Star Wars….Actors and Acting Styles

Actors and Acting Styles

Star Wars

     As we read in our textbook there are five different styles of acting:  Impersonator, Interpreter, Personality, Wild card, and Character (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs, 2104). Based on the role the actor or actress plays or how they play the role determines which one of the five styles of acting they are put into. I will talk about three of the actors in the movie series Star Wars. I will start with Harrison Ford.

I feel that Harrison Ford would fit into the realism style of acting in these movies. He is a pilot of a freight carrier. He has not led the most honest of lives but he has a good heart. In the clip I have attached his character Han Solo is trying to barter with Luke skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobe to transport them off of Tatooine. He runs into a bounty hunter that wants to run him in and collect the bounty from Jaba the Hut. The actions and reactions that Ford gives I feel are what he sees the character would give if he was a real man in that situation. Ford plays in other genres of movies where the roles he plays could be considered wild card.

The next actor I will focus on is James Earl Jones. His role in Star Wars was as the voice of Darth Vadar. Darth Vader is the Sith Lord. He is the main character that represents the evil side of the war. James Earl Jones is very well known for his voice. I would consider him a character actor. He is very well known for the roles he plays in the Lion King as the voice of Mufasa. He plays Mr. Mertle the owner of the beast in the Sandlot and he has made many guest appearances as himself on numerous TV shows.

Carrie Fisher is the final member of this cast that I will talk about. I think Fisher fits into the Wild Card style of acting. She plays a tough woman leader in the Star Wars movies. She plays mother superior in Charlies Angels: Full Throttle. She plays a crazy ex-girlfriend in The Blues Brothers. She is a very versatile actress that has had much success by being able to take on many different types of roles.

Seeing so many different styles of actors and actresses work so well together to make this movie series a success is an incredible thing. I am looking forward to the new edition to the series that premiers later this year.

References

Film From Watching to Seeing, Authors: Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2nd Edition, 2014, Chapter 5

Princess Leia was Bad-Ass, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi, Retrieved from youtube.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSYValHWNOs

Star Wars: A New Hope, Darth Vadar, Retrieved from Youtube.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYZdQRUU5IA

Star Wars: A New Hope, Han Solo, Retrieved From Youtube.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bosSsgzgenA

Harrison Ford, Imbd.com: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000148/

James Earl Jones, Imbd.com; http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000469/

Carrie Fisher, Imbd.com: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000402/

Sleepy Hollow, The sounds that make the mood.

In my initial discussion post I talked about the movie Sleepy Hollow. In this Blog post I will discuss the sounds that have been instrumental in the building of a scene within the movie. Using the original clip from the movie when icabod is on the covered bridge as my reference. As the scene opens up we see icabod crane riding a horse towards the covered bridge. Listening to the clip we can tell that there is no wind blowing, no noises to be heard. Like walking in a ghost town at midnight. This gives the feeling that the actor and his horse are all alone. Then we hear a Hoot Owl cry in the night building the eeriness of the moment. As icabod travels over the covered bridge you hear the horses hoof steps loud on the wooden floor. Icabod hears a sound and turns around to ask who is there. That is when the music starts and slowly builds giving the audience the sense that something bad is about to happen.

The music in the film sets the stage for impending danger approaching. The exterior sounds such as the hoof steps and the owl and the lack of sounds in the beginning build on the solitude of the actor within the scene. It shows the vulnerability of the actors part withing the film. No one can save him or help him. He is left to his own devices. The mood of the entire film is dull, dire, and full of dark shadows. It is a typical Tim burton film. Using shades of gray to show the mood of the town and it’s people. The audience can clearly feel the atmosphere as dark and full of danger. Johnny Depp plays a good Icabod Crane as a book smart non-people person who is unsure of himself.

The effects used within the film are realistic enough to be believable.  The music just adds to the scene.

http://movieclips.com/gmzd-sleepy-hollow-movie-first-encounter-on-the-bridge/

https://youtu.be/R6O4Himch7g Retrieved from youtube.com

Mise en scène Lighting Stardust

The lighting effects used in the movie “Stardust” (2007) The movie encompasses many landscapes, backdrops and buildings. For the initial start of the movie the lighting is soft with vibrant colors to show a safe relaxed setting. As the movie progresses you start to see the darker side of things grow and lights become dim and the shadows come out. This film uses Low-key and 3-point lighting to create many different powerful situations. As the main Character battles witches the lighting becomes darker with many shadows to give you the feeling of impending doom. The story is a right of passage for one young man who doesn’t see his own future right in front of him. The lighting makes a powerful change throughout the entire movie. It evolves as the movie builds to a climax to the end of the movie. The lighting choice help the viewer to concentrate on the story line. The continuous change of lighting even when not noticeable allowed a change in the mood of the film and the way the viewer looked at the actors.

Retrieved from imdb.com    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486655/

Retrieved from youtube.com (full movie)  https://youtu.be/Qa2hLoE-Wq0

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.

My favorite movie to date.

Title: Stardust

Writer: Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Year: 2007

Actors: Charlie Cox, Clair Danes and many more…

Story:  Stardust has 2 story lines within one movie. The first is 7 brothers trying to become the one king of a great kingdom. The second story is about a simple boy trying to find true love in his world not knowing that a hidden world is just over the fence. Add 3 witches into the mix as both worlds collide to create many mishaps and near misses for the boy to forget about the woman he thought was his true love and realize that the one standing in front of him was the right one all along. Many fight scenes throughout the movie.

Plot:

The storie starts out with with a young boy asking a college of scientists a absurd question about the stars. Then telling the audience that the child lives in a town called wall. The story changes to a young man trying to get his way over a magical wall to prove there is nothing on the other side only to find that the stories were true. He meets a slave that makes love to him and sends the child to him 9 months later. The story changes to that child and a teenager trying to find his way in the world. Having fallen for the one woman he really can’t have he sees a fallen star fall out of the sky and promises her the star for her hand in marriage. This starts his journey to the other world of stormhold where 7 brother kill each other to become king of the fabled land. He finds the star has turned into a woman and this is where the store turns in many different directions. 3 witches are after the star to steal her heart to live forever, the boy is trying to take the star to his betroved and the princes are looking for a ruby stone. At the final battle of the movie the boy, the last prince, and the last witch battle for the star.

The film was presented in a largely chronological order throughout the film. The film did not flash back and forth.

The film showed the main Actor grow from a boy to a man to king throughout the movie building on the love of the star.

The film needed to be built up in chronological order to build up the story line so that all aspect of the story could blend into the multi-point story line.

Reference:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486655/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm

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