Annotated Catalogue

Title/Question:

In Ridley Scott’s films, females are often portrayed as strong, powerful characters. Does this make him an auteur?

Catalogue:
3x Films

2x Books

1x Magazine

7x Websites

1x Image

2x Interviews

4x Rejected Items

FILMS:

Item 1: Prometheus (2012)

I chose Prometheus because the film clearly displays the theme I am looking at. The female character in this film is also the main character, and she is incredibly driven to achieve her goal of finding the ‘Engineers’. Her male counterparts in the film are not portrayed as dominant characters, and some show signs of fear. She goes against the usual ‘female’ stereotype by giving orders and being the 'leader' of the exploration team. Given that Prometheus is of the sci-fi genre, Scott also explores themes such as life, death, creation and destruction.

Item 2: ALIEN (1979)

I chose ALIEN as my second film because it also clearly shows a strong female character throughout the film. Scott explores a completely new style of sci-fi, and the choice to have a female character as the protagonist was a bold yet successful decision. So successful, in fact, that James Cameron decided to continue the Alien series with Aliens and Alien3. This also spawned the film 'Alien VS Predator' in 2004.

Item 3: Thelma & Louise (1991)

I chose this film because 2 strong female characters feature in it. Scott's idea for this film was turned down by other directors because of the two females, so he decided to direct it himself. I think it is a crucial film to include in my catalogue.

BOOKS:

Item 4: Virgin Films, RIDLEY SCOTT, by James Clarke (2002)

This is an excellent book and also a great piece of evidence. Although it is old and does not cover his most recent films, it still gives me a lot of information through in-depth 'written documentaries' about each of Scott's films, including detailed plots.

Item 5: Pocket Essentials, Ridley Scott, by Brian J Robb (2001)

This little book is from a series, this particular one being focused on Scott. This book is a biography about Ridley Scott in general, and alike Item 4, focuses on each of Scott's films. It also goes into great detail about Blade Runner, including quotes from the designer of the futuristic city scape. It gives me a sense of the difficulties faced by directors of sci-fi films when it comes to sets and props. The sheer amount of detail described gives me a sense how much work Scott puts into each of his films, and how he examines each second to make sure it is right.

MAGAZINES:

Item 6: Empire Magazine 'Ridley Scott On Prometheus' (Issue 275)
This interview with Scott poses a lot of questions to him. I think fans of Ridley would find this interview very useful. Definitely worth including in my catalogue. 

WEBSITES:

Item 7: http://crowsfeatmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/great-scott-films-of-ridley-scott.html 
This blog is written by a fan of Ridley Scott, and offers a range of articles on some of his best/worst films and even quotes from interviews. I found it to be useful as it details Scott's bad moments, such as the screening of 'Legend'. 


Item 8: http://laceysfilms.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/ridley-scott-as-an-auteur/
This website is very sophisticated as it is written by Nick Lacey, a film critic. He answers very accurately the question that I have asked. He even links the score of Thelma and Louise, which is a western road movie (in which the main characters are very strong females), to the score of Blade Runner - a techno score. In my opinion this makes Scott an auteur - the way he can make his films visually/audibly stunning  and continue his style throughout his films.

Item 9: http://ayjw.org/articles.php?id=748281
This article is written by Colleen McCollough, and explains clearly how Ridley Scott can be an auteur. McCollough describes how Scott portrays female characters in his films, very often being mentally strong, intelligent characters. In the Alien Quadrilogy, the main protagonist, Ripley, is a woman. She is the only survivor in the first film. McCollough has also listed the sources from which she cited quotes, sites that could be very useful to me. This is a very helpful article.

Item 10: http://mag.newsweek.com/2012/05/13/ridley-scott-s-history-of-directing-strong-women.html
This article does not have any clear title, and is quite obscure. All I can tell is that it is from a online journalism website and features, so it says, a quote from Ridley Scott. I almost rejected this item, but considering how useful it is, showing Scott's opinions on female protagonists, I have decided to keep it. It is so useful because Scott has clearly stated why he likes working with female actors so much, and he even compares Noomi Rapace (Prometheus protagonist) with Sigourney Weaver (Alien protagonist) - which I find to be a valuable piece of information. 

