Come Hell or High Water (Malloy, 2011): Mini-Film Review

Come Hell or High Water (Keith Malloy, 2011) is a Woodshed Films release that depicts the unmarketable, and thus unpopular & generally disregarded, activity of bodysurfing. As the 41 minute film shows, its tough for transnational surfing corporations to make money off of something that only requires a body and swim fins--and only if desired, a contraption of any shape--to plane across a wave. Yet this is at the same time bodysurfing's richest quality. It takes skill, courage, and passion. And it's in the ocean (and sometimes, rivers). It's fun and freeing. The sensation of bodysurfing is communicated here so completely that "torpedo people" will get it, but so will anyone whose happiness ensures they won't get those frown lines that crease the faces of grumpy folks when they're old.

Uncharted Waters (Griffin, 2013): Mini-Film Review

Uncharted Waters: The Personal History of Wayne Lynch (Craig Griffin, 2013) is an 87 minute documentary of a pioneering Australian surfer whose influence is imprinted today on surf culture around the globe whether surfers are conscious or unconscious of this fact. Wayne Lynch, from Lorne, Australia, was an innovative surfer in terms of both board design (shorter) and style (vertical surfing) and politics (anti-Vietnam War) in the 1960s and 1970s. Just as importantly, today Lynch's anti-establishment ethos is embodied by anyone who thinks they are sticking it to the Man by catching a wave, including, without any irony, the surf companies who have capitalized on selling this idea for decades. The film resorts to platitudes and generalizations instead of fully uncovering Lynch's demons. Still, it's the most intimate and captivating account of Lynch available. It's well-crafted as well as essential, inspiring viewing.

Uncharted Waters Trailer

Mean Streets (Scorsese, 1973): Mini-Film Review

Martin Scorsese's third feature film, and the first Scorsese film with Robert De Niro, is a stunning early work that deserves continued attention. And not only because it is indicative of what the director would eventually produce, but because it is great in its own right. Even though the title, Mean Streets, sounds epic in scale and scope, in fact the film is an intimate character sketch of a young gangster named Charlie (Harvey Keitel) who aspires to own a restaurant in Little Italy.

Charlie embodies the values of dying traditions, yet he also tries to reinvigorate and re-imagine them in a sexist, racist, and homophobic New York environment; for example, he believes that brotherly bonds should supersede financial relationships and that one atones for one's sins on one's own terms rather than following Christ and the church. This means that Charlie stands close to the fire, both metaphorically and literally, in a film that slowly ratchets up the tension as Charlie's ideals and his reality intersect.

See this link for the New York Times review of the film in 1973.

Basic Chinese Cinema Studies & Film Analysis Terms

電影理論詞彙  //  中英對照
Basic Chinese Cinema Studies & Film Analysis Terms

When I started studying Chinese film history I would have benefited from having list of film terms to memorize so that I could read through articles, interviews, and documents more fluidly. So recently, with this in mind, I created a list of often used terms used in film related books and articles.

What makes this and the following posts in this series unique, and hopefully fairly comprehensive, is that the vocabulary lists include terms that help one describe a film scene (開場   kāichǎng   opening scene) and analyze a film scene (意味著   yìwèizhe   signify) in addition to providing typical film personnel (攝影師    shèyǐngshī   cinematographer) and film production terms (中景  zhōngjǐng  medium shot).

The terms are divided into five categories for Chinese language learners. Each category below links to a specific page with its own vocabulary set:

1) Learning Chinese: Film Genre Terms
2) Learning Chinese: Film Technique & Production Terms
3) Learning Chinese: Film Personnel Terms
4) Learning Chinese: Describing a Film Scene
5) Learning Chinese: Cultural Studies and Film Studies Terms, Part 1 and Part 2

1) Learning Chinese: Film Genre Terms

電影理論詞彙  //  中英對照
Basic Chinese Cinema Studies & Film Analysis Terms

============================================================

This post features film genre terms. Additional learning Chinese links include:

1) Learning Chinese: Film Genre Terms
2) Learning Chinese: Film Technique & Production Terms
3) Learning Chinese: Film Personnel Terms
4) Learning Chinese: Describing a Film Scene
5) Learning Chinese: Cultural Studies and Film Studies Terms, Part 1 and Part 2

