Historical Film Review

Transcription

1 Historical Film Review General Directions: View a historical film in its entirety. This film should be about 2 hours in length and should be about some historical topic/event/personality covered in class. While viewing the film, complete the Discussion Sheet. While a group may gather to watch the same movie, your assignment is not a collaborative effort. Your critique is your own: your opinion, your feedback, your observations. Write a review {typed, double-spaced, and using standard font and size, with a 1 margin all around}. Be sure to proofread and spell-check your review before you hand it in for a grade. 5 points will be deducted if you do not follow these instructions! One film review can be submitted per semester. However, to count for a particular semester grade, you must hand in your review TWO WEEKS before the end of that semester. Movie Critique 1 Paragraph One: Information Write a short paragraph including the name of the movie, the director, producer, the top stars, and the year the movie was released. Include any other pertinent information, such as where and when you watched it, was it a mini-series, based on a novel or play, was it based on historical events, was it in color, or any other interesting facts. Paragraph Two: The Plot In one or two paragraphs relate the plot of the movie. Condense the story line and describe the major aims of the movie. Make sure you describe what is taking place in the movie, not how it relates to real events in this paragraph. 1 Parents and students please note that some of the films on the movie critique list may contain scenes that some people may find offensive. NO STUDENT IS REQUIRED TO WATCH AN OBJECTIONABLE FILM!!!!!

2 Paragraph Three: The Reality Were any of the characters in the movie based on real people? If so, discuss the historical accuracy of the characters portrayed? Why might they have been portrayed as they were? Were real events portrayed in the movie? If so, were they accurately portrayed as far as sequencing, placed in the proper time frame and/or in the proper context? If no real characters or events were portrayed, or if they were portrayed inaccurately, try to analyze the reasons the director might have done so. Paragraph Four: The Setting Where and when was the movie set? If real locations were used, were they accurately portrayed? Were the items such as houses, foods, tools, weapons, clothing, and hairstyles depicted accurately? Make sure you research what was common not only for the time period, but also for the various social classes within the period. Give some examples of what was done well and what was not. Paragraph Five: The Evaluation The fun part! Give an evaluation of the film. Don t just state whether or not you liked it, give an honest evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the film. Was the plot too vague, too slow, or did the director do a good job with it? Did the actors and actresses do a good job in their role or were they illsuited for the character they portrayed? Did the movie hold your interest, or did it move too fast, too slow? Did the movie help explain a historical issue, or just confuse it more? Would you recommend this movie to another student? What could have been done to make this movie better? Why? WARNING Be sure that your review is not reflective of other film reviews on this work. This CAN be verified quite easily.

3 Film Titles [If you want to watch another film, please confirm with me first] MEDIEVAL EUROPE - THE REFORMATION 1. Dangerous Beauty 1997 Catherine McCormack 2. Braveheart 1994 Mel Gibson 3. Excalibur 1982 Nigel Terry 4. Luther 2003 Joseph Feinnes 5. Robin Hood 1991 Kevin Costner 6. A Season of Giants 1991 F. Murray Abraham 7. Henry V 1989 Kenneth Branagh 8. A Man for All Seasons 1966 Paul Scofield 9. The Name of the Rose 1986 Sean Connery 10. Nostradamus 1994 Tcheky Karyo RELIGIOUS WARS - THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION 1. Anne of the Thousand Days 1969 Richard Burton 2. Cromwell 1970 Richard Harris 3. Lady Jane 1986 Patrick Stewart 4. The Last Valley 1971 Michael Caine 5. The Man in the Iron Mask 1997 Leonardo DiCaprio 6. Mary, Queen of Scots 1971 Vanessa Redgrave 7. Elizabeth 1998 Cate Blanchett 8. The Restoration 1995 Sam Neill 9. Elizabeth: The Golden Age 2007 Cate Blanchett 10. Queen Margot 1994 Isabella Adjani THE ANCIEN REGIME - THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 1. Amadeus 1984 F. Murray Abraham 2. Immortal Beloved 1992 Gary Oldman 3. Young Catherine 1991 Vanessa Redgrave 4. The Mission 1991 Jeremy Irons 5. Rob Roy 1990 Liam Neeson 6. Danton 1982 Gerard Depardieu 7. A Tale of Two Cities 1980 Chris Sarandon 8. The Last of the Mohicans 1993 Daniel Day Lewis 9. Black Robe 1991 Frank Wilson 10. Marat/Sade 1966 Ian Richardson AGE OF NAPOLEON-BIRTH OF THE MODERN WORLD 1. Master and Commander 2003 Russell Crowe 2. Waterloo 1970 Rod Steiger 3. The Madness of King George 1994 Nigel Terry 4. Les Miserables 1998 Liam Neeson 5. David Copperfield 1970 Richard Attenborough 6. War and Peace 1967 Sergei Bondarchuk 7. A Passage to India 1984 Peggy Ashcroft 8. Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown 1997 Judy Dench 9. Charge of the Light Brigade 1968 Trevor Howard 10. Mountains of the Moon 1990 Patrick Bergin

4 THE AGE OF IMPERIALISM-WORLD WAR II 1. The Ghost and the Darkness 1996 Michael Douglas 2. Zulu 1964 Michael Caine 3. Breaker Morant 1980 Edward Woodward 4. Paths of Glory 1957 Kirk Douglas 5. Howards End 1992 Anthony Hopkins 6. Michael Collins 1996 Liam Neeson 7. Mothernight 1996 Nick Nolte 8. Prisoner of Honor 1991 Richard Dreyfus 9. Rasputin 1966 Christopher Lee 10. Das Boot 1981 Jurgen Prochnow 11. Hope and Glory 1987 Sarah Miles 12. Voyage of the Damned 1976 Max von Sydow 13. Schindler s List 1993 Liam Neeson 14. The Pianist 2002 Adrian Brody 15. The Kings Speech 2010 Colin Firth DEVELOPMENTS LEADING TO THE MODERN WORLD 1. The Fourth Protocol 1987 Pierce Brosnan 2. Judgment at Nuremberg 1961 Spencer Tracy 3. In the Name of the Father 1993 Daniel Day-Lewis 4. The Hunt for Red October 1990 Sean Connery 5. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold 1965 Richard Burton 6. The Iron Lady 2011 Meryl Streep

5 Historical Film Discussion Sheet TITLE: My Notes My Thoughts

6 Historical Film Review Grading Rubric Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor Information Plot Historical Accuracy Setting Personal Evaluation Discussion Sheet Yes - 10 No - 0 Comments: TOTAL SCORE: /50