Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie and Clyde was released in 1967 and is marked as the film that laid the foundations for the American New Wave movement. The basis of the film is a ‘Road Movie’ about a young couple (Bonnie and Clyde) who go on a bank-robbing spree across several southern states in the United States of America. There are numerous reasons that this film became such a milestone in American cinema. These range from our simple fascination with the couple’s relationship, to their celebrity criminal position in society. One of the most important aspects of this film is the constant struggle against ‘The Man’ and traditional values. Examples of this can be seen throughout the film, as in, for instance, the way in which they describe their robberies as if they are doing the public a favour. This is then emphasised later in the film when, during a robbery, Clyde asks a man whose money he is holding. When the man replies it is his own and not the bank’s, Clyde tells him to keep his money. The continual disregard for the Law can be seen many times in the film, whether it’s killing policemen in a shoot-out, or having their picture taken with a policeman they have captured. This kind of behaviour not only showed a complete disregard for the law, but also found empathy with the youth of the day. This is contextually important due to the political unrest felt at that time. This was also released when traditional values were slowly becoming less influential, as reflected in Bonnie and Clyde’s whirlwind romance, and the audience’s fascination with the justice and integrity of being on the wrong side of the law.
Coupled with the issues brought forward in the script, the film was also extremely well shot. One example of this is when Bonnie and Clyde first meet and the camera follows them along the side of the road. As Clyde reveals his criminal past, Bonnie stops and questions him, which is followed by very direct and honest answer from Clyde. Every time an important discovery is made, the camera stops and allows the viewer time to absorb what has been said. There is also very minimal music in the film, other than the chase scenes, which are accompanied by a banjo-based score. This helps as otherwise the chase scenes would seem very tense, but along with the banjo music the audience is left feeling as if the chase scenes are almost fun and entertaining and have the same level of enjoyment as ‘The Barrow Gang’, which includes Bonnie, Clyde, his brother and wife and a mechanic they picked up on the way.
Bonnie and Clyde is an extremely well produced piece covering issues such as integrity and violence. It has provided foundations for films such as Dog Day Afternoon, Natural Born Killers and Thelma and Louise with the clever use of sympathetic, ‘celebrity’ criminals. Alongside this the ever-changing tempo of comedy and brutality provides the audience with an unpredictable yet engrossing film.
Taxi Driver
The script for Taxi Driver was first developed in 1970 by scriptwriter Paul Schrader during a time of societal collapse in America. Heavily influenced by the 1959 film The Searchers, starring John Wayne, we follow a Vietnam veteran as he attempts to ‘clean up the streets’. The main theme of the film is the feeling of isolation of the main character Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro). After starting a job as a night shift taxi driver, we are introduced to New York through the eyes of a taxi driver as he becomes more unbalanced and enraged with his surroundings. His thoughts and emotions are narrated by the character throughout the film, adding to the isolation. The most memorable scene, which was unscripted, involves Bickle talking to himself in the mirror. This sums up one of his main problems in the film; a lack of social contact. Up until this point we observe Travis fail in various social situations, including taking a girl to an adult movie on a first date, trying to talk to a political candidate but only intimidating him and trying to befriend a twelve year old prostitute but scaring her away. As we watch Travis fail these various attempts, he becomes more introverted, and ends up planning an assassination attempt on a political candidate, which ends unsuccessfully. He then decides that in order to improve the world around him, he must rescue the aforementioned prostitute from her pimp. This ends in a ruthless and bloody gun battle, in which Travis is shot several times. The film touches on many social issues, such as the political unrest felt by the majority of Americans at that time in addition to prostitution and the moral arguments surrounding it. We also see Travis’ feelings towards black people by two careful long shots, set inside a diner, whereby Travis stares at the person who is dressed like a ‘pimp’. This scene also helps to reiterate Travis’ isolation as we see him
Coupled with the script, innovative production techniques are used, such as slow motion and clever subjective point of view shots. As the taxicab travels around the city we see the car moving in real time, but when we shift to Travis’ point of view the world is shown in slow motion, which shows us his sharp grasp of the environment is through slow motion. Additionally the music (scored by the legendary Bernard Herrmann) sets the mood most effectively by jumping from laid-back jazz infused melodies, adding to the sleazy images on screen, to darker, more brass and lower woodwind pieces, as the film becomes darker itself.
The film has been critically acclaimed worldwide and was nominated for 18 awards, winning nine of them, when it was released. Although disturbing in parts, the film is still as relevant today as it was in 1976 thanks partly to the films diverse range of characters and issues.
