Film techniques used in singing in the rain

Singin in the rain 1952 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Unlike most films trying reveal hollywood, however, singin in the rain does it in a lighthearted manner. Cosmo conducts the conveniently present orchestra the premiere is of a sound film that should not require accompaniment, and kathy joins don. Donen got an honorary oscar in 1998, and stole the show by singing cheek to cheek while dancing with his statuette. Overall, singin in the rain used many tricky, inventive sound methods to create a phenomenal scene and an incredible movie out of what was most likely a lackluster plot. Singing in the rain is one of my favorite musical films. Singin in the rain 1952 is an american musical film starring gene kelly, donald oconnor and debbie reynolds. Self reflexive aspects of singing in the rain essay bartleby. His dancing is the impetus behind singin in the rain s lasting success, i. I am a sucker for anything with elaborate tap dancing numbers, and while gene kelly is no fred astaire, he holds his own in this film along with donald oconnor and debbie reynolds. While watching the film, the viewer is able to get caught up in this love story.

The voices in singin in the rain really personified the. Singin in the rain 1952 is one of the mostloved and celebrated film musicals of all time from mgm, before a mass exodus to filmed adaptations of broadway plays emerged as a standard pattern. Essay singing of the rain directed by gene kelly and stanley donen. Why singin in the rain is an almost perfect musical. Singin in the rain a unified analysis of technology. The functions of sound in the film singin in the rain. Film essay singin in the rain by lorne graham, national affiliate program manager, nemc as a professional musician and film lover, i will offer recommendations to visitors to the website on musicbased films that are inspiring, joyous, artistic, and exhibit fine filmmaking.

It is easy to be unimpressed with movies from the past at times. Don announces that kathy is the true voice behind the film and the audience cheers for her. Throughout the movie, people could see many different elements that make the movie musical singing in the rain great. Analysis of singin in the rain essay 1112 words bartleby. S ingin in the rain 1952 is a metamusical which captures the struggle a silent film production company has in the process of transitioning into talkiesfilms with actual sound dialogue between characters. To do accomplish this, donen used tracking and crane camera techniques that. When kathy tries to run away as well, don has her stopped and introduces the audience to the real star of the film. Singing in the rain is a musical and threepoint lighting adds to the musical film because there are typically many characters in musicals. This film has a generally joyful and uplifting mood throughout, somewhat of a norm for musicals. The scene of the screening of the dueling cavalier is an excellent example of how the directors use the acoustic properties of sound to convey the affect of humour upon the viewer. Of course, these technical elements would most likely not be recognized by normal film viewers let alone young kids like me when i first experienced this scene. Behind the camera watch turner classic movies on tcm.

One of my favorite things about singing in the rain is the elaborate miseenscene, which contributes to the film within a film or world. Also, the addition of semihistorically accurate video and sound equipment, and the reaction of the film industry to these new techniques help viewers understand the struggles faced in early hollywood cinema. Their song singin in the rain was first used on film in the. A parody of the number singin in the rain was featured in the 2005 animated film robots where fender robin williams breaks out singing and dancing after dropping off a date. An absolute masterpiece, and easily, easily 5 stars. Tap dancing is a skill that takes time to learn because the sounds are made by shuffling and scuffing and jumping and stepping. In gene kelly and stanley donens film singin in the rain, sound is employed by the directors in order to aid in the overall creation of the films form. Singin in the rain is all about the true hollywood life. What the cinematography did for actors singing in the. Voice and sound in singin in the rain ufilm analysis blog. Final cue of they both kissing in front of a huge billboard advertising the film singin in the rain with don lockwood and kathy selden.

The three books and two articles about singin in the rain cited here complement each other as important overviews by providing quite different perspectives. It was codirected by stanley donen, then only 28, and kelly, who supervised the choreography. There is no doubt that the film singin in the rain is a hollywood classic. It was made directly for film, and was not a broadway adaptation. Behind the camera on singin in the rain for the dream segment within the broadway ballet sequence, gene kelly choreographed a scarf dance, using an enormous fiftyfoot veil of white china silk attached to cyd charisses costume. If lowkey lighting had been used in this movie it would not have matched the style of movie. It also keeps the movie light and airy since it is a happy, romantic and comical musical. Although all of these techniques that the filmmakers used subconsciously lead audiences to feel the beauty and poignancy of the moment, there is something else that people recognize. If we look at the film and break it down, we can see that the elements that make it so great are partly unique to the time of its.

This film has stood the test of time as one of great classics. And dancing when it didnt mean fred astaire meant gene kelly. The water used in the scene caused kellys wool suit to shrink during filming. The internet is clogged with myths about her late husband gene kellys iconic movie singin in the rain and very few of them are true. The movie is about dom lockwood and lina lamont, two superstars from silent film movies.