Item 11: http://www.thegrindstone.com/2012/05/17/work-life-balance/thank-you-ridley-scott-for-putting-strong-kick-ass-women-in-movies-your-whole-career-270/
Written by a woman called Meredith Lepore, this article seems to be a tribute/thank you to Ridley Scott, thanking him for creating 'kick ass women'. Meredith mentioned how before Ellen Ripley, women in other films were only powerful if they had superpowers, or had a strong man beside them. Ellen Ripley was the first, and pivotal, normal female protagonist. A useful article.

 Item 12: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/20/136462014/looking-back-on-thelma-louise-20-years-later
Although this article does not seem to have a writer, whoever wrote it was clearly a fan of Thelma and Louise. The writer describes them as 'fighting mad' and 'liberated'. This article is very useful as it is opinionated and shows how Scott created these two female characters, and made them icons for women, as well as men.

Item 13: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/auteur
A very simple piece of research, but it is still important. I think that the definition of the word 'auteur' is crucial to my investigation.

IMAGES:

Item 14: http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fextraterrestrials.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2FXenomorph&h=0&w=0&sz=1&tbnid=u-gbu1Z-Y3iUVM&tbnh=184&tbnw=274&zoom=1&docid=EMKJHnZVZQ2LhM&hl=en&ei=5Q9lUvD_HOeO7QaEyoHYDw&ved=0CAEQsCU
This painting is of the infamous Xenomorph from the Alien Quadrilogy. The painting is by art surrealist H R Giger. After watching the interview with Scott in item 10, the significance of this Alien species really shows. This alien was unlike anyone had ever seen before, as it was completely 'unconventional' of previous aliens, and it was beautifully horrific. Some people even said that the Alien had subtle female attributes to it, and in this picture it certainly has an unsettling 'feminine' look to it. Perhaps this is why Scott worked with the Alien creature so well. It could be argued that this picture is what made Ridley Scott an auteur. I find this very valuable.

INTERVIEWS:

Item 15: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q33hW8oHVE
In this interview with Scott from 1979 he discusses his reaction to the Alien creature, which is shown in Item 12, when he first saw it . His exact words are 'I nearly fell off the desk, said 'that's it' and why look farther?'. I think this could be argued that this makes Scott more of an auteur because he did not plan this moment, it was spontaneous and he turned it into something that made him renowned worldwide. This point is not directly relevant to my question, but I feel that it does show Ridley Scott to be an auteur, so I have included it anyway.

Item 16: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfELI4G0Fro
This is an interview with Noomi Rapace about her role in Prometheus. I find the interview very useful as it backs up my question about strong females, as shown in item 10. Noomi describes how she first met Scott, and how they got on so well straight away. This also solidifies the fact that Scott gets on so well with female actors and loves to work with them (he prefers them to male actors), as he states in item 10.

Rejected Items:

Item 17: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridley_Scott
One of the first websites I went to while researching Ridley Scott. Although Wikipedia contains endless data about Scott, his films, and even the characters in his films, it is pure information. It has no opinion or anything I can use relating to my question.

Item 18: http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/20-crazy-facts-about-thelma-and-louise-20-years-later-2453038.html
Similar to Wikipedia. This site contains 20 facts about Thelma and Louise. Although I do find it interesting, the site has no value to my question and does not help me prove that Scott is an auteur.

Item 19: Gladiator (2000)
Although it is a very good film by Scott, it does not feature strong female characters as much as some of his other films. It is very male-orientated.

Item 20: Robin Hood (2010)
This film was originally my 3rd Item, but I switched it with Thelma & Louise as the film is much better suited to answering my question.

El Laberinto Del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth): Film Poster & Trailer Analysis

How does El Laberinto Del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth) attract an Audience?

