"Unicorn. Old French, unicorne. Latin, unicornis. Literally: one-horned: unus, one and cornu, a horn. A fabulous animal resembling a horse with one horn." - The Last Unicorn, pg. 14
I may describe myself as a three year old trapped in a twenty-three year old's body. I can be described as a Peter Pan like character - I refuse to grow up and remain in the times where I could watch fantasy/Disney films and not be judged for it. Well, I am still that excited little child who is drawn in by the stories and animation displayed on the screen in front of me. I don't care and I would take an animated kids film over a horror/thriller/action film any day.
In this post, I am reviewing the film The Last Unicorn (1982). Based on the book by Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn tells the story of a lone unicorn who is the last of her kind. The unicorns were chased out into the ocean and presumably killed years ago by a mysterious ghost-like creature called the Red Bull.
The unicorn goes on a quest to find out where the other unicorns have gone and whether they can be rescued. Along the way, she meets an amateur magician called Schmendrick, Molly a bandit'swife, gets kidnapped by a carnival owner called Mommy Fortuna and then escapes, is turned human and taken to the castle of King Haggard and Prince Lir, with whom she falls in love.
It is different watching your favourite childhood films as an adult. Many adult themes and jokes which go completely over your head as a child stick with you as a grown up. You wonder how on earth the film makers manage to subtly put them in, but they do. However in this case, the film is based on the book which reading it is aimed at children over twelve, those who are maturing from childhood into adulthood. The unicorn represents purity, specifically the part when the unicorns visited the young girls who would soon be of marital age. These girls of course were virgins and it is nice in a sense that The Last Unicorn displays a sense of innocence and when that innocence is taken away prematurely it can be completely devastating.
The Last Unicorn has an all star cast, Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Christopher Lee, Angela Lansbury, Alan Arkin and Tammy Grimes lend their voices to the colourful collection of characters. The film features the music of the band America (who performed three of the songs on the film's soundtrack) and a glorious, magical soundtrack composed by Jimmy Webb (who wrote all of the songs featured in the film). I am reading the book at the moment and so far the film has stayed true to the book, in terms of dialogue and also characterization. The author Peter S. Beagle wrote the screenplay for the film, so of course the film would stay true to the book. Both the film and the book portray feelings of regret and love, which unicorns cannot express, however this unicorn can. She also confronts the Red Bull who will drive her out to make her species extinct.
The Last Unicorn is one of my favourite films of all time. Not only is the musical score absolutely gorgeous, but it is animated, animated as in hand drawn, which is so much better than computer generated imagery in my opinion. We sometimes miss the days where it took years to painstakingly hand-draw each picture frame by frame. Films such as The Last Unicorn are films that we treasure, they are films we grew up with but even now we can enjoy them and hopefully one day I will be able to enjoy them with my children.
The Last Unicorn is available to buy on DVD. The book is available to buy from any online retailer.
This analysis of The Hunger Games (2012) was a piece of coursework submitted to pass the Cinema and Society module of the BA (Hons) Media course I studied towards at Robert Gordon University (RGU). Hopefully it will interest fans of the film and the books.
1.0 Introduction
The Hunger Games (2012) is the first
film made in the Hunger Games trilogy, directed by Gary Ross and based upon the
novels by Suzanne Collins. Set in a post-apocalyptic North America, the country
of Panem is made up of twelve Districts. Each year, “as penance for past
rebellion, every year a boy and a girl from each District are randomly selected
as “Tributes” and required to participate in the “Hunger Games,” a fight to the
death between the twenty-four participants that is broadcast live throughout
the nation.” (Hibberd 2013 p. 172). Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer
Lawrence) is a sixteen-year-old girl from District Twelve, whose sister
Primrose (played by Willow Shields) is chosen to fight in the 74th
Hunger Games, however “in order to save her sister Katniss volunteers in her
place.” (Hibberd 2013 p. 172). After Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) is chosen
as the male tribute, they “are taken to the Capitol for training.” (Hibberd
2013 p. 172).
Milner (2003) as cited in Williams
(1980 pg. 196) says: “utopia and dystopia dealt respectively with ‘a happier
life, a more wretched kind of life.” The Hunger Games falls into the dystopian
genre, as the people from the Districts, particularly the lower ones are living
in poverty, while those who are higher up and those who live in the Capitol are
rich and living a life full of wealth.
