The Royal Tenenbaums.

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Absolutely one of my personal favorites, The Royal Tenenbaums is a stunning example of Wes Anderson's directing style. If you have not seen this movie I will begin by saying it's a must watch for anyone whom enjoys a little dry humor. The Royal Tenenbaums is visually stimulating with it's quick pans, vivid use of pastel colors, 90 degree camera angles, & constant use of symmetry makes every frame a masterpiece.

In the perfect world Wes Anderson everything that needs to be seen is always in focus and always fits the frame. Was Anderson, like many directors, has a pattern throughout his works; weather it's in scenery, characters, or camera shots.

I was displeased to find a critic whom was unable to notice Wes Anderson's style and creativity in The Royal Tenenbaums. The thing about this critic, a Mr. Andrew Sarris, is that he is experienced enough to have a well rounded opinion about the film and Wes Anderson himself. He has seen a few of Wes' films and has spotted a few of his trademarks, however I believe he is either looking too deep into the story or that he was expecting something more from Anderson as a story teller. In his review he goes on to say a brief summary of the main plot, compares the film with a couple others of Wes' and gives it a poor score by saying, "The Tenenbaums and the equally eccentric characters around them work so hard at being distinctive soloists that they lose contact with the rest of the ensemble." As I see his point of view & how this may be so, I believe Wes was aiming for a story that was indeed obviously fictional & that couldn't be compared to many others. He was going for a film that would be out of pure creativity and idea & bring an actual in depth background to his characters.

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Regardless of what may be said, the facts are this... The Royal Tenenbaums was very successful at the box office, it turned out to be a stunning visual performance, & is nothing short than a summarized depiction of Wes Anderson's directing style. I digress, The Royal Tenenbaums is an amazing film with it's ups and downs as many films are, however it is still one to be appreciated & worth the effort to analyze.

The Coen Brothers

The dynamic duo the Coen Brothers, home grown here in Minnesota are truly unique in their ideas and filming styles. Spreading the good word about the humble people of MN are the Coen Brothers, bringing to Hollywood the base of film noir with a modern twist. They always work together and in doing so have created some truly remarkable pictures.

In Raising Arizona they are able to bring together a ton of action and comedy into what would otherwise be a dull place in the Arizona desert. H.I., a newly released repeat criminal and Edwina (Ed) are newly weds whom are unable to conceive. The plot thickens when they discover a woman married to Nathan Arizona, the owner of a chain of unpainted furniture stores has quintuplets. More than willing to take a baby or two off their hands they decide they have more then they can handle and 'it's just unfair they have so many' and kidnap Nathan Jr.

As the Coens do, they create a whole new world filled with interesting characters, irony, & a idea that 'money is the basis of crime'. I noticed this first in Fargo, a low budget film about a man with money problems pays a couple of men to kidnap his wife to get money off her dad. This film is con traversal among Minnesotans since the Coens poke fun at their Minnesota roots. Another fun fact about the film is although it's said to 'be based off of a true story' it really isn't; thus supporting the irony the Coens enjoy so much.

And lastly I must note is the Good vs. Evil aspect of if not all than most of their films. There is a very clear show of this in their blockbuster hit No Country For Old Men, where after a drug deal gone bad, the unlucky finder of the left over cash is being chased by a cold hearted serial killer, who would easily kill someone just for picking the wrong side of a flipped coin. On the good side we have sheriff Bell whom is harboring internal conflicts with himself as he follows the trail of disaster left behind by killer.

Altman

Encouraged to bring reality into his movies, Altman is a director of an naturalistic sort. By organizing crossed conversations and steady but consistent movement he brings the audience into a situation that is almost believable. Altman was concerned more about character motivation and development than most others; he constantly demands attention from the audience which gives the audience a jerk to pay close attention.

I learned after watching his film The Long Good Bye his creative cross conversation style and realistic happenings in his films. He keeps in the back of his mind the realistic attitude that "time waits for no man" and really puts effort into linking together piece to piece of each character to one another in a realistic environment. Speaking of random piecings together brings me to my next point about another of his films, Nashville.

There is much debate over this film since it is so spontaneous and has little no what would seem no plot development. However I can see the creative and unique technique that makes his directing style so genuine. Although Nashville has many linked relationships from one character to the next I don't feel at all that Altman was pulling a plot out of thin air. There is what appears to be a main plot idea and he simply uses that as a guide throughout his films, adding more important details for his character's development. He uses plot as a guideline for his films, not bound by a certain ending or restricted by certain idea points.

After doing a little research I found a couple bios (and yes I admit I did a bit of wikipedia) and had discovered that Altman was going through a bit of a funk period before Mash which gave him a bad look on Hollywood. My point leading to is that it's possible the film The Player was based off of his not so friendly attitude toward Hollywood. The film itself is about a Hollywood production company and it's flaws, a man Griffin Mill is desperately fighting for his job from another employee whom seems to be out doing him. The main idea is that Hollywood is full of crooks and crazy men biting at each other's heels to get some recognition.

Alfred Hitchcock

"The Master of Suspense" many have called him. Albert Hitchcock manages to captivate and move audiences everywhere with his films, pulling them in with his creative style. From watching three of his films in class I've noticed a couple patterns of his individual style as a director.

