Character Impacts- It’s A Wonderful Life
Character Impacts- It’s A Wonderful Life
The actors/actresses that play in a movie have a huge impact obviously, but what one actor or actress can contribute is different from what another can. An actor’s job is “to bring a written character to life. (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014) The main character in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life James Stewart who plays George Bailey played the role perfectly. His ability to play the common man was very helpful in this film, Frank Carpra is known for representing the hard-working American Stewart did that well (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). He was able to show emotion when he was sad then celebrate and show gratitude when that was needed. The next character that contributed to the mis en scene of the film was Thomas Mitchell, as Uncle Billy he played the airheaded man well. He was never the lead in a movie, but had a good personality for supporting in films. He played a loving, but doomed father in gone with the wind which was a similar kind of role. Lastly there is Donna Reed who played George’s wife Mrs. Bailey. She later had her own show where she played a house wife, so this role was the beginning of something that she was clearly very good at. She played the patient, soft spoken wife gloriously in It’s a Wonderful Life this was perfect for the film that wanted to focus on George despite the fact that he was not the kind of character that demanded attention. The story was about George Bailey’s life so a woman who was not able to blend in and be supportive of her husband would not have fitted. This acting style followed Donna Reed throughout her career. Her subtle, but liked character is just what was needed, there was one scene where she offered up her and George’s honeymoon money which showed just how supportive she was of her husband it also showed the audience that she was indeed an important part of his life and of the film. Here is the link to that clip.
References
GoodyKoontz, B., & Jacobs, C.P (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education Inc.
Hoosiertown (2014, Dec 6) It’s a wonderful life bank run [Video file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPkJH6BT7dM
Sound in It’s A Wonderful Life
Every Time a Bell Rings an Angel Gets it’s Wings
The sound in every movie is crucial to the theme, mood, and genre of the movie. In This particular scene of It’s a Wonderful Life the sound is very crucial to the overall theme. The dialogue which is “the talking to one another in films” of the family and friends singing the Christmas carol and speaking with George as they made donations wraps up the whole genre of family and friends well (Goodykoonts & Jacobs, 2014). The conversation between George and his immediate family show his happiness and gratitude to everyone for their donations and his happiness to just be alive with all of them. The sound effect of the bell ringing was quite important as well because Clarence the guardian angel had earned his wings, and it was just what the audience wanted to find out. Music which “has been a crucial part of the movie going experience since before the advent of recorded sound in films,” was key in creating a joyful mood (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). The group gathered even joined in the singing which showed the unity created over a originally unfortunate situation (George’s business being short so much money). Overall the sound in this scene wrap up the fantasy genre by letting us know that Clarence received his wings, and more importantly the family genre by hearing the crowd gathered in behalf of George all join to sing a Christmas Carol.
To consider an alternate way of this movie ending then the town gathered together to help George is difficult. Joined together singing a Christmas carol is perfectly fitting. To imagine a version of this film with only music being played is interesting as well, because the acting was done so well one might be able to picture it. The way that Goodykoontz & Jacobs (2014) described the “silent era” this movie could have had a piano playing a Christmas tune while the film rolled of the crowd giving money to George Bailey and him happily rejoicing with them, but the dialogue and sound together in the scene brought more to the story. Without the dialogue the audience would not have had some of the corky comments that the friends made or the fact that the brother had traveled through a snow storm at the thought of his brother being in trouble.
References
GoodyKoontz, B., & Jacobs, C.P (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education Inc.
Movie Clips. (2014). Everytime a bell rings an angel gets it’s wings. [Video File] Retrieved from: http://movieclips.com/Z2bMU-its-a-wonderful-life-movie-every-time-a-bell-rings-an-angel-gets-his-wings/
Lighting in a Film- It’s a Wonderful Life
The lighting in a movie can drastically effect the mood and set the stage for the events about to conspire. I will focus on a particular scene and that is of George’s discovery that he is back to his current time and life. Here is the link to the video.
