Tuesday, November 11, 2008

What Makes a Movie Great?

Hmm... good question. Not an easy one to answer, either. The problem is that there are just so many different aspects to a film that it's impossible to peg down which one makes a movie great. Actually, in my opinion, for a movie to be truly great, it must fulfill several of the following requirements:

QUALITY ACTING. No, I'm not talking about having A-list celebrities in the film (although that can help). What I mean is that whoever is in the starring roles, or any role for that matter, must put on a good, believable performance. For example, Casablanca wasn't supposed to be a great film, but the quality of acting by the leads and the interaction between them is what took the film from being another mediocre Hollywood churn-out to one of the greatest films of all time.

CHARACTERS THE AUDIENCE CAN IDENTIFY WITH. The best acting in the world doesn't mean squat if the audience doesn't care about the characters they portray. That's another reason why Casablanca is so great; the audience feels for Rick, they understand how Ilsa broke his heart and how he is torn between love and hate. It's also why Star Wars (the original, not the **** sequals), for all it's flaws, is so revered: the audience identifies with Luke Skywalker's desire to leave his home and explore the galaxy and learn more about his mysterious father.

GOOD MUSIC. Music can, in some cases, make or break a film. Star Wars is an excellent example of this. If the score had been written by someone else, or if it had been scored using pre-existing music (Lucas' original intent), it would have lacked the same impact that makes it so memorable. Similarly, without its trademark theme, Jaws would not have been nearly as scary as it turned out to be.

A CLEAR STORYLINE. The best acting and the best music and the best characters are all worthless if the audience can't figure out what's going on. Mind you, the story doesn't have to be blatantly obvious, but it has to make enough sense that the audience can clearly understand what is going on. There also has to be a point to the story that the audience can pick up on and understand. An audience should not leave the theater asking themselves "What the heck just happened?" or "Why should I care?"

CINEMATOGRAPHY, MISE EN SCENE, and EDITING. The reason Akira Kurosawa's and Sergio Leone's films are so well-renowned is that they both expertly employ cinematography. The wide open views of the countryside make the audience feel like they are actually in the film, while the tight close ups in Leone's westerns bring the tension in the film to a fever pitch. Similarly, mise en scene can be very important. Just look at Hitchcock's films. Everything in the shot adds to the overall effect of tension in the film. Remember all the portraits that were stairing at Marion in Psycho? Finally, Editing is crucial to the film. Properly done, transitions between shots become all but invisible, further drawing the audience into the film. In contrast, poor, jerky editing throws the audience out of the film and back in their seats, making it harder for them to become emotionally invested in the film.

"BREAKING THE MOLD". Let's be honest, here. All The Matrix really is is just a bunch of cardboard acting and gratuitous voilence, with a bit of hokey Zen philosophy thrown in for good measure. Yet the film was a runaway hit. Why? Because no one had ever seen anything like it before. No one had ever attempted special effects like that before, and they blew the audience away. Basically, a film has to be unique, or at least contain something that has never been seen before if they are to be truly great (which is why sequels usually suck).

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