Lecture 7 and 8: The 1950s Flashcards
(44 cards)
1
Q
End of the studio system
A
- everyone under studio contracts
- large studios are the main players
- this studio system was ultimately illegal
- in the 1950s, the government starts cracking down on the studio system
- more independent film production, multiple studios are collaborators
2
Q
Challenge of new media
A
- television
- not until the later 40s until we see TV taking shape
- 1950s is when television becomes what we know it to be today
- colour television starts to be a thing in the 60s
3
Q
Battle on two fronts
A
- subject matter
- technology
4
Q
Battle on two fronts - technology
A
- battle with television accelerates the move to all colour movies
- now, the technology is cheaper
- wide-screen image
- multiple systems in competition (just like sound) such as Cinerama, CinemaScope and VistaVision
- development of the first multi-channel sound systems for theatres
- epic films
5
Q
Epic films
A
- eg. Quo Vadis, The Robe, Julius Caesar, Lawrence of Arabia, Cleopatra, The Ten Commandments
- designed to dazzle the audience with grandeur
- “sword and sandal” epics
6
Q
Ben-Hur
A
- 1959
- composer = Miklos Rozsa
- biblical story
- parade of the charioteers scene
- no narrative development, meant to dazzle
7
Q
Differentiation between television and film
A
- originally, no Hollywood films would be shown on television, and actors who wanted to be in film couldn’t be in television
- this is in order to compete with television
- there used to be a huge lag between when a movie came out in theatres to when it appeared in television
8
Q
Battle on two fronts - subject matter
A
- The Production Code
9
Q
The Hays Office
A
- March 1930 = The Production Code
- censors films
- if your film was certified, a screen would appear at the beginning of the film
- if the film didn’t have certification, many theatres would not play it
- voluntary until 1934
10
Q
The breakdown of the Production Code
A
- films of the 1940s push the code, films of the 1950s begin to break it all together
- television content is more restricted due to influence of advertisers
- by the end of the 1940s, the first films of Europe started to show up in North America
- Hollywood found itself competing with films that were more mature, and weren’t restricted
- Code abandoned in 1968
11
Q
Elmer Bernstein - Early life
A
- 1922 - 2004
- born in New York City
- went to Julliard (taught by Aaron Copland and Roger Sessions)
- Aaron Copland = concert hall composer who also wrote film music
- during the 1940s, pursued career as a concert pianist/composer
- worked in Armed Forces radio during the war
- after the war, he goes back to his classical career
- first film work in 1952
- worked for a ballet company when it was hard to find film work
12
Q
Elmer Bernstein - HUAC
A
- Elmer Bernstein is accused of being a communist
- when he was younge,r he wrote record reviews that were published in a communist student newspaper
- the US became paranoid in their quest to get rid of communists
- targets = government agencies, military, the arts
- HUAC = 1953
house on unamerican activities
13
Q
Senator Joseph McCarthy
A
- job was to find and punish communists
- if you appeared before him, you would be guilty
- once you were accused, you were blacklisted from your career
- if you named names, you would be considered a patriot, but then everyone else would be targeted
14
Q
Elmer Bernstein - Early film work
A
- B-movies = second feature at a drive-in movie theatre
- Cat Women of the Moon (1953)
- his first A-film in a while = The Man With The Golden Arm (1955)
15
Q
The Man with the Golden Arm - Title
A
- he is a Jazz drummer
- makes his living working in the world of crime
- works as a card dealer in high stakes illegal poker games, nickname = “Dealer”
- has just been released from prison when the movie starts
- he is a heroin addict
16
Q
The Man with the Golden Arm - Jazz
A
- ensemble is a Jazz Big Band = a very popular musical ensemble of the 1930s/40s
- swing feel = divided unevenly
- Jazz = urban, drug abuse
- not a sophisticated sound of Jazz like in Laura
- effective for the most part, but awkward at times
- hitting the action doesn’t work well when using pop songs
17
Q
The Man with the Golden Arm - Scene Analysis
A
- Frankie (drummer) has auditioned for a popular band, and is waiting to hear back from the band leader
- gets nervous, so he heads down to the bar
- at the bar is Frankie’s old drug dealer
- goes to the drug dealer’s apartment, and Frankie gets his fix
18
Q
The Man with the Golden Arm - Importance
A
- pushing the production code
- film composer uses something other than the operatic sound
19
Q
Agnes de Mille / Cecil B. de Mille
A
- Agnes de Mille = very famous ballet director
- Agnes had a brother, Cecil, who was a big director
- in the middle of one of Cecil’s production, the composer gets sick
so, he calls up Elmer for his movie - The Ten Commandments (1956) = one of the biggest orchestral scores of all time
20
Q
Dmitri Tiomkin
A
- 1894 - 1979
- born in Russia, one of the Émigré composers
- played piano in Russian silent movie theatres
- 1925 = USA, worked in vaudeville
- important films include = Lost Horizon (1937), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
21
Q
High Noon - Facts
A
- 1952
- stepping back into the world of black/white films
- has more similarities with the films of the 1940s
- Western
- score based on a popular song composed by Tiomkin
(Do Not Forsake Me / The Ballad of High Noon) - singer = Tex Ritter
22
Q
High Noon - Importance
A
- song was pre-released and established the use of “Movie Songs”
- this becomes a standard for the film industry
- notable for the high level of integration of the song melody within the scor
- sets up the two primary themes for the score (sheriff, bad guy)
- the rest of the score is mostly a conventional orchestra
- received an Academy Award for best score and best song
23
Q
High Noon - Movie Summary
A
- takes place almost in real time - elapsed time in the diegetic world is only about 2 hours
- the new sheriff will arrive the following day
