Screening THE ITALIAN : Focus on one detail or aspect of the film that captured your attention. Example: quality of acting, representation of Italy at the beginning of the film, the "FRAME" (the movie begins with a well off gentleman opening a book), modernity of editing, police conduct, the ethnic origin of the political boss......
1) Leave a comment and reply to the comment immediately above yours.
2) After your classmates have left at least 15 comments, choose one or more that you found interesting and give them kudos (for their smart ideas, or their good writing, or interesting comments etc.)
3) COUNT how many replies you received and send me an email message (Subject: replies to my comment). Whoever gets the most replies will get special credit.
Something that really stood out for me while watching "The Italians" was that the main character (Beppo) never gave up. He was a hard working man and continued to stand up for himself and his family. He didn't show any fear. Whether it was to immigrate to America, ask for proposition to vote, dealing with his child's illness/death, getting attacked or robbed by the two men, and being the bigger person by not seeking the revenge he planned at the end. He continued to pick himself up and do what he needed to, even through there were hardships or events he had to face.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, we still have men like this in our times!
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ReplyDeleteI loved being able to watch this without audio and understand what was going on. I never watched a movie like that before. The editing was so low quality and nothing I am used too, considering all the technology we have today. For some reason, I think it is pretty cool having a doctor come to your home. Sometimes I wish we still did that today.
ReplyDeleteI agree, i have never watched a film before that had no sound. Black and white yes. But it was cool to watch and still be able to follow what was going on. It's crazy to think how much has changed and how people use to watch films back in the day.
DeleteAs I mentioned in my post, I can't stand watching black and white, silent films and It's definitely because we're so fortunate to have color and audio today but I def agree with your insights- it's amazing how despite having no audio and the terrible video quality, we can still have an understanding of what's going on.
DeleteI agree, I have never really watched a silent, black and white movie before and I am so thankful we have color and sound now. Its interesting to see how people made movies back then and I wonder why they choose the music they did and if it was hard to put the music to the actions in the movie.
DeleteI thought the actor who played as Beppo was really good, and also the acting throughout the whole film of all the actors were very good as well. I was able to comprehend what was going on just by the acting with no words. I also liked how the background music corresponded with the film. For example the music became very dark and unhappy when Beppo was getting robbed, and was light and happy when they showed their baby. I thought the music played a key factor by helping the different "moods" of the film.
ReplyDeleteI agree, when watching movies nowadays no one takes the time to listen to the music. If we did we would hear the same dramatic change in the music as you did here.
DeleteThe acting really stands out. The movie is a very warm and touching movie in many ways, and has moments of sadness and anguish as well. There is humor and joy, as well as heartbreak. This is a feature film with great heart.
ReplyDelete"The Italian", a man who comes from Italy to America to earn enough money so that he can win the hand of his beloved Annette. Beppo, initially a vigorous and joyful soul, eventually becomes a beaten man due to a series of tragedies he endures in America. He becomes so despondent from tragedy that at one point he even considers murdering an innocent as revenge for the loss of one of his own loved ones. There are several silent films that still exist that talk about the immigrant experience in America, but this one is unique because it shows the immigrant's life in the Old World, along with the natural beauty of the place compared to early twentieth century New York City and its barren appearance.
Syeda Jafri
DeleteI agree that the film showed a good perspective on immigration. I also had moments of happiness and sadness in the film. It made me have mixed emotions while watching the film.
In my post I also explained that I think the immigrant perspective was one thing that stood out to me. I like how you stated what makes it unique is that they compare the Old World to the new one. You put into words what I was trying to explain about what I took away from the film. Well done.
DeleteSyeda Jafri
ReplyDeleteOne aspect that really stuck out to me was the way the people interacted with each other.In the beginnig of the film, it showed the people talking and having a good time.Their was a sense of kindness and friendliness they had. It seemed as though everybody knew everybody in the area. It was nice watching that type of communication that people had.
Nice!!!
DeleteI like this comment a lot and I'd have to say that I agree.
