American Cinema

Ñòðàíèöà: 7/14

Warner Bros (Brothers) — an American film company.

Film Directors and Producers

Alien, Woody (1935—) — a comic actor and maker of humorous films. Since the late 1960s, he has been directing films and acting in them, usually playing a neurotic, bookish New Yorker. Some of his best-known films have been "Annie Hall", "Man­hattan" and "Hannah and Her Sisters".

Capra, Frank (1897-1991) - a film director, best known for the films "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "It's a Wonderful Night".

Chaplin, Charlie (Charles Spencer) (1889-1977) — an English actor and di­rector who worked mainly in the United States in silent black-and-white comedy films. He created the beloved character, the Little Tramp, who wore a shabby black suit, derby hat and floppy shoes, and walked with the backs of his feet together and the toes pointing outwards. He always walked with a cane.

By 1918 Chaplin had forsaken short com­edies for longer, independently made films, including "Shoulder Arms" (1918) and "The Kid" (1921). His major films, produced for United Artists (a film company which he helped to found in 1923), included "The Gold Rush" (1925), "The Circus" (1928), "City Lights" (1931) and "Modern Times" (1936), the latter two made as silent films with synchronized sound effects. Chaplin spoke on the screen for the first time in "The Great Dictator" (1940), which ridi­culed Hitler and Mussolini. In "Monsieur Verdoux" (1947), which draws an acid anal­ogy between warfare and business morality, the tramp disappeared entirely; the film provided further ammunition for a growing anti-Chaplin group who attacked his un­conventional personal life and political views.

After 1952 Chaplin resided in Switzerland. He starred in his production "A King in New York" (1957), a sharp satire on con­temporary America, and wrote and direct­ed "A Countess from Hongkong" (1967). Chaplin made a triumphant return to the United States in 1972. He was given an Academy Award (an Oscar) for his part in "making motion pictures the art form of the century".

Coppola, Francis Ford (1939)- a film director, best known for the films "'The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now".

Ford, John (1895-1973) - a film direc­tor, especially known for his Westerns in­cluding "Stagecoach", "How the West Was Won", etc.

Goldwin, Samuel (1882-1947) - a film producer, head of one of the companies, which later became MGM. Goldwyn is famous for saying odd things like "include me out".

Griffith, D. W. (1875-1948) - a film maker, known especially for his use of new photographic methods and for his epic si­lent films, such as "The Birth of the Na­tion" (1915) that required huge casts and enormous sets.

Griffith directed the first film, "The Ad­ventures of Dollie", in 1908 and went on to make hundreds of pictures. With "The Birth of the Nation", he created a land­mark in film industry. Also influential on the future of the film was "Intolerance" (1916). Griffith continued to make success­ful films throughout the 1920s. However, the Victorian sentiment that pervades his films was increasingly alien to the theme. He failed to make the transition to sound pictures.

Russel, Ken (1926-) — a film director, best known for documentary films and for the film "Women in Love".

Scorsese, Martin (1942—) — a film di­rector whose works include "Taxi Driver", "The Last Temptation of Christ", etc.

Spielberg, Steven (1946—) — a film di­rector who has made many very popular films, including "Jaws", "LT", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Star Wars", "Empire of the Sun", etc. His films are well known for being very fast moving and full of exciting action.

Ðåôåðàò îïóáëèêîâàí: 15/02/2010