The clip begins with George on a bridge clearly upset. This scene has low key lighting which “is marked by extreme use of deep shadows, with very high contrast between the brightest parts of the scene and the darkest parts, which are obscured in shadows.” (GoodyKoontz & Jacobs, 2014). The evening is dark and he is asking Clarence his guardian angel for help, begging to get back to his family. There is little light shining at this point in the film, this demonstrates George’s feeling of hopelessness. A car with bright headlights drives up, and snow begins to fall. The light of the headlights demonstrates the beam of hope, but George does even not notice it. Bert the town police officer approaches George happy to see him, but he is not granted the same George says “I’ll hit you again,” referring to his view of a world where he was never born. Still thinking he is in that world he begins hostile. The lighting is similar to when George was on the bridge, except as he realizes that Bert recognizes him, the light seems to make George’s face light up. A very clear shot of the light catching just right brings in his excitement of being back to reality. George continues to get excited about what seems to Bert as unusual, a bleeding mouth and flower petals in his pocket. This scene is key to showing George’s appreciation for his life and the lighting attributed to just that.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2013/11/18/wonderful-life-sequel/3630929/
In this picture three point lighting was used. It really does portray a happy family, it was perfect for the cover of the movie. The family in all its glory appears in this image. In the text it states that this method of lighting a scene is what has put professions a cut above amateurs (GoodyKoontz & Jacobs, 2014). This is apparent for this particular photo, and contributes to the overall themes of happiness and contentment by showing a family that appears genuinely happy. This does a wonderful job of depicting the subgenre of family.
Reference
Alexander, B. (2013, November 18). It’s a wonderful life sequel under way Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2013/11/18/wonderful-life-sequel/3630929/
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. (2014) Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.) San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education Inc
Movieclips (2011, October 9) Back to life, back to reality-it’s a wonderful life (8/9) movie clip (1946) HD Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u56OqFjs1dg&list=PL2057675C5B1AD526&index=8
Week 1 Blog: It’s a Wonderful Life!
Title: Its a Wonderful Life
Writers: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra, Jo Swerling (Ebert, 1999)
Director: Frank Capra (Ebert, 1999)
Major Actors: James Stewart as George Bailey, Donna Reed as Mary Hatch, Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter, and Thomas Mitchell as Uncle Billy (Ebert, 1999)
Year Released: 1947
Story and Plot: The movie is about George Bailey (James Stewart) who dreams of “shaking the dust” of his home town Bedford Falls and exploring the world. When it is finally his time to follow his dreams he is handed the family business, and forced to make it his own and follow his fathers dream of helping families get a home, or let Mr. Potter the wealthy and selfish town business owner take the family business. George of course takes the business and finds himself marrying a woman named Mary and having a number of children. After his kind hearted, airheaded Uncle Billy looses a large sum of cash at the bank George is at risk of loosing everything. He despairs at the though of Mr. Potter getting his greedy hands on The ol’ Building and Loan, and is standing on a bridge contemplating suicide when an angel named Clarence saves him and shows him what life in Bedford Falls would have been like without him.
Nonlinearly: The movie is generally told in order, except for the initial scene of the starts (angels) speaking about prayers for George Bailey, it is a glimpse into the current time. The story of George’s life begins and then continues to get to the present point in his life. The fact that most the story is generally told in chronological order makes it easy to understand (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014) This story told by the angels gives us exactly what we need to know to build a relationship with the main character.
Growing up my father loved this movie and we all watched it as a family at least once a year. The genuine sacrifice of George Bailey is quite relatable for many. It tells of realistic struggle, and the common fear of giving up our dreams as a sacrifice for others. It shows how even though a person may seem ordinary and feels useless they have likely influenced many.
The presentation style was important to get the important details of George Baily’s life. A different style could have had a similar effect on the audience, but the story of George Bailey in an omnificent view was very necessary. The angels were able to easily transition through large portions of his life.
References
Ebert, R. (January 1, 1999) It’s a Wonderful Life
Goodykoontz, B. & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From Watching to Seeing (2nd. ed.). San Diego, CA. Bridgepoint Education Inc
Movie Trailers. (2009, March 12). It’s a Wonderful Life (1947) Official Trailer. [Video File] Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ_OZpb0wIA#action=share
Hello world!
This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.
Happy blogging!
sabrinagriffin 