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Starring Bette Davis, All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950) is a film about acting itself. Bette Davis is an example for the star being used as a marketing tool. Films she starred in would bill “Davis” above the title of the film to attract viewers as she was one of the most acclaimed actors of her time. 

Continue reading “The persona as deceit in “All About Eve””

The image of a star is not completely falsified because they base their persona on a quality that they do have, this is why the image of a star is believable. There has to be some assumable truth to what story is being told about a star for people to buy into it. The film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawks, 1953) starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell is about the male gaze and how two women navigate their objectification. 

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Starring Richard Gere and directed by Terrence Malick, Days of Heaven (1978) defies American film conventions by using natural lighting exclusively. This was the vision of DP Néstor Almendros, a Spanish born cinematographer. For the film Days of Heaven, Almendros draws upon European filmmaking tradition, Italian Neorealism in particular. Almendros himself studied in Rome and was part of the Cuban film industry as well. More than American film, Cuban film takes aesthetic inspiration from Italian cinema. Almendros then represents the proliferation of Italian film conventions through Cuba, with Days of Heaven as an aesthetic outlier in the United States. For my paper I will analyze the influence of Italian neorealist aesthetics on 20th century Cuban cinema and beyond, using Days of Heaven as an example of the connection.

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Following a pair of angels, Damiel and Cassiel, as they observe a divided Berlin unseen, Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1988), is primarily concerned with the idea of faith. The idea of faith is illustrated best by the people who can see the angels: children, and a blind woman, as well as the character of Marion, whom Damiel falls in love with. In terms of philosophy, Damiel and Cassiel represent contrasting views of humanity. Damiel yearns to experience life as a human, and Cassiel sees humans as tragic and violent. Faith as it functions in the film, could apply to faith in a higher power, and faith in humanity.

Continue reading “Faith in Wings of Desire“