Stage Coach

In a time where movies were more bold and experimental creativity really thrived in this time period a movie called "Stage Coach" directed by John Ford elevated Western genre in movies to "A" movie status. John Ford wanted to have actors who were less known for this movie so he ended up giving the main role of Ringo to a man named John Wayne who at the time was a B-movie actor however, after his role in Stage Coach he became very famous and worked with John Ford on different movies 24 times. At first when Wayne met Ford he thought Ford was a hard guy to work with because of his personality. However, Wayne knew that Ford had the capability to make him into a star so he ended up dealing with all the struggles and conflict that came with working with Ford and just as he predicted he became a star. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/91227/Stagecoach/articles.html Some of the scenes that caught my interest during this movie was the one major stunt that had one of the characters slipping in between the horses on the carriage. It was amazing to see because the actual stunt was very dangerous and back then for that time they had no special effects or wires so everything that was done had to be legit. To me I feel because the stunt was preformed without the aid of anything just the pure skill of the stuntman, made the scene that much better and more realistic. Another scene that had me in awe was the indian chasing scene and Fords directing style and how he moved the camera to give the illusion of sharp turns and wide vast areas. The actual movie itself I found sort of boring the characters were definitely memorable though such as the drunk doctor he was my favorite character. I thought the movie was decent but once I learned the actual details of the behind the scenes I could appreciate the movie a little more.

God Father

If you talk about classic movies that set the genre for future movies like it you have to mention "The God Father." This was one of the most influential movies that basically set the tone for future "Mob" movies such as the tv series "The Sopranos," or "Goodfellas." This movie didn't use the traditional type of style that most movies would take, instead, the director Coppola made the villans of the movie into the protagonists and made the other families and cops seem like the bad guys. Instantly when you watch the movie you feel a connection with the Corleone family especially Don Corleone who is one of the main characters in the story. However tragically towards the middle of the movie he dies and his son Michael has to become his successor. It's very interesting to see the transition of Michael from being a War hero who doesn't believe in his families business to becoming the new Don ruling with an Iron fist when his father dies. http://www.history.com/topics/the-godfather-and-the-mafia-in-popular-culture According to www.history.com in an interview filmed for the documentary "Under the Influence" (2003), Francis Ford Coppola said he saw "The Godfather" as a classic Shakespearean tale: the story of a king and his three sons. According to producer Robert Evans, Coppola also made his Mafia story a metaphor for capitalism. Another fun fact is that in order for the actor Marlon Brando who played Don Vito Corleone, to get his voice and his face to have that distinct look for the part, he had to have a sponge in his mouth throughout the whole time when he was filming. To me I found this movie very interesting. It's always nice to be able to go back and watch a movie that you've seen a long time ago but wasn't able to appreciate it because you were a kid and understand the complexity that the movie actually possesses. Ever since watching "Goodfellas," I've always have been interested in Mob movies and I am glad I had the opportunity to be able to watch the movie that basically started the trend of making the villans of the movie into characters you actually care about. The main reason I think audiences are able to fall so easily for these characters is because they have family values so you can understand the struggle they are going through whenever one of the family members gets hurt or dies. For instance one of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Michael is already the new Don and he orders the hit on his sisters husband because he has been physically abusing her. It shows that family value is really what this family is all about even if it sometimes means taking really drastic measures such as killing another human being. Although this movie was almost three hours long I found it easy to watch and really enjoyed it.