Wednesday, March 23, 2011

A little Bo Welch & Tom Duffield love

Here is another self-indulgent post with lots of pictures. But since this is my blog and I can post whatever I want, I will post whatever I want. And today I will post about the 1995 movie A Little Princess!

This movie is pretty stupendous. Lots of symbols and parallels and great story meat stuff. It's an incredible reference for staging and production design. I know you can't condense an entire color script into one blog post, but what the heck. :D

The opening scene with the two main colors of the movie: Green and orange.
Green and orange again.
Orange around Maya as she explains about the "magic".

Bright, saturated oranges and yellows again, when Sarah asks her father about the magic.
Contrast with later, when Sarah finds out her father is dead. Dark, unsaturated. The doll, like the color orange, is a symbol of the magic.
What a tasty, beautiful scene. (had to include these stills just for color love.)
"For the princess".
Bright yellow against the desaturated greens.

Sarah shares the magic (symbolized in the rose)
The magic is also symbolized in the orange of Laki, Mr. Randolph's Indian servant.
Magic against the greens. Green is everywhere in this movie. It's beautiful!
Laki's magic influencing Sarah's father, who finally remembers.
The scene with the most orange, and the most magic.
Sarah leaves some magic with the girls.
So beautiful.

Had to include this last still. You know it's a good movie when the baddie gets exactly what she deserves. ♥
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16 comments:

  1. HannahMarch 23, 2011 at 11:44 PM

    Wow thanks for sharing this Heather! I LOVE this movie but had never really taken in the colour symbolism. It is a beautiful movie and one of the first ones that really made me cry (and I don't cry much in movies as a general rule). Thanks!

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  2. JulieMarch 24, 2011 at 5:43 AM

    I agree that there is more to this movie than we realize. The colors, symbols and I believe the music, all create a feeling of warmth and longing that endears us to the message of 'A Little Princess.' Thanks for sharing your insights Heather.

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  3. HeatherMarch 24, 2011 at 7:57 AM

    I haven't seen that movie in years and I forgot how much I loved it until I saw these pictures. So beautiful -- my favorite part is when the Indian guy decorates her room. Okay, now I'm thinking about the whole thing (especially the end) and I have to add this one to the Netflix list!

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  4. EliMarch 24, 2011 at 9:58 AM

    I love this movie and I try to watch it at least once a year. I love the pictures you chose! I've always noticed the use of orange, but I never knew it stood for magic-- now I can definitely tell where you're coming from! Thanks for sharing you take on this movie. :D

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  5. Heather ZundelMarch 24, 2011 at 10:37 AM

    I love how you see the world. :)

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  6. Logan PearsallMarch 24, 2011 at 11:56 AM

    I've always loved that movie.

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  7. kapuschatiMarch 24, 2011 at 12:51 PM

    Haha, what a coincidence, I'm reading the book right now :D
    I did not even know that that movie exists, but it looks really cool!

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  8. Hermana MawMarch 24, 2011 at 2:53 PM

    I loved this movie, but never even thought about the colors. Looking at your pics leaves me wondering how I missed it. Time to watch it again. And again. :)

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  9. AnonymousMarch 24, 2011 at 8:10 PM

    I didn't know this movie existed! And with a great director, too! THANK YOU!

    Gin

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  10. DrewMarch 25, 2011 at 9:40 AM

    This makes me really want to watch this movie again. My DVD copy has been missing for many years. :( I guess it's time to buy a new one.

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  11. Brant MoonMarch 25, 2011 at 3:25 PM

    Fabulous movie by a fabulous director. I always love it when people do breakdowns like this.

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  12. dixon.maryMarch 25, 2011 at 6:05 PM

    I watched this a couple of weeks ago with my girls. We were all crying by the end.

    I never noticed the colors though. I'm not as insightful as you.

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  13. CrystalMarch 26, 2011 at 1:13 AM

    I LOVE this movie for exactly this reason! The colors are so perfect and the music is also amazing. <3 So glad you posted this! :D

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  14. Adrian RoppMarch 29, 2011 at 10:29 PM

    They released this movie theatrically twice and it STILL didn't make its money back. Unbelievable. What's wrong with America?!

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  15. AnonymousNovember 17, 2013 at 4:36 PM

    Is green your favorite color?

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  16. Heather DixonNovember 18, 2013 at 9:18 AM

    @anony 4:36 - It's up there! With purple.

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