Showcase "Moulin Rouge": Using Color in Film (warning contains spoilers!!!!)

Greetings everyone!

I want to talk to you about something going on in the films/ movies you watch that you perhaps didn't know about.  Filmmakers are using colors to manipulate your emotions!
WHAT?!!?  Yes!  It's true!  They are doing it as we speak!  Actually, you aren't supposed to notice.  It's supposed to be an enhancement to a story, like a moving score or good acting.  Before we get into any examples of the usage of color, let's talk about what colors mean:

Blue: Loyal, calming, too much can cause depression, it's recommended that bedrooms are painted blue to maximize relaxation.
Red: Passion, love (red roses for example), war.
White: Purity, Doctors and hospitals utilize white to convey sterilization, death (white roses for example)
Black: Authority, power.
Yellow: Incites happiness, friendship (yellow roses for example).
Purple: Royalty, wisdom.

That's enough to get us started.  There are many more meanings for the colors above and there are many more colors that have meaning but you don't have all day, now do you?

The movie that best exemplifies the use of color in my opinion (that stands out in my mind right now anyway) is "Moulin Rouge".  I'm not a huge fan of musicals, but I saw this one 15 times during it's run in theaters.

At the start of the film we see Ewan McGregor's character "Christian" living alone.  He's secluded, depressed and friendless.  Director Baz Luhrmann arranged for Christian to wear a blue suit and chose to light his apartment by the blue light of the moon.

He's clearly miserable, very depressed.  The color is also fitting for what we learn later, which is he's extremely loyal to his woman and his friends (once he meets them).

Soon after meeting Christian, we meet Satine (played by Nicole Kidman), she is passionate and "love" is her job.  She's a courtesan (read: prostitute).  When we see her she is clad in red and her apartment is lit by the light of the Moulin Rouge, also red.

Then later in black (she's got the power, she's in control).

Christian falls in love with Satine and she eventually returns his affection.  At this point, Christian conveniently spends more time in the red aura of the Moulin Rouge illustrating their mutual love for one another.

Enter the Duke.  The financier of the play that Christian wrote and Satine stars in.  He too has amorous feelings for Satine and courts her against her wishes.  She can't very well tell him about Christian, they would lose their financing.  As the ultimate sacrifice, she agrees to a date with the Duke.  As you can see in the scene below, the way it's lit, it is bereft of any passion whatsoever.  The best word that I have to describe the composition of this scene is "cold".  The Duke had just covered Satine's neck in "ice" as well.

Satine gazes down from the balcony and glimpses Christian on the street below.  The red glare from the Moulin Rouge and the fire in the trash barrels call to mind an image that is indicative to hell.  This entire scenario is Christian's hell.

At the end of the film, Satine succumbs to her illness and collapses and dies shortly after her star worthy performance.  As you can see she was showered by congratulatory rose petals, red and white.  As I mentioned above, this signifies the entire theme of the film: love and ultimately death.

What do you think readers?  Did you notice this use of color in the film?  Do you think Baz was subtle in his use of color or does this seem heavy handed to you?  Please comment in the comment area with your thoughts.

Film VS. Movie

I have said before that there is a difference between a film and a movie.  It's almost a concept that is as hard to define as "independent film" but I am willing to give it a shot.  If you like what I write, you will notice that I shift between "film" and "movie" but there is no common context.  Like most things you will read on my blog, this is my humble opinion.  What I like about an opinion is that it cannot be refuted BWA HA HA HA!!!  But I digress...

A movie is shot with the purpose of spectacle.  It's a somewhat musical conclave of visuals with which your eyes can dance.  There's usually a lot of action and folly.  There's usually excessive editing.  On rare occasion there is a plot that is not contrived.

A film however, is crafted with the intention to make you feel something (other than exhausted) afterward.  You are expected to leave the theater learning something new about culture, people, etc.  You are expected to leave the theater with a renewed sense of self in some cases, inspired.

In short, films (again, in my opinion) have more substance than movies.  Please don't get me wrong, movies are great things.  Most of the things I see in theaters are movies.  My lovely bride is of the notion that spectacles should be viewed on the big screen, therefore that is mostly what I see when I go to the theater.  I tend to be forced to rent films that I want to see.  On occasion, I can talk her into seeing a film in the theater, but it's a rarity.

So there you have it!  My terminology in a nutshell.

21 & Over DVD (After viewing contains spoilers)

Welcome back!

