Coen Brothers Post

The important scene I decided to discuss would be the almost confrontation between Sheriff Bell and Anton Chigurh. This scene struck me as important because of its open interpretation, is Anton in the room? In the other room? If not why was the scene put in there? If he was why would he not kill Bell? There are many answers to probably stupid questions if brought in front of the directors. This scene is my favorite of the film because I saw it before I read the novel and was in full anticipation of a climactic shootout but the intensity of the scene was enough to quell my appetite for violence. The lack of sound and movement makes the audience pay close attention in hope of seeing something that everyone else missed, al the while the Coen Brothers are chucking at the moths to the flame.

Altman Post

The most important scene from my personal favorite film of Altman, The Long Goodbye, is the final scene with Marlowe and Lennox. This scene stood out from the rest in this film and in the other works we viewed because of the shock factor, emotional depth of Marlowe, and for one memorable line. The whole film we go about following a passive nonviolent private eye, (It's okay with me.) who we never see use and sort of violence whatsoever suddenly see Marlowe shoot and kill Terry Lennox. The audience knew Marlowe was frustrated with the case, but the actual murder was something no audience member saw coming. A passive, casual Marlowe turns into a cold blooded killer, only to commence with dancing with strangers as he leaves, very strange indeed. This scene describes Marlowe's inner thoughts in the act of being angry enough at Lennox to actually kill him, but it also informs us that Terry Lennox has been lying to Marlowe since the beginning, he even adds that Marlowe is a loser who has lost everything which leads to Marlowe's brilliant line, "Yeah. And I even lost my cat." BOOM. Lennox slowly fades away in the pool. This line is my personal favorite part of this scene because it shows that Marlowe has been thinking about his cat the whole time, despite the ridiculous situations, which almost brings a sense of humor to this scene. Overall a great film from a questionable director.

Director Assignment Post #1: Goodfellas Directed by Martin Scorsese

Goodfellas is a story about the rise and fall of the infamous gangster, Henry Hill. As a kid he idolized gangsters and started by parking cars to eventually becoming one of the heads, but as his influence grew he became trapped by his own anmbitions.
An important scene in Goodfellas would be when the gang is playing poker and the bartender, "Spider" mistook Tommy Devitos drink. Tommy who is known for his temper gets very upset and shoots Spider in the foot. The next poker game Tommy tries to get a rise out of Spider, which he does, leading to Tommy killing Spider. Afterwards the fellow gang members are clearly perturbed and Tommy blows it off as if nothing happened, meanwhile Henry is sinking deeper and deeper into this dark world of his. This scene is important because it shows the complete coldbloodedness of Tommy and how the gang gets angry at Tommy for killing Spider because of the mess, not the actual act of murder.
The camerawork present in Goodfellas is superb, with very intelligent shots and with an almost minimalist style depending on cuts and editing to increase tension or invoke another emotion. A scene that is a wonderful example of the expertise of the camera would be the tracking shot of Henry and his future wife Karen taking the back door of a restaurant and walking all the way to the front table. The scene transitions wonderfully from a bustling street outside to a nice candlelit dinner in front of the band. There are quite a few tracking shots present in the film but are executed so smoothly that they almost goes unnoticed.
Goodfellas is recognized as one of Scorsese's greatest works due to the jawdropping revelations and masterfully crafted camerawork, this film gets the respect and adoration it deservedly recieves.