3/22/12

Study Guide EMC / JOUR 3000 Edward Bowen

Singin In The Rain 1952 MGM Studios Produced by Arthur Freed Freed produced more than 40 musicals for MGM. His unit included Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen, and Vincent Minnelli.

Singin In The Rain 1952 MGM Studios Produced by Arthur Freed Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen WriWen by BeWy Comden and Adolph Green Music by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed Starring Gene Kelly, Donald OConnor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Cyd Charisse

3/22/12

The Technical Dimension

The Hollywood Montage Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

The Technical Dimension

The Hollywood Montage

hWp://youtu.be/2690vyc8HRQ

hWp://youtu.be/cHMuAA0gBYI

The Technical Dimension

The Full Shot

The Technical Dimension

The Full Shot

hWp://youtu.be/ZFxWkUkUsQA

hWp://youtu.be/qu4v5hB1dKk

3/22/12

The Technical Dimension

Camera Choreography (Hey look, Im dancing with Gene Kelly) Dubbing

The Technical Dimension

hWp://youtu.be/B0asbGJbLKc hWp://youtu.be/_UmaFTEIZ84

hWp://youtu.be/cirOHTYWi2k

The Technical Dimension

How do camera work and edihng integrate with music and performance to help tell the story and evoke emohon? What part does color play in evoking emohon, dening character, and sekng mood? How are dance sequences shot and edited for maximum impact? What techniques are used to suggest the style of silent movies of the hme in which the movie is set? Of early sound musicals? What style of lighhng is used in the movie, and what eect does it have? How do the lmmakers use studio sets and back lots to stylize the world of the lm? To stylize the Broadway Melody sequence?

The Dramahc Dimension

The Unreliable Narrator

hWp://youtu.be/hC1R_szNzDM

3/22/12

The Dramahc Dimension

The Unreliable Narrator

The Dramahc Dimension

Emohon and Story Through Song

Thats a rearma-on of life. Leonard Bernstein

The Dramahc Dimension

Emohon and Story Through Song

The Dramahc Dimension

How does Don Lockwood change as the movie progresses? What forces are at work in this change? What funchon does Cosmo serve to the story? Why include the proverbial third wheel? Why is there no love interest for Cosmo? Which characters change and evolve? Which remain stagnant? Why? What are the impediments to Don and Cathys relahonship? How are they overcome? How are songs used dramahcally and cosmehcally to propel the story and reveal character? What funchon does The Broadway Melody serve to the story and characters? How are the plot elements connected and then resolved in the nal climachc scene?

hWp://youtu.be/33c3drAfcI0

3/22/12

The Auteur Dimension

Director Stanley Donen
On The Town (1949) Royal Wedding (1951) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) Its Always Fair Weather (1955) Funny Face 1957 Charade (1963) Moonlighhng Big Man on Mulberry Street (1986)

The Auteur Dimension

Moonlighhng Big Man on Mulberry Street (1986)

hWp://youtu.be/HXvki5MKPAI

The Auteur Dimension

Director Stanley Donen

The Historical Dimension

1952 Elizabeth II is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom Organized baseball has its rst African-American umpire I Love Lucy is the rst TV show to be seen in 10,000,000 homes Dwight Eisenhower is elected president Charlie Chaplin is refused reentry into the United States Other movies The African Queen, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Quiet Man, High Noon

1998 Academy Awards hWp://youtu.be/JMC8kHycgwM

3/22/12

The Historical Dimension

1927 The movies begin to speak, and sing.

The Historical Dimension

1927 The movies begin to speak, and sing.

hWp://youtu.be/OTFCctdiS04

hWp://youtu.be/YMzV96LV6Cc

hWp://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofuture/2012/02/ musicians-wage-war-against-evil-robots/

The Historical Dimension

1930-1939 Technical Developments The soundproof ice box temporarily limits camera movement.

