Archive for March 2013

Biggs and the Apes

By | Published Friday, March 22, 2013


From DBCOVERS
From DBCOVERS
Burton's Planet of the Apes pays homage to the original film of 1968. The makeup, messages, and setting suspend reality for the viewer in an extraordinary way. The world in which Davidson lands completely flips his own perception of the reality he knows. He crash-lands onto a planet where apes rule all and humans are reduced to mere slavery. There are a number of dualities created in this film that enable viewers to have a greater sense for symbolism and meaning within the film. The most obvious form of duality in the film is that of the battle of ruling species. The role of species is obviously a very prominent part of the film, but it is important to notice how it plays along with the ideas of slavery and civil liberties. Throughout the opening of the movie, Davidson is seen training Pericles to fly the space pod. There is an air of obvious superiority as Davidson can speak, Pericles cannot, and Davidson clearly controls the monkey by giving him commands and rewarding him with treats. However, we also notices that Pericles is treated with the same respect the humans are, even though he does sleep in a cage. It is recognized by the astronauts that Pericles and the other apes on board have intelligence, but they are still ruled over by the humans. Davidson is aware that he is the dominant species. It is important to note that, though the apes live in cages on the spacecraft, they are not whipped and treated as slaves, rather they are almost on the same level to the trained astronauts on board. The life Davidson lives on board the spacecraft is one of clear superiority to the apes, though as soon as he crashes onto a different Earth, his reality is flipped on its head. The other scene that brings species and slavery to our attention occurs when Davidson is captured on the "new" Earth where the apes rule over the humans. Again, his reality is turned upside down as the apes can speak and have taken control over the humans. He is taken to a human slave cell where apes come in and purchase humans to perform household chores. Though this is a more extreme version of what the humans were doing with the apes on the spacecraft, the planet where apes rule mirrors the situation. These two scenes give the viewers a perfect sense of how the two worlds are different from each other, but also how they are closely related. It is easy to be distracted by the fact that there are apes ruling over humans, but it is important to look beyond the surface plot twist and find the underlying commentary on slavery and human (or ape) rights.

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Biggs and 'dem Aliens

By | Published Friday, March 15, 2013

Mars Attacks! is a film that was inspired by the Topps Playing Cards of the ‘60s. Tim Burton takes some of these images and uses them in the film. Burton pays homage to Ed Wood's B-style films with Mars Attacks! Burton uses this movie as way to comment on America’s patriotism; this poke at America is a reason why the film was not a hit in this country. Burton takes the science fiction genre and turns it on its head, making commentaries on the American patriotism, as well as the genre itself. Films like Independence Day and Alien take alien invasion seriously. When watching Mars Attacks! you cannot help but laugh at the colorful Martians and the weird sounds that they make. 

From The Breathing Dead Blog
A scene that truly captures the way in which Burton satirizes military occurs when the Martians invade the President's situation room. General Decker attempts to stand up to the Martians in an exaggerated militaristic way. Rather than the Martians vaporizing him with one zap, the Martian ambassador uses a shrink ray to make General Decker appear nothing more than an ant. The Martian ambassador then goes on to stomp General Decker with his foot. His ego is flaunted, and Burton ironically turns him into a small man. This scene satirizes the military as it takes a man, who some might look up to or even follow orders from, and takes away all of his power, and he is defeated by the enemy.  

From Mile High Cinema
Another scene in which Burton satirizes military occurs when the two young brothers, Neville and Cedric, are taking a tour of the white house. The trained secret service men cannot properly protect the President against the Martians; the boys are able to obtain two guns and shoot at the Martians without fear. The most training the two boys have is from playing a Martian video game. This scene is comical because two young boys are simply using skills they have learned from a video game, and applying them to a real life situation in which even the adults were afraid of the power of the Martians. Mars Attacks! is a very funny B-movie that hopefully is more successful today in America than it was during its release.

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Biggs and Ed Wood

By | Published Friday, March 8, 2013

Johnny as the B-movie director.

Both Tim Burton and Ed Wood share a number of aspects as directors. Wood's originality conveyed an uneasy feeling with the other artists of that time because they did not understand it or him. That rejection to conformity inspired Burton, and his film Ed Wood greatly exemplifies the respect in which Burton gives off to Wood. Ed Wood refused to conform to Hollywood norms. The films he directed were of pitiful quality, according to the people of his time. But his films were of the quality and material that he loved. He found his work to be beautiful because he did not allow people to become a hindrance to his creativity. This is something that Tim Burton greatly respects about Wood. Burton found it very difficult to conform to the standards expected of him at Disney. Once he broke away from the Disney world, he was able to focus on his personal values as a director and animator. Another quality that allowed Burton to truly relate to Wood is the fact that Bela Lugosi was someone Wood both looked up to and took care of. Vincent Price is Burton's equivalent, though Price is much more of a mentor to Burton than Lugosi was to Wood. I think another thing that enables Burton to relate to Wood, was Wood's ability to use imagination and ingenuity to achieve the completion of his films. Burton is a director who relies on and appreciates the free creative process, and this is something that Wood completely embodied as a director. Burton truly embodies Wood's vision in his film by using scenes either directly from Wood's films, or creating sets and stages that resemble those Wood had access to. Johnny Depp also does a wonderful job of capturing the true nature of Wood's spontaneous and confident nature. Burton also shot the film in black and white, a very obvious homage to Wood's directing skills. Although Burton is a more widely accredited director, both men had struggles breaking into the volatile Hollywood scene. Both directors films receive harsh criticisms in their beginning stages, but today both are respected directors. I personally believe Tim Burton is the better director, but I respect the artistry that Ed Wood believed in.

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