first great Arab film, intense and individual scenes
captured the tension of it’s time
some of his inspiration cam from a meeting of African and Asian countries where they made cultural and economics ties with each other, separate from the first world, and the second soviet world.
India knew more about devastation in the 50s that Europe ever had
Paper Flowers (1959) dir. Guru Dutt used new lighting techniques, used light as a story telling tool
India’s theaters were wired for sound and they took on musical theater properties. India became the only country where musical interludes were the norm
Socials were the genre that came from India: they challenged the caste system, poverty, social structure emerged in the 30s
Rejected any glamorizing, showed real life, had harsh contrast between characters by exaggerating their features
A train appeared and was shown as a beautiful object
All actors wore makeup, white was avoided, usually tinted some other color, and lines were delivered dramatically, everything about the scene was as it would be in normal life, nothing was artificial
Devi (1960) dir. Satyajit Ray special attention was payed to facial expression and framing, which was used instead of dialogue
Mother India (1957) dir. Mehboob Khan challenged working classes in India, used earthly colors to show connection to the nation
Chinese film was mainly enjoye by Chinese audiences, as they had their own style and culture
Two Stage Sisters (1964) dir. Xie Jin mimicked Egyptian melodrama, not on purpose, but melodrama was spreading across the world
Dramatic crane down from a gods eye view to a peasant’s
Japan in the 50s was also recovering from war time, cinema had a wave of freedom
Kurosawa was a great director of the time, he often used long lenses in close up scenes so actors could move freely, he was very interested in atmospheric effects, used imagery for supporting emotions
Many of his films were about discovering the self, without being selfish, or about the successes that come from perseverance
La perla (1947) dir. Emilio Fernández used light to fill scenes, and showed life a doomed from the beginning, a juxtaposition of implications of bright light and the story
Los Olvidados (1950) dir. Luis Buñuel added dream sequences to realism films to add a whimsical touch, and to show the unconscious thoughts of the characters
Mexican films challenged all that was Mexican culture and societal structure, which created mixed feelings at the time
American films were changing as well
Eisenhower had completely different views than almost all the other leaders of the world at the time
However it is much deeper than the surface of perfect America, the story and lighting changes as the plot thickens, it exposes the conformity and social pressure of the 50s
used the glamour of Hollywood to attack glamour in America
Johnny Guitar (1954) dir. Nicholas Ray was a western about political anger, how communists were taking and warping American values
Fireworks (1947) dir. Kenneth Anger mixed masculine costumes, low lighting, and close movements