Written by Anthony Watkins

One of the most accomplished directors in Hollywood today is Sam Raimi. Raimi was born in Royal Oak, Michigan on October 23, 1959. One of five children, he (like many Hollywood directors) became interested in film at a very young age. Owning an 8 millimeter camera, Raimi filmed his own projects in his pre-teen years. In high school, Raimi and his friends worked on several film projects, combining their allowances to fund the projects. After high school, in 1977, Raimi attended Michigan State University (Biography.com).

Raimi soon dropped out of college, fully devoting himself to making films. He formed Renaissance Pictures with his friends Bruce Campbell and Robert Tapert. To raise money for his first major film project, Raimi and his friends showed potential investors 20 minutes of footage, asking for $5,000 each. Eventually, Raimi raised almost $400,000, which was enough money for his first major film, The Evil Dead, a horror film with a “humorous spin” from Raimi. The film was first released in Europe and eventually made its way to the United States. The combination of intensely graphic violence and slapstick comedy won over audiences, and Raimi became recognized in Hollywood. He eventually did two sequels to The Evil Dead including Evil Dead II in 1987 and Army of Darkness in 1993. For the most part, both films were successes and gained Raimi more credibility (Biography.com).

Spider-Man
In the years that followed, Raimi expanded beyond the horror genre, directing the action/fantasy film Darkman in 1990 and the sports drama For Love of the Game in 1999. However, Raimi’s big break came when he was hired to direct a film adaptation of the comic book superhero Spider-Man. With Tobey Maguire taking on the lead role, Spider-Man was released on May 3, 2002 and became a critical and commercial success, garnering almost $115 million in its opening weekend in the US. The film, which was nominated for 2 Oscars (Best Sound and Best Visual Effects), spawned two sequels, Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. Though the last installment wasn’t praised much by critics, Spider-Man 2 was hailed as one of the greatest superhero films ever released and took home an Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects. With the release of Spider-Man 3 in 2007, Raimi became the first director to direct a trilogy of superhero films. 

Recent Work
After Spider-Man 3, Raimi returned to the horror genre with Drag Me to Hell in 2009, a film that was highly praised by critics. In 2013, Raimi directed the semi-prequel to 1939’s hit The Wizard of Oz called Oz the Great and Powerful. The film reunited Raimi with actor James Franco, who played “Harry Osborn” in the Spider-Man trilogy. Raimi continues to work in the industry today, and is currently serving as executive producer to the TV series, “Noir”. 

Trademarks
Raimi tends to use a moving, sometimes wild camera. He’s used this technique in the Evil Dead films as well as the Spider-Man trilogy. He likes to cast Bruce Campell, James Franco, J.K. Simmons, and his brother Ted Raimi in his films. Most of his films have supernatural and fantasy themes (The Evil Dead films, Oz the Great and Powerful) and his horror movies consistently depict graphic and brutal violence. Appropriately, Sam Raimi references Alfred Hitchock’s works in his horror films, and he usually wears a jacket and a tie on set in tribute to Hitchcock (IMDB).

Works Cited
IMDB. 2014. 25 April 2014. <http://www.imdb.com>.

"Sam Raimi Biography." 2014. The Biography.com website. 2014. 25 April 2014. <http://www.biography.com/people/sam-raimi-20716987#synopsis&awesm=~oCufTMROfjqAFj>.

            In the world of cinema, there is perhaps no other genre that is quite as effective at simultaneously addressing sociopolitical issues and assessing elements pertaining to human nature as the war film genre. With that said, coming up with an all-encompassing, generic definition for the war film genre presents a number of challenges. For instance, whereas some war films explicitly emphasis the depiction of combat, others elect to focus on how the consequences of war can affect the home front. In addition, whereas some war films overtly intend to oppose the notion of combat, others tend to utilize the genre as a means for propaganda or action-packed entertainment. Regardless of whatever approaches a given war film decides on, the various options offered by the genre has made it a rather flexible and accommodating genre, which has enabled the war film genre to establish its longevity and solidify its place in the world of cinema.

            Initially, war films primarily existed as propagandist newsreels or reconstructed documentaries. However, with the groundbreaking release of Birth of a Nation (Griffith, 1915), not only did the war film genre establish many conventions, but Hollywood producers also began to recognize the box-office potential of propagandist war and anti-war films (Dirks). This realization became particularly apparent in the immediate years following America’s entry into World War I. For America, the war film genre became a medium for recruitment and emotional tirades against the enemy (a tendency that was also notably utilized by Nazi Germany in the years preceding World War II). But in the years following World War I, after more fully realizing the devastating impact that the war had, a large number of war films preaching pacifist messages on the futility of war were released, such as The Big Parade (Vidor, 1925), Wings (Wellman, 1927), and the stirring, landmark film, All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930), which is commonly regarded as one of the greatest anti-war films ever made.

