From:
Date: Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 11:24 AM
Subject: Re: Scheduled film for 19 March 2010
To: rdca25@gmail.com
Tiffany, Mamie, Abby, Charlene, Alice Huang, Juliet, Joan, Chin, Sophia, Candy Jiang, Finna, Katherine, Christine, Vicky Shih, Hansel, Hilary, April, Vicky Liu, Tina, Candy Cheng, Max, Joseph, Holly, Alice Wang, Cherry, David, Jeanette, Carolina, Vicky Lin, Karen, Emily, John, Ivana, Anna, Eileen, Vivian Yang, Vincent, Vivian Lin, Tiger, Mandy, Ida, Selena, Irving, Minnie, Anne,
TiffanyIn David Copperfield, the usage of light is greatly different compared toTwist Oliver. There are plenty of "low-key light" showing the harsh atmosphere in Twist Oliver. That's why viewers are difficult to know the boundary between actors and background in Twist. However, we can see the clear and even mild light using inDavid Copperfield. In addition, I found that in black and white movie, light plays an important role. For example, bad characters often appear with gloomy dark or shadows but the more positive characters usually shot in whiter and warmer light. Moreover, the light usage also changes with the need of plot. Take David for example, the scene when he felt sad or when he on his way walked to look for help from his aunt, the light around him becomes darker.
MamieDifferent from Oliver Twist, David Copperfield uses a lot of high-key lighting. Even though in sad scenes, actors' face is still illuminated and the contrast between black and white is more vivid. The opening of this film is a page of a book with a sentence "I am born" written on it. We can easily know this film is adapted from a novel. In addition, the branches and leaf waver strongly in the wind in the beginning. Although the scene is similar to the start of Oliver Twist, it creates completely different atmosphere. Since the branches waver too strong so that it looks too dramatic and over-exaggerated. It brings us humor when we watch the scene. But later I find all actors also have over-exaggerated expression and actions. For example, Peggotty covers her face with apron immediately to show shyness of love.
David's fear of his stepfather is seen clearly through the film. It is interesting to know that his stepfather's name is Murdstone, combing murder and stone. Mr. Murdstone acts like his name: murder David's happiness and hope with a stone-like face. By using the POV shot and quick cut between Mr. Murdstone and his sister, it is easy for us to understand David's nervousness and helplessness. I think the ending of David Copperfield is plain and strange. How can David love another woman so quickly just after his wife dies? Maybe this is so-called happiness in the film.
AbbyOverall, the tempo of the film is quite fast and terse. When a novel being adapted into a film version, the director must struggle from choosing what plots to be remained and what parts to be deleted. And although it is an orphan's story, it somehow is more dramatic than other orphan stories I have read. At the beginning of the film, there are some comedic actions. I don't know why the director would design this, but I personally don't like it. There are two characters make a deep impression on me. One is Mr. Murdstone, played by Basil, the other one is Micauber. Maybe it is due to their distinguishing characteristics, one is extremely mean and has a poker face every time he appears while the other one is just not normal yet he is good and somehow a smart man. I don't like the acting of "small" David Coperfield. They appears unnatural to me. And Uriah is a contrastive character himself. Pretending to be humble but actually doing a lot of bad things, finally the event is unconcealed. At the scene when they discover the trick Uriah play and gather together, it is interesting that we can tell from people's standing positions that Uriah is on the weak side.
CharleneDavid Copperfield is another great movie adaptation of a novel by Charles Dickens. Compared to Oliver Twist, the cinematographer widely uses the light in a variety of ways. The whole film seems much lighter than Oliver Twist, and it makes the light have more application. The light is widely used even in the miserable plot. That is, even when the characters are in a bad situation, the light gives a positive and promising future to them, suggesting to the audience with optimism. In contrast to the movie we saw last week, this film is filled with happiness. On the other hand, the light is used to highlight the characters' personality. Like Ms. Copperfield and Peggotty, the light on their face is always the lighter than the other characters in the shot. And for those portray the villains, the light is used to create more shades of black and white.
I think the actors in the film are acting in a very mannered way. They seem really exaggerated for us. When Ms. Copperfield is dancing hand in hand with her son, David Copperfield, we almost laughed out because it looks pretty strange in the movie nowadays. And sometimes the actors' dramatic facial expression is also very comical.
There are some motifs and props in the movie. The scene when Agnes went to the edge of the board, it provides the image of the danger of the sea. And in the later story, Ham's life is taken by the sea, which is indeed a dismal in the movie. As for the props, Micawber's apple (he throw it away, which presents a really hilarious effect) and the spoiled dog are the most impressive to me.
Alice HuangThis film is another adaption of another book of Charles Dickens'. Personally I think it's quite proper that this movie is made as a monochromatic one because it creates a suitable atmosphere of "old-time London." Besides, when a classic work is filmed as a black and white movie, the personalities of the characters, especially those antagonists, it seems that their temperaments are well described.
