Unit 2: World War II in Europe

Movie Settings:

The Movie I choosed to watch for this unit was Schindler's List. 'List' was relased in 1993 and has since then has become a classic movie. The movie is Directed by Steven Spielberg and won Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 1994.The flim grossed 321 million dollars worldwide. This movie without a doubt is the most dramatic movie you WILL ever watch.


Plot

The movie is based off of Oskar Schindler life and how he saved manys Jews lives by having them work in his factory. The flim goes in and out of some Jews who were being perscuted. Through out the entire movie, you are always on the edge of your seat, wondering if a person is going to be killed at the hand of a Nazi, or going to be kept alive. Oskar Schindler is a Nazi, he has a factory right outside of Krakow Ghetto. In his factory, he hired as many Jews as he could. One part of the movie that your heart just drops is when the Jewish Women that were working for Schindler, all load up in a train and accedently get sent to Aushwitz, instead of the place that Schindelr had ordered them to be sent. Through out the movie, You have one question in your mind, "Will Oskar really end up saving all of these Jews? Or will he end up losing them, and lose his life while trying to do so ? "

Actors

Liam Neeson plays Oskar Schindler in the flim and was a terrific actor. One good scene that showcases is when he is on top of the Hill and he is watching the Liquidation of the Ghetto, and he is eye witnessing the massacre of hundreds of people. Another great actor in this movie was Embeth Davidtz. She played Helen, her character is foreced to work as a made at an officers house, soon after, the officer is lusting after her. A good scene in the movie was when her character was in a room with the officer, and he is trying to force her to do something, so he slaps her and punches her. She just stood there and looked so shocked and dead.

Presentation

The presentation was wonderful in this movie, the whole movie is flimed in black and white. Excepet fot the little girl wearing a red coat, her coat was pretty much the only thing that was in color in the movie. Watching this film, made you really feel like you were watching something from the past. Like you were actaully in a concentration camp or where in the Ghettos at the time. In the movie, they even spoke their native tongues or had very strong European accents.

Comparaison

There's nothing really to compare in this movie. Everybody and basically everything in the movie was based on actual information and was based on real people. At the end of the movie, they show the actors holding the hands of the people who they portrayed in the movie. So it shows that people who he saved, still remember him and will always be grateful towards him.

What Have I Learned ?

I have known about the horrible stuff that had happend back in those days. But to watch this movie, gives you a real sense of what had happend. Watching this movie just makes you grateful that you have a life and that nobody is trying to kill your race or what ever group that you are in.

Unit 1: WWII in the Pacific

Movie Settings:


The Movie I watched for this unit was "From Here to Eternity". From Here to Eternity was directed by Fred Zinnemann and was released to theaters worldwide in August 5, 1953. This movie stars Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgnine. "Eternity" became an instant classic among movie goers and was nominated for Thirteen Academy Awards. Among the winners were best supporting actor Frank Sinatra.



Plot:


When Private Robert E. Lee "Prewitt" is transferred to Schofield Barracks on the island of Oahu, he is pressured to start boxing again. Prewitt gave up on boxing years ago and has no plans on returning into the ring. When Karen Holmes finds out her husband is having an affair, she begins to have romantic interests with Sergeant Warden. Many interesting stories in this film while Japan is about to bomb the island. And who will survive the bombing ? And what will they think of there dead loved ones ?





Actors :





Frank Sinatra gives a very good performance in "Eternity" and a key scene is when he is about to die. When is he is laying down in the road, he tells the guys what "Fatso" did to him. Another good scene was when "Fatso" made a wise crack at a picture of Sinatra's sister, and then Sinatra threw a chair at Fatso. It showed his anger and how real and intense his mad he was. Another Good actor was Donna Reed. When she found out that her love interest "Prewitt" was going to go out back to the base, she cried and begged for him not go back out during the havoc and bombing that the Japanese were doing. She even changed her mind to marry him, in the past she refused to marry him, and it showed how deep love she had for him.





Presentation :





The best special effects in the movie was when they showed the bombing of the city. It showed the Military Ships being taken down and missiles destroying the ships. Lots of mushroom clouds and lots of planes shooting down people. I actually think that some of the effects might had been old footage from the actual attack of Pearl Harbor.





What Happened during this time era ?





