10 pager on a "scene" in a movie!

T

tomahawk

Active member
I'm in this ridiculous film class and I need to pick out a scene in a film that I can write 10 pages on.... any ideas?

Thanks!
 
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Scene in fight club where Tyler Durdan lets the owner of the bar beat the shit out of him then scares the fuck out of him. Write about intimidation in humans and how insanity scares us and shit like that.

or do it on this

 
apocalypse now opening scene. talk about ptsd and the vietnam war and how the movie conveys its interpretation of the war and its message to viewers through lighting, camera work, and scene inclusion
 
Fight club is an easy one to write about. Especially Tyler Durden saying "the things you own end up owning you." Work the marxist angle, and talk about commodity fetishism, ect, and also talk about immasculation of american males.

orrrr...

You could write about just about any scene in "Chinatown", highlighting the voyeur themes, subjective camera angles, ect. Polanski tends to use a degradation of physical space to reflect the mental state of his characters.

Need I go on? haha.

 
or since its a film class, you could go with the really long dolly cam shot of the ballroom dance in Pride and Prejudice.. if you want to write from a cinematographers point of view
 
In the movie "The Protector" with Tony Ja there is like a 4 or 5 minute fight scene that is done without any cuts, just a single camera that follows him running up like a five or six story building, beating the crap out of people the whole way. The technical aspect of a long, continuous shot, especially a fight scene, is pretty insane.

 
The scene from wiseguy's when henry brings his date to the copa cobana, long following shot in scorsces signature style, pretty famous scene actually
 
Thanks for the ideas everyone.

I have to make sure there are a lot of shots and different pacing in the scene.

This is the criteria:

For this paper, I want you to select one scene of three to five minutes in length. Do

not use a scene that has been shown and discussed in class. You may select the scene from any film you would like to work with, but be careful in your selection. Remember that some films lend themselves more easily to analysis than do other films. HINT: A big part of this assignment will involve making sure you know and can use the language of film analysis, so make sure you are using the terms correctly!

1) Write a brief description of the scene. (Be sure you know what a scene is. Do not pick several scenes that run together. Do not do a sequence. Do not use just a shot. Analyze a scene.) In this brief description, discuss the film’s theme.

2) Briefly describe the shots in the scene, using shot numbers. Be sure to include the total number of shots, their approximate length, and their content. Use the DVD time indicator to clock the shots. Not every shot has to be fully described: select the most important

shots for detailed description.

3) What is so important about these shots? Analyze (don’t just describe) the shots’ mise en scène, cinematography, editing, direction, acting, and sound. How are time and space used? Foreground? Background?

4) Discuss how the shots work together and separately:

• What sense does the scene as a whole make? How is meaning created and imparted to the viewer?

• How do the shots convey information and characterization?

• Why might these particular shots have been used? What gives them impact?

• How is meaning built up in the scene?

5) Describe how the scene connects with the rest of the film and its narrative. What is the importance of the scene and its relation to other scenes? Does the scene support the film’s theme?

6) What is the rhythm and tempo of the scene (the pacing)?

7) In your conclusion, tell us what it all means, what it all adds up to. How does this scene significantly add to the theme you’ve identified in portion 1.

 
One of the final scenes in PT Anderson's There Will Be Blood

http://www.youtube.com/v/wPFUFfK6fkY?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0">
 
How about the opening scene in Saving Private Ryan? So much to write about: all of the special effects, the setting itself, the history of the war up to that point and why that battle was significant, and perhaps how accurate of a portrayal it was and veteran's reactions?
 
Just read your assignment. I don't know if this would still work or not because I know nothing about film, however there are a lot of different tempos during the scene.
 
How about the "final battle" scene from The Fall.

The movie itself is great for studies, and this certain scene I am talking about reflects so much of the movie, along with the emotions of the characters and overall theme of the movie.

I've recommended this movie before for a film study, and the person enjoyed it very much so as his topic.
 
Second vote for Muhulland Drive.

The scene where she realizes that she has basically been dreaming everything is crazy. As is the scene in the theater.

Or this is a super rad scene... one of my favorites actually. Confessions of a Dangerous mind, the poison cup scene... this is a minute or so into it... but still awesome.

 


but seriously, fight club is a great suggestion, so much to write about. or the final scene of donnie darko maybe?
 
I came here to post this, the movie is Goodfellas though. Something from Taxi Driver would be great too. Actually there's way too many great movie scenes, whatever you pick good luck.
 


Do it on Mementos ending or technically beginning. It wont make sense unless you watch the movie but you can easily write a 10 page paper on it. How do I know? I've done this project before too except ours was about a movie and it was 25 pages but i did about 15 of them on the ending and im sure u can use 5 of them simply explaining how the scene works so well because of the fact that the movie plays in reverse (going from beginning to end) so enjoy it this is by far the greatest movie ever create.
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'm leaning towards fight club at the moment. I think it'll have a lot to write about overall like lighting, angles, framing, etc.

 
did you look at citizen kane in class? lots of easy intro to film analysis scenes to write essays about in there.
 
The scene in kids where the girl who found out she has hiv goes to tell the guy who gave it to her but finds him occupied deflowering yet another under-aged virgin before passing out and being raped by the hapless but hitherto likable main character.
 


http://youtu.be/uuzNohk5cYw

Embedding disabled on the second one not sure how to do it. Two powerful closing scenes that seem to match your criteria if you've seen the two movies and can summarize the significance. No one deserves to die alone and the powers of addiction. Both songs alone give me goosebumps
 
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