Movies that will Target a Particular Niche - Essay Example

“It Happened One Night” and “Tokyo Story" The movie It Happened One Night (1934) directed by Frank Capra and Yasujiro Ozu’s directed Tokyo Story (1953) are very significant in the history of the film industry. They are very significant because modern movie production has learned many lessons from the two of them. When one watches the two movies and compares them with modern films, one will undoubtedly notice the progress the movie industry has made in the last 100 years. The two movies are very interesting since they have a story that viewers can follow quickly. They may not have used technologies of the modern time, but the fact that it is easy to follow the stories makes them some of the best movies many people have watched. It Happened One Night (1934) is a Frank Capra’s romantic story of an escaped heiress who mingles with a jobless journalist on a very long bus journey. Ellen "Ellie" Andrews decided to elope with Westley against the wishes of Alexander, her father. Alexander was totally against the marriage. When Ellen boards a bus, she meets a passenger called Peter Warne, an unemployed newspaper reporter. Warne managed to recognize her and offered to help her reunite with Westley. Ellen and Warne eventually managed to love one another, and eventually married, a union supported by his father. Yasujiro Ozu’s directed Tokyo Story (1953) is a Japanese movie that tells a story of an old couple that visits Tokyo to see their children who are already grown. Hirayama Shukichi and Tomi depart from their home to visit their children in Tokyo city. Koichi, their son, and his wife get tired of them and direct them to move and stay with Shige, his sister. Shige moves them in Atami; a place that has many rowdy guests and the parents fail to relax. The only person that expresses kindness towards them is their widowed daughter-in-law. The film attempts to show the difference between the conduct of their children (son and daughter) who appear very busy to attend to them and their daughter-in-law who takes care of them. When one studies the two movies carefully, one will realize that Tokyo Storys pacing is slow compared to It Happened One Night. Tokyo Story has a rhythm that makes it a popular entertainment, although significant events are not revealed on screen, but told through dialogue (Desser 12). For instance, the train journeys going to and coming from Tokyo are not shown. However, the case is different for It Happened One Night. It Happened One Night ensures that it covers all the major events to make the story complete. The movie minimizes the use dialogue to ensure that viewers can watch all the important events. For example, when Ellen elopes and meets Westley, their conversation is shown for all to see. In Tokyo Story, a distinctive camera style is used where the camera height is small and almost never moves unlike It Happened One Night where the camera moves from time to time. It Happened One Night’s camera is placed in different positions depending on what the director wants to portray at a given time. It Happened One Night unfolds the story in an attention-grabbing and outstanding manner that most of the modern films use the style and model when producing movies. The film employs a moving camera not fixed upon a box, but on a crane that moves from one place to the other. The technique produces more sweeping shots, additional angles for filming; few distance shots and more movement of the actors. It also involves back project of images, unlike Tokyo Story. Back projection of images is where a scene is filmed earlier and played in the background as actors perform their roles before the projection. It Happened One Night and not Tokyo Story, incorporates the use of a wipe. It Happened One Night is characterized by famous culture references of that era, such as when Peter impersonates a gangster to frighten a passenger called Shapley. The shooting of the movie is both gritty and gauzy as it focuses on tiny confined spaces and infinite open ones. The directors propensity for long takes is evident in the movie. The immobile set-pieces serve as excellent cases of comic timing (Gottlieb 129). The two movies portray love; the theme of love is evident in the two movies. In, It Happened One Night, Ellen "Ellie" Andrews loves Westley to the point she defies her father and runs away. While traveling, the young woman falls in love with a young jobless journalist called Peter Warne. In the movie Tokyo Story, Shukichi and Tomi Hirayama are shown love by their widowed daughter-in-law despite being denied that love by their children in Tokyo. The theme of love is very strong in the two movies although, It Happened One Night the love is about the opposite sex. Tokyo Story reflects on morals, self-centeredness, and how young people can treat their parents. Besides, it is deeply moving love story that achieves the most moving emotions in a very simplistic style. The movie represents the power of love and the need for human correlation when Shukichi and his wife bid farewell to their daughter-in-law and encourage her to remarry. The parties that are shown love appreciate that kind gesture implying that love is a very powerful voice in the lives of human beings. The two films’ shots are composed beautifully and expressively. At the core of the films is the inevitability of progress in life. In Tokyo Story, it is expressed by both the changes in a post-war Japanese society and the family. In It Happened One Night, there is progress in love matters as the movie shows Ellen search for love and how she is eventually married (Gottlieb 169). The two movies present these daily life-cycles and changes that characterize families. They appear to be some of the most moving films ever made in the past 100 years. They depict an understanding and complexity of human emotion and behavior in a way that people can relate to it. Whereas It Happened One Night displays the Western culture, the Tokyo Story is a depiction of the Japanese way of life. The movie is a combination of different principles, emotions and the social life of America in the 1930s. Many movies in America highlight love stories, and It Happened One Night was no exception. The Japanese movies will attempt to show how members of the family relate to one another. Although Japanese are known for caring for the old one, Tokyo Story depicts a very different story than what is common knowledge in Japan (Bingham 45). It seems modernization is changing the way of life in Japan, or the director was just foreseeing what will happen in the coming days. Movie directors prepare movies that will target a particular niche. People drawn from all age groups and professions can enjoy the two movies, It Happened One Night and Tokyo Story since they highlight social issues that affect every person. The topic of love and family problems affect every person in one way or the other hence the need to watch such movies. The two movies films were produced many years ago, yet many modern movies utilize their techniques in production. The stories in the two movies summarize what most modern movies portray albeit with enhanced technology. Although Tokyo Story does not show how the children of the old man regretted neglecting their parents, it is evident that the movie wanted to demonstrate that it is childrens role to take care of their children. It Happened One Night sends a message that it is better for parents to allow their children to choose their spouses. Works Cited Bingham, Adam. "The Spaces In-Between: The Cinema of Yasujiro Ozu." CineAction 63 (2004): 45. Desser, David, ed. Ozus Tokyo Story. Cambridge University Press, 1997. Gottlieb, Sidney. "From Heroine to Brat: Frank Capras Adaptation of Night Bus (It Happened One Night)." Literature/Film Quarterly 16.2 (1988): 129. Read More