Braveheart the Worst Film for Best Picture - 3877 Words

Thesis Mel Gibson’s Braveheart is routinely named in polls of film critics as the worst movie ever to have won the Academy Award for best picture, and it is easy to see why. The acting in the film ranges from the blandly unmemorable to the mortifying. Negligible as Scottish history, but it is undeniably a political film. Gibson clearly did not intend to venture into a political debate—the film is structurally and visually standard Hollywood fare, a costume drama of the sort normally considered a â€Å"prestige picture† or â€Å"Oscar bait,† and the Academy swallowed it whole and awarded Braveheart the 1995 Academy Award for Best Picture. Coincidently the 1995 release date would coincide with the political push towards Scottish â€Å"devolution†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦Firelight or torches are used; in the long and ludicrous sex scene between Wallace and his bride (before she is raped and killed by the English) Gibson contrives to film everything by moonlight. The color is largely lush and saturated, although dream sequences or certain sequences seen through the eyes of the young William Wallace are given an icy blue desaturated tint which matches the color of Wallace’s eyes. The camera is usually at a middle distance and a straightforward angle; in conversations between two characters Gibson tends to hold both in frame so that we can see them interact, rather than cut back and forth with two separate shots over the actors’ shoulders. If the camera moves at all, it is slowly and on a dolly: there is nothing unsteady or hand-held about anything, certainly not the battle scenes, which are fi lmed with a steady solid focus on Gibson himself striding with face-paint through the smoke and carnage. Framing usually includes two characters in dialogue. The camera is mostly objective—even subjective effects such as young William seeing his dead father’s corpse speak platitudes are noted with a change in color saturation to signpost the shift. There are no special effects in Braveheart. The dialogue in Braveheart is corny and stilted in English: I

Dante Club Free Essays

The Dante Club begins with the murder of fictional Chief Justice Judge Healey, who had avoided taking a position to stop or support the escaped slaves of the South. Found by his chambermaid near a white flag atop a short wooden staff, Healey had been hit in the head and then left in his garden to be eaten alive by strategically placed maggots and stung by hornets. Holmes, who examines the body for the police, recognizes the correlation between the murder and the punishments seen in Dante’s Inferno. We will write a custom essay sample on Dante Club or any similar topic only for you Order Now Then Reverend Talbot, who was paid by the Harvard Corporation to write against Dante, was found dead in an underground cemetery, buried up to his waist upside down, his feet burnt. Members of the Dante Club, a group of poets translating The Divine Comedy from Italian into English, notice the parallels between the murders and the punishments detailed in Dante’s Inferno. The club, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. , and James Russell Lowell, sets out to solve the murders, fearing that the truth will ruin Dante’s burgeoning reputation in America, thus making their translation a failure. Then, Phineas Jennison, both a wealthy contributor to the Harvard Corporation and friend to the translators (a â€Å"schismatic†), is sliced open exactly down the middle—all killed in extreme fashion and undeniable resemblance to the punishments of people in Dante’s Inferno. Eventually, the murderer is discovered to be a former Civil War Soldier Dan Teal, a man who worked at Ticknor and Fields. Driven partly mad by the trauma of his war experiences, Teal hears Dante Club member George Washington Greene giving sermons on Dante, and becomes convinced that Dante alone understood the need for perfect justice in the world. With protecting Dante as his sole motivation, Teal takes it upon himself to release Hell’s punishments as indicated by Dante, in order to purify the city. Teal finds each of his victims when learning of their involvement in the stopping of the translations, which become their respective sins. The club eventually tries to capture him, with the aid of Boston’s first African-American policeman Nicholas Rey, the only other person who saw the connection, while attempting to punish Harvard Treasurer Dr. Manning and Pliny Mead (â€Å"the traitors†). Mead was a student of the Dante course who helped betray his eacher by cooperating with Manning. He later fled when the club attempted to punish him for his involvement in stopping the translation of the Inferno. They later encounter him as he tries to round up the translators, to punish them for not embracing his â€Å"work. † Dr. Manning—saved by Longfellow, Holmes, Rey, Lowell, and Fields—realizes the situation as he recovered from his attempted punishment of being buried naked in ice. He sees Teal on the street with a gun to Longfellow, and Manning ends the murderer’s life, thus returning the city to normal. How to cite Dante Club, Papers

Why College free essay sample

I fell in love with college the minute I entered the 8th grade- the same moment I knew for certain I wanted to be involved with art for the rest of my life! I really want to attend college, but when I tell an older person that they ask: Why? Why college? A younger person or peer of mine when hearing that question thinks: What kind of question is that?! Why else would I want to go to college? College is opportunity! Although in truth it makes sense to understand why one wants to go to college. I want to move forward to college to further my education. I’d like to further my abilities in the arts – such things as creative writing, drawing, singing, playing guitar, acting, screenwriting and poetry! I want to major in Game Art and Animation this will give me the opportunity to develop characters and their stories- which I do now through drawing. We will write a custom essay sample on Why College or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I’d love to be as recognized in the game industry as Bill Gates is known in the computer world! I crave for a sort of busy life style. I always want to be occupied by something new, so Game Art won’t be the only thing people will know me for! All of the arts I’m indulged in are not just hobbies. I plan to make careers out of every single talent I have, developing each talent to the fullest! I think as I get older my curiosity expands to heights I’ve never thought possible! I remember being in the 3rd grade and my favorite teacher of all time-Mrs. Edwards- said certain things to us in Spanish. She would say things like â€Å"sientate por favor† and â€Å"Gracias†. I never understood why she did this, but now I do: She wanted to expand our little brains and show us that there was more to the world than â€Å"our hood† in Philadelphia PA. I thank her greatly for that! Back then I didn’t really care for anybody else’s culture, but now I’m teaching myself Japanese and learning Spanish! I’m now very interested in almost every language except English! Culture is a very important part of life and college will help me to explore different cultures to a deeper extent. College is also an opportunity to meet new people and go new places. I’m definitely looking forward to attending college outside of Philadelphia. I believe being in a different environment will inspire me to learn and create. I want to feel comfortable wherever I choose to go; surrounded by people who have hopes and dreams for their futures and even more individuals willing to help others accomplish dreams! I wish to inspire future generations just like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and President Barack Obama have! The next generation of kids with dreams will be the future, just as I am a part of the future today! I believe college is vital! I’d hate for anyone to be so stupid that they think they could get away with just a high school diploma- especially in our current economy! Completing any major goals will be hard if you’re flipping burgers somewhere- I’m not saying it’s impossible , but it is a lot harder than trying to make a living with a college degree! If someone goes to college they could end up in a lovely career! College is filled with hard working students and teachers that are very willing to help! I know college will take a lot of time and dedication, but I am ready to take it on as both a challenge and a fun experience! So college here I come!