Crash

Crash is a movie that takes several people and intertwines them.  You have a  a police detective with a drugged out mother and a troublesome younger brother, two car thieves who are constantly theorizing on society and race, the district attorney and his irritated and spoiled wife, a racist veteran cop who disgusts his more idealistic younger partner, a successful Hollywood director and his wife who must deal with the racist cop, a Persian-immigrant father who buys a gun to protect his shop, a Hispanic locksmith and his young daughter who is afraid of bullets.  The theme of the film focuses on the social problem of racism in our society.  Modern filmmakers are very concerned with social problems and show their concern in films that expose social vices and follies or criticize social institutions. The Art of Watching Films pg 27  Examples are the way Karen is violated by the racist vetern cop John Ryan or how Jean Cabbot has a tantrum about the changing the locks and says, "your amigo in there is gonna sell our key to one of his homies."

This is another crediable story that shows the way things really are.  The significance in the title is that all of their lives intertwine within a 36 hour time period, essentially 'crash' together.  The story is told in a linear structure and shows you the characters and then begins with the complications.  Crash also uses different film stock, most of the film is done with smooth grain, while there are moments of rough-grain. This film takes place in LA in relatively current times.  Most of the movies was filmed on scene and not in a studio.  Crash had a very minimal budget so director Paul Haggis had to cut the costs by using his own house for scenes and even his own car for other scenes. Crash was filmed in a short 36 days.  The Directors cut of this film is only 3 minutes longer than the original version, extending the scene where Daniel is trying to convince his daughter to get out from under the bed.  The story begins in the medias res with a car crash on Mullholland Drive.  The movie then starts over and shows how all parties arrived. 

The cast of Crash, Sandra Bullock, was so committed to appearing in this film that she bought her own plane ticket to fly to the set. Also, is well renowned for her role, she has less than 6 minutes of actual screen time throughout the entire film.  Two Koreans were intentionally cast as the "Chinese" couple to underscore the fact that most non-Asians cannot or don't care to differentiate between the various Asian nationalities and instead choose to refer to all of them (Chinese, Korean, Thai, Japanese, etc.) as "Chinese", like the characters in the movie do. (IMBD)  The actors made you believe they were the characters in the film.  The ultimate goal of any actor should be to make us believe completely in the reality of the character.  The Art of Watching Films pg 319

This film is rated R for language, sexual content and some violence in the US.  For society is shows us real problems that have been and are happening from the racism to corrupt officials to property theft and crime. 

The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada is a comedy-drama that is a loose adaptation of the novel by the same name. I think that the film focuses on the idea of the struggle for human dignity.  There are two opposing sides between the fashion world and Miranda Priestly(Meryl Streep) and Andy Sachs(Anne Hathaway).  Andy is taking this job, that "a million girls would kill for," but it is not a career that she is interested in.  As time goes on she succumbs to the fashion world and gives up her social life to become Miranda's second assistant.  In the end she stands up for her morals and quit her job.  This is a credible story in which many people can relate to.  I am sure that everyone can recall a time when we ourselves or someone we know has changed to fit into a roll, whether it be for a job or maybe even to fit in in school.  The significance of the title The Devil Wears Prada is in that most people view Miranda Priestly as the devil in Prada because she is so driven in her career.  To quote the movie, "If she were a man, the only thing people would talk about is how good she is at her job." 

This film goes in a linear structure and has a internal conflict with Andrea 'Andy' Sachs.  She is a dynamic character, that goes from being timid and unsure to confident and in control. Dynamic characters become sadder or wiser, or happier and more self-confident.  They might gain some new awareness of life, become more mature or responsible, or become more moral or less so. The Art of Watching Films pg 68  The character of Miranda Priestley is supposedly based on Anna Wintour(her nickname in the industry is 'Nuclear Wintour'). (IMDB) Many fashion designers allowed their clothes and accessories to be used in the film. Ultimately at least $1 million worth of clothing was used in the film, making it one of the most expensively costumed movies in cinema history.The single priciest item was a $100,000 Fred Leighton necklace on Streep.

The film has high angle shots as seen when going over the city streets.  At the end of The Devil Wears Prada, the scene where Miranda and Andy are in the backseat the scene was shot on stage against a green screen.  This princiapal photography took place over 57 days in New York and Paris between October and December 2005.  Ballhaus composed as many shots as possible, whether interiors or exteriors, to at least partially take in busy New York street scenes in the background, to show the excitement of working in a glamorous industryin the city. He also used a handheld camera during some of the busier meeting scenes in Miranda's office, to better convey the flow of action, and slow motion for Andrea's entrance into the office following her makeover. (Wikipedia) There is also several transitions in the movie, one example is after Andy's makeover and they show her walking the streets of NY in various different outfits.  Her outfit changes everytime something blocks the camera visual like a car.

Composer Theodore Shapiro relied heavily on guitar and percussion, with the backing of a full orchestra, to capture a contemporary urban sound. He ultimately wrote 35 minutes of music for the film, which were performed and recorded by the Hollywood Studio Symphony.  The City of Blinding Lights by U2 was played appropriatly as Miranda and Andy went throught the streets of Paris.  Vogue was played for Andy's fashion montage and first day on the job.  All of these songs were good choices that went well with what was portrayed on the screen and gave a good affect.

Anne Hathaway prepared for the part by volunteering for a week as an assistant at an auction house.  Emily Blunt was cast for the role of Emily and in several scenes, she is seen running about in the background - though never written or directed, she felt her character would always be busy and wanted to keep her alive in the film.  Gisele Bundchen agreed to be in the movie only if she didn't play a model.  Simon Baker auditioned by sending a video of himself, wearing the same self-designed green jacket he has on when he and Andrea meet for the first time. I think that everyone that was cast for this film did an exceptional job, and they all put their own trademark, so to say on the characters they played. 

What effect does this film have on society?  The motions picture's power as a social force comes from its ability to pick up, amplify, and spread to society as a whole currents that already exist among segments of the population. The Art of Watching Films pg 516  The Devil Wears Prada is rated PG-13 for some sensuality in the US.  In the UK, Singapore, Australia, and Ireland it is only rated PG. That shows that in different cultures the content of film is viewed differently.  I think that this film focuses on some of the hardships that people face when joining the workforce.  We all have to start somewhere and you may not always land your dream job.  It shows that we need to make it work, become involved and form passion and drive for what we do everyday.