In the very beginning of this film, the shadow effects on the books is a typical effect which shows that someone is reading the book. I find that "shadows" can indicate lots of things in a movie. There are other examples such as the scene in Oliver Twist in which Nancy was killed; or in David Copperfield, the shadow of the swaying branches shows creates a scary and worrying situation in the movie.
Comparing with the last film, Oliver Twist, the director uses more soft iris effects in David Copperfield. Most of the time, those effects are applied to scenes with an antagonist within, which, for me, provides a feeling of darkness and slyness. As what professor mentioned in the class, the use of light play an important role in this film. When there are appearances of antagonists, the light is usually shot partially on the character's face, but not the whole face, in comparison with those scenes of David Copperfield. The light also shows audience with "focus," which means what we should pay attention to. For instance, the light used on the bad guy, Uriah Heep, and his rubbing hands display his character obviously in this film.
Though personally I don't like some "overacting" scenes shown in this film, in terms of cinematic techniques I admire it a lot. Especially in the aspect that every characters' personality, temperament are annotated nicely in this movie.
JuietIn David Copperfield, the director of photography, Oliver T. Marsh, actually makes good use of lighting. He uses distinct light to enhance different characters' characteristics. Take little David Copperfield (Freddie Bartholomew) and Mr. Murdstone (Basil Rathbone) for example. As a protagonist, little David is shot with high-key light. On the contrary, as an antagonist, Mr. Murdstone is often shot with low-key light. In the scene which Mr. Murdstone and his sister discipline little David and his mother, audiences also can find the differences between both sides. Little David and his mother are nice and warm, so they are illuminated by light. Compared with them, the light only illuminates Mr. Murdstone's and his sister's eyes. For me, little light makes them seems evil and hateful. Undoubtedly, Marsh successfully strengthens characters' differences by lighting.
However, I think that some acting in the film seems too exaggerated. For instance, after seeing Mr. Murstone's unfriendliness towards his mother and him, little David goes back to his room, reads his favorite book, and cries "exaggeratedly". In fact, his crying cannot convince me. I do not believe that people in reality would cry like him. For me, his crying is affected. In my prediction, the director may wants to conform the novel. Nevertheless, I think that acting still have to fit in reality.
JoanThe film, David Copperfield, is also a black and white film. Unlike Oliver Twist, the light effect is softer in David Copperfield. In the beginning of the film, the speed outside the house such as moving of the leaves and the woman is faster than it is in the house. However, after the woman enters the house, the speed becomes normal. When the woman is still outside the house, there is a special shot where the woman's face is exactly fit for the frame. It makes us laugh aloud. Usually, David's mother wears in white dress which means light color; however, step-father wears the black suit which means dark. Obviously, his mother is more merciful than his step-father. After David's mother marries to him, his attitude totally changes. He becomes fierce not only toward David but also his wife, David's mother. Murdstone's sister is also very cruel to David and his mother. A scene speeds up when it focuses on Murdstone and his sister.
After David grows up, he falls in love with Dora and marries her. There is a big contrast between them; that is David is gumptious and clever, but Dora is so clumsy. When they eat dinner together, oyster and lamb are inedible. Nevertheless, the dog plays an important role like a co-mediator in the film. It makes them, David and Dora, keep harmonious.
Chin
The practice, which we clap our hand when we find the angles or lighting changed, that raised by professor is quite useful, at least it is useful for me to realize some new angles changed. I do not know if there is my problem or it is because a black-and-white movie, I found it hard to sense the obvious change of lighting in both Oliver Twist and David Copperfield, except for dark and bright. However, I am so impressed by the use of natural lighting, which focus only on both eyes to show the evil side of a character, such lighting appears on Murdstone and his sister, and Uriah Heep. I think one of the advantages after learning such movie-observation; I have the ability to predict the characteristic (bad or good) of a character.
SophiaAfter watching Oliver Twist, we saw another black and white film. Same as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield is impressive in the focus on character's face. With high-key light, the characters are focused. The close shot also deepens the focus on characters. Thus, the use of light makes the characters clearer.
Adapted from Charles Dickens' novel, the producer makes a long novel into film. It is hard to make such a long story into a film in 130 minutes. However, the producer uses an effective way to shorten the time by some lines to express how time faded away. And, through some sequent shots, David's escape from London to his aunt's house is shortened.
As for a whole story, the structure of David Copperfield is good. There is climax in this film. Before the climax, there are several rising and falling, such as David's mother passing away and David's escape from London. Finally, it ends with a good and happy ending.
Candy JiangWhen the movie, David Copperfield, began, I could not help but wondering why the director chose to speed up the story at the very beginning of the film. On seeing this fast-paced beginning, I thought that it may be a silent movie because fast pace is always the special technique that silent movies use. However, it is not a silent movie. Thus, I question that there is any hidden meaning in using this technique since I think this part of the movie is not at all important to the whole story.
