cinema – Otis Morley’s A-Level Film Studies Blog

From Buster to Bogart

After film was popularised during the 1910s, it soon went from being a ‘seaside attraction’ to a commercial and vastly popular form of mass entertainment. This occurred through the death of music hall as a form of entertainment, during which cinemas overtook the buildings that were previously music halls. American entrepreneurs soon began to view film as a grand business opportunity first and foremost, rather than an art form.

Over the course of the 20th Century, film in America undertook a variety of forms. Throughout the 1910s, short films known as ‘two-reelers’ were the most popular form of entertainment. Focusing particularly on comedy, action, and romance, this style of filmmaking was perfected by the silent stars of the 1920s, such as Buster Keaton.

Film’s exponential gain in popularity over the course of the 1920s led to a drastic rise in competition, ultimately forming the ‘Big Five’ film studios that dominated the playing field. Each studio attempted to provide a sense of differentiation, offering bigger budgets, more exotic filming locations as well as featuring the most prolific stars. The studios also implemented the business tactic of vertical integration, with each studio overseeing and taking ownership of every stage of film production. Studios contracted screenwriters, editors, actors and even entire cinemas in an attempt to monopolise the film industry. Through this, both the ‘studio system’ and ‘star system’ were established.

Four film stars in particular were extremely unhappy with the state of the studio system, claiming that the studios collected an inordinate amount of money from the booming film business. D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks collectively founded United Artists – a company premised on allowing actors to control their own line of work, rather than being fully dependant upon the domineering film studios.

*D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks founding United Artists*

Silent Cinema: Stars And Studios In The States

Originating in the late 1800s, film began when Lumiere brothers discovered that if you displayed images in a rapid sequence (24 per second), it would create the illusion of a moving image. The first films were originally shot at an unmoving wide angle without any sound. At the time, one reel of film lasted around 8-12 minutes. Because of this, most films used two reels of film and were appropriately dubbed ‘two-reelers’. By the 1910s, filmmakers incorporated varying angles and used a multitude of sets within in a single film – portraying spatial and temporal movement.

As opposed to Germany and Russia, America did not view film as a new art form first and foremost. Instead, many American entrepreneurs saw film as a grand business opportunity. Because of this, vertical integration quickly took effect and filmmaking was quickly transformed into an assembly line-esque industry. Romance and comedy films were the genres of primary focus, due to these films attracting the highest cinema viewership, as they were easily digestible and relatable to audiences at the time.

In addition to this, slapstick was a very popular genre during the silent era of film, which displayed the actors’ daring athleticism and seemingly impossible feats. Through this, the first ‘stars’ of Hollywood were born – including Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, as well as many others. The slapstick comedy duo Laurel & Hardy also had highly successful careers both during and after the silent era of Hollywood.

As film continued to grow exponentially in popularity, the rise of production facilities throughout America increased. This gave birth to the first film studios, five of which dominated the cinema. Throughout this Golden Age of Hollywood, the main studios included: Paramount, RKO, MGM, Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox, who had complete control over both production business and distribution firms. It is no understatement to remark upon the fact that these studios were the supreme rulers of the American film industry from the 1920s-50s.

By 1929, almost all films had synchronised sound and film was the most popular art form in the Western world. Audiences visited the cinema primarily to see their favourite stars on the big screen. Because of this, the stars of Hollywood were coerced into signing exclusivity contracts, meaning that they could only work under specific studios. The film studios themselves only continued to grow substantially during the Great Depression, during which actors and directors were merely viewed as assets to possess by the studios. Studios engaged in a practice known as ‘block booking’ which allowed the studio to sell to multiple films to cinemas at once. Each cinema was owned by a particular studio and they had complete creative control over each film that was released under it. Ticket prices were fixed and each studio attempted to monopolise the industry by acquiring film ‘packages’. This meant that a handful of films were immediately owned by the particular studio.

This ultimately led to an over-saturation of uninspired and ‘by the numbers’ films. Filmmakers were restricted to experiment outside of what was absolutely certain to sell tickets. Hollywood’s contemporary association with shallowness, glamour and money originated from this early age of cinema.

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Aesthetics

Throughout the film, Wes Anderson utilises a number of techniques in order to illustrate intriguing and enthralling aesthetics throughout.

Primarily, the implementation of three different aspect ratios create a distinctive aesthetic throughout the film. Anderson utilises a different aspect ratio to represent each time period. These include 1.37:1 (1932), 2.4:1 (1968) and 1.85:1 (1985). In effect, this subtly informs the viewer of the current scene’s time period.

Each aspect ratio was carefully chosen in order to accurately reflect the time period in which it represents. Beginning in the 1980s, the film utilises a standard widescreen aspect ratio which was typical of film during that specific time period. During the 1960s section, an anamorphic aspect ratio is implemented in order to indicate a sense of comfort and luxury during this point in Zero’s life. Finally, the majority of the film takes place during the 1930s in which the vintage ‘Academy Ratio’ is utilised to authentically represent the Golden Age of cinema during this time.

*Aspect ratios within The Grand Budapest Hotel*

Another aesthetic Anderson utilises is an enchanting colour palette. Making apt use of cremes, pinks, reds and beiges, Anderson diligently illustrates a vibrant and distinctive colour palette which astutely complements the film’s narrative and style.

In addition to this, the film intelligently makes use of zeitgeist in order to reiterate the time period as well as the opulence and aristocracy associated with it. Each and every costume worn by the actors is meticulously selected to insinuate a sense of authenticity.