            As concerns regarding World War I gradually faded away and America became an increasingly more isolationist nation, Hollywood’s number of war films declined substantially. But with the dawn of World War II, the number of war films once again escalated, with many promoting heroic American patriotism like Sergeant York (Hawks, 1941) and The Fighting 69th (Keighley, 1940). At the same time, many war-themed movies depicting America’s entry into the war as a noble cause were released, such as the film classic, Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942). Interestingly, dissimilar to the film industry in the aftermath of World War I, in the years following World War II, war films remained largely patriotic instead of strictly anti-war. Towards the end of the 1950s, the war film genre really demonstrated its potential to offer impressive production pieces with the release of Bridge on the River Kwai (Lean, 1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962).

            Despite this rather lengthy period of mostly patriotic war films, the aftermath of the very unpopular Vietnam War radically changed the war film genre in American cinema. Many films around that time communicated the American public’s disillusionment towards the war, which is a trend that has largely carried on into today, as the vast majority of war films since the Vietnam War have made it a point to more deeply address the horrors of war. Films such as The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978), Apocalypse Now (Coppola, 1979), Platoon (Stone, 1986), and Full Metal Jacket (Kubrick, 1987) all provide excellent examples of this changing mentality.

            To this day, the war film genre continues to demonstrate its value to the world of cinema, and as more recent films such as the Best Picture-winning movie The Hurt Locker (Bigelow, 2009) demonstrate, the genre is still quite capable of achieving critical acclamation. However, as noted in this post’s brief synopsis of the genre’s history, the contemporary war film has largely shifted away from its heavily patriotic style to embrace a more anti-war approach that really questions the way people see war, as well as what war reveals about human nature. More often than not, this analysis on human nature reveals that we are complex creatures, equally capable of unspeakable savagery and profound tenderness. Considering the public’s continued disillusionment with war, as well as war’s significant ties to sociopolitical issues, this trend in the war film genre will likely persist indefinitely.

Works Cited

Dirks, Tim, ed. "War Films." Filmsite. <http://www.filmsite.org/warfilms.html>.

            Given the typically violent and controversial content associated with the gangster film genre, it is quite likely that no other genre of filmmaking has been so heavily critiqued and censored by the Motion Picture Association of America in the history of cinema. Nevertheless, despite the MPAA’s attempts to prohibit these films from screening, not only has the gangster film genre continued to thrive for nearly a century, but it has also established itself as one of the most critically acclaimed film genres of all time.

            But since the genre is laced with an abundance of visceral brutality and is focused on ruthless characters with loose morals, what is it about the genre that has captivated innumerous viewers and earned wide critical praise? In my opinion, this fascination can primarily be attributed to the genre’s innate capability to depict the Shakespearean tragic figure in their pursuit of a glamorous façade of the “American Dream.” However, given the figure’s typically stubborn fallibility and quest for more power, typically the ramifications of this pursuit are made apparent by the film’s conclusion. Through this approach, not only does the gangster film genre cater to our primal fantasies of abandoning morality to whatever we please, but it also provides a critical perspective on the American Dream that warns us of the consequences associated with consumerism and greed.

            Similar to most of cinema’s largest genres, the gangster film dates back to the silent era of film. Although it wasn’t the first gangster movie ever made, D.W. Griffith’s The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) is widely recognized as the first significant gangster film, as well as a film that established preliminary interest in the genre (Dirks). With that said, it wasn’t until the advent of sound in the 1930s that gangster films truly developed into an entertaining and rapidly expanding genre, as sound enabled the films to come alive via the inclusion of screeching car tires, gunshots, and so forth. Moreover, given that these films were released during the time of the Prohibition Era and when organized crime was on the rise in urban areas, audiences’ intrigue in the subject matter was heightened.

            With Warner Bros’ release of Little Caesar (LeRoy, 1931), The Public Enemy (Wellman, 1931), and Scarface (Hawks, 1932) at the start of the 1930s, the genre’s blossoming reputation was solidified. Moreover, in each of these films, the lead’s charismatic personality enabled viewers to identity with the character, but through the character’s inevitable violent downfall, viewers were reminded of the consequences of crime, and an effective formula for the genre was established. Nevertheless, given that these films did glamorize crime and glorify the criminal, initial attempts to censor the gangster film genre were quite strong, and the Hays Production Code forced studios to make moral pronouncements and present criminals as psychopaths after 1934 (Dirks).