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
The film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is a seminal piece released in January of 1971. It marked a major change in sociological filmmaking. The man behind the film, Melvin Van Peebles, wrote, directed, scored and starred in the picture, which was funded partly by the success of his previous film Watermelon Man and his claim that Sweet Sweetbacks was to be an ‘Adult’ film. The importance of this film came mainly from the explosion of the Blaxploitation era; having been released in only two cinemas (Detroit and Atlanta), it had grossed over $15 million by the end of 1971. This made way for black-cast films as well as black-directed films such as Shaft.
Issues that are dealt with in the film cover a multitude of civil-rights based ideologies. From the beginning of the film we are told that the main stars are ‘The Black Community’. This clearly states the film’s intentions and target audience. There are also two very important quotes at the start that establish the tone of the film:
‘Sire, these lines are not a homage to brutality that the artist has invented, but a hymn from the mouth of reality’ (Traditional Prologue of the Dark Age).
“This film is dedicated to all the Brothers and Sisters who had enough of the Man.” (Van Peebles, 1971).
Although very frank, these two quotes sum up the mood of the film, which deals with racial oppression, realistically as well as brutally. The film goes on to show Sweet Sweetback, turning from a youth into a young man, which introduces the main body of the story. This begins with the police finding the body of a dead black man in the area. In order for the police to appear as if they are doing their jobs they ask Sweetback to escort them to the police station. On the way to the station they arrest another young black man whom they then proceed to beat to make it seem like he struggled, Sweetback then retaliates by assaulting the two policemen. This leads the way for the basis of the film, which follows Sweetback fleeing from the police. During this episode, he manages to escape the police twice mainly through sex and violence, as well as being helped by a ‘Hell’s Angels’ gang.
The film acquired mixed reviews, some believing it created a hyper real version of the ‘Ghetto’ and portrayed an unrealistic, selfish, hero whilst others saw it as an eye-opening social triumph. Although the film does entertain the use of stereotypes, it also allowed the breakthrough of a completely new genre and style of filmmaking. With innovative production techniques and a contemporary soulful soundtrack, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song was and still is a revolutionary film.
Bonnie and Clyde was released in 1967 and is marked as the film that laid the foundations for the American New Wave movement. The basis of the film is a ‘Road Movie’ about a young couple (Bonnie and Clyde) who go on a bank-robbing spree across several southern states in the United States of America. There are numerous reasons that this film became such a milestone in American cinema. These range from our simple fascination with the couple’s relationship, to their celebrity criminal position in society. One of the most important aspects of this film is the constant struggle against ‘The Man’ and traditional values. Examples of this can be seen throughout the film, as in, for instance, the way in which they describe their robberies as if they are doing the public a favour. This is then emphasised later in the film when, during a robbery, Clyde asks a man whose money he is holding. When the man replies it is his own and not the bank’s, Clyde tells him to keep his money. The continual disregard for the Law can be seen many times in the film, whether it’s killing policemen in a shoot-out, or having their picture taken with a policeman they have captured. This kind of behaviour not only showed a complete disregard for the law, but also found empathy with the youth of the day. This is contextually important due to the political unrest felt at that time. This was also released when traditional values were slowly becoming less influential, as reflected in Bonnie and Clyde’s whirlwind romance, and the audience’s fascination with the justice and integrity of being on the wrong side of the law.
Coupled with the issues brought forward in the script, the film was also extremely well shot. One example of this is when Bonnie and Clyde first meet and the camera follows them along the side of the road. As Clyde reveals his criminal past, Bonnie stops and questions him, which is followed by very direct and honest answer from Clyde. Every time an important discovery is made, the camera stops and allows the viewer time to absorb what has been said. There is also very minimal music in the film, other than the chase scenes, which are accompanied by a banjo-based score. This helps as otherwise the chase scenes would seem very tense, but along with the banjo music the audience is left feeling as if the chase scenes are almost fun and entertaining and have the same level of enjoyment as ‘The Barrow Gang’, which includes Bonnie, Clyde, his brother and wife and a mechanic they picked up on the way.
Bonnie and Clyde is an extremely well produced piece covering issues such as integrity and violence. It has provided foundations for films such as Dog Day Afternoon, Natural Born Killers and Thelma and Louise with the clever use of sympathetic, ‘celebrity’ criminals. Alongside this the ever-changing tempo of comedy and brutality provides the audience with an unpredictable yet engrossing film.
