Tag: cinematography

Analysing Satyajit Ray: Through The Eyes of The Master

Satyajit Ray

Introduction

Satyajit Ray was India’s first internationally recognized film-maker and, several years after his death, still remains the most well-known Indian director on the world stage. Ray has written that he became captivated by the cinema as a young college student, and he was self-taught, his film education consisting largely of repeated viewings of film classics by de Sica, Fellini, John Ford, Orson Welles, and other eminent directors.

Satyajit Ray

Early Life and Family Background

Satyajit Ray was born into an illustrious family in Kolkata (then Calcutta) on 2nd May,1921. His grandfather, Upendra Kishore Ray-Chaudhary, was a publisher, illustrator, musician, the creator of children’s literature in Bengali and a leader of the Brahmo Samaj, a religious and social movement in nineteenth century Bengal. His father, Sukumar Ray, was a noted satirist and India’s first writer of nonsensical rhymes, akin to the nonsense verse of Edward Lear. Having studied at Ballygunge Government High School, Calcutta and completed his BA in economics at Presidency College, Satyajit Ray went on to develop an interest in fine arts. Later in life, Satyajit Ray made a documentary of his father’s life. His film, Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, was based on a story published by his grandfather in 1914, but even other films, such as Hirok Rajah Deshe, “The Kingdom of Diamonds”, clearly drew upon his interest in children’s poetry and nonsensical rhymes.

Satyajit Ray with Akira Kurosawa

The Crisis of Indian Cinema Before Ray

From the 1920s to the early 1950s, several directors working within Hollywood—as well as filmmakers in former Soviet Union, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan—considered cinema not as a mere tool of entertainment but as a medium for creative expression. Filmmakers such as Charlie Chaplin, Sergei Eisenstein, Jean Renoir, Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Akira Kurosawa, and others deployed artistically innovative filmic devices to convey profound statements about the complexities of life. Some of the aesthetically satisfying films produced during this period were hailed as cinematic masterpieces. Films in India, however, prioritised cliched elements such as sentimental slush, ersatz emotion, theatricality, romantic tales, spectacle-like songs, and happy endings in these decades. Instead of making serious attempts at formal experimentation, Indian directors continued catering to the lowest common denominator audience.

Iconic scene from Pather Panchali (1955)
Pather Panchali (1955)

Breakthrough of Satyajit Ray

A young Ray had grown up on Hollywood movies, so when his ad agency sent him to London for higher training, he spent more and more of his time in the company of films and started “losing interest in advertising in the process,” he once said in an interview. During this trip, he saw Vittorio De Sica’s “Ladri di biciclette” (Bicycle Thieves),in 1948, a neo-realist Italian masterpiece of post-War despair and was entranced by its beguiling simplicity and humanism. Back in Calcutta, he heard that Jean Renoir was in town and walked straight into the hotel where the great French filmmaker was staying to confide in his own dreams of making a movie someday. Renoir, who was location-scouting for The River in Calcutta at the time, encouraged the aspirant. And so began the journey of the song of the little road.

Subir Banerjee as Apu in Pather Panchali (1955)


Ray’s landmark debut, Pather Panchali ( which was adapted from  eponymous 1928 Bengali novel “Pather Panchali” by eminent Bengali novelist Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhay) was on a shoe-string budget in 1955 with a mostly non-professional cast. All the while, he clung on to his job for a safety net even as he shot what would become the first of the classic Apu Trilogy on weekends. The film was apparently being made by a group of neophytes, who had to stop filming more than once, owing to the depletion of their shoestring budget.

Smaran Ghoshal as Apu in Aporajito (1956)

Notable Films of Satyajit Ray

Ray directed 36 films, comprising 29 feature films, five documentaries, and two short films. Pather Panchali was completed in 1955 and turned out to be both a commercial and a tremendous critical success, first in Bengal and then in the West following a major award at the 1956 Cannes International Film Festival. sured Ray the financial backing he needed to make the other two films of the trilogy: Aparajito (1956; The Unvanquished) and Apur Sansar (1959; The World of Apu). Pather Panchali and its sequels tell the story of Apu, the poor son of a Brahman priest, as he grows from childhood to manhood in a setting that shifts from a small village to the city of Calcutta.