Frankly speaking, to me, it is an extremely dull and boring story. Nonetheless, the director is good at adding some humorous elements in the film to keep audience awake. For example, when Aunt Betsey knew that the baby is a boy instead of a girl, she hit the doctor fiercely. There is no point in hitting him but is just for tickling the audience. Moreover, it is also fun that when Peggotty hugged the young David Copperfield passionately, a button of her dress just bumped loose. There is also a ridiculous scene that made me laugh out loud. That is when Peggotty knew that Barkis loved her, she is so shy and happy that she flapped up her apron to cover her face. Regardless of Peggotty, there is another character whose acting is full of humor. When Mr. Micawber was avoiding his creditors, he climbed up to the roof. Here, he made good use of his cane, hat and shoe to create a funny scene.
I think that all the actors and actress did not do well in terms of acting. They, like David's mother and Dora, sometimes unreasonably exaggerated their movements and emotions, which make the whole scene so unnatural. Moreover, some of them, like W. C. Fields, playing as Micawber, said their lines like they were reciting them instead of acting and involving into the characters.
FinnaDavid Copperfield is also adapted form Dickens' novel as the other film, Oliver Twist. The difference between these two films lies in the key lighting. Compared to Oliver Twist which is mainly of low key lights, David Copperfield is mainly about high key lights. Very little low key lighting is used in this film even in the sorrow scenes and villain characters. Due to the high key lighting, the whole film is more hopeful, soft and optimistic. The light and darkness are also balanced in some scenes, such as when David is leaving home with Peggotty, he leaves Murdstone and Mrs. Copperfield behind. Murdstone wears in black suit which represents the somber and Mrs. Copperfield wears in white dress which means weakness and softness.
The background music also perfectly matches the plot. Whenever the atmosphere changes, the music also follows changes of the plot. And the design of costume also clearly shows each character's background. For example, Mrs. Copperfield always wears in dark dress in the beginning while she is depressed about the loss of her husband. Afterward, she wears in white when she meets and falls in love with "kind" Mr. Murdstone. Another example is that when David is asked to work, he is always dressed in a dirty and untidy way which is different from when he is still at home.
I think the acting in David Copperfield is a little exaggerated, like a stage show. Through their not colloquial speaking and dramatic behaviors, this film is not like a film but a stage show. Maybe it's the problem to film a classic literature.
Katherine
I think the characteristics of each character are very vivid. My favorite character is David's aunt. She may looks quite serious and difficult to get along with, she is in fact the most generous person in the world. And I found that the movie would use the light to focus on some people's eyes to indicate some special meanings. For example, when David were reciting the famous people's name and when they lived, his step-father and his sister were both looking at David maliciously. We can clearly see their face through the light. It is quite good for the audience to catch the most important things during watching movie
ChristineLightings in David Copperfield seems different from Oliver Twist. It is arranged dramatically and unnaturally in some spots. Especially, the light focusing on the eyes of the evil servant is too conspicuous that a ray of light is put directly on the part of eyes. The every scene is unique from others that no scene had used light so apparent.
It is naturally to put the stories of David Copperfield and Oliver Twist into comparison. Considering the background of the main characters, Oliver is an orphan since he was born whereas David has a stepfather who offered him nothing. However, both of them live a happy life at last. Dickens' work David Copperfield pictures the environment full of deciever and hardness and prevalent child labor problems.Not always looking on the dark side, Dickens also showed enthusiasm and hospitality of genaral people on David's way of finding a home.
Vicky Shih
This is another story wrote by Charles Dickens. Like the film, Oliver Twist, we watched last week. The two stories both talked about the orphan's miserable experience, but they both found the happy life in the end. In the David Copperfield, it used dark scenery in the beginning to reveal David's pitiful childhood. But in the middle of the film, the scene became bright, and David fell into another trouble, it's about his marriage. He married a woman who was young and did nothing. But his wife died early. He finally found out the woman accompany him form he was child was the one most suitable for him!
HanselI think the pace of the film might be a little too fast in the beginning. It seems a little unnatural but on the other hand it gives a sense of how fast things could change.
One interesting thing in the film is that Dora seems to resemble David's mother a lot, and that is probably why he is attracted by her. However, it might not be love, but some sort of comfort he finds to fill the vacancy of his mother, who dies early in his life. Dora's death also resembles Clara's. After Dora dies, David somewhat faces a déjà vu, after which he finally realizes where his true love really belongs. The film portrays the naivete of Clara and Dora quite well, but it seems a little too over, making them look more foolish than naive. The film is exaggerated in some ways and might seem a little absurd. All in all, the story gives people the hope that in the end good people will gain the comfort and the happiness they deserve.
HilaryAfter these two movies, I found a same point between them. Both of them use the leading role's name to name the film. But in Chinese they have quite different meanings form English names. Oliver twist's translated name means a little lonely bird's tear. David Copperfield was translated into a story of the rest of its life of a piece of meat.
