The Graduate

1. In class we talked about The Graduate. The film was released in 1967 and was directed by Mike Nichols. Mike Nichols is one of 12 people to win all the major American entertainment awards, Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award. He also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from AFI in 2010. Mike Nichols won the Oscar for Best Director for The Graduate. He is also married to ABC anchor, Diane Sawyer. The Graduate was written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham. The film grossed $40 million in the box office. We also discussed the Academy Awards the film was nominated for and won. The Graduate was nominated for 8 Oscars such as: Best picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress. The film won the Academy Award for Best Director. We then discussed Dustin Hoffman's career and all the Oscars he won and was nominated for. Hoffman won the Oscar for Best Actor in Kramer vs. Kramer and Best Actor for Rain Man which was his best performance. He was also nominated for The Graduate, Lenny, Tootsie, Wag the Dog, and Midnight Cowboy. We also talked about Anne Bancroft. She won the Oscar for Best Actress for The Miracle Worker. We also discussed Katharine Ross and her other memorable roles in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Stepford Wives. We discussed how The Graduate was one of the first youth rebellion films. It also asked the question, "what to do after graduation?" The film consisted of obvious camera shots and cutting. It used the awareness of film as intrusive art. The film also had overlapping sound and dialogue and overlapping action. We also discussed that the soundtrack of the film was performed by Simon and Garfunkel.

2. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/18530/The-Graduate/articles.html#06
I found an article written by Rob Nixon titled "Why The Graduate is Essential. The article discusses how The Graduate is still an iconic film in pop culture having been released more then 40 years ago. The article discussed how the film is a "sharp satire of the younger generation breaking free of the stultifying hypocrisy of their parents,"(Nixon). The article also concentrates on the ending scene of the film. It discusses people's reactions to the final scene of the film. Some believe it is "an expression of love winning the day even as it faces an uncertain future,"(Nixon). The article also discussed how the final scene was one of things Mike Nichols liked most about the film. It also discusses how Nichols believes the film is not all about the "Generation Gap." The article also discusses Dustin Hoffman and how he went on to becoming one of greatest actors of our time.   

3.After reading the article my perception of the film changed a little bit. The article helped me realize more about how the film is an example of the youth rebellion and younger generation breaking free. It also helped me realize how much of an impact the film still has after have been released over 46 years ago. The article also discussed people's reactions to the end scene of the film which I myself was confused about and reading the article helped me understand it better.

4. In my opinion, I felt The Graduate was great film. It was very funny and I enjoyed it very much. The Graduate is very important in film history. It put Dustin Hoffman on the map and he went on to becoming one of the greatest of our time. The film was nominated for 8 Oscars and won the Oscar for Best Director, Mike Nichols. The film was a box office hit. It is placed at #7 on AFI's Top 100 Best Films of All Time. The Graduate was also a film that made it aware that is was a film.

Casablanca

1. In class we discussed how Casablanca is listed as #3 on AFI's Top 100 Films of All Time. We also discussed how Michael Curtiz directed the film. Curtiz won the Oscar for Best Director for Casablanca. He was also nominated for several other of his movies such as Captain Blood, Angels with Dirty Faces, Four Daughters, and Yankee Doodle Dandy. Casablanca was written by Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch. We also discussed that the film was based on an unproduced play "Everybody Comes to Rick's" We also discussed the Oscars the film won such as Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and was nominated for several others. Humphrey Bogart is listed as AFI's #1 male actor. He also won an Oscar for African Queen in 1954. Ingrid Bergman is listed as AFI's #3 female actor. She also won three Oscars in her career. We also discussed some of the themes of the film such as lost love and romance within a chaotic world. Finally we discussed some of the famous quotes of the film such as "We'll always have Paris," "Here's looking at you, kid," and "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

2. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/610/Casablanca/articles.html#00
I found an article written by Scoot McGee titled "Pop Culture 101-Casablanca." The article discussed how the film became very popular in American Culture about 20 years after it came out in 1942. It discussed how a few years after Humphrey Bogart's death in 1957 a movie theatre in Massachusetts starting showing Casablanca three weeks a year. People started wearing trench coats and snap-brim hats. The article also discussed many spoofs and rip-offs of Casablanca such as "Play it Again, Sam," "Caboblanco," "Barb Wire," and "Carrotblanca." The article also discussed Rob Reiner's loving tribute to Casablanca in his 1989 film, "When Harry Met Sally," where Casablanca is mentioned and talked bout several times in the film. The article also discussed the book sequel to Casablanca "As Time Goes By," which outraged fans.

3. After reading the article I was surprised how popular the film became after it had been released for many years. I was also surprised how mays spoofs there were of Casablanca. I think I have a better understanding about how popular the film was after reading the article since there are many spoofs of it and that it became very popular in American Culture in the '60s about 20 years after it was released.

