Emotions and Analysis of Film and Cinema

One of the last great films I have seen is “Any Given Sunday” directed by Oliver Stone and starring Al Pacino, Denis Quaid, and Jammie Fox. “Any Given Sunday” is a feature film I viewed on television at home and thoroughly enjoyed. Throughout the movie I was really pulled in and captivated by the film. Football appeals to me as a sports fan and Stone does an exemplary job of showing the nature of the sport in all aspects. The tension between the actors in certain parts of the film is mind gripping and the plot thickens as the film progresses. The film brings out the best of emotions in the viewers as shock, joy, and sadness are all conveyed. Almost every scene I was on the edge of my seat in suspense wondering what would happen next. The movie leaves a lasting vivid image in the viewer’s mind and is a great cinematic production.

Stone’s film focuses on the reality and drama of a football team and its players. The aspects of greed, glory, fame, and a love of the game of football are shown throughout the film in one of Stone’s best films ever. The football team called the “Sharks” experience the drama of loosing their starting quarterback and an “old school” coach if you will, dealing with a new brash and arrogant quarterback taking over his team to make the playoffs. Stone uses classic Hollywood style to tell his story and show his film to the viewer.

The film uses very little special effects since Oliver Stone wanted to create real images of the football players and real hits and tackles during the game. By shooting real images of football, the game and the action all come to life. However, Stone makes great use of shot duration, camera movement, montage, and sound. Shot duration is one of the biggest effects that Stone emphasis in his film. He creates long takes by showing the film to the viewer in slow motion at certain points and rapidly speeds up the action at other times to give a dramatic affect and to alert his audience that a pivotal point in the film is about to occur.

Any Given Sunday” not only should be considered a great film but a memorable one as well. Unlike other memorable films that trace back to a character’s past history or important past events, this film should be considered “memorable” for the lasting images it instills on the viewer’s mind. One of the last scenes of the film depicts the quarterback running towards the goal line with the hopes and dreams of his team’s playoff chances riding on his back. As the quarterback, played by Jamie Foxx approaches the goal line to win the game, two huge tacklers stand in his way and seem determined to stop him. The film then uses an extreme close-up to depict the quarterback’s face, zooming in particularly on his eyes and the thoughts going through his mind. Then a flashback shot of the crowd and fans in the seats from the past is shown in a black and white faded image in the shot transition. As the shot returns to an extreme close-up of the quarterback, the image of him slowly dissolves into the background as it moves to one side of the screen while the image of the football coach appears side by side with the other image. Then the picture of the coach completely dissolves as the scene moves back to an extreme close-up of Jamie Foxx in the background with an image of a football player from years past diving and outstretched toward the goal line. As the scene progresses, a shot of lightning is used as a wipe to replace the image of the quarterback fading in the background. The crack and appearance of lightning fills the screen for a blink of the eye as the image of Jamie Foxx reappears, the screen once again going to a blur. Finally, the screen becomes clearer and focuses its full attention on the quarterback. The shot duration slows drastically for dramatic effect and seems to freeze in time. The quarterback slowly dives headfirst into the end-zone as the two defenders go airborne to stop him and collide head on with the quarterback. The film shows a replay of the action and zooms in as the camera angle is position low to the ground. As the sound effect of the collision is heard, background music is played in a high pitched melody. Meanwhile, the camera does a one hundred-eighty degree turn towards the coach and fans, in suspense waiting for the referee’s signal to see if it was the game winning score. After a brief moment the camera returns to the sight of the action where the crowd lets out a triumphant roar as the referee signals that the team has in fact scored to win the game.

The film “Any Given Sunday” is truly a masterpiece and work of art. The director Oliver Stone does an outstanding job in his cinematography throughout the movie. He carefully planned all details of the film including the multitude of camera angles and shots during the film to make the action come alive. Stone’s film is truly a great and memorable cinematic production that leaves the viewer wrapped up in the movie