For the inaugural Honest Book Club, I would like for everyone who would like to participate to join me in watching 'High Noon'. Released in 1952 by United Artists starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, this movie has rightfully earned a spot on the AFI top 100 list. High Noon is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
Watching this movie reminded me that some of the best film education is simply to movies and be inspired. What's inspired me most about this film is the shot compositions. Coming from a theatre world before I jumped into the film world, blocking was already something I was mindful of and had studied. But the blocking from scene to scene in this film appeared very profound to me. Power dynamics play a big role in this film and the blocking shows just that. The triangulation of characters' positions plays a big part in communicating who holds power in certain scenes.
And very equally, it shows which characters are taking the power and which characters are releasing power willingly (or not) when the characters move about. As for the camera angles, I find some of these shots just fantastic in how they communicate characters' inner struggle. Much like in the picture to the left. This still communicates the extent of the isolation that the protagonist is experiencing at that moment in the film with a high angle looking down in an area that normally is bustling at a time such as high noon. What I liked most about this movie is that it invokes the question: Would you still do the right thing even if everyone else thinks you are wrong? I like to think that I would and Marshal Kane certainly does in this film. However, we find out in the end there isn't much reward and I feel the same happens too in life.
Share your thoughts on the movie in the comments below. I'd love to hear them!
Here are some discussion questions to start you off:
> Was there anything about the film's story that you didn't like?
> Which character did find to be acting the most logical?
> Did you find Marshal Will Kane's explanation as to why he needed to stay and defeat Frank Miller sufficient? Or do you think there were motivations undisclosed?
> High Noon was the first movie to have its own theme song. The ballad is composed by Dimitri Tiomkin, lyrics by a one Ned Washington, and sung by a man named Tex Ritter. Now, I on one hand thought the song was great and I loved Tex Ritter's vocal performance. My mother however, disagrees with this (specifically with the part about Tex Ritter). My question is this: Which one of us is right?