E.V Phone Home

on Netflix, actually. As a little bit of precursory prep to the Kubrick Exhibition at the Design Museum in London, I looked up 'Kubrick' just to see if they had anything I could fit in and to my luck, it was this attractively hectic film. If you've seen or even heard of Stan-the-man Kubrick you'd know that he doesn't let any of his films feel familiar. Partly because of the irregular pace and partly because of the unpredictably shocking (and therefore attention-grabbing) narrative, this film is proudly unlike anything I've ever seen before. It relies heavily on the unpredictability, however, but also picks itself up with the interesting dialogue and themes. I wouldn't exactly label it 'gripping' but it certainly leaves you on edge countless times with the incredible suspense throughout.

"I am in a world of shit, yes. But I am alive. And I'm not afraid."

"To my boy, I tell him I will see him again soon. To keep his heels down when he's riding his horse. To my wife- That is not your business."

I still can't believe that films like Blade Runner (1982), Thelma and Louise (1991) and Gladiator would all have the same director. Gladiator is painfully brilliant. 'Painfully', because it pains me to know that I nor any real director could ace this story as well as Ridley Scott did. Seeing Joaquin Phoenix (apparently pronounced "wakeen", by the way) as the uncomfortably amusing Commodus reminds me why I fell in love with the actor after I saw him in "Walk the Line" (2005), and excites me even more to see how his version of The Joker plays out this October (He's got some BIG shoes to fill).

A brief explanation into why I love this movie is, and you can quote me on this, "watch the damn movie". The way the narrative is structured to handle suspense is partly what's so gripping about Gladiator, but what I noticed and loved was the audience connection to Maximus. You feel his pain and his justified hatred and you want to feel his revenge. "How dare you show your back to me," Commodus says, and it's silent and you're silent and the world is silent because you've wanted this since the second act started. "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius," and the acting is unforgettable, might I add, "Father to a murdered son, Husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengeance." Yes you will, Russell Crowe! (Is what you're thinking). The power of that guy, he could be superman's dad or something.

Yeah, Gladiator's great.

A film recognised for its brilliance later in it's life, after an underwhelming box office yet now considered Hitchcock's most compelling and beautiful film. A romantic story tethered in sexual obsession, masculine insecurity and manipulation which harness different understandings the more times you watch.

Fun facts! The original actor for Madeline got pregnant so they used Kim Novak instead. - Hitchcock had done 45 films before this.

Hitchcock as an 'Auteur' - use of James Stewart

Soundtrack - music is almost like another character through audience relation to emotion. - Horror aspects to music - flamenco aspect to music in relation to the mystery of Carlotta, Spanish theme. - Lack of music in courtroom scene effective compared to reliance on music before. - switches attitude to happy when he's with Judy, uncomfortable transition - Harp repeated from opening sequence as Judy gets her hair changed.

Lighting - First scene, lighting restricts audience knowledge, mystery - Expressionism, lighting gets darker as the narrative progresses, similar to Double Indemnity. - Noir lighting used in second half.

Genre - Elements of horror and film noir, 'multi-genre' - In the second half it turns from romantic into gothic.

'Meta-film' it's about being a director, compared to rear window which is about being a spectator.

Based on a novel - "D'entre les mortes" (From Among the Dead)

Opening sequence - Uncomfortable and 'trippy', changes to animation, unusual for contemporary audience in 1958. - Emphasis on Actor names with audio and visual aspects.

San Fran Sisco - establishing shots, first scene and when he drives around the city following Madeline - San Fran Sisco Bay - San Fran Sisco's Spanish origin

Second viewing - understanding minute details in the dialogue and performance - Madeline/Judy's facial expression when Scotty says "has this happened to you before" as a hint at Judy's respectability with men and being 'picked up' - Slip in Madeline's accent to Judy's when she says "It wasnt supposed to be this way" - Elster explaining to scotty has an entirely different false attitude, "I'm not making it up, I wouldn't know how." - Judy refers to him as Jack the Ripper, who kills prostitutes, calling herself a prostitute.

Structure - two three part acts - False endings for narrative resolutions - third act of first part, Elsters play, Judy is reluctant to perform her role because she's fallen for Scotty and feels guilt. - Ends where it started with Scotty at a height.

