Alfie Review
The film ‘Alfie’ is a movie which captures the real feeling of the 60′s, the whole care free domina and micheal caine plays the part of ’Alfie’ to a great degree. Alfie is suave, a real ladies man however their is a real contrast of personallity, when he is with ladies his well spoken, well dressed and treats them very well, however when he gets home, he acts quite rash in language and character always demanding and being the total alfa dog in the house.
alfie has alot of lovers, which was quite a big thing alot of people used to go and have permiscuos sex with other people not really considering the thought of feelings which alfie shows time and time again as he shows that he has sex with women to get something out of them, not for love noly lust and stuff of material value. As i said earlier the film captures the 60′s spirit, watching it as a 16 year old with no recolection or any understanding of the 60′s i felt as if it was a history lesson, it shows a real understanding and also shows a perspective of a male, i’m sure it would have been different for females because back then i think there was still equality, where the man is dominant and the women is of a lower degree of importance.
Not only does the film show the iqualities and the sexual devience it also shows that men just really didnt care , alfie would go out and drink and have fights, sleep with women and then order the women to make his tea and wash his clothes.
Near the end we’re shown a complete role revearsal in which alfie see’s all that he has taken away from him and then he starts to remanis of what has happened and he see’s things in another light. Not only did i lave after watching the film thinking how good it was , it made me think aswell that maybe i should treat women better and thats whats so great about it, if a movie makes you goand think about yourself then surely it leaves a real impact and thats the beauty of a film, that just a script could change how u think
i belive that despite the fact ’Alfie’ is a 60′s movie it has real relevance in today’s world and that i would recomend it to anyone.
Scene Analysis
Scene Analysis The scene I have chose to analyse is the opening one from ‘Trainspotting’. The scene is 1:41 in length, even for this short amount of time there is a lot of action going on, there is a vast amount of editing, mise-en-scene, sound and camera angling as I will explain.
You hear the sound of running foot steps go from quiet, to loud and then as soon as you see the first bit of on screen movement , the sound of Iggy Pop’s song ‘lust for life’ is in the background and carries on all the way throughout the scene, the song itself is hip, trendy Iggy pop himself is known to be a drug user, and seeing that the film is about drug user it fits in rather well, not only this it keeps the action flowing and going throughout the scene. The scene starts with two young, possibly adolescent boys running, at this point there is a low angle, medium close-up behind their feet so you see the action of them running. The first thing seen is the shoes of the main character Renton played by Ewan McGregor, the shoes themselves are converse, very cheap, very modern showing that he can‘t afford anything fancier. The shot then goes into a mid shot in which you see Renton and his friend Spud played by Ewen Bremer. Renton turns around and looks at two men in suits chasing them, this shows why they’re running. It then goes into a mid shot of there legs and feet where you can see various CD’s falling out, It appears they have stolen them, also at this shot u see there bottoms after just seeing there top which means you get to see there whole outfit just like the shoes, its rundown, cheap, not so much trendy more of the first thing they could find they put on. Renton also has a shirt around his waist, possibly stolen their hair is also short and rather thuggish also tying in with the stealing and illegal activities. It then goes into the previous shot again but there still running, at this point a non digetic monologue is heard and carries on all the way through the rest of the scene. The same two shots happen again for 3 seconds each time with quick editing happening each times literally going from shot to shot no fancy editing just quick snappy editing.
There is then a low angle shot of Renton running down some stairs still being chased and carries on following him run along the road, until there is a point of view shot of Renton running until a car suddenly comes out of nowhere and makes a screeching sound, you see a mid-long shot of him about to hit the car and then another point of view shot as the driver watching him hit the bonnet quickly editing back to a mid-long shot if him falling of , standing up, you see Spud running and a guard chasing after him in quick succession, Renton gets back up and stares at the driver. You then go into a wide shot of spud being chased with more CD props falling out of his jacket it quickly edits back to the point of view shot as the driver of the car, it shows Renton getting his breath back and the hear him laughing, there is then a freeze frame of him and then his name comes up which has been edited .
The setting then changes to a slum house dingy colours. Moldy wallpaper peeling off, holes in the walls and no lights. there is a mid-shot of Renton smoking is wearing a nasty brown coloured tank top which was probably white before but has been worn so much and not washed its turned brown he also looks very pale with black rings around his eyes, the typical junkie look and in a dozy, euphoric state he leans back and as he does it again quickly edits into a long shot revealing the rest of the slum which looks bare, and generally not a nice environment.
There is a quick panning shot of a banner saying plumbing and a mid shot of Renton’s football team looking mediocre, not wearing the same kits or not even wearing things suitable for football, for instance Spud is wearing shorts and a top to short for him and Sick boy played by Johnny Lee-Miller is wearing cargo shorts. There is then action shot of football leading to Sickboy fouling someone and protesting leading to a mid-shot that is then freeze framed and shows his name, with the edited freeze frames I believe it was intended to get the persons characteristics within the shot, with Renton it was one of him smiling when his just about to get caught which shows his rebellious, don’t give a damn attitude to life, with Sickboy it shows him protesting as if the foul was never his fault, just as he does throughout the film protest that the things he has done is not his fault but other peoples, Begbie who is played by Robert Carlyle shows him do a vicious two footed tackle on a player which shows his violence which he see throughout the rest of the film. There is then a point of view shot as Spud as the goalkeeper having a striker running at him with the ball. It then quickly goes to a point of view shot as the striker, quickly back to the point of view shot before, so you see him kick the ball it last for less then 2 second, quickly back to the strikers point of view where it shows him scoring a goal and then a freeze-frame of Spud showing him in the wrong place and a little vulnerable, which his character is, it then shows spud walking back to pick the ball up as the rest of his team are shouting at him throughout the past few shots there have been shouting going on, the sort you would expect from men playing football the commanding shout telling them what’s right and wrong or calling for the ball. Then we go into a mid-shot of 3 women standing there cheering one has a baby, these are the girlfriends of the people playing it quickly goes into a shot of the final main character Tommy played by Kevin McKidd where as the rest haven’t been taking it seriously as u can tell by their mannerism’s and outfit Tommy is working hard and is wearing the right kit and sweat bands which shows he takes it seriously it shows him being outnumbered and shouting and pleading for help from the others, he is outnumbered in the film as he is the only one who does not do heroin, however he does end up doing it and dies from and overdose.
It then goes into a mid shot of the back of four of the main characters standing in a defensive wall for the free kick, then a point of view shot of Renton watching the ball be kicked, then a close up of the ball hitting his head and the sound of it too as well as the sound of the wind going out of his lungs, a sort of shocked gasp, also the music gets louder so you can hear it clearer and louder and it hit in straight on time as the ball hits Renton’s head, it quickly edits back to the shot of Renton back in the dirty slum leaning back but this time he keeps going he is falling, cutting back to the mid shot behind them in the defensive wall but this time he falls all the way back almost as if onto the camera, cutting back to the long shot in the slum he is pretty much hitting the ground, one quick shot of him hitting the ground at the football match and then a close up of his face that then goes all the way round his body and all the time there is quick editing no fancy stuff just quick cut editing.
By Ben Weaver
