The Night of the Hunter in the 21st Century

The Night of the Hunter speaks to people today because we fear to trust and money is the power of all evil. John's father told him to trust no one because he knew that people would come after his children for the money, and years later John noticed his dad was right. My favorite character was Mrs. Cooper because she took John and Pearl in without any interest of what they could offer her, she soon became a mother figure in her supportive role. I think a lot of what she says can relate to people in the sense that children are innocent, if treated well, they will treat you well in return. A lot of what kept me on my toes is the fact that John and Pearl are both kids with little to no guidance. Also the fact that John got frightened when his stepdad got arrested because maybe it related him to his father. I think that can also speak to people today, have maybe a tragic memory that they hate to remember when they were a kid. Also, I think Mrs. Cooper and the evil step father are what correlates with the love/hate on going theme in the film. The preacher puts on a persona as if he radiates love but all he shows for the kids are hate, jealousy and a need to overpower. He tries to bribe and scare them countlessly and I along with the rest of the audience, kind of caught on to his character in the beginning of the film. I think this is something that can still happen today, it has the evil step-parent idea along with money being the root of all evil. And thats what the preacher is driven by: hate, jealousy, and evilness.

Night of the Hunter

I thought this movie was good but I didn't see anything unique about it. Maybe to  my untrained eye I don't easily recognize the importance of certain angles or the usage of focus in a certain scenes or the just the overall cinematography of it that may add to the storyline. Which leads me to wondering, why is this film still relevant 70 years later? The plot line was very intriguing and I was thoroughly entertained and pleased with the progression and slight turns of the plot. Unfortunately, I didnt feel this movie was anything to write home about. I did find the LOVE/HATE knuckle reference cool and weird at the same time. I can say that I appreciate this film much more knowing that it has left an impact that inspires our artists, both legendary and aspiring alike,  to pull from and adapt from it.

A timeless movie

I think that The Night Of The Hunter still speaks to people because it is so powerful.  It plays on so many themes that are timeless, that will always connect: children with no family, god & religion, love vs. hate.  They are timeless because they are issues that people will always struggle with specifically the theme of god and religion and love and hate.  They are opposing forces in everyday life that can lead to violence, can lead to fights within families and friends. I think another reason that this film resonates so strongly after all these years is because of the powerful symbolism throughout the movie, the directors decisions to do things such as show the words love as he clasps his hands together to pray for the money in the cell, or how claustrophic it feels and looks when the preacher announces to John that the mother and him are getting married, .

HATE VS LOVE

Night of the Hunter is a powerful movie made decades ago which would seem to be old news now since movies are being made and produced every week but this movie still stands on its own and speaks to people. This film still shares a meaning till this day because of its powerful messages such as The left hand "Hate" and the right and "Love." The main antagonist is after two children for the money they hold hidden within a doll and tattooed on each hands are the word hate and the word love. Toward the middle of the film he explains to a few store clearks what his tattoos mean and basically hate and love fight against each other but in the end Love conquers all. This message still stands very strong to individuals til this day because of how true this statement is. We are all in a constant battle of hate but in the end love will always win. We use our left hand (hate) much often more than the right hand (love) but love always pops up and wins.

The Hitch-hiker (The Bright Noir)

I've been thinking about this film, considering it's the first film-noir of the term, and how much it breaks away from the mold of the genre but manages to keep the shape and delivery of one. When I think Noir, I always find them in un-worldly dark places, where silhouettes and shadows thrive, and where the empty space seemingly suffocates. But this film barely has that darkness. Instead it utilizes the tight space of both a vehicle and the watchful eye of a itchy trigger finger to keep you bound in with a racing heart. Hitchhiker makes you feel as if light and the open space is just as dreadful. I'd even argue that the lack of language barrier makes us feel even worse for the hostages, as these vendors and citizens the three men meet along the way can't pick up on the atmosphere of the words spoken, the emphasis of trying to be warned. I think that makes the beginning of the film so strong, the connotation that "This could happen to you". Being kind, leading to getting you killed, or at the very least physiologically tortured and I bet nobody picked up anybody on the side of the road after seeing this film. I wouldn't even pick up my neighbor if they asked me to pick them up from their driveway.

The Big Sleep and Noir

By this point you've probably determined that there is not just one femme fatale in The Big Sleep, but two, Carmen and Vivian. What are these sisters like and how are they femme fatales? How are they different from ea other? Looking at my list of film noir qualities from last week (http://engl252fall2016.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-film-noir.html), what other qualities of this novel make it a noir?

Girl On A Train

I know this movie really doesn't exactly follow what we've been studying in class, but when I watched the movie yesterday I found myself viewing it as we would if had we all screened it together in class.  First I found myself questioning why the director decided to make the decisions he did because when I read the book, I imagined things differently.  I also find myself wondering why the director chose subjunctive vs objective shots in a lot of scenes, although I do agree with it as it evokes so much more emotion during the scenes with only 2 characters.  I also really found myself questioning why he shot one scene through a mirror (I think because I thought about this a lot for my 2nd paper) and realized shooting this way makes the main character Rachel seem even more out of touch with reality, it obscures your view of her just slightly enough that it's symbolic of the way her alcoholism skews her.

Just a thought!

The movie was decent, but you should read the book :)