During this era, The whole world was at war with each other. Millions of people were killed during World War II and Pearl Harbor was a sad event. Pearl Harbor was when The Japanese bombed that area and killed many solders and citizens. This event lead to America to join the war and to win the war with Japan. After the killings that took place in Pearl Harbor, the Americans' dropped the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombs killed over 200,000 people in Japan, and with that Japan surrendered in the War.





Comparison :





"From Here to Eternity" seems to be accurate with the time era. For one thing, the bombs and the killings were correct and accurate. One thing that seem was not true were the characters in the movie. Those stories were not true.





What Have I learned ?





I learned that the Pearl Harbor attack was really apart of American History and that started the War for America. At that time, the country really came together to help out, Men were serving in the army and Women were becoming nurses and were doing all kinds of other jobs to help out the soldiers during the war.

Unit 9: World War I (1914-1918)

Movie Settings:




The movie I picked for this unit was the African Queen, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. The movie was released in the UK and the United States in 1951 and was released in 1952 to be nominated for the Oscars. The African Queen went on to be nominated for four times and won Best Actor. This movie was directed by John Huston and the movie is based off the book of the same name. This movie is now considered a classic and was number 17 for AFI's 100 Greatest Movies of All Times.







Plot:


The movie starts off with Samuel (Robert Morley) and Rose Sayer (Katharine Hepburn) in West Africa in 1914. Sam and Rose are both brother and sister missionaries and trying to spread the knowledge of God to villages and tribes. One day their mailman (Humphrey Bogart) tells them that the German's are at war with the English, and that German's are nearby. German troops come and destroy the village and Samuel ends up dieing. The rest of the movie is Rose and Charlie trying to find and destroy the German boat and help out the country of England. Through out the movie, you find Rose and Charlie fall in love and in the end, they get married right before their execution.



Actors:


Katharine Hepburn was an alright actress in this movie. She plays an English woman, and I think she did a bad job at that. Her accent sounded fake and sounded like an elderly woman, then of an English. Other then that, she did great. A scene that highlights her performance was when her brother passed away, and Charlie comes to comfort her, and she looks like she wants to cry, but is holding it in. Humphrey Bogart also did a great job in this movie, he drank some Gin and was wasted in one scene. A scene that is quite remember able was when he was pushing the boat, and a bunch of leeches were stuck to his skin.


Presentation:



Presentation for this movie was excellent. Most of the scenes were shot in Africa, and the movie got the real authentic West African plains and rivers. The animals in the movie were also fantastic and were not fake robots or puppets, like other movies from that era. So this movie came alive really well.


What Happened during this Era ?



Well during this era, World War I was in full effect and all of Europe were fighting. The United States did not join in until 1917 and the war ended the following year. Many young men were being sent to the army and there were many of young men being forced into the army by posters and art works that promoted the war. Also, in the United States, there was an epidemic, about 500,000 people died, from a strange disease that came and disappeared.



Comparison:



When comparing the movie and the actual time era, you get a whole lot of new facts and thoughts about the war. For example, the German's were taking African's and were turning them into soldiers. The German's were everywhere and of course Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn character's wanted to get back at them for what they had started.


What Have I learned ?


I have learned that America entered the War in 1917 and finished the war in 1918. I had always thought that the America was in the war from the start and lost billions of lives. I guess it looks like my thought was wrong. Also, people suffered alot during the War, just like the people of Africa, losing their village and being forced to become a soldier for a country they did not care about .

Unit 10 The Roaring 20's and the Great Depression (1919-1939)

Movie Settings:

The Movie I watched for this unit was Bonnie and Clyde. This movie is one of the most popular gangster movies of all times, and it was a huge hit in 1967. The movie was released world wide in August of 1967.The film stars Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Micheal Pllard, and Gene Wilder. The film is also directed by Arthur Penn. The movie went on to get two Academy Awards and was nominated eight other times.

Plot:

The movie revolves around Bonnie and Clyde and the Barrow Gang. It starts off with Bonnie meeting Clyde for the first time, right outside her house while he was trying to hijack her mom's car. Right away they have great chemistry and go on to rob banks. They end up meeting with Clyde's brother and his wife, who is the daughter of a preacher, and a young man named C.W. Together they all are an excellent team, stealing, robbing banks, killing and kidnapping people is all what they are known for. Eventually, they all get taken down, one by one, until it is down to Bonnie, Clyde and C.W. As they have no where to go, they turn to C.W dad's house and hide out there. In the end, C.W's father hates the fact that Bonnie and Clyde ruined C.W's clean cut image and makes a deal with the police to kill Bonnie and Clyde and shorten C.W's prison sentence.

