Legend Review

Legend is a 1985 fantasy film directed by Ridley Scott, though the film wasn’t a notable success when it was first realised it later won an award for best makeup and has a cult following. The story is set "once, long ago" in a world of unicorns, fairies, goblins, and demons. Hidden in a dark lair, the antagonist, the Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry) instructs his goblin servant, Blix, to locate the two unicorns that roam the nearby forest and remove their horns. If the unicorns die and their horns are removed, the Lord of Darkness can ensure that dawn never again breaks and sunshine never returns.

“Tim Curry, from "Rocky Horror Picture Show," makes an effective Darkness; I liked his style. But, once again, the makeup people have done such a good job with his blazing eyes and gigantic horns that, in a way, almost any actor could be lurking inside there (only Curry's sensuous lips give him away).”(Ebert, 1986) The makeup in the film is very well done, one of the films strongest points, Ridley Scott contacted Rob Bottin who has designed the special makeup effects for “The Howling”, Bottin read the script and saw the opportunity to create characters in a starring roles.  Each actor spent every morning having makeup applied, each having 7-13 prosthetics pieces applied accept Tom Cruise and Mia Sara.

“The cool costumes and set designs almost make it worthwhile, so long as the sounds turned down and you don't have to hear the witless dialogue.” (Thompson, 2003) even though the poor sound effects which is mainly down to being filmed in a sound stage and dialog was bad and unappealing, the scenery of the film is beautiful to look at, making up for the sound effects.

“On the one hand, Legend is essentially a movie for children. After all, it features a lot of children with fairy wings stuck to their backs. (Often it feels as if one is stuck in a primary school pantomime!) In addition, the plot is simplistic and some of the dialogue and characters quite juvenile. On the other hand, Legend is so heavy-handed in its approach that it isn’t a whole lot of fun at all. Its depiction of evil is so intense and scary, that the little ones would probably be begging their parents to please switch off the TV!” (O’Ehley, 2007) Whether the film was intended for children or adults is unsure, the fairy, unicorns and other mythical creatures suggest its aimed at children but looking at Darkness and his evil companions would give children nightmares due to the makeup being so well done. Maybe it’s aimed at family by having such fairytale story with such dark characters within the story.   

Illustration - 

http://howtheylooknow.livejournal.com/483178.html

http://valientsvloggg.blogspot.com/2011/08/badawesome-flixxx-review-legend-1985.html

Bibliography –

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/critic/luke-y-thompson/

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19860418/REVIEWS/604180302

http://www.scifimoviepage.com/legend.html

OGR - Unit 2 - Space

Online Green Review

Alien - Review

 Fig 1 - Poster

Alien is a 1979 Sc-Fi Thriller film directed by Ridley Scott and the film really does emphasis “No one can hear you scream in space”. The spaceship Nostromo is on its way to earth from Thedus but upon receiving a transmission from an unknown planetoid. The ships computer “Mother” awakens the crew and they decide to land on the planetoid.

“At the same time it reworks the sexual anxiety of the slasher movie with startling efficiency”. (Jamie Russell, 2003). Sex is a strong hidden factor throughout the film, at the beginning of the film when one of the crew members is exploring on his own in an unknown and alien-looking ship and is attacked by a small alien what flung from an egg smashing through the crew member’s space helmet and attaching itself to his face. The alien is basically rapping the crew member by forcing its long tactical down his throat and using him as host for the offspring.

 Fig 2 - Designs

“Although it has often been described as being a haunted-house movie set in space, “Alien” also has a profoundly existentialist undertow that makes it feel like a film noir — the other genre to feature a slithery, sexualized monster as its classic villain.”(Andrew O’Hehir, 2003).

The design of the main alien is much sexualised in the way its head has a lot of resemblance to a penis and the chest bursting scene of the offspring bursting out from the crew members belly.

The transformation from a little sperm looking alien into a large quick and advance in stealth alien in the film happens very quick. Maybe showing it in stages of it’s life to an adult form would of been more suttle or maybe the director wanted the quick growth of the alien to make more of an impact on the audience.

“Technically brilliant, tense, horrifying and visually breathtaking, there's not a moment in this B-monster movie that doesn't excel well beyond the usual genre trappings.” (R.L Shaffer, 2010).  The scenery of the film is pure concept art, amazingly designed and constructed but even though the film is set in the future it doesn’t have the white pristine feel to it, instead it has an organic industrial feel towards the film. 

Illustrations

http://redriverpak.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/movie-flashback-alien/

http://vaultofthebankrobber.blogspot.com/2009/05/alien-month-concept-drawings-and-story.html

Bibliography

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/10/27/alien_directors_cut_2003_review.shtml

http://www.salon.com/2003/11/01/alien_4/

http://uk.bluray.ign.com/articles/113/1130861p1.html

King Kong - Review

 Fig 1 - Poster

King Kong is a Pre-code 1933 fantasy monster adventure film co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. The film tells the story of Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) who agrees to star in a film directed by Carl Denham. They voyage to an unknown mysterious island where Ann is captured by the natives and is offered to the mighty Kong.

