SOME LIKE IT HOT
THIS CLASSIC SCREWBALL comedy (Billy Wilder, 1959), scheduled for the end of semester, 8 January, stars Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe in what may be her finest performance. It was one of the earliest films that focused on cross-dressing as a main theme. We will study the film mainly in terms of visual design: the inventive use of costumes, decor, props, and mise-en-scene. Comedy involves a very obvious use of movement for comic purpose (chases, contrast of movement and stillness, etc.). Since the movie is set in the 1920s, set design (including props, automobiles, etc.) must evoke that period. Since the movie involves cross-dressing, costume changes are important in the film.
But the film's distinction is in its use of these elements for comic effect, including dramatic coherence. A prop well used, like significant dialogue, should be repeated in different ways throughout. As the adage goes, if a gun appears in Act 1 it should be used in the final act.
In Some Like It Hot props and costume accessories (including earrings, bracelet, flowers, a hearing aid, coffins) are used as familiar images throughout. In the same way, in this extremely well written script, every line of dialogue wittily refers to previous dialogue in the film. For students wishing to start a career in script writing, this is as good a script as any to study. But the film is also a model of how to visualize a script, since director, Billy Wilder finds visual means for every dramatic idea. In other words, this is not just a filmed script but a film.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment