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Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.
Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.
One Night in Miami is a film set back in the early 1960s. This film is a fictional story about a few prominent black figures having a conversation in Miami about a vast majority of topics. The story features the former NFL star Jim Brown, played by Aldis Hodge; Cassius Clay, better known as Muhammad Ali, played by Eli Goree, Sam Cooke played by Leslie Odom Jr., and Malcolm X played by Kingsley Ben-Adir. As the movie progresses, each character has a chance to develop and have some background added to their story. But, it all comes together as they begin to call and interact with one another. Something that is very prominent in this movie from the very beginning is the score. Within the first 5 minutes of the movie, we can easily understand the time period that this is set in. The music is filled with static and is somewhat more upbeat and in a swing style, signaling to me that this movie is set in the 1960s. Along with the music in the background used to signal the time period, we also have music based on the scene and situation. A prime example of this is the scene we see with Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali prior to the fight. Muhammad Ali meets Malcolm in his hotel room and they pray together. As they begin praying, Arabic music begins playing and continues as they continue to pray. As the movie continues, so does the music. Another example of the music being situational comes when Malcolm steps out of the room to “get something from his car” but in reality he is calling his wife. During this conversation, Malcolm is telling her about Muhammad Ali fully converting to the religion of Islam and that they will be announcing it to the world tomorrow. This gives her hope as she feels that he may be willing to join in with Malcolm’s plan. The music played in the background is very soft and slower paced on the piano, almost sounding very hopeful for the future. The next part of the film that I want to discuss is the pacing and transitions of the film. In the opening scene, we see the use of a fade in transition in order to introduce Muhammad Ali and also the year that the movie is set in, 1963. This is the first fight we see him in and it won’t be the last as we will see him win the heavyweight championship title. After Sam Cooke has bombed his performance at the club, he pours a drink and we see a wipe transition with the drink that transitions into us being introduced to Jim Brown. The next transition we see in this movie is used to change locations from the room to the roof where they continue to hang out. It’s a wipe transition yet again going behind Jim Brown and then we see a door swing open. The pacing we see in this movie is very up and down. From the beginning, the pacing is very quick starting from the fight. Although it seems that Muhammad Ali is winning, there is still a lot of tension. Following the fight, the pacing of the movie slows down essentially until the very next fight. We have much quicker cuts and there’s a lot of celebration going on between the main characters. Once the characters are back at the hotel and on the roof, Malcolm and Sam Cooke almost have a fight and leads to Malcolm’s security coming up and Jim Brown takes offense to something that security says. This pacing slows down again, but speeds up yet again as the argument spills over to the room. As the movie ends, they all come together and seem to put their disagreements to the side and realize that they each can contribute to achieving a better world for black people.
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Pulp Fiction features an all star cast with stars like John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, and Ving Rhames in a movie ridden with the crimes of this town. As the film progresses, every single character is in for a wild ride. Some will be the perpetrators and some will be the victims. Tune in to this classic & critically acclaimed film to see who’s who in your eyes. |