The Musical

The Commitments film slug:

Director: Alan Parker

Writers: Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, and Roddy Doyle

Starring: Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, and Angeline Ball

Genres: Comedy, Drama, and Music

Run Time: 118 minutes

Production Co.: Beacon Communications

Release Date: August 14, 1991 (USA)

Rated R

(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101605/) 

Sweeny Todd film slug:
Director: Tim Burton
Writers: John Logan and Hugh Wheeler
Stars: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman
Genres: Horror, Musical, Romance
Run Time: 116 minutes
Production Co: DreamWorks Pictures 
Release Date: Dec. 21, 2007
Rated R

The Commitments and Sweeny Todd are two very different musicals.  The Commitments is not a common type of musical, it's based on band that is formed.  So the story would have to involve their music.  Whereas Sweeny Todd is about a demon barber on Fleet Street.
I can relate The Commitments to film form and expectations in our text.  We know it is a movie about a band, so we expect there to be music performed by them.  Sweeny Todd can relate more to mise-en-scene, where it influences the mood and our emotional response.  The costumes and setting in  Sweeny Todd help us to relate it to the time in which it is held.
Formalist film theory can relate to both movies.  Sound is a big deal in musicals, what they sing will portray the feeling of the scene or film as a whole.  The Commitments thought of themselves as Irish soul music.  The songs and sounds from Sweeny Todd related to the darkness of the film.
"'The Commitments' is one of the few movies about a fictional band that's able to convince us the band is real and actually plays together," (Ebert).  I agree with Ebert, since it's such a different approach to a musical genre, it convinces us that it was based on a real story.  
"From our first glimpse of Johnny Depp's haunted, vengeful eyes as the ex-convict barber sails into London on a mission to kill the man who stole his wife and child and sent him off to prison, we're swept into Burton's pitch-black vision," (Ansen).  Tim Burtons love for darkness always lures us in, and as gruesome as he can be, you can't turn away.  He hooks you into the darkness.
The Commitments was a fun movie, I liked how un-musical genre it was.  That doesn't mean I dislike musicals though.  Sweeny Todd is still one of my favorite musicals, it's dark and gloomy and has the greatest cast imaginable. 

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM

1) (√) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) (√) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) (√) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) (√) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) (√) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) (√) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) (√ ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) (√) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: Charlotte Azaceta  Date: December 17, 2012

Editing Checklist

1. (√) An introductory paragraph clearly introduces the subject. The topic statement is evident within the paragraph. The position taken is clear. If the position is unclear, put a question mark in the margin.

2. (√) The next two paragraphs have a single or main claim. Note each claim in the margin in a 3-4 word phrase. If you can’t identify the claim, put a question mark in the margin. If two or more claims exist, and tend to diverge from a coherent thought, put a question mark in the margin.

3. (√) The same thing holds for the next two paragraphs on the opposite side of the issue.

4. (√) The four paragraphs above all focus on the issue at hand; they do not wander off into irrelevant territory. If any paragraph wanders, put a question mark in the margin

5. (√) The sixth paragraph weighs the conflicting claims from the four paragraphs above and arrives at a conclusion. Why some evidence is more convincing than other evidence is explained. The ensuing conclusion is clearly stated. Circle it. If you can’t find the conclusion, put a question mark in the margin.

6. (√) The final paragraph returns to what was stated in the first paragraph and, in light of the evidence presented and weighed above, convincingly rephrases the position statement. If the conclusion expected by the assignment is to be finessed, justifying statements for the variance must appear here and flow-from the explanation in the sixth paragraph of your paper.

7. (√) Is each claim in paragraphs 2-5 supported by evidence? Are there any naked claims supported only by variations of "I believe...”? If so, put a big X in the margin beside that paragraph.

8. (√) Is each claim backed up by a reference? If a claim stands naked of supporting evidence or argument, put a big X in the margin.

9. (√) Does the paper do more than simply but gloriously restate the question? Examine the case study and cross out all ideas that appear in both the case study and in your paper. What remains-uncrossed out is your analysis. It should constitute the majority of your paper. If it doesn't, you haven’t done an analysis.

10. ( ) A sentence lacks either a subject or a verb; a sentence does not begin with a capital letter or end with a period (citations in parentheses go ahead of periods, not behind them).

I l. ( ) A sentence begins with a relative pronoun such as Which, Who, That, Where, and When.

12. ( ) A pronoun lacks a clear antecedent; that is, a word such as it, he, she, or they does not have an obvious link to a noun (especially noticeable if a sentence begins with it, he, she, or they).

13. ( ) A pronoun or verb fails to agree with its antecedent in number; that is, a single person or agency is referred to as they, or a plural subject is given a singular verb (such as, "members of the school board....gives their vote...").

14. ( ) A sentence runs-on or uses a comma to splice independent ideas together; that is, complex ideas are not split into two sentences but are linked, often by a comma, into an overly long, wandering sentence.

 Ebert, Robert. "The Commitments :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews." rogerebert.com :: Movie reviews, essays and the Movie Answer Man from film critic Roger Ebert. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2012. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19910816/REVIEWS/108160301/1023

 Ansen, David. "Review: 'Sweeney Todd'" The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 08 Dec. 2007. Web. 21 Dec. 2012.

"The Commitments (1991) - IMDb." IMDb - Movies, TV and Celebrities. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2012. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101605/

Barsam, Richard Meran, Dave Monahan, and Karen M. Gocsik. "Types of Movies." Looking at movies: an introduction to film. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2010. 98-9. Print.