Santina's Film Blog

  Hollywood Studio System The studio system made sure that the Classic Hollywood was a success by having the biggest studios control the films made and their distribution. These studios were MGM, Paramount, Warner Bros, RKO and Fox, also known as “The Big Five”, and Universal, Colombia and United Artists, establishing “The Little Three”. These five studios had total control of the stokes in their own theatres, which ensured their films being distributed without taking into account the quality and potential of the film, while the other three studios, small film-makers and minor studios did not have much power to compete and had no assurance of their films being distributed. “The Big Five” also had control over the process of making films by having under contract actors, producers, writers and directors, once again having a huge advantage over “The Little Three” by being able to produce a ridiculous amount of films in a year. With the end of the Studio System also came the end of the...

  Classical style in film form The classical style is a definition used in film criticism to describe the narrative and visual style of a film-making and its elements. This style in film form is considered to be very characteristic of Hollywood cinema between the 1910’s up to the 1960’s. Casablanca being a good example of the classical style as it was released in the middle of World War II, and for a film to be considered part of the classical style, it has to follow certain rules such as lighting, sound, performance and more. Something to highlight from the film Casablanca that characterizes it as part of the classical style is the realistic and consistent performance that Rick gives. The owner of the nightclub holds the mysterious role during the war (while showing his impartiality) until the end in spite of encountering Lisa and reliving memories from the past. Captain Louis Renault is another character whose intentions are not very clear as he acts in his own benefit, what make...

  Casablanca: Analysis of the intro to Rick's Bar scene   The first shot of the intro to Rick's Bar we get a full view of the building and the people around. What quickly catches the audience's attention is the sign as well as the shadows of people walking around reflected on the walls as the searchlight goes from right to left on the bar's main door. This gives the audience a little bit of information about the place: it is private, not for everyone and the delinquents are being searched. It also gives the audience a third person perspective as the camera takes a full shot of the building. The music from the bar is audible and is also mixed with the background noise of cars and the door being constantly opened and closed.  The shot then cuts to a full take of the "Rick's cafe Americain" where palm trees are reflected on the sign. The background noise and music does not change as the camera descends smoothly to the same level as the rest of the clients tha...

  Plot twist - High Maintenance There are mainly two plots in the short film High Maintenance: the first one when the audience discovers that the husband is a robot and the second one when we discover that so is the wife. The genre changes from a romantic drama to a scientific fiction when this is found out.  There are many misdirections for the second plot which makes it even more surprising for the audience to find out about her being a robot. For example, the emotional behaviour she expresses towards her husband and the frustration that she is continually feeling because of the lack of adventure in the relationship. She wants to change that because she is not happy anymore, so she decides to get another husband with more adventurous features. She demonstrates that she also has preferences, something that a robot would not be likely to have. The fact that she eats dinner diverts the viewers from thinking that she could possibly be a robot as well, as a matter of fact, it is ...