Movies

In 1861, the Union launched a massive offensive designed to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond. The South mobilized about 50, 000 troops as a response to the invasion. At the First Battle of Bull Run, the Confederates defeated the Potomac Army  the 90, 000 strong conscript force. In successive battles, the Confederates won several major victories, threatening to envelop Union forces in the Mississippi region. Brilliant Confederate generals like Robert Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Braxton Bragg were the major military minds in the first 3 years of the war. In the movie, both Jackson and Lee were epitomized as figures of inspiration  classic representations of military heroes.

    Indeed, the movie rests on the principle of classicism. Poetic themes are epitomized (such as Jacksons stand in the Battle of Bull Run) to the point of near idealization. When Jackson stood like a wall despite contimuous Union bombardment, he represented the ideals of courage and fearlessness  qualities which inspired the common soldiers. Movement, camera shots, and lighting techniques are focused on the luminaries of the movie because as the title implies these characters represent everything the war stood for. Lee, for example, is always shown riding on a horse  this is symbolic of leadership. General Grant is shown as a field commander  a reference to historicity.

    Editing is used to cover glitches in the movie. For example, the rugged terrain of Bull Run is transformed into a hilly, plain battlefield. This is done to emphasize the essence of a glorious war (war between contending ideologies). Indeed, throughout the film, there is formal emphasis on stance rather than on division. The idea is to show the audience that both groups only strive for the best  for the good of their country. Dialogue and sound effects tend to be patriotic  again to emphasize the theme of the war  brothers quarrel.

The sense of touch is not so common in most of racists countries in the world.  The combination of several stories in one compatible set of movie has not been so easy in the past but the production of the crash is very appreciable because it takes into consideration the selection of a good setting that is the city environment where there are so many people from different races of the world.  This is a movie whose setting is in Los Angeles.  Los Angeles is generally a multinational city. Los Angeles is known to have a variety of nationals from all over the world. The movie is designed to criticize racial prejudice and biasness in the society. 

The main objective of the movie is to criticize the crude behavior of the white and black discriminating against each other on racial ground. There also some cases of Latinos, Iranians, and various categories of criminals leaders and the lead.

The plot, for instance, of the movie is introduced by an accident crash that involved many cars.  This is followed by a replay of each characters previous days activities.  Matt Dillon, playing the role of an LAPD cop who tries to get his fathers medical assistance but faces objection when a black clerk at the reception arguing that it was impossible for another doctor to be allowed in to see the father.  Matt leaves the scene but frustrated as he took his anger on another black couple at traffic jam (Harris, Jo, n.d).

     Further, it discusses a gunpoint carjacking exposure to Sandra Bullock, who was a famous and fashionable lady at the time, and Brandon Fraser, a District legal representative.  The attack was carried out by two black youngsters.  When Sandra meets locksmith of Mexicans origin, she takes her anger upon him while he was changing their home door locks.  The locksmith more so meets a store owner of the Persian origin who robs him of his dignity later the same day.  Eventually, most of these characters change for the better.

It is unavoidable for us to avoid crashing into each other though, but extremities are not the best.  The mood is set on uncontrolabe levels of false accusations, poor attitudes on self and others, unfair treatment and humiliation to the lowly.  It is observed that people in this set are violent and can hurt one another just to keep in their own distance and peace.  The theme critically circulates between conflict among races, cultural differences and ethnicity.  The director of the movies seams to have an insight on how inseparable people are regardless of their tribes, races, cultural stratification and stereotypes (Harris, Jo, n.d.). 

The emphasis here is that we should be united, affectionate, and peaceful as well as proclaim harmonious motive in all our environments, be it in school, homes, and hotels or even at the traffic demarcations. He, the director of the movie crash, wishes that we could accept to leave in tolerance and patience with each other.

For sure, some people are stigmatized by the stereotypical way of their lives.  Some of us believe that they are being discriminated against and yet it is not the case and in this state, they perceive others with anger and eagerness to re-attack others who come their way. This habit should be shade off completely.

I want to paint the film as one paints the canvas I want to invent the colour relationships, and not limit myself to photographing only natural colours. - Michelangelo Antonioni

    Red Desert ( Il deserto rosso in Italian ) is an Italian film written by Michelangelo Antonioni, directed by Antonioni and Tonino Guerra on 1964. The film was Antonionis first color film. Its working title was Celeste e verde (Sky blue and green).