The three key scenes looked at in
this analysis are the Reaping, in which the boys and girls of District 12 are
lined up and picked at random to fight in the Hunger Games, the scene in which
Katniss and Peeta are on the train and they enter the Capitol for the first
time and the final scene is the ceremony in which the Tributes for the Hunger
Games are shown off to the Capitol. These scenes have been chosen because they
introduce the audience not only to the main characters, but also how important
these scenes are in establishing the narrative. These scenes are also
important, as it shows what could happen in a post-apocalyptic society if
people turn against the Government, however in Panem there is no escape from
the Government force, which is the Capitol and its’ leader President Snow, as
anyone who tries to rebel against the Capitol will be killed. The Reaping scene
in particular is important as it gives a brief backdrop into Panem’s history
and how the Hunger Games were established in the first place. The film “can be
described as a steady flow of applications of cinematic techniques –
mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing and sound.” (Bordwell 1985 p. 50) Ideology
will also be discussed within this analysis of the Hunger Games. Hess (1978)
describes ideology as a “relatively systematic body of ideas, attitudes, values
and perceptions, as well as, actual modes of thinking.” These will be discussed
within the key scenes in the next section of this analysis.
2.0 Reaping Day
The first scene chosen is ‘Reaping
Day’. This is probably one of the most pivotal scenes in The Hunger Games, as
it is the scene where Katniss volunteers to save her sister’s life. The scene
starts with the children of District 12 walking to the Peacekeepers and lining
up to be registered into the Reaping. The formalism used in this film is the
fabula and syuzhet. Bordwell (1985 p. 49) says “the imaginary construct we
create, progressively and retroactively, was termed by Formalists the fabula (sometimes translated as
“story”). The fabula is then described as requiring the audience to create the
story of the ongoing inquiry while testing hypotheses about past events.
(Bordwell 1985). This fits into this scene in the Hunger Games, as Effie
Trinket introduces a propaganda film, which was made by the Capitol and
narrated by President Snow. This film tells the audience about the past
rebellion of Panem, as President Snow (Donald Sutherland) explains there was a
terrible war and “Brother turned on brother until nothing remained.” As
punishment for the rebellion the Districts would offer up one male and one
female to fight in the Hunger Games. The victor of these Games would then live
a very wealthy life, in which Snow reminds the people “that it would serve as a
reminder of our generosity and our forgiveness. This is how we remember our
past. This is how we safeguard our future.” This shows that no matter what
happens, the people of the Districts of Panem will always be subject the
Capitol and the children of these Districts are not safe from being chosen.
The other formula, “the syuzhet
(usually translated as “plot”) is the actual arrangement and presentation of
the fabula in the film. It is a more abstract construct, the patterning of the
story as a blow-by blow recounting of the film could render it.” (Bordwell 1985
p. 50). This applies to how the film’s story is carried out by use of the
actors, props, lighting which is explained in the next paragraph.
As shown in a previous chapter The
Hunger Games “can be described as a steady flow of applications of cinematic
techniques.” (Bordwell 1985 p. 50). This includes mise-en-scène which means to
put into the scene. The lighting of this scene is bright, however has a grey
tint to it, which could contradict the fact that these children will be sent to
their death. As shown in the photo at the beginning of this section, the
director cuts to a wide shot of the stage and where the people are standing to
focus on the main characters faces. Effie and people from the Capitol are high
up on the stage, while the people from District 12 are below, which symbolises
the Capitol’s power over the Districts. In relation to the costumes, the people
from District 12 are dressed in dull colours, such as grey and brown, while
Effie Trinket sticks out in this scene, dressed in bright purple – this shows a
contrast between her and the people from District 12, in which the District
people are a lot poorer and more oppressed than those who come from the
Capitol. The mood created by this is very tense, as the director cuts away to
the faces of the children, then to Katniss, then Gale and then to Primrose when
she is picked (see Appendices A, B and C). The process happens so quick that
the characters do not really have time to process what has just happened or
what is going to happen.
2.1 Scene 2: Entering the Capitol
I can't find a clip of the scene on Youtube, so instead I have put 'Entering the Capitol' from the film's soundtrack.
The second scene is when Katniss and
Peeta arrive at the Capitol for the first time. The ideology is clear in this
scene as it “represents the interests and views of only one class... For
example, the educational system clearly discriminates against all but those
with money and power.” (Hess, 1978) What Hess is saying fits into The Hunger
Games, as the people who live in the Capitol are privileged, are rich and dress
extravagantly compared to those who are from the Districts. It can also
represent the society in which we live in now, with governments of some
countries letting their citizens starve and live in poverty, while they are
very wealthy.
