Mel Gibson Skills as a Movie Director - Essay Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Mel Gibson Skills as a Movie Director Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Introduction Mel Gibson can be described as one of the greatest actors and directors that ever existed in the film industry. This particular presentation will basically focus on Mel Gibson’s career as a director by evaluating the five movies he has directed in order to highlight his unique skill. Mel Gibson was born in 1965 in New York. His parents moved to Sydney when he was twelve in order to escape from what they termed as immoral living in New York. After graduating from school and was still working in a juice factory, he was selected to join the institute of Dramatic Arts which he readily accepted and moved out of his parents home joining his three friends, one of them being Geoffrey Rush who is currently an Oscar award winning actor. Initially Mel Gibson was quite shy on stage however he later overcame his stage fright through trying to enjoying acting. After graduating, he began his Career as an actor in 1979 by landing in an Australian television series known as The Sullivan’s. He then begun to expand his acting career by appearing in movies such as Gallipoli (1981), Lethal Weapon and Mad Max (1981) and The River (1984). Gibson has directed a number of movies which include Braveheart, the passion of Christ, Apocalypto, Man without face and another which is yet to be released. Mel Gibson Style in Movie Directing Gibson displays a significantly interesting skill of directing movies which portray his style. In the movie Braveheart which he directed in 1995, based on the life a Scottish commoner known as William Wallace, what can be evaluated is that although many of the Hollywood movies are based on History and they majorly focus on the aspect of liberties, Gibson’s style in Braveheart is actually historical however it can be described as an emotional journey that is gripping and not mainly based the aspect of liberties but wide range of themes such as romance, revenge and obsession. It is a love story which is surrounded by tragedy and revenge. In addition it also brings out political themes such as the rebellion of the Scottish in opposition to the English in the 12th centaury. Gibson directs the movie confidently and brings out a clear picture of Wallace’s life and character. In despite of the fact that critics of the film such as the Scottish commissioners have stated that it is a much more mythical than factual story, Gibson’s focus on the movie was basically not to bring out historical accuracy but rather the life and challenges of an man living in that particular historical context of time (Tim 2006). The passion of Christ on the other hand can be described as one of the Historical movie that was quite controversial. For instance; famous Jewish groups blame Gibson for highlighting that the Jewish temple Pharisees were ultimately responsible for the death of Jesus. Gibson’s style is one the most interesting in explaining the life and times of Jesus. One of the main interesting features is displayed by the music which perfectly fits the musical style of the historical period when Jesus lived. Gibson used the research made by Jack Lenz a Canadian composer who travelled to Israel to find out about he ancient instruments used in that particular period. The integration of the instruments in the film brings out of the reality of the times or period lived by Jesus. In addition the music gives the audience true emotions concerning the events of the movie. Gibson also uses the flashbacks to interpret significant events of the movie for instance when Judas accepts to work with the chief priests in order to betray Jesus, The flash back is portrayed by taking the viewers back to earlier that evening when Judas meets with the chief priest and takes the money. The function or essence of this particular flash back explains the reason why Jesus seemed afraid and conflicted. In addition the flash back introduces tension and conflict in the story which Gibson effectively pictures at the latter stages of the movie. Gibson also uses aspects of modernity in his movie, what is interesting is that he brings out the first century modern western style into his movie, through using low tables for eating as opposed to eating while seating also Jesus washing his hands before eating is actually a modern concept. Hand washing was basically a symbol of a ritual act to maintain a cleanliness status rather than for hygiene. The passion of Christ can also be described as a story with lots of humor for instance when peter cut the solders eye and Jesus returns it back is pictured in a quite humorous manner(Zev 2006). Zev (2006) highlights that various movies have been produced concerning the life of Jesus, however the Passion of Christ can categorically be described as intriguing, captivating and much more realistic. Gibson’s style in bring the reality concerning this particular movie was actually the most successful although the outcome of the movie was controversial. Zec takes note of the fact that the intensity of emotions in the movie are brought about by how Gibson uses his picture skills, he brings out a perspective of the real events, which gives the audience a sense of true emotions. For instance the pictures used to display the suffering of Jesus were very moving. In the movie Man Without face, Gibson director skills basically display the he was trying to use a different style as opposed to those used in his previous movies. In this particular movie he tries to bring out the adoption of Shakespeare’s kind of works. One of the elements that are most striking in this particular movie is how Gibson Intellectually uses language which is depicted in most of Shakespeare’s works. When listening to how the cast in this particular movie talk, there is a great deal of intellectual use of language. Gibson who also plays the role of the teacher in the movie highlights a high level of language intelligence through the way he communicates. Nick Stahl the young cast in the story also uses language firmly as opposed to the average boys his age. The most admirable factor of Gibson as a director is that he lets the audience figure out what is to eventually happen, this is basically the essence of the story, the audience finally come to realize the teaching of the story by themselves. The Apocalypto on the other hand is based on portraying and exploring ancient culture that existed in