Actors:

The main actors in the movie are Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman and Estelle Parsons. In the beginning of the movie, the acting by Faye and Warren seemed very fake and not well prepared. If you watch the when they first meet, Faye and Warren's accent seem fake and seem like they were trying to hard to mimic that sound. As the movie progressed, the acting seemed way more professional. Estelle Parsons went on to win an Oscar for her supporting role in the movie. Her character was extremely whinny and annoying, and she portrayed her character very well, especially when her husband was about to die, she poured out her heart and soul.

Presentation:

For this movie, it really captured the 1930's era really well. The cars, fashion, Coke bottles and the way they talked made it seem real, even though the movie was made over forty years ago. In one scene, you can see the shadow of the camera man on one of the actors back, So that was not that great. The music was a bit random, they played music from that era, but the music would be playing while they were simply walking down the street, with a radio nowhere in sight. In the movie, they used old pictures to make that era come alive, which was awesome.

What Happened during this era ?

During this era, people were depressed, because of the crash of the stock market. Because of the crash, many people committed suicide, robbed banks, and even lived on the streets. Many people were jobless, so like in Bonnie and Clyde, they robbed banks to make a living. Farmers were hit pretty hard because weather conditions had changed and made it harder for them to grow crops and food.

Comparison:

The two connected very well, the movie fell right into place with the Great Depression and captured what people were going through during that era. It made sense as in why they were robbing and stealing food and cars and of course money. The movie kind of applies to today, with people losing their jobs, people are looking everywhere to support their families and bring food on the table.

What I have learned:

I have learned that Bonnie and Clyde were so happy and peaceful and were trying to be a good Samaritan when they were gun down by the police. I learned something important from watching this movie and studying this unit, Never steal from someone you do not trust. I'm just kidding, never do anything that you will regret in the future. Because it will come back to haunt you and you will be in a lot of pain.

Unit 8: Wild West

Movie Settings:

The Movie I chose to watch for this unit was Butch Cassiday and The Sundance Kid. This Movie was an extremely popular movie at the time, and even now, it is known as an American Classic. The movie was released in 1969 and grossed over 102.3 million dollars during its run. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Song. The song was "Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head" which ended up being a number One hit Song. The Movie takes place in America and in Bolivia, in the early 20Th century.

Plot:

The Story starts off with Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy robbing a train. Butch and Sundance Kid are the leaders in the gang called "Hole In The Wall". But the gang has selected a new leader, and he challenges them to a knife fight. Butch wins using a ruse and then the go rob a bank. The movie introduces Etta Place, Sundance's lover, but it appears that both men have feelings towards her. The posse, Butch, Sundance, and Etta find them selves on the run, going to a foreign country and robbing more banks. Eventually, it's just Butch and Sundance, fighting to till their deaths.

Actors:

Paul Newman plays Butch Cassidy and does one heck of a job in portraying Butch. Paul does a fantastic job and a key scene is where He and Sundance are trapped on the ledge, he decides to jump off into the water and shows off his bravery and even displays some comedic parts. Robert Redford also did a great job in portraying Sundance Kid. An excellent scene is where Sundance and Butch are stuck in the empty house in Boliva, and run outside. He seemd sure of himself that they were going to be ok and come out alive. My favorite scen with all three actors, is when they arrive in Boliva and they do not know a word of Spanish and do not know how to rob their banks.

Presentation:

This movie had an excellent presentation. Watching the movie made me feel like I was actually watching something from the early 20th century. In the beginning of the movie, playing along with the credits, is old flim clips from the early 20th century of a robbery on a train. Also, during the tranistion from America to Boliva, there is a wide range of old flims and old pictures of cities and Coney Island. It captured that era of time. The lighting and film sets were excellent and did not look at a bit fake, unlike other westerns and movies during that time.

Comparison:

The movie captured the time era perfectly. During the Wild West, it was common for people to come out and rob from banks, stores, houses, and banks. Even to hide out in the woods or mountains or the desert was a common hide out for robbers. In the flim, it showed how robbers were constantly on the run and still going out and commiting crimes. Sad to say, many were killed by the police or even never heard from ever again. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid showed what it was like to live in that time.

