WEEK 3
These pictures share more than the same female leading roles' names: FRANCESCA (The Bridges of Madison County), FRANCES (Under the Tuscan Sun)
There are several sentences/dialogues that could have been uttered in any of the movies above. Although they have different backdrops, they all deal with the subjects of love, marriage, changes, loneliness, freedom, conflict, to name a few.
The sentences/dialogues below have been extracted from the four film scripts in question.
Where you find "...:" there should be characters' names, which have been omitted.
You are not required to mention which character said what, but you are expected to suggest in which film this sentence/dialogue too place.
Write 1, if you think it was said in "The Bridges of Madison County";
2, if you think it was said in "Under the Tuscan Sun";
3, in "Shirley Valentine"; or
4, in "Educating Rita".
Example:
...: I realized love won't obey our expectations, it's mystery is pure and absolute.
Your opinion: 1
("The Bridges of Madison County" said by FRANCESCA - you may write only the number).
Enjoy it!
xxx
...: And in that moment, everything I knew to be true about myself up until then was gone. I was acting like another woman, yet I was more myself than ever before.
xxx
...: I enjoy a glass of wine while I'm preparing the evening meal... Chips and Egg
xxx
...: So, do you want more eggs or should we just fuck on the linoleum one last time?
xxx
...: And in that moment, everything I knew to be true about myself up until then was gone. I was acting like another woman, yet I was more myself than ever before.
xxx
...: Between Austria and Italy, there is a section of the Alps called the Semmering. It is an impossibly steep, very high part of the mountains. They built a train track over these Alps to connect Vienna and Venice. They built these tracks even before there was a train in existence that could make the trip. They built it because they knew some day, the train would come.
xxx
...:This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime.
xxx
...: If you smash into something good, you should hold on until it's time to let go.
xxx
...:Things change. They always do, it's one of the things of nature. Most people are afraid of change, but if you look at it as something you can always count on, then it can be a comfort.
xxx
...: Regrets are a waste of time. They're the past crippling you in the present.
xxx
...: I'm sorry for you, lad. If she was a wife of mine I'd drown her.
...: If I was a wife of yours I'd drown meself.
xxx
...: I know. I used to be The Mother. I used to be The Wife. But now I'm ..**.. again. Would you like to join me for a drink?
xxx
...: I don't often get the chance to talk to someone like you.
...: I'm honored you chose me.
xxx
...: Unthinkably good things can happen even late in the game. It's such a surprise.
xxx
...: I'm beginning to find me. It's great.
xxx
...: Oh, I hope he stays for a while. He needs a holiday. He needs to feel the sun on his skin and to be in water that's as deep as forever.
xxx
...: If you want me to stop, tell me now.
...: No one's asking you to.
xxx
...:I was just going to have some iced tea and split the atom, but that can wait.
xxx
...: We split up because of poetry.
...: You what?
...: One day, my wife explained to me that, for the past fifteen years, my output as a poet had dealt entirely with the part of our lives in which we discovered each other.
...: Are you a poet?
...: Was. And so, to give me something new to write about, she left me. A very noble woman, my wife - she left me for the good of literature. And remarkably it worked.
...:What, you wrote a lot of good stuff, did ya?
...: No. I stopped writing altogether.
xxx
...:The old dreams were good dreams; they didn't work out, but I'm glad I had them.
xxx
...: I think that marriage is like the Middle East - there's no solution.
xxx
...: I mean, most fellas ya know, they've got no idea how to talk to a woman.
...: No?
...: No. They feel they have to take over the conversation. I mean, I mean with most fellas if you say something like, like my favorite season's autumn, they go oh, oh, my favorite season's spring and then you've got 10 minutes of them talkin' about why they like spring and you weren't talkin' about spring, you were talkin' about autumn. So what do you do? You talk about what they want to talk about. Or you don't talk at all. Or you wind up talking to yourself.
xxx
...: Don't kid yourself: you are anything but a simple woman.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY - Week 2
Francesca: Robert, please. You don't understand, no-one does. When a woman makes the choice to marry, to have children; in one way her life begins but in another way it stops. You build a life of details. You become a mother, a wife and you stop and stay steady so that your children can move. And when they leave they take your life of details with them. And then you're expected move again only you don't remember what moves you because no-one has asked in so long. Not even yourself. You never in your life think that love like this can happen to you.
