As I stated in my first post about the film Pulp Fiction, there is a sort of recipe when it comes to making a great film. Quentin Tarantino knows it, as do other brilliant directors such as Woody Allen, Sam Mendes, and Martin Scorsese. The recipe can be different, depending on attempted audience or a director’s personal style. For example I may find the plot of a story to be important whereas director Baz Luhrmann would probably disagree, saying that a film should be more visually pleasing. There are three things I look for in a film that I consider to be necessary aspects. Without one of these things, you have a pretty decent film. But with all three, you have a film that will enchant audiences for generations.
Unique and Surprising Plot
It seems like many directors these days have taken up a sort of formula with their films. Boy meets girl, brave man must prove himself, young girl can’t find love… There’s usually a character that everyone loves who dies or a great injustice is done too. Make them laugh, make them cry. Few times these days do directors or writers create a film that makes its audience think.
Some say that the purpose of film is to entertain. This is true, of course. But there is another end to the spectrum. The purpose of film should also be to create a mirror for reality or society to see itself in. It should make a statement; elicit an emotion in its audience, along with being entertaining. A great example of this is the film The Shawshank Redemption.
The plot moves along at a steady pace and never ceases to entertain. At the same time the story shows its audience a number of things, such as “hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things,” or that a person can continue to surprise you, even if you know them as a best friend. The film also did a wonderful job of showing society an aspect of itself that is not often portrayed: prison. Prison in the 1950s, no less. Credit must be given to Stephen King, who wrote the novella the film was based on. However the decision to create such a film and give it a plot unlike any other film is perhaps the reason it has remained so famous and stands as best film according to the International Movie Database (an acclaimed film website) 1. It refuses to adhere to standard film formulas and dares to venture off on its own. Not to mention the twist ending, a technique which some films fail to use correctly, but this film has mastered.
Witty and Memorable Dialogue
Have you ever been discussing a movie with a group of friends and then someone mentions a great classic that everyone loves? Everyone starts telling their favorite parts and, more often than not, declaring their favorite lines. “We’re on a mission from God,” or “There’s no crying in baseball,” or “Are you going to bark all day, little dog, or are you going to bite?” The thing that makes most films so memorable is their dialogue. Quick paced, elongated and engaging, or even monotonous dialogue, of done correctly, can make a film what it is. The director that I believe has not only conquered but even become an influence to film dialogue is Quentin Tarantino.
In all of his films his dialogue takes place between a few of his characters (usually two), most of the time in a restaurant; a relaxed place where many real people would sit and talk. His dialogue centers usually around various topics of pop culture, whether its 1950 famous faces, Madonna’s song “Like a Virgin,” or the psychological aspects of Superman.
Quentin Tarantino probably spends as much time on writing the script as he does on filming the whole movie. His pace is quick, with characters sometimes talking over each other. His characters never cease to amaze us with their eloquence and knowledge of pop culture. As a society that gets its pulse from pop culture, audiences are not only entertained, but acclaim his films for their wit. They make people think. He doesn’t need flashy violent scenes to hold his audiences’ attention, though he usually uses them anyway. But that’s what makes his film so great; action in addition to intellectually stimulating dialogue. Neither carries the film, both work together to make them unforgettable.
Deliberate and Perfected Style
This last section is the most difficult section to explain. How do you bring style to a film? To tell you the truth, I have no idea how. But I have seen it done. The only way I can explain style is by giving you an example of a director who has grasped and perfected the art of style: Sam Mendes. His directorial debut was American Beauty, a film that swept through the Oscars with five Academy Awards, including Best Picture2. The plot was provocative, the characters and dialogue were phenomenal, and it did a wonderful job of putting a mirror up to society’s face. But that’s not what made the film the blockbusting cinematic phenomenon it was.
There was something else about the film that made it stand out. It was simply juicy with symbolism. Roses and the color red were very important to the film. They at first symbolized sex and lust, and later seem to symbolize innocence and beauty. There are picturesque scenes that seem to hold themselves. They are picture-perfect, in a way; like you are looking through a photo album. You can almost tell as you watch the film, how much time was put into editing the pieces together. They fit perfectly and flow with a kind of strange grace. This is also a part of Mendes’ style.
Another film by Sam Mendes called Road to Perdition does this as well. In this film most of the dominant colors are dark, symbolizing 
the violent mafia-driven subculture that the story takes place in. However when the son and father –who are attempting to escape and forget all of the darkness of their past –arrive at their destination in Perdition, everything is white, serene, and almost flawless. And like American Beauty, many of the scenes are picturesque, like they are famous works of art come to life. Mendes even almost tells the audience this when his character who is a photographer shows up in these many scenes and snap a photo.
Both of these films use their scenes and colors to give the film an extra kick. Make the audience notice these things and they will remember it. Give them something visually stimulating that all seems to flow together, like a flip book, and they become enchanted in the screen.
Bring all of these aspects together and you have when I call the 35 millimeter hypnosis.
I invite other film fans to comment about what they look for in a film.
Bibliography, for your pleasure:
donotavoidthecelluloid 