What Have I learned ?

I learned that people were not that different from that time, as much as today. I mean most people think that back in the Wild West, people were scared of everything and Men would come out and kill each other. But really, times hasn't changed. People are still going out and robbing banks and hijacking airplanes, rather then trains and killing each other.

Unit Four: Revolution

Movie Settings:



The movie I choose to watch was Roots volume 3. This was the third part to the six part series and was created by Alex Haley. The movie is based upon Alex's family history and was shown on the ABC station. This episode aired on January 25, 1977 and also had older actors to play some of the younger characters, to show the time difference. The show won nine Emmy's and is considered a TV classic. The movie takes place in Spotsylvania County, Virgina in 1776 and then in 1780.



Plot:

In the beginning, it shows an older Kunta and he is working with the tobacco fields. Later on in the day, there is a celebration going on at the house and Toby is coming up with a plan to escape. He hides in the back of a wagon, and doesn't leave until he thinks its time to come out. Toby finds himself at the same plantation as Funta is living in. He meets up with her and basically tell her that he loves her and has been waiting a long time to see her. Funta tells him that she doesn't go by that name anymore and has forgotten her African ways. They both wake up the next day and Toby is trying to tell her to run away with him, but she positively does not want to. The shouting of their arguments, leads Tobey's master to find him. As a result from that, they cut off his foot with an axe, so that he can't run away again. Tobey awakes and see a fellow slave woman named Bell. Eventually, the two get married and have a daughter named Kizzy. Tobey's friend who has been helping him since his arrival, Fiddler dies as Tobey is talking to him. The movie ends with Tobey talking to his daughter about his life in Africa, so that she won't forget who she is.



Actors:

John Amos from the show "Good Times" plays a grown up Kunta Kinte or Tobey. His performance was fantastic in this film. He made you cringe in the face when he got his foot chopped off! He cried when his friend Fiddler died and it pulled every body's who watches this movies heart strings. Another great performance in this movie was by Madge Sinclair who played Bell. An excellent scene that show cased her performance was when she was telling Tobey that her first Husband was trying to plan escape for her and her babies. When the plan failed, he was hanged and her babies were sold off. That scene she was crying and wailing, it made me want help her out.



Presentation:

The presentation for the movie was really great. The sets seemed to match the time era and the wooden house looked cool. The music seemed a bit off during some scenes, such as during a tense moment, it played happy music. The lighting and the camera work was a bit off because you could visibly see the shadows of the camera men. The outfits they would wear were ok and it certainly matched that era.



What Happened During this time era?

During this time, America was in the Revolutionary War. They were fighting Britain and were trying to keep their own land. If slaves wanted to become free, they had to join the British army and become a soldier. The Britans promised them that they can become free, sadly most of the slaves died during the war and most of them returned to being a slave. During this time, the Stamp Act came in to place, placing a stamp on all newspaper, broadsides, pamphlets, licence and all legal documents. The Stamp Act was to defend, protect and securing all the documents. Also the Boston Tea Party had happened, which was when a group of men dressed as Indians poured all the tea in the ocean. Hoping that all the citizens would buy it and pay tax.

Comparison

In the movie, it did not really show any of the fighting or anything that had to do with this era. They only talked about what was happening. For example, Bell was saying that any young black boy that wanted to be free, had to join the British army. Also Bell was saying that George Washington is a great leader and one day he should become president. In real life, slavery was still taking place, but it shows that this era didn't have a dramatic impact on them.

What I have learned

I have learned that this era had a lot of pride. The Colonist were egar to win and never gave up on their dream to be an independent nation. Also, the army that was fighting was relatively small compared to the British army and it seems like a miracle that they had won. It seems like everyone should be thankful that we live in a free land that doesn't have rules that effect peoples beliefs.

Unit 3: Roots

For this unit, I watched the movie called Roots: episode one and two. In the beginning of the series, it takes place in 1750 then 15 years later in 1765 in Gambia, West Africa. In episode two, it takes place in 1767 in Annapolis, Maryland. The miniseries was created by Alex Haley and it is based on his family history, of when his Great Great Great Grandfather arrives from Africa to America. Roots premiered on ABC on January 23, 1977. The miniseries was a successful hit and went on to win nine Emmy awards and a Golden Globe and even a Peabody Award.

