Week 5, Orpheus

Just wanted to let everyone in my group know that I've decided to use one of my "skips" on this weeks blog post, so there's no confusion! :)

Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo

Having seen Hitchcock's The Birds before, and knowing what kind of films he is known for making, I approached this movie with some expectations. I knew that somehow or other it was probably going to creep me out, and I was right.

One thing I noticed right from the beginning is how much the music influenced the suspense in this movie, and really how that works for most scary movies. Sometimes, I try to picture them without the music and they just don't seem scary at all.. I feel like the music is a humongous part of what made me so nervous throughout this movie.


This movie was crazy because I thought it ended about three times before it actually did-- it just kept throwing curve balls. When we finally saw Madeline again as Jane, I was confused. To be honest, it took me a few minutes to even realize it WAS the same woman-- I just kept thinking this was a less beautiful woman wearing way too much make up who kind of looked like Madeline. Her looks and mannerisms as Jane were successful in making her much less appealing, but to me much more real, than Madeline. At first, when the entire murder/suicide plot was revealed through Jane's letter, I didn't even catch what the plot was exactly because it was explained so quickly. This annoyed me as I watched on, but then soon realized that it wasn't truly important as Scotty's crazed obsession grew and grew.

As far as Madeline is concerned, I really saw the connections between her and Laura. She was not truly a person (even more so than Laura, because she was truly only playing a part), but rather a beautiful image that became the object of a man's obsession. This was a major example of scopophilia to me, because Madeline had virtually no lines. There was nothing else for Scotty to fall in love with other than her physical attributes-- she almost never spoke, and when she did she was acting like a crazy, spaced out person. Both movies also used portraits of beautiful women as central images of obsession.

Lastly, I noticed the ghostlike qualities of both of these women. Of course, both turn out not to be dead when they are thought to be, but more than that I noticed the camera tricks that accentuated their apparitional attributes. We all know about and have discussed the dreamlike feel of the scene when Laura returns from the dead. There were two specific scenes within Vertigo where the camera made Madeline/Judy seem like a ghost as well. The first we talked about in class- Judy exiting the bathroom in a hazy mist after putting her hair up, the final step in 'Madeline-izing' her. To me, this symbolized Madeline returning from the dead for Scotty- she was like a ghost to him.

But even before this there was another scene where Madeline was made to look like a ghost. It was the scene where she and Scotty walked through the forest. The scenery was extremely dark and hazy, and Scotty got lost in it because he was dressed in dark clothing, but Madeline shone brightly like a ghost in her white coat. This really stuck out to my eyes and disturbed me somewhat-- especially because this scene took place before Madeline 'died' for the first time, when I was still trying to figure out what the heck was going on with her character.

There was another odd camera trick that struck me that we talked about a bit in our class discussion but I'd like to add to. We brought up the first kiss shared between Scotty and Judy once she had been made over as Madeline, and how the scenery behind the two transformed into the old Spanish village. Yet, the way the scenery transformed reminded me of the big wave behind them when they shared their first kiss of the movie on the beach-- the way the scenery changed in almost a splashing fashion, and the vibrant blue of the sky, really brought me back to that first kiss scene.

The most interesting part of this movie, to me, is the way the audience really gets pulled into the obsession. While watching Laura I felt we were half a part of the obsession (that portrait was enough to dazzle and hypnotize anyone) but also half watching it and detached from it as we viewed the three men. I felt more pulled into Scotty's obsession- especially by the end of the movie. A part of me was really peeved by Scotty's irrational obsession, but I was more peeved that I was beginning to take part in it. Once I realized Judy really was Madeline, I was itching for her to dye her hair and to take off her scuzzy make up. I wanted her to be Madeline again, not Judy.

We said yesterday in class that Midge's character is the one we want to rely on as an audience from the beginning; we soon learn that she is not the normal, level-headed character we want her to be. By the end, even I as a viewer began to participate in the obsession that overwhelms every character in this movie in some way-- that was what made it truly jarring for me.

Week 3, Laura!

In class this week, we learned and read about the Femme Fatale type-- the dangerous woman. When thinking about this type in comparison to the character Laura, I think that she is almost the complete opposite in many ways. Really, the only danger to her is that she arouses a dangerous, unhealthy obsession in men. Other than that, I found her really pathetic. We discussed in class how Laura is like Kane in many ways, and whether or not we can or should even view her as a true person. Although they are similar, I say Laura is not completely like Kane-- yes, in both movies the main characters are dead and we can only see them through the biased eyes of others who know them. But there is a big difference here-- Laura gets to, in a way, come back from the dead; she has a chance to redeem her self as a true character with personality, and she doesn't. To me, Laura is either a naive and idiotic woman who does not realize that she is only viewed as an object by all of the men in her life, or else she is another kind if idiotic woman who realizes she is just a pretty jewel being passed around between three men and she's content with that.

