FILM

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Ask the Professor: How does “I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang” comment on rigid class structures?

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) presents a rigid society in which the lower classes find it nearly impossible to rise above their given situation. When Allen comes back from WWI, his family and society expect him to return to the same…

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Ask the Professor: What was the social impact of “I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang”?

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) is a pre-Code, early talkie (a film with synchronized sound, as opposed to the silent films of the pre-1927 era) that continues to resonate with cinephiles today. The film is highly critical of the U.S.…

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Ask the Professor: How does “Winter’s Bone” comment on gender roles?

Winter’s Bone (2010) follows Ree (Jennifer Lawrence), a single, teenaged woman through the drug-ravaged male-dominated world of a very poor community in the Ozarks. As Ree goes in search of her father — to avoid losing the family house, which…

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Ask the Professor: What does “Winter’s Bone” reveal about extreme poverty in the US?

ScreenPrism: Winter’s Bone (2010) draws attention to a world within the US of extreme poverty and almost no opportunity. What’s special and important about how the movie accomplishes this task? Professor Marc Lapadula: Winter’s Bone is set…

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Ask the Professor: How does early talkie “I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang” use sound creatively?

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang was released in 1932, only five years after the first “talking picture” or “talkie” (a film with synchronized sound), The Jazz Singer (1927). Chain Gang is one of that era’s most enduring, oft-studied…

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Ask the Professor: Did “Jaws” establish the tyranny of the happy ending?

Professor Marc Lapadula: Before Jaws (1975), movie endings were far less motivated by financial gain. Jaws enjoyed unprecedented box office returns. It also spawned multiple sequels, thanks to the improbable survival of its main characters, who by…

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Ask the Professor: Why is the downbeat ending of “Easy Rider” crucial to its artistic value?

Professor Marc Lapadula: Why at the end of Easy Rider (1969) are these guys killed? Why not just let them ride off into the sunset on their motorcycles? They’ve been through enough already in this movie. Their friend got murdered (Jack…

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Ask the Professor: Did “Jaws” invent the modern-day Hollywood film franchise?

<p><strong>Professor Marc Lapadula</strong>: <a href="http://screenprism.com/film/page/jaws" target="_blank"><em>Jaws</em></a> (1975) changed everything with its happy ending, which was…

Ask the Professor: How did the early sound era develop after “The Jazz Singer”?

<p><em><strong>ScreenPrism: Why was the release of “The Jazz Singer” a pivotal moment in film history? How did sound develop in the next decade of films that followed?</strong></em></p>…

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Ask the Professor: What was the political background of Buñuel’s “Exterminating Angel”?

ScreenPrism: Luis Buñuel made Exterminating Angel (1962) in Mexico, after leaving Spain for the second time when his previous film, Viridiana (1961), also starring Silvia Pinal, caused controversy with censors. How did the political backdrop of…

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Ask the Professor: Why is the therapist scene in “400 Blows” so iconic?

ScreenPrism: Why is the therapist scene in 400 Blows (1959) so iconic? Professor Julian Cornell: The story goes – and I’m always a little skeptical because I haven’t read an interview where Truffaut said this – but the story goes that the…

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Ask the Professor: Did “Jaws” demonize sharks?

ScreenPrism: Some types of sharks are terrifying and dangerous, but not all. Would you say Jaws gave people misconceptions about sharks? Professor Lapadula: A few things about a great white: they can be 20 feet long; they can have over 300…

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Ask the Professor: Were the five sequels to “400 Blows” a new kind of episodic storytelling?

ScreenPrism: Were the five sequels to 400 Blows (1959) a new kind of episodic storytelling? Professor Julian Cornell: I’m sure when Truffaut made 400 Blows (1959), he wasn’t thinking the way a contemporary director thinks: “Well, if it’s a…

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Ask the Professor: How does “Exterminating Angel” compare to Buñuel’s earlier surrealist films?

ScreenPrism: The Exterminating Angel (1962) has director Luis Buñuel’s characteristic surrealist moments, but the surrealism doesn’t dominate, as it does in early works like the iconic short, Un Chien Andalou (1929). This film is equally a…

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Ask the Professor: How did Truffaut transition from harsh film critic to filmmaker?

ScreenPrism: How did Truffaut transition from harsh film critic to filmmaker, and are there other examples of this path? Professor Julian Cornell: Truffaut was a critic before he became a filmmaker. As a critic, Truffaut was never shy about…

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Ask the Professor: What is the significance of the “Raindrops” sequence in “Butch Cassidy”?