“The ape may be a monster, but he's also an innocent in love.” (Kim Newman, 2005). Every man/creature has a weakness and the mighty Kong’s is love. The fact Kong has no interest in the black woman from the village shadowed by the great wall what keeps Kong on the other side of the island with the prehistoric creatures is slightly racist but the beauty of Ann makes Kong keep her for his pleasure. Kong grows great affection towards Ann and shows this many times throughout the film by fighting a Tyrannosaurus, a Pterodactyl and a giant snake, risking his life to protect her from them. Emotion is shown from Kong through his eyes, this help show that even though he’s a fifty foot beast, he still has feelings.

 Fig 2 - fight scene

“When Kong battles the large flesh-eating dinosaur in his first big battle scene, there is a moment when he forces its jaws apart, and the bones crack, and blood drips from the gaping throat, and something immediate happens that is hard to duplicate on any computer.” (Roger Ebert, 2002). The scene where Kong fights the T-rex shows another aspect of Kong, his intelligence when fighting the dinosaur. Most of the fighting was with the two giant’s wrestling  with each other until Kong jumps on the T-rex’s back and starts to try grabbing the T-rex’s jaw but has little control other the giant so Kong pins the T-rex to the ground and that’s when Kong has great control over the giant and snaps its jaws apart. Then after the giants fight up, the powerful Kong sits next to the T-rex’s head and plays with the jaws like an innocent child playing with their toys.

“In "Jurassic Park" you are looking, more or less, at a real dinosaur. In "King Kong," you are looking at an idea of a dinosaur, created by hand by technicians who are working with their imaginations.” (Roger Ebert, 2002). The film is the father of many Sc-fi films what have came after it, the designs of the T-rex’s in the film are very toy like, maybe the designs of the Dinosaurs in the film are the designs what inspired or influenced in what toy dinosaurs use to look like. The film was the kick start of all the giant monster films and revolutionised the Sc-Fi genre.

Illustrations

fig 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kong_(1933_film)

fig 2 - http://drnorth.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/king-kong-randomised/

Bibliography 

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020203/REVIEWS08/202030301/1023

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=116908

Life Drawings - Negative Space

These life drawings are of negative space between the model and her surroundings. I have done more images and will upload them later as they are A3 size.

Thumbnails - 16

a few thumbnails I have done, mainly looking at viewing angles.

Influence Map

A few films and a game what as influenced me so far.
Films -
King Solomon's Mines - 2004 version
The Decent
The librarian Return To King Solomon's Mines
India Jones And Crystal Skull

Game -
Uncharted 3

Metropolis Review

 Fig one - Poster

Metropolis is a Science-fiction expressionist film from 1927 and directed by Fritz Lang. The film is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and metropolis society is split up into two classes, the managers who live in nice big skyscrapers and the workers living underground. “The story tells of a great city whose two halves--the pampered citizens of the surface and the slaves of the depths.”  (Roger Ebert, March 1998)  

Metropolis was founded and built by Jon Fredersen but the main protagonist is Fredersen son Freder who lives a luxurious life with all the other sons of the managers.

The scene when Freder is in the eternal gardens he sees a young woman (Maria) who has a load of workers children to show the upper class what the working class is going through. Stunned and intrigued by the woman, Freder who was unknown and blind to what goes on in the working world goes down and sees what going on in his father’s city, searching for the woman. “The city leader’s son on an odyssey to the depths in pursuit of saintly workers’ advocates Maria.” (Peter Bradshaw. September 2010).

Lighting is used effectively in Metropolis, the scene when Maria is running away from Rotwang, he chases her with a spot light/torch and even though its just a light moving around her, she’s scared and shows this well in her acting.

“There can be no understanding between the hand and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator”. (Maria, Metropolis). The workers are the hands and Jon Fredersen being the brain, have no connection with each other until Freder goes into the depth to look for Maria and becomes the heart and connects them.

Fig Two - Scene 

Freder’s character is a noble caring man who shows this when his father fires Josaphat and Josaphat doesn’t know what to do and decides to kill himself but just before he does Freder stops him and helps him out. Then at the head shows is heroic side by risking his life to save the children from drowning.

Make-up plays an important part in this film especially when Maria is pure and innocent she has little make-up to show purity but when her double is made from the robot her make-up is dark and gothic around her eyes to show evil and help the audience tell the difference between them both.

“Narrative logic takes a backseat to rampant expressionism”. (Nev Pierce, January 2003). The movement of the actors were in sync with the music beat.  Also the way the actors move and run was very theatrical and over the top.

Overall the film has a lot of similarities with “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” obviously for both are silent horror films from the 1920’s but they both use music, make up and acting to make both films understood without speaking.  

Illustrations

http://domantasinn.blogspot.com/2010/11/metropolis-1927-review.html

http://myscifi.org/metropolis/

Bibliography

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/sep/09/metropolis-restored-film-review

http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/73119/metropolis.html

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19980328/REVIEWS08/401010341/1023

King Solomon's mines Book

King Solomon's Mines (1885) is a popular novel by the Victorian adventure writer and fabulist SirH. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the missing brother of one of the party. It is the first English adventure novel set in Africa, and is considered to be the genesis of the Lost World literary genre.