When the Capitol is first shown on
screen, immediately the viewer is drawn to the aesthetics of it. This includes
the tall buildings of the Capitol which overshadow the rest of Panem, as “the
architecture of the dystopian cityspace functions as a synecdoche for the wider
catastrophe that has overcome their respective populations.” (Milner 2004 p.
267) This means that he Capitol is referred to as something else, something
which reminds the citizens of Panem that they have the power to do whatever
they want. The Capitol has built itself back up after the early rebellions and
has come back bigger and stronger.
s The Hunger Games is set in a
post-apocalyptic world, the buildings of the Capitol are futuristic and it
shows Panem is as “a class-divided city, vertically stratified.” (Milner,
2004). Those who are in the lower districts, Districts 11 and 12 are not cared
for, while the top districts Districts 1 and 2 are favoured by the Capitol. The
buildings serve as a remainder to the people that they have power and that they
cannot escape.
2.2. Scene 3: The Tribute Parade
The Hunger Games tributes are shown
off to the Capitol for the first time by riding in chariots to an applauding
crowd. The ideology behind this is the media spectacle and how the world is
watching this event happening. It fits into this scene, as according to Kellner
(2003 p. 1) “political and social life are also shaped more and more by media
spectacle.”
It is noted that this scene in
particular relates to Ancient Rome which “had its orgies, its public offerings
of bread and circuses, its titanic political battles, and the spectacle of
empire which parades and monuments for triumphant Caesars and their armies,
extravaganzas.” (Kellner 2003 p. 1) Mockingjay the third book in the Hunger
Games trilogy explains how Panem got its name from the Latin saying “Panem et
Circenses translates into ‘Bread and Circuses’. The writer was saying that in
return for full bellies and entertainment, his people had given up their
political responsibilities and therefore their power.” (Collins 2010 p. 249) This
particular scene in The Hunger Games shows that the districts are there for the
Capitol’s entertainment and the people of the Capitol are able to eat a lot of
food, as much food as they would like. The tributes are then taken out to be
shown to the Capitol citizens on chariots, which is a reflection of the
gladiatorial games in ancient Rome, in which “spectacles of death were not only
relatively normal events in ancient Rome, but were looked forward to by both
the peasant and aristocratic classes and men and women alike.” (Cowles, 2011).
It is shown in this scene that only the Capitol citizens look forward to these
Games each year, as they as a class are not forced to participate in these
Games and therefore view it as entertainment. The idea of the spectacle of
death “served the purpose of [...] punishing the people.” (Cowles, 2011). Going
back to the Reaping scene, the Hunger Games were put in place as a punishment
for those who rebelled against the government.
The music played in this scene is
from the soundtrack and is called ‘The Horn of Plenty’, which is the national
anthem for Panem. The music is strong and powerful, which tends to create a
controlling, authoritative environment. The tributes are shown in their
chariots, while the citizens of the Capitol are cheering and applauding them,
this is a reflection of Roman times as “many of these spectators saw the
bloodshed and death of the gladiators as fun and even relaxing.” (Cowles,
2011). It is also known that the “popularity of these shows can be explained by
the Roman love and desire for violence.” (Cowles, 2011). This works well in the
narrative, as in later scenes the Capitol watches the Games for entertainment
and even place bets on who is going to win. It is also important to point out
that the whole country of Panem is watching the Games, including the districts,
whose children are participating and are watching nervously to see whether they
will survive and come home as the winner.
he character Katniss enters the
spectacle wearing a suit which generates fake fire and the crowd respond to this
in a huge way. The director starts with a close up of her face to which she is
confused as to how the Capitol views this as entertainment. The editing then
cuts between the Capitol citizens cheering and screaming with delight, then
back to Katniss who is trying to take everything in around her. Peeta tries to
hold her hand, initially she refuses, but he persists saying, “C’mon, they’ll
love it”. They unite and the crowd applauds the two tributes from District 12.
This can represent that even those from the poorest places can be favoured by
those who are rich and it also shows that the difference between the rich and
poor is considerably large. The scene focuses on the main characters and
introduces us to the main antagonist of the film, Snow who in the scene is
shown towering above the citizens, which demonstrates his power. Katniss’s
nickname is ‘the Girl on Fire’ and this is foreshadowed with the flame outfit
which she wears at the tribute parade.
