All About Indiana

Director: Steven Spielberg

Film Editor: Michael Khan and George Lucas (uncredited)

Directed by Steven Spielberg, Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, is an incredible action-adventure movie released on June 12, 1981. The movie is about an archaeologist and professor, Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford, who gets hired by the Army Intelligence during (1936 which was a few years before the starts of WWII) to find an old ancient artifact- the Ark of the Covenant- before the Nazis get their hands on it. The movie is about the crazy adventure he goes through to get it, with the help of his friends and romantic interest Marion, played by Karen Allen. In the end, the Ark destroys the Nazis, Indiana returns it to Army Intelligence, and it gets sealed up and safely stored away.

The movie had many cultural aspects to it. There are parts relating the Bible to the meaning behind ancient religious artifacts. It shows the audience what many cultures and religious groups believed during different time periods. Religion is something that many different people can relate to, so it makes sense why they would use a religious artifact as the important item in the movie. The film also shows the audience how Nazis were, or at least how they were portrayed, during the time the movie takes place in. Ever since WWII Nazis were pretty much know as the enemy all over the world. It made sense for them to use Nazis in this movie because they were considered a threat, and during their time in power they wanted to find historical artifacts to help support their claim of racial superiority. So they had a reason to want the Ark and have Indiana as an enemy. Another culture the movie shines light on, is of the people living in Cairo. It shows how they dress, how their homes are, how they work, how they react to crime, and in general how they live. It shows you an entire different side of the world and is really interesting to see as an American. Cairo was chosen as the city for this movie because in real life, research done about the Ark shows that it was in Cairo at some point.

The movie had many exceptional elements beginning with the editing. One of my favorite scenes is towards the beginning when Indiana Jones had just run out of the Temple. The camera goes from a close-up view of him, where you see Indiana’s eyes look up, and the screen cuts to a look-off of a native with an arrow to show you what Indiana is seeing. It then cuts from one native to another. The audio linkage is also used first when the bad man is talking, and again when he is laughing and the screen goes from him to Indiana running. Furthermore, they used dialogue referent when he yells to start the engine, and the screen cuts to the plane. There are numerous editing techniques used in just this short scene, and they are used extremely well. Cuts like these are crucial to a movie because they allow you to see everything happening at once instead of just one side of it.

Another thing that stands out about the movie, is the phenomenal film score. The best scene to represent this was towards the end when Indiana Jones was trying to get the Ark from the Nazis trucks. Indiana has his own, well known, upbeat, adventurous theme song, which is clearly shown throughout the movie and is played anytime he is about to do something great. Written by John William here it is

*Play Indiana Jones Theme Song*

In this scene, when Indiana is winning the fights or when the camera flashes to him, his song was played . However if the Nazis were winning or the camera was on them, their own music played. This distinction really helped keep track of who was winning or when something important was about to happen.

The sound effects were amazing as well. In the beginning when Indiana was in the temple, and is running out, everything happens very quickly so the sound effects really help you follow along. You here the rocks falling, the arrows being shot out, and the branch than Indiana need in order to get out, falling. 

*Play Snippet of Scene*

All these sounds really help you understand what exactly is happening in a just a few seconds and continually reminds you that this is a big action film and that Indiana Jones is our hero.


The special effects in this movie were also very well done. The scene with the most special effects was most definitely the scene at the end where the Nazis open the Ark. There were so many effects such as the foggy light coming from the Ark, the ghosts that fly around (especially the last ghost), to the faces of the three bad guys (one catches fire and explodes, and the other two melt in different ways), and then it ends with the sky which opens up and causes a sort-of tornado. This is one of the most memorable scenes in the movie, and it is so important because the whole movie is about this Ark, and once found all this amazing stuff happens that wouldn’t be possible without the help of special effects.

Psyched about Psycho

For our second Ollywood unit, we learned about what goes into the production of a film and how the movies are filmed exactly. We learned about different lighting techniques and framing angles. Aside from the filming, we also learned about what makes an actor’s performance good or bad. For our action project, we were to watch a movie and create a video critique with a group. My group chose to watch Psycho, the 1960 classic thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. In the critique, we discussed some pre-production and production elements, including plot, characters, set design, framing, lighting, and our personal opinions of the film.


Works Cited

• A Picture of Great Significance. The Cine-Tourist. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
• Agnes, Racskay. Van Mit Nézni a Tévében? Heti Filmajánló. Nyugat.hu. N.p., 21 Oct. 2013 Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
• Cooper, Rich. 15 Bathroom Nightmares Everyone Has. Student Beans. N.p., 12 Dec. 2013 Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
• Elizabeth Hot Stuff. Elizabeth Hot Stuff. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
• Gif Blanco Y Negro De Halloween Clásica Película De Terror. - Gifmambo. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
• Super Showdeo Sunday! Today! Yee-Haw! - Cactus Thorns. Super Showdeo Sunday! Today! Yee-Haw! - Cactus Thorns. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
• What Hobby Did Norman Enjoy? - The Psycho Trivia Quiz. - Fanpop. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
• What We Can Learn from Psychopaths. DailyXY – Guy Stuff. N.p., 9 Jan. 2013 Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

"Back to the Future": An Amazing Film from the Past

For our first unit of Ollywood, a film critique class, we learned about the main elements of film pre-production: screenwriting, set design, and costume design. We watched and analyzed many movies, and for our first action project we were to choose our own movie to watch and critique. The movie I chose to analyze is Back to the Future.

