From:
Date: Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 11:23 AM
Subject: Re: Scheduled film for 26 March 2010
To: rdca25@gmail.com
Alice Huang, Tiffany, Mamie, Hilary, Charlene, Juliet, Jenette, Sophia, Anna, Abby, Candy Jiang, Eileen, Joseph, Vicky Shih, Anne, Emily, Ida, Mandy, Vicky Lin, Karen, Candy Cheng, Tina, David, Christine, Joan, Holly, Max, Hansel, Vivian Yang, April, Cherry, Vincent, Hazel, Minnie, Chin, Tiger, Alice Wang, Carolina, Finna, John, Violet,
Alice HuangAs far as the whole movie concerned, I like the film very much. The delightful atmosphere and the tight relationship among people are the elements that make the audience enjoy this movie. In my opinion, these effects are formed by the arrangement of mise-en-scene, the soundtrack in different situation, and several kinds of filming techniques among different scenes.
Some well-formed mise-en-scene is another part I like. In several scenes, things that represent "barriers" are properly used. The stick supporting the flowerpot, the string of the tent, or the fire, etc, all imply the notion that there is a big gap between Emma and Mr. Knightley. In the beginning, this may strengthen audience's idea that they are like "enemies" instead of friends. Yet, it makes the result become more contrastive and dramatic in the end.
Most of the soundtracks used in this film are quite suitable, especially the one appearing in the introduction part. The melody is a soft and sweet one indicating directly that its theme is mainly about romance. Besides, the classical music played in the balls matches the contemporary time and occasion well. They have made the whole movie become vivid and lively. Also, the proper use of music is another way to explain the timing or social ranking of the whole movie. The balls are almost the "must use" in a movie adapted from a classical work.
As what professor mentioned in the class, the often-used skill, cut, is an interesting feature in this film. Personally, I feel it powerful when watching the movie. It makes the scenes linking with each other efficiently and directly. Moreover, it provides another kind of humor to the audience. For instance, when Emma is anxious about not receiving the invitation from Mr. and Mrs. Weston, the scene cuts to another one in which Emma and her father has already been in the party. However, I feel that the use of "cuts" make the movie become kind of weird. The intriguing effect will decrease the feeling that it is a story of 18th century.
Thought, for me, this classical film is a little bit too fashionable, it does match audience's taste and interest. Mise-en-scene, soundtrack, and cuts really help a lot in this film.
TiffanyIn this film, EMMA, there is plenty of elliptical editing which shows the effective shot to contrast the former and latter scenes. It is interesting to observe a suitor's behavior after refused by Emma in a carriage because he is not as gentle as he looks like. The bit part presents his character's real personality with his faith in his character. In addition, the leading actress expresses her inner desire and feeling for Frank Churchill with concentration after she heard something about that guy. Moreover, in the scene when Emma and Knightley shoot arrow in the garden, there is obvious symbolization―Emma cannot shoot the bull's eye with their conversation becoming heated. I believe the symbol used to imply that Emma is definitely wrong in her terrible match for her friend.
Mamie
Based on the novel written by Jane Austen, Emma is a romantic movie that makes every girl crazy. The spinning globe motif appears in the beginning of the film and later becomes a small globe held by Emma. I think the globe means there are many people want to have romances all over the world. I also think it is Emma makes the world of gossip (love affairs) spin because she plays a role of matching couples. At first she says she doesn't want to get married but later she finds herself falling in love with Knightly. Diegetic editing is used a lot in this movie which makes a sense of humor. For example, Emma says she doesn't want to paint Harriet but the next scene immediately shows her painting of Harriet. In my opinion, this cut can show Emma's personality. Emma is eager to match Harriet and Elton. To sum up, this film is absolutely a romantic comedy. We can understand how complex love affair is and learn to be romantic.
HilaryOn Wednesday teacher introduced that how the director present those scene. There are lots of small pictures captured from the film. On Friday I focused on what teacher had explained and emphasized. When I back home, I found that film earned an Academy Award for Best Musical or Comedy Score. But I forgot to notice the background music. Next time I hope that I can notice both of them.
This movie was so funny that all of us laughed out loud. Maybe it is from near past, I think all the actors act more naturally than the actors in "Picnic". Which part I liked most is the time bridge. The director uses some time bridges to present as time goes by. He use the same sentence and change scene to show period pass, rather than "three days later". I like the time bridge in this film.
Emma is an enthusiastic girl, and she was so cute just like us. Sometimes we do the same thing as Emma does. But in real world, things are not so easy. Every week I heard sex murder from TV news. Well, in my opinion, we should love rationally!
