Samuel Levinson Knowledge of Film Elements

The film The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford details the relationship between the infamous Jesse James and the Fords, ultimately leading to James death by Robert Ford !ire"ted by #ndrew !omini$, the motion pi"ture "ontains mu"h of the te"hni%ues and film elements that are des"ribed in the "lass le"tures, as well as in the &iannetti te't (n this essay ( will des"ribe the elements as they are used in segments of the film These elements will in"lude pans, tilts, sound effe"ts, "utting to "ontinuity, and other elements that are displayed (n !omini$s film, Robert Ford finds Jesse James and the gang, and soon a friendship is formed )owever, as the film progresses, Ford de"ides that James is a dangerous individual "on"erning his well*being The obsession with James "hanges after meeting him, and soon Robert Ford $ills the infamous outlaw The Fords are "elebrated soon after this o""urren"e, however, this su""ess is short lived )e is "onsidered a traitorous "oward, and before the films "on"lusion Robert Ford himself is assassinated ( feel that the elements of this film "omplement the "ontent well The style in whi"h the movie is filmed ma$es this an entertaining e'perien"e for the viewer, perhaps a masterpie"e

!uring the first s"ene, when we are introdu"ed to Jesse James, there are "lose up shots of the "hara"ter This allows us to have a personal view of James, as the narrator e'plains the outlaws personality, in"luding his psy"hology and physi"al "onditions This information develops into details involving Robert Fords role The "amera angles and shots "omment on the footage throughout the movie +hen James is alone, we see a "lose up shot of him This is to serve as an unbiased loo$ at James in the outdoors +e are able to see him as a person, in a moment when he is not spea$ing or ta$ing a"tion ( believe

that in "ombination with the "hoi"e of shots, we are given a "andid view The "lose up shot of a "hara"ter fo"uses on the parti"ular person, and they be"ome the dominant +e are to analy,e James, ta$ing in the information from the narrator, as well as the physi"al person ons"reen Later in the film as "hara"ters spea$ to ea"h other, the "amera shot of "hoi"e is usually a "lose up E'amples of this ta$e pla"e when Robert tells of the similarities between himself and Jesse James, during the dinner s"ene +e have shots of Ford tal$ing, with rea"tion shots of Jesse This is a signifi"ant s"ene, as it leads to the rift between James and Robert The "amera allows us to see the fa"ial e'pressions of these "hara"ters, and after the similarities are told, James tells Ford of an individual that reminds him of Ford, leading to the resolution, in whi"h it is e'plained the person is $illed Robert Ford forms the opinion that James is against him, therefore this leads to James assassination later in the movie

The pro'imity patterns between "hara"ters may "omment on the film (n this motion pi"ture, "hara"ters are often grouped together, based on their relationship to one another There are suspi"ions between some of the "hara"ters, and "lose asso"iations among others #fter the train robbery, James and his gang return to a safe house, away from any law enfor"ement (t is here that James is seated in a ro"$ing "hair, smo$ing a "igar, and he is -oined by Robert Ford .oth men appear to be rela'ed, e%ual friends at this point, as they are both ons"reen together, seated on the por"h, en-oying their "igars This is a personal distan"e between the "hara"ters James and Ford have priva"y and they are not "lose enough to be "onsidered a brotherhood, although their pro'imity is within a range that prevents isolation These "hara"ters are together in the frame, with one man to the

right, and the other to the left (n another s"ene, the pro'emi" pattern between "hara"ters is intimate, however, it is an invasion of personal spa"e The s"ene in whi"h this pro'imity ta$es pla"e is that of !i"$ Liddil threatening Robert Ford with a gun Ford is ta$ing a bath outdoors, when he is approa"hed by Liddil #fter a brief e'"hange of words, Liddil holds a weapon on Ford !uring this moment Ford is almost pushed off*s"reen, as he is leaning out of the bathtub The gun is an e'tension of Liddil, and this ob-e"t be"omes the dominant image, as it is in the "enter of the frame, as well as the item that poses the danger to a "hara"ter that is essential to the story #s in one s"ene, we have a fellowship between two "hara"ters, and later in the movie the "ontrast of hostility is provided, due to the "onte't of how the "hara"ters relate to ea"h other

The use of pans and tilts may alter the meaning or enhan"e a s"ene (n this motion pi"ture, pans of the "amera are "onsistently used when "hara"ters are on the move, as the "amera $eeps up #n e'ample of this may be found when Robert Ford returns to his family, upon being sent away by Jesse James #s Ford wal$s around this building, the "amera follows him, with a steadi"am )e is able to stay in the frame as he moves, instead of swit"hing to other views The same te"hni%ue is used during segments of the film, in whi"h James is on his -ourney The viewer sees the ba"$ of James, as he wal$s in a town, with the townspeople noti"eable in the ba"$ground .y hori,ontally moving the "amera, we able to follow the "hara"ter !uring the moments of steadi"am in this film, there are some s"enes in whi"h the narrator will provide information that advan"es the story (n these s"enes, the "amera pans with the use of narration are transitions to different moments The "amera tilts in this movie serve to pla"e in fo"us points of interest +ithout