ScreenPrism: What is the significance of the “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” sequence in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)? Professor Julian Cornell: Part of the reason for that scene is to display the bicycle, which is the symbol…

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Ask the Professor: Is “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” the first “buddy film”?

ScreenPrism: Is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) the first “buddy film”? Professor Julian Cornell: It’s thought of as the first buddy comedy. There were a number of other films about two partners who have to do something, like in…

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Ask the Professor: Why is the score of “Jaws” so iconic?

ScreenPrism: Jaws (1975) is famous for its simple motif of just two notes and the suspense built by that leading tone. What makes John Williams’ Academy-Award winning score so iconic and effective? Professor Marc Lapadula: The opening motif to…

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Ask the Professor: Why is the spinning wheel scene in “400 Blows” so memorable and iconic?

ScreenPrism: Why is the spinning wheel scene in 400 Blows (1959) so memorable and iconic? Professor Julian Cornell: I like the spinning scene’s placement within the narrative. One of the things I like about the 400 Blows (1959) is its shaggy…

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Ask the Professor: In “Jaws,” how does Spielberg exemplify a new generation of directors?

ScreenPrism: What was different about Spielberg and his generation of directors? Professor Lapadula: Spielberg was a student of cinema. In Jaws (1975), you see him using techniques like the Hitchcock zoom. What Spielberg represents, along with…

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Ask the Professor: In “Exterminating Angel,” why can’t the guests leave?

ScreenPrism: In Exterminating Angel (1962), why can’t the guests leave? Professor Julian Cornell: They can’t leave because their social customs and values are so rigid, and because they follow the herd. They present themselves as these…

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Ask the Professor: Why does “400 Blows” end on a freeze frame? What was influential about it?

ScreenPrism: Why does 400 Blows (1959) end on a freeze frame? What was influential about this choice? Professor Julian Cornell: I can see why people were upset by it at the time. If you ask me why Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) ends…

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Ask the Professor: How did problems with the mechanical shark in “Jaws” lead to a brilliant moment?

Spielberg’s decision to cut much of the shark’s presence in the film famously came about due to malfunctions with the mechanical shark. The director’s choice to turn the animal into a suggested presence in most of the film has invoked…

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Ask the Professor: Why does “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” end with a freeze frame?

ScreenPrism: Why does Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) end with a freeze frame? Professor Julian Cornell: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) director George Roy Hill is underrated and not as well-remembered as he probably should…

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Ask the Professor: How does “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” comment on the Western genre?

ScreenPrism: How does Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) comment on the Western genre? Professor Julian Cornell: There is an argument as to when revisionist Westerns started. You start seeing them around 1962-1964 with early examples like…

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Ask the Professor: Is “400 Blows” a semi-autobiography of Francois Truffaut?

ScreenPrism: Is Antoine in 400 Blows (1959) an alter ego of Truffaut’s? How is 400 Blows a semi-autobiography? Professor Julian Cornell: There is a famous story about why this particular actor, Jean-Pierre Léaud, got the part. His parents were…

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Ask the Professor: Why do “Exterminating Angel” and “Discreet Charm” satirize the ritual of eating?

ScreenPrism: Director Luis Buñuel’s Exterminating Angel (1962) and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) both feature bourgeois characters’ eating habits, but they’re inversions of each other. In Discreet Charm, the characters keep…

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Ask the Professor: Did the French New Wave invent the idea of the “auteur”?

ScreenPrism: Did the French New Wave invent the idea of the “auteur”? Professor Julian Cornell: The French New Wave developed the notion of the filmmaker as an artist. They didn’t invent the idea, but they did popularize it. Everyone was…

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Ask the Professor: Do “Butch Cassidy,” “The Wild Bunch” and “Bonnie and Clyde” glorify violence?

ScreenPrism: Counterculture 1960s movies Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Wild Bunch (1969) and Bonnie and Clyde (1967) are often grouped and discussed together. It’s notable that all three are very violent films that seem to…

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Ask the Professor: How did “400 Blows” change the coming-of-age genre?

ScreenPrism: How did 400 Blows (1959) change the coming-of-age genre? Professor Julian Cornell: I watch a lot of films about childhood, films with children and child actors, and films that are supposed to be about youth. 400 Blows (1959) is the…