Chandana Banerjee in Teen Kanya (1961)
During the Shooting of Jana Aranya (1975)
Utpal Dutta in Hirok Rajar Deshe(1980)
Soumitra Chatterjee in Hirok Rajar Deshe (1980)
Chhabi Biswas (in middle) in Jalsaghar (1958)
Shabana Azmi in Shatranj ke Khilari (1977)
Satyajit Ray during the shooting of Sonar Kella(1974)

Ray’s major films about Hindu orthodoxy and feudal values (and their potential clash with modern Western-inspired reforms) include Jalsaghar (1958; The Music Room), an impassioned evocation of a man’s obsession  with music; Devi (1960; The Goddess), in which the obsession is with a girl’s divine incarnation; Sadgati (1981; Deliverance), a powerful indictment of caste; and Kanchenjungha (1962), Ray’s first original screenplay  and first colour film, a subtle exploration of arranged marriage among wealthy, westernized Bengalis. Shatranj ke Khilari (1977; The Chess Players), Ray’s first film made in the Hindi Language , with a comparatively large budget, is an even subtler probing of the impact of the West on India. Although humour is evident in almost all of Ray’s films, it is particularly marked in the comedy Parash Pathar (1957; The Philosopher’s Stone) and in the musical Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1969; The Adventures of Goopy and Bagha), based on a story by his grandfather. 

His other notable films were Ahsani Sanket (1973; Distant Thunder), Aranyer Din Ratri (1970; Days and Nights in the Forest) , Mahanagar (1963; The Big City) and a trilogy of films made in the 1970s—Pratidwandi (1970; The Adversary), Seemabaddha (1971; Company Limited), and Jana Aranya (1975; The Middleman), Ganashatru (1989; An Enemy of the People),  Shakha Prashakha (1990; Branches of the Tree), and the Agantuk (1991; The Stranger).

Poster of Shatranj ke Khilari (1977)
Poster of Devi(1960)
Poster of Ghore-Baire
Poster of Mahanagar(1963)
Poster of Apur Sansar (1959)
Poster of Nayak
Poster of Charulata

Work As A Novelist

Ray created two popular fictional characters in Bengali children’s literature—Feluda, a sleuth, and Professor Shanku, a scientist. The Feluda stories are narrated by Topesh Ranjan Mitra aka Topse, his teenage cousin, something of a Watson  to Feluda’s Holmes. The science fictions of Shonku are presented as a diary discovered after the scientist had mysteriously disappeared. Ray also wrote a collection of nonsensical verses named Today Bandha Ghorar Dim, which includes a translation of Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”. He wrote a collection of humorous stories of Mulla Nasiruddin  in Bengali.  Ray wrote an autobiography about his childhood years, Jakhan Chhoto Chhilam (1982), translated to English as Childhood Days: A Memoir by his wife Bijoya Ray. In 1994, Ray published his memoir, My Year’s with Apu, about his experiences of making The Apu Trilogy.

Book Cover illustrated by Satyajit Ray, himself for his first detective novel “Badshahi Angti”.
The musical score and Poster for Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne(1969), done by Satyajit Ray, himself
Portrait of Akira Kurosawa, illustrated by Satyajit Ray

Critical Analysis of Satyajit Ray

Instead of acting like a propagandist, Ray wanted to make people aware of the persistence of certain social problems. Devi and Ganasatru show people’s blind religious beliefs, Sakha Prasakhadiscloses the involvement of the top officials with bribery and corruption, Shatranj ke Khilari indicates the indolence and lack of political consciousness of the wealthy people, Aranyer Din Ratrireveals the insensitivity and boasting of the urban young men, and Mahapurush mockingly exposes the failure of the urban elite to embrace rational thoughts. Given the necessity of making people conscious of the same problems in present-day society, these films are still relevant today. Ray’s films also made a departure from tradition by frequently including strong women characters. Sarbajaya in Pather Panchali and Aparajito, Manisha in Kanchenjungha, Arati in Mahanagar, Charu in Charulata, Karuna in Kapurush, Aditi in Nayak, Aparna and Jaya in Aranyer Din Ratri, Sudarshana in Seemabadhdha, and Ananga in Asani Sanket appear as bolder, more confident, and more resilient than the male characters. In an interview, Ray states that the inclusion of unwavering women characters reflects his own attitudes towards and personal experience with women.