I found that they have some similar points. Both of them described a story of an innocent kid who was lonely and pitiful. After they cross over lots of obstacles, they live happily ever after. The film "David Copperfield" focuses not only on childhood but also on his manhood. He faced plenty of challenges and he overcame them. Even when he was very painful, he still didn't give up hope. And work hard and make efforts to twist his destiny.
The tempo of this movie is quite fast. All plots happened one after another. Some of them happened suddenly. For example, his wife died unexpectedly. At the prior second she was taking pens, and then she fall down by and by. This kind of story made me confused. By the way, in black and white movie human's face look too bright. It looks like that the guy was sick or something. And there is dark side in nooks. Maybe it was limited by technique at that time. But it has special taste.
AprilThe director put a clear demarcation after each complete scene. By doing so, it makes the movie easy to understand, but on the other hand, the film seems to be cut into pieces. Also, the continual switch from one setting to another annoys the audience. However, the gradual blurring makes it softer and gentle, which meets the theme of the misery, sad story.
The director also does a wonderful job on the choice of the character, such as the little Copperfield, Mr. Dick and Mr. Murdstone; they are all the most appropriate people for their role not only because of their appearance but also their acting. For example, Mr. Dick as well as Mr. Murdstone is suggested for the assimilation to Mouse and black leopard respectively. This is certainly an excellent application of animal allegory, which aids the audience in constructing their character. Thus, the animal allegoric image rationalizes their behavior for being either timid and sly or brutal and cold. Furthermore, as little Copperfield being locked up in a chaotic room, which is claimed to be "a room of his own", he held his tears with trembles and then burst out crying, which is definitely an impressive acting.
Vicky Liu
The film David Copperfield is quite inspiring. The story praises the courage of fighting against the plight, just like the main character, David Copperfield. He has suffers from his stepfather and some difficulties from the world. However, he does not change his positive attitude toward life still fulfilling his dream of becoming a writer. In contrast, Uriah Heep is a bad person who betrays his partner. At first, he seems to be loyal and humble. Little by little, he shows his real intension. Nevertheless, Charles Dickens does not make the story so simple. Uriah's unpleasant characteristic is formed by the humble environment where he grows. We should not blame him only because of the improper behavior. His background should be considered. In my opinion, until now, growing environment is still a major issue of deciding a person's characteristic. Many social problems are by people who grow in troubled families. Fine artworks never fade away, just like David Copperfield. The issue is still a big problem in the society. The film depicts the characters successfully. The film is just like a small society filled with diverse people.
Tina
In the first half of the film, which is about David Copperfield's childhood, there are a lot of close shots of the young David. Especially when he is crying or having emotional conversations, the director tends to cut from the whole view to the face of David. That shows every detail of his facial expression as well as his pitiful lines, raising the audience's sympathy. But as far as I am concerned, David's delivery is a bit too much and unnatural. It is strange to see a shivering (he shivers a lot!) little boy speaking so sensationally, like "Oh, Peggotty!" (He says a lot of "ohs") Maybe the actor was trying to express the helplessness of David Copperfield, but this kind of acting is too old fashioned to me.
Candy Cheng
After watching the movie, "David Copperfield", I felt a little sorry about him. When he was just a little, he lost his father and. And his step-father treated him and his mother strictly. Even though his mother begged his step-father not to do so, things still didn't change. But when David's aunt kept him, his life became happier! The way he went to his aunt's house was really a long distance, and I was really impressed at that time. The director showed the changes during his way to his aunt's house, and it was amazing. At the end of the movie, David's first wife was dead, but I think that was because there was another girl who was fit him more. I really happy for him then.
HazelSome shots will let audiences easily identify with characters of the film. For instance, during the time David is questioned by Mr. Murdstone, one of the scenes is the camera zooming in and focusing on David's stepfather's and his auntie's faces. Their facial expression which is emphasized by light conveys a message. As a viewer, people can place himself in David's position. In other words, people can feel the sense of pressure from David.
Another similar situation is in David's bedroom. While David is punished by Mr. Murdstone, the low-angle shot is a bottom view which makes Mr. Murdstone much bigger than the boy, not to mention his superior status. In my opinion, those shots will build up the paternity and Mr. Murdstone's authority in the family and in little David's mind.
Max
Compared with Oliver Twist, the film, David Copperfield, is very "optimistic." Unlike Oliver Twist, which is filled with darkness and low-key lights, David Copperfield is full of high-key lights even when tragedies happen. The lights shows the optimistic attitude toward life. Everything will end up turning better. For example, in spite of the miserable childhood, the adult David becomes cheerful and confident. Besides, the colors used in the film also indicate the characters' traits or emotion. In the beginning part, the cold and tough Murdstone wears black while David's friendly mother is in white. David always wears black implying his pain and misfortune, while he does not wear black after he has grown up. However, after his wife passes away, David starts to wear black clothes again. In conclusion, this movie indeed masters the uses of lights and clothes.
