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Question regarding characters falling from tall structures

Page history last edited by Aaron Granat 15 years ago

Dear filmies

I am currently taking Jeff Smith’s Contemporary Hollywood Cinema course.  I’m in the preliminary phases of my research paper and I need to solicit your expertise.  I am doing a stylistic and historical overview of scenes involving characters (usually the antagonist) plummeting from high rise buildings.  The topic came to me when I realized the prominence of these scenarios in the films that Jeff has selected for the screenings.  I am currently trying to generate a master list of these scenes, but as far as I know, there is no movie database providing such information.  Therefore, I hope you can send me suggestions of relevant films. The course has invoked a tension concerning the integrity of the division between a classical and post-classical Hollywood cinema and I’m hoping that a close analysis of this narrative scenario may offer an avenue to explore this division.  So any instance spanning the history of Hollywood cinema will be useful.  I have come up with four core examples to provide a basis of reference.

Die Hard, Robocop, Batman, The Untouchables

Although the primary examples involve dropping from high rise buildings, any tall structure may apply.  Please contact me if you have any questions or need clarification.   My email is adgranat@gmail.com or adgranat@wisc.edu

 

The list currently includes:

Dark Passage, The Departed, The Happening, The Hudsucker Proxy, In Bruges, King Kong, Lethal Weapon, Magnolia, The Matrix, North by Northwest, The Omen, The Patsy, Rear Window, Saboteur, Spiderman, Superman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT 3, The Tenant, Vanilla Sky, Vertigo, Watchmen, The Woman in Red

 

Thank you for the contributions.  Please keep them coming!

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