Journal #2 Film Review

The basics

o What is the title of the film?

Plains, Trains and Automobiles

o Who directed the film?

John Hughes

o Who are the main actors in the film?

Steve Martin and John Candy

o Who wrote the screenplay?

John Hughes

o Who was responsible for photography?

Don Peterman

o Who produced the film?

John Hughes

o Who wrote/played/sang the music?

Westworld performed the song

o If you plan to mention any technical aspects of the film, you should find out the name of the people responsible for those aspects (such as editor, costume designer, and so forth).

Paul H Lopez	Costumes - key costumer
Frank Griffin	Makeup
April Ferry	Costume Designer
Ben Nye Jr	Makeup - makeup design
Silvio Scarano	Costumes - key costumer
Dennis Schoonderwoerd	Costumes - costumer

Description/summary of the film

o What other movies is this movie like?

o Who are the main characters?

Neal and Del

o What is the setting of the film?

New York, Chicago, Kansas

o What is the main situation or source of conflict?

Neal is trying to get home 2 days before thanksgiving to his family, only to find out that all flights have been cancelled.

o Summarize the plot (without the ending!) in no more than five sentences. REMEMBER: Your reader wants to know enough about the movie to make decision about going to the movie, but not so much that there’s no need to go.

Neil page is the main actor along with Del Griffin who come in conflict in the beginning while Neil was trying to get to the airport, coming from a meeting. During traffic Del "steals" his cab, and they meet up at the airport, and coincidently, on the plane sitting next to each other. They end up becoming friends and go through conflicts that stop them from getting to their destination.

Your analysis of the film

A. Literary aspects

o Characterize the plot/story of the movie. Is it involving, convoluted, simplistic, realistic, unbelievable, highly unlikely, well-structured, unresolved? (Add to this list if you need to).

This movie would be realistic because Neil is trying to get home to have thanksgiving with his family and anything is possible out in the world. Canceling flights is a common problem to happen. He also gets involved with Del who is obnoxious who doesn't know when people hate him or if they think he's

o How would you characterize the dialogue? Do people talk this way in real life? (Or if realism was not a goal of the movie, was the dialogue amusing, poetic, or moving?)

I would say that they do talk like this in real life, which is why it is rated R. A lot of people nowadays tend to swear, and this movie makes Neil frustrated so he swears a lot and takes his anger on items or props in the movie.

o What themes do you see in the movie?

o Do you notice any symbols that recur in the movie?

B. Dramatic aspects

o Describe the acting. Did you believe that the actors were the characters?

Yes, Neil was a sophisticated person, but at the same time was a normal person. He seems like the every day normal person, he shows frusteration during the conflicts he goes through and he just wants to spend time with his family. Del on the other hand was a unique character and John Candy played his role pretty good because he was very obnoxious and thinks about other people before him.

o Describe the sets, costumes, makeup and lighting if these elements of the film’s design are significant.

C. Cinematic aspects

o What did you notice about the film’s cinematography? Did the director employ a lot of camera movements? Close-ups? High or low angles? Distorted lenses? Special visual effects?

There were a lot of close up and far away shots to show facial expressions, mostly frustration and also far away shots when he goes rampaging.

o What did you notice about the film’s editing? Where there quick cuts? Lengthy shots? Other transitions?

o What did you notice about the film’s sound effects and music? What did they add to the overall effect of the film?

The music added more action into the film, especially when they were running and chasing each other.