CharleneEmma is a typical romance movie, as the line in the beginning, "The party here is more important than the country event." The spinning earth confines the whole story in a small town, emphasizing the romantic elements. The development of the love chemistry between Emma and Mr. Knightley is effectively progressing. I like the party scene. As they step outside to talk during the dance, they really attract with each other. Then he asks her whom she will dance with, and she says," With you if you ask me…after all, we are not brother and sister." And after she walks away, he murmurs, "Indeed, we are not." His feeling toward her is obviously seen in this scene. It's a pity that she doesn't know at that time.
The next thing I want to talk about is the light. I'm kind of not really fond of the light in the film. Many light effects seem too decorated and pointless. I can see the efforts that the cinematographer makes, but the purposes are vague. I think some lighting is too dark for me. And I hardly know the effects that are made.
I like most of the camera shots, especially the dolly shots. I have a feeling which is getting involved in the plot when there is a dolly-in shot. And as the teacher said in the class, there are too many effects of sound bridge, which make me bored instead of making me laugh out. I think the cut is not really funny. But I can tell the elliptical effects are actually used.
Juliet
In fact, I am fond of Jane Austen's novels, and I have watched Pride and Prejudice (2005; director: Joe Wright) before. After watching Emma, I find that both films have dance scenes, but are edited differently. In Pride and Prejudice, the director of photography, Roman Osin, shoots the crowd of dancing people first, and then separates Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) and Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) from others. Namely, he only focuses on the two main protagonists. This editing successfully focuses on their distinct viewpoints and the quarrel between them. Compared with Pride and Prejudice, the director of photography, Ian Wilson, shoots the whole dancing people in Emma. This scene is harmonious. Audiences can find that Emma (Gwyneth Paltrow) and George Knightley (Jeremy Northam) dance happily in the crowd.
What's more, I think that this film has many interesting editings. Take Jane Fairfax's (Polly Walker) visiting scene for example. The first shot shows that Miss Bates wants Emma to greet Jane. However, in the next shot, after Emma repeats what Miss Bates' greeting words, the camera moves to shoot Jane who is sitting in the room. In my opinion, moving forward quickly really makes audiences impressed. In addition, I appreciate one scene in the film. That is the piano playing scene. In the first shot, a gentle man asks Emma to play the piano for them, but Emma rejects it euphemistically. The man then decides to invite Jane to play for them. To our surprise, in the next shot, we do not see that Jane is playing the piano. Instead, Emma is playing the piano! According to the second shot, we can realize that Emma admits playing the piano out of jealousy. For me, this editing makes the film more amusing. Moreover, it helps a lot in building the delightful atmosphere in the romance.
JenetteI think Gwyneth Paltrow won the Oscar because of the contrast she performed in the movie. She can be a "sweet Emma" at a time, and be a "mean Emma" (who judges everyone) at another second. It is fun to see her performing different kinds of Emma.
I also like the way that director connected different scenes together. When the characters are talking about what they think are going to happened, the scene will just directly be connected to what really happened. (For example, when Miss Bates are telling Emma how she is going to greet Jane Fairfax.) However, I really don't like the light in the movie. The characters' faces are always black; we can only see the setting behind them. And, I don't really like Miss Bates, too. She always acts in the same way with her high-pitched voice.
SophiaEmma was adapted from Jane Austen's novel to a film in 1996. Jane Austen is a well-known woman writer in nineteen century. Thus, Austen's fans must have high expectation about the adapted film. This film conveys the true life at the time. However, it doesn't present successfully in some aspects.
The light in this film is not good. It's too dim so that the viewers cannot see the characters' faces sometimes. The light is not always on people's face. Instead, what the viewers see is their dress or the direction of the house. For example, when Emma and Harriet are in the tent doing some needle work, the light is mainly focused on their clothes instead of their faces. In addition, at the beginning of this film, the hue is too red. It seems the color is not suitable to the situation.
Also, this film doesn't include good shots about the landscape except for the dialogue between Emma and her friends under the apple trees. The shot from a high angel moves with they walk closer. If there are more long shots in this film like the beginning of Pride and Prejudice in 2005, the atmosphere can be established closer to England at that time. An extreme long shot with the character's moving brings the viewers to England at that time easily.
However, the protagonist, Emma, acted by Gwyneth Paltrow does a very good job in this film. Her characteristics like cleverness shows on the screen naturally. Her eye contact with people shows her cleverness and intelligence. That is why her acting as Emma is successful.
AnnaThe casting director must have had a quite different understanding about the Jane Austin's masterpiece Emma in giving the leading role to Gwyneth Paltrow, whereas in my eyes she's a bit too old for a quick-minded and naughty girl at the age of twenty, what's more she seems to have performed in a coy and rather theatric manner in several scenes while I don't think there's need to. Just like what we've discussed during classes, "it takes a lifetime to be as simple as water", I'd prefer more natural responses rather than external expressions in classical acting. I don't know if it's based on the consideration that Gwyneth was a bankable actress and the possible box-office success.