    The film is placed in an commercial area of 1960 Ravenna with a lounging new post World War two factories, manufacturing machinery and much contaminated river valley. Antonioni said that he wanted to film and photograph like a depiction on a canvas. So the cinematography of the film was highlighted by pale, subtle colors with flacciding white smoke and mist. The sound design blends and combines a foley of  manufacturing, industrial and townified sounds with ghostlike ship horns and an electronic music score. Antonioni went to considerable  extent in attaining his goal ( like he has to colour trees and grass painted in white and grey just to suit his shoot on urban landscape). The red coloured pipes and railings was called the architecture of anxiety the reds and blues exclaim as much as they explain by Andrew Sarris.

    Inspite of the fact that on one level, Red Desert might be taken as a narrative concerning a raspy, harsh and strident contemporary industrial civilization and tradition to which only the mentally ill (neurotic) Giuliana (one of the major characters in the story) has into being and awakened, Antonioni  subsequently said that he  desired to show that manufacturing technology has beauty and pleasingness of its own that he had featured a narrative regarding human adaptability and versatility, in that, Giuliana..

...must confront her social environment. Its too simplistic to say - as many people have done - that I am condemning the inhuman industrial world which oppresses the individuals and leads them to neurosis. My intention... was to translate the poetry of the world, in which even factories can be beautiful. The line and curves of factories and their chimneys can be more beautiful than the outline of trees, which we are already too accustomed to seeing. It is a rich world, alive and serviceable... The neurosis I sought to describe in Red Desert is above all a matter of adjusting. There are people who do adapt, and others who cant manage, perhaps because they are too tied to ways of life that are by now out-of-date.

    Michelangelo Antonioni claimed (in his film) to be influenced by Giorgio de Chirico, a pre-Surrealist and then Surrealist Greek-Italian painter. Some juxtaposition and differentiation can be made to the long captures in Antionis  feature film from 1960s. In which, the camera persist to stay put on  barren, desert cityscape populated by a small amount of distant figures. Or none at all, in the  non- appearance and truancy of the movies protagonist.

    Comapare to Antonionis work, De Chirico is well known for his dark,shadowy and gloomy quality, presenting a sterile and desolate landscapes through the use of  overstated angles and unusual figures. Hes actually one of the  originator of Metaphysical art movement.

    Concerning about the film cinematography, in my personal perspective, Antioni made a stronger cinematic statements (when he is borrowing from De Chiricos Abstract Art) since Antioni gave emphasize to his own style and goal in the effects. In the first part of the paper, the film was describe, like how and what Antioni wanted to present in the feature. He mixed up his idea and the style influenced by De Chirico having a very good quality of art film. His intension, was to translate the poetry of the world, in which even factories can be beautiful,was successfully achived.

This paper answers the main research question  How does color correction affect the original movie and the audience In addition, it also answers analytical questions that arose from studying these articles. The discussion section also includes the reflection on how these articles affected my project on color correction. Color correction cannot be seen as detached from its context, but as a process and the outcome that engages in a dialectical process with the environment and its actors. The articles reviewed also gave me a clearer insight into diverse color correction software and approaches as well as provided certain information concerning rich technical knowhow.

    Color correction refers to the various techniques used to clean badly-damaged films (Carroll, 2005, p.18) or colorize black-and-white films or both (Salgia, 2005, p.132). In the age of digital cinema, color correction has also been embedded in the process of DVD restoration or digital restoration in general (Carroll, 2005 Turci, 2006). Digital restoration, however, is not yet a widespread practice because of the costs and marketing involved (Carroll, 2005 Turci, 2006).

Turci (2006) complained, however, that there is a lack of comparative information about the practical experiments and ethical standards in Europe regarding DVD restoration and this makes it difficult to understand the process of DVD restoration and managing the intended effects (p.111). Carroll (2005), on the other hand, examined the conceptual function of digital restoration, and argued that artificialization is its ultimate impact on the original film, while also affecting the cultural memory of the audience with the renewed film (p.19). Salgia (2005), unlike Carroll (2005), held a more positive outlook on color correction, even aligning the results to the needs of the audience and film production crew. This paper answers the main research question  How does color correction affect the original movie and the audience In addition, it also answers analytical questions that arose from analyzing these articles. The discussion section also includes reflection on how these articles affected my project on color correction.