Gene kellys performance of singin in the rain has to be the greatest dance numbers ever performed on film, and i could watch it over and. Don escaping the groupie brigade and winding up in the codriver seat of kathys car. Then, throughout the entire scene, the in movie audience is laughing and making remarks over the movie. Debbie reynolds real story behind singing in the rain. In singing in the rain, the jazz singer opens as the first talkie and the studio easily wires its stages for sound and the film is shown across. Intertextuality in singin in the rain literaturefilm. Film analysis of singing in the rain 26 words 6 pages. Two film stars go through trials and tribulations to create a talkie for their upcoming film. Craftons book opens with a critique of the 1952 musical singing in the rain, which looks at this transition period in cinema with whimsy, portraying it as a romanticized event in the history of film. This movie is based in 1920s hollywood, in the middle of the talkie revolution. The cd includes the original soundtrack with seven supplemental tracks four of which were previously unreleased, plus a second disc featuring 20 different versions of the tracks from the original movie that were previously recorded for different films. Allusions are made to silent films, to king lear, ethel barrymore. It took some time, but i would really like to do it with other movies. What comes to mind when a person would name good movies.

During you are my lucky star, the last number, the film fades from don singing to kathy in profile, to a drawing of his profile, then zooms out to reveal a billboard for a movie starring both don and kathy, also titled singin in the rain. As a phrase, it is ubiquitous and vague and because of the significant variety in movies over the years. Gene kellys singin in the rain is musical perfection the atlantic. Singin in the rain cinema and media studies oxford. Reflexivity in singin in the rain film analysis at the. Simpson also uses one of freeds frequent expressions when he says that he cannot quite visualize it and has to see it on film first, referring to the broadway ballet sequencethis is an obvious cinematic joke, since the audience has just seen it on film. Matthew wellington 9272011 english 255 singin in the rain. The 1952 film, singing in the rain was directed by gene kelly and stanley donen. Singin in the rain has gradually grown in popularity and appeal. The film itself is an allusion to the silent film era. Directed by stanley bonen and gene kelly, singin in the rain demonstrates a delightfully escapist use of. The filming techniques used in this movie all boils down to the angles which coppola uses.

Singin in the rain was originally released in 1952, until it concealed by another prestigious film called, an american in paris. It is hard to follow the number of different sets, stages, and. I have to give credit to jim emersons blog post on some of the greatest long takes in cinema history for this weeks observations on a shot inspiration. Singin in the rain later, in the famous singin in the rain number, don kisses kathy good night, and sings about his joy of being in love in an environment that is real in the film s worldhence, the songs carefree and upbeat sound. Singin in the rain is a 1952 american musical romantic comedy film directed and. Generally, viewers only see the starstudded, fantasy world, and this film brings out the truth concerning the competition, the chaos, and the talent. Hollywood used the idea of the transitions between eras and made it into a film. I wrote this analysis for one of my film classes and had a bawl doing. Tap is one of my absolute favorite dance styles, because its full of energy and rhythm. Singin in the rain was also made during an era of generally higher artistic standards. Instead of rain he says oil to fit the film s theme, and emulates gene kellys iconic swing on the lamppost. Film trailers and the selling of hollywood technology, macfarland, 2009 pp 17, by permission of the author from the point of view of film history, the singin in the rain trailer could be regarded as an example of advertising for mgms successful run of musicals in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Im singing in the rain tap, ballet, and all that jazz.

Buster keaton practiced a strict standard of space and movement within an environment and extended that focus to the space and movement within the frame of the camera lens. The voices in singin in the rain really personified the characters to which they belonged. Singin in the rain emerged as a classic, considered by many to be the greatest hollywood musical ever made. Hess and dabholkar 2009 is a carefully researched, detailed, and thorough investigation of almost every aspect of the film and it has an extensive bibliography and capsule biographies of virtually everyone involved in the film. The 1952 film exemplifies the key elements of a beloved hollywood genre. As well, with all hollywood love stories, there is. Lina, in search of attention from the crowd, is asked to sing. Singin in the rain is my favorite movie that is not apart of a series aka the lord of the rings. Even though singing in the rain is an old movie, and there are more and more good movies coming out which have brilliant technology skill and computer effort, i want to say that it is a movie that you will not feel regret to watch, even over and over again.

Debbie reynolds real story behind singing in the rain shows how fierce she was this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Love and music in singin in the rain film music notes. A lesson in miseenscene singin in the rain has an elaborate miseenscene which contains a number of layers that all come together to convey the idea of a movie within a number of movies. Through its use of postsync sound within the filmic space as well as outside, ironic voiceover narration, and hyperbolic musical numbersspecifically, singin in the rain, make em laugh, and the broadway melody sequencestanley donen and gene kellys singin in the rain fosters a high degree of reflexivity. Singin in the rain, american musical comedy film, released in 1952, that was a reunion project for the american in paris directorial team of stanley donen and gene kelly, who was also the films star. Self reflexive aspects of singing in the rain essay 2215 words 9 pages singin in the rain mgm, 1952 is an american musical comedy directed by gene kelly and stanley donen. The 2002 reissue of singin in the rain coincides with the 50th anniversary of the film. Singing in the rain analysis film studies essay uk essays. Being a revolutionary thing in cinema, of course, theres going to be technical difficulties along the way. Singing meant more than combining the right words with the right pitch. Patricia ward kelly wants to set the record straight. This article uses intertextual reading, combined with a bloomian discourse, of the movie singin in the rain 1952.