JosephBoth adapted from Dickens' novels, Oliver Twist and David Copperfield describe two different young characters go through the difficult situation of lower-class in the society. Of course they have some similarities and differences. Two cinematographers use two distinct ways to express the plot and build the atmosphere. InOliver Twist, most of the film is covered with low-key lighting, simultaneously showing the very dark side of the society. And also the power and threat of villains are much stronger than those in David Copperfield. In contrast, in David Copperfield, the lighting is brighter than the previous film, even if when David or someone else is in danger or under threat. The villains, who are not strong enough to make great threat, will not put David in danger.
But I think that, at the very end of this film, David suddenly switches his love from Dora into Agnes after Dora's death. It is kind of ridiculous because what I feel is that David does not like Dora at all so that he can immediately loves another woman, or that David loves Dora very much but he does not Agnes. But the novel does mention that after Dora's death, David does some soul-searching and finally finds his true happiness. I think maybe the director chose to cut the process out because of the length or funds of the film. However, if there are some connections there, in my opinion, it will be better.
HollyThis movie is a black-and-white movie. I notice the light is an essential element in this kind of movie. For example, in David Copperfield, people with innocence and sincerity are usually high lighted; on the contrary, those evil guys are in the shadow, or in the scene of low key lighting. In addition, the color of the costumes makes difference, too. In the beginning of the movie, David's childlike mother is dressed in clothes with brightness. As we see the movie, of course, we regard all the light colors as white. Indeed, this effect will have an influence on audience's visions toward the character. White things are mostly connected with the simplicity and purity. Therefore, people associate the character with the white color with the characteristic of artlessness and honesty. In fact, David's mother is still a young widow, a young girl still full of dreams and fancies for life. So she is even dressed in a fluffy skirt, showing her day-dreaming or a bit of unrealistic characterization. Her personality is somehow similar to the one of David's ex-wife.
Angle shots are important in this movie. People with the authority or power to control the situation will be given a low angle shot. Children or someone vulnerable are always in the high angle shot. For example, sick people, such as David ex-wife on the bed, are always taken from a high angle and audience can see their pale face, the weak body or even their painful facial expressions. What's more, when little kids are tortured, we have a high angle to make a contrast between the poor child and a harsh adult. Low angle shots are not only for cruel people. Sometimes, I think the director use the low angle to stand out someone professional or authorized to handle the hard condition. People with the power to help someone or the key character strongly related with the main character will also be shot with the low angles to symbolize their specialty and unique.
I love this movie; for me, its plot setting is more attractive. Unlike Oliver, DP is more diverse in the main character's private life, such as his love and family life. I like the emotional illustration in the details of those characters, which make this movie outstanding and impressive.
Alice Wang
The film David Copperfield directed by George Cukor is often viewed as one of the finest adaptations of the Charles Dickens' novel, David Copperfield. One of the most significant features of the movie is the use of high-key lighting almost throughout the whole film. The sufficient lights in all scenes create a warm and healthy world for David Copperfield, unlike that of Oliver Twist. The world of Oliver is obviously bleak and dark, and most scenes are shot in whole darkness or low-key lighting, creating the feeling that the characters in it don't seem to have any chance to defeat the evil ones. However, in the case of David Copperfield, most scenes are shot with high-key lighting, even in those dark circumstances. The only exceptions of this are the dark scenes of the real villain, Murdstone, there are shadows on his face instead of high-key lighting. The lighting technique is the same in one way, though. That is, they are all used to put emphasis on the faces of the characters. Also, in the film David Copperfield, the lighting is often used to indicate the innocence of David Copperfield. On the other hand, on of the reasons why David Copperfield is given a more positive and healthy atmosphere is because of the fact that the villains are not portrayed as aggressive and evil as what is done in the film Oliver Twist. In David Copperfield, the villains are weaker and easier to be defeated. Also, the character Aunt Betsey has made a big difference by having the power and braveness to stand up to the evil people, giving the movie a optimistic feeling as the kind lady and David finally got rid of the villains and restore the peace.
CherryFirst, the story begins with a small boy named David Copperfield and the story revolves him (we can see this is directed through a first person perspective). First, we can see the characteristics of each actor/actress very clearly from their actions, facial expression and even their apparel. For instance, David's mom, Clara Copperfield, wears black dress (indicates her unfortunate, her husband died) in the beginning and after she married David's stepfather; however, she wears white dress (points out her temporary happiness) when she meets Edward Murdstone (David's stepfather). Besides, black suites worn by Edward explain that he is a serious and is portrayed as a negative figure in the movie.
Another point is that there are two women playing important in David's life; before going 72 miles to London he has Peggotty and after that he has his aunt, Betsey. Peggotty, as a servant, is the harbor for David and always shows the flexibility side the same as Clara. As for Betsey, though unfriendly-looking, she dares to rival with both Edward and his cruel sister to protect David. Actually, there are many characters walk into David's life and bring him different effects. Eventually, after undergoing many trials David finds his true love and is able to be responsible for himself unlike the boy when he was little.