 

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Release Date: 2006

 

 

Poster:

• Dark atmosphere to poster
• Single character
• Forgein language titles and informatio
• Director's name shown in red
• The two other main characters are discreetly shown, merged into the backgroud of the poster
• Genre is made obvious by the 'twistedess' of the poster - it is a dark fantasy film
• Date of release show at the top
• Less important information shown
• Companies that the film is associated with are shown along the bottom
• Main character is shown to look innocent and vulnerable, and she is surrounded by darkness and monsters



Trailer:

• Film specifications are shown at the beginning (green background)
• Production company is shown first
• Narration of trailer, descibing film
• Shots shown flow along with the narration
• Explosions and war sequences are shown, showing violoence and war
• 'Young girl' and books with pictures - indicate some sort of fairytail, fanatasy film
• Words used by narrator indicate fantasy 'escape' 'legend' 'lost soul of a princess'
• Popularity of the film is shown 'Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival'
• Non diegetic, spooky music is playing throughout
• Main characters are introduced by showing quick shots of them, such as the Faun 
• The monster is only shown a couple of times for a maximum of 1 second, to raise tension and mystery
• Title is shown at the end, in a 'creeping' way
• Information is shown after the title, such as the release date and the website



Sightseers: Film Poster & Trailer Analysis

How does Sightseers attract an audience?

Director: Ben Wheatley

Release Date: 2012

Poster:

• Bright colours
• Both characters clearly shown
• Summaries of reviews by different media companies, showing their opinions and ratings
• Big, bold yellow title
• The director and executive producer are shown in yellow too, to show how they are renouned
• Iconic landmark in background (Settle-Carlisle viaduct), which will give some of the audience an idea of the location
• Many elements of comedy; such as the badge, the expression on the female character's face and the opinions of the reviewers
• Obvious that it is a typically British film; the knitted jumpers and rolling hills in the background
• The caravan next to the title gives away a small part of the film, as it has blood on it, implying death
• The tagline also mentions killers
• Both these points imply a twist in the plot
• Dog in background, could add to comedy element
• The poster sells the film mainly as a comedy film, there aren't many hints as to what happens
• Website at the bottom
• Contrasting expressions on the characters faces; he has a very stern, mysterious face, whereas she has a confused, comical face
• This feature reflects the genre of the film; Black Comedy.

Trailer:

• Starts off as a fairly light-hearted, bright film
• Has some comedy aspects 'The caravan bed isn't very long, but Chris is a sensitive lover'
• Main character is narrating at the beginning, as she reads a postcard
• Very strong Norther accent - it is very obvious that this is a British film
• Has a retro style to it - bold, 2D titles and 80's soundtrack
• Unexpected twist midway through, as a murder is shown, although it still has a comedy effect
• 80's music comes in - it is very fitting with the style of film
• Director is shown in bog bold yellow letters
• As each character is shown, their names are in the same bold yellow text
• Comedy is held throughout 'He's not a person Tina, he's a Daily Mail reader'
• It would attract the audience because it features an unexpected plot in a familiar place - the quiet hills of Yorkshire, in ENGLAND, of all places.
• Even though the characters commit murder, they are still seen as friendly characters, which holds up the light-heartedness of the film
• At the end of the trailer, quotes from reviews are shown 'Hugely entertaining - hilarious', 'Works sublimely' 
• Even at the end of the trailer it is still being portrayed as a friendly film, even though it is quite obvious what the main characters do
• Funny quote at the end 'Haha! Fuck you!'

Skyfall: Film Poster & Trailer Analysis

How does Skyfall attract an audience?

Director: Sam Mendes

Release Date: 2012

Won 14 awards, including 'Best Cinematography', 'Best Original Song' and 'Best Action Movie'.

Cast:
 - Daniel Craig as James Bond
 - Judi Dench as M
 - Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva
 - Ralph Fiennes as Gareth Mallory

The cast features many huge stars.