The bit parts in the film were hilarious on rigid grounds, but also one-dimensional from the very beginning to the end. This is understandable because not all movies can be as grandeur as the God Father or Citizen Kane.
I do agree with the point that the lighting seemed pointless that the whole film was "bathed in orange", what a sour taste! I also dislike the garish, flashy and expressionless lighting and the endless greenery, because one is good and more is too much.
The subtext of Mr. Elton's behavior, say bringing the picture to London for framework and being flattering and attentive all the time demonstrates an apparent interest in romance, how can Emma stay so unconscious about it?
PART II CINEMATOGRAPHY
I found myself extremely fond of the composition when Emma and Harriet tried to avoid running into Miss Bates and popped open the two umbrellas. Looking from an aesthetic distance, this very simple composition created a well-arranged screen with an artistic taste highlighting the two umbrellas in the screen.
The expressive use of props as propellers forwarding plot is another feature of this movie, the bows and arrows which represent a conquer-and-to-be-conquered relationship between the characters, the butterfly net which stands for Harriet's eagerness to grasp a lover, are all models of good use of props. A high-angle shot can also be seen from an aesthetic distance where Emma and Harriet discussed target Elton and emphasized that he's an eligible bachelor. The use of the coach chair as a tool for the couple to move back and forth in a pursuit-escape module was typical, as in a limited space, the conflict between them is so dramatically expressed.
PART III EDITTING
The massive use of sound bridging stands as another feature of the film which creates a sense of constituency. Examples could be seen everywhere, some of them quite cute, while some others are too much of an extreme. And the globe motif has been repeated emphasized throughout the play. From the very beginning (not only the art piece of Emma, but also the round pan which demonstrates us a world of domestic affairs which means the world to the characters.)
AbbyI think the move begins in a special way. The globe is an important motif in the film and appears both at the beginning and the end. And the pictures on the globe also symbolize the relationship in the film (although I didn't recognize that the pictures have something to do with the plot, actually I was a little by confused about those pictures at first). A swish pan takes us from the globe to the real story that the director is going to tell us. And the film ends with the globe after the wedding. Because of the marriage between Emma and Mr. Knightly, the scene takes to the picture of Emma and Mr. Knightly on the globe. It is a little bit hard for me to understand the film at the first. There are so many characters that I can't recognize. And their relationship is complicated. Personally I enjoy watching the scenes in the film. The mise-en-scene, the settings, buildings, clothes…etc can reveal the life at the time in 1800s England. Not only the mise-en-scene, I think the dialogues are designed, too, since the way people talk might differ from us now.
Candy JiangIn this film, Emma, the director makes good connection between scenes. By using Earth, the director connects the beginning shots with the story itself. I actually at first had no idea what Earth is for until the director links it with the small ball in Earth's shape which is given away by Emma as a wedding gift. Also, the shot of holding hands can be used to connect two scenes. For instance, the shot of Harriet Smith and Frank Churchill holding hand in hand after he rescued her from robbery beautifully links the story and brings audience into another sequent scene.
When a man was reading the letter to Ms. and Mrs. Bates, the composition made me think of one scene in Man's Favorite Sport. The scene was shot with a man sitting in between two women, giving audience a feeling of man being trapped by two pushy women. The same effect is achieved in the same way in Man's Favorite Sport. However, here, the use of this composition is, I think, just for fun instead of, like in Man's Favorite Sport, for showing man's weakness throughout the film.
The only shortcoming in this film is the lighting. There is no rule and no undersurface meaning in using lights. For example, when Emma and her father was back to their house and talking about Mr. and Mrs. Weston's wedding, Emma's was in the dark and I don't know why. Moreover, after the summer-night party, when Emma and her father walked guests out and said goodbye to them, both of their faces were in totally dark. Thus, I can't see clearly their face and expression but only hear their conversation. Again, the dark here is used for no reason.
Eileen
Emma, who likes to be a matchmaker, but not really good at it. She fails as a matchmaker, but things have the good result in the end. Emma found her true love through her friend. Watching the black and white movie for two weeks, when watching the colored movie it looks more beautiful. But if the light use inappropriately, the colored movie looks worse than black and white movie. I think the colored movie is more difficult than black and white movie. You have to deal with more than one color. The scene in the film look elegant and soft, maybe it represents the personality of Emma. The film sometime has the special framing like the tree or bushes circle the two people. The tent also frames two people and has the rope to become the barrel between two people.
