R.I.P., the movie camera

R.I.P., the movie camera: 1888-2011

We might as well call it: Cinema as we knew it is dead.

An article at the moviemaking technology website Creative Cow reports that the three major manufacturers of motion picture film cameras — Aaton, ARRI and Panavision — have all ceased production of new cameras within the last year, and will only make digital movie cameras from now on. As the article’s author, Debra Kaufman, poignantly puts it, “Someone, somewhere in the world is now holding the last film camera ever to roll off the line.”

A director shooting his film with Panavision camera
Source:thinbluelinewallpaper.blogspot.com

 

shoot movies on film, film itself will may become increasingly hard to come by, use, develop and preserve. It also means that the film camera — invented in 1888 by Louis Augustin Le Prince — will become to cinema what typewriters are to literature. Anybody who still uses a Smith-Corona or IBM Selectric typewriter knows what that means: if your beloved machine breaks, you can’t just take it to the local repair shop, you have to track down some old hermit in another town who advertises on Craigslist and stockpiles spare parts in his basement.

As Aaton founder Jean-Pierre Beauviala told Kaufman: “Almost nobody is buying new film cameras. Why buy a new one when there are so many used cameras around the world? We wouldn’t survive in the film industry if we were not designing a digital camera.” Bill Russell, ARRI’s vice president of cameras, added that: “The demand for film cameras on a global basis has all but disappeared.”

Theaters, movies, moviegoing and other core components of what we once called “cinema” persist, and may endure. But they’re not quite what they were in the analog cinema era. They’re something new, or something else — the next generation of technologies and rituals that had changed shockingly little between 1895 and the early aughts. We knew this day would come. Calling oneself a “film director” or “film editor” or “film buff” or a “film critic” has over the last decade started to seem a faintly nostalgic affectation; decades hence it may start to seem fanciful. It’s a vestigial word that increasingly refers to something that does not actually exist — rather like referring to the mass media as “the press.”

Acknowledgement:

http://www.salon.com/2011/10/13/r_i_p_the_movie_camera_1888_2011/
www.thinblueline.blogspot.com
 

 

Top five Legal Drama Movies

Top 5 Legal Drama Movies

Legal and courtroom dramas have always been a staple of Hollywood and independent film making. They are thrilling and you learn some things along the way. With authors such as John Grisham, Michael Connelly and Scott Turow producing some of the best selling novels in this category, Hollywood has taken legal dramas to the big screen. I take a look at the five best legal dramas that have changed the face of the courtroom drama.

Number 5: The Client (1994)

The movie is based on the novel of the same name by John Grisham. Starring Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones, it tells the story of two young brothers who accidentally witness the suicide of mob lawyer Jerome Clifford. Clifford revealed before his death to Mark (the older of the two boys) that he is taking his own life instead of being murdered by the nephew of the local kingpin. It becomes clear to the mob that Clifford may have also revealed the location of the body of a senator that was killed by them. The younger of the two boys is hospitalised with shock and his older brother Mark seeks out a lawyer to help protect him.

In her Academy Award nomination role, Sarandon is the recovering alcoholic lawyer that Mark eventually finds. Tommy Lee Jones stars as a narcissistic US attorney that is trying to solve the case to further his own career. The script is well paced, brilliantly acted and exciting to watch. Each of the characters become desperate to save themselves within their own terrifying situation. The film is notable for it being the late Brad Renfro’s debut feature film as Mark Sway.

Number 4: Primal Fear (1996)

A relatively unknown gem starring Richard Gere as Martin Vail, a big shot defence attorney in Chicago and Edward Norton’s debut feature as Vail’s client Aaron Stampler. Stampler is arresting after fleeing the scene of the murder of beloved Archbishop Rushman. Vail takes on Stampler pro-bono relishing the media publicity that the case will bring. It soon appears to Vail that Stampler is innocent much to the disagreement of the prosecuting lawyer (and Vail’s former lover) Janet Venable (Laura Linney).

