He finds out that she can sing and so dom uses her as a voice over for lina lamont on his next film. The real meaning behind the creation of singin in the rain. This film has a generally joyful and uplifting mood throughout, somewhat of a norm for musicals. Don escaping the groupie brigade and winding up in the codriver seat of kathys car. Reflexivity in singin in the rain film analysis at the. Singing in the rain analysis film studies essay uk essays. Singin in the rain is all about the true hollywood life. In 1927, don lockwood and lina lamont are a famous onscreen romantic pair. Donen got an honorary oscar in 1998, and stole the show by singing cheek to cheek while dancing with his statuette. Singin in the rain, by including a character like lina, whose voice does not match her appearance, capitalizes on the comical ironies of a film industry in which sound doesnt exist, and the ways that the absence of sound could create an even more illusory and deceptive pantheon of stars, ones who did not quite live up to their own hype.
Debbie reynolds real story behind singing in the rain shows how fierce she was this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Gene kelly in his greatest role is an all singing, all dancing sensation and his acting is pretty damn good too. The voices in both the movie and the film being made during the movie were very important because they gave insight on the characters personality and role in the grand scheme of things. When don and linas latest film is transformed into a. It is hard to follow the number of different sets, stages, and.
Singin in the rain a unified analysis of technology. Singin in the rain opens at the premiere of a don lockwood and lina lamont silent film, the royal rascal. Singin in the rain is considered by many people to be among the best hollywood musicals of all time. These two film concepts are very interrelated and can tell the viewer much about a film in just a single frame. Lina, however, mistakes the onscreen romance for real love. One of the most expertly lit scenes in the film is the classic singin in the rain number. An absolute masterpiece, and easily, easily 5 stars. The exception is singin in the rain, the 1952 release from codirectors gene kelly and stanley donen, which remains distinguished from the. Finally, a billboard proclaims that don and kathy are costars of the new monumental film singin in the rain. But from another, it is an exploration of false exteriors covering a deeper truth beneath. Film historian ron haver, who does the scenebyscene commentary on an alternate sound track of the laserdisc, points out that singin in the rain was not immediately hailed for its greatness. Generally, viewers only see the starstudded, fantasy world, and this film brings out the truth concerning the competition, the chaos, and the talent. An example of the construction of miseenscene within the film. Analysis of singing in the rain 1429 words bartleby.
Singin in the rain is a metamusical it explores the transition of a movie studio from silent film to sound, all set to a musical script. Buster keaton practiced a strict standard of space and movement within an environment and extended that focus to the space and movement within the frame of the camera lens. The gaudy, overthetop, and arduously rehearsed musical numbers add to the film s reflexivity. Debbie reynolds real story behind singing in the rain. A lesson in miseenscene singin in the rain has an elaborate miseenscene which contains a number of layers that all come together to convey the idea of a movie within a number of movies. Singing in the rain analysis film studies essay free.
Singing in the rain is an american comedy musical film starring gene kelly, debbie reynolds, donald oconnor and jean hagen, and directed by gene kelly and stanley donen. But as i we watched it more it started to grow on me and started to enjoy the movie. S ingin in the rain 1952 is a metamusical which captures the struggle a silent film production company has in the process of transitioning into talkies films with actual sound dialogue between characters. It stars don lockwood and lina lamont, two of the brightest silent film stars in hollywood. The dialogue was very witty, especially amongst don, kathy, and cosmo. It offers a lighthearted depiction of hollywood in the late 1920s, with the three stars portraying performers caught up in the transition from silent films to talkies. Final cue of they both kissing in front of a huge billboard advertising the film singin in the rain with don lockwood and kathy selden. As the crowd anticipates the arrival of the start we see a number of celebrities, representations of the renowned actors and actresses actual of the 1920s. It did well at the box office, but won no academy awards and was on no critics yearend lists of best films. During you are my lucky star, the last number, the film fades from don singing to kathy in profile, to a drawing of his profile, then zooms out to reveal a billboard for a movie starring both don and kathy, also titled singin in the rain. Voice and sound in singin in the rain ufilm analysis blog.
These sets are examples of miseenscene within the world of singing in the rain, and are all constructed to show the audience everything that went into the making of a film during this time. The original screenplay placed it later in the film and assigned it to all three stars who can be seen singing it together under the opening titles. Analysis of singin in the rain essay 1112 words bartleby. Gene kellys performance of singin in the rain has to be the greatest dance numbers ever performed on film, and i could watch it over and. Youtube links to each dance section and images to support analysis are included. This sublime 1952 movie musical, in cinemas again, puts the artistry of gene kelly, debbie reynolds and co on full, joyful display. There is no movie musical more fun than singin in the rain, and. Don has worked hard to get where he is today, with his former partner cosmo.