Joseph
The most successful aspect of this film lies in the skillful usage of elliptical cut. It is not hard to find it during this film because it has been used for several times. Also, the effects live up to what audience expect. It not only generates fun to viewers but also help the film go more quickly by cutting unimportant parts. Elliptical cut gives audience the feeling of big contrast between the present and the future. For example, Harriet says "Goodbye, Mr. Elton," and then immediately followed by "Hello, Mr. Frank," meaning she throws all the past away and faces a new life and another guy. Another example is that when Frank protects Harriet from being robbing and thus holds her hand, the jumping into anther scene also with two hands holding together. Sound bridge also contributes to this success, which links two different scenes. For instance, while Emma talks about her past that she tries not to remember Mr. Knightley, the film actually presents the action that she does. It gets a good effect since both sound and acting keep going on together. However, I think this film lacks a strong central ideal; therefore, the theme only rotates around matching and chasing. Some redundant parts should be deleted so that the film will be more interesting and also better.
Vicky Shih
「EMMA」was the story wrote by Jane Austen, who was the reputable Englishman. She had written「Sense and Sensibility」,「Pride and Prejudice」and so on famous novels. Jane Austen's novels have a characteristic, it's her detailed writing. She observed the life in the village carefully, especially in the aspect of affection between man and woman. So I feel her movies reveal a warm feeling. And the scenes in the movie are usually bright. The music in the movie is smooth and elegant. In this movie, Emma is a graceful lady born in a nice family. She likes to be the matchmaker to help her close friends finding their Mr. Right. But she is so proud that she almost harmed her friend Harriet Smith's marriage and hers. Thanks to Mr. Knightley's instruction by her side, Emma finally found out her good destination.
AnneEmma is a girl who dedicated to choose lover for her friends . She is a little be stuck up, and usually judges people with first sight and stereotype .However, her friend was deeply believed in what choice Emma made .As far as I am concerned , it's quite weird to let somebody else to choose your life. In the movie, the man Emma chose for her friend end up falling in love with Emma. The result made her friend torturous, and after that Emma decided not to make any choice for her friend .Once when in a ball , Emma's friend still in sadness, the tender man , Knightly, came to her and talked to her .At the same time Emma didn't notice that she is in love with Knightly, and what is going to be made her friend tortured again. Because both of them falling in love with the same guy.
In the movie, the director using lots of light . Some of them make me confused .For example, there are lots of frame with three candles when having a meal or reading letters. The bright of them is not that nature ,on the other side it's quite artificial .Besides, the director pretty likes to use garish lighting ,in order to show the atmosphere of splendid and exclamation.
Emily
I like this film. The plot is so attractive, and the story is also appealing. I like the part of the story when the main characters are going to get together. I need to say, the director is very good at the arrangement of the plot and the expression of the characters. Back to the cinematography, this film uses the shot very well. In some scenes, the characters express their feeling by the camera moving. Besides that, the viewers can see the scene jump to the next scene by neglecting the process. For example, Ms. Bates ask Emma to be the host when Jane is coming, and we see the next scene that Emma still sits there but change the clothe and talks to Jane. They delete the process that Emma says yes or no.
Ida
Love makes the world to go around and around. Emma is a typical love story that the discordant couples who like to squabble with each other eventually become lovers. There is no surprise in the plot. However, what makes this movie different and successful must be Paltrow, the one acting as Emma, the naïve love matcher. Somehow she is smart and somehow she makes mistakes. Her performance is great and acting like a typical lady in 18 century, all her life is about parties and marriage. Also, the other characters are great and humorous. Although sometimes the dialogues are too straightforward and make me feel confused, it is still a movie that will make you smile. Despite my lack of reading Jane Austen, it is a wonderful feminine movie with happy, touching ending.
Mandy
I like this movie very much. This film is definitely a successful adaption of Jane's Austen novel, because I enjoyed the dialogues and quarrels between Emma and Mr. Knightly. I think Gwyneth Paltrow portrayed Emma vividly. Her elegance, her arrogance and childishness are really impressive in the film. Compared to another heroine in Pride and Arrogance, portrayed by Keira Knightley, I like the performance of Gwyneth Paltrow because Gwyneth's acting seems to be more natural. Although they are two different characters in two novels, I can't help compare their performances when I was watching Emma. I appreciate the settings, decorations and clothes in particular. These dresses make these characters more graceful. Without an exaggerating cloth style, the focus of the audience will not distract from characters' performances although the lighting of some banquets are a little bit unnatural.