Mexico before the arrival of the Europeans. Gibson in this particular movie is interested in using unfamiliar language; the dialogue is entirely in the Mayan language. Gibson highlights that the hearing of another language assists the audience to entirely engaged in their own reality and therefore find themselves drawn into events of the movie. In addition Gibson further indicates that the use of a unfamiliar language is useful in laying emphasis on the aspect of cinematic visual which acts as a type of universal language that basically speaks to the heart. Similarly in movie The passion of Christ Gibson applies the use of languages such as Hebrew, Latin and Aramaic which brings a great sense of reality to the movie (Tim 2006). The similarity that is mainly found in the movies directed by Gibson is that they are historical based. For instance the passion of Christ and Braveheart are featured during historical context. The use of Historical events such as the life of Jesus brings back the historical context in a much more interesting manner. Braveheart is also based the early 19th century in England. In terms of the similarity in terms the themes highlighted in most of the movies directed by Gibson one of the themes that is similar in the movies is that of realism the events pictured in the films he directs are based on occurrences of everyday life he does not focus on idealization of events but rather brings out the actual events that happen within the context of real life. For instance in the Passion of Christ Gibson brings out the reality about the life of Jesus, all the events depicted by the movie can be perceived to support practicality through major themes highlighted for instance themes like betrayal , Judas betrayal of Jesus is a basically a literal truth that actually occurs in the context of real life. Liberation is also another theme that is common among some of the movies directed by Gibson. The story line in most of Gibson’s directed movies are either for individuals searching for ways of liberation or an individual whose role is to liberate the society. For instance the Apocalypto, the Mayan community has great desire of freeing themselves form raiders who keep on threatening their lives. The passion of Christ is about a man who is intended to liberate people yet they do not realize and instead destroy him (Zev 2006) .In the movie Man without face the story line is also focused on a young cast who basically wants to free himself from the challenges of not being like the other normal children his age. Gibson has brought out the aspects of sadism surrounding the male character. This particular theme is displayed in Braveheart , man without face and even the Passion of Christ .He also brings out the heroism of the male character in most of his story lines the male character is depicted as having ability to conquer challenges through heroic means either using war or violence or intelligence (Nicole 2006). Violence is another common theme in movies directed by Gibson. The integration of violence in the movies serves the purpose of either liberation or the elimination of the enemy. For instance in the Apocalypto, Gibson’s main aim was to highlight the downfall of an emperor which is basically destroyed from within through the use of violence. The movie highlights the horror and brutality that existed within the civilization of the Mayans which was basically highlighted by violence. Braveheart on the other hand is signified by violence, the Scottish bid to overcome the English leadership was basically highlighted through aspects of violence. In terms of engaging the audience Mel Gibson utilizes various strategies as indicated earlier for instance the use of unfamiliar language makes the audience to entirely engaged in their own reality and therefore find themselves drawn into their own reality. The utilization of unfamiliar language also engages the audience in terms of making become interpreters of the events as they occur. The audience is subjected to a state of trying to deeply analyze what is going on either through visualizing or trying to read the interpreted words in order to understand the plot of the movie better. In most of the movies directed by Gibson, he lets the audience discover for themselves the reality of what will occur eventually in the movie, he does not give direct indications to highlight the outcome of the story, he lets the audience figure out for themselves. For instance the Movie man without face the teaching of the story is basically not openly highlighted to the audience, they figure that out by themselves at the end of the movie. The plot in Braveheart does not also clearly outline the final outcome of the audience have to be keen enough to eventually discover what he theme of the movie is all about. Mel Gibson as a director is one individual who greatly inspires me. I believe that the movies he has directed are very much interesting because he brings out a unique method of evaluation of the culture and the lives of individuals. Through exploration of ancient culture such as those of the Mayans in the Movie Apocalypto, the Jewish culture and the early English civilization, what is evident is that Gibson appreciates the aspect of cultural evaluation and the civilization of ancient societies which has not been greatly focused on by most of movie directors. In addition he diversifies his directorship strategies by not being too formal, in most cases most movie makers want the audience to openly understand the storyline in their movies however Gibson gives a chance to the audience to figure out for themselves the events of the movies. I also believe that Mel Gibson is an inspiration because he brings out the aspect of true emotions out of his movies. For instance Anderson (2005) highlights that Gibson brings out the true emotions in the Passion of Christ. Conclusion Mel Gibson is an inspiration in the movie industry his works basically highlight the aspects of diversity that is actually useful in the expanding the themes and styles that are used in modern movie development. I believe that Gibson’s work can emulated in order to produce positive outcomes for the movie industry. Bibliography Anderson, L.2005, “Braveheart: From Hollywood to Holyrood." Luath Press Ltd, 27. Nicole, S, 2006). " Mel cut to the chase". The Washington Post Tim, P, 2006. "Mel Gibson's Casting Call". Time Magazine. Zev, G, 2006, Mel Gibson's Passion: the film, the controversy, and its implications Purdue University Press. Read More

