Documentary Review: Heart of a Dog

Laurie Anderson, American experimental performance artist, composer, and musician, wrote and direct the 2015 documentary Heart of a Dog which explores concepts about love, life, death, and the relationships between people and animals. There are many things that stand out in this experimental project, but the dreamy imagery and pensive voice over carry you out of your own consciousness into new perspective. I plan to incorporate this introspective into my own documentary.

Stream of Consciousness

To Serenade in E minor
This reminds me of my days at Panera Bread in Florida. Some of the sounds are very floral sounding. Maybe it would be cool to use heavy imagery instead of pretty things. Like the opposite. I could start filming grimy sides of Dallas. Also I see vortexes in water.
  Ants. Under-rated.
I also see a relation between two people. A kind of cat and mouse, avoiding eye contact but still peaking relationship. This feels a little cliché though.
   There is an ally I really like. What if I shot something there.
I see a little boy who plays in the city with his. Walked around and explored. He carries chalk and drags it on walls as he runs around. He discovers this ally that he really enjoys. It is a hiding spot in the city. We see him a montage of him playing in this ally with cards and comics, stuff you find in a tree house. Then we see him walking into the ally once more. When the gate closes, the definition will increase showing time has gone by in some since. Then he walks out as a teenager. Very much like a greaser. In the background we see someone laying on the ground. Someone he has just mugged. His knuckles are shown and they are bloody. He wraps them in tape. Now we see him walking and smoking. This montages a little. As he walks by one ally, some people provoke him...I'll finish this later haha

Guy Visual Board

Wilfred Review

         Wilfred is a clever and hilarious comedy that depicts the unlikely friendship between a depressed man and his neighbor's dog. The show follows two major plots. First, for Ryan to find happiness. And second, to find out why Ryan is the only person who views Wilfred, the dog, as a full-grown man in a dog costume. Ryan is repeatedly dragged in and out of funny situations which he get into on his  own. Wilfred also always ends up teaching something along the way. While this is primarily a comedy, you will find sympathy for Ryan and joy out of the friendship he shares with Wilfred.

Annie Hall Review

Annie Hall, directed by Woody Allen, is a film that illustrates the relationship between a New York comedian and a peculiar, out of the ordinary kind of girl. The film follows them through the ups and downs of their lives and relationships. Woody Allen notoriously and repeatedly breaks the fourth wall throughout, one time even pulling in, director, Marshall McLuhan in order to prove his point. This is a primary point in describing Allen’s character in the film, a too smart for his own good kind of guy who has to be right about everything. Diane Keaton plays his on and off girlfriend who would rather enjoy not delving into the technical side of everything. The combination provides for wonderful dialogue and endless amount of witty scenarios.

The Silent Era

The Silent Era

The Silent Era featured films between 1913 and 1932 that remain to be influential today. This Era can be characterized by its over acting facial and body expressions, close ups, strong scores, and primarily its lack of voiced dialogue.

Nosferatu is an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. After a lawsuit between Stoker’s heirs and the producers, a court ruling ordered that all copies of the film be destroyed. All except one were. This single copy has been acclaimed as extremely influential in the film business.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-DrKgjit4I

Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer Review

            Aileen: Life and Death of Serial killer is a riveting look into the life of Aileen Wuornos, murderer of seven in Florida. Directed by Nick Broomfield, this documentary takes you into the court room and into one on one interviews to have a first person look at Aileen. He tells the story of her life from many angles, sometimes frightened of her and sometimes emphasizing with her. Broomfield is able to reveal Aileen's story without relying on shock factor and still manging to please a culture addicted to violence and death.