A Peacock’s Life

Film Title: Nosferatu Year: 1922 Country of Origin: Germany Sound: None Color: None Analysis- I have never read Dracula before but this appeared to be a good imitation to me even though they had to change a few specific character names and the title as not to copy the original. First I would like to point out how amazing the costumes were especially the vampire’s (Nosferatu) because it incited fear without being over the top. They didn’t have special effects then so they really had to get creative with costumes and makeup when the plot required a character to be something other than human. The stupidity of one character bothered me for almost the whole film until he finally realized what was going on but it was balanced out by the other characters common sense. As a side note this would make a great Halloween film to watch because it’s haunting without being gory or super scary. (The organ music was priceless for this film.)

Film Title: Intolerance Year: 1916 County of Origin: United States of America Sound: None Color: None Analysis- This film was quite a long one to sit through at 3 hours in run time but very worth it to me. It had its reasons for being so long, one being that it was portraying 3 different story lines all based on the main idea of intolerance. It really captured the idea that intolerance exists in every age, country, and race no matter the circumstances, good or bad, wealthy or poor. This film did introduce a few captions every now and then if there was something the audience specifically needed to hear from the characters. It also introduced the idea of a soundtrack by having a very excellent pianist play for the entire film changing the tone of music depending on the emotions or themes being betrayed. A very stunning example of beautiful sets and excellent acting even while the rest of the world was at war.

Film Title: Life and Passion of Christ Year: 1905 Country of Origin: France Sound: None Color: None Analysis- This film was one of the first in cinema and is as such a piece of history. The cast had to be very expressive in their body language and facial expressions because there was no sound yet meaning no talking. The crew as well had to be very creative with sets and backdrops but I think they did a fabulous job. I believe with all films from the silent and colorless age that everyone involved had to be very proactive, creative, and dedicated to their work because they didn’t have the luxuries we have now in film production. It was a tedious, long, and hard job to make a film then but nevertheless they came out splendidly for having so many limitations.