good.
27 September 2017
Vampires are one of the coolest monsters in fiction. They are powerful, with many cool abilities, but also well defined weaknesses, allowing a well written story to be created around them. "Dracula," starring Bella Lagosi is not one such movie. The plot centers around the titular vampire in his attempts to gain power in London. The plot is simple, and could work effectively, had it been paced better. There are numerous occasions of the camera cutting to the same scene of Dracula's dimly lit face throughout the movie, and it ends up just being distracting. More distracting is the use of clearly rubber bats as special effects. The ending, without spoiling the movie is highly anticlimactic and matches with the rest of the movie in leaving a bad taste in my mouth.
Scarface
(1932)
A solid movie
20 September 2017
"Scarface" is a movie excellent for its era. While the story of Tony Camonte is clearly a thinly veiled metaphor for the real life gangster Al Capone (I came into the movie thinking it was actually about Capone) the character takes on a life of its own. Tony Camonte feels like a real, terrifying person with his combination of insanity and aloofness. The script is well written to compliment the performance and there are several very inventive shots that help this movie stand out. One scene in particular shows time passing by shooting a machine gun at a calendar while a montage of Tony's crime plays in the background. However, the movie does suffer a few weaknesses; some scenes are much too short and throw off the pacing, and a few of the background characters have laughably bad performances, but these issues are not enough to detract from the enjoyment of this well executed movie.
The Gold Rush
(1925)
Chaplin being Chaplin
20 September 2017
Charlie Chaplin is the perfect example of an actor who only knows one role. In "The Gold Rush" Our leading star Chaplin reprises his role as the tramp, and proceeds to partake in traditional slapstick humor and fall for another beautiful girl. After watching my first Chaplin movie , "The Circus" this movie just feels like more of the same. Many of the same story elements from "The Circus" are used here as well, and I tend to see where the "if you've seen one, you've seen them all" mentality comes from. However, this movie is not without merit, with Chaplin's excellent comedic timing still providing an enjoyable experience, despite the film's predictability.
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