It Happened One Night

 

Being a fan of old films, It Happened One Night is one of my favorites. Directed by the renowned Frank Capra, and starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, the film came out in 1934 and was the first film to win all of the big five academy awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. Despite its major success, I feel that not a lot of people know about the film the way they know other old films such as Gone with the Wind and Casablanca which is sad because It Happened One Night is so well done and hilarious.  

 

It Happened One Night is the humorous story of laidback reporter, Peter Warne, and spoiled, rebellious heiress, Ellen "Ellie" Andrews, who meet one night (hence the title) on the bus. Ellie runs away from home when her father attempts to annul her marriage with a fortune seeking man named "King" Westley. She boards the bus to go to New York City to find Westley; meanwhile, reporter, Peter Warne is fired from his job. He sees a "missing persons" ad for Ellie and immediately recognizes her when they both board the same bus. In need of his job back, Peter offers to reunite Ellie with King if she gives him the inside scoop on her life (what it's like to be an heiress). If she refuses, Peter would bring her back to her father. At first, Ellie dislikes Peter's arrogance, but after a chain of events, the two begin to like each other, and eventually, you guessed it, fall in love. I'm not going to tell you how though because you should watch the film. I promise you it's hilarious!

 

Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert both received Academy Awards for their excellent performances. Clark Gable plays a haughty, humorous, and arrogant character while Claudette Colbert plays an independent and sassy, young and spoiled heiress. Together, they're that perfect couple because they don't seem like a likely couple, if you know what I mean. They are an ideal romantic comedy couple. Gable and Colbert's performances are amazing because they have perfect chemistry and work off of each other so well. Another reason why I love this movie is because of the time period. The 1930s, despite the Depression, was an elegant time period where ladies were portrayed to be chic and confident (as exemplified though Ellie in the film) and men were chivalrous and suave (as exemplified through Peter).

 

So overall, if you enjoy romantic screwball comedies with bold characters and a hilarious and unforgettable storyline, this film is for you. Also, below is my favorite scene from the film. Enjoy!

 



Autumn is like a Monet Painting

This week, I'm taking a break from writing about films, and instead, I'm going to write about a video I put together for our "Capture the Fall" video project.

My favorite thing about autumn is the breathtaking scenery. To me, autumn is like a Monet painting, full of vivacious colors and patterns. I love being able ot drive around the neighborhood and seeing beautiful shades of orange, yellow, red, and brown all around, as well as pumpkins sitting on porches and kids playing around in mounds of crunchy leaves. I was excited when I began working on this project because I had so many ideas. Then, a couple days after receiving the assignment, tropical storm Sandy hit our region; as a result, most of the reds oranges, and yellows around my neighborhood just turned to plain dead. I didn't know what to do at first, but this past weekend, I was able to visit Brookside Gardens.

This place looks exactly like a Monet painting. It's so beautiful during the autumn with the trees that are all different shades of autumn, and the squirrels running around and chattering about while gathering nuts for the winter. The ducks are squawking at the the top of their lungs while splashing about in the ponds, the glistening ponds which reflect the images of the red, orange, and gold foliage that is all around, as well as the bridge that connects the walking trail to the plot of luscious green grass on the other side of the pond. It's one of the most beautiful autumn scenery I have ever seen.

I recorded most of my footage at Brookside Gardens, and the rest in my backyard and Georgian Forest Park. I used my DSLR to record the footage and edited on wevideo.com. I put an "old film" filter on the whole video, a cross dissolve between shots, and found a piece of music that went along with my footage. The shots in my video include:
1. A giant pumpkin that was put in the children's play area. The sign says that the pumpkin was harvested in Bethesda, Maryland.
2. A squirrel running from behind a bush and down the path. I really wanted to film a squirrel because squirrels gathering nuts reminds me of the fall. It was quite a challenge, but thank goodness for the squirrel in this shot.
3. A shot of some leaves in my backyard during sunset.
4. A panning shot of the pond and its surroundings at Brookside Gardens
5. Ducks in the duck pond. This has got to be my favorite piece of footage in my entire video. You can see the ducks floating in the pond, and you can see the reflection of the bridge and some of the trees
6. A duck floating by itself. Again, you can see the reflections in the water.
7. Some holly. This footage was shot in my backyard.
8. A branch of brown leaves blowing in the wind. We are at Brookside Gardens again.
9. An autumn display with trinkets of squirrels, leaves, pumpkins and fall fruit
10. A wooden bridge over the duck pond
11. A lot of pumpkins
12. "Autumn harvest" flowers along with a sign defining "cornucopia"
13. A long panning shot of the landscape at Brookside Gardens
14. Sunset at Georgian Forest Park

I really, really, really enjoyed this project. I think we should do one like it for every season. I had so much fun getting all of my footage, and I am very happy with how my video turned out. I hope you enjoy!

Titanic....Makes Me Cry...A lot...

The film that I am featuring this week is Titanic, a 1997 film directed by James Cameron. This blog would not be complete if I did not write about Titanic, a masterpiece. By the middle of this film, I start bawling, and by the time the film ends, I am sitting in a puddle of my own tears. It's a beautiful story (although many might think it is too "typical" of a love story) that presents a different perspective on the tragedy that happened 100 years ago.

Titanic is the story of a poor and homeless young man, Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio back in his cute days) who boards the Titanic where he meets Rose DeWitt Butaker (Kate Winslet), a wealthy young woman who feels trapped despite her extravagant lifestyle. The two fall in love, but there's a catch: Rose is already engaged. It sounds like a cliche storyline, poor boy and rich girl fall in love, but I promise, it's a great film. Anyways, they fall in love days before Titanic hits an iceberg. I'm not going to give away the ending, so you'll have to watch to find out!

I find the special effects, the cinemetography and the cast in this film to be amazing, especially after doing a little research. Here's a list of interesting facts about the film that I have compiled.

• The model ship of the RMS Titanic costed millions. Some of the shots in the film, the filmers had to perfect in the first take because it was the only chance they had.
• Most of the oceans that the actors jumped and stood in during the sinking scenes were only three feet deep
• During the ship's sinking, the tilt angle of the ship was steepened by tilting the camera and the horizon
• Kate Winslet refused to wear a wetsuit under her costumes during the scenes in which she was in the water; as a result, she got pnemonia
• The full sized ship used in scenes showing the Titanic's exterior was built on the coast of Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico
• A 162-foot crane was used for most high exterior shots rather than a helicopter
• The budget for this film was $200,000,000
• 90,000 gallons of water were used to sink the grand staircase in the film
• 120 tons of water were used to flood the ballroom
• A total of 5,000,000 gallons were used to sink the entire set
• Some of the shots that required dangerous falls off the sides of the ship were computerized (so, it wasn't actually people performing the stunts)
• Over 1,000 extras were needed in this film
• All Titanic artifacts were created from scratch
• The film was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won 11

Overall, this film is just so well done. The acting, cinemetography, and special effects are top notch. When watching the film, you sometimes find yourself asking, "How did they make that look so real?" The sinking in the film seems so real, it is able to truly depict the horror of the incident. Although the story is very tragic, it still provides a different perspective on the sinking of the Titanic. If you're looking for a film to watch this long four day weekend, Titanic would be a fantastic choice. (Just make sure you have a box of tissues nearby).