4. In my opinion, I thought it was a fantastic film. I really enjoyed it and thought the ending was great. Casablanca is in fact a very important film in film history. It is listed #3 on AFI's Top 100 Best Films of All Time. The film won 3 Academy Awards such as Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Writing, Screenplay. The film was also nominated for 5 other Oscars such as Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. The film was very popular in American Culture. Casablanca also has many famous quotes such as "We'll always have Paris," and "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

Citizen Kane

1. In class we discussed how Citizen Kane was a commercial failure when it first came out in 1941. It was almost not released, and RKO almost burned the negative. We also talked about Orson Welles and how he was only 24 years old when he started making Citizen Kane, it was the first film he ever made and he had complete control over making the film. The film was nominated for 9 Oscars and won the Oscar for Best Writing, Original Screenplay. After Citizen Kane, Welles never made any film with complete control over it. We also discussed how the film is number 1 on American Film Institute's Top 100 Best Films of All Time. The theme of the film was the search for the meaning of a man's life. We also discussed that the main character, Charles Foster Kane, is based on the life of William Randolph Hearst.

2. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/89/Citizen-Kane/articles.html
I found an article written by Roger Fristoe titled "Why Citizen Kane is Essential. The article talks about how the film was written by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles; however Welles tried to take all the credit for writing the screenplay. The article also mentioned all of the great things about the movie and how Kane's character was based off of William Randolph Hearst. Hearst hated the film and tried to prevent it from being seen in many theatres. However after WWII the film resurfaced in Europe and then on American Television and took its rightful place as a masterpiece in film history. The article also discussed how the film was nominated for 9 Academy Awards but only won the award for Best Original Screenplay. It also mentioned that when it won the award some people in the audience booed.

3. After reading the article my perception of Orson Welles. I didn't like that he tried to take all the credit for writing the screenplay. Herman J. Mankiewicz does deserve to be credited for writing the screenplay. I was also surprised that people in the audience booed when Citizen Kane won the Oscar for Best Writing, Original Screenplay. I also found it wrong that William Randolph Hearst tried to prevent the film from being screened in man theatres.

4. In my opinion, I felt that Citizen Kane was a great film that I enjoyed very much. I wouldn't consider it the greatest film ever made but it is a very good film. The film is very important in film history. The film questioned the meaning of life. It was nominated for 9 Academy Awards and won the Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay. The film was very well written. It was the first film Orson Welles ever made. The film had excellent performances. It's also number 1 on AFI's Top 100 Best Films of All Time.

Gone with the Wind

1. In class we discussed Hollywood and Black Cinema. We talked about the use of black actors in film such as Bill Robinson in musicals and comedies with Shirley Temple. We also talked about early black filmmakers such as Oscar Micheaux. Then we discussed Margaret Mitchell and how she wrote the novel Gone with the Wind. It was the only novel she had published; it took her 10 years to write it; and she sold the rights of it to Selznick. We also discussed the amazing cast of the film that included Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh, Hattie McDaniel, Butterfly McQueen, Olivia De Havilland, and Leslie Howard. The film won 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress. Hattie McDaniel was the first African American actress to be nominated and win an Academy Award. Gone with the Wind is ranked 4th in American Film Institute's Top 100 Best American Films of All Time. Gone with the Wind is also the highest grossing movie of all time. It's also the first movie to use a curse word; "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn," most famous line from the film.

2. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/414427/Gone-With-the-Wind/articles.html#02
The article I found written by Frank Miller and Roger Fristoe talked about David O. Selznick and the success of Gone with the Wind. It talked about how it was called "Selznick's Folly," while it was still in production and how when it premiered in December in 1939 it amazed many Hollywood reporters and audiences. It also talked about all of the Oscars the film was nominated for and won and how it was up against many other major films that came out that year such as Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Chips, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It also discussed the major effect it had on Selznick's career, the breakthrough it had in the use of color on screen, and the big blow it had on the production code.

3. After reading the article my perception of the film changed a little bit. Gone with the Wind was a very impressive film that went up against many other great films in the Academy Awards as discussed in the article and came out on top with 8 Oscars including Best Picture. The article helped me realize the great effect Gone with the Wind had on Hollywood films. It was the first film to use a curse word and it was also a breakthrough in the use of color on screen. The article also helped me realize the great effect the film had on independent producers.

4. In my opinion, Gone with the Wind was not only a great film but a very impressive film. Gone with the Wind is one of the most important films in film history. The film was a breakthrough in many areas of film. It is the highest grossing film of all time. It was the first film to use a curse word which led to use of adult material and la

nguage in future films. The film had a great effect on independent producers. The film also came out in 1939 which was the most competitive year in the Academy Awards. The film went up against many major titles and came out with 8 major Academy Awards including Best Picture. Hattie McDaniel was also the first African American to be nominated and win an Oscar. Gone with the Wind is also ranked 4th in AFI's Top 100 Best American Films of All Time.