Robert Kincaid: But now that you have it...
Francesca: I want to keep it forever. I want to love you the way I do now the rest of my life. Don't you understand... we'll lose it if we leave. I can't make an entire life disappear to start a new one. All I can do is try to hold onto to both. Help me. Help me not lose loving you.
Write your view on the subject above. Use the space under "comments" (about 100 words).
Robert Kincaid: But now that you have it...
Francesca: I want to keep it forever. I want to love you the way I do now the rest of my life. Don't you understand... we'll lose it if we leave. I can't make an entire life disappear to start a new one. All I can do is try to hold onto to both. Help me. Help me not lose loving you.
Write your view on the subject above. Use the space under "comments" (about 100 words).
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY (1995)
Women (and Marriage) in Movies
In the coming three weeks we'll be comparing THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY with other films which have something in common in their plots: Women, Marriage, Love, Freedom.
Some of the suggested titles were:
Educating Rita; Shirley Valentine; Under the Tuscan Sun.
THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY
Cast & Credits
Robert Kincaid: Clint Eastwood
Francesca Johnson: Meryl Streep
Caroline: Annie Corley
Michael: Victor Slezak
Directed by Clint Eastwood. Written by Richard Lagravenese, Based On The Novel by Robert James Waller.
"This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime."
-- Robert to Francesca
By Roger Ebert Jun 2, 1995 (Chicago Sun-Times)
Clint Eastwood's "The Bridges of Madison County" is not about love and not about sex, but about an idea. The film opens with the information that two people once met and fell in love, but decided not to spend the rest of their lives together. The implication is: If they had acted on their desire, they would not have deserved such a love. (read more)
Read all the review and then write a comment on the statement above.
In the coming three weeks we'll be comparing THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY with other films which have something in common in their plots: Women, Marriage, Love, Freedom.
Some of the suggested titles were:
Educating Rita; Shirley Valentine; Under the Tuscan Sun.
THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY
Cast & Credits
Robert Kincaid: Clint Eastwood
Francesca Johnson: Meryl Streep
Caroline: Annie Corley
Michael: Victor Slezak
Directed by Clint Eastwood. Written by Richard Lagravenese, Based On The Novel by Robert James Waller.
"This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime."
-- Robert to Francesca
By Roger Ebert Jun 2, 1995 (Chicago Sun-Times)
Clint Eastwood's "The Bridges of Madison County" is not about love and not about sex, but about an idea. The film opens with the information that two people once met and fell in love, but decided not to spend the rest of their lives together. The implication is: If they had acted on their desire, they would not have deserved such a love. (read more)
Read all the review and then write a comment on the statement above.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Billy Elliot - Week 2
On Billy Elliot's official site (see address Julio posted in his comment) we can watch some short interviews with the actors and director and...much more!!!
Here are some excerpts of very interesting articles:
THE BIRTH OF BILLY ELLIOT
The inspiration to write the story for Billy Elliot came in a flash to screenwriter Lee Hall while living in America and writing about his own childhood. The story gestated for about a year, mostly because Hall was working on other projects, then in a flurry of inspiration, he completed the first draft in three weeks.
After further researching the art of ballet by visiting the Royal Ballet School to interview dancers hailing from small villages like Billy's, Hall showed the screenplay to Greg Brenman, head of Tiger Aspect's drama department, who was immediately taken by the story.
"The idea of a young boy growing up in a tough mining village who wants to become a ballet dancer was fantastically engaging," says Brenman... Read more
BRINGING BILLY ELLIOT TO LIFE
Now that the script was to everyone's liking, the search for the title character began. And everyone involved realized that the film's ultimate success lay in the part of Billy. For this role, the filmmakers auditioned over 2,000 boys.
"It was a nightmare at first seeing so many boys, and we started to think the film might be uncastable," says producer Finn.
Daldry agreed, and says, "It was a tall order to find a child who could dance as well as act, who came from the North East and had the right accent, and was also the right age. But eventually we found Jamie, who completely understood all the elements of the story, and he had that elusive thing that allows you to fall in love with a child and be terribly concerned about what happens to him. We found our needle in the haystack."