The Historical Dimension

1930-1939 Technical Developments A successful color photography system (Technicolor) is introduced but it not widely used.

hWp://www.lmsite.org/30sintro.html

3/22/12

The Historical Dimension

1930-1939 Business Developments The Big Five studios (majors) included Fox, MGM, Paramount, RKO, and Warners; and the LiWle Three included Columbia, United Arhsts, and Universal.

The Historical Dimension

1930-1939 Business Developments Dominance is fully established for studio produchon methods, which included verhcal integrahon, block booking, and the contract system (which reduced stars salaries).

hWps://picasaweb.google.com/114656905726841638976/MGM? feat=ashalbum#5700597435138265986

The Historical Dimension

1930-1939 Business Developments The Film Program Cartoons, Travelogues, Newsreels, Novelty Shorts, Comedy Shorts, Musical Shorts, Coming AWrachons, Features, Double-Features

The Historical Dimension

1930-1939 Business Developments Cinema (single) screens are in every neighborhood.

3/22/12

The Historical Dimension

1930-1939 Business Developments Popular Genres Musicals, Horror Films, Gangster Films, Screwball Comedies, Westerns

The Historical Dimension

1930-1939 Business Developments Popular Genres Disney Innovates the Animated Feature

The Historical Dimension

1930-1939 Business Developments American lm dominates (up to 80% of the world market), except perhaps in Japan.

The Historical Dimension

1930-1939 Business Developments Under pressure, especially from religious groups, the Mohon Picture Producers and Distributors Associahon begins to administer a tough Produchon Code through an oce headed by Joseph T. Breen.

3/22/12

The Historical Dimension

1930-1939 Business Developments Produchon Code

The Historical Dimension

1930-1939 Business Developments 1939

hWp://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAE60830901D8BA3E&feature=view_all

The Historical Dimension

1930-1939 Business Developments 1939

The Historical Dimension

What if anything does the movie say about society in the 1950s? What can be learned from the movie regarding the period of hme of its story, in parhcular relahng to the transihon from silent to sound movies?

hWp://dadsmovies.blogspot.com/2012/01/1939-montage-part-one-over-there.html

3/22/12

The Genre Dimension

Science Fichon? As Author Ray Bradbury has pointed out, if you apply the classic denihon of science-chon as a story in which new and unexpected technology impacts the lives of characters, then Singin in the Rain is science chon.

The Genre Dimension

2012 A struggling NBC, shll reeling from the loss of Must See Thursdays and the Jay Leno Prime Time debacle. places the hopes of its stock holders and the might of its markehng department behind one new show. And its a musical

hWp://youtu.be/qtWTAN7ykcw

The Genre Dimension

2012 Why is NBC struggling. Some blame the earlier ring of Kevin Reilly as entertainment president in 2007. Reilly moved to Fox and launched a breakaway hit series, and it was a musical

The Genre Dimension

1927 The Jazz Singer Alan Crosland Al Jolson

hWp://vimeo.com/28788094

hWp://youtu.be/j48T9BoKxlI

10

3/22/12

The Genre Dimension

1933 42nd Street Lloyd Bacon / Busby Berkeley The Great Depression, Sugar Daddies, The Cashng Couch, Inebriahon, AWempted Rape, Murder, Sex and Violence

The Genre Dimension

1935 Gold Diggers of 1935 Busby Berkeley

hWp://youtu.be/SuqJJMSK15U

hWp://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/76736/Gold-Diggers-Of-1935-trailer.html

The Genre Dimension

1935 Top Hat Mark Sandrich

The Genre Dimension

1936 Swing Time George Stevens Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

hWp://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/462008/Top-Hat-Movie-Clip-Isn-t-It-A-Lovely-Day.html