David
In David Copperfield, the most impressive character to me is Mr. Micawber. His special ways of speaking and philosophical attitude toward his life is quite fascinating. Another character I like is Uriah. His performance of a sly man is very vivid. Even though he hasn't taken off his mask of being humble and submissive, the spectators can easily find out the man not so innocent. By the end of the movie, David Copperfield finally falls in love with Agnes, but I think the romance between them is not paved so well in previous plot that it seems kind of sudden.
Jeanette
I found the opening of this film surprisingly amusing, maybe is the exaggerated gestures that David's aunt made when he was talking to David's beloved mother. Simply by using impressive gestures, an expected sad opening can be presented in a totally different way. Another thing is, the scenes change fast in the film. Sometimes, when the background scores even characters are still saying lines, some scenes gradually black out and directly roll into the next. I think they are kind of distracting, we, viewers, cannot enjoy the expectations of the up-coming scenes. As an adaption from a famous literary work, the details should especially be taken care of.
CarolinaAs I haven't read Charles Dickens's novel "David Copperfield", it would be inappropriate to judge if the director has catches the essence of it or not. Yet, as a viewer, I find the film without noticeable climax, turning point, and downfall. In some part of the movie, for example, when David got married with Dora, I would have the feeling of reaching the ending. I was not expecting more to come as that part would be a "happily ever after". Moreover, the main plot was not fully developed because David did not suffer from a miserable life (not as Oliver Twist), if that was the main one. Too many subplots are mixed up, however, well connected. At least, every conflict had its own resolution.
Unlike "Oliver Twist" (the previous film), the lighting is totally different – this movie is much brighter. Most of the faces of the characters could be clearly seen, even if the general environment is dimmer. This might be due to the major narrative line, which is more cheerful if we compared with Oliver Twist. As the handout points out "even the darkness is not too dark".
Most of the casts had performed in an extraordinary level. My favorite is Aunt Betsey, who always chased the donkeys that passed through her grassland. All the personages had very well defined and distinguished characteristics, which made them memorable.
Vicky Lin
In the movie, David Copperfield, I like one of the cast, Aunt Betsey, very much. At the first, when she knew Mrs. Copperfield had born a boy instead of a girl. She became angry and went away. But when David implored her to take care of him, she agreed as of not in the direct way. She is a kind woman but she is not well at expressing her feeling. I think the cast of this film, everyone plays their role well. For audiences, it is easily for them to distinguish or judge the different characteristics of the cast. When David was asked to answer the math question by his step-father, he became too anxious and nervous to calculate. The direct used montage to express what made David be afraid. I think this is the most impressive part of the movie for me.
Karen
As a movie or novel, David Copperfield is very different from Oliver Twist in many aspects. The most obvious difference is the lighting used in these two films. Unlike Oliver Twist, low-key lighting is seldom seen in the former, even if there is a sad or dark scene, the characters' faces are highlighted, so we can see their faces clearly. In addition, even the most desperate situation David confronts is smoother than what Oliver faces. Even though David's mother died and he walks miles and miles to his aunt's place, he is taken good care of. Since David meets his aunt Betsey, his life becomes better and better. The friends and people David encounters are nice and willing to help him through his education. The film's props, lighting, costume design, and composition are excellent, which make this movie so interesting and remarkable.
EmilyDavid Copperfield is also a black and white film. In this film, its lighting is totally different from Oliver Twist. In Oliver Twist, the scenes are almost dark. However, in David Copperfield, the scenes are much brighter. The cinematographer uses the lighting very well; he balances the light and dark which makes the scenes looks more comfortable. Besides, the cinematographer highlights the characters by lighting. He puts light on the faces of the characters to emphasize the expressions. In David Copperfield, there is almost no low-key lighting, which is much used in Oliver Twist.
Although Oliver Twist and David Copperfield are all black and white film, there is some different. The main difference is the use of the lighting. Besides that, we could see there are some props used in this film. For example, when Dodie died, her diary and dog express the grief atmosphere.
The cinematographer also works on the attire. He uses the color to contrast the character's personality: always black and white.
JohnWhen "The End" was showed on the screen, I can't really understand what the director want to express. But I really impressed by the boy who acted as David. His acting is really good! I can directly understand the emotion that he was showing, it's really plentiful. I even don't know how to express in front of strangers when I was a little boy like him. But he could perform naturally, it really difficult.
I also learned from the movie that parent can't oppress their children excessively when they just begin learning. Just like David, he could learn freely and comfortably when his mother was teaching him along. He could develop his talent. And then, his stepfather was over oppressing. He was too nervous to think and result in the bad effect. Parent in the world should learn it completely!
Ivana
I don't like the film for its plot is boring. As a novel, it can contain many subjects that the author wants to express because it has enough amounts of pages to cover the whole story and to make it clear; yet as a film, I think the director should have design on its plot since there is time limit in a film. However, when watching David Copperfield, I almost fall asleep, not because the plot is hard to understand, but because it is not well-organized that I can hardly find the climax. The plot to me is like a plain description of a person's life, without surprise and interesting parts.
