Rufus's Film Blog

Francis ford Coppola does a good job of portraying Kilgore as a dominant War leader in the film.  In one of the first scenes we see Kilgore,  centre shot, barking orders out at his soldiers. His posture is also better than the other soldiers, adding to the idea of Kilgore being this dominant imposing figure.  Iconography is also a big factor in conveying Kilgore as a strong fearless leader, and this is through his hat. Kilgore's hat is also worn by the cavalry. The cavalry were known to be the most powerful legion of an army, fighting on horseback. By showing Kilgore in this hat, centre shot, Coppola is giving us this idea of power and strength when we look at Kilgore. In the "Smell Of Napalm" section this idea of Kilgore being a fearless army general is reinforced. In one of the scenes Kilgore stands there chest held high, as bombs and explosions go off around him. We can see him standing there as other soldiers cower away from the bombs. This further illustrates his aur...

 Briefly analyse how the  opening scenes  of Apocalypse Now uses the elements of  film form  to create meaning and  audience response  and how you feel this is setting up the content, themes , narrative and attitude to heroism and war in the rest of the film     Opening Scene Apocalypse Now. Apocalypse Now uses many techniques to create meaning and audience response. At the start of the scene editing is used to give us a feel of Captain Willard's mental state. Multiple layers are used to show an upside down Willard surrounded by what Willard is thinking about, the devastation of war. The fact that he is up-side down illustrates his craziness. The cinematography also tells us a lot about Captain Willard. The fact that he is having visons of war and destruction shows that he is still mentally at war as when he wakes up he states "when I wake up I think I'm still in the jungle". This foreshadows the death and chaos that is to come in the fi...

 In the 60s and 70s Hollywood saw a drastic change in production and style of film. The industry went from churning out films made primarily by the studios, to slowing the production rate down. The young directors at the time also started to be more influential in the storyline and process of making the films and casting the characters. Films like Bonnie And Clyde and The Graduate marked this new wave of film style. These films spoke more to the disaffected youth, who up until then didn't have any movies such as this that they could watch and relate to. Directors such as George Lucas were pinnacle in the new Hollywood as their films shape the style of film that would sweep the world. George Lucas's Star Wars was frowned upon at the time of release by other studios as it was a style and story they had never seen before. However, when Star Wars become a hit success, other film studios were soon to follow. Francis Ford Coppola is an American director mainly known for directing fil...

 About A Girl uses many techniques to make an impact on the audience through the character of Girl. About a Girl utilises music and sounds to create effect. The film starts with music, the girl singing along happily. At the end however whilst the song is played again, the atmosphere has changed drastically. The girl is now singing, but this time with a sad voice. This link from the start to end is a shock to the audience as it makes us remember how innocent the whole film felt, and how much of a contrast there is now as a pose to the start. Varied scene lengths also add to the tension in the film. Throughout, scenes change very rapidly, however towards the end the shots suddenly slow down, which is a shock to the viewers as we aren't used to that pace, we are more accustomed to the rapid slightly cartoonish style of filming prior to that. This increases the dramatic effects of the scene and makes it more emotional.