Film Studies Coursework Genre Essays

Film Studies Coursework Genre Essays Film Studies Coursework Genre Essay Film Studies Coursework Genre Essay The film that I have chosen is Blazing Saddles directed by Mel Brooks, who is a director that is famous for making comedy films for example, The Producers. So from the outset we can expect this film to fit into his style. This film fits into the comedy/western genre. The film is a parody of the western movie and takes on many influences from famous westerns that can be seen throughout the movie. This film takes western genre norms and gives them a comic twist in order to create the comedy/ western theme. The comedy used is mostly slapstick and visual comedy. A brief synopsis of the run up to this scene would be typical of the comedy/western genre. There are a group of African Americans who are being made to work on putting a railroad through the town of Rock ridge. The problem with this is that the townsfolk will have to leave before the rail road can go through the town. The assistant to the governor appoints one of the slaves as sheriff of the town in a ploy to make the townsfolk so repulsed that they will leave the town, from here the scene commences The first shot we see is a long shot of the street in the middle of the town. From this establishing shot we can see this is definitely a western. There is no road just dirt which is hardened by the horses that are also in the shot. Every store and house is made out of wood which is typical in western films. We can see women in this shot. The women are dressed in dresses that are typical to western movies and very commonly seen, they also wear bonnets with ribbons on them. All these factors are typical in western film. There are two different types of men that we can see in the shot. There is the gentleman who is wearing the suit outside the bank and then the rest of the men are wearing the cowboy style costume. In a typical cowboy costume we see a dust coat, sandy coloured chino trousers, cowboy boots, Stetson hats, chaps, Waistcoats and Spurs worn on the boots. The costume of the cowboy is iconic to the western and the way the costume looks makes the cowboys what they are. : The editing through the first half a minute of this scene is very slow there arent many shots. The editing plays a big part as for the action to go somewhere we need the scene to start of slow and paced so that the action can progress a technique often used in western films. The music that goes along to this scene is specially written for it. The lyrics of the song are very important in putting across the comedy aspect of its genre. The lyrics that go with the establishing shot are, there was a peaceful town called Rock Ridge, where people lived in harmony the instruments that back this up are instruments that would be associated with the western vibe. Instruments such as the acoustic guitar and the clarinet are used. These instruments give the western feel to the scene. Also the fact that the vocals are done by a choir, this we would associate with the choir at the town church which we later see. A tracking shot is used to show the stores and places that are in the town of Rock Ridg e for example, Howard Johnsons Ice-cream Parlour which is made comic by the fact that the sign outside says 1 flavour. The surname Johnson is a running joke as we find out after the song finishes. Everyone in the town is a Johnston which gives the impression that the townspeople are inbred. A little touch that also gives the western genre to this film is the way they have the bars that you ties horses up to, outside every store or house and on some there are horses to make it authentic. The location on the camera goes entirely with the lyrics of the song. When the lyrics are talking about the town itself the camera shots are all of the town and the town folk. When the lyrics then change to talking about the town saloon the camera is now in the town saloon. The town saloon is also iconic in the western and this is why it is included in this scene though the part that makes this comical is the fact that there are cattle just wandering about the barroom and no one takes any notice of them. The camera shot again here shows us the whole of the barroom then cuts to the bartender Anal Johnson the lyrics behind this shot are Behind the bar stood Anal Johnson, he always kept things nice and clean at the moment these lyrics are sang Anal Johnson who we see close up is covered in dirt and sweat and looks altogether disgusting, spits into the glass and wipes it. This gives the scene its comical side as he is the exact opposite of what the lyrics are saying. The barroom itself includes some features strongly associated with western movies for example, the swinging saloon doors. These are essential in a bar to give the film a western feel. Another feature is the small round wooden tables which we often see in westerns being overturned in shoot-outs and bar-brawls. These two things show that the film is western. The music behind the part of the scene in the bar consists of instruments that add to the western feel and that are often maybe found in western bars for example the honky tonk piano. As the scene moves onto the part where the murderers and thieves ride into town the music quickens and instruments change to violins which are often used in high action sequences. The editing becomes much faster which is expected in this scene as the action is now at its highpoint and the editing being much quicker is typical of a western style action sequence. The murderers and thieves who ride into town have a very striking appearance which is common in westerns. They are wearing the darker coloured black cowboy hats and are galloping in on horses. They all have whips and weapons of