Jamie Bell, a 13-year-old from the northeastern town of Billingham, still can't believe his luck. It was through a friend of his that he was able to secure an audition, and after quite a few call-backs he was eventually chosen." ... read more
JULIO, HERE'S A CHALLENGE FOR YOU:
Further in this article, we can read
Director of Photography Brian Tufano, who has shot such edgy films as Trainspotting and Shallow Grave, was instrumental in setting the tone of the film. "Framing, composition, colors and texture are the elements you need to convey a story," he says. "Stephen knew exactly what he wanted and was happy for me to show him how he could achieve his vision on film."
Together, they decided to frame the mining village in a claustrophobic way to reflect the tight knit community. "The buildings were part of the narrative, so we framed them tight and had them spilling outside of the framework," explains Tufano. "When we shot the picket lines, we got right in there, making the camera a participant in the strike."
As for the dance scenes, Tufano shifted perspective to encompass a wider, more open frame, which was to enhance the feeling that Billy was breaking free of his surrounding constraints.
"We shot in the way they did in the 1930s for Fred Astaire's movies," says Tufano. "When Billy ventures out of his town to the audition, we wanted full emotional impact so we shot much more sky to show that his world was opening up."
Using your expertise in photography, what if you selected some of these scenes to illustrate what Director of Photography Brian Tufano points out above?
:-)
I bet everyone in class will love it!
Here are some excerpts of very interesting articles:
THE BIRTH OF BILLY ELLIOT
The inspiration to write the story for Billy Elliot came in a flash to screenwriter Lee Hall while living in America and writing about his own childhood. The story gestated for about a year, mostly because Hall was working on other projects, then in a flurry of inspiration, he completed the first draft in three weeks.
After further researching the art of ballet by visiting the Royal Ballet School to interview dancers hailing from small villages like Billy's, Hall showed the screenplay to Greg Brenman, head of Tiger Aspect's drama department, who was immediately taken by the story.
"The idea of a young boy growing up in a tough mining village who wants to become a ballet dancer was fantastically engaging," says Brenman... Read more
BRINGING BILLY ELLIOT TO LIFE
Now that the script was to everyone's liking, the search for the title character began. And everyone involved realized that the film's ultimate success lay in the part of Billy. For this role, the filmmakers auditioned over 2,000 boys.
"It was a nightmare at first seeing so many boys, and we started to think the film might be uncastable," says producer Finn.
Daldry agreed, and says, "It was a tall order to find a child who could dance as well as act, who came from the North East and had the right accent, and was also the right age. But eventually we found Jamie, who completely understood all the elements of the story, and he had that elusive thing that allows you to fall in love with a child and be terribly concerned about what happens to him. We found our needle in the haystack."
Jamie Bell, a 13-year-old from the northeastern town of Billingham, still can't believe his luck. It was through a friend of his that he was able to secure an audition, and after quite a few call-backs he was eventually chosen." ... read more
JULIO, HERE'S A CHALLENGE FOR YOU:
Further in this article, we can read
Director of Photography Brian Tufano, who has shot such edgy films as Trainspotting and Shallow Grave, was instrumental in setting the tone of the film. "Framing, composition, colors and texture are the elements you need to convey a story," he says. "Stephen knew exactly what he wanted and was happy for me to show him how he could achieve his vision on film."
Together, they decided to frame the mining village in a claustrophobic way to reflect the tight knit community. "The buildings were part of the narrative, so we framed them tight and had them spilling outside of the framework," explains Tufano. "When we shot the picket lines, we got right in there, making the camera a participant in the strike."
As for the dance scenes, Tufano shifted perspective to encompass a wider, more open frame, which was to enhance the feeling that Billy was breaking free of his surrounding constraints.
"We shot in the way they did in the 1930s for Fred Astaire's movies," says Tufano. "When Billy ventures out of his town to the audition, we wanted full emotional impact so we shot much more sky to show that his world was opening up."
Using your expertise in photography, what if you selected some of these scenes to illustrate what Director of Photography Brian Tufano points out above?
:-)
I bet everyone in class will love it!
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