When looking back on it, I realized it was pretty clear that Lydecker could easily be the killer. In the very first scene of the movie we see what a pompous and materialistic man he is-- his entire apartment is over-the-top and full of valuable little pretty possessions-- he yells at McPherson for even laying a hand on his belongings. After talking about it in class, it's clear that Lydecker's relationship with Laura is unorthodox and kinda creepy. There is no reason for the audience to believe that there is a true sexual relationship between the two, yet a level of infatuation and pure obsession within Lydecker is clear to everyone except Laura, who just goes along with being his lap dog. Later on, we experience Lydecker demanding that the gifts he had given to Laura are returned to him, emphasizing his possessiveness. All of these things are clues into Lydecker's mindset-- if he can't have Laura, then no one can.

Re-watching and discussing the scene of McPherson going through Laura's unmentionables, sniffing her perfume, and gazing passionately at her portrait in class really helped to highlight my feelings that Laura is viewed only as an object and when being looked at as a true person is quite pathetic and ignorant. Honestly, the picture of her on the wall has more presence and dominance than the woman herself. It is the portrait that constantly demands attention in so many scenes and that eventually causes McPherson's craze for Laura sexually. Laura herself simply goes along with whoever she is with at the time, and honestly does not make a hint of difference in the sequence of events herself.

Other than my vehemence toward Laura's character, and really toward the other characters in a way too, I thought this was an interesting movie. Not being familiar with old movies, film noir, or femme fatale, it was peculiar to be exposed to these things in a film that is not conventionally noir and does not have the typical femme fatale character. Our reading on the femme fatale type stirred my interest because to me this type just objectified women in another way, saying we can only be one of two things-- submissive, married, and family oriented or independent and powerful because of beauty and sexuality. I also think this type just turns around and makes men objects for women-- something that makes them feel good, powerful, and fulfill sexual fantasy, but also very disposable.

Week two, Third Man......

I've realized something odd about myself as a movie critic... other than I'm not a very good one. I realized that most of the time when I watch a movie I don't know if I like the film or not until afterwords when I research more about it, or discuss it with other people. I wish I wasn't like this, and could just judge a movie based on what I myself see and interpret, but I'm not that way. Maybe as this class goes on I will truly hone my own critical judgment and be able to figure things out better for myself, but we shall see...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5mB2qoBLdQ&feature=related

Overall, I followed and enjoyed 'The Third Man' better than I did 'Citizen Kane'. The first thing I noticed was the absurd, almost tropical sound of the music, which reminded me of Spongebob Squarepants off the bat (a show I'm perhaps a little bit too familiar with). The music didn't really "fit" the movie at all in conventional terms, and I can see how it annoyed the hell out of some people, but the music became a comedic thing for me as a viewer. A playful-sounding zither accenting a movie about post-war destruction, death, crime, etc. really added an odd element to the film-- but there were definitely times when the music chimed in and I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.

One thing that we both discussed in class and read in our article this week that struck me was how much the movie was about Harry Lime, and how little it really was about Holly Martins-- who was certainly the character with the most screen time by far. In fact, by the time I got to class on Thursday I had almost forgotten completely about Holly because I had been thinking about Lime so much after reading the article comparing him to Dracula. Then when we finally did discuss Holly Martins in class-- what kind of character he is, whether he's likable or not, etc. I realized I didn't truly know what I thought of him as a character. Thinking back on it, I sort of pity him, and look at him as this guy who really has no clue what he's doing, is naive, goes to a foreign place and expects everything to go his way, and of course it doesn't. Although I do see the side of him that we discussed- a gun's blazing, cocky American coming to save the world but really just messing it up-- I definitely still had a level of sympathy for him.

As far as Harry Lime goes, I thought the concept of him and Dracula being very similar characters was interesting. Throughout the whole movie I noticed the dark, beautiful yet broken shots of Vienna and it made me think of Gotham City. Going off that thought, and considering Harry Lime, I sort of compared him to the Joker in my head-- he is the villain, we know the terrible things he has done, but there is an undeniable playfulness and charm to him. It's easy to compare him to any likable villains really, some more likable than the actual "heroes" of the movie (Can Holly be considered a hero, even? Antihero, I guess, as we discussed)

So.. overall I think I'm getting a little better at this movie critic thing. I'm enjoy myself though, and I'm excited to (hopefully) grow into this more throughout the semester!