Some critics have accused the film of being lacklustre with an over the top side plot to keep the viewers interested, however, what is fantastic about this film is the performance of a young Edward Norton. He steals the show from veterans Gere and John Mahoney (Fraiser) as the troubled alter boy who hides a very dark secret. This has a few fantastic scenes particularly one between Norton and Gere in the police holding cell.

Number 3: A Time to Kill (1996)

Another John Grisham adaptation on my list. A star studded cast that includes Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Keifer Sutherland and Donald Sutherland. Set in a fictitious bible belt town in Mississippi, the first part of the film tells the story of the rape of a young black girl by two white hicks who are then murdered by her father Samuel L. Jackson. The second part of the film deals with Jackson’s defence by young lawyer Jake Briggance (McConaughey).

Although this film shamelessly tugs on the aul heartstrings, it doesn’t demean the film in the slightest. Its an enthralling watch by a great cast and good script. John Grisham worked with the writers of the film, but wasn’t entirely satisfied with the end product. The book does differ quite a lot from the book but still manages to keep the basic plot going. A great watch.

Number 2: A Few Good Men (1992)

A screen adaptation by Aaron Sorkin (writer of The West Wing) based on his own play of the same name, the film stars Tom Cruise as LTJG Daniel Kaffee as a bright inexperienced Naval lawyer who leads the defence of two court-martialed marines for the murder of their fellow marine.

Say what you will about Tom Cruise, he delivers an amazing performance as Kaffee, perhaps his best performance. His personal life and his religious beliefs shadow how talented of a dramatic actor Cruise is. The film is gripping and wastes no time on unnecessary sub-plots or images for the sake of it. It quickly paced and Jack Nicholson does a fantastic turn as the villain (who’d have thought!). Cruise and Nicholson have a good supporting cast in Demi Moore, Keifer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon and Kevin Pollack. The film is noted for it’s infamous line “You can’t handle the truth!”.

Number 1: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

My number one legal drama film is based on the novel by Harper Lee, and is considered a golden oldie by our generation. Even if you were made read the book for your Junior Certificate just like I was, there’s no doubt that it left an impression on you good or bad. The same can be said of this film. Gregory Peck delivers the finest performance of his long and prolific career as lawyer Atticus Finch, defending a black man in 1930s for the rape of a young woman. The film also follows Finch’s children and their fascination with their neighbour Boo Radley around whom many urban legends have started.

Gregory Peck and Brock Peters in a court scene in 'To kill a mockingbird'
Source: www.frankwbaker.com

 Peck’s performance is seen as one of the great performances of all time. Harper Lee even stated herself that he was perfect for the role. The film is preserved by the United States National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”. I strongly urge everyone to see this film. Do not be put off by it’s age or the fact that it’s in black and white, this is a wonderful film, that is very near perfect. Atticus Finch may even turn out to be your hero after watching it. The film is the screen debut of legendary actor Robert Duvall.

Ackowledgement:
http://galway.studenty.me/2012/07/25/top-5-legal-drama-movies/

Adaptations: books to movies......movies to books

Adaptations: Books to Movies……Movies to Books

A film adaptation is the transfer of a written work, in whole or in part, to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.

A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film. Other works adapted into films include non-fiction (including journalism), autobiography, comic books, scriptures, plays, historical sources, and even other films. From the earliest days of cinema, in nineteenth century Europe, adaptation from such diverse resources has been a ubiquitous practice of film-making.

Poster of 'Life of Pi' written by Yann Martel, adopted as a film by Ang Lee
Source: en.wikipedia.org

 

When a film's screenplay is original, it can also be the source of derivative works such as novels and plays. For example, movie studios will commission novelizations of their popular titles or sell the rights to their titles to publishing houses. These novelized films will frequently be written on assignment and sometimes written by authors who have only an early script as their source. Consequently, novelizations are quite often changed from the films as they appear in theaters.

