Film Study Project

FILM STUDY PROJECT

You are going to select a film from the list of films and write a paper answering the evaluation questions listed below. No one may choose the same film, and films are assigned on a first come, first served basis. There is some flexibility for you to add a film, but the goal of this assignment is twofold. First, you are to explore a film in a way you may not have done previously. Second, the films are chosen for their quality, so that you are opening your mind to look at films that are effective. There is no formal format to this essay, but you do need to answer each question and give evidence. You also need to include a cover page with information requested on the back of this page (you can get this info during the film’s credits, or on www.imdb.com). We will also review in class.

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

1. How did the film make you feel? What did it make you think about? What kinds of lessons can you take from the film?

2. Which scenes engaged you the most? Which ones were the least engaging? Why?

3. What kept you interested throughout the film? Was it acting, plot, lighting, etc? How so?

4. What literary works did the film remind you of? (You cannot say none) Why?

5. What was the film’s plot (please cover the five stages of plot: exposition, complication, climax, denouement, resolution)? Consider the conflict in this summary. What is it? Is it internal or external?

6. Describe the main characters (protagonist, antagonist, other important characters).

7. How did the main characters evolve throughout the story?

8. What is the film’s setting (time, place, etc.)?

9. What was the theme of the film? Why do you think so?

10. What mood is created through the film, and how does the director do this?

11. What symbols exist in the film? (You cannot say none) How are they used?

12. What point of view is the film told in? How does this affect the story?

13. Is suspense created? How?

14. Was the acting believable? Were the performances understated or overstated?

15. What camera angles were most effective? What did you notice about the angles?

16. Is the set realistic? Does it make sense in the context of the film? How?

17. Does the set and art design create a feeling of a certain time and place?

18. How does lighting and use of color contribute to the mood of the film?

19. What music is used in the film? How does this affect the mood?

20. Are there are significant sound effects used? Why? Are they effective?

21. Is there an unseen narrator speaking at any point in the film? What does this add to the film? Does it detract in any way?

22. Were special effects used effectively? Did they need to be, or should they have been cut?

23. How was the film edited? How many scene changes existed?

24. Was the film based on anything? If the film is an adaptation, does it seem like parts were left out? What was missing?

25. Does the script leave anything unsaid? How could this have been fixed?

COVER PAGE INFORMATION

Film Title

Photo from film/poster

Director

Writer

Starring Actors

Production Company

Year Released

Your Name

Your personal star rating (out of 5)

Average rating on IMDB

FILM LIST

1. Citizen Kane

2. Casablanca

3. The Godfather

4. Gone with the Wind

5. The Wizard of Oz

6. The Graduate

7. Schindler’s List

8. Star Wars

9. Chinatown

10. Psycho

11. 2001: A Space Odyssey

12. Raging Bull

13. ET

14. Dr. Strangelove

15. Apocalypse Now

16. Annie Hall

17. A Clockwork Orange

18. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

19. Rebel without a Cause

20. Atonement

21. Across the Universe

22. Raiders of the Lost Ark

23. Silence of the Lambs

24. Forrest Gump

25. Shawshank Redemption

26. American Graffiti

27. Rocky

28. Fargo

29. Easy Rider

30. My Fair Lady

31. Goodfellas

32. Pulp Fiction

33. Scarface

34. American Beauty

35. Life is Beautiful

36. Saving Private Ryan

37. The Sixth Sense

38. Blade Runner

39. Trainspotting

40. Monty Python’s Life of Brian

41. The English Patient

42. Crash

43. Little Miss Sunshine

44. Million Dollar Baby

45. The Prestige

46. Finding Neverland

47. Batman Begins

48. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

49. 300

50. Dog Day Afternoon

51. Moulin Rouge

52. Rain Man

53. Ghostbusters

54. Back to the Future

55. A Fish Called Wanda

56. This is Spinal Tap

57. Harold and Maude

58. The Way Way Back

59. Once

60. Die Hard

61. Taxi Driver

62. Jurassic Park

63. The Matrix

64. V for Vendetta

65. When Harry Met Sally

66. Swing Kids

67. Breakfast at Tiffany’s

68. American President

69. Princess Bride

70. Affair to Remember

71. Cover Girl

72. Memento

73. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

74. Brokeback Mountain

75. Pieces of April

76. Manic

77. Brick

78. Amelie

79. As Good as it Gets

80. Good Will Hunting

81. Big Fish

82. Breakfast Club

83. The Chumscrubber

84. Clerks

85. Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys

86. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

87. Donnie Darko

88. Enemy at the Gates

89. Serenity

90. Green Mile

91. Pleasantville

92. High Fidelity

93. Love Actually

94. The Notebook

95. Pan’s Labyrinth

96. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

97. Shopgirl

98. Stand by Me

99. The Untouchables

100. The Usual Suspects

101. Godfather II

102. Empire Strikes Back

103. Return of the Jedi

104. Full Metal Jacket

105. There Will be Blood

106. Monty Python & the Holy Grail

107. Gran Torino

108. Dark Knight

109. Definitely, Maybe

110. District 9

111. Big

112. Boondock Saints

113. Pitch Black

114. Harry Potter

115. City of God

116. We Were Soldiers

117. Thin Red Line

118. Hurt Locker

119. Dazed and Confused

120. Titanic

121. Braveheart

122. American Gangster

123. Alpha Dog

124. No Country for Old Men

125. One Flew Over Cuckoo’s Nest

126. Lord of the Rings: Two Towers

127. Fight Club

128. Rear Window

129. It’s a Wonderful Life

130. The Professional

131. American History X

132. Alien

133. Pandorum

134. Rosemary’s Baby

135. Gangs of New York

136. The Pianist

137. LA Confidential

138. Slumdog Millionaire

139. Sin City

140. Unforgiven

141. 3:10 to Yuma

142. The Wrestler

143. The Deer Hunter

144. Platoon

145. Into the Wild

146. It Happened One Night

147. 8 ½

148. Children of Men

149. Whiplash

150. Magnolia

151. Mystic River

152. Gone Baby Gone

153. Mulholland Drive

154. Edward Scissorhands

155. Jaws

156. Cabaret

157. Cool Hand Luke

158. Sound of Music

159. 39 Steps

160. Field of Dreams

161. Glory

162. Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

163. Royal Tenenbaums

164. Lars and the Real Girl

165. Irreversible

166. Being John Malkovitch

167. Moon

168. 28 Days Later

169. Revolutionary Road

170. United 93

171. Let the Right One In

172. Casino Royale (2006)

173. Squid and the Whale

174. Adventureland

175. Juno

176. Junebug

177. Billy Elliott

178. The Departed

179. Inglorious Basterds

180. O Brother Where Art Thou?

181. Half Nelson

182. Elephant

183. Almost Famous

184. Lost in Translation

185. Law Abiding Citizen

186. Gladiator

187. Boyhood

188. Friday Night Lights

189. Do the Right Thing

190. Jerry Maguire

191. Scream

192. Donnie Brasco

193. Django Unchained

194. Twelve Years a Slave

195. Swingers

196. Blair Witch Project

197. Dead Poets Society

198. A Few Good Men

199. Ghost

200. Shakespeare in Love