Film: All About the Details

The Literature of Film.  I don't mean movies that are based on books, short stories and plays.  I mean the composition of a shot, the production details in the movie scenes that give depth to the characters and the stories.  These are things that require your attention and make the overall experience of seeing the film richer.  Some of these things you may miss the first time you see the movie.  That's fine.  Discovery is fun the second time around.

I'm fascinated with the literature of film in classic movies.  These details are not just fascinating if you're   a classic film fan, they can also be educational.  These details can inspire future actors, writers and directors.  Studying classic films can help young new actors prepare for auditions -- and help them get callbacks.  I've heard that from casting directors in New York City.  Fine films can inspire kids in middle and high school to embrace the arts and talk about how they can relate to things they saw on film.  Of this, I write from experience.  That happened to me when I was a kid growing up in South Central Los Angeles.

I've attached a short podcast I did on this subject.  It's well under 3 minutes and I use 3 classic films as examples.

My first selection is All About Eve starring Bette Davis and Anne Baxter.  Written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, it earned a record-setting number of Oscar nominations and won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1950.

In the podcast, I mistakenly say that some details are in a glass case. I should've said that they're on a wall behind Eve.

Next, I give my view on a detail I noticed in 1962's To Kill a Mockingbird, directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Gregory Peck as the widower Southern father and lawyer, Atticus Finch.

My final pick is Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life, the long under-appreciated 1946 classic starring James Stewart and Donna Reed.

Look at the photo above showing the differences between light Bedford Falls and dark Pottersville.  Bedford Falls has a sign that reads "Welcome."  Notice the restrictions in Pottersville.  Signs say "No."

Enjoy my podcast:
bobbyrivers.podomatic.com/entry/2011-02-17T13_54_42-08_00