hWp://youtu.be/mxPgplMujzQ

11

3/22/12

The Genre Dimension

1937 Shall We Dance Mark Sandrich Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

The Genre Dimension

1937 Shall We Dance Mark Sandrich Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

hWp://youtu.be/Fb-G07i35eE

hWp://youtu.be/sdi6V6dsTKk

The Genre Dimension

1955 Its Always Fair Weather Gene Kelly / Stanley Donen

The Genre Dimension

1944 Anchors Away George Sidney Gene Kelly and Jerry Mouse

hWp://youtu.be/KgAmXb5UZlY

hWp://youtu.be/LiDeGrtjt2k

12

3/22/12

The Genre Dimension

1961 West Side Story Robert Wise / Jerome Robbins

The Genre Dimension

1964 A Hard Days Night Richard Lester

hWp://youtu.be/yA_aFprGzyc

hWp://youtu.be/Lkk-tspdZl8

The Genre Dimension

1964 Umbrellas of Cherbourg Jacques Demy

The Genre Dimension

1977 Saturday Night Fever John Badham

hWp://video.nyhmes.com/video/2011/05/16/movies/100000000818582/the-umbrellas-of-cherbourg.html

hWp://youtu.be/tXsdH8XKy-8

13

3/22/12

The Genre Dimension

1979 All That Jazz Bob Fosse

The Genre Dimension

1979 All That Jazz Bob Fosse

hWp://youtu.be/C74Pae3PpMo

hWp://youtu.be/J5YRfCdeyOc hWp://youtu.be/pr2JAlnV1eY

The Genre Dimension

1979 All That Jazz Bob Fosse

The Genre Dimension

1980 Fame Alan Parker

hWp://youtu.be/fZS8LN4R9rU

hWp://youtu.be/geWBJxWxT3M

14

3/22/12

The Genre Dimension

1983 Flashdance Adrian Lyne

The Genre Dimension

1983 Flashdance Adrian Lyne

hWp://youtu.be/yJ6MtRfChg0

hWp://youtu.be/8NjbGr2nk2c

The Genre Dimension

1991 The Commitments Alan Parker

The Genre Dimension

2001 Moulin Rouge Baz Luhrmann

hWp://youtu.be/3paf2TLrgsg

hWp://youtu.be/dtEgAx80NC4

15

3/22/12

The Genre Dimension

2002 Chicago Rob Marshall

The Genre Dimension

2002 Chicago Rob Marshall

hWp://youtu.be/8IxczldgBY

hWp://youtu.be/HVyg4MchBYM

The Genre Dimension

2002 Chicago Rob Marshall

The Genre Dimension

2004 Bride and Prejudice Gurinder Chadha

hWp://youtu.be/YW3MIixEps4

hWp://youtu.be/PoLtHqS_LhA

16

3/22/12

The Genre Dimension

2009 Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench Damien Chazelle

The Genre Dimension

2009 Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench Damien Chazelle

hWp://youtu.be/H2NWRydVjA8 hWp://www.guyandmadeline.com/

hWp://youtu.be/KJUzALdI--k

The Genre Dimension

2011 The Arhst Michel Hazanavicius

The Genre Dimension

Proposihon All movies are and always have been musicals.

hWp://youtu.be/Z2s9ZlenQm8

hWp://lmusik.com/eislers-ghost-or-what-the-devil-is-going-on-in-this-picture/

17

3/22/12

The Genre Dimension

Proposihon All movies are and always have been musicals.

The Genre Dimension

Proposihon All movies are and always have been musicals.

hWp://lmusik.com/eislers-ghost-or-what-the-devil-is-going-on-in-this-picture/

hWp://lmusik.com/eislers-ghost-or-what-the-devil-is-going-on-in-this-picture/

The Genre Dimension

Proposihon All movies are and always have been musicals.

The Genre Dimension

Proposihon All movies are and always have been musicals.

hWp://www.hungtonpost.com/2011/08/12/priceless-silent-movie-mu_n_925643.html

hWp://youtu.be/2fBrpTHe9kk

18

3/22/12

The Genre Dimension

What expectahons do you have of a musical? How does Singin in the Rain meet those expectahons, and violate or subvert those expectahons? How have musicals changed over the decades? In what ways do musicals reect the mores, aktudes, and xahons of their eras? How do you react when a character in a movie bursts into song? Why do you react this way? How does the factor of verisimilitude play in to the acceptance or rejechon of musicals as a genre? Are animated musicals more palatable than live achon musicals? Why?

19