*Colour palette and costume within The Grand Budapest Hotel*

Characteristic of Wes Anderson’s filmography, The Grand Budapest Hotel features a highly stylised utilisation of symmetry and framing. Throughout the film, Anderson typically establishes a symmetrically composed frame, through which a character or object will then enter. The viewer’s attention is then focused towards this object which is almost always centrally framed.

*Symmetry within The Grand Budapest Hotel*

A Brief History Of Cinema

Cinema is a relatively new dominant art form, being around 130 years old. It is ever-evolving and was a revolutionary way in which humans could express themselves. It is also a knowable concept, due to the fact that the entire history of cinema is mapped out and is within our great-grandparents’ lifetimes.

*An early cinema – only one person was able to watch a film* *at a time*

The history of cinema starts in the 1800s, when photography was first invented. This was a revolutionary moment in history, as now you were able to capture a moment of reality. This was done through the process of exposing a camera obscura containing photosensitive chemicals to light. However, early photography took hours and the subject was forced to sit still for a prolonged period. Subsequently, photography quickly developed and soon enough became a business. Afterwards, people began to ponder the idea of moving images, and soon realised that if many images were sequenced together in rapid succession, it created the illusion of movement. This led to the production of early films – which were reminiscent of flip books.

By 1895, technologies were competing to produce moving images, however, it was a mere novelty at this point. There was no infrastructure, film now existed but was solely a “seaside attraction”. Despite this, film soon caught the imagination of the population and was consistently developed and commercialised. Two key pioneers for the film industry were the Lumiere brothers, who developed iconic early films such as Employees Leaving the Lumiere Factory and The Arrival of a Train. These short experiments did not tell a story of any kind, but merely showed the audience of the late 19th Century what film was capable of.

At this point in time, theatre was cheap entertainment and music halls were common place. As these attractions fell out of favour, music halls were replaced by cinemas and soon enough – every town had a cinema. Because of this, the snowball effect began to take place and there was a sudden explosion in both cinemas and film production. Particularly in America, film was recognised as an incredible business model and many entrepreneurs jumped straight to it. Filmmaking was quickly transformed into a factory assembly line in which the studio completed every task. This was known as vertical integration and the money was gained from the public. The American film industry was constantly competing to be bigger, better and have more assets and this was done by spending the most amount of money. Every stereotypical trait that Hollywood is associated with (glamour, scale, money etc.) originated from this point.

Another key trailblazer in the world of filmmaking was George Melies, who invented both substitution splices and double-exposure: two key techniques in modern day cinema. Melies’ most iconic work was A Trip To The Moon (1902) which made great use of both techniques.

During 1900-1910, cinema went from being the “theatre of attractions” to narrative-driven. Films were no longer a series of stills – technology had greatly advanced and full stories were being told. 35mm film was used to shoot, process and produce films. Physical film was used for mainstream cinema up until about 15 years ago until digital filming was used. In order for the human eye to be fooled into perceiving a sequence of images as movement, 24 images must be displayed every second.

By 1920, film was the most popular art form in the Western world due to the fact that it was accessible to everyone. However, colour and sound were problems to be solved. The idea of painting sets was briefly considered, but was deemed far too impractical. Dubbing was also attempted to solve the sound problem, but this didn’t work. At this point, all films were shot in 4:3 aspect ratio (square), as widescreen wasn’t considered until much later.

Throughout the later 20th Century, cinema continuously developed and many problems were solved. The first film with synchronised sound was released in 1927 and two key actors who were famous before and after sound were the comedy duo Laurel & Hardy. Film was used for World War propaganda, as well as many other commercial items.

However, the invention of the television instantly established itself as the main opponent for the film industry. Initially, TVs were far too expensive for the average person, but by the 1950s most average families owned a television. Ticket sales began to decline as there was no reason to go the cinema anymore when you could watch the latest films from the comfort of your own home.

The film industry constantly attempted to overcome the TV problem by initially making cinema screens much wider than TV screens. Going to the cinema now became a prestigious event, rather than a day-to-day activity. New films were additionally not shown on television until many months down the line, this was done to increase cinematic demand. The film industry also briefly dabbled in 3D, but this wasn’t commercially viable.

By the 1970s, VCR was a new competitor for the film industry and video rental shops, such as Blockbuster, dominated the market. As each new obstacle arose, cinema threw money at the problem to counteract it. However, this ultimately failed and by the 1980s, almost every cinema in the UK closed down.

In present day society, the film industry faces many opponents such as TV channels, internet and streaming services.

Reel Life

The first film that I saw in the cinema was Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010). I don’t have many clear memories of my first time watching the film, however, I remember really enjoying the cinema experience and seeing a film on the big screen for the first time. In my opinion, the film holds up extremely well and the ending makes me tear up every time I watch it. The characters and setting are both timeless and I revisit the trilogy every year or so.

The film that has had the most emotional impact upon me is Whiplash (Damien Chazelle, 2014). I watched it for the first time about a year ago and I was utterly astounded. I have a personal relationship to the film due to the fact that I play the drums and I could relate to the struggles and challenges that Andrew Neimon had to overcome during the course of the film. I absolutely adore the film’s cinematography, pacing, as well as the phenomenal performances from Miles Teller and JK Simmons.

A relatively underrated film that I enjoy is Phone Booth (Joel Schumacher, 2002). It is a psychological thriller that takes place in one single location: a public phone booth. What I like about the film is that it is very short (1hr 21 mins), meaning that it doesn’t overstay its welcome and is completely self contained. The film expertly uses tension to build atmosphere and it ultimately results in a satisfying conclusion.