    Summary of findings
    This section discusses the summary of findings that directly answer the main research question. The references used for this paper identified positive and negative effects of color correction on the original film and the audience. They are chosen because they come from scholarly databases, such as EBSCOhost and Project Muse. They are all case studies on color-corrected films, coming from different countries. The authors of the chosen articles are considered as scholars of their fields because of their technical knowhow revealed in color correction practices and technology, and related technology, which increases the usefulness and validity of the results and conclusions of their studies.
Turci (2006) considered the European film restoration from the perspective of eight companies that perform digital restoration. Salgia (2005) examined an Indian film, the all-time Indian classic and famous blockbuster film Mughal-e-Azam. Carroll (2005) investigated the impact of digital restoration on American films, particularly The Eternal Frame, La Dolce Vita, and The Passion of Joan of Arc. It must be noted that none of these articles specifically focused on color correction, although they all discussed the impact of color correction on the original film, while Salgia (2005) and Carroll (2005) also examined the impact of color correction on the audience.

Based on these articles, color correction affects the original film by 1) improving the color and quality of the film, in ways that traditional approaches cannot, 2) aligning with stakeholder interests, and 3) protecting the films from further decay and possible complete loss (Carroll, 2005 Turci, 2006 Sagia, 2005). On the other hand, color correction can also threaten the integrity of the film and compromise the cultural values it represents through subjective changes in the correction decisions (Carroll, 2005 Turci, 2006).

Color correction affects the audience by inserting new modes of interpretation that can either be seen in a positive note or as a commercialist endeavor (Carroll, 2005 Turci, 2006 Sagia, 2005).  This paper will discuss each point one by one.

Color correction affects the original film by improving the color and quality of the film, in ways that traditional approaches cannot. Turci (2006) examined the digital restoration practices of eight European film archives, in order to compare and understand these practices. He asked them about the advantages and disadvantages of digital restoration. Many of them agreed that they used digital restoration because numerous problems in preserving films cannot be solved by traditional photochemical restoration (Turci, 2006, p.121). Digital restoration can help them correct color, which can improve even the films original color properties, such as hues and pixels.

The effects of color correction on the film, according to Salgia, were to restore hue colors, to remain true to the wishes of diverse stakeholders, and to improve the historical accuracy of the colors in each scene. Salgia (2005) aimed to use color correction to filter out wrong colors (p.130). The software used only those colors that have similar gray tones as the original shot. This made the film more true to the exact colors of the original shooting. Salgia (2005) called this process as Natural Colorization (p.130).

Color correction is also done by following the wishes of actors and production crew, particularly in the case of Salgia (2005). The director of Mughal-e-Azam K. Asif wanted to reshoot the entire film in color, after discovering that having some scenes in color made an attractive impact (Salgia, 2005, p.129). Still, the distributors of the film could no longer extend the deadline of the film after spending millions and they wanted the film to be released as it is 15 percent in color, 85 percent in black and white (Salgia, 2005, p.129). When the film was proposed to be made in color, the actors also approved it (Salgia, 2005, p.129). It can be seen here that diverse stakeholders made it also possible to correct the colors of the original film through providing their consent and support.

The color correction also served to reinforce the historical value of the film and capture the true meaning of the Mughal era, in the case study of Salgia (2005). Salgia (2005) consulted Mughal-era books and Kangra paintings from Geet Govind, written by Jaidev, one of the best depictions of Krishna and Radha, to determine the right color for Radhas clothing. He also consulted scholars on the authenticity of the colors during the time and the historical time presented on the film. For instance, some of the scenes were invented by the director, such as the birth of the Hindu God, Lord Krishna, in Akbars court (Salgia, 2005, p.130). Akbar was a sovereign celebrated for his secularism, but history books do not mention this (Salgia, 2005, p.130). In this scene, the heroine acts as Radha and the Mughal-era books did not hint on the proper colors for Radha (Salgia, 2005, p.130). The production in charge of coloring then used the Kangra paintings from Geet Govind, in order to identify the closest colors that can represent Radhas clothing (Salgia, 2005, p.130). One more example is the scene wherein Salim holds a rose in his hand. The art director recommended a red color, but the problem was that the software did not acknowledge this color (Salgia, 2005, p.130).  The historians also commented that the rose could not have been red, because during those times, roses were pink, and red roses were hybrid plants (Salgia, 2005, p.130).  These examples showed that color correction served an instrumental purpose of also correcting the historical accuracy of the original film.

