Black and White Sunset

I am running far behind in this film race it seems. I just managed to track down a copy of the 1950 motion picture, Sunset Blvd, and I must say, it lived up to all of the hype that I’ve been hearing from the students who attended class last week for the group screening. I have to admit that I, like Imran, always stuck to the notion that black and white films were boring and unentertaining. I remember my grandmother trying to get me to sit still and watch some of her old favorites on VHS, and I wouldn’t get through the first scene before my attention would wander. I can’t imagine the number of captivating motion pictures I passed up just because of a lack of color and a scratchy audio recording. I think I should call her up soon and talk about the classics.

The thing that I enjoyed most about the screening of Sunset Blvd. was the fact that it offered me the opportunity to compare past and present film techniques. There were several noticeable scenes in the movie that made it clear that it was not made in the current era. Aside from the noticeable aspects like fashion and dialogue, the style of shooting and the acting of the film’s stars serve as a marker for the era in which the motion picture was created.

One of the first things you notice is that classic film noir style. There is a noticeable contrast between light and darkness that is used to hint at the mood and mental state of the characters compared to one another. The director also used age, wealth, and even location contrasts to convey mood and emotion in a scene. In this way, he was able to tell a lot about the characters he created without using dialogue.

There are certain scenes throughout the motion picture where Norma’s acting becomes overly dramatic and unbelievable. I’m not sure whether that style of acting is a clear representation of the era in which the film was created or simply a unique concept used by that actress to further accentuate her character’s mental state. Either way, I don’t believe that that style of acting could be taking seriously in today’s film market.

I think it will be interesting to watch the steady progression of a hundred year’s of film this semester through the screening of a few key motion pictures.