Awards Received by Satyajit Ray

Ray received many awards, including 36 National Film Award  by the Government of India, and awards at international film festival. In 11th Moscow International Film Festival 1979, he was awarded with the Honorable Prize for the contribution to cinema. At the Berlin International Film Festival, he was one of only four filmmakers to win the Silver Bear for Best Director  more than once and holds the record for the most Golden Bear  nominations, with seven. At the Venice Film Festival, where he had previously won a Golden Lion for Aparajito  (1956), he was awarded the Golden Lion Honorary Award in 1982. That same year, he received an honorary “Hommage à Satyajit Ray” award at the 1982 Cannes International Film Festival. Ray is the second film personality after Charlie Chaplin  to have been awarded an honorary doctorate  by Oxford University.

He was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award  in 1985, and the Legion of Honour  by the President of France  in 1987. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhusan in 1965 and the highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, shortly before his death. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences  awarded Ray an Honorary Award  in 1992 for Lifetime Achievement. In 1992, he was posthumously awarded the Akira Kurosawa Award for Lifetime Achievement in Directing at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

Conclusion

Whenever we talk about radical filmmaking in the realm of Bengali cinema, Satyajit Ray’s maiden feature (made in the face of tremendous odds) is mentioned. From Pather Panchali to his last film Agantuk, Ray never compromised on high standards, thereby making a huge impression. Having a greater familiarity with the oeuvre of Ray would enable people to understand the impressive qualities and importance of socially-meaningful cinema. We are surely in need of films that would make us perceive the beauty of a dewdrop on a blade of grass, strengthen our sense of humanism, and raise our social consciousness—hence, the everlasting relevance of the cinema of Satyajit Ray.

Analyzing Alfred Hitchcock: The Psychological Genius Mind

Sir Alfred Hitchcock

Introduction

The movies of Alfred Hitchcock, seem to have a permanent place in both American and Global Cinematic history. He is a common topic to turn when discussing auteur directors, film history,  suspense and psychoanalysis. His visual style is very distinct, the close-ups, subjective camerawork, unusual camera angles and the list goes on. Today, in this article, we intend to analysis the visual choices of Hitchcock’s most well known works including Vertigo, Rear Window and Psycho.

Sir Hitchcock before the shooting for Psycho (1960)

About Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock  (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker who was one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films, many of which are still widely watched and studied today. Known as the “Master of Suspense“, he became as well known as any of his actors thanks to his many interviews, his cameo roles  in most of his films, and his hosting and producing the television anthology Alfred Hitchcock Presents  (1955–65). His films garnered 46 Academy Awards nominations, including six wins, although he never won the award for Best Director despite five nominations.

Sir Hitchcock

Techniques and Methodology of Hitchcock’s Works

Alfred Hitchcock’s attention to detail in his films is one of the many things that makes him one of the most recognized film auteurs of all time. He was very particular what about he wanted seen on screen and how he wanted to get those shots. From camera movements to the things found in the mise-en-scène, Hitchcock was very precise about every little thing that is seen in his on screen worlds. He would strategically place objects throughout the mise-en-scène and have characters wear certain clothing. By doing this, Hitchcock is able to let the audience know things about the characters and the plot without it having to be said on camera. Hitchcock once said that “If it’s a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on” . To Hitchcock, the conversations in his films were not important.  Visuals were of the utmost importance.  He loved point of view shots, which showed a shot of the actor and then cut to a shot of what the actor was looking at in order to convey what the actor is looking at; pretty much, the Kuleshov effect.

Sir Alfred Hitchcock on the set of one of his movies

The soundtrack was extremely important to Alfred Hitchcock, as he managed to sync the music with the actions of the scenes.  His most famous scene would be the shower scene in Psycho, where the orchestra is perfectly correlated with the murder.  In his famous film, Hitchcock also incorporated the use of shot/reverse shot, a standard shot pattern that directors use to film conversations between two characters. In general, the actors avoid speaking directly to the viewer, because doing so acknowledges the audience’s presence and destroys the illusion of a naturally unfolding story. From panning shots, to tracking shots Alfred Hitchcock used his techniques in filming and editing in order to create great products that continue to intrigue audiences to this day.

James Stewart as Jeff and Grace Kelly as Lisa Carol in Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) movie

Analysis of The Film “Rear Window” (1954)

The cinematography of Rear Window mainly focuses on the use of lighting and shadows. With the darkness and mystery of the film, Alfred Hitchcock was able to use his lighting to his best advantage. The light always is picking up on important symbols or messages in the scene. Such as the scene when the salesman finally comes into Jeff‘s room, the light only picks up on Jeff’s most valuable senses; his hands and eyes. Along with the lighting, the interesting angles are very common.  Not only did it create suspense, it creates confusion and the viewer wants to see more. Mise en Scene was very important in this film, as all of the scenes happened in the same group of apartments. In the city of New York, everything is very tight because of the huge population. The use of the differently decorated rooms also created personality and character for the roles who didn’t even speak. 

