Compare And Contrast Public Enemy By William A Wellman

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Not all western films at the time were like Horse Feathers. One film very different was Public Enemy. The film, directed by William A. Wellman, was a very dark story, based on the Chicago gang life in Prohibition. The whole incident where Sam “Nails” Nathan is killed in a riding accident happened to Sam “Nails” Morton in 1924. The horse was later kidnaped by two gangsters and was shot dead. The director, Wellman, was sure to keep extremely accurate to the original story, while trying to tell the message that the gang life is a choice you can say no to. The film was shot nearly all on sets and studios. For some of the night scenes they shot in a large studio and keep the lights off. This gave them maximum control of what the image was and how…show more content…
Orson Welles’s masterpiece is considered one of the best movies ever made. It wasn’t by chance Welles was able to create this. At a young age Welles decided he wanted to make movies. So he spend 10 years following and studying established professionals and obsessed over learning everything they knew. He built a reputation of asking a lot of question and being nosey. He was given a chance to make a film of his own and his first film was Citizen Kane. His first film has been listed as the best movie ever made on several respectable critics lists. The movie is one of the first to composite ceilings in the frame on nearly every shot. This creates and closed in realistic view of what is happening. Welles employed many other brand new ideas. One of which was he was an incredibly respectful and humble director. Many directors of this time didn’t follow this belief. He listed himself in the cast last, though he was the most main character. He was so close with his director of photography that he listed them both together on the same slide, which was never done before this. Welles had broken his ankle on the film and still shot the film with it. This helped his performance when he needed to be an stiff and older. The performance Welles gives has been remembered for a lifetime and has many years ahead of…show more content…
Noir was more of a style because it was mostly a combination of genres. A great example of the style was the movie The Big Sleep (1946) directed by Howard Hawks. Hawks was able to tell the quick witted, character filled story that pushed social norms of what is too far. In the film there is a lot of suggestions to homosexuality, drug use, and sexual activity that is very vague and doesn’t tell too much. There is a scandal of a man drugging a woman and shooting pornographic photos of her. You know this by seeing a hidden camera, a drugged attractive female, and they referred to photographs after that. One example that is more vague is that there is a gay lover to one of the men that is killed. The only parts that are revealed is you see the lover take revenge and you see the lover’s shrine of admiration for a short time. This is because there is a lot of censorship happening in films at that time. The film was considered extremely sexual when it would be thought as incredibly tame in today's culture. The extra descriptions weren’t needed back in that time period. People could infer complex taboo relationships very quickly and easily compared to today. The accomplishments in the look of the film is almost and extreme as the content. The whole film was shot on a set except a small handful of shots. Hawks did this to have control over every single aspect of the film. This led an extremely quality and

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