Analyze a scene from Rome Open City. Be sure to read the handouts I've given you.
Choose a 5 minute scene and analyze it completely. Remember that you need to mention why you chose the scene and this scene's relation to the film as a whole. In addition, pay close attention to: mise-en-scene, lighting, camera angles, shot types, etc. Here is a list of items to pay attention to when you write your 750 words (minimum) (and when you do your oral presentation):
- How well do I understand how meaning is constructed through the use of film language in this extract?
- How well do I understand the extract's relationship to the film as a whole?
- How well do I understand the influences of the film's genre?
- How well can I place the film and this extract in a broader socio-cultural context?
- How insightful is my analysis of the director's intention?
- How coherent, incisive, insightful, and detailed is my evaluative interpretation of this extract?
Here is a list of "vocab" you should use:
- narrative
- direction
- cinematography
- mise-en-scene
- lighting (which is often, but not always, considered part of mise-en-scene)
- camera movement
- editing
- sound (diegetic and non-diegetic)
Be sure your paper is AT LEAST 750 words. Watch the clip a number of times. Let your ideas flow. Spend time with this. If you don't, your presentation next year will suffer. It will be difficult if you don't practice. If you do what I ask, that will be an easy assessment for you!
Due: Monday, April 8, 2013
The movie Rome Open city was a very strong and powerful film made in the neo-realist era of film. This film was made to show the horrors of Italy during the war and how badly they were treated by the German’s after they invaded their country. This film was directed by Roberto Rossellini and it came out in 1945. During the Nazi occupation of Rome, the resistance leader Giorgio Manfredi aka Luigi Ferraris is chased by the Gestapo. His friend Francesco, who is going to marry the widow Pina, together with the priest Don Pietro Pellegrini help him to get a new identity and leave Rome. However, Manfredi is betrayed by his lover Marina Mari and arrested by the Germans.
ReplyDeleteThe opening shot of the scene I chose is a close up shot of Don Pietro Pellegrini as he is on the left side of the frame, but also taking up most of the shot. This scene is about the Nazis showing nothing but sheer ruthlessness towards other human lives, as the Germans are torturing Giorgio Manfredi aka Luigi Ferraris, as they do so, they are trying to get him to talk and confess, but he never does. Giorgio Manfredi and Don Pietro are in two different rooms, but the way they play with sound in this scene, it makes it seem to the audience they are right next to each other. The Germans are in the other room torturing Giorgio, but they very rarely show the violence happening, except for a medium shot of a german officer shooting a flamethrower at Giorgio’ torso. The rest of this scene, thanks to the sound, shows they audience the gruesome pain that this man was going through, without actually showing to much of the violence itself. Most of this scene is shot in the room with Don Pietro as he listens to his friend get tortured. Even though the camera and the character are in a different room, the sound is as loud as if Don is in the same room as the tortured man. This strengthens the emotional power behind this scene. The scene as far as sound is concerned is a very important part of it.
Mise-en-scene is another big factor in what makes this scene so well made and such an emotional scene to watch as a viewer. Framing is another factor as it works with Mise-en-scene. The framing of this scene is for the most shot medium shot and a lot of long, drawn out close ups of Don Pietro as he listens to his friend get tortured by the Germans. The fact that for the most part, the audience only sees Don Pietro as he listens to the horrors that are occurring in the other room. The audience only sees little 3 to 5 second shots of this man being tortured, which is more powerful then showing them the entire violent action. The way they did it, it forces the audience to imagine what is going on in the other room for the most part and the human imagination is worse and more brutal than anything you can put on a movie screen. So in a way, the lack of some Mise-en-scene in this scene is what makes it so emotional.
When this film came out, it didn’t have great reviews in Italy, because everyone was poor and only noble citizens of Italy could actually go to a movie. In the states however, it had much better reviews. However, some people didn’t like it because they felt it was too intense and emotional for them. For the most part however, people loved this movie in the states and it got really good reviews and it is obviously one of the most influential and emotional movies of the neo-realist movement back in the 1940’s.
Nice job, Kirk. In the future, you need to supply a quote to support what you say about the reviews.
DeleteThe scene I chose from Rome Open City was the scene where Francesco is being captured and taken away by guards and Pina tries to save him. I chose this scene to analyze because I felt it was very significant. The main female character in the film dies, and one of the main male characters is taken away. This changes the entirety of the film and its meaning.
ReplyDeleteThe lighting in this scene foreshadows Pina's life. She runs down a dark tunnel to try and find Francesco, and only the outline of her body can be seen. This is because the tunnel is dark, but there is a bright light at the end of it. This "walking into the light" effect that is placed on Pina foreshadows her upcoming death.
I also found the camera angles in this scene interesting. For the majority of the scene, the camera is at an eye level, medium shot. Except for the end where Pina is running and actually gets killed. At this point, the camera switches to a high angle shot over Pina. It is much wider and now the audience can see most of her surroundings. This is significant because it shows the dominance that these soldiers have over Pina. She is the victim now, and this high angle helps portray that to the audience. Then, after she is already dead, the camera angle switches back to an eye level, medium shot. This is to show that Pina is no longer significant in society anymore. She holds no importance. She is just dead and helpless. I also noticed that the camera moves to follow the characters as they move about the frame. The camera pans to follow the characters where ever they go. I think this help creates a sense of chaos. Is the camera was still, this would give the scene a sense of stability. But because the camera is going everywhere the characters go, it builds suspense and makes the viewer realize how wild the scene truly is.
The sound in the scene is very raw. Every character: major, minor, or an extra, their voices are picked up by the microphones and left to be heard by the audience in this scene. The sounds are real. Everyone is frantically chatting or screaming. That is how is would have been in real life too. There is no non diegetic sound. There isn't any music in the background to intensify the scene, its just the sound of the peoples voices. This makes the scene, as well as the rest of the movie, seem more real. It allows the audience members to actually picture themselves there.
The miss-en-scene in this scene is also very accurate in depicting real life Italy at the time. The costumes that the characters were wearing symbolized their social class. Obviously, the men in uniform held authority over the women in the beat up dresses. They were the lowest social class because they were poor females. The priest is wearing his traditional attire that priests wear when they are giving sermons. This is to show that he is set apart from the rest of society. He is almost untouchable. The guards let him go and "cure a sick man" just because he is wearing that outfit. He is not seen as equal to the rest of the crowd.
Overall, the lighting, camera angles, sound, and the miss-en-scene are very significant in portraying real life Italy at the time. These elements make it easier for the audience to connect to the film as a whole.