I need some help with the untouchables!

hey guys

this is my first forum post so be gentle!


I'm a film student studying! and i quote...

ahem

"THE EVOLUTION OF PROHIBITION ERA AMERICAN GANGSTER FILMS IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY AND ACTOR'S PERFORMANCE FROM "THE UNTOUCHABLES" TO "ROAD TO PERDITION" TO "PUBLIC ENEMIES"

that is seriously the title they freaking gave me! so... what i need is some help finding a book preferrably outlining the technology used in or around the time of The Untouchables.



I have no idea where to start... but it seems like a rich and interesting subject all the same!

OH GOD HELP ME!!!! p

Just Google Technology during the 1920's and there is more than enough information about this.

ah bugger sorry i wasnt clear
what I meant was the film making technology.

Again just Google 1920's Film Making Technology.

When you say the "title" deals with the film technology used in and around "The Untouchables," two questions arise: (1) by "title," do you mean that is the theme or subject of a paper the teacher wants you to write, or is that the title of an actual book he/she assigned you to read? (2) What era of "The Untouchables" are we talking about? Is it "The Untouchables" of the 1950s when the TV show was made, "The Untouchables" of the late 1980s when the movie was made, or the time of the actual "Untouchables" of the late 1920s and early 1930s, when Warner Bros. were making all their gangster pictures?

John

bah I did it again!
what I need is to do with the 1987 Brian De Palma film.
I need to find out about the Technology they used to make that movie, rather than the tech of the time period.
some sort of book or an internet source would be fine.

if you can help mate i'd greatly appreciate it

and the title is the question i have to answer, its not the name of a resource, what I'm tasked with is exploring and explaining the evolution between the three afformentioned movies.

Two cents:

In terms of the "evolution" of filmmaking, I suppose the question is whether there have been any improvements in the filmmaking process since 1987. Obviously, the big changes are in the use of computer CGI and digital cameras. I wouldn't say that digital cameras are an improvement, but they are an evolution. CGI when well used can be an asset, but in gangster films it's doubtful. "The Untouchables" used practically no CGI as we know it today. "Road to Perdition" used much, and "Sin City" used almost exclusively CGI for everything but the live actors. Ironically, perhaps, Michael Mann's "Public Enemies" used relatively little CGI, relying instead on actual location shooting and traditional props and makeup. I know a lot of reviewers criticized Mann for the dull, drab look of his film, but that's what he intended: He wanted to show the Midwest during the Great Depression as a dull, drab place, so that's what he got by shooting in real locations rather than doing it all in bright CGI graphics on a soundstage.

In terms of the evolution of actors' performances, I doubt there has been all that much change. A good actor in 1935--a Jimmy Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Paul Muni, Humphrey Bogart--would be a good actor today. Has there been an evolution in De Niro's or Pacino's acting over the past thirty years? Probably not, except that they have both taken on a lot of bad scripts and bad directors that have made them look worse recently. Of course, acting styles change from era to era, but I wouldn't call that "evolution." It's simply a difference in filmmakers' attitude and intent.

Anyway, find yourself a book on CGI and digital photography in particular and see what you come up with.

John

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[Post edited by John J. Puccio on Nov 13, 2009 - CST 4:41 PM]

nice! some great points there John. thankyou ever so much for your help. I wasn't really sure what to do!

And I liked the look of Public enemies, even though there was some GOD AWFUL green-screening as soon as depp steps in front of a bank vault.
still I really enjoyed it. ordered the blu ray of heat yesterday and i'm looking forward to that in surround sound.

once again, thanks for your help John. greatly appreciated

My brain is currently on vacation and I'm away from my BD copy of The Untouchables, but if there's a commentary on there, it might give you some key words to research and concepts to explore. Certainly a Michael Mann commentary on Public Enemies would be helpful, but that disc doesn't come out for another couple of weeks.

Jason, Memphis-ing