COMMENT
1) Your overall reaction at the beginning of the film and how it changed. How did you feel at the end?
SEPARATE PARAGRAPH
2) What is the best special effect, either because it was very good, or campy, or corny, or scary?
REPLY reply to a comment on the favorite special effect.
Dante finds himself in a dark forrest. He is unsure how he arrived there. It may be a metaphor for him abandoning a righteous path. He next arrives at a high hill and sees sunshine. Dante begins to climb the slope and a leopard appears. Dante proceeds to climb when a lion blocks his way and next a wolf gets in his way and forces him back down. Dante next encounters the roman poet Vergil. Vergil suggests to Dante that he be his temporary guide to guide him through the layers of purgatory. During the opening of the film, I can not help but experience the same reaction in which Dante is experiencing. Dante is experiencing disorientation and confusion. I want to know where he is and why animals are blocking his passage. This may be an analogy for someone who has lost their way on the path to heaven through sin. This may also suggest if he can go astray, so can we. In the end after passing the immense Satan and exiting to the surface of the earth where Dante sees stars it almost feels like a huge relief. Finally passing through nightmare after nightmare the terror seems to have an ending. A feeling of relief passes over me as Dante's journey through all the layers of purgatory are over.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the film, there were many special effects which caught my eye. There was a scene where it rained fire and another scene where people were flying and giants as big as mountains. I was most fascinated with the rain special effect most of all which was quite good. While the scene throughout the movie were very scary, I could not help but have a bleak outlook take over Dante's circumstances.
When first going into this movie, I knew beforehand it would most likely be a silent film. Thus, I did not expect much out of it. The film starts with a brief description of the scene and then shows the visuals with no sound. It sets up the overall structure for how the movie progresses. I did find that the expressions are a bit more exaggerated to compensate for the lack of sound. Dante, in the first scene, clearly conveys his confusion and then hope without saying anything. I find the charm of this style grow on me as Dante progresses on his journey. I found that certain scenes were horrifying even with the sound limitation. For example, when Dante encounters Mohammad, you see his torn open chest bone and all. It is a relief that Dante’s journey ends, mainly due to the increasingly terrible fates of people seen as Dante ascends through Hell. The limitations of the times didn’t hinder this movie one bit.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to choose a special effect since there were quite a few good ones throughout the film. The one I found to “the best” is rather simple yet works well throughout the film. In the scenes with flames, the visuals change to different shades of red. It not only emphasizes how engulfing the fires are, but the use of different shades allows for the audience to still see what is happening.
I also agree, the film did a splendid job with the visuals while capturing emotions such as Dante's disorientation and the souls suffering especially with the effects of playing with the different tones of red for the flames.
DeleteThe film starts with Dante imagining he is lost in the woods. He then comes across three animals that block his path that symbolize Avarice, pride and lust. (Panther lion and wolf) Beatrice then comes to rescue and guide Dante. Initially the film is slow and seems to focus very specifically on the moments with Dante. As more characters come into the film and more effects are added, the film overall seems to be more entertaining. At first it seemed to be a bit slow. Even though the initial scene was slow, I feel like Dante's acting really shows true emotion towards the situation. His body language adds depth to what is going on around him. Towards the end, I was able to really see a shift from confusion and unawareness to relief. At first, the way the film is made seemed to be strange for me, but overtime I came to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite special effect was the fire. I loved the way the smoke filled the air but you are still able to see what is going on. The flames are very bright and vibrant and even though you cannot see the color, it seems like the effect worked to the best of its ability. As the journey went on, it almost seems like the effects get more and more well made. Replying to Alexander, I agree about the shading. I think it is important for special effects to not get in the way of clarity for the audience. I noticed in many films, special effects are overdone and it takes the audiences attention away from what is going on.
FROM FGC:
ReplyDeletethank you Alex, Alexander and Marissa for starting the conversation.
