Images. The International Journal of European Film, Performing Arts and Audiovisual Communication
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Man, History and Poetry. Dominant Tendencies in Lithuanian 21st-Century Documentary Films
Get PDFThis brief study presents the main streams in Lithuanian documentary film in our century. It discusses the most interesting work of three generations of Lithuanian directors, and the nature of their politics and narrative structure. Although film expression in the Lithuanian documentary has become more varied at the turn of this century in terms of subject matter, nonetheless, an attempt to return to the film aesthetics of the 1960s through the poetic fusion of the visual with documentary information from the outside world still dominates. The search for formal constructs, the painstaking composition of the visual aspect, narrative lyricism, and an authorial point of view are all typical traits of the contemporary documentary in Lithuania. One could argue that the history of the Lithuanian documentary film is one that is imbued with a poetical style that creatively interprets the world outside. It places at the very centre of the world out there humanity’s fate, and draws reflections on its condition in the contemporary world. Documentaries devoted to history and biography constitute a separate group that introduces variety and, consequently, broadens the field of subject matter featured in the Lithuanian documentary. In addition, one of the important changes that has taken place in Lithuanian films is the subject of the Holocaust in Lithuanian culture and interpreting reality from the perspective of the woman\u27s “patient eye”.
Different Faces of Parody in Billy Liar
Get PDFParody in John Schlesinger’s Billy Liar functions on a number of levels. First of all, it relates to the construction of the main character – his behaviour, way of speaking, facial expression. Billy constantly plays a game with the world in which, according to him, one can live only when pretends someone else. Since its main aim is to imitate and mock others in order to achieve a comical effect, it is easy to state that Billy Fisher is a master of this art. But the character of Schlesinger’s film is expressed not only in the construction of the character (Billy’s aversion to the set patterns of middle-class life and his simultaneous fascination and disdain for mass culture). The director did not hesitate to parody the Angry Young Men cinema too. Thanks to this, he managed to expose the weaknesses of this world-renowned movement in the British cinema. Ironically, in parodistic, artificial behavior of Billy we can see a lot of truth about him, his environment and even the convention used by the director to talk about Billy’s life.
Who Will Watch the Watchmen? Czech Documentary After 1989 (a Brief Resume)
Get PDFPavel Bednařík’s paper emphasizes the new era of Czech documentary, focusing on several issues and topics from contemporary Czech docs. Introducing the new era of Czech documentaries since the 1990s, Bednarik’s text depicts the development of its social and political background, including a new upheaval in the auteur documentary approach at FAMU, and leading to inspiration by professor and fi lmmaker Karel Vachek. A case study follows on the successful fi lm alliance between Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda producing the engaged “Czech Journal” for Czech Television within the new production scheme adopted aft er 2013
Parodie, trawestacje, uwertury – znaczenie zabiegów stylizacyjnych w szkolnych etiudach Marka Piwowskiego
Get PDFThe subject of the article Parodies, travesties, overtures – meaning of styling treatments in Mark Piwowski’s school films are Marek Piwowski’s early, short films and the stylistic and parodic elements he used. As the starting point of the discussion, Katarzyna Maka-Malatynska adopts the findings of Jerzy Ziomek and Ryszard Nycz, and their definition of parody. Using categories of literary and film studies, the author examines four school films of the creator of The Cruise. Acknowledging parody as the first degree of mockumentary after Roscoe and Hight, she proposes that Piwowski’s first films be seen as mockumentary, which could result in a new interpretation of his later works.The subject of the article Parodies, travesties, overtures – meaning of styling treatments in Mark Piwowski’s school films are Marek Piwowski’s early, short films and the stylistic and parodic elements he used. As the starting point of the discussion, Katarzyna Maka-Malatynska adopts the findings of Jerzy Ziomek and Ryszard Nycz, and their definition of parody. Using categories of literary and film studies, the author examines four school films of the creator of The Cruise. Acknowledging parody as the first degree of mockumentary after Roscoe and Hight, she proposes that Piwowski’s first films be seen as mockumentary, which could result in a new interpretation of his later works.