Jinho Jung- "Back to the Future 2".(2009) Internet: Flikr

Directed by Robert Zemeckis in 1985, Back to the Future is an enjoyable, imaginative, and thought-provoking film. It does exactly what Roger Ebert, America’s most famous movie critic, says it should do -- it allows you to escape from your own box of space and time, to see the past as it was actually happening. The movie really creates a sense of nostalgia and appreciation for the past.

The movie begins by introducing the audience to the story’s protagonist, Marty McFly, instantly capturing his character; he’s a laid-back, rock-and-roll-loving, witty, typical teenager. He’s known as a “slacker” at school, apparently taking after his father. His entire family seems to have a bad life--his brother works at a fast-food place, his sister has a terrible love life, his mother is an alcoholic, and his father still gets bullied by his boss. It is very clear that they are all unhappy. We are also introduced to his loving and supporting girlfriend, Jennifer, who encourages him to believe in himself and his musical talent. Marty is then called to meet up with his mentor, an eccentric inventor who Marty calls Doc, to try out his latest experiment, a time machine, in the form of a DeLorean. But things take a turn for the worse. Terrorists shoot Doc, and Marty is forced to drive away in the car, accidentally activating the time machine, sending him back to 1955. Having arrived 30 years into the past, Marty runs into some difficulties, and while searching for Doc, encounters his own father as a teenager. Sadly, the young Mr. McFly is as much a loser in the past as he is in the future. Marty’s father was also bullied back then by the same person who bullied him in the future, Biff, his boss. While in the past, Marty accidentally takes his father’s place in what would have been the event that caused his parents to meet. He now has to find Doc immediately, and fix his mistake by setting his parents up, or else he and his siblings will cease to exist. He spends the rest of the time in the past doing just that, all the while fighting off Biff and his own, teenaged, future mother’s advances.

Marty finally succeeds at the high school dance where his parents had always told him they had their first kiss, and after nearly losing Doc for good, Marty is able to save him and escape 1955, returning to the future. When Marty gets home, it’s obvious that a lot has changed. His sister has a good love life, his brother has a good job, his parents are richer and more in love than before, and Biff now works for his father, cleaning and fixing up his car. Everything seems perfect. Marty even still has Jennifer. But then Doc reappears in the DeLorean telling Marty and Jennifer to come with him to the future, for the sake of their future kids. They then fly off in the clearly remodeled DeLorean.

My favorite scene in the movie was a fight scene between the protagonist and the antagonist, Marty and Biff. Biff enters the diner instantly bullying George Mcfly and shouting “‘Ey McFly! I thought I told you never to come in here. Well it’s gonna cost you. How much money you got on you?” As Biff nears George, ready to take his money, Marty comes to the rescue and trips the bully. When he gets back up he say “Alright punk. Now--”, interrupting him Marty points behind Biff saying “Woah, woah, Biff! What’s that?” and with the bully distracted he takes this opportunity to punch him. The reason this is my favorite scene is because it perfectly captures both of their personalities and shows what kind of characters they are-- while it's been obvious that Biff is an antagonist, Marty shines in this scene as a hero with confidence.

Setting plays a major role in this movie. The entire movie is about the change in eras and the production design showed this amazingly. The old-fashioned diner perfectly captures the 1950s with its little jukeboxes on the counter and on every table, that you would never see nowadays, or the paper hats that the workers wore. It also showed the cultural changes between the years, for example when Marty asks for a “Pepsi Free” and the worker assumes he’s trying to be funny and doesn’t want to pay for his drink. Another important location is the Hill Valley clock tower, where in the past a lot of action takes place. In the future, people are protesting to save it from being torn down because it’s broken and doesn’t look nice, but in the past it looks new and still works.

Another key feature of the movie is the costumes. Both the 1980s and 1950s costumes are amazing and so accurate. The costume designers really manage to show the drastic changes between the two periods. Clothing is an important factor and something that distinguishes a lot about a character. The males in 1855, almost all wore collared shirts with a print on them, and the females wore dresses with rounded collars or turtlenecks. Knowing that Marty’s clothing would be strange, Doc tells him to change into something inconspicuous. Cultural change is shown here too, for example, back then it was unusual to have a brand name on your underwear, so when Marty’s mom sees that his say Calvin Klein, she assumes this is his name and sticks with this belief during his entire time in the past.

The inspiration for Back to the Future came from the screenplay writer, Bob Gale, who had discovered his father's high school yearbook and wondered whether or not he would have been friends with him as a teenager (Holleran). The movie was obviously a wild success; it won many awards, and is still considered one of the best movies of all time. I highly recommend it for anyone in the mood for an imaginative, whimsical, clever movie, and a good laugh.

Works Cited:
-Back to the Future. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson. Universal Studios, 1985. Film.
-Holleran, Scott. "Brain Storm." Brain Storm. Box Office Mojo, 18 Nov. 2003. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.