DeleteThe aspect of the film that stuck out to me the most was the variety and realism of the sets. Most, if not all, of the scenes were filmed on real streets, canals, and even mountaintops. I remember the outdoor scenes most clearly; while watching them I almost forgot that I was watching a film and not a newsreel or some raw archival footage.
ReplyDeleteThat's true! The scenery was quite unique and might I add quite beautiful.
DeleteYes, I noticed this as well. It made the film feel more authentic. It also reminded me of the other two videos we watched, specifically in The Black Hand when they were on the street and it had clearly been snowing.
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ReplyDeleteOnce of the aspect of the film that captured my attention is the moral behind the film, Beppo migrated for a better life and to win Annette's hand in marriage he achieves all of these and even more with the birth of his son, which is short lived. Instead of Beppo taking revenge for his son's death, he chooses to let his remorse go and I find this quite admirable that shows not all Italians are violent people who use mafia related techniques (killing, kidnapping etc.) to solve a problem.
ReplyDeleteI like how you are positive about the film's morals. I tend to be a pessimist. I see how for the time this is a more progressive view of Italian Americans as hard working and non-violent people.
DeleteI like your ideas on this film and I believe that this comment captured the main points of the film.
DeleteOne aspect of the film that captured me most was the time it was made. I was fascinated watching a movie that is nearly one hundred years old. Watching the people and the scenes made me wonder how it would be to really see these images with my bare eyes. I am a history major and the history I learn is mostly words on a page but to see the images of this movie made history seem tangible. I thought that the story line was interesting for its time because Beppo’s son dies. From the other two videos I thought that all movies of this time had very simple stories. I thought the death of Beppo’s son was a twist for this very early stage of film.
ReplyDeleteSyeda Jafri
DeleteI would agree with this. Watching a movie that old for me was interesting because i got to experience how life was like back then.
I agree!
DeleteOne aspect of the film that stood out to me is the storyline, as usual the protagonist gets the girl, the twist is what happens afterwards. Did Beppo's life really turn out better in America?
ReplyDeleteI think the protagonist of the movie is Beppo's and at the end he got the girl.
DeleteMarlene you make a good point, and while I am not very impressed by the actual quality of the film it seems that one hundred years later people still want the guy to get the girl and live happily ever after.
DeleteThe one detail of the film that stood out to me is the very first seen, the man who opened a book and started reading. That man in the beginning looks like White American actor and then we see the rest of the actors looks like Italian immigrants. So from that I assumed that the movie is made for the Americans to tell them about Italian immigrants.
ReplyDeleteCould it be the reason why there are so many stereotypes towards different people coming from another country based on what America projects in movies.
DeleteOne detail from the film that stood out to me is when Annette gives Beppo a cross for good luck when he was coming to America. Beppo did not know what he was going to confront in a new country so that cross would give him hope.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, hope was the only thing that gave him strength.
DeleteTrue talent doesn’t come from how well you rehearse your script, or how you represent your character by your tone. In fact, true acting comes from ones hand gesture and body movement, which enable the audience to understand their act. Honestly, at first I thought without audio this film would make no sense but you actually pay more attention compared to a regular film. The scene that stood out the most for me was, where Beppo is next to his son’s grave and placing flowers. It was very well acted along with the combination of the background music.
ReplyDeleteThe scene when Beppo was about to kill the Slum Boss's daughter really stood out to me where he has the change of heart.
DeleteIf a picture is a thousand words, and there are 24 frames per second, I would have more than a hundred thousand words to say about this film. I was amazed at how the music was played in such a way to imitate the actions of the actors. There wasn't any dialogue, however through actions and music alone it was easy to fill-in the gaps and imagine what they said to each-other. The importance of family and love was another thing that I noticed while watching the movie. Beppo, the suitor, would never give up no matter what obstacles were in his way.