The book was first published in September 1885 amid considerable fanfare, with billboards and posters around London announcing "The Most Amazing Book Ever Written". It became an immediate best seller. By the late 19th century, explorers were uncovering ancient civilisationsaround the world, such as Egypt's Valley of the Kings, and the empire of Assyria. Inner Africa remained largely unexplored and King Solomon's Mines, the first novel of African adventure published in English, captured the public's imagination. It is now classified as children's literature but was originally read by adults.

Information from

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Solomans_Mines  

The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari Review

Fig One - Poster

 Fig Two - Scene from the film

The cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) is a silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene. The film is about the deranged Dr. Caligari and his faithful sleepwalking Cesare, who are linked to a number of murders in a mountain villiage.

“The first thing everyone notices and best remembers about "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1920) is the film's bizarre look.”(Roger Ebert, June 2009).  The setting of the film is what is the most unique thing about it, everything is asymmetrical and odd looking, buildings and streets are more like canvases for scenery and objects.

“It is difficult to imagine the film done better with the benefit of sound, colour, or any innovation since.”  (Nick Hilditch, March 2001). The music plays a massive part in the film, setting the scene and emotion of the film. There’s a scene where Jane is anxious so the music picks up speed to show this to the audience as the actors can only portray so much emotion in the acting.

“A ghostly looking Francis (Friedrich Fehér) recounts to an equally pale friend his strange tale of woe involving his fiancée Jane (Lil Dagover).” (Cole Smithey, October 2011).  The make up in the film on the main protagonists is heavier around their eyes to make their eyes stand out more to help caption emotion their feeling, which also gives the film a gothic feel towards it.  

Drama staging rules are present in the film as the actors never really have their backs towards the camera, the drama rules mainly stood out near the end an actor goes to grab another actor to his right so naturally he would use his left arm but so he doesn’t show his back towards the camera he uses his right arm to grab the other actor instead.

Overall the film is unique with, no other film like it. Over the top acting and music to set the emotions in the film, there’s elements of gothic in the makeup which is also used to help show emotion through the actors expressions.

Illustrations 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441741/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CABINET_DES_DR_CALIGARI_01.jpg 

Bibliography

http://www.colesmithey.com/capsules/2011/10/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari.html

http://movies.tvguide.com/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari/review/132143

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/03/01/cabinet_of_dr_caligari_1920_review.shtml

Presentation For Unit 1

Presentation for Crit

Anatomy Final Image

Life Drawings

All my life drawings so far, a mixture of pencil, charcoal, and small quick drawings of different poses.

Black Swan Review

 Fig one - Black Swan Poster

Black swan review

The black swan directed by Darren Aronofsky, is about a young girl called Nina who is a ballerina and has always wanted to play the main part in the play “swan lake” and finally gets her chance but at a cost.

“But to master the role, Nina must perform as both the rigid and timid White Swan and the unbridled and passionate evil twin, the Black Swan”. (MATT NEAL 6th February 2011). Nina pushes herself to the limit of perfection throughout the film but lacks passion of lust in her performances which is noticed by her director and he begins to flirt with. Getting more progressively more vigorous with her by rubbing her sexually or forcing a kiss upon her, she refuses him and he tells her to have sexual encounters or masturbate to show feeling in her performance. 

Fig Two - Scene from Black Swan

“The camera lurches, leaps, and pirouettes; in some scenes, it feels as if it's being tossed around the stage along with Portman”. (J.Hoberman, December 1^st 2010). Camera angle shots in the film make the viewing claustrophobic, through the film there is never a decent view of the scene its always close to the actors also following Nina from behind never getting a clear view where she’s heading.

“psycho-melodrama is a glittering, crackling, outrageously pick-able scab of a film”.(Peter Bradshaw, Thursday 20^th January 2011)  physiology  plays a big part in the film, throughout the film Nina keeps seeing her face on other people this is a sign of death coming, her mum is a very possessive woman controlling every think Nina does, this is mainly because Nina is living her mums dreams as her mum gave up her dreams to have Nina. Yet at moments her mum seems to want to ruin her daughter by buying a massive cake and trying to serve a big slice to Nina even though they both know Nina can’t eat much because she has to maintain her figure for ballet.   

Illustration

http://www.flicksandbits.com/2010/11/16/beautiful-new-poster-for-darren-aronofsky%E2%80%99s-black-swan-starring-natalie-portman-vincent-cassel-mila-kunis/4906/

http://www.ugo.com/movies/black-swan

Bibliography

http://www.standard.net.au/blogs/movie-reviews/review-black-swan/2183152.aspx

http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-12-01/film/natalie-portman-goes-batshit-in-a-tutu-in-black-swan/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jan/20/black-swan-review

Thumbnails - 31 (51 All Together)

31 thumbnails of parts for my idea of my final hybrid and other ideas of what it my look like.

adding all my thumbnails together I have done 51.