Color correction can also prevent the film from being further destroyed by natural decay. Carroll (2005) and Turci (2006) appreciated the effort of color correction to protect the original films from further damage. Carroll (2005) understood the need to preserve the past through color correction. Turci (2006) also reported that archive companies wanted to protect the original version through digital technology.

On the contrary, color correction can also threaten the integrity of the film and compromise the cultural values it represents through subjective changes in the correction decisions (Carroll, 2005 Turci, 2006). Carroll (2005) reminded the promoters of digital restoration about the significant impact of restoration on the significance of the cultural memories that are entrenched in original films We are no longer content with removing superficial damage. By editing into the image itself, we employ the means and motivation to resurface the intended content of the history, changing the nature and, hence, the meaning of cultural memories (p.20). In addition, he also commented on the commercialist nature of color correction, which can violate the integrity of original films. He cited Derrida who was also concerned of what is lost during the archiving process of restoration (Carroll, 2005, p.21). Derrida argued that restoration is a series of decision-making processes, official language, aesthetic qualities, and the cultural heritage of film preservation, which all affect how the new film will be presented (Carroll, 2005, p.21). This process and the choice of films to be archived remark the appeal to the new and modern audience (Carroll, 2005, p.21). Thus, the commercialist view can inevitably compromise the novel values and meaning of original films.

Turci (2006) also viewed from the archive companies that they have difficulty also in identifying the boundaries of color correction. They are not sure if they are doing too much or too less, because there is no accepted professional ethics guidelines on digital restoration.  These sources reveal that color correction can also be a power process, wherein the editor gains the power of changing the cultural memory of the original film

Color correction affects the audience by inserting new modes of interpretation that can either be seen in a positive note or as a commercialist endeavor. Salgia (2005) focused more on the positive effect of color correction in a way that the audience loved the colorized film more. He stated that when the film was released, it became the talk of the town and that the film had been so popular that companies like McDonalds, Pepsi Foods, Tata Tetley, and so on used the theme of Mughal-e-Azam to promote their products. The film had a hundred-day run in fourteen cinema halls in India (Salgia, 2005, p.134). 

Carroll (2005) analyzed the commercialist effect of color correction of modern viewers. For him, practices of restoration such as color correction cannot always be merely seen as a process of correcting weaknesses, but a process of business marketing. He argued Thus, restoration demonstrations suggest that digital restoration practices are less concerned with archival conservation than actively shaping the market for cultural memory (Carroll, 2005, p.21). The cultural memory is now transformed as means for capitalist ends.

    Analysis
    Color correction can be a part of the larger practice of digital restoration because of the digital machines and software used for this process. In itself, it is a technical activity that aims to serve technical functions of improvement or restoration. The sources disclosed color correction practices and software that depicted the efforts in restoring the original hues of the film, especially if the plan is to make it in full color.

These sources reveal, nonetheless, that color correction can be a powerful aesthetical, social, political, cultural, and economic process. Carroll (2005) asked readers to question the value of what is lost in this process. The society of the original film represents meaning that can be lost in the color correction process. There are also politics playing when decisions are made on the exact color changes to be made that no longer follow original colors. Culture is also infused by the editors, by using their own culture to interpret original films. Color correction is also highly economic, because the digital process is not always done for the sake of art, but for the sake of commercial gain.
These articles enlighten people about the diverse discourse on restoration of original films. At some point, they do raise valid concerns and objections. Or, they may be just too paranoid. A closer look of their issues reveals that they have substantial theories and experiences backing them up. In the real world, the choice of archiving alone is both a question of politics and economics. Color correction, in relation, is not a technical process by itself but a representation of these evolving beliefs and premises. However, it is possible to use the commercial drive of color correction positively, through editors that engage in thoughtful discourse with financiers. The cultural memory of the new film can be bargained and negotiated, so that the integrity of the original films will not be compromised.