The integration of the instruments in the film brings out of the reality of the times or period lived by Jesus. In addition the music gives the audience true emotions concerning the events of the movie. Gibson also uses the flashbacks to interpret significant events of the movie for instance when Judas accepts to work with the chief priests in order to betray Jesus, The flash back is portrayed by taking the viewers back to earlier that evening when Judas meets with the chief priest and takes the money.

The function or essence of this particular flash back explains the reason why Jesus seemed afraid and conflicted. In addition the flash back introduces tension and conflict in the story which Gibson effectively pictures at the latter stages of the movie. Gibson also uses aspects of modernity in his movie, what is interesting is that he brings out the first century modern western style into his movie, through using low tables for eating as opposed to eating while seating also Jesus washing his hands before eating is actually a modern concept.

Hand washing was basically a symbol of a ritual act to maintain a cleanliness status rather than for hygiene. The passion of Christ can also be described as a story with lots of humor for instance when peter cut the solders eye and Jesus returns it back is pictured in a quite humorous manner(Zev 2006). Zev (2006) highlights that various movies have been produced concerning the life of Jesus, however the Passion of Christ can categorically be described as intriguing, captivating and much more realistic.

Gibson’s style in bring the reality concerning this particular movie was actually the most successful although the outcome of the movie was controversial. Zec takes note of the fact that the intensity of emotions in the movie are brought about by how Gibson uses his picture skills, he brings out a perspective of the real events, which gives the audience a sense of true emotions. For instance the pictures used to display the suffering of Jesus were very moving. In the movie Man Without face, Gibson director skills basically display the he was trying to use a different style as opposed to those used in his previous movies.

In this particular movie he tries to bring out the adoption of Shakespeare’s kind of works. One of the elements that are most striking in this particular movie is how Gibson Intellectually uses language which is depicted in most of Shakespeare’s works. When listening to how the cast in this particular movie talk, there is a great deal of intellectual use of language. Gibson who also plays the role of the teacher in the movie highlights a high level of language intelligence through the way he communicates.

Nick Stahl the young cast in the story also uses language firmly as opposed to the average boys his age. The most admirable factor of Gibson as a director is that he lets the audience figure out what is to eventually happen, this is basically the essence of the story, the audience finally come to realize the teaching of the story by themselves. The Apocalypto on the other hand is based on portraying and exploring ancient culture that existed in Mexico before the arrival of the Europeans. Gibson in this particular movie is interested in using unfamiliar language; the dialogue is entirely in the Mayan language.

Gibson highlights that the hearing of another language assists the audience to entirely engaged in their own reality and therefore find themselves drawn into events of the movie. In addition Gibson further indicates that the use of a unfamiliar language is useful in laying emphasis on the aspect of cinematic visual which acts as a type of universal language that basically speaks to the heart. Similarly in movie The passion of Christ Gibson applies the use of languages such as Hebrew, Latin and Aramaic which brings a great sense of reality to the movie (Tim 2006).

The similarity that is mainly found in the movies directed by Gibson is that they are historical based.

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