Film comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Film comparison - Essay Example One particularly important factor to note, with regards to the differences exhibited in style between Hollywood blockbusters and â€Å"new wave† films of the 1960s and beyond, is the freedom of expression and experimentation that is oftentimes exhibited within such â€Å"new wave† films. As Hollywood is creating films on a profit basis and positioning and/or advertising them according to the belief of the analysts that the film is a money maker, the overall ability of the actors, directors, writers, and producers to exhibit the same level of experimentalism and free expressionism that films such as Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless is severely limited if not non-existent. To a great degree, this helps to explain the fact that even the more thrilling and action packed movies that Hollywood churns out for consumption by both the international and domestic market rely on an a heavily formulaic approach that gives many viewers the distinct impression that they may have wa tched the film - or one highly similar to it before. This is a decided drawback to the way that Hollywood blockbusters are made in that expression and experimentation are discouraged in lieu of whatever factors might most broadly appeal to a diverse international audience with different levels of film knowledge, experience, expectations, and likes. In this way, films such as Mel Gibson’s Braveheart have to appeal to the lowest common denominator among these groups without affording the luxury to employ stylistic expression and experimentation throughout the medium. For instance, Jean-Luc Godard experimented heavily with the technique of the â€Å"jump shot† in Breathless in order to convey an unrealistic and decidedly cinematic feel to some of the shots exhibited within the movie. This decision enraged many as it worked to draw the viewer’s attention to the fact that the work was edited and took away from the overall illusion that cinema often had of creating th at alternate reality that film-goers so deeply craved. What is especially fascinating is that although Jean-Luc Godard employed these jump shots to great effect within Breathless, he juxtaposed this with heavy reliance upon another technique that was experimental, somewhat unappreciated at the time, and definitely a harbinger of change that many future films would employ. A secondary feature that Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless employs that was considered highly avant-garde at the time was the use of handheld cameras to film many of the sequences. This allowed for many of the scenes to have a true-life, gritty, and raw feel that was otherwise uncustomary for the movies of the time. Although Jean-Luc Godard did not pioneer this approach, he successfully employed it in such a way that he re-introduced the technique to such great effect that it was later picked up and re-introduced to a number of subsequent highly profitable films. On a side, note, it is possible to say that Hollyw ood might not employ this technique to the extent it does today in such films as the Bourne Identity if it were not for such a bold introduction and use of such an innovative tactic by Jean-Luc Godard during the 1960s. It is important to note that