the tilts, we would not be able to fully appre"iate important moments ons"reen .efore Jesse and his gang ta$e part in the train robbery, the trains arrival is shown ons"reen in dramati" "onte't The spe"ial effe"ts of the trains wheels meeting the tra"$ produ"e spar$s, an image that would have been missed if it was not for the downward tilt of the "amera during this s"ene The viewer is able to appre"iate the underta$ing of stopping a massive vehi"le su"h as a train, with fo"us on the wheels against the train tra"$ #nother "amera tilt that is worthy of mention, ta$es pla"e when Robert Ford returns home /nderneath his bed is a bo' of literature about Jesse James (nstead of $eeping the bo' off*s"reen until it is lifted up by Ford, we are able to see the bo' as it emerges from underneath the bed This is a signifi"ant s"ene, as it adds to our per"eption of Roberts Fords obsessed state of mind 0ot only is he fas"inated by James, but he also has a "olle"tion of material related to him, hidden in a bo' beneath his bed +hen the "amera tilts to show us the bo' on the floor, we have the same point of view that Ford does

#n element of film that is "onsistently used in the motion pi"tures of all genres, is that of "utting to "ontinuity Time is "ompressed in this film, with an e'ample involving Ford leaving James and traveling homeward )e is seen riding his horse, as the "amera "hanges view, and soon he has arrived at his destination +hen "ompressing time and showing events passing, a montage may ta$es pla"e Similar to "utting to "ontinuity, we are able to see the fast "hange of pla"es, re"eiving the message ons"reen, without a long se%uen"e (n this film, there are several instan"es of a montage # typi"al montage to show us events in James life is used at the beginning of the film, as he is shown with his wife and $ids This o""urren"e transitions to James when he is by himself 0arration

providing information about James a""ompanies this montage This serves as a way to show us various points in James life without ta$ing a long time to portray his past ons"reen 1ne of the most important s"enes of this film ta$es pla"e after Ford assassinates James The information about this event is re"eived by others, and a montage showing us James body ta$es pla"e

(n this film, the musi" and sound effe"ts add to the theme 1ften a "alm, southern inspired s"ore a""ompanies s"enes This allows the film to have an enhan"ed western mood The sound effe"ts of the film add realism and emphasis to what is ta$ing pla"e ons"reen #t the beginning of the movie, when Ford is see$ing James, the audien"e "an hear the natural sounds of the woods, as there are animals nearby This is to be e'pe"ted, and if the s"ene was %uiet it may seem unusual, as the nature sounds "ontribute to the setting 1ne of the most noti"eable uses of digeti" sounds is that of the train, as it speeds along the tra"$s, before stopping when it is blo"$ed by James The audien"e $nows that the train is about to arrive, as we hear the volume of the trains sound in"reasing James and his gang share our anti"ipation, as they too ready themselves for the arrival of the train (n addition to these sound effe"ts, we see the spar$s emitting from the train tra"$s, and the air be"omes thi"$ The sound effe"ts are appropriate, with the s%ueal of the train on the tra"$s as it eventually "omes to a stop 1ther sounds that add to the realism in"lude the rain that may be heard during a tal$ between Jesse and Robert, as well as the ominous "li"$ of a pistol #s in the "ase of the pistol, this is a sound motif for the audien"e and the "hara"ters #ll of these sounds are fun"tional to the movie, and the events that o""ur

The story of this motion pi"ture is an altered version of the "lassi"al paradigm, in that Robert Ford may be viewed as our protagonist, and Jesse James is the antagonist )owever, their relationship to ea"h other is not one of hero versus villain, it is far from that "hara"teri,ation !ue to Fords %uir$s, and the fa"t that he brought himself into James life, one "ould even "on"lude that James is the anti*hero and Ford is the villain Elements of this film that add to the "lassi"al paradigm in"lude the a"tion building upon itself, as well as the "ause and effe"t of events that o""ur due to "hara"ter a"tion 1ur story also ends with a resolution, as James is assassinated, Ford has a temporary e'perien"e of "elebration, and ultimately we learn that his fate is that of publi" shame and finally meeting his own demise ( believe the film unfolds over a three*a"t stru"ture (n the beginning, we are introdu"ed to the "hara"ters, Ford meets James, and a relationship forms For the se"ond a"t, the relationship between James and Ford be"omes tense, !i"$ Liddil is arrested, and Robert meets with the governor to dis"uss James (n the final a"t, James is assassinated, and we learn the destiny of Robert Ford

1verall, this motion pi"ture is in the form of "lassi"ism The movie is based on a"tual events that too$ pla"e, involving the infamous Jesse James ( do not feel that the dire"tor ma$es an attempt to distort reality, or present an overly styli,ed representation of events This film ta$es pla"e in the real world, however, there are s"enes of a spe"ta"ular nature, su"h as the spe"ial effe"ts used upon the trains arrival +e have lots of shots during this film, with the "amera swit"hing to numerous "hara"ters during "onversations (n this movie, the "amera $eeps up with the a"tion, with the "amera does not stay on one "hara"ter for too long, so that we may e'perien"e the emotions of the other individuals (f

this movie were in the formalist style, reality would be noti"eably styli,ed E'traordinary, super natural, s"ien"e*fi"tion inspired events do not o""ur in this movie, it is within our realm of reality This film is in between the style of realism and formalism, and the styli,ation that does ta$e pla"e is subtle, so as not to distort reality For a film of this sub-e"t matter, ( feel that "lassi"ism is the best style to film in, in order to present an entertaining and histori"ally based presentation