Something to be learned from the contributions:
Two quick comments: in the future, try to use shorter sentences and make use of paragraphs. Readers tend to focus more when materials are broken down in smaller chunks.
Also, try to focus more on your own subjective reactions. You are writing to tell your classmates about yourself and your internal processes.
We all read/watch the same texts. We are interested in finding out how the affected you personally: what kind of expectation you had at the beginning, how your 'mood' evolved, and your state of mind (emotional, aesthetic) at the end.
But, most of all, keep it brief. The last ones to post most likely will skip the previous posts if they are too long. This would defy the purpose of the blog.
Thank you.
FGC
As the film began I was not surprised to see it silent. The music did help out while watching because it matched the emotions of the actors. I was not expecting a lot because it is a 1911 film. The first scene starts out with Dante lost in the woods and he seems very confused. Then before the animals come in we get a description of what they are meant to represent. For example the lion symbolizing pride. As the film continued I was not sure where the story would go. But Dante later encounters Vergil who becomes his guide. I was starting to get bored at this point but when the three headed monster Cerberus showed up and and they brought in more special effects and I payed attention more. I liked Dantes acting because he showed off all the emotions really well. The more I continued the film the more I began to enjoy it. They constantly added new scenes to make it interesting.I finally started to see change in Dante,he started out confused but by the end of the film we see Dante get relief when his journey comes to an end.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of special effects in the movie I did not see coming. The first one that surprised me was when I saw a person fly. It's a very old film so I did not think people would be flying. The fire was another great special effect it added color to the film and even though there was a lot of smoke we were bale to see everything clearly. Finally I thought that the Lucifer representation was well made we could clearly see it was the devil. Overall I was impressed with the special effects and design of the movie. It probably took a lot of work to have multiple settings and a lot of people in many scenes.
I agree with Marissa that many times in the film the special effects would get in the way of what is going on in the scene.
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ReplyDeletet the beginning of the film, I was a little stressed that this was a silent film because I tend to lose interest when movies start out slow. Then I watched it on mute while listening to my own music which helped me be attentive (I unmuted during certain scenes).
ReplyDeleteWhen the film picked up pace, I become more interested. I found humor in whenever the poets were approached by a demon or animal, Dante would overreact in horror and throw himself into Virgil.
My favorite scenes were usually the ones where Dante confronted grafters and fraudulent advisors/mentors that he knew in the secular world.
By far my favorite special effect was when the sinners were being blown by wind and "blasts of Hell [drove] them on after Judge Minos assigned their punishments. Along with the over exaggerated acting, I thought the special effect were very campy which I think is very much needed in a silent film.
I agree with Chaaya when I was watching the film in the start I wasn't pleased with it being a silent film. I only like silent films that are comical like the works of Charlie Chaplin and Mr. Bean. In the start I was a little frustrated but I slowly gained interest once I read the text that explained what certain things symbolized.
ReplyDeletemy favorite special effect was Lucifer enlarged and the wings since its a old film I can appreciate the great work but I wouldn't say I would watch it outside of being homework.
I agree that special effect was pretty cool.
DeleteI was impressed by the film from the beginning and throughout because it was quite the production especially considering that it was all produced on tape with no computer technology available. I remained impressed with what they where able to produce but i still was quite annoyed with the pace and the lack of verbal dialogue and the piano constantly playing.
ReplyDeleteI Liked the cuts at the very beginning because of the she-wolf moving around so they had to cut the tape and reset the positioning of the dog and the actors. Like a early version of photo-shop. I also liked the use of wires when they make the actors fly upward and when they use them to make a panther puppet, looks like an early age animatronic.
My initial reaction going into the movie was momentarily confusion similarly to Dante . The dark forest in which he seemed to be in solitary confinement was somewhat scary. However, when Beatrice then Virgil showed up there immediately seemed a gleam of hope especially with the white robe which represented of holiness. Initially, Dante was the only one in black a clear indication of loss and evil.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of Dante's journey through hell, I still felt perturbed from the demons, the severe punishments and the fact that Dante had to climb through Lucifer to leave hell. However, the sight of the stars helped to put my mind at ease.