The film grossed $1.1 billion worldwide, making it the highest grossing film for Sony Pictures. It is the second highest grossing film of 2012, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2.
It is also the seventh highest grossing film of all time.

Released on October 26th, 2012 in the UK.

Themes:
 - 

Poster:

•  Mainly black/white - creates an retro, classic effect. Conventional of Bond films?
• Main character is large and centred, creating dominance
• Uses a lot of techniques conventional of old bond films - gun barrel, 007 logo, suited character
• Instantly recognizable as a Bond film
• Title is big/bold
• Date of release is in bold and gold, to stand out
• Picture of London in background to indicate possible location
• Union Jack is in colour, showing signifiance
• Gun is in the centre of the poster, also showing significance and emphasising genre
• Actor's/Director's names are small
• Classic effect to it
• No tagline, does it need one?
• Facebook link at the bottom
• Production companies are shown at the bottom
• Bond is shown in a suit - conventional of spy/Bond films

Trailer:

• Production companies are shown at the beginning quickly
• Does not tell the story of the film, instead, small clips are shown to draw in the viewer
• Slow introduction, setting the scene
• 'Country? England. Gun? Shot. Murderer? Provocateur.' - simple, one-liners that stick in the mind of the viewer
• 'Skyfall' makes viewer wonder what is happening and adds mystery
• Huge, epic drumbeat is added
• Different shots of the film are shown in time with the beat
• Lots of action, explosions, gunshots, cars, helicopters, women are shown
• Trailer is trying to pack in as much as possible into the time
• Bond's line at the end 'Some men are trying to kill us - we're gonna' kill them first.'
• The drum beat has a hint of a gunshot sound within it, it's a little distorted
• After the drum stops the title fades in as well as quiet, fast-paced music - this is where Bond says the tagline
• After the tagline the music reaches a climactic speed and volume (loud and fast) while a few more epic shots are shown from the movie. One being Bond jumping from a train
• These final shots last no more than 1/4 of a second, so as to not give away information about the climax of the film
• After these a single '007' is shown in the centre (a symbol that most people would recognise)
• Following that is the extra information (release date, format (IMAX), production company logos etc...)
• A Twitter link is shown (the internet is a very powerful and effective way to advertise and give out information to people)

Prometheus: Film Poster & Trailer Analysis

How does Prometheus attract an audience?

Director: Ridley Scott

Release Date: 2012

Won 3 Awards including 'Best Art Direction'.

Cast:
 - Noomi Rapace as Elizabeth Shaw
 - Michael Fassbender as David
 - Charlize Theron as Meredith Vickers
 - Logan Marshall-Green as Charlie Holloway

None of the characters are huge stars.


The film grossed over $403 million worldwide, making it the 15th highest grossing film of 2012. It is also the 159th highest grossing film worldwide.


Released on June 1st, 2012 in the UK.

Themes:
 - 'Prometheus' is a Greek mythological God who stole fire from the Gods and gave it to humanity, allowing us to technologically advance majorly. As a punishment, he was made to suffer. This theme is apparent throughout the film when the characters that become curious must be punished.
 - One of the major themes is the creation of mankind, based around David's critical question 'Who am I? Who made me? Why hast thou forsaken me?'
 - Ridley Scott was interested in Greco-Roman Gods that would create man in their own image by sacrificing part of themselves.

Poster:

• Dark atmosphere to poster - conventional of horror genre
• Tinted blue, giving a cold feel to it - convention of sci-fi/horror genre (unnatural colour)
• Big title in white and bold, stands out
• Main character is dwarfed by statue, showing vulnerability
• Statue is a human head shrouded in shadow - mysterious and eerie
• Tag line, "The search for our beginning could lead to our end", small and centralised - people will have to move closer and look at the poster properly if they want to read it
• Release date is larger than surrounding text
• Formats are shown (IMAX, 3D)
• No certificate shown
• Clearly sci-fi genre
• Tag line adds to sci-fi genre, but adds an element of horror
• Director is clear above title (Ridley Scott)
• Franchise film (prequel to ALIEN franchise, fan-base will be attracted)
• Production company and other directors are in larger text
• Logos for production company is at the bottom
• Mysterious figure with light behind - ominous presence 
• Rule of thirds (information & title, main character, antagonist)
• Actor's names are small (no big stars in the film)
• The statue looks ancient, hinting at what the story could involve

