ET 14: Singin' In The Rain, Singin' In The Rain!

Singin’ in the Rain, a film by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen has a musical scene of the same name in the film that is absolutely incredible through my eyes. There are many different views and ways others perceive this scene and I believe that I do see it a bit more differently from how others do.

Is the scene expressionistic? The real question should be – how is the scene not expressionistic? One would never see a man tap-dance in the middle of a downpour! However, the way the entire set is created for Gene Kelly to dance on does create a somewhat dream-like setting. It is dark, yet he expresses so much joy, which is in a way, contradicting one another, much like a dream. This scene can be compared to both films “M” and “Metropolis” in a way as well. The entire scene is shot in the middle of a city full of buildings and the viewers are not shown the roofs of the buildings, similar to how most scenes were shot in “M” and “Metropolis”. Although it is similar in that specific way, it is entirely different in terms of what the protagonist, Gene Kelly expresses as compared to the other two protagonists in “M” and “Metropolis”. As Gene Kelly dances and sings under the pouring rain, he expresses joy and happiness of being in love with the lady of his dreams – Debbie Reynolds. If one were to notice his facial expressions (up until he meets the police officer), one could actually feel how smitten he really is for her. The look he has on his face makes the audience feel as if nothing could ever go wrong, as he has already found the one that he intends to spend his entire life with for the rest of his life – a “happy ending” if you will.

This scene though has its own meaning in terms of the sequence in the context of the whole movie. In the beginning, when Gene Kelly coincidentally meets Debbie Reynolds – it portrays the “Boy Meets Girl” moment when everything is new and fresh. As the movie progresses, Gene is seen to obsess and constantly think of her which leads up to the scene of him romancing her with the set-up of the studio – the “Boy Romances Girl” moment. The scene of Gene Kelly dancing and singing in the rain though, is the inevitable “Boy Kisses Girl” moment that I am sure, the scene most viewers tend to look forward to. The scene is blown out of proportion with Gene Kelly dancing and singing in the streets in the rain as he shows how happy he is after kissing Debbie.

The choreography on the other hand, says so much about how Gene feels in the movie and the how the little details are what make his happiness look so convincing. It starts out with him walking while sheltering himself from the rain with his umbrella. He then decides that there is no need for an umbrella – not even the rain could ever change how he feels about Debbie. He then walks with his head held up high, looking at the beauty of everything and then jumps onto a lamppost signifying he’s on top of the world at the moment. As the camera goes for a close up on Gene, one could see how in love he was with Debbie when he smiled from ear-to-ear as the raindrops fell on his face. He then starts tap-dancing with his umbrella and the dance starts to pick up pace as it progresses. There’s even a part when Gene avoids the falling drain water a few times but eventually just goes under it and enjoys the splash. It feels as if he’s afraid of it in the beginning but decides to take the dive anyway, like how some of us are afraid of love in the beginning yet we eventually take the plunge anyway. The dance becomes the most intense when he goes onto the street swinging the umbrella and then starts splashing the water with his legs like a child as if he’s free and absolutely nothing can stop him from feeling this overjoyed. Only until the policeman arrives and looms over his shoulder like a parent does to a child, does he bring himself back to reality.

I could go on and on about the many things that comprise this beautifully made scene. The fact is that this scene is viewed so differently from others. Nevertheless, it is similar on one point – that it is one of the best scenes one could ever make and it is enjoyed no matter when one watches it, especially on a rainy day.

ET 13: Boy Meets Girl: Two Treatments

Both films, Top Hat and Singin’ in the Rain had unforgettable “Boy Meets Girl” moments that had their songs playing in my head for days, after watching them in class which were “Isn’t this a lovely day” and “You were meant for me” respectively.

In both of the films, the pairs Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers, in Top Hat and Gene Kelly/Debbie Reynolds, in Singin’ in the Rain had brilliant yet entirely different settings and scenery during their entire “Boy Meets Girl” scenes. In the beginning of the scene of “Isn’t This A Lovely Day”, you could see that Fred was making the first move as he tried to charm Ginger under the gazebo with the play on words relating it to the situation they were in. Gene Kelly in “You Were Meant For Me” however, played the more dominant male role. He also attempted to charm Debbie by physically changing the scene by releasing machine-made mist and switching on a sunset background for the set. Both males however, have the same intention of winning the girl over by pulling them in, for a dance. Both Ginger and Debbie however had different looks on their faces during both of those scenes. Ginger Rogers played the more resistant role as she walked away and constantly looked anywhere else but at Fred as he tried to charm her. Debbie Reynolds on the other hand had many pauses as she portrayed many look of uncertainty as she looked as if she questioned the possibility of love between herself and a superstar like Gene Kelly.


