Who's Online
There are currently 0 users and 6 guests online.
Who's New
Linz's Mario Book—Updated!PollCan Trump Redeem Himself Following His Disgusting Capitulation to the Swamp on the Budget?
No (please elaborate)
0%
Yes (please elaborate)
56%
Maybe (please elaborate)
44%
Who cares? (My blood doesn't boil and I'm a waste of space)
0%
Total votes: 9
|
Plot, character and great drama, all in less than an hour-and-a-half![]() Submitted by Peter Cresswell on Tue, 2008-01-22 00:26
Half-a-dozen of us here last night watched two films and a TV programme. That might sound like a busy evening, but it wasn't. It only took an hour-and-a-half. It only took an hour-and-a-half because the two films, modern 'art-house' blockbusters, didn't take long to watch. Despite stars, spectacle and really big budgets both 'The Good German' and 'Black Dahlia' were execrable. They failed the fifteen minute test, offering no good reason we should watch them any further. If you haven't already seen them, my advice is 'don't bother.'
As too many directors forget, It's the Story Stupid. 'The Good German' and the 'Black Dahlia' had George Clooney and Cate Blanchett and Scarlett Johansen and a host of other so called stars who couldn't act their way out of a paper bag even if they'd been given any lines worth delivering to help them out. As with so many of today's films, the films' directors seem to have forgotten the basic elements of their craft, and their actors all-too obviously never had them. Watching 'Spooks' however was damn fine entertainment, and also a simple reminder of how important those basic elements are.
It's the first two of Aristotle's elements that truly characterise good drama -- that is, Plot and Character. With all the technology now available to film-makers however, it's now the last two in his list that dominate contemporary films, with 'Spectacle' generally and mind-numbingly considered the most important, and a sumptuous score used to bolster the empty bravado. “Superior poets rely on the inner structure of the play rather than spectacle,"observed Aristotle, however “the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet.” It's no accident that "stage machinists" and soundtrack simpletons are highly valued in Hollywood while the "poets" are striking for better pay and recognition of their talents, and no wonder most of what's produced there is so teeth-achingly dull. With nothing to integrate the explosions, the car chases and the lingering 'artistic' shots of most of today's films whether art-house or shit-house, there's nothing to do but either nod off or turn off. Last night we turned off, and turned on 'Spooks' instead. By crikey, this show is good. With none of the megabudget resources available to most of today's film-makers, the show's creators rely instead on Aristotle's first two elements, and like the classic noir films they do them superbly: the Characters are sympathetic, well drawn and given enough light and depth to emerge from the thematic shadows -- they are agents in both the fully volitional and the MI5 sense; and their Plots are sharp and well-integrated and relentless -- you mustn't blink for fear of missing a crucial plot point.
What makes a good plot wasn't news to noir's lions and isn't news to the makers of 'Spooks,' although it's clearly news that's now been lost in L.A.: in three words, it's Dramatic Conflict, and Integration. Without a decent dramatic conflict, there is no plot. Without tight integration of all elements, you can't bring the drama into focus. And once you have a well-written and well-integrated dramatic conflict, you don't need to spend a fortune on Spectacle. You'd think budget-conscious producers would value that simple formula. The rarity of shows as sharp as 'Spooks' and the flatulence of so many films shows it's something so many have still to learn. Until they do, I'll keep ignoring most of what they produce. * Here, for your future viewing pleasure, are Aristotle's six elements along with explanatory quotes from his Poetics whence they come:
About these last two Aristotle says but little, regarding them "as having more to do with how the tragedy is performed, as opposed to its actual content."
( categories: )
|
User loginNavigationMore SOLO StoreThe Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
|
Peter, Excellent post.
Peter,
Excellent post. Spooks in America is called MI5, it is an intelligent, fast, clever, and loaded with serious tension--I love that program. I don't have a T.V. but rent it through netflix and see it on my computer. And thanks for your recommendation not to waste my time on two mentioned films.
Michael
www.michaelnewberry.com
I'll tell you...
"Johansen in two films and, whatever else she is, she's not an actress"
Smoking, smoking hot. That's what she is.
But not a good actress.
Scott DeSalvo
www.desalvolaw.com
FREE Injury Report and CD Reveal the Secrets You Need to Know to Protect Your RIGHTS!
Oh sorry. I'd not realised
Oh sorry. I'd not realised we were talking about acting.
No gravity
On the basis of the evidence here, Mark, and comparing them with actresses in film noir with whom they'd expect to be compared -- the likes of Barbara Stanwyck, Allida Valli, Gloria Graham, Gene Tierney, Lauren Bacall -- they can't even light their candles as actresses.
There are roles that Blanchett suits, though this doesn't seem to be one, but I've now had the misfortune to see Johansen in two films and, whatever else she is, she's not an actress. Not at all.
Wash your mouth out Peter,
Wash your mouth out Peter, how could movies with Cate Blanchett and Scarlett Johansen fail on any level?
I agree with the ordering of importance though, with the one qualification being that I would put plot and character on the same first running equal status, not character behind plot.