Manhattan Woody\u27ego Allena. Poetyka Introdukcji
Get PDFMarek Hendrykowski’s innovative study on the four-minute opening sequence to Manhattan analyses one of the most beautiful introductions in the history of world cinema. Its subtle simultaneous construction based on European and American traditions and key canonical texts of 20th-century art: Walther Ruttmann’s Berlin: Symphony of the City, John Dos Passos’s Manhattan Transfer and George Gershwin’s Blue Rapsody. A semiotic apparatus has been included, along with deep explanatory commentaries and close-readings that identify step-by-step the details of its content, contradictory fiction-nonfiction relationships, and the roles of visual image, word and music, narrative, personal point of view, and stream of consciousness technique in the film. The suggestive film overture to Manhattan composed by Woody Allen represents continuities as well as disruptions, sustained between avant-garde artistic tradition and film art of the 1970s.Woody Allen’s Manhattan. Poetics of the IntroductionMarek Hendrykowski’s innovative study on the four-minute opening sequence to Manhattan analyses one of the most beautiful introductions in the history of world cinema. Its subtle simultaneous construction based on European and American traditions and key canonical texts of 20th-century art: Walther Ruttmann’s Berlin: Symphony of the City, John Dos Passos’s Manhattan Transfer and George Gershwin’s Blue Rapsody. A semiotic apparatus has been included, along with deep explanatory commentaries and close-readings that identify step-by-step the details of its content, contradictory fiction-nonfiction relationships, and the roles of visual image, word and music, narrative, personal point of view, and stream of consciousness technique in the film. The suggestive film overture to Manhattan composed by Woody Allen represents continuities as well as disruptions, sustained between avant-garde artistic tradition and film art of the 1970s
Madryt malarski i filmowy. O Duchach Goi Miloša Formana
No full textIf Milos’s Forman target in Amadeus was to present Mozart’s music as dramatis personae, then in Goya’s Ghosts everything revolves around the paintings of Goya, which he perceives in a way that is not based on the artist’s biography. He was far from wanting to direct a movie about Goya, as he cared solely about picturing the demons that were haunting the artist. His point of view on the works of this great Spaniard was one of widely understood referentiality that stemmed from his being convinced of the documental understanding of historical facts. This is noticable both in reference to Los Caprichos (1797-1798) and to Los desastres de la Guerra (1810-1820), but mostly it evinces itself in paintings crafted for the court and paintings that were created to document Spanish protest against the French occupants who had occupied Goya’s fatherland. It helped to integrate paintings showing Madrid and its surroundings into a flow of movie pictures, which determined the notability of Forman’s film, but it also led to the non-recognition of the agenda of freedom inscribed in Goya’s creations; the consequences were that Forman misread the painter’s intentions and interpreted both of the oeuvres too realistically – Los Caprichos and Los desastres de la guerra, not excluding such works as historical paintings and portraits. The summary includes remarks about visible transfer from formal art to informal art, from manor painting to the intronisation of “liberalism in art”.Madrid on film and in painting. About Goya’s Ghosts by Milos FormanIf Milos’s Forman target in Amadeus was to present Mozart’s music as dramatis personae, then in Goya’s Ghosts everything revolves around the paintings of Goya, which he perceives in a way that is not based on the artist’s biography.He was far from wanting to direct a movie about Goya, as he cared solely about picturing the demons that were haunting the artist. His point of view on the works of this great Spaniard was one of widely understood referentiality that stemmed from his being convinced of the documental understanding of historical facts. This is noticable both in reference to Los Caprichos (1797-1798) and to Los desastres de la Guerra (1810-1820), but mostly it evinces itself in paintings crafted for the court and paintings that were created to document Spanish protest against the French occupants who had occupied Goya’s fatherland.It helped to integrate paintings showing Madrid and its surroundings into a flow of movie pictures, which determined the notability of Forman’s film, but it also led to the non-recognition of the agenda of freedom inscribed in Goya’s creations; the consequences were that Forman misread the painter’s intentions and interpreted both of the oeuvres too realistically – Los Caprichos and Los desastres de la guerra, not excluding such works as historical paintings and portraits. The summary includes remarks about visible transfer from formal art to informal art, from manor painting to the intronisation of “liberalism in art”
Narracja i produkcja znaczeń w filmowym neomodernizmie
