When Quentin Tarantino’s fourth film, Kill Bill, came out in 2003:
From Washington Post:
“Outrageous, ingenious, inventive and very bloody (to the point of Monty Python-
style satire), this movie reconfirms his status as the master of pop cinema and
puts a sense of excitement into the year.”
From New Yorker:
“The movie is what’s formally known as decadence and commonly known as crap.
Saying that it’s an homage to long-established genres in Hong Kong doesn’t reduce
its pop-nihilistic stupidity.”
Whew. Some reviews can be as entertaining as the film itself, or even more so.
When you review a film, you have two responsibilities.
–First, to evaluate the film by stating your overall opinion—positive, negative, or mixed—
and to analyze the film, supporting your opinion with evidence.
–Second, to entertain your readers. You have to show that you’re sharp enough TO
evaluate films, and that you are knowledgeable and perceptive. And have some
personality.
When you do an analysis, you evaluate certain elements just like you do with literature. You use literary elements that address the story,
but because it’s a visual medium, you must also use visual elements.
I. STORY ELEMENTS
–CHARACTERS:
Major, minor, supporting. How do they change and develop? What is their motivation? Are they believable? Is the plot character-driven?
Does the dialogue ring true?
–PLOT:
The story line. Usually revolves around a conflict, a clash of ideas or forces, or internal tension of some kind. Plot twists need to make
sense in the end, and no scenes should be meaningless. Is there sufficient development to the story?
–THEME:
The idea behind the film, the truth the filmmakers are exploring. Maybe a social message, a demonstration of some truth, or an insight.
Needs to be subtle and well-integrated into the story.
II. VISUAL ELEMENTS
–ACTORS:
How well they do a role, their believability. It’s how well they bring the character to life—not whether or not you like the character
that was written. Be sure to keep them separate from the characterization.
–CINEMATOGRAPHY:
The way the movie is filmed. The shots, camera angles, and lighting. Certain effects. Close-up shots, camera movements, lighting.
Give ex: A Time To Kill, when ____________ kills them in courthouse. Also, in jail.
–EDITING:
Putting individual camera shots into a coherent final product. The sequence of images and transitions from one scene to the next. How
scenes are spliced together. The pace of the film.
–PRODUCTION DESIGN:
Sets, costumes, locations, and props. Do they feel authentic? Set the right mood?
–SOUNDTRACK:
Not the popular songs that often accompany certain scenes, but the musical score of the film that adds to the mood. Is it appropriate?
Distracting?
III. THE PLAYERS
Producer: pitches the project, arranges financing, monitors the money, advises on locations.
Director: interprets the script, oversees shooting and the actors, and determines film’s style.
Writer(s): Create an original plot and characters, or adapt already-created ones.
Actors: Translate characters onto the screen.
Cinematographer: Director of photography. Decides lighting, camera angles and movement.
Editor: cuts the footage to arrange into final product.
Consider genres and various conventions:
Western: mythic setting in the Old West, tense buildup to a showdown, good and
bad guys, symbolism.
Horror: jittery camera and jumpy editing, shrill music or silences, fear of what
can’t be seen, the paranoid central character.
Romantic Comedy: crossed signals between eventual lovers, sarcastic banter, the kiss
Historical Drama, Psychological Thriller, Sci-fi,…
AN ANATOMY OF A FILM REVIEW:
1. Title and grade
2. Introduction
Hooks the reader and establishes your credibility as someone with something interesting to say. Here are some possible ways to begin:
–compare a film to others by the same director
–compare the film to others by the same writer
–compare the film to others starring the same actor(s)
–compare an adapted film to its original source
–compare a film to other films with similar themes
3. Thesis
This is the point you are prepared to argue and support through your analysis, and it’s your assessment of how well the film succeeds in
fulfilling its intentions and your expectations. It’s why you feel the way you do about the film. Did it do what you expected?
Some reviewers build a case first, and lead readers through their analysis to their thesis, which appears at the end. But most present the
thesis quickly.
REMEMBER: a good thesis doesn’t just say whether you liked the film, but sets forth a more specific argument that analyzes the important,
underlying strengths or weaknesses. And an important FYI: you don’t have to be negative. You just have to have support for whatever you’re
saying.
On the movie Crash:
“Crash wants to be taken seriously as a meditation on our anxiety-plagued
times, but the coincidences are too pat, the tugs on the heartstring too insistent.”
“People collide as well in this literate, engrossing, and occasionally funny
look at race relations in Los Angeles.”
On Fight Club:
“Fight Club is the most frankly and cheerfully fascist big-star movie since
Death Wish, a celebration of violence in which the heroes write themselves a license
to drink, smoke, screw and beat one another up. Sometimes, for variety, they beat
up themselves. It’s macho porn—in which eroticism between the sexes is replaced
by all-guy locker-room fights.
4. Brief Plot Summary
Include a brief plot summary usually near the beginning. It hits the highlights but leaves out the details. It’s both specific and
concise. The review does NOT retell the story. Plot, or story, is only one element in the analysis. This may involve two or three
paragraphs, short ones.
And NEVER, NEVER TELL THE ENDING. Don’t give away the surprise. Don’t ruin it for your readers.
Here’s an example of Super Size Me:
“Super Size Me takes on McDonald’s and challenges its claim that it offers
healthy fast food to millions of Americans every day. Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock,
twenty-something everyman, acts as a human guinea pig, consuming nothing but
McDonald’s food for thirty days. Spurlock entertains us as his body goes through
something like toxic shock, weaving in scary statistics about Americans’ issues with
obesity.
5. Analysis
Here you examine the elements—not all of them, but two or three. Be selective. This is the middle section of your review. You prove your
thesis by selecting and discussing the elements that support your overall evaluation of the film’s strengths and weaknesses. You may
examine some that can be praised and some that can be criticized. What works well, what does not.
6. Conclusion
No need for a detailed summary or recapitulation. A review is too short. Be a little creative here.
Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.
[order_calculator]