            Although these initial attempts to censor gangster films did hinder the genre’s progress for several years, by the 1940s, gangster films began to stretch the limitations of what they were allowed to show, which made them darker and more brutal, as noted by films like White Heat (Walsh, 1949). This progression slowly continued for several years, and with the release of the landmark film, Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967), new screen standards for violence were set and the criminal lifestyle was greatly romanticized. With the 1970s, Coppola’s The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather, Part II (1974) brought a radical revival to the gangster film genre and proved the genre’s critical worth to the history of cinema. Since then, the gangster film genre has remained rather successful, gaining critical approval for films such as Scarface (De Palma, 1983), Goodfellas (Scorsese, 1990), Carlito’s Way (De Palma, 1993), Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994), and recently, The Departed (Scorsese, 2006).

            Ultimately, by contesting stipulations placed on it, the gangster film genre persevered and has become one of the most notable genres in the history of cinema. Through the depiction of characters that operate outside the constraints of the law, the gangster film genre enables viewers to vicariously experience a morally loose lifestyle, condemned by society. However, more often than not, the gangster film genre simultaneously functions as a platform to voice concerns with skewed interpretations of the “American Dream,” as central characters in these films typically allow their excessive greed and consumerist tendencies to lead to their downfall. With that said, even in the midst of violence and illicit behavior, as viewers, we can still derive vital lessons and reflect on our personal nature when watching movies associated with the gangster film genre.

Works Cited

Dirks, Tim, ed. "Crime and Gangster Films." Filmsite. <http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html>.

Some people may be somewhat unaware that Hollywood is not the only place in the world where the film industry is strong and flourishing. Countries such as Italy and France have been producing award winning and brilliant beautiful cinema for the past few decades. Canada, in recent years, has blossomed as one of the premiere countries for film development and production, particularly with documentary filmmaking. Hotspots for filmmaking in Canada include Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. One of the major corporations with headquarters in Canada that has extended into the film market, is Teledyne Dalsa, an electronic equipment manufacturer. 

Dalsa is based out of Waterloo, Ontario, near Toronto, and as one of Canada’s top employers, they create semiconductor technology and image sensors for NASA rovers, in addition to their digital motion picture cameras. Dalsa is a relatively new corporation, created in the 1980’s, and while they originally were making CCD image sensors, they have expanded dramatically with their quick success. Like most other camera companies, Dalsa saw the digital inflation on the market and realized an opportunity to manufacture a motion picture camera, especially with their expertise in imaging sensors. In 2003, Dalsa released their very first camera, the Dalsa Origin, the first ever 4K digital camera.

At the time the Origin was released in Las Vegas, the 4K motion picture camera, which is now the standard resolution for a motion picture, was not yet existent. Therefore, the Origin was a groundbreaking new technology for the filmmaking community, especially in the midst of the birth of digital cinema. Along with this improvement in resolution, the camera allowed for travelling matte photography and digital compositing, giving the camera a special advantage for visual effects. The reason the camera was so successful was its testing during development. Not only was the camera itself developed by a cinematographer, Ed DeGiulio, but it was also tested by other cinematographers, Allen Daviau and Daryn Okada, both members of the American Society of Cinematographers. By evaluating the camera and diagnosing its problems with professionals during its development stage, the company was able to produce a near perfect digital camera that was well received by those in the field. 

The camera was first used for a project entitled “Postcards From the Future”, directed by Alan Chan, and continued to be used by numerous corporations on their commercials. This included companies such as Motorola, Snickers and Greenpeace whose video with the camera can be seen below. Although this video shows a large amount of footage that is not shot with the Dalsa Origin, you can see the visual clarity that is presented with the camera. The Dalsa Origin was noted for its ability to be easily used during VFX editing, making it preferred for productions that were using an excess amount of VFX. This was seen specifically in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace (Marc Forster, 2008), in which the Origin was used. Because the camera was used mainly for VFX production, the full extent of the Origin can be seen in explosion and action sequences in the film. Although the film was not critically acclaimed, the action sequences, like in most James Bond films, were praised, with much assistance from the Dalsa Origin.

The camera was rebranded in 2007, as the Dalsa Origin II, which had a better image output than the original, as well as a touch screen interface on the display. This camera was created to respond to the RED, which was beginning to take over the digital camera industry by force. Although the Dalsa was still a great camera and proved to be useful for those that were in the field, the RED cameras were those that were preferred by professionals. As a result the Dalsa Origin eventually stopped being produced due to lack of demand. However, there are still numerous Origin’s that are still available for rental.

Dalsa has been quiet in the last few years, having not produced a film camera since the Origin II in 2007. However, be watchful of this company, which is likely to produce a new camera shortly due to their imaging expertise and past success with the motion picture camera market.