Taxi Driver
The script for Taxi Driver was first developed in 1970 by scriptwriter Paul Schrader during a time of societal collapse in America. Heavily influenced by the 1959 film The Searchers, starring John Wayne, we follow a Vietnam veteran as he attempts to ‘clean up the streets’. The main theme of the film is the feeling of isolation of the main character Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro). After starting a job as a night shift taxi driver, we are introduced to New York through the eyes of a taxi driver as he becomes more unbalanced and enraged with his surroundings. His thoughts and emotions are narrated by the character throughout the film, adding to the isolation. The most memorable scene, which was unscripted, involves Bickle talking to himself in the mirror. This sums up one of his main problems in the film; a lack of social contact. Up until this point we observe Travis fail in various social situations, including taking a girl to an adult movie on a first date, trying to talk to a political candidate but only intimidating him and trying to befriend a twelve year old prostitute but scaring her away. As we watch Travis fail these various attempts, he becomes more introverted, and ends up planning an assassination attempt on a political candidate, which ends unsuccessfully. He then decides that in order to improve the world around him, he must rescue the aforementioned prostitute from her pimp. This ends in a ruthless and bloody gun battle, in which Travis is shot several times. The film touches on many social issues, such as the political unrest felt by the majority of Americans at that time in addition to prostitution and the moral arguments surrounding it. We also see Travis’ feelings towards black people by two careful long shots, set inside a diner, whereby Travis stares at the person who is dressed like a ‘pimp’. This scene also helps to reiterate Travis’ isolation as we see him
Coupled with the script, innovative production techniques are used, such as slow motion and clever subjective point of view shots. As the taxicab travels around the city we see the car moving in real time, but when we shift to Travis’ point of view the world is shown in slow motion, which shows us his sharp grasp of the environment is through slow motion. Additionally the music (scored by the legendary Bernard Herrmann) sets the mood most effectively by jumping from laid-back jazz infused melodies, adding to the sleazy images on screen, to darker, more brass and lower woodwind pieces, as the film becomes darker itself.
The film has been critically acclaimed worldwide and was nominated for 18 awards, winning nine of them, when it was released. Although disturbing in parts, the film is still as relevant today as it was in 1976 thanks partly to the films diverse range of characters and issues.
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
The film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is a seminal piece released in January of 1971. It marked a major change in sociological filmmaking. The man behind the film, Melvin Van Peebles, wrote, directed, scored and starred in the picture, which was funded partly by the success of his previous film Watermelon Man and his claim that Sweet Sweetbacks was to be an ‘Adult’ film. The importance of this film came mainly from the explosion of the Blaxploitation era; having been released in only two cinemas (Detroit and Atlanta), it had grossed over $15 million by the end of 1971. This made way for black-cast films as well as black-directed films such as Shaft.
Issues that are dealt with in the film cover a multitude of civil-rights based ideologies. From the beginning of the film we are told that the main stars are ‘The Black Community’. This clearly states the film’s intentions and target audience. There are also two very important quotes at the start that establish the tone of the film:
‘Sire, these lines are not a homage to brutality that the artist has invented, but a hymn from the mouth of reality’ (Traditional Prologue of the Dark Age).
“This film is dedicated to all the Brothers and Sisters who had enough of the Man.” (Van Peebles, 1971).
Although very frank, these two quotes sum up the mood of the film, which deals with racial oppression, realistically as well as brutally. The film goes on to show Sweet Sweetback, turning from a youth into a young man, which introduces the main body of the story. This begins with the police finding the body of a dead black man in the area. In order for the police to appear as if they are doing their jobs they ask Sweetback to escort them to the police station. On the way to the station they arrest another young black man whom they then proceed to beat to make it seem like he struggled, Sweetback then retaliates by assaulting the two policemen. This leads the way for the basis of the film, which follows Sweetback fleeing from the police. During this episode, he manages to escape the police twice mainly through sex and violence, as well as being helped by a ‘Hell’s Angels’ gang.
The film acquired mixed reviews, some believing it created a hyper real version of the ‘Ghetto’ and portrayed an unrealistic, selfish, hero whilst others saw it as an eye-opening social triumph. Although the film does entertain the use of stereotypes, it also allowed the breakthrough of a completely new genre and style of filmmaking. With innovative production techniques and a contemporary soulful soundtrack, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song was and still is a revolutionary film.
Top review on Taxi Driver Chas. It's been a good couple of years since I've watched it but from what I can remember it still stands as Scorsese's most profound work & probably my favourite of his - although I do really like the King of Comedy. Haven't seen Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song but I'm intrigued to see it now.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much, I have to say that goodfellas or the departed is probably mine but as far as his tense films go, Taxi Driver is unbeatable. Actually just though of Raging Bull as well. Sweet sweetbacks is fantastic as an introduction to Blaxploitation and if that interests you there was a film that came out a couple of years ago called Black Dynamite. Whilst it is a spoof it references films of the era so well, its almost a homage to that time as well. Highly recommend it.
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