Vicky Lin
In the movie, Emma, I like that the director uses "elliptical cuts" to edit some part of the film. For audiences, even though the film did not show what happened between the two connected period, we still can image what may happened and understand the plot well. When Emma was compared to other movies, elliptical parts may make the movie become more interesting and different, I think. The professor had mentioned that there are some bad lighting in the film. So, when watching Emma, I tried to notice this part. I found the light in some scenes makes the audiences could not see the expression on actor's face clearly. What we can see is the dark face which does not have any special meaning. I think it may be the worse part in this film.
KarenI like the music underscore in the beginning of the film. The melody is lovely and sweet, and is xxx to a romantic movie like Emma. In fact, I like most of the music cues of this movie, since they make the scenes more vivid and I can understand the themes better. However, several of the scenes in Emma seem pointless to me. For example, there is a scene when Emma is sitting on the so called "futuristic" furniture, placing her right hand on the armrest of the furniture, which makes the pose a little unnatural. When her father comes, she then regains consciousness, picks up the letters and flips it through quickly. The scene is not unnecessary, but the way it is shown is weird to me. In
Mr. Knightly is really true to his name. Anytime and anywhere, he always acts like a gentleman, and the way he treats Emma makes me think of the knights in the medieval age. In the end of the film, I was toughed by the scene when Emma tells Mrs. Weston that she loves Mr. Knightly. It is always touching when one found that his/her true love is their "darling friend." The proposal is short but romantic, and typical of the romantic movies, everyone finds their true love eventually.
Candy Cheng
I have watched this movie when I was in senior high school. But this time when I watched it again, I have different point of views. I focus on the music and the behaviors of the characters in the movie more. For example, I find out that when Emma wants to do some funny things to the man and woman she'd like to match, there would be a cute music at that time. I also admire the leading roles because I find that they have to memorize a lot of lines in the movie! I love this movie very much and I also learn that there are many "switches" when time goes by. They're really amazing!
Tina
I have not read the book Emma before, but the plot of this movie is a bit plain to me. It is similar to the story of Pride and Prejudice, a young single woman with people around her all having love affairs and she finally finds that her true love has always been around. That is such a cliché. Maybe it is just very Jane-Austen-like. Though the plot is plain, the whole view, or mise-en-scene, is gorgeous. The countryside, the houses, the carriages, the furniture, and the clothes are not very fancy, but beautiful with the simplicity. In addition, the one who play Emma is Gwyneth Paltrow! She is the best demonstration of British simple beauty.Somehow I like this movie just because of her.
David
In Emma, the motif that Emma helps Harriet find a man is very interesting. I saw Emma's personality when she tries to help Harriet choose or refuse a man. The most impressive sequence to me is that when Emma leaves Harriet and Elton along and secretly observes them. That POV shot and the seemingly romantic conversation can make audience very excited. The pan shot in 1-1 and 1-2 of the second lecture picture also brings a great effect. When the camera moves to the left, the sound of the man who is gossiping stops. I think the pan shot somewhat has the function of intercutting. Although it is easy to guess that Emma would not get the gossip, it is still funny.
Christine
Like Jane Austin's other novels, Emma is the story all about love and misunderstanding between the opposite sexes. Jane Austin's famous novels, including Pride And Prejudice, Sense And Sensitive are also adapted to films mostly with modern photography. To be honest, I think most of the adaptions are with similarity in either story or characters. However, Emma is somehow lack of consideration in character interactions. That is, the lines and manners of talking is more of a modern man. Also, lighting in some of the scenes makes characters glowing in the dark. The pan lighting is unnatural in room spaces, due to the fact that there is no dark corner.
Joan
The film, Emma, is an adaptation of Jane Austen's novel. There are many films like Emma and Pride and Prejudice which are originated from Jane Austen's novels. I like watching love novels as well as romantic films. Because there are too many different gentlemen in the film—Emma, I am confused by some characters. I could hardly catch whom do Emma and Harriet love. The relationship between those two girls and other men is so complex that sometimes I can't completely catch the points. In the beginning of the film, Emma and Harriet sit on the chair on the lawn. It's not only delightful but also conflict because there is a barrier between them. In some scenes, I think the way the director presented is very special although this kind of skill is also used in some other films. For example, there is a monologue of Harriet Smith. When Smith talks to Mr. Martin and Miss Bates, Harriet kept saying "he said," "she said," and "I
said". Sometimes, the lines in different time and space are continued right after the next scene. For instance, before Jane goes to Miss Bates' house, Miss Bates told Emma that she must sit on the same seats while Jane comes. And then, the scene jumps to the time when Jane comes and Emma still sits on that seat. There is another scene like this; that is, when Emma talks to someone about Harriet, and then the scene shows Harriet when Emma calls her name. Anyway, I like the ending of the film because it's so lovely.