- as the sheriff is about to leave, they learn that a criminal has escaped and is heading to the town in order to kill the sheriff
24
Q
High Noon - Scene Analysis
A
- sheriff starts writing his will
- music starts playing on time with the clock (even tempo)
- orchestral music uses the themes
- camera shots change about every two seconds
- film is cut to the music that builds up to the moment the train arrives
25
Bernard Herrmann - Early Life
- 1911 -1975
- born in New York City - studied at Julliard
- CBS radio in 1934
- radio of the 1930s is the television of today
- already writing music based on a narrative
- uses a particular set of instruments
this would give each show its own sonic character
26
Orson Welles
- worked at CBS, running one of the most popular radio shows in America
(The Mercury Player)
- 1938 = stage a reading of The War of the Worlds
- they staged it in a series of news reports
- Hollywood then decided that they wanted to recruit Welles during the height of the studio system
- however, he wants control
- eventually, he comes to an agreement and packs up the Mercury Players (including Bernard Herrmann)
27
Citizen Kane - Facts
- 1941
- director = Orson Welles
- composer = Bernard Herrmann
- one of the most influential films ever made
- Welles made up the rules as he was creating the film
- film took a while to get going in terms of audience
- blackmail from William Randall
- example of Herrmann putting Julliard training to use
28
Citizen Kane - Movie Summary
- rich, powerful man who wants control of the entire world
- as he gets more power, all of the things start to drop away
- he is lying on his deathbed, alone, holding a snowglobe
- then, his life is told in retrospect - want to know what “Rosebud” is
29
Citizen Kane - Scene analysis
- his first marriage
- madly in love, playful
- then, the playfulness starts to fall aways, and tension starts to build
- coldness, a fight, then ends in silence
- the music follows the arc of their relationship
30
The Day the Earth Stood Still - Facts
- 1951
- cautionary tale in the times of the Cold War
- a lot of films echo the paranoia/fear of the world ending
31
The Day the Earth Stood Still - Movie Summary
- aliens arrive and let us know that they have been watching for a while
- we have weapons that are too big for our brains
- have to get rid of the weapons, or the aliens will take us out
- Gort, giant robot - has the power to lay waste to the entire planet, only the alien can order it to stop
32
The Day the Earth Stood Still - Sonic quality
- the instruments he chose made the biggest difference
- not the standard orchestra, very unusual collection
- gives the score a unique sonic quality
- no theme
33
Bernard Herrmann and orchestras
- Herrmann realises that we may not need orchestras (standardized performance ensembles)
- composers got used to writing music for certain sets of instruments
- but, film music
only needs to be played once, on the day that it is recorded
- Herrmann starts creating unique collections of instruments
- the sound of a score depends on instrumentation
only required
34
The Day the Earth Stood Still - Scene Analysis
- instruments just hold single notes
- music waits for the supernatural until it starts to come in
- clouds of sound (high, middle, low) causes tension
- music is gone, tied to the gunshot
- then, the robot will appear
- music tells us that we are dealing with something very different
- relentless = low brass, piano, extremely even rhythm
- unpredictable = notes are very dissonant
35
Alfred Hitchcock
- 1955 Herrmann begins collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock
- Alfred Hitchcock is an “auteur” = specific aesthetic
approach to filmmaking
- subject matter can differ, but an overlying artistic vision
- Vertigo (1958), North By Northwest (1959)
36
Psycho - Facts
- 1960
- limited budget = shot in black and white (also due to aesthetics)
- Herrmann uses only strings = black and white score, versatile instruments,
- cues set a single mood and show little response to changes - overall, the mood is bleak and has little emotional warmth
- frequent use of minor seconds and major sevenths
37
Psycho - Scene 1 (The Money)
- short repetitive theme that fractures
- quiet but unsettled = Marion’s discomfort with the theft, guilt, remorse
- constantly fracturing, and rearranging
but, it doesn’t speed up or get any louder
- grows slightly in intensity as she decides to take the money
- no vibrato = makes the music more cold
38
Psycho - Scene 2 (Flight)
- no music during the car selling scene
- music enters as she makes her escape
- much more intense, very dissonant, no emotional warmth
- music seems to play her fall to the dark side
39
Psycho - Scene 3 (Norman)
- while talking to Norman, Marion has a change of heart
- decides she will drive back to Phoenix and take responsibility - subtle change in Norman = anxious young man becomes expressionless
- harmonics as Normon spies on Marion = no emotion/warmth
- two semitones played in a variety of ranges
40
Psycho - Scene 4 (Shower)
- the sound effects and music are extremely savage
- Hitchcock didn’t originally want any music on the shower scene
- violent death articulated by string instruments
- then, as the murderer runs away, you hear semitones (Norman)
41
Bernard Herrmann - Later Years
- Herrmann hated popular music
- detested the “Movie Song” approach
- parts Hitchcock’s company during the filming of Torn Curtain
- moves to Europe
- director François Truffaut = Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
- returns to the US
- last movie is Taxi Driver (1975), director = Martin Scorsese
42
Summary of the 1950s
- key word = versatility
- Bernard Herrmann = opens the door to using other instruments
- Elmer Bernstein = jazz influenced score, then massive orchestral scores
- end of the studio system leads to freelancing
43
Cinerama
- required 3 cameras, 3 projectors, and a large, curved screen
- debuted in 1952 with a travelogue
- too costly and impractical
44
CinemaScope
- 1 camera
- 20th Century Fox
- premiered with The Robe (1953)
- other studios adopted rival sidescreen formats (VistaVision, Todd-AO, Panavision)
