Grapes Of Wrath Overview

transcript

Bruce Springsteen

The Ghost Of Tom Joad 1995

Parallels of the song and filmSaturday, February 6, 2010

Bruce Springsteen

The Ghost Of Tom Joad 1995

Parallels of the song and filmSaturday, February 6, 2010

For Next Time 1/15 :

----View American Beauty---Ch. 2 CDRom Quiz (email results to me) or p. 36 “What is the primary focus of The Grapes of Wrath?” Based on your choice address # 1,2,3,4 or 5. Email me your answer (ascurato@gmail.com----Read Chapter 3 of Text

Saturday, February 6, 2010

The Grapes of Wrath (1940) is an American drama film directed by John Ford. It was based on the Pulitzer Prize winning 1939 novel, of the same name, written by John Steinbeck. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson and the executive producer was Darryl F. Zanuck.The film is about the Joad family, an Oklahoma family who after losing their farm during the Great Depression in the 1930s become migrant workers and end up in California. The motion picture details their journey across the United States as they travel to California in search for work and opportunities for the family members.

Prelude provided historical backdrop for the story

Steinbeck had unusual difficulty devising a title for his novel. "The Grapes of Wrath", suggested by his wife, Carol Steinbeck, was deemed more suitable than anything the author could come up with. The title is a reference to the biblical passage Revelation 14:19-20, an apocalyptic appeal to divine justice and deliverance from oppression in the final judgment.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:His truth is marching on.

......the Battle Hymn of the Republic, by Julia Ward Howe:

Major Players:John Steinbeck (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was one of the best-known and most widely read American writers of the 20th century. He wrote both the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939 and the novella Of Mice and Men, published in 1937. In all, he wrote twenty-five books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and several collections of short stories. In 1962 Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Major Players:John Ford (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973)[1] was an American film director of Irish heritage famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach and The Searchers and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath. His four Best Director Academy Awards (1935, 1940, 1941, 1952) is a record still unmatched, although only one of those films, How Green Was My Valley, won Best Picture.His style of film-making has been tremendously influential, leading colleagues such as Ingmar Bergman and Orson Welles to name him as one of the greatest directors of all time. In particular, Ford is a pioneer of location shooting and the extreme long shot which frames his characters against a vast, harsh and rugged natural terrain.

The Informer (1935) The Grapes of Wrath (1940) How Green Was My Valley (1941)

The Quiet Man (1952)

Best Director Oscars

Major Players:

Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 - March 25, 1977) was an American filmmaker who wrote, produced, and directed films. Johnson was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Screenplay in 1940 for The Grapes of Wrath and the Directors Guild of America Best Directors Award in 1956 for The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.

Major Players:

Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902–December 22, 1979) was a producer, writer, actor and director who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors. Produced The Grapes of Wrath for his studio, Twentieth Century Fox

Gregg Toland

(May 29, 1904 - September 26, 1948)

..........a highly influential American cinematographer noted for his innovative use of lighting and techniques such as deep focus.

Major Players:

Effective use of shadows and light in The Grapes of Wrath

Major Players:

Henry Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was a highly acclaimed Academy Award-winning American film and stage actor, best known for his roles as plain-speaking idealists. Fonda's subtle, naturalistic acting style preceded by many years the popularization of Method acting.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor, and made his Hollywood debut in 1935.

Major Players:

Henry Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was a highly acclaimed Academy Award-winning American film and stage actor, best known for his roles as plain-speaking idealists. Fonda's subtle, naturalistic acting style preceded by many years the popularization of Method acting.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor, and made his Hollywood debut in 1935.

Major Characters:

Tom Joad

---Film’s main character....

---totally flawed.

--shows the most development.

--- exemplifies the moral journey from self to community, from “I” to “we.”

---Moves from caring only for himself to a familial loyalty and finally, to seeing the entire world as his family.

---Kind and often merciful, yet quick to anger and fiercely independent. ------Pragmatic

---standing in contrast to the idealistic and talkative Jim Casy.

Jim Casy

----A former preacher .

----Wanders about trying to come to terms with his own ideas about God, holiness, and sin. --- Believes: all souls are just a small portion of a larger soul.

----Serves the film as an observer a speaker and teacher.

---He shares his theories with Tom, who is an impatient, but not unwilling listener.

--- Jim Casy is the moral spokesman of the film and is often considered a Christ-figure.

John Carradine

Ma Joad---The emotional and physical backbone of the family.--- Primary obligation: is to take care of her family, to provide them with nourishment, comfort, healing, and support. ----Her unflappable strength binds everyone together. Ma finds this strength in love. ----She is the embodiment of Casy’s idea of love, possessing the same intuitive sense of morality that Tom has. Although her primary focus is to take care of her own family, she is the first to nurture others. As Casy observes, “She don’t forget nobody.”

Jane Darwell

Some things to look for in the film

Evolution of “I”

Purity of languageCharacters introduced through

stories..........Jim CaseyWhy isn’t he a preacher anymore?

Purity of languageCharacters introduced through

stories..........Jim CaseyWhy isn’t he a preacher anymore?

Cinematography ---Gregg Toland

Effective use of shadow and

light.

How do these visual images impact these characters and their story?

Cinematography ---Gregg Toland

Effective use of shadow and

light.

How do these visual images impact these characters and their story?

Flashback used to tell history-- Muley

Also, significants of the land..... Darwinian aspectsSaturday, February 6, 2010

Flashback used to tell history-- Muley

Also, significants of the land..... Darwinian aspectsSaturday, February 6, 2010

Machines represent power.

Caterpillars, Bulldozers, late model carsSaturday, February 6, 2010

Machines represent power.

Caterpillars, Bulldozers, late model carsSaturday, February 6, 2010

Character elements framed in a heightened backdrop of nature.

Suggests heroic qualitySaturday, February 6, 2010

significants: hand bills, grapes Grandpa’s 1st appearance:

Charley Grapewin

Grapes symbol of new beginningHandbill-promise of hopeSaturday, February 6, 2010

significants: hand bills, grapes Grandpa’s 1st appearance:

Charley Grapewin

Grapes symbol of new beginningHandbill-promise of hopeSaturday, February 6, 2010

As a group, consider your assigned scene. Discuss the sceneʼs focus, characters and themes, When itʼs your groupʼs turn---

1)Present an analysis of your chosen scene from the film based on your discussion.

Non-verbal story telling

Jane DarwellSaturday, February 6, 2010

Non-verbal story telling

Jane DarwellSaturday, February 6, 2010

How others perceived the displaced migrants

Joad’s perspective in entering Hooverville

Recalling the hope of the handbills

Joad’s perspective in entering Hooverville

Recalling the hope of the handbills

Casey’s Sacrifice

The philosophical argument.....

Casey’s Sacrifice

The philosophical argument.....

Strong relationship of mother and son.Indefatigable strength of Ma’, while men have become weakened.

Jane Darwell & Henry FondaSaturday, February 6, 2010

Strong relationship of mother and son.Indefatigable strength of Ma’, while men have become weakened.

Economic & effective use of closeupsNot a lot of camera movementEvolution of the “I” complete

As a group, consider your assigned scene. Discuss the sceneʼs focus, characters and themes, When itʼs your groupʼs turn---

1)Present an analysis of your chosen scene from the film based on your discussion.

Grapes Of Wrath Overview

Education