Altman Blog

Of all three films we saw directed by Robert Altman, I would have to saythat The Long Goodbye was by far my favorite. I just couldn't get enough of the low bass tone of Marlowe's narration in the first scene when he is walking out of his door to get food for his cat.
The style of this film is extremely cool in my eyes, I'm not quite sure how to put it though. Marlowe's character is so laid back and suave that he is just fun to watch, especially his smart ass comments in tense situations. He just puts a sarcastic spin on everything, his general attitude towards problems is just extremely fun to watch for me.
Altman uses a very noticeable camera method in this movie in particular, smoky lenses. The smoky lenses he uses are very effective in giving that chill, smooth, smoky look to the scenes, rooms, and settings. This is crucial to setting the mood for most of the shots.

Coen Brothers Post

Fate vs. Choice

Most prominent in No Country for Old Men, the seperation of Fate vs. Choice is ever present, the argument always seems to be wether fate caused everything to happen or wether it was solely choice of taking an action.
Carla Jean and Anton Shugar are excellent examples of the opposites of the spectrum, Anton believes in fate causing everything to happen as it should while Carla Jean on the other hand, believes strongly that choice must be made for an action to take place.
In Raising Arizona, Edwina's inability to bear children could be argued as fate, which sent her to steal the kid, or wether it was purely the choice to do so as to why they stole the kid.