Scene from Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) movie

Although sound and music weren’t always in the film, it was there when it needed to be. The traffic and sounds of the city were placed delicately to remind the viewer of the area. The mix of piano from the songwriter in one apartment, from the screeching violins during nail-biting moments, created emotions for the viewer. Editing was evident everywhere, especially during a fight scene, or used very consciously during high suspense. The fades were apparent from day to day, which helped the viewer better understand the passage of time.

Poster of Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958) movie

Analysis of The Film “Vertigo” (1958)

Vertigo is a 1958 suspense thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor and based upon the 1954 novel ‘D’entre Les Morts’ by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. Starring James Stewart, Kim Novak and co-starring Barbara Bel Geddes.

James Stewart as John Ferguson and Kim Novak as Madeleine in Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958) movie

Vertigo is a film which functions on multiple levels simultaneously. On literal level it’s a mystery suspense story of a man hoodwinked into acting as an accomplice in a murder, his discovery of a hoax, and the unravelling of the threads of the murder plot. On a Psychological level, the film traces the twisted , circuitous routes of a psyche burdened down with guilt, desperately searching for an object on which to concentrate its repressed energy. Finally, on an allegorical or figurative level, it is a retelling of a immemorial tale of a man who has lost his love to the death and in hope of redeeming her descends into the underworld,  the most famous of these stories being that of Orpheus and Eurydice in Greek Mythology. Vertigo’s complexity however does not end with this multilevel approach to its tale, the film also succeeds in blurring the already fine line between objectivity and subjectivity . It takes the viewers so far into the mind of its main characters ( Scottie, played by Hitchcock veteran James Stewart), that audiences’ own objectivity, at least initially, is lost and replaced by complete identification with Scottie’s fantasies and obsessions.

Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates in Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) movie

Analysis of The Film “Psycho” (1960)

Hitchcock’s Psycho has been commended for forming the archetypical basis of all horror films that followed its 1960 release. The mass appeal that Psycho has maintained for over three decades can undoubtedly be attributed to its universality.

Scene from Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) movie

In Psycho, Hitchcock allows the audience to become a subjective character within the plot to enhance the film’s psychological effects for an audience that is forced to recognize its own neurosis and psychological inadequacies as it is compelled to identify, for varying lengths of time, with the contrasting personalities of the film’s main characters. Hitchcock conveys an intensifying theme in Psycho, that bases itself on the unending subconscious battle between good and evil that exists in everyone through the audience’s subjective participation and implicit character parallels. The initial confrontation between Marion and Norman Bates is used by Hitchcock to subtly and slowly sway the audience’s sympathy from Marion to Norman. Hitchcock compels the audience to identify with the quiet and shy character whose devotion to his invalid mother has cost him his own identity. Upon the introduction of Norman, Hitchcock introduces the first of several character parallels within Psycho. The clash between Marion and Norman, although not apparent to the audience until the end of the film, is one of neurosis versus psychosis.

Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates and Janet Leigh as Marion Crane in Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) movie

The fear that Psycho creates for the audience does not arise from the brutality of the murders but from the subconscious identification with the film’s characters who all reflect one side of a collective character. Hitchcock enforces the idea that all the basic emotions and sentiments derived from the film can be felt by anyone as the unending battle between good and evil exists in all aspects of life.The effective use of character parallels and the creation of the audience’s subjective role in the plot allows Hitchcock to entice terror and convey a lingering sense of anxiety within the audience through a progressively intensifying theme. Hitchcock’s brilliance as a director has consolidated Psycho’s place among the most reputable and profound horror films ever made.

Scene from Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) movie

Conclusion

Alfred Hitchcock who has been entitled to the master of apprehension, suspense and fear, entices the audience to discern his unknown inner in a simulation over cinema curtain. Human, sets back his instincts for years; withholds sex and anger and wrap it in his inner depths where even is impenetrable for himself. But there is always probability of arising it in the society as a coarse event. Eruption of anger from sub-consciousness of Hitchcock’s characters brings along murder, crime and often imagination, tragic psychic disturbances. Anyone might be involved with the condition of these characters in real world. Most of Hitchcock’s movies create suspense in very first minutes of the show. The propensity to know arouses in him. He limits and draws attention of the audience to the film.Dark spaces, long and fearsome roads, deserted places and empty of habitat, are signs and symbols which sometimes refers to unaware and its inner events. Making use of sharp-pointed lines and thorn-shaped edges in locations and shades, which are taken from Gothic style, makes the movies horror and terror. Hitchcock through increasing vigilance, guides the audience toward making a powerful “ego” against incidents which mostly indicates determinism.