Trailer:

• Tells basic story of film
• Information about the mission is given at the beginning (breifing)
• Starts off with a cheerful tone but gets worse and worse progressively
• Both the poster and trailer have similar colours (blues, blacks)
• These colours are conventions of sic-fi/horror films and reflect the genre
• Key quotes from the film are used "Prometheus has landed" and "If you don't stop it, there won't be any home to go back to"
• The quotes create mystery and questions, pulling the viewer in and persuading them to see it
• Sounds that resemble a heartbeat are used (deep, pulsing sound)
• Music fades in and gets louder and more uncomfortable (not so much as to deter audience) as the trailer progresses
• Each of the main characters is shown for a brief moment
• There are no names shown throughout the trailer (apart from the director), this is because the stars aren't well-known actors
• Lots of the more 'epic' shots from the film are shown (the foreign planet's scenery/atmosphere, and the ship landing)
• Shots of characters running from danger behind are used to pull in the viewer
• The final shot is a very quick shot that clearly shows danger
• The title of the film is shown after the final shot and as the music stops
• The title resembles the same 'animation' title as Ridley Scott's ALIEN, which is the prequel to Prometheus (fans of the franchise would notice)
• After the title vital information is given
• The release date is shown after the title, along with other information
• A Facebook link is also shown, as the internet is very effective for advertising

ALIEN: Chestburster Scene Essay

ALIEN’s Chestburster scene has become one of the most famous horror/sci-fi scenes in cinema history. In the scene, the alien at hand suddenly bursts out of Kane’s chest in a whirl of screaming and blood after incubating inside his body for a couple of days. Compared to the horror films of today, this scene is fairly timid. But in 1979, it was one of the most horrific and disgusting scenes people had ever seen projected. We can see why it was so horrific if we take it apart and analyze it.

 I’ll start with a brief summary of the scene and how we get to it. While returning home from a deep space mission, the crew of the Nostromo intercepts an SOS signal from a nearby planet. 3 of the members, including Kane, descend onto the planet after landing to find the source of the signal. They discover a hive of thousands of alien eggs. Kane gets too close to one of the eggs and the parasite inside attacks him and attaches itself to his head, rendering him unconscious. A few days later the alien parasite removes itself from the host, leaving Kane seemingly fine. However, as the crew eats, Kane starts to splutter and writhe in pain. The crew restrains him, but to their horror, out of Kane’s chest bursts a small alien creature, which has been incubating inside his body.

 As well as the horror aspect of the scene, it is also perfect to analyze. There are many aspects of the scene that make it irresistible to watch, even though some would say it is morally wrong to watch it in the first place.

The cinematography in the scene is very impressive. It focuses mainly on Kane, as he writhes in agony on the table. There are a lot of wide shots of all the characters as they crowd around Kane, pinning him down.  Almost all the shots are two-shots, three-shots and medium shots to capture all of the action as it unfolds. With these shots comes a lot of deep focus. The filmmaker wants the audience to see everything in the scene. As well as medium shots of the crew, there are also a lot of medium close-ups on Kane and his chest. Over and over again we see him screaming on the table as the alien violently makes it’s way out of his body. The purpose for these shots is to show the audience exactly what he is going through, and to indulge them in the action. Also, to build more realism, the shots of Kane look like handheld shots, and are very jerky. This creates the effect of POV, like the audience is actually there trying to hold him down.

 The angle of the camera shots in this scene is also very important.  At the beginning of the scene, when there seems to be no danger, the shots are at eye-level, so the audience can put themselves into the position of the crew. However, as the scene progresses the shots seem to get higher. These high angles imply vulnerability and a potential threat to the crew, which is exactly what is about to happen. The high angles are of the crew and of Kane himself.