Plot

The movie starts off with the main character, Kunta Kinte being born and his dad choosing his name. Then fifteen years pass by and Kunta Kinte is a fifteen years old and is learning how life is. In his tribe, a male must leave his tribe as a boy and return as a Mandinka Warrior. So Kunta and many other young boys are taken and go through intensive training, even getting their male body parts cut off. While attempting to kill a bird for as his mission, he runs into a young girl named Funta and knocks over all her food. While he is still chasing the bird, he sees a bunch of Africans chained up and white men leading them. Kunta returns to his training and tells the elders that their are white men in the area. Life continues and Kunta returns to his village as a man and promises to make a drum for his brother. As he is searching parts for the drum, Kunta is captured by four men and taken to the ship. On the ship he sees Funta and notices that she is all alone without her family. Kunta also sees a Warrior that trained him from the camp. Time goes by and Kunta and 140 other Africans are on slaved on the ship and eventually, the slave numbers down to 98. Meaning the others jumped off the boat or were killed. Kunta arrives in Annapolis, Maryland and watches Funta get sold off to a white man. Then about five minutes later, Kunta is sold off to a man named John Reynolds and a fellow slave named Fiddler has to teach Kunta how to be a proper " slave". Kunta is then taken to the home and his name Kunta is replaced with name Tobey. Kunta is learning the new lifestyle and hates it very much. He then makes an attempt to escape and breaks free. The next day, he awakes in the snow and is happier then ever, until Mr.Reynolds is chasing after him with the dogs. As they return back to the house, Fiddler pleads with him not to whip Tobey and hopes he can learn how to be proper. The plan fails and Kunta is whipped until he can say his new name.

Actors

LeVar Burton did an excellent job in portraying Kunta Kinte and made you really think about what the Africans went through during those hideous times. I would say his best parts was when he was being whipped down and when he was crying. LeVar made it his own and really came out great! Another great scene was when LeVar's character ran off, he looked extremely happy just be outside in the snow and to be free. LeVar smiled and pulled it off. Kunta's Mother also gave a really great performance. When she found out that her son was moving into a different hut, she cried and surely it touched our hearts. Then when she found out that her son got captured by the white men, she cried and cried and it for sure made every one's eyes watery.

Presentation

The Presentation was set off mediocre. The sets seemed accurate and the scenes that took place in Africa were moderate. I mean the area looked alright, but I think it could had been a whole lot better. The special effects were not that good, in the scene on the boat, where the little white boy shoots the canon on the African warrior, it looked like a piece of paper with red marks was on his head. Well I would have to get credit to them, because at the time, the effects were outstanding. The music was a bit off, it didn't sound like African music and they played really happy music when Kunta arrives on the plantation, when he is about to work.

What Happened during this era?

Well during these times, America wasn't a country yet, it was still owned by the British and the Americans needed helpers, also known as slaves. The trade route, which was extremely popular during this era. The trade route was from Great Britain to Africa to The Americas to drop off the slaves. The slaves worked in all thirteen colonies, but in the south there was a great dependence on them. In the south, they relied on the slaves for everything and in the North, they just used them to help them out. It was still common to see Indians in their reservations and to see people with white wigs on. The Colonial period ended around 1776, when America earned its Independence.

Comparison

Well none of us were alive in those days, but by doing research and studying, the movie seemed to hit the nail on the coffin for portraying the what happened in those days and what happened in the movie. It was ultimately accurate on the part on slaves coming to America and captured Africans jumping of the ships to escape the horror, even if that meant killing themselves. Also, it went well when showing us when the Masters would buy the slaves, what they would do and why they did it. They would harmful liquids on them, just to heal their wounds, sometimes it didn't even work.

What did I learn about this?

I learned that not all the white people in those days, weren't mean to the slaves. Mr. Reynolds wife wanted to teach the blacks how to read and to be more normal. She viewed them as humans who eat, drink and use the restrooms, like everyone else. So that shows me that not everyone was crucial to them. From this lesson, I learned that the Colonial Period ended around 1776, and I had always thought it had ended around 1812. Overall, I would say that I learned a lot.

- Jessie Gonzales