AnnaI am going to make comments on the following three aspects.
ABOUT THE CONTENT
I remember reading the Charles Dickens's novel David Copperfield in my younger years in the middle school under the pressure of my mom's endless requirement. I wonder if it's because the lack of motivation to read and the disability to concentrate, the whole novel seemed so massive and splendid that even now I can still recall the very complicated feelings after reading it. So in my viewpoint, a great deal of editing and streamlining must have been done to compress Dickens' grand novel into 2 hours of screen time. However, I did enjoy the movie and three Oscar nominations must have explained its great success.
I remembered out teacher talking about Murdstone being a good name representing evil, this kind of metaphor is also used in the song "Scarborough Fair" in the movie "Graduate", representing Scar borrow fair.
ABOUT THE LIGHTING
We've all know that shallow focus can soften one's face and therefore create a innocent and kind image, whereas deep focus will do exactly the opposite. Here in this movie, nearly all lighting on the young David can be categorized as shallow lighting. However, there are cases when the stepfather is also given soft lighting, in that situation, we should avoid being rigid and analyze the overall theme, and then run into a conclusion.
ABOUT THE CINEMATOGRAPHY
I remembered that we say there are three ways to create a special effects (illusion), namely rear projection, mapping shots (?) and reflection of mirrors (shufton?). These are all mechanical effects, rather than computer-generated imagery which are more commonly seen today. I've found examples of using Scotchlite as the material to achieve front projection.
Eileen
Just like Oliver Twist, it's a movie about a boy called David and David is also a miserable boy. He had an evil stepfather. His mom is a little weird to love the man who bullies her son and is unkind to her. The scene in David Copperfield is brighter than the scene in the Oliver Twist. Sometime the film uses the light to represent the actor's feeling or personality. It seems the light can talk.
Vivian Yang
David Copperfield, an extraordinary adaption of Charles Dickens' famous novel, shows some interesting cinematography.
Fade-out are used in all the switches of scenes, which is a quite unique interpretation of transformation. Notice that sometomes the scene seems to fade out too soon to show the character's further emotion. For example, once finding his beloved wife was terribly ill, David desperately sat on the chair as the light turned down, which makes his facial expression hardly seen by others. All that the audience can do is imagine the rest of the story.
On the other hand, lighting plays a paramount role in this film. When it comes to the comparison of Oliver Twist and David Copperfield, even audience without basic cinematography knowledge can tell that most of the shots on David are with beaming light; nevertheless, the ones on Oliver seems to be dimmish. This may has a lot to do with the setting of the story, i.e., David as the hero-like character who controls his destiny, while Oliver as a passive and weak character whose destiny was led by others. In lighting we can see the insight of the movie, and also the main idea of the shooting.
In a word, I find myself enjoy David Copperfield a lot becuase of its sophisticated filmming. The relationships between lighting and features are pleasant as well. There is no wonder the film was nominated as the best picture during that time.
Vincent
This film is also a black-and-white one, just like "Oliver Twist." Both of them are stories about a boy, or we can say that both stories begin with a boy's birth. In Oliver Twist, it seems bad things are gone, and Oliver's luck just comes, a happy ending. Through all the pain, Oliver can grow up as a happy boy. In contrast, David's bad luck is not just in his childhood. David has to face other frustration while he grows up. His best friend betrays him, his wife passes away. Many of important roles in his life leave him one by one. These are awful experiences that Oliver didn't encounter, at least not in the film. But, at the very end of the fim "David Copperfield", David find his true love again. The audiences can wipe their tears. By the way, I feel that even though the most of the story are tragedies, the way the actor or actress act is like a comedian. It makes a special balance, and it makes me feel better when all these sad things happening to the poor boy and people around him!
Vivian Lin
The movie is full of hope, no matter what bad situations David encounters. It still courage me a lot. Compare with the other film "Oliver Twist", atmosphere in David Copperfield is warmer than Oliver. The lights in Copperfield are well-used. Also it is black and white movie, but there are a lot of scenes of days more than nights. Although, some parts that illustrate bad thing happened, the lights are dark and hopelessness, such as his wife die or he lose his mother. I like tha part which he goes for a long way to find his aunt. I feel sypathy to him and also admire the director having a good shot at the scenes. Swan Lake is a interesting part for me. The music and ballet is wondrful, but David is focus on the lady! I like the movie because it gives me positive perspective to my life which somtimes make me frustrated and depressed.