The mise-en-scene of this scene creates a certain irony. The entire chestburster sequence takes place in the dining area of the ship, which would naturally be a very clean and clinical area. White walls and the high-key lighting create a false sense of security – the normal viewer would not be able to foresee the impending gore. You would not expect a scene like this to happen here.

In this scene I felt very tense until the Alien actually appeared. I had thoughts running through my mind of what was happening to Kane. The scene certainly delivered tension. However, as the alien scuttled off to hide somewhere on the ship, I found myself humored slightly. Because this film was made in 1979, the CGI and special effects aren’t anywhere near as good as the films of today. The alien is shaped like a large worm, and darts from Kane’s chest quickly with a babyish screech – it was quite funny, and I could compare it to a small creature such as a rat or insect. Although, I do not doubt that this scene would have horrified audiences in 1979. I am used to much more graphic and realistic scenes of today that use cutting-edge CGI, but I was impressed with the originality of the chestburster.

Overall, I am very impressed with this scene. ALIEN is a masterpiece anyway, but this scene really is the icing on the cake. It is one of the most iconic sci-fi/horror scenes ever made. It made me tense, apprehensive, caused me to jump and even laugh. It will no doubt stick in my mind for a while.

The Hurt Locker: Scene Analysis

The Hurt Locker was published in 2008, and is a modern war film about a specialist bomb disarmer who has been sent to help a squad in Afghanistan. It is also one of the few films that was directed by a woman, Kathryn Bigelow.

I could talk about the whole film, but for now, I’m going to focus on one scene. Three soldiers, Sergeant William James, Sergeant JT Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge are sent into an abandoned Afghani building that is suspected of containing bombs.
The main purpose of this scene is to build tension. The stand-out method here is cinematography. The scene comprises a lot of complex and impressive camera shots, movements and angles to make this scene as nerve bending as possible.

The most-used camera technique is the handheld shot. The footage is quite jerky and moves quickly with the characters, as if someone were holding a video camera trying to capture the action. This creates realism, as if the viewer were inside the building with the soldiers, which in turn builds the tension. The shots are also mainly at eye-level, adding to this effect and also giving the sense that the soldiers are in control. We see exactly what they see.

This shot is from the very beginning of the scene. It is a high-angle, extreme long shot. Here we can see all of the soldiers, and also the building they are about to enter. This shot establishes the setting for this scene and familiarizes the viewers. I know this because the soldiers are very small and fill only a small portion of the screen. They are clearly not the focus of this shot. The color in this shot can also be important. It is all a sandy-brown, dusty color, which indicates a lot of heat and also sets the tone for this scene. The tension is being built from the start.
The sound also plays a small factor in building tension. During almost the entire scene, all of the sound is diegetic. However, because the soldiers are being as quiet as possible when exploring the structure, there is no sound to be heard. So, all we can here is the footsteps, and the occasional click of guns. Any louder sound will easily break the tension.

In this still, there is a clear use of the rule-of-thirds. The two soldiers are positioned on either side of the corridor, balancing the shot and making it easier on the eyes. The corridor itself also plays a big part in this shot. From the viewer’s point-of-view, it is very long and narrow. We can also just about see Eldridge in the doorway at the end. This corridor creates distance, not only between the soldiers but metaphorically as well. It reflects the isolated position that the trio is in. If something goes wrong, they cannot call for help. They are alone.

This scene uses so many different camera techniques, it is very hard to keep track when watching it! Quite a few of the shots of the soldiers are zoomed in from a distance, perhaps from through a window or behind a pillar in the building. This gives a sense of unease as the soldiers advance through the building. It is like they are being watched the whole time.

To conclude, this is a very complex and interesting scene in terms of tension-building techniques and cinematography. When I watch it I feel like something will happen, until Sanborn finally breaks the silence and says “Clear!” It is very good at raising tension and for that matter, my beats per minute.