Colour - Red used for Madeline, love, death of Madeline - Green for Judy later on, evergreen tree, her natural state. Dormant green in Judy's room

Character - Madeline and Judy opposite sides of female archetypes, virgin Mary vs Mary Magdalene, Judy has the style of the time and Madeline has a timeless style. - Scotty wants the unobtainable woman from the past, better than everyone else. - Scotty's costume changes after shock, no suit, no power, no control, no self awareness. - Midge, mother to Scotty, "Mother's here" "Don't be so motherly". Wears feminine version of Male clothes, modern compared to Madeline

Fun fact, contra zoom on stairs was a smaller scale model.

Scotty's dream sequence - Unravelling Scotty's mind, showing off colour cinema because of competition with TV, flamenco music

Second Half - subtle repetition from beginning of Scotty wondering, now with a darker twist and emotion - Scotty becomes the director of Judy in the second half. - Scotty changes from jokey guy to controlling and aggressive. - montage actually transition into Madeline, like time going backwards, Judy becomes Madeline once more for the finale. In her hotel, she comes out like a ghost through lighting, ghost of Madeline. He finally kisses her on the lips. 360 pan like time turning backwards. He's more like a villain now and the audience has become fearful for her, as a way to engage with story.

A dystopian neo-noir, using the conventions of film noir to create a unique atmosphere for a science fiction film. Set in Los Angeles in 2019, decaying although advanced. There is a heavy focus on the dark yet neon atmosphere, described as 'retro future' (similar to steampunk) with the music by Vangelis, representative of the horrific version of the future. The narrative explores morality, memory and identity with the psychological battle, questioning whether Decker is a replicant.

The director's cut was released 10 years later in 1992. The producer, Ridley Scott and Harrison Ford had disagreements about the authenticity, confusion of the audience, humanity of Deckard, resulting in, for example, a voice over at the beginning of the film, which was removed for the director's cut and the removal of the unicorn scene which was the instigation of the Deckard replicant enigma.

Opening establishing shot referred to as 'Hades' in script - purgatory?

Use of lights - neon lights - search lights, lights from hovering blimps - fog - Venetian blinds.

Continually rains.

Soundtrack (Vangelis) traditional mixed with futuristic synth. - saxophone used for romance, blues genre - piano used for Rachel.

Film noir - self destructive lead, paranoid fatalism, victim - weak, masculinity - women narrow, Male fantasy, sex appeal, objectified.

Philosophical impact of technology - "what is it to be human?" - robots, philosophical morality.

Constant surveillance

Auteur Theory - roots in artistic direction, BBC and advertising - personal artistic vision, light, shadow, intriquite detail in aesthetic and background and props. Accused of focusing on style over content. Recognisable visual style - establishing shots of 'decaying metropolis'. The worlds are bigger than the story. Scott designed concept art himself. - Ridley Scott would do and get what he wants and move on without people. - "When Ridley takes out a pencil, it's hundreds of dollars, when he takes out a pen it's thousands."

Retro style was for the budget, buildings just traditional upgraded, with the 'guts on the outside'.

Old school pre-digital methods like tabletop models and matte backdrop paintings

Presence of crime - morality of crime - likeable killers and corrupt cops derogatory to replicants "skin jobs" - blurred line of good and evil. - private detective, midway between society and criminal underworld.

Batty is his own unique part to the film, romanticism rather than noir.

Based on a book "do androids dream of electric sheep" and visual style based on "mechanismo"

Originally named Dangerous Days

Ridley originally didn't want to do the film having just finished 'Alien' and only ended up taking it on after needing a distraction from the death of his brother.

"All those moments will be lost, like tears... in rain.

The dark and mysterious parallel underworld is this little girl's imagination working to help understand the reality of the world around her, which is that her mother remarried an army captain and is pregnant with his son. It's the summer of 1944, five years after the Spanish civil war.

"The Labyrinth of the Faun" - English translation

Distributed by Warner Bros. (Spain)

Uses animatronics, make-up and CGI to bring the film to life

Del Toro states that the film addresses and continues themes from 'The Devils Backbone' (2001) to which it is a 'spiritual successor'.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): End Credits

Indiana Jones: The Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Behind the scenes