Holly
I love this movie. The backgrounds and costumes are so delicate, arousing audience's imagination for this period of time. This movie has many long shots to present the whole scene like characters walking on the lawn, in the forest or in the bustle town. The application of long shots makes the movie more poetic and vivid. I'm impressed by the scene that Emma plays the archery with the man. The scene is like a symbol for the love chasing. Emma wants to have her best friend being with the other man. Obviously, as the game continues, Emma becomes losing her accuracy for the target. The scene symbolizes love is unpredictable. Emma cannot arrange the love matters, for love someone is the most sensitive ability that human beings acquire. So we can find even Emma herself is not able to notice her feelings, how can she decide the relationship among others. Low key lighting is another important element in the movie. In the balls, the scenes are usually presented in low key lightings. Dark places are more mysterious. The dimness is like the relationship between the couples. Love is ambiguous, too, easy to rise misunderstanding. The main source of the light is candles. The candle may stands for the true love in the dusky relationship. Close-ups are applied in many scenes. Close-ups make us to observe the delicate facial expression in each scene. Especially in those scenes for love proclamation, audience can easily catch the character's emotion by their gesture, body movements or their sounds. I love the painting style in the movie. As in the beginning of the movie, there is a painted globe. This gives a fantastic idea for the movie. And at the end of the movie, it's a house like the page in the fairy tales, corresponding to the happy ending.
Max
In the movie, Emma, the most special part is its "humor." By using a great deal of editing, the plots become very hilarious. For instance, when Emma and her friend come across somebody they dislike and do not want to be seen by, they open the unbrellas at the same time and creat a comic function. Also, when being asked to play the piano in front of everyone, Emma refuses in the very beginning. But when she knows that Jane will take her place if she does not take the chance, the next scene immediately shows Emma's playing the piano. Finally, sound bridges are used to creat humorous effects and make a contrast. They are perfectly used in the film.
Hansel
Acting is especially an important part in films that require a lot of dialogue, in this case, an adaptation of Jane Austen's work. I think the acting in this film is good enough, while other parts are good too, but not especially impressive. The beginning is quite creative and adds a modern touch to the film. The lighting at night scenes is not very flattering. It is probably intended for getting close to reality, because back at that time, candles were the main source of lighting at night. However, this kind of reality may not seem good on screen. Especially when they are having a feast, the food on the table looks really terrible in that lighting. I think the actors are doing a good job interpreting the characters, but there seems to lack some more sparkles in talking between characters. Jane Austen's lines are witty and the actors seem to try sticking to that, but in a sort of moderate way. Gwyneth Paltrow does a good job playing Emma, who is smart, lovely, but a little arrogant. It's not easy to be arrogant and at the same time not be totally disliked by people. Jane Austen's books are classics, and it is impossible to achieve the perfect image that every reader already has in mind. All in all, this film is quite good.
Vivian Yang
Emma, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, is a typical adaption as far as filming is concerned. In the very beginning, the director successfully leads the audiences to intuitively link the globe with the relationships between people. In addition, the depiction of the relationship is detailed, sometimes even trivial. However, the cinematographer cleverly switches scene from scene to avoid redundant plot, which makes the adaption even more recommendable than the original work.
On the other hand, the acting in this film, mostly focused on Gwyneth Paltrow and her friend Harriet, is also outstanding. With Harriet's finely interpretation of her inexperienced mood, Gwyneth stands out with her pure and fresh acting method. Also in the dialogue between Gwyneth and Mr. Knightly, the couple's emotion seems conservative yet sincere. The final proposing scene was touching and unforgettable.
Briefly speaking, Emma is somehow like the other film adaption, Pride and Prejudice, which also has classic and elegant cinematography. Yet in terms of acting, in my opinion, Emma is way more sophisticated and resonant. Though is has something to do with the star image of the characters, Emma is undoubtedly a great success in the adaption history.
April
A large part of the film deals with the relations among people, like love and friendship. There are also the frequent presences of the intense emotion, like intimacy, anger, envy, indifference. Since there is a lot of involvement of kinds of complicated relations, the arrangement of certain scenes are designed to suggest the hidden meaning. For example, in the dancing ball, they conduct the impressive English Country Dance, in which people switch their partners and also circling one another time to time. The alternate images of closing up and sprinkling of the dancers imply characters' veiled internal message. Another scene is when Emma and Harriet knitting under a tent, with a vertical string of the tent hanging from above, seperating these good friends. Thise line can be seen as the front of these girls.