    These articles also brought the following questions about the issues of ownership and authenticity to arise. The questions are Who should decide what should be changed or deleted in color correction Is there truly such as process as restoring the original when the act of color correction itself invades already on the original film If the color correction impacts the original film and the audience, then these are also questions worth exploring.

    In addition, these articles also mostly focus on the impact of color restoration on the original film. There is no actual empirical analysis done to evaluate the impact of color correction to the audience. Carroll (2005) presented a mostly theoretical underpinning for the impact of color correction and related digital restoration practices to the modern audience. Salgia (2005) based his findings on this topic mostly on his views and observation. Future studies need to be conducted on the effects of color restoration on the audience.

    Discussion
    These articles have made a considerable influence on my project concerning color correction, because I used only to see it as a technical process with an instrumental function of restoring or preserving the originality of the film. These articles, especially Carroll (2005) made me realize that color correction renders an ideological movement, and for whom and from whom are good points of inquiries. There are positive outcomes of color correction on the preservation and improvement of original films. There are also negative outcomes, when it results to undermining the integrity of the film. However, whose interests should prevail When restoration decisions are made by the market, then the market should decide. The audience has the power to identify color correction practices that will affect the cultural memory they wish to elicit from films. Reality shows, however, that the audience is not yet that activist on this regard. In the future, it is possible that the audience would soon actively affect the archiving and restoration process. Furthermore, these articles also influenced my knowledge on color correction. They exposed to me on the different software and approaches used by the United States, Europe, and India, and they greatly enriched my knowledge on color correction.

    Color correction involves aesthetical, social, political, cultural, and economic dimensions. It is in the middle of a myriad of beliefs and premises about the power of restoration in affecting the original film and the audience. As a result, it cannot be seen as detached from its context but as a process and outcome that engages in a dialectical process with the environment and its actors. The articles reviewed also opened my eyes to diverse color correction software and approaches. They are practical and conceptually enriching for my own project purposes.

If you were asked to make a choice between a first love and a knight in shining armor, who would you choose Making this choice would not be simple especially when complicated by the fact that the first love is a vampire and the knight in shining armor is a werewolf. This was a choice faced by Bella in the movie New Moon shown last November 2009.

    In the prequel to this movie, Bella fell in love with Edward who is a vampire. Their attraction was so intense they forgot that one was mortal and the other immortal. In this sequel, their love was put to a test when Edward left Bella thinking that it was the right thing to do for her. By leaving, Edward left Bella alone, sad, hopeless  half-dead. Edward made her promise not to become reckless but this became the key by which Bella was able to see him again. In her desire to see him again, she went to her friend Jason, to ask him to fix two bikes which she intends to use hoping that Edward will show himself again when she uses it. What she did not intend, however, was to fall in love the second time this time with Jason. Despite her heart ache over Edward, she became happy. Jason became her protector, her knight in shining armor. He protected her from enemies which she gained because of Edward. Just like Edward, Jason loved her with all intensity.

What is tragic in this movie is that she had to make a choice between two great loves who in their world belong to opposite ends of the chain. Werewolves are vampires are enemies. The ultimate objective of werewolves is to eliminate vampires.  In the end, she chose Edward but making the choice was heart wrenching because not only was she losing a love, she was also losing a friend.
Bella died twice in this movie, though not physically. She died first when Edward left her. She died again when she chose Edward over Jason.  But just like Juliet with Romeo, dying is small price to pay for so great a love.

The  film  exceeded  all  expectations, grossing  5,358,000  in North  America (the highest for any MGM film at the time) and 3,520,000 abroad. In Britain, it was named the top box office attraction of 1942. Of the 592 film critics polled by American magazine Film Daily, 555 named it the best film of 1942.

The Times columns were short reflections on everyday life, based in part on Struthers own family and experiences. While the columns started out as lighthearted domestic scenes where the outside world barely intruded, the approach of  World War II slowly brought darker global concerns into Mrs. Minivers world.  There  were  strong  influences  of  the  war  on  the  content  of  this  column  and  shortly  after  the  world  war  II  began  Struther  stopped  his  column. In  1942  the  film  adaptation  of  Mrs. Miniver  was  produced. The film  was  a  huge  success  and  was  nominated  for  twelve  Academy awards  that  year.

