This series is designed to teach people about the elements that go into a successful and memorable film. As such, you get to look at (once again) clips from successful and memorable films. Introducing these films is a nice old man who apparently taught this subject to film makers for decades. He's obviously knowledgeable and has a certain charm, but whatever he is trying to communicate gets lost in his many detours and sidetracks.
Occasionally he manages to stay on track, and when he does this, he isn't necessarily correct. At one point (I can't remember where) he talks about the need for surprise and how repetition can be harmful to the film's impact. Nothing could be further from the truth. Repetition is a fundamental aspect of human life. Repetition is a fundamental aspect of human life. Freud wrote about it and called it the "repetition compulsion" and tied it to the basic death drive. It's the core of most comedies and the way in which most action films anticipate a dramatic confrontation. Gun fighters don't meet for the first time. You see them in matches and anticipate what is going to happen in the final match. Substitute gunfighters for chess champions, gymnists, etc. And you see the structure of most effective dramatic scenes.
Not a complete waste of time, and it's always fun to see memorable scenes even if you've seen them hundreds of times. Along the way there are some good observations.
Occasionally he manages to stay on track, and when he does this, he isn't necessarily correct. At one point (I can't remember where) he talks about the need for surprise and how repetition can be harmful to the film's impact. Nothing could be further from the truth. Repetition is a fundamental aspect of human life. Repetition is a fundamental aspect of human life. Freud wrote about it and called it the "repetition compulsion" and tied it to the basic death drive. It's the core of most comedies and the way in which most action films anticipate a dramatic confrontation. Gun fighters don't meet for the first time. You see them in matches and anticipate what is going to happen in the final match. Substitute gunfighters for chess champions, gymnists, etc. And you see the structure of most effective dramatic scenes.
Not a complete waste of time, and it's always fun to see memorable scenes even if you've seen them hundreds of times. Along the way there are some good observations.