First of all, I want to know your thoughts on Miles Teller's ("Miller"'s) channeling of Vince Vaughn.  Please leave comments below.  I have found in recent years that Vince Vaughn doesn't do Vince Vaughn in his prime this well any longer.  I thought he was great.  I really enjoyed the performance.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, much of the movie has not taken the reel less traveled so to speak.  We saw an irresponsible guy who is not the best influence talk his friends into doing something they really shouldn't be doing.  We Saw that Jeff  Chang has an overbearing father.  We saw that one of the friends has an "appointment" that he just can't miss.  We saw so much drinking that even Lindsay Lohan would have stood up and yelled "damn!".

We have been there and done that so much that many of you may have passed up this movie and you would have missed a more interesting addition to this type of film. 

Jeff Chang isn't stable.  He's hurting.  He's isolated since his friends went off to their respective colleges.  This is realized over perfectly timed reveals.  First, they find a pistol in his pocket.  This is no longer the Jeff Chang they know.  Next we find out that he was arrested.  Definitely not the Jeff Chang they know!  Later we find out that Jeff Chang had attempted suicide.  Well, he did and he didn't.  He was released into his own care from the college health facility because they found stress to be the main cause of his anguish.  At this point if something remotely close to this happened in "Project X" or another film of this ilk, the Jeff Chang of that film would promptly have been laughed at and had his "balls busted" or they would have gotten him drunk.  Not the case here.  His friends show immediate concern and want to help him, plus at this point he's already too drunk.  They don't claim to want the old Jeff Chang back, they just want their current Jeff Chang well again.  This is best illustrated when Jeff Chang's father calls him "worthless" and Miller punches him square in the jaw and told his pals how good it felt.  I know one thing, it felt good to watch. 

The subplot of what Jeff Chang has been going through comes around full circle and we come to the realization that his father's motivation didn't seem to come from a place of "culture" or "concern" but rather a place of control.  Controlling his son and bending him against his will to his own likeness. 

Once again, I have a bias towards two types of films and cannot be held responsible for what I say: 1) college movies like this and 2) superhero movies.  That said, I think this is a pretty good choice for a rental if you have the same weaknesses that I have.

21 & Over DVD (Before viewing contains no spoilers)

The writers of "The Hangover" and "Change-Up" bring you 21 & Over now on DVD.  The trailer (above) looks like many college/ high school films that have come before it.  In many ways, that's very true.  "Jeff Chang" is turning 21 and his "boys" "Casey" and "Miller" go to surprise him at his dorm to take him out (read: "get him drunk") for his milestone birthday.  The adventure catalyst is Miller.  He's a kid who hasn't changed much over the years while his friend Casey has grown up and is ready to begin his responsible life just before college actually ends.  As you may have guessed from seeing this plot line/ movie over and over again, this is completely unacceptable.  Miller, using his spot on Vince-Vaughn-from-Swingers-ad-lib-impersonation inspires his friends to make poor decisions. 

What do I mean that we have seen this plot line/ movie before?  Let's go down the checklist:
Young men almost naked, check!  Young women topless, check! (however, much less than you would see in other similar genre films and no that didn't disappoint me!)  LOTS of alcohol, check!  Epic Parties in frats and sororities, check!  Extreme shenanigans, check!

So you think you have seen this movie before?  Mostly you have, however there is a dark underpinning of something else, other than Miller motivating Jeff Chang.  This is the thing that interests me the most as it is a thing of substance and character.  Of course, it's a spoiler and I can't talk about it here.

This is a decent rental and there is more to it than a re-treading of "Animal House", "Project X", "revenge of the nerds" and "American Pie" who have all done this before but not necessarily better.  Be sure to check out 21 & Over DVD (After viewing the film).  

Welcome to my blog

Greetings everyone!  Welcome to my Film Blog.  It is here, in this space that I plan on talking about all things Film.  I will post various film lists that I have created.  I will review films and movies (yes, there is a difference).  I have my own ratings system that boils down to the bottom line.  MONEY!  A fantastic film (in my honest opinion) will garner an "any 'cost'", a good film may be worthy of an "evening cost of a ticket", a decent film worth watching, but far from great gets the distinct "Matinee ticket cost".  Lastly, there are the bottom two categories: "rental" and "pass".  Pass, as you may have guessed, means that I should have skipped that movie altogether.  I am also planning an experimental "before" article as well as an "after" which will contain spoilers, of course you would read "after" if you so desire upon completion of the film.  I will also review previews prior to seeing the films.  Sound like fun?!  Well, I hope that you continue to visit this page.  I look forward to sharing and discussing Film with you.
Once again, welcome