This  story  of  an  average  English  middle-class  family  begins  with  the  summer  of  1939 when  the  sun  shone  down  on  a  happy, careless  people, who  worked  and  played, reared  their  children  and  tended  their  gardens  in  that  happy, easy-going  England  that was  so  soon  to  be  fighting  desperately  for  her  way  of life  and  for  life  itself.

Prologue to MRS. MINIVER
The  trials  and  difficulties  faced  by  a  simple  middle  class  family  are  wonderfully  depicted  in  this  movie. One  always  focuses  on  the  war  in war  movies, but  its  refreshing  to  se  a  movie  that  deals  with  the  situations  that  fall upon  a  family  during  war. This  appeals  to  the  standard  audience  who  gave  this  film  their  full  appreciation. One  can  connect  to  the  story  at  a  more  personal  level. The  arrival  of  the  inured  Nazi  soldier, the death  of  the  daughter-in-law  and  such  strong  twists  in  the  storyline  tend  to  take  the  viewer  on  a  rather  thrilling  and  emotional  journey.

All  three  movies  are  made  in  different  years  and  deal  with  the  trial  and  tribulations  faced  by  a  varied  group  of  persons. Each  plot  is  so  different  from  the  other  yet  similar  in  a  way  that  it  is  set  in  the  same  background  of  the  world  war  II, and  what  effects  it  had  on  the  personal  tribulations  of  a  person  affected  by  it.

This 1943  war  movie  deals  with  the  story   group of nurses returning from the war in the Philippines recall their experiences in combat and in love.

Proudly  We  Hail brings  you  the  authentic  voices  of  heroes   heralded  and  unsung   who  made  and  are  making  Americas  great  history. Series  host  William  Sackett  roams coast  to  coast, going  past  what  textbooks  tell  us, to  chat  with  and  interview  people who  were  there  the  moment  events  were  recorded. This  is  history  told  raw, firsthand, unfiltered. Its  all  real, from  uncensored  emotion  to  no-punches  pulled, first-person descriptions  of  what  really  happened  then. This  riveting  program  rides  on  an  exciting web  of  news, music  and  events  of  special  interest  to  a  vast  and  very  special  audience  The  U.S. armed  forces.

Proudly  we  Hail is  continuously  staged  on  Americas  military  bases, historical  sites, naval  ships  and  a  host  of  interesting  field  locations, and  recorded  in  front  of  live, reactive  audiences. Content  is  far  ranging, and  includes  everything  from  tales  of individual  heroism  to  great  music  and  vital  bulletins  on  veterans  health, support  and organization  news.

The  film  follows  a  group  of  military nurses  sent  to  the Philippines  during  the  early days  of  
World  War  II. The  movie  was  based  on  a  book  written  by  nurse  Juanita Hipps. The  story  covers  many  normal  and  day  to  day  events, and  contrasts  the  brutality  of  war  against  the  sometimes  futile  efforts  of  the  nurses  to  provide  medical  aid  and  comfort. There  are  several  striking  moments in the movie  that  have  the  ability  of  holding  the  audience  spellbound, this  also  including  a  shocking self-sacrifice by  a  female  character  to  save  her  fellow  nurses. The  flashback  narration gives  a  sense  of  historical  importance  to  the  film.

Director  Mark  Sandrich  has  made  a  wonderful  effort  of  tugging  at  the  heart  strings  of  the  audience. The  film  is  a  tribute  to  the  Red  Cross  nurses  trapped  behind  enemy lines  in  the  early  days  of  the  Pacific  war. The  whole  experience  of  this  film  may  take  most  to  a  new  level  of  thinking  wherein  one  would  stop  a  minute  and  think  of  the  selfless  sacrifices  made  by  these  unsung  heroes  of  war. It  surely  is  a  moving  and a  powerful  film  that  has  a  fairly  unusual  plot.  Indeed, the  battle  sequences  are  among the  finest  put  on  the  screen  during  the  time, with  special  effects  work  that  is exemplary  and  an  experience  not  to  be  missed.