Get PDFThis essay analyzes the narration strategies and methods of making meanings in neo-modernism movement. Filmmakers, who are its representatives, prefer the opposite model of cinematic communication which is commonly used in mainstream movies. The article begins with the definition of neo-modernism and description of key components that provide specific forms of narration and reception. Moreover, there were presented main terms related to the modernism and so-called slow cinema. In main fragments of the essay the author focused on some neo-modernist crime stories, which have been created through different, than in traditional cinema, methods of making meaning. Then, there were analyzed such elements of cinematic style as: use of off-screen space and non-conventional concepts of narrative ellipsis.This essay analyzes the narration strategies and methods of making meanings in neo-modernism movement. Filmmakers, who are its representatives, prefer the opposite model of cinematic communication which is commonly used in mainstream movies. The article begins with the definition of neo-modernism and description of key components that provide specific forms of narration and reception. Moreover, there were presented main terms related to the modernism and so-called slow cinema. In main fragments of the essay the author focused on some neo-modernist crime stories, which have been created through different, than in traditional cinema, methods of making meaning. Then, there were analyzed such elements of cinematic style as: use of off-screen space and non-conventional concepts of narrative ellipsis.Zadaniem artykułu jest przeprowadzenie analizy narracji i sposobów produkcji znaczeń w filmowym neomodernizmie. Podejmowane w ramach tej formacji strategie inscenizacyjne stanowią rewers metod powszechnie używanych w kinowym mainstreamie. Esej rozpoczyna próba zdefiniowania, czym jest neomodernizm oraz czym się charakteryzuje – zarówno na płaszczyźnie narracyjnej, jak też odbiorczej. Ważnym elementem opisu stało się wprowadzenie terminologii związanej z filmowym modernizmem i tzw. slow-cinema. W głównych fragmentach eseju zostały poddane analizie neomodernistyczne kryminały, oparte na odrębnej, niż dzieje się w tradycyjnym kinie, produkcji znaczeń. Potem opisane zostały kluczowe strategie inscenizacyjne, w których priorytetowymi zadaniami było przeniesienie ważnych fabularnie zdarzeń w przestrzeń pozakadrową i niekonwencjonalny sposób wprowadzania elips czasoprzestrzennych
Warszawa – miasto, które nie istnieje
Get PDFThe subject of the article is attempts in cinema and comics to reconstruct the image of pre-war Warsaw. The use of archival photographs of the capital, old postcards, and computer reconstructions using 3D technology increase the realism of the presentation, and provide the effect of intuition, intimacy, and directness. A Warsaw non-existent today comes to life again on the screen and in the pages of the comic book.Warsaw - a city that does not existThe subject of the article is attempts in cinema and comics to reconstruct the image of pre-warWarsaw. The use of archival photographs of the capital, old postcards, and computer reconstructions using 3D technology increase the realism of the presentation, and provide the effect of intuition, intimacy, and directness. AWarsawnon-existent today comes to life again on the screen and in the pages of the comic book
Miasto jako perpetuum mobile. Berlin. Symfonia wielkiego miasta (1927) Waltra Ruttmanna
No full textThe atmosphere of a big city, as well as registering the motion of the city as a symbol of modern industrial civilization, fascinated the first directors of photography at the turn of the 20th century. Some years later, the subject of the metropolis was developed by avant-garde artists. Among early cinematic images of the city, the foremost place is held by Walter Ruttmann’s 1927 film Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis. It was the first multifaceted and comprehensive documentary picture of the city. The city is shown without any anecdote or story, without an individual hero, distinct from theatre or literature. Ruttmann shows the diversity, complexity and co-dependence of the urban organism, which becomes something of a machine in perpetual motion. Ruttmann’s film unveils the uniformity of big-city life, the unification of the imagination, expectations, needs and dreams. The world of “Berlin” is created mainly by editing. Motion – the result of artistic endeavours, together with the rhythmic order of the images, determine the artistic vision of the film as a whole. Ruttmann’s rhythmic interpretation aims at breaking the boundaries between art and non-artistic reality.The City in Perpetual Motion. Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis (1927) by Walter RuttmannThe atmosphere of a big city, as well as registering the motion of the city as a symbol of modern industrial civilization, fascinated the first directors of photography at the turn of the 20th century. Some years later, the subject of the metropolis was developed by avant-garde artists. Among early cinematic images of the city, the foremost place is held by Walter Ruttmann’s 1927 film Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis. It was the first multifaceted and comprehensive documentary picture of the city. The city is shown without any anecdote or story, without an individual hero, distinct from theatre or literature. Ruttmann shows the diversity, complexity and co-dependence of the urban organism, which becomes something of a machine in perpetual motion. Ruttmann’s film unveils the uniformity of big-city life, the unification of the imagination, expectations, needs and dreams. The world of “Berlin” is created mainly by editing. Motion – the result of artistic endeavours, together with the rhythmic orde