Singin in the rain a unified analysis of technology, stars and representation posted on september 26, 2011 by frederick greene excerpted from keith johnstons. The shot this scene during the day and had to stretch huge tarps over city blocks to make it night. A level dance singin in the rain analysis american. Singin in the rain is a 1952 american musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by gene kelly and stanley donen, starring kelly, donald oconnor, and debbie reynolds. Singin in the rain 1952 is one of the mostloved and celebrated film musicals of all time from. It lets us know that the main characters are actors in the movie. Singing in the rain singing in the rain is an american comedy musical film starring gene kelly, debbie reynolds, donald oconnor and jean hagen, and directed by gene kelly and stanley donen. Analysis of a scene when i was little my parents showed me the infamous scene in singin in the rain where gene kelly, in a moment of genuine happiness, dances and sings on the side of a street in the pouring rain. It offers a comic depiction of hollywood, and its transition from silent films to talking films. Film trailers and the selling of hollywood technology, macfarland, 2009 pp 17, by permission of the author. Singin in the rain emerged in the early 1950s, when the industry had achieved a mature distance from its silent origins, and its possible this film helped promote the idea that with. Singing in the rain is an american comedy musical film starring gene kelly, debbie reynolds, donald oconnor and jean hagen, and direc. Don tells the crowd all about his cultured, utterly refined upbringing, while flashbacks reveal that.
The mousetrap, a play within a play, but in singin in the rain, were looking at a movie within a movie. When observer film critic philip french first saw singin in the rain in 1952, he realised cinema was his lifelong passion. Singin in the rain singin in the rain, american musical comedy film, released in 1952, that was a reunion project for the american in paris directorial team of stanley donen and gene kelly, who was also the films star. Singin in the rain makes no attempt to make its audience believe it is in any way an exercise in psychological realism or naturalistic acting. On march 27, 1952, mgm hosted the premiere for singin in the rain at radio city music hall in new york. It evokes the typical characteristics of the popular mgm hollywood musical by relying on superstar names and infectious dance numbers.
As the music swells to a climax, each spins around and begins walking in place and singing the title song. Singing in the rain other than being an amazing musical, it showed us the hardship that film makers and actors had when the transition from silent to talkies took place. As a satire, it deconstructs the movie trade and finds humor in the truth about the industrys shortcomings. Singin in the rain uses popular music of its time that people may already be familiar with. Analysis of singin in the rain essay 1112 words 5 pages released in 1951, singin in the rain was one of the last films to be produced during the profitable golden age of the studio system. Kelly was the mastermind behind the final form of the singin in the rain number, according to wollens study. What the cinematography did for actors singing in the. Love and music in singin in the rain film music notes. Singing in the rain analysis research paper 759 words. Unlike most films trying reveal hollywood, however, singin in the rain does it in a lighthearted manner. It was enjoyable to watch, particularly because it was comedic in nature.
Singin in the rain is often cited not only in research into the studio system mgm in particular and as an arthur freed production of the producerunit system, but also in cinematic analysis of almost. I have to give credit to jim emersons blog post on some of the greatest long takes in cinema history for this weeks observations on a shot inspiration. Also, another threat to the film industry was the greater highculture pretensions posed to films that were just for entertaining. Set during the turbulent period when hollywood was converting from silent films to sound, singin in the rain is a perfect example of everything that is good and right about movie making.
After the indepth analysis of two scenes from the film signin in the rain, it is now evident that directors gene kelly and stanley donen utilize the cinematic technique of sound as a means through which to achieve numerous functions such as creating a specific effect for the film. Singin in the rain music analysis singin in the rain kellydonan, 1952 is known to be one of best musicals ever made and one of the funniest movies of its time. This statistic can be attributed to the musical numbers that it incorporates. Other supporting documents include a3 worksheets with space to. Gene kelley center in the broadway ballet extravaganza. In other words, singin in the rain is all up in the movie businesss, well, businessso why not end the picture on a reference to the picture itself. The 1952 film exemplifies the key elements of a beloved hollywood genre.
Throughout the movie, people could see many different elements that make the movie musical singing in. It was made directly for film, and was not a broadway adaptation. The film opens on the three stars of the film with their backs to the camera, holding umbrellas. Singin in the rain 1952 is one of the mostloved and celebrated film musicals of all time from mgm, before a mass exodus to filmed adaptations of broadway plays emerged as a standard pattern. The films screenplay, suggested by the song singin in the rain that was written by freed and. For our music critic kitty empire, it was hearing kiss at the age of. Singin in the rain film analysis when we first started to watch this movie in class, i thought that i was really not going to like it. Singin in the rain study guide contains a biography of gene kelly, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Within the classic hollywood musical, singin in the rain, there are many historical references associated with the birth of the talkies.
The functions of sound in the film singin in the rain. Lina runs off screaming, and an embarrassed kathy starts to leave the theater, until don tells the audience that she is the real star of the film and has her join him in a song. Throughout the film, dom meets kathy selden an inspiring actress. Singin in the rain starts off at the 1927 premiere of the new monumental pictures film the royal rascal. It address the conflict between television and film industry. Singin in the rain is a 1952 moviemusical all about the movies, including musicals. Film analysis singin in the rain acting technique youtube. In 1952, gene kelly tapdanced his way into cinemas with the beautiful and joyous musical, singin in the rain. It was codirected by stanley donen, then only 28, and kelly, who supervised the choreography.
Singin in the rain cinema and media studies oxford. Matthew wellington 9272011 english 255 singin in the rain. The best acting performances of the decade screen test the new york times duration. From one point of view, the classic 1952 film musical singin in the rain is a comical take on hollywoods transition from the silent to the sound era in the late 1920s.