Tiger
This film reveals a warm and sometimes comic tone. This is attributable to the high key lighting throughout the film. The film also provides a neat sense for all of the scenes. Each shot are clearly well arranged, composed and organized. Most scenes are well balanced in terms of lighting and framing. For example, the opening scene of the woman approaching the house is shot in three sequences—the scene at the gate, the scene of the house, and the scene at the door. These three shots look like beautiful paintings if staying still, and this is because of the harmonious arrangement of framing. The use of props is also important in film, as we can find example in the begging of the film while the mother in a sorrow look holding the pillow with words as "BLESS THE BABY" on it. Not only the prop work in this scene but also the cutting has importance of it. Here the director simply uses the prop and the cut away shot to tell the story without any dialogue, and the audience will not have difficulty understanding it. The scene when David travel to London and finally finds refuge also contains good composition of the shots. The shot when David is on the sofa among three adults, his position is the lowest and he seems to be surrounded and besieged; this composition can clearly explain the little boy's weak situation. Owing to the detailed organization, this movie goes smoothly to the audience and is very attractive in many ways.
Mandy
I like how the director uses the light. Compared to Oliver Twist, the director uses lots of natural lights and shot many scenes in daytime. It makes this movie less miserable and more hopeful. But for the sequences of miserable incidents, the director films them at night. The dim light and low-key lighting make these sad sequences more convincing such as the scene of Dora's death. And I also like the way this director to present how difficult for young David to walk from London to find his aunt. I think the director is clever to have a shot on stones with the distances. These shots explain the hardness of David's trip without using a word.
Ida
Recently we have seen two movies adapted from Charles Dickens, comparing to the movie we saw on the previous week, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield gives me a much more optimistic feeling. First, the lighting is much more notable in David Copperfield. It does not make me feel fear as Oliver Twist does. Second, the characters are lovely, especially the little David, whom looks cute, innocent and makes you want to protect him, even hope that trouble will never find him. Some other characters like Aunt Betsey, who looks stern but actually soft-hearted and loves David very much, and her friend, who looks stupid outside but clever inside are admirable. Furthermore, the ending is encouraging while the two lovers come together and David eventually becomes the writer. To sum up, it is a good movie with great cinematography in 1935s. The actors or actresses are admirable. The plot is exciting especially when you see David gets into some troubles, like his money
has all been stolen or he needs to go back and live with Mr. Murdstone. It is really worth to see this movie, particularly the big fans of Charles Dickens as Someone even say that it is his autobiography.
Selena
In the movie, David Copperfield, framing by using a window is commonly seen, in order to show David's restrained life at home. After David leaves home for work, he lives a more free life; therefore, framing is not common during that time. In the scene where David is tested by his mother in front of Murdstone and his sister, he breaks down crying because his nervousness. Before he breaks down crying, a series of close-up shots are used. Changing fast among the close-up shots of faces is efficient in building up the feeling, and finally leading to a climax. I've seen this technique in many other films, in which they have music to come with the series of close-up shots. The music usually becomes louder or stronger in order to help lead to the climax.
Irving
David's story reflects the author's life story. It's make me think of that many great people lead a miserable existence when they were young. so do Dickens.Even all the hard time made him feel hopeless, as long as he kept breathing, they turned to what made him a great author someday. David Copperfifld is a white and black movie, too. Compared with the Oliver Twist last week we watched, David Copperfifld also had a bad time, but more dramatic. I think the most bad thing is what follows the good things. I like the movies like these two which use light very carefully, making every shot a beautiful picture . I feel every shot is designed very carefully, not like many movies nowadays, and the camara movement sometimes make the atmosphere more charming.
MinnieThere are a word '情(Jeong)' in Korea. To be exact, there is no English word which can replace it. But depending on times, a warm heart, human nature, affection and sympathy can be used instead of it.
After I saw this movie, I felt 'Jeong'. Although David was suffered hardship from their stepfather and his sister, he managed them well with helps by good characters. 'Helps' could categorized into three parts : A Friendship from Mr. Micawber, a sympathy and care from Aunt Betsey and an affection from Emily and Agnes. Especially I felt strong 'Jeong' from Aunt Betsey among many good characters in the movie.
- A Sympathy and care from Aunt Betsey _ "Get out of green!"
I think Miss. Betsey Trotwood is the most warm-hearted character in this movie. Although she looks like a cold-blooded person, her character is full of warmth. The scene that she picked up David's collar with her two fingers to bring him in her house is still makes me laugh. And that is a striking compare to the scene that she kicked off donkeys and strangers from her green grass. Maybe this green grass is symbol of Miss. Betsey Trotwood. Cause her house is the only safe and stable shelter for David Copperfield. So I heard her words "Get out of green!" is "I won't allow any difficulties to my poor boy!"
Anne
In the movie ,I think the story is similar to the movie we saw the last time , Oliver Twist. Both of the movie talked about a little boy whose life is miserable, even though they are brave and overcome every obstacle they met. David's life is happy until his mother marry to a guy , the man don't like the way David and his mother express their emotion. On the other side ,he likes everything is in discipline. He bother David's life everyday and David is getting unhappy day by day .Then , he decided not to stay with the guy anymore .David decided to find his relatives several miles away . David just walked and walked there .In the movie , the actor and actress express their way very dramatically. They dancing when happy, crying when sad. The director used different kinds of light to make different atmosphere.
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