3.0 Conclusion
These scenes have been important in establishing the
narrative and the ideological ideas which are presented in them. The conflict,
which is The Hunger Games is eventually resolved, as “Katniss and a fellow
tribute wins the heart of the audience. Eventually the pair uses their
influence to overcome the deadly designs of the capital.” (Canar, 2009) The
Hunger Games also reflects history, in particular the chariot scene which
reflects Ancient Rome with the “spectacle of empire with parades and monuments
for triumphant Caesars and their armies.” (Kellner 2003 p. 1) The messages of
the film are very clear – with the Capitol have power over the Districts and
how that can easily be overthrown, which is explained in later Hunger Games
stories.
Recently thanks to my sister I have the wonder that is Netflix installed on my phone. This is down to the fact that a number of people have persuaded me to watch Breaking Bad, which I haven't done yet. Oops guys! Soon I promise!
I'm not really a huge fan of horror films or thrillers, this is mainly due to the fact I'm really jumpy and I detest gore (however some films and programmes I've seen recently are trying to desensitize me). I am a huge fan of comedies however and fantasy films. The one genre I love the most though is Disney (which can be counted as a genre, right?) I was flicking through the Children's Films section (you can tell I'm a grown up) and I stumbled across a Disney film which I heard of, but never seen called The Black Cauldron (1985). I remember going into the Disney Store in Aberdeen as a child and seeing the film being re-released on video and I tried to persuade my mum to buy it for me, however the shop assistant warned that it was very scary for children. So that was the end of that and a disappointed Rachel left the store.
Fast forward a few years and I'm watching the film on Netflix for the first time. I now totally understand the shop assistant. Within the first eighteen minutes of the film I had already jumped out of my skin about eight times (which is unusual for a Disney film). Most fantasy films are based on books and The Black Cauldron is no exception. It is based on the first two books of The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. The book series itself is based on Welsh mythology and many of the characters in the book series have Welsh names. Reading the reviews on Amazon the books are much, much better than the Disney adaptation so I am tempted to have another sneaky fantasy book buy from there - sorry I'm waffling too much, back to the review.
The Black Cauldron follows the story of a young boy called Taran (or Taran the Wanderer as he's known in the books) an assistant pig-keeper who dreams of being a hero. He works on Dallben the Enchanter's Farm and then learns that Dallben's magical pig Hen Wen is in danger. Taran has to take Hen Wen to safety, however both Hen Wen and Taran are kidnapped by the villain of the piece, The Horned King who wants to revive the dead and rule the world using a mystical, magical Black Cauldron. While escaping from The Horned King's lair, Taran befriends Princess Eilonwy, who is also trying to escape, Fflewdurr Flam, a court jester who has also been imprisoned by the Horned King and Gurgi, a creature who is a cross between a "man and a beast". Taran and his friends must retrieve the cauldron before the Horned King gets his hands on it and rescue Hen Wen, whose magic involves seeing the future, the events which will take place. Apart from the devil and skeletal like Horned King, there is an annoying goblin-like sidekick, who always gets strangled by the Horned King whenever he let Taran and his friends escape.
The Black Cauldron was different from any other Disney film that I have seen. Firstly, it is very dark - for an animated Disney film. If you think this is some happy-go-lucky musical Disney film like I thought it was going to be, then I'm afraid you're in for a disappointment. If the film scared me as a a 23-year old woman, then how scared would a 3-year-old child be? I admit I do sometimes like dark films, however this particular film I just did not enjoy at all. It doesn't have any songs in it, but I am pretty glad it doesn't, as it really would not fit in with the film's nature. The storyline is very disjointed, but this could be due to the fact that 12 minutes of footage ended up on the cutting room floor, mainly graphic scenes which included the revived skeletons (called the Cauldron Born) killing off The Horned King's living soldiers. Apparently on it's first screening, mothers stormed out of the cinema with their wailing children and the film had to be cut twice in order to avoid a PG-13 (equivalent to a UK '12' rating) or an R (UK '15 rating). That was very unusual for a Disney film at that time and The Black Cauldron has been known as "the film Disney tried to bury." It is not surprising that on it's release the film only made half of it's $44 million budget.
The Black Cauldron is a film which I would avoid watching again and it is a shame as I love fantasy stories and it had great potential, but unfortunately the storyline and the very dark nature made the film fall flat on its face. If you enjoy Disney animated films then I would not recommend it, but if you want something that's a little different, then give it a try. Instead I will read The Chronicles of Prydain to see if the books are better than its Disney counterpart.
Left: The Black Cauldron (1985) - original theatrical poster
Fun fact: Princess Eilonwy, the heroine of the film was not inducted into the Disney Princess line due to the film's poor performance.