============================================================

Film Genre Terms

悲劇     bēijù  tragedy
动作片  dòngzuòpiàn  action film
動畫片  dònghuàpiàn  animation
短片     duǎnpiàn  short film
諷刺     fěngcì  satire
改編     gǎibiān  adaptation
歌舞片  gēwǔpiàn  musical
賀歲片  hèsuìpiàn  Lunar New Year movie
經典     jīngdiǎn  classic
記/紀錄片 jìlùpiàn  documentary
恐怖片  kǒngbù piàn  horror film
連續劇  liánxùjù  TV series
通俗劇  tōngsújù  melodrama
愛情片  àiqíngpiàn  romance film
色情片  sèqíng piàn  pornography
文藝片  wényì piàn  melodrama
喜劇片  xǐjùpiàn  comedy
續集     xùjí  sequel
藝術片  yìshùpiān  arthouse film
預告片  yùgàopiàn   trailer

2) Learning Chinese: Film Technique & Production Terms

電影理論詞彙  //  中英對照
Basic Chinese Cinema Studies & Film Analysis Terms

============================================================

This post features film technique and production terms. Additional learning Chinese links include:

1) Learning Chinese: Film Genre Terms
2) Learning Chinese: Film Technique & Production Terms
3) Learning Chinese: Film Personnel Terms
4) Learning Chinese: Describing a Film Scene
5) Learning Chinese: Cultural Studies and Film Studies Terms, Part 1 and Part 2

============================================================

Film Technique and Production Terms

編劇  biānjù  screenwriting, screenwriter 
編輯  biānjí  edit, compile
大遠景  dàyuǎnjǐng  (big) long shot
底片  dǐpiàn  film negative
淡出  dànchū  fade out
淡如  dànrú  fade in
道具  dàojù  movie prop
電影節  diànyǐngjié  film festival
電視  diànshì  TV
俯瞰  fǔkàn  look down at/ crane shot
服裝  fúzhuāng  costumes
服裝設計  fúzhuāng shèjì  fashion design
化裝  huàzhuāng  makeup
海報  hǎibào  poster
剪接  jiǎnjiē  edit, montage (v.)
剪輯  jiǎnjí  edit, montage (n./v.)
劇本  jùběn  script
劇照  jùzhào  film still
焦點  jiāodiǎn  focus, focal point
監製  jiānzhì  producer
聚焦  jùjiāo  focus
膠卷  jiāojuǎn  unexposed film
膠片  jiāopiàn  film
近景  jìnjǐng  close-up
鏡頭  jìngtóu  camera lens, shot
寬銀幕  kuānyínmù  widescreen
快鏡頭  kuài jìngtóu  fast motion
開麥拉  kāimàilā  camera
立體  lìtǐ  3D
錄音  lùyīn  sound recording
媒體  méitǐ  media
慢鏡頭  mànlùyīn  slow motion
拍攝  pāishè  shoot/film
票房  piàofáng  box office
取景  qǔjǐng  viewfinder (on a camera)
人物  rénwù  character
攝影機  shèyǐngjī  movie camera
攝製  shèzhì  produce a film
數位  shùwèi  digital
數位化  shùwèihuà  digitalization
首映  shǒuyìng  (first-run movie)
文本  wénběn  version, text
印片  yìnpiān  film development (printing)
影城  yǐngchéng  film studio/center
影片  yǐngpiàn  film
遠景  yuǎnjǐng  long shot
遠鏡頭  yuǎnjìngtóu  long shot
音響  yīnxiǎng  sound
中景  zhōngjǐng  medium shot
自傳  zìzhuàn  autobiography
製片廠  zhìpiànchǎng  film studio

3) Learning Chinese: Film Personnel Terms

電影理論詞彙  //  中英對照
Basic Chinese Cinema Studies & Film Analysis Terms

============================================================

This post features film personnel terms. Additional learning Chinese links include:

1) Learning Chinese: Film Genre Terms
2) Learning Chinese: Film Technique & Production Terms
3) Learning Chinese: Film Personnel Terms
4) Learning Chinese: Describing a Film Scene
5) Learning Chinese: Cultural Studies and Film Studies Terms, Part 1 and Part 2

============================================================

Film Personnel Terms

布景师  bùjǐng shī  art director
編劇  biānjù  screenwriting, screenwriter
編劇  biānjù  write a script/ scriptwriter
場記  chǎngjì  clapper loader or 2nd AC
導演  dǎoyǎn  direct/director
電影明星  diànyǐng míngxīng  movie star
巨星  jùxīng  star
女主角  nǚzhǔjué  female lead
男主角  nánzhǔjué  male lead
評論家  pínglùnjiā  critic
配角  pèijué  supporting role
審查  shěnchá  censor (censorship), examine
攝影師  shèyǐngshī  cinematographer
協理  xiélǐ  assistant manager
影評人  yǐngpíngrén  film critic
演員  yǎnyuán  actor, performer
主演  zhǔyǎn  leading role
主角  zhǔjué  leading role
作曲家  zuòqǔjiā  composer
助理  zhùlǐ  assistant