Indiana Jones: The Temple of Doom

This movie was very entertaining to watch, and i feel it was due mainly to the directing style of Steven Spielberg. Throughout the movie he would seemingly inject the audience into the scene by placing the camera in the middle of the action. He would not jsut show you the scene and display what is happening, he would make you feel as though you were inside of the film. In the temple scene,while the director of the clan was performing his ritulal, he placed the camera in the middle of the cultists, makeing you feel as though you were apart of the cult itself. This added specific drama to the scene that would have not been accomplished without this precise camera placement. If they would have used a crane or long shot to simply display the cult, instead of puting you inside of it, you wouldnt feel as though you were apart of the film, you would feel like an outsider looking in on this cult's activities. This drew my attention right away and i praise Spielberg for his cinematic genius.

Another element of this film that i really enjoyed was the restricted narration. We are focused on Indiana the whole time and foced only on what is happening to him at that time. We dont get random scenes of scheming gangster bosses or meddling raiders, which would have placed the audiences intersts elsewhere rather than on Indiana where it should be. If he gets poisoned, we dont know about it until it is already to late. I felt this was effective at keeping the attention specifically on the main characters thoughout the entire film.

Unit 1 Wrap Up

After finishing Citizen Kane for the second time, i noiced so many differnet things that made the movie actualy enjoyable to watch this time through. I was watching for differnet techniques, such as high angle shot, low-key lighting, etc., and it made it somehow easier to watch. I tend do notice my mind drifting into this place where i notice little things like this. When you watch a movie more analyticaly, you get so much more out of it, because you see how the director was trying to evoke a certain emotion out of you by useing these different techniques. For instance, i have watched Fight Club atlest 20 times throughout my life and when i decided to anaylyze the film instead of just focus on the story, it proved to be a much more enjoyable experience. Now, whenever i see a new movie, i always think of the analytical side of it. I'll notice weird things like if there is an establishing shot to designate the distance between the characters in the room so we get a feel for the space, or wether the used a high-angle shot to make someone look frightened or deminished. I never noticed such minute details, which may have been the directors intention, but i think it is almost fun to watch for these things now. I'll also notice things like acting and makeup and stuff like that. Instead of just watching movies for the ploot, as i did when i was younger, i feel that as i matured, my views on films have also matured with my age. I like the way i now view films.

My Top Ten Film List

1. Fight Club
2. Dark Knight
3. Grandmas Boy
4. Anchorman
5. Ace Ventura
6. Pineapple Express
7. LOTR Trilogy
8. Tommy Boy
9. Saveing Private Ryan
10. Appocalypse Now