How Literature is getting popularity due to the advent of Movies and Dramas

“Literature since the Medieval times have always been a mystery as well as a fascination for its audience”. As the decades change, their audience preference also changed. There was a whole decade which we all know as  a biggest blood-curdling historical events of all time, also famously known as “The Age before Queen Elizabeth, when war and slaughter  was the prominent reason and people lost their sanity due to   political catastrophes and the consequences occurred when there was a division between the religion and  science.”

When people lost their sanity, they abandoned literature and art which ultimately made the audience miserable and fragile. However, as the decade improved, we come to see that “Elizabethan Drama’s” has acted as a helping hand in the history of literature when people were gazing for a source of Entertainment.

Dramas are the mainstream or we can say as the generator of the exquisite source of entrainment since the 16th century which played an important role to make awareness among people about various social issues which happened during the era. Drama is one of those fabulous art forms which not only traveled a revolutionized journey from the 16th century to the 21st century but also have contributed a big number of Legendary works in the history of literature.

Dramas which are worldwide famous in the contemporary world are due to the main reason of fandom among the audience and in this process, the fandom not only goes to Drama but also to literature and movies.

Drama, Movies, and Literature – The Best Trio Ever!

Every era has its uniqueness and flair of creativity in any form of art. Likewise, whether it is Literature, Movies, Music, or drama, their secret to flourishing in the millennial generation is “Audience”. The audience has always been a great critic when it comes to Literature and Movies. Today we have Film and Literature which is established due to fandom among the audiences.

To get fame and acknowledgment from the audience is not an easy task, it has always been a striving job to be likable by all types of audiences. Yet Literature gained its popularity with the upper hand of Movies and dramas. Literature which was uncanny for many people is now becoming like their favorite cup of coffee which has the cream of fandom and fasciation towards literature.

Pop fiction – A New Version of Literature

A contemporary era where literature has grown acceptance due to the arrival of Movies and dramas is not only appreciated by their audiences but they are also a newer version of Preserving authentic Literature so that the fragrance of beautiful texts written by prominent writers won’t fade for the coming centuries.

Since it is an up-gradation, the technique of showcasing literature through the lens of the big screen of the cinematography industry is adaptable and modified. Pop Fiction is more merchandised and the writers craft their stories according to their audiences’ preferences.

The contemporary world is full of bustling lives where the audience expects entertainment to be relatable and which has a good quality of content. So cinematography industry had taken this opportunity as a responsibility towards their audience which proofs them their magnificent works by centering on literature.

Great stories come with a great plot!

Literature is famously known by all the audiences due to great movies and TV Series which either are adaptations or taken from real based stories from literature. When we say literature and movies the Millennial generation always mulls over about one great work but also gives a chill about going back to nostalgia! I guess we all know what it is? yes, it’s Harry Potter !  one of the prominent holiday Series which every child of the contemporary era never fails to reminisce about.

Whether it is plot structure, characters, or the setting, J.K Rowling’s works have been justified more cause of movie series made upon her famous works. Literature always provides us the imaginative descriptiveness of a piece of work and Cinematography provides an Illustrative of Visual and audio descriptions and together they have reached a high amount of success worldwide.

Similar to Harry Potter many classical works of literature are in the airy dreams among the audience cause of excellent movies turned from these works. Whether it is Louisa May Alcott’s “Little women” which talks about how women are striving in this society to acknowledge their identities by their forte and minds or whether it is Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” which talks about a dystopian where women are taken as an Object to played with, well we can never forget that holocaust literature which made us more emotional and sentimental when we watched the movie “Book Thief”.

Our childhood was like a sweet dream which was incomplete without those fairy tales of Cinderella and beauty and the beast which enlightened us with all the moral values.

Hence, there is no conclusion of how movies and literature are excellently mending with each other and providing us the finest edition of the whole thing. This not only keeps our literature preserved but also protected with increasing fandom with the young audiences.