Cherry
The start of this movie is quite unique. It begins with shining stars in the sky, earth, the swish pan and finally comes to the wedding scene. From a big scale to a small one, the earth unexpectedly turns out to be only a decoration in hand. We see their family tree first and stop where the movie begins. At the end, the family tree appears again and shows Emma and Knightley (her husband) on the map, which echoes with the beginning (the unfinished part). Firstly, there are many sudden change in scenes, mostly trace back to the before situations, which enables audience and the actors retrospect what had happened together. The second one, when Emma and Harriet are knitting outside under a pavilion, we can see from a distance first and then the camera zooms closer. Actually, we find that this pavilion divides them into two different parts and the moving camera from one to other also indicates that though they are having conversation with each other, they think quite differently.
Vincent
I found something fun about this class. Almost every film in this class is about a person .the Truman's show, Oliver Twist, and David Copperfield. Ok, back to this film, Emma. Same as Oliver Twist, Emma is based on the famous literature work. It's written by Jane Austen. Another famous novel she wrote, Pride and Prejudice has also become a movie in the theater. I think this kind of films, I mean, which are based on literatures, are special. The author makes every character unique and vivid in the novel, and so as in the film. Emma in the film is really a confident clever girl. Every single line or movement the actress act shows this girl's characteristics. It's the most fascinating part of the whole movie. By the way, I really think that Jane Austen is a very talented writer, for that girls she created are so unique and charming.
HazelComparing with Emma, Harriet is a totally different role. Personally, I put more focus on her. As far as I am concerned, she as lower rank is almost reduced to upper-class's plaything. In the garden scene, Harriet tries to catch a butterfly with her insect-catching net. The action which symbolizes she is longing for her dream—marriage. Harriet doesn't mingle with the upper class and isn't well-educated. She is in hesitation, lack of self-confidence and can't even make her own decision. However, the symbol of butterfly is the dream of love. It's the metaphor for seeking romance. The only goal for the kind of girl is to marry a nice man.
Furthermore, the shot of the standing position of Emma, Harriet and Mr. Martin under the apple trees (also on the bridge) represents their social status. Emma is the highest and Mr. Martin is the lowest one, probably it shows Emma's opinion in a degree. To mention the social class, it can be seen from another scene. While Emma is drawing the portrait, her sitter, Harriet, is standing on the opposite side. From Harriet's standing point, she will not know what they talk about her, and how does the her image like. No matter how they are closed, still they are living in a different world.
Minnie
- The movie can be described as one word – romantic. Although it's been a long time to watch that colored-film but it's too boring. Because we can easily guess how this story goes to the end. Though there was a small conflict between Mr. Knightly and Emma. But as always all of Jane Austen's works do, it's only the sign for they will marry or be in a happy at the end of this movie.
- 2 impressive lines from this film
- "I've given them charity not kindness."
As an upper class people, Emma helps the poor and weak. But I could notice easily that Emma's act was from responsibility. Maybe charity makes someone look dignity and rich, but it's not the essential condition to be a sincere friend to someone.
- "The truth friend does not doubt but hope."
So Mr. Knightly gave Emma an advice. As a truly friend of Emma, he hopes she will be a real considerate person.
Chin
Well, I like this story very much. However, I think we should analyze the movie rationally. With the help of professor's handout, I can realize that the problems of the arrangement of lighting in this movie. For me, I can accept those so-called garish lighting. However, I was annoyed by some scenes that lack of lighting to show what was happening. Nevertheless, I love the cinematography which so-called the match cuts. I think sometimes the match cuts give a very good effect for some scenes that help in saving some times. Although this movie is quite weak in the lighting part, the camera movement or shot are good.
Tiger
This film is interesting in its plot, composition, and style. The whole film seems not to be too serious or conventional in the cuts and acting. However, sometime the intention to create funny or attractive scenes leads to lack of delicacy. The film uses a lot elliptical cuts, like when Emma refuses to play the piano and later on the scene shows that she is playing it. This kind of elliptical cuts can be very effective and eye catching, but in this film it is used too much and the effect of it gradually decreases. The scenery and setting are always elegant and beautiful, and this reflects the tone of the film and its main character Emma's mind state. One impressive scene occurs when Emma and Harriet talking in the garden. The shift from the high angle to the low angle shot and the series change of framing are very expressive. In short, style of Emma is quite clear and unique, but it is not delicate enough.
Alice Wang
The movie Emma directed by Douglas McGrath in 1996 is an adaption of Jane Austen's novel, Emma. The most significant motif used throughout the film is the globe motif. In the beginning of the movie a motif of the globe is used, indicating the spinning world of Emma, which is filled with gossips of people around her. The globe motif is also used in the camera movement as well, in several scenes the characters are shot with the camera circling around them. The lighting technique of the film is mostly the same, garish lighting are used in most scenes of the film and it seems that nothing special is conveyed by the way the lighting is used. As for the shooting techniques, a lot of pans and dolly-in shots are used, it seems that the director intends to use close shots to involve the viewers in the film. Also, some special props are used to indicate the romantic theme, such as the butterfly nets or arrow targets that expresses individually the sense of conquest and the romantic targets in the movie. On the other hand, a lot of digested editing or elliptical cuts and impact shots are used in the film, giving it some sense of humor. Also, the interesting sound bridges in the film make the audience enjoy the plot in a more humorous way.
