Annie Hall Sixteen candles - Essay Example

The mise-en-scene of a scene remains related to the theme of the movie and sets the mood of the film. An efficiently done mise-en-scene creates the “illusion of naturalness” for the viewers (Barsam and Mohanam 194). In this paper mise-en-scenes of three scenes from each of the movies Annie Hall and Sixteen Candles are analysed. Annie Hall Annie Hall directed by Woody Allen was released in 1977. The opening scene of the film has a stark element to it. In this scene Woody Allen talks directly to the audience.

The background is solid and opening monologue has many lines and they have been captured by the pop culture consciousness. In less than two minutes he talks about himself and his mid-life crisis. The monologue is written by Allen himself. He talks about how he feels about life being “full of loneliness, and misery and suffering and unhappiness, and it’s all over much too quickly.” The camera was still throughout the scene with a close shot of Allen. He talks about his estranged relationship with Annie Hall and says, “I keep sifting the pieces of the relationship through my mind, and, and examining my life and trying to figure out where did the screw-up come.

” He also claims himself as someone who does not worry about aging but simultaneously points out that he is balding slightly. He also tells to the audience that he is not a depressed or morose character. This scene depicts Alvy Singer as an inept, angst-ridden, pessimistic, Brooklyn-born and stand-up comedian. In one scene of the movie the characters Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) and Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) are shown to boil live lobsters for meal. They bring home a bag of lobsters but they escape and create havoc.

They are in a beach house and seem to have uproarious fun while trying to catch the crawling lobsters on the floor of their kitchen. The entire sequence which lasts for almost 75 seconds is done in a single shot. The camera is made to follow the characters around the room and this gives the scene a sense of urgency. The way the characters run and move the chair adds to the fun sequence. The dialogues were funny and enhanced the fun element. It was clear that Alvy was scared of lobsters and Annie was having fun by picking them up and scaring him.

At one time Alvy squeezes beside a refrigerator and finds a lobster behind it and he jokes, “It'll turn up in our bed at night. Talk to him. You speak shellfish.” Annie attempts to capture the experience with her camera although Alvy feels scared to hold the lobsters in his hand in order to pose for her. Allen’s mise-en-scene reflects the camera movement to follow the movements of the character rather than anticipating them. At the beginning of the scene viewers can hear the conversation between Alvy and Annie although they cannot be seen.

As the camera stands still, they walk towards it and end up in the foreground of the frame. The scene is known for its unscripted dialogues and laughter which makes the viewers to relate with the scene more easily. This movie concentrates on the nuances of the relation between Alvy and Annie. The scene in which the viewers see Alvy and Annie together for the first time is set in a movie theater. The scene is not a romantic moment; it is a thrilling chivalrous gesture. Although the characters seem to be comfortable in the presence of each other, there is the element of annoyance.

Alvy is shown as irritated because she has been late and this made her miss the first couple of minutes of the