In relation to choreography though, both films are comparable in many ways. In terms of dance, both scenes had tap-dancing though had different intensities of it. In Singin’ In the Rain’s “You Were Meant For Me”, as Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds danced – they demonstrated more waltz-like dances and were much more elegant. Tap-dancing in their scene was short and light in order to preserve that sweet romantic scene they both had. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ dance in Top Hat’s “Isn’t This A Lovely Day” however portrayed something entirely different. Their dance started off with Ginger shadowing Fred which moved on to Fred somewhat challenging Ginger to keep up with his pace. As they progress, they soon try to match each other’s taps and they begin a more fast-paced dance as compared to Gene and Debbie’s dance. The lyrics of both songs fit really well with their respected scenes. “Isn’t This A Lovely Day” by Irving Berlin in Top Hat, is the perfect example of taking a bad situation and changing it into a love song. As Fred Astaire sings as he describes the thunder and lightning, he also relates it to how being with Ginger, even on a rainy day would be a beautiful day in his eyes. “You Were Meant For Me” by Ignacio Herb Brown, like its title, described how both Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly were made for each other and how they were meant to be together. The way the spotlight is on both of them makes it look as if their love really was meant to be and the lyrics to the song only intensified the scene even more than it already was.

In conclusion, both “Boy Meets Girl” moments in both films had really beautiful ways of portraying that spark of romance. The lyrics of the songs chosen accompanied by the dances really does enhance the scenes of both films making it truly remarkable and unforgettable.

ET 4 NEW : Birth of a Nation and Triumph of the Will

In the production of the films “Birth of a Nation” and “Triumph of the Will”, it was obviously intended for the producers to influence the audience of both films to side with the protagonist(s) who are the Ku Klux Klan and Adolf Hitler respectively. During those troubled times, the general public who were in the midst of all the chaos and war, needed, a hero. The Ku Klux Klan and Adolf Hitler took advantage of the turmoil, and turned it to their advantage through the power, of film.

Both films were equally powerful in terms of their entire structure of shots and transitions. Firstly, in the film “Birth of a Nation” by David W. Griffith, the scenes were carefully arranged to portray the heroism of the Ku Klux Klan. Like in most films or movies we usually watch, the director would intentionally arrange the heroic scene followed by the enemy causing trouble or destruction which would continue on and on without the audience noticing. Similarly, in “Birth of a Nation”, if one were to notice, the scenes were in the same order as well! The scenes would alternate between the scenes of the African Americans causing havoc, the Caucasians being terrorized by the African Americans and lastly, the Ku Klux Klan on their horses riding to the rescue. This would lead the audience to believe that the Ku Klux Klan were heroes on their way to bringing justice to the African Americans. However, in Leni Riefenstahl’s “Triumph of the Will”, she opted for something a little different. In the very beginning, the audience is shown the clouds and eventually the city of Nuremberg. This was deliberately done to depict God’s view from the sky – a ruler and a conqueror, which was Adolf Hitler at the time over the German land. As he descended from the sky, like how most holy deities do, the people greeted and saluted his presence. The scene was brilliantly made to illustrate Hitler’s God-like presence over the Germans.

There were many other aspects that made both protagonists in both films appear melodramatic. The music playing in the background played a massive significance in exaggerating characters and the plot. In David W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation”, the music playing in the background expressed the hopelessness of the Caucasians as they were terrorized and killed by the African Americans. As the Ku Klux Klan arrived and rescued the Caucasians from the African Americans though, the music then shifted to a more relaxed nature – as if everything was safe now, which portrays the Ku Klux Klan as saviors. Like in my previous paragraph, Leni Riefenstahl’s approach was slightly different in the film, “Triumph of the Will”. As Hitler descended from the sky on an airplane, the music playing in the background was intended to make him appear as the leader to salvation. One could notice the smiles and the light in every supporter’s eyes as they managed to catch a glimpse of their leader, which made most of them appear relieved and reassured. Together with the massive amount of supporters’ deafening cheers, Leni Riefenstahl really did manage to bring out the most out of the scene. The music would then continue to play as Hitler continued to parade through the tens of thousands of supports in the city of Nuremburg – to create a long-lasting effect on the audience on how powerful and respected he really is.


In conclusion, through the art of film, one is capable of bringing out the potential out of every scene. As all of us are only human – we are constantly swayed by our emotions all the time. Directors exploit that weakness through different types of music together with the fact that the screen that people watch it through is similar to that of a window – a limited view of reality. Through film, one views reality through the eyes of the director, or in this case – the director’s own view on reality itself.