CarolinaEmma is a very enjoyable and delightful romantic drama, having Gwyneth Paltrow, the "Oscar Best Actress in a Leading Role" in 1999 as the main protagonist. With a favorable fresh looking, she has an excellent performance as Emma Housewood – a young girl in her blooming age. However, sometimes Gwyneth Paltrow makes me feel that she is just memorizing the lines, instead of living through that moment. She tries to get over of the sentences.
Lighting is really the main failure in this movie. There are some parts in which the personages should be illuminated but the directors prefer to let them stay in darkness. I found it absurd as the film should create a warm amiable and amorous atmosphere, and without the right lighting, everything seems to be strange because darkness brings a cold and unfriendly sensation.
The wardrobe is an exquisiteness of that period of time, though not the best one if we compare it to "Marie Antoinette" (if we ignore the fact that Marie Antoinette is from a royal background). Women were always dressed in an elegant way, and men were in suits acting in a very gentleman way.
The English setting is a very attractive one, like the other Austen's novel "Pride and Prejudice". Their culture of living style is as the newly polished jewelry – with a touch of elegancy and grace, even though their financial situation is not resourceful. The wall decorated with Emma's paintings is so amusing and the ornamentations adds extra points to the general setting.
Finna
I am impressed by the decor, the elliptical shot and the underscore music in Emma. I think every setting is well used and makes the scene more gorgeous but meaningless to the shot. Though the background and composition of color are very picturesque, the film still lacks the meaningful shot. The elliptical cuts are often used and play well in this film. I like the scene which when Emma intend to refuse the asking of playing the piano till she know that Jane is the other choice of the host. Then the scene suddenly changes into Emma playing the piano. The period of the scene switching can leave us the imagination though it is omitted. It is an effective cut because elliptical can save the time and add some sense of humor to the scenes. Especially the scenes are also accompanied with the beautiful sound bridge. In my opinions, the garish and orange lighting are inclined to show Emma's personality which is like the slight fire, warm but not harmful. Though I still cannot understand what framing is for, I still like the cinematography skills which can compose the most beautiful and meaningful scenes.
JohnEmma's personality is very special! She is very beautiful, smart and a little arrogant. In her world, the social class is very important; it's almost the standard that she comments on everyone! Just like when she was helping her friend to find husband, she judged the man who was a farmer is not qualified immediately! It's actually unreasonable. But Emma's natural character is not bad! Just because she was born in a rich family, everything was too perfect to cultivate the wrong concept.
When I think on the other way, Emma is really innocent and inartificial. She even can't differentiate who was falling in love with her. Sometime, she spoke harshly, it because she was too straight. Honestly, I really like the girl with that personality!
At the end of the movie, Emma finally found out that, the person she liked have always been with her. At same time, she realized that in the world of love, the social class is not important at all. Most important is it makes you happy!
VioletThis movie was started from the space scene and showed a lot of globes. These suggest that this story is about normal people's story and we should look at the story entirely.
At first, I found that this movie's each scene is very long take and tranquil. And almost every scene has soft and gentle lighting. Also I found that the director try to each scene make different with others, and there are many unbalanced shot, like the scene of Harriet, Emma and Elton. The lighting always emphasis on Emma, even though the scene was related to Harriet and Elton not Emma.
And there were many interesting angles here, like Emma and Harriet in the forest. Generally, in movie try to show their actor, but this scene was extreme long shot. But I think that in this scene not necessary such an extreme long shot. It was very interesting to me.
Also I found that interesting emphasis way. In the frame, there are trees everywhere except Harriet and Emma's faces. Through this effect I can feel the deep friendship between Harriet and Emma, and I think that is very nice way to emphasis.
There is lots of over the shoulder shots. And in archery shot, Knightley was in the fore part and seem bigger than Emma. It means Knightley's thinking was right not Emma's. Also Emma shot bows on empty space. After archery, two of young people have some tea time. Between woman and man there was a tea table. That means there was a trouble between woman and man.
Churchill and Emma's conversation scene was also interesting. Two of Youngman was divided by a piano and it means that girl and boy was not match, they are contrast. In this scene, Knightley's behavior was interesting too. At first Knightley was besides of Emma, but after some conversation he just left him seat stealthily.
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