The first theme I've noticed that he managed to maintain throughout all three films was the consistency of the first person view. He was able to make the audience feel as though they were in the shoes of the main character. This stuck out most to me in Rear Window. We are literally put in the position of L. B. Jefferies (played by James Stewart), looking out quite nosily through his neighbors windows and straight into their private lives while being confined to a single room.

Another theme I've noticed was during The Thirty-nine Steps, we had the pleasure of following around Richard Hannay (played by Robert Donat) and his very close encounters with his pursuers. Hitchcock is found of putting his heroes into situations where they are wrongly accused of some sort of crime. Richard Hannay is the last person to be around a woman the night of her death and is wanted not only by the law but a group of spies trying to keep the secrets that were supposed to lie rest with the woman's death.

The last theme I've noticed is how Hitchcock has made films based around searching for the truth, making stories thickly whipped with mystery. A great example would be with Vertigo, where our main man John "Scottie" Ferguson (played by James Stewart) was supposed to be investigating the odd behavior of his friends wife, when suddenly he is whisked into a deep mystery shrouded by a mysteriously timed death.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

One of Miyazaki's older productions from 1984, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind holds with it a strong imagination and an uplifting story. From what I've seen from this & previous Miyazaki films, his creative choice in the simplistic settings along side with the complex and well thought out monsters makes this film almost awe inspiring.

The film begins in a peaceful and humble valley village surround by desert. The time is when man struggles to survive in a world slowly being over taken by the "Sea of decay" a poisonous force created by nature to cure the earth of the filth left behind by the wars of humanity. After an unexpected plane crash, the valley of the wind is invaded by a larger and stronger country. In the midst of the fighting over the fate of the world, Nausicaä discovers the one thing that can calm the fighting is passive resistance.

This movie has superb, even though it's in older animation it can still be appreciated. Using this movie as a model, you can look at his more recent films and notice how his style hasn't changed only the animation is assisted more with computers than before. From the other movies I've seen produced from him, this one is very creative in it's characters, settings, and landscape. You could tell he put serious effort in making this story unique from any other. What I mean by this is there are few items we can look at and identify and even those are obscured, such as the planes, guns, fungus, and airplanes. A classic, without question.

Spirited Away

Yet another Miyazaki film based of fantasy, but I'm not complaining!

Spirited Away is a movie that is a bit more modern based with cars and such. The story concerns appreciating what you have and to not take it for granted, and also not everything is as it may at first seem.

The story begins with a young girl named Chihiro. She is burdened with the idea that she is moving. The first introduction of her character has a very blunt statement about her. She is negative right off the bat. On their way to their new house this family of three, father, mother and Chihiro take a longer detour than they had planned. They end up on the other side of an odd building and decide to take a look On the other side the structure appears to be a train station that seems to be an attraction; part of a larger amusement type place that appears to be still in business but without staff or guests. When Chihiro returns from a brief look around of the place she returns to two giant pigs where her parents once were. Suddenly the park comes alive and creatures begin appearing out of thin air, it seems she has entered the spirit world. She makes a friend in a strange boy, Kohaku who helps her hide from those who wish harm onto her. From here on Chihiro is shoved into working in a giant bath house for those whom couldn't care less for her, working with and for spirits and Gods alike. She has to change so she may return her parents back to normal and return to her world. Although she runs into many spirits with not so positive dispositions at first, behind closed doors they are secretly happy of her presence. However she runs into her fair share of those who appear friendly that only turn into monsters later (heh).

One of my favorites of Miyazaki's films now. I never realized his artistic style until this movie. He likes to use descriptive and realistic images in his backgrounds with a combination of regular animation in the foreground. This makes the entire image pop and is very appealing to the eye. Also, I noticed Miyazaki takes music/sound effects very seriously, timing is perfect and can change the whole mood with a single song and facial expression from the characters.

Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke is a visually stimulating story about the clash of new and old ideals. As with director Hayao Miyazaki's movies, Princess Mononoke is based on fantasy. The idea is the upraising of man & his technology clashing with the old ways of thinking.

The story begins in a small village under attack by what appears to be a rampaging demon. Ashitaka, our hero/main character, jumps into action immediately avoiding harm to the beast until the very last minute. Most unfortunately Ashitaka is touched by the cursed demon and is to forever bare a mark on his arm that will gradually rip apart is soul then his body (he also has little resistance to the marks own will). His only choice is to leave his home and adventure far to west and beg the Spirit of the Forest to lift the curse. We soon discover that a woman named Lady Eboshi Gozen, the leader of Iron Town; whom is trying to destroy the forest so that the town may mine the ore from underneath it. And the plot only thickens further when we discover that not only is the forest in danger, but he Forest Spirits head is on the line, quite literally.

I absolutely love this movie. Miyazaki is always does wonderful work keeping his fiction well, realistic. What I mean by this is as a director he manages to keep facts of present day (present day > whenever the movie is taking place in) and keeping them as a constant while still fluttering the screen with imaginary characters and creatures and are both captivating and unique.