Novelization can build up characters and incidents for commercial reasons (e.g. to market a card or computer game, to promote the publisher's "saga" of novels, or to create continuity between films in a series)

There have been instances of novelists who have worked from their own screenplays to create novels at nearly the same time as a film. Both Arthur C. Clarke, with 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Graham Greene, with The Third Man, have worked from their own film ideas to a novel form (although the novel version of The Third Man was written more to aid in the development of the screenplay than for the purposes of being released as a novel). Both John Sayles and Ingmar Bergman write their film ideas as novels before they begin producing them as films, although neither director has allowed these prose treatments to be published.

Acknowledgement:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_adaptation

Film festivals: a celebration of cinema

Film Festivals: A Celebration of Cinema

A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. Increasingly film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings. The films may be of recent date and, depending upon the focus of the individual festival, can include international releases as well as films produced by the organisers' domestic film industry. Sometimes there is a focus on a specific film-maker or genre (e.g., film noir) or subject matter (e.g., horror film festivals). A number of film festivals specialise in short films, each with its defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events.

Emblem of the Berlin Film Festival
Source: www.logosociety.blogspot.com

 

Probably the best-known and most noteworthy film festival in the world is the Cannes Film Festival. Other important and prestigious film festivals include that held in Berlin and Venice (oldest film festival).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_festival
 

Top Ten Indian Child Artists

Top Ten Indian Child artists

1. Daisy Irani: Daisy Irani was the most famous child actor of Indian cinema. Born on 1952, she acted in many films as a child artist. Her some popular films are Jagte Raho, Naya Daur, Bhabhi etc.

2. Sachin Pilgaonkar: Popularly known as Sachin, he was born on 17 August 1957. He started his career as a child artiste and acted in about 65 films as a child artiste and his first film was a Marathi film called Ha maza marg ekla (1962) for that he won National Film award. As a child actor he acted in some films like Mela, Brahmchari, Manjhali Didi and Jewel Theif.

3. Sarika: She started her filmy career as a child actor and often played a boy. As a child artist she worked in many films like Aashirwad, Satyakaam, Chhoti Bahu, Hamraaz etc.

Master Raju, Daisy Irani and Sarika
Source: en.wikipedia.org

 

4. Master Raju: Master Raju was the cutest child actor ever. He acted in many movies as a child artist. Some of his popular films as a child actors are Parichay, Bawarchi, Amar Prem, Faraar, Daag and many more.

5. Baby Guddu (Shaista Khan): A very popular and cute child artist Baby Guddu acted in several films as a child artist like Amrit, Ghar Ghar ki Kahani, aakhir Kyon, Kudrat Ka Kanoon etc. she also appeared in a Colgate ad.

6. Kunal Khemu: Before starting his career as an adult actor, he acted in Hindi films as a child artist. After doing a television serial Gul Gulshan Gulfaam on Doordarshan in 1987, Kunal Khemu started his Hindi film career as a child actor in a movie called Sir. After that he acted (As a child actor) in some very popular films like Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, Raja Hindustani, Bhai and Zakhm.

7. Satyajeet Puri: Born in 1960, Satyajeet Puri started his filmy career as a child artist. His first film was Mere Lal. Later he worked in many films like Hare Raama Hare Krishna, Anuraag, Shor etc.

8. Master Bitto (Vishal Desai): Vishal desai popularly known as Master Bitto was one of the most famous child actor of Indian film industry. As a child actor he acted in many films like Amar Akbar Anthony, Anokha Bandhan, Mr. Natwarlal etc.

9. Parzan Dastur: One of the sweetest kid stars ever, Parzan dastur is popularly known as the Jalebi kid from the Dhara ad. As a child actor, he worked in several films like Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai, Mohabbatein, Zubeida, Parzania etc.

10. Swini Khara: Born on 12 July 1998, Swini Khara is a popular child actor of Bollywood. She acted in many popular Bollywood films like Cheeni Kum, Kaalo - The Desert Witch, Chingaari etc.


Acknowledgement:
www.itsmycountdown.com/.../top-10-child-artists-of-indian-cinema....