Introduction to Film Acting

Styles of Acting

Acting style differs radically depending on:

• Period
• Genre
• Tone
• National Origins
• Directorial Emphasis

Generalizations of each category really only provide a set of loose expectations. The Realist/ Formalist, dialectic used to assist in classification, can be applied to acting as well. Though there are many variations and subdivisions. For instance the realistic performances done by Lilian Gish during the Silent Era would seem quite overdone.

Classifying acting styles due to national origins is likely to be misleading. At least for countries that evolved a wide spectrum of styles like Japan, US, and Italy. For example, Italians are said to be theatrical by national temperament acting out their feelings with animation unlike the reserved deportment of the Swedes and other Northern Europeans.

Genre and Directorial emphasis also influence acting styles significantly. For example a directormay lead an actor to emphasize a diffent style from one film to the next.

The art of silent acting covers a period for some 15 years when most historians regard Griffith's movie The Birth of a Nation as the first masterpiece of the silent cinema.

Change over to sound was virtually universal by 1930. At this time, a wide variety of playing styles evolved, ranking from the detailed, underplayed realism of Gibson Goland's movie Greed.

• Popular misconception about the silent cinema is that all movies were all photographed and projected at "silent speed".
• Factually, silent speed was highly variable because it's easy to manipulate because cameras were hand cranked.
• The reason for actors in sound dramas to appear jerky and ludicrous was due to the speeds of the projectors of original rhythms of the performances are violated.

The most popular and critically admired player of the silent cinema was Chaplin because he had a wide variety of comic skills.

• Chaplin was an acclaimed actor of his era, recognized as one of the best by many important figures.

Star acting is a romantic style of acting that Greta Garbo perfected in the silent era (1930s), she used her attractive physical features and acting techniques to her favor. She was most recognized by love scenes in which she used her romantic techniques. She used her acting skills rather than words to express her message.

In the acting industry, playing in Shakespeare's work is one of the most difficult tasks because of the complex language that makes it possible for some of the most literate people to miss about one fourth of the dialogue. Words should be pronounced crisply so that people could make out difficult words.

• The most important British film actors are also the most prominent in the live theater. As players improve, they rise through the ranks attempting more complex roles. Playing Shakespeare is considered the artistic summit.
  
• Actors are trained in diction, movement, make up, dialect, fencing, dancing, body control, and acting.

Reference Films

	The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Britain, 1975) Tone is determined primarily by genre, dialogue. and the director's attitude toward the dramatic materials.
	Hamlet (Britain, 1996) British actors have perfected the art of reciting highly stylized dialogue- the language of Shakespeare, Wilde, and Shaw-without violating the believability of their characters.
	Secrets & Lies (Britain, 1996) Mike Leigh, the director, usually worked with many of the same actors from film to film because they would improvise much of their dialogue and shape the script. The result is they seem to be real people dealing with real life. The main character in this film always finds the best time to embarrass her family, and it is reflective of the precise diction of traditional British acting techniques.

Laurence Olivier, the exceptional British actor, believed that "To be fit should be one of the actor's first priorities...the body is an instrument which must be finely tuned and played as often as possible. The actor should be able to control it from the tip of his head to his little toe." Even as an old man, Olivier continued to run and lift weights and when illness prevented him from these forms of exercise, he took up swimming.

Method Acting

The Method was a new interior style of acting that was brought about because of the era's emphasis on realistic styles of acting. Eliza Kazan was often associated with this technique. Kazan's On the Waterfront was a showcase for this style of performing, and has since become the dominant style of acting in the American cinema.

• The Method was an offshoot of a system of training actors and rehearsing that had been developed by Constantin Stanislavsky. His ideas were adopted by the Actor's Studio in New York which produced actors such as Marlon Brando, James Dean, Julie Harris, Paul Newman, and more.
• Stanislavksy's system was "You must live the part every moment you are playing it." An important technique he developed is emotional recall where an actor delves into his or her own past to discover feelings that are analogous to those of the character.
• Stanislavasky was known for his lengthy rehearsal periods where players would discover the subtext. "The subtext is one of the film director's most valuable tools. It is what he directs " Spoken language is secondary to Method players. Stanislvasky encouraged players to analyze all the specifics of a scene.

The Nun's Story (U.S.A., 1959) The subtext reveals a dedicated surgeon's love for a nursing nun who has chosen a life of serving God. The text does not convey their complicated feelings; this is found in the subtext, in the realm of the unspeakable.

• If actors were playing a role "foreign to them", they were encouraged to do some research so they gain full and complete knowledge about that role and the background, enabling them to play the role more effectively.
• These are called "method actors".
• These "method actors" would be well known for their "ability to bring out emotions in the characters they are playing" (Giannetti)

A Guide to Method Acting
Method oriented directors such as Stanislavski, thought that method actors should have some experience in themselves, and they must go beyond usual lengths to learn about their character in order to provide effective acting.

In the 1960's a new form of acting began to become popular, improvisation.

• This increase in realism was applauded by critics.
• Although it became popular, it was not new to the method actors.
• "Chaplin, Keaton, and Laurel and Hardy needed to know only the premise of a given scene and the comic details were improvised and later refined in the editing stage" (Giannetti 297).
• The technology of sound soon put an end to the practice to "most of these practices"
• Cinema Verite allowed directors spontaneity. They would sometimes instruct the actors during any given scene, to simply make up the dialogue.

The 400 Blows: This film, by Truffaut, was improvised by this 13 year old kid. He answered based on his own experiences, this is why his answers are so blunt. Because he was not informed of the questions before hand, he answered hesitantly just like any one would do while being interviewed by a psychologist.

Reference Films

	Yankee Doodle Dandy (U.S.A., 1942). "Acting styles are determined in part by a players energy level". James Cagney, the lead role in this film, was always eccentric, always full of energy. His philosophy was to "never relax because when you relax, the audience relaxes". This movie was referenced because it shows how high energy actors can capture the audiences attention.
	Belle de Jour (France/Italy 1967). The lead actress, Catherine Deneuve, is said to have done "little work" during her acting. "these [types] of performers allow the camera to rune in on their behavior, which is seldom exaggerated for dramatic effort".
	Two Women (Italy 1960) Loren won Best Actress Academy Award and New York Film Critics' Award because of her role in this movie. The story is about how Lorne's character and her 13 year old daughter got raped. Loren played such a good role because she had to realize that "we can't always protect our children". The ending of the film did not give "any cheap comfort, just a sense of spiritual solidarity with two deeply wronged human beings".
	The End of Summer (Japan, 1961) The director, Yasujiro Ozu, thought that the actors were "acting too much". He, like the Bicycle Thief director, cast actors that the audience did not have a "preconception" of them and they could focus on the storyline. He chose characters based on their ability to play themselves and their personality rather than their skills in acting. "Ozu often directed actors not to move, expressing emotions only with their eyes"