ReplyDeleteIt is not easy for me to decide on one thing that stood the most, since there were several aspects that caught my attention. However, I was able to come to a conclusion: hundred years passed - no significant social change. People still come to America with a hope for a better future, immigrants working hard and have no money, politicians are same corrupted people, police is mostly unjust, old men prefer to be sexually involved with younger women.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course the plot - story inside the story, many kid's movies and cartoons today are based on the same plot. However, this film was not a fairy tale, but showed a viewer the reality of life.
The connection you made with this silent film and today's world I believe is very clever. I guess it's true how they say, "history repeats itself" or maybe in this case, our "plot" hasn't changed dramatically in several aspects.
DeleteAs much as I can't stand black and white, silent films..I really enjoy viewing the acting (for a couple of minutes that is.) The exaggeration behind an emotion is so dramatic and overdone. I find this comical. Then again, it's the actors' job to convey the meaning if they cannot use words but simply their physical actions/behaviors.
ReplyDeleteI agree!!! The exaggeration in this movie conveys a different meaning to the whole movie.
DeleteAgree very interesting! . I also mentioned how the black and white wasn't my thing. Then when reading yours made it seem I copied but I really didn't see that you also said the same thing.
DeleteI think they have to exaggerate the emotion because of the lack of dialogue. But I'm totally with you; I'm not a fan of silent movies either.
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ReplyDeleteOne thing that stood out to me was each scene had its own introduction to the up coming scene. Which helped me understand what was going to happen next.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of black and white but the introduction to the next scene was interesting. Also how the music tells you that it was a different part in Biappo life. It explained how the transition happen at that time.
In terms of the filmmaking that was one thing that I enjoyed as well because as you stated it let me know what was going on. It also allowed me to think about what was said on the text screen and how it was going to be portrayed. The actors have the image that the audience is supposed to get out of their performance and it is up to them to prove that they are worthy of illustrating the text. I found it to be a good way to add more substance to the film with the audio not being apart of the film.
Delete(Beppo)** .
DeleteThe one thing that stood out to me is the immigrant story that is captured through the film. Beppo an Italian gondolier was able to fall in love with Annette and move to America. I think this film would benefit students learning about Italians and immigrants in general because of some of the same connections about coming to America and the work that it takes to be prosperous in that situation. Beppo took a big risk by moving in order to try and marry Annette and then he was able to find work and save up money to send for her to come to NYC with him. Beppo and Annette both live in what appears to be an Italian ghetto that was typical of many immigrants across tribe lines.
ReplyDeleteThe film score stood out to me. Without dialogue the music has to capture the feeling that the director is trying to communicate.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the film was easy to follow and interesting.
DeleteOne part that stood out to me was the trip from Italy to America, it is a happy trip and good move for the immigrant. It does however make me sad that people are leaving their loved ones. The arrival to Ellis Island must have been exciting though. I am also impressed with modern technology and how in only 100 years we have progressed with film making so drastically.
ReplyDeleteThis film was rather interesting, I never really watched a movie where there was no talking, only music. It was slightly hard to watch because silent, old movies really don't interest me that much, although the music did help tell the story with changes in tempo and beat. If it was completely silent like the two videos we watched I don't think I would have liked it at all. One scene that stood out to me was when the police officer was using his baton and beating the man up. Now a days police officers can't really use physical violence against anyone or they would get in trouble for example putting a person in a chokehold. If a police officer did what they did back then now they would mostly likely be fired and get in trouble.
ReplyDeleteI agree! Police brutality was not as big of an issue as it is today.
DeleteThe part that stood out to me the most was when Beppo arrived at the crib of Corrignan's ill daughter, and he could not follow through with the murder. I think he ultimately realized that two wrongs do not make a right and that he is not the type of man that could kill a child.
ReplyDeletein "The Italian", the main character Beppo really stuck out for me. he showed me what a real man was who had pride, who never gave up no matter what, and who took care of his family.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I loved his character
DeleteThe entire Idea of the film only having music and no speaking was Smething that amazed me the most. I Was really able to understand and even enjoy the movie. I felt the relationship between beppo and Annette was beautiful and it was clear how hard working beppo was. He was completely determined To make a living with Annette.
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