some sort which shows us that they are the villains in this scene, the fact that their weapons are whips and revolvers definitely gives the western feel to this part of the scene. A comical aspect which is added to this sequence in the scene is the part where one of the villains chases down a man who is on foot and the man jumps through a window to escape then jumps right back out the other one because he is being shot at from inside. This gives the action sequence a bit of a comical twist to it. Another part shortly after this which shows the comedy within the scene is when a man in a suit gets his foot caught on a rope and is dragged through the mud by a horse. He says, Well, thats the end of this suit which is funny because this is supposed to be an action scene where the villains are taking over and this man is worried about his suit. After this a public shower that is covered in a wood box is pulled down by a horse and there is a man left standing covered in soap bubbles trying to cover himself, this is obviously comedy as it is quite random and the audience dont expect it. The next part is a close up shot involving to villains and an old lady who being b eaten up by them. The way they are beating her up is over-exaggerated the punches have fake sounding sound effects this makes the violence cartoon like. She turns to the camera and says, Have you ever seen such cruelty? this again is funny but also we can see clearly from her appearance that this film is a western. Also speaking to the camera breaks the rules of cinema but as the audience we dont see anything wrong with it. She is wearing a material kind of hat round her head, a poncho over her shoulders and a purple coloured dress. This kind of dress is typical of women in western films. After the sequence in the scene where the villains try to take over the town the editing becomes slower again and more zoom and tracking shots are used rather than quick cutting. There is an establishing shot of the typical town church which is often seen in western film, its almost an iconic feature that lets the audience know for definite that this is western. The last verse of the song goes as follows. Now it is time of great decision are we to stay or up and quit? Theres no avoiding this conclusion our town is turning into shit. This verse is comical as the lyrics are now being sung by the town folk in the church. The fact they say our town is turning into shit makes this comical as the audience we do not expect this from the scene that has been set, especially because of the fact it is inside the church. This kind of song is quite typical of songs sang by Frankie Lane they are typical western style songs and the usually describe action that is taking place on the screen or give background on the film films like 3:10 to Yuma have this in them. The song finishes and the priest in the church starts to talk to the crowd. A line that he says gives us notification of the western and comical style themes when he says, Sheriff murdered, crops burned, stores looted, people stampeded and cattle raped. This line gives us a sense of western style as the crimes he speaks of are very much typical of western film the reference to the sheriff shows us that we are clearly in a western. The comical side of this is the way he says that people were stampeded and cattle were raped as this is obviously said the wrong way round yet, the town folk agree with him. This is what makes these lines funny. The priest says that the time has come to act and act fast and then says, Im leaving this is funny because what the audience expect is an emotional and moving speech that lifts the town folks spirits but we dont get this at all. Through the rest of this scene we are introduced to very typical characters that would often be seen in westerns. We are first introduced to the town drunk who is dressed very scruffily in an old shirt and has very long grey facial hair and looks altogether messy. We see this character often in westerns and they are often used as a character that will bring laughter out of their actions. The way this character speaks shows us a lot of the phrases that are used in western film, the language that they speak basically. The thing that makes this funny is the way that this character actually uses nearly every one of the slang words in every sentence he uses. We are then introduced to the business men who wear very clean cut suits and talk normally and clearly. The se business men both have good jobs, one is the owner of the ice-cream parlour and the other is the doctor for the town. The reverend asks the congregation to rise and starts by saying he will read from the book of Matthew, Mark, Luke and duck! at the point when he says duck, a bunch of dynamite sticks are thrown through the window. This is an instance of comic timing on the director part as we can clearly see how it fits with the dialogue in the scene at this point. The dynamite sticks themselves are also an indication of the western genre as these are iconic weapons used in a lot of westerns. Overall I think the scene works well. The camerawork and sound especially make the scene as effective as it is. The editing change in the middle of the scene makes the contrast between the harmony within the town and the action. This directors take on the comedy/western genre is typical to the director himself. The comedy used in this scene is mainly visual as well as some audible comedy that comes through in the song. The visual comedy is also typical to the directors style. I think overall the way the director has taken the western theme and made it comical is well done as we clearly see all the aspects of the western along with the comedy that comes through in the dialogue and visual interactions between characters.