There were several great special effects throughout the film. A few noticeable ones were the special effect used when Beatrice primarily shows up to discuss with Virgil to attend to Dante , there is this twirling of the wings ( almost like a windmill ), the wind blowing on her demonstrates her powerful presence . Another very dramatic special effect is of the rain when the gluttons were being tortured by eternal rain as they lie on the ground .
My initial impression of the beginning of the film was fairly unsettling. Getting lost in a dark forest is not a great experience for anyone. As Dante went through hell it's pretty fascinating to watch the different stages and interesting to see the different punishment for their sins. And all the demon that came into play with Lucifer. In the end I somehow felt relief for Dante as he end his journey.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite special effect would be the raining part(19:40) with the fog covering the background. I think its really impressive for that age. I also found it really impress with the enlarge Lucifer, they mange to double take a second video in.
1. My overall reaction at the beginning of the film was that I thought it was going to be slow and boring, without any action. As the film progressed, more interaction between characters occurred. Also, the film featured more special effects as the film went on. As the film progressed, it became more intense, but I'm not impressed with how it ended. I feel the film just ended without any real action.
ReplyDelete2. My favorite special effects were when the characters were flying through the air and the headless man.
My initial reaction was similar to that of Dante's confusion as the film simply started with a scene where the protagonist have no idea where he was and how he end up there. The animals' rejection of his presence also gave the impression that he does not belong there. As Dante meet Virgil and went through the different levels of hell, the film started getting repetitive as they saw the state of the sinners, occasionally learned their circumstance, and proceed to the next level. At the end I felt relief as it is not only the end of Dante's journey but the film also portray a scene of a clear sky for the first time.
ReplyDeleteThe special effect that really left an impression on me was the missing body parts in the hell for sowers of discord. There as a man who was missing a leg and feigned falling down, which helps in securing the fact that he was missing a body part.
My initial reaction of the film was that I found it very boring since there was no sound. As everyone else, I started to get more interested in the film as more action started to happen. Although there was more action I still didn't feel the same connection to the film as I do with other films. As I kept watching and came to the end, I felt a sense of relief because I knew that this film was finally over but that Dantes journey had finally came to an end.
ReplyDeleteThe special effect that I found impressive was when they enlarged Lucifer.
My initial reaction was that I was impressed with his acting even though there were no dialogues. It got more interesting as the film progressed and I started to realize that this movie is about Dante's journey through purgatory. There were scenes where I was annoyed that it was a silent film, but overall i found it to be a good considering how old it is.
ReplyDeleteThe special effect I found impressive was getting the actors to seem like they were flying.
1)on a honest note, my first reaction to the movie was very boring and unsatisfying. I was almost sleepy because it didn't catch my attention at all. I was not able to connect the characters with the setting and the plot itself. Usually when I watch movies the first 10-15 minutes are really important to analyze whether the movie is worth watching or not. For this movie, I had to struggle through the starting part. However, as the movie progressed the setting and plot started to make sense and gained the attention easily.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best effect for me was where people started to fly. Movies like Harry Potter do have the flying scenes and I have seen many more with this effect but the time period when "Inferno" movie was shot, its quiet interesting to understand that how did the filmmakers managed to use such a effect so effectively.
1. My overall first impression of the film was great. For a film that was created in 1911, the graphics and film quality were very good. The message and what was going on throughout the film was rather clear and it made it comprehensible. The plot became more interesting as the movie progressed. Although, growing up in a time where sound in a movie is extremely important, the fact that there was no sound made it difficult to watch because there were outside noises that could easily distract me.
ReplyDelete2. One of the coolest special effects that were in the movie was when the person faded or was "teleporting" to another place. For such an early time in film that was one of the best features. I love how we still do this today (of course it looks better) but the technology to do that was great.