The Breakfast Club Sound Review

          Sound is an important factor in any movie and it’s just as important in John Hughes’ movie, The Breakfast Club. The Breakfast Club has a total of eleven different songs that are played throughout the movie. Some of those songs are: “Waiting” by E.G. Daily, “We Are Not Alone” by Karla DeVito, and “Didn’t I Tell You” by Joyce Kennedy to name a few. The most notable of the eleven songs is “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds which is played in the opening and closing credits.

            In The Breakfast Club there are many different types of sound effects. We hear everything from broken glass and car brakes squealing to screams and the crashing sounds of an air vent. An example of the air vent is the scene where Mr. Vernon locks Bender in the basement and Bender realizes he left his marijuana in Brian’s pants and he has to get it. Bender is seen improvising a joke about a “naked blonde and her poodle” as he’s crawling through the vent until he falls through, after all that commotion and everybody is concerned for him, he then responds with “forgot my pencil.” The sound effects work great with this film along with the sound.

            The language in the movie isn’t too complex, the language fits the time of when the movie was filmed. The designated language in the movie that is spoken is English. An example of subtext is when the characters reveal why they are in detention through their actions, tone, and emotions behind the subtext. This scene is improvised as well and tells a little bit about each character and the reason behind what they did to end up in detention. Subtext is the implicit meanings behind the language of a script.

            During the reaction shots we see each characters reaction’s to what is being said to them. One of the most notable action shots is when Bender and Claire are arguing about each other. Bender tells Claire to never compare his friends to her friends and you can see the anger built up in Bender’s face and then the anger in Claire’s face when she yells back at him. This scene has both long shots because we see all of the characters at once and close ups when we see each character one at a time. The voice – over in this movie is voiced by Brian. In the beginning we hear Brian narrate how he feels about the essay Mr. Vernon wants them to write. At the end we hear Brian narrate once again but this time answering Mr. Vernon’s questions as we see him standing there reading the essay Brian wrote for all of them. During this scene after Brian says his part the other four characters say their part: Andrew an “athlete”, Allison a “basket case”, Claire a “princess”, and Bender a “criminal.” To which Brian responds with “Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club.”

            The sound throughout the movie isn’t distorted at all whatsoever. The sound is dense and complex in the movie, there isn’t anything that has to be edited. There is symbolism throughout the use of sound. An example of this is at the end of the movie as “Don’t You Forget About Me” plays in the background as Bender is walking on the football field. The song symbolizes that each character wonders that if they’ll still be friends with each other on Monday when they see each other again. It can also symbolize that Bender found love and confidence. The movie does have a couple of motifs in it: peer pressure and stereotypes. One example of silence in the movie is when all the characters fell asleep and Mr. Vernon comes in and yells “wake up” and then asks “who needs to use the laboratory?” During that specific scene silence is use very well. The Breakfast Club isn’t a musical, but it does have a soundtrack. “The Breakfast Club (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” is a rock, new wave album that includes songs from various artists including: Simple Minds, Keith Forsey, Jesse Johnson, and many more. The soundtrack is original and is produced by Keith Forsey. “Don’t You Forget About Me” was released as a single and reached the number one position on the US Billboard Hot 100. There are many different types of instruments used throughout the eleven different songs including drums, guitars and bass guitars to name a few. The language is used well in this movie, it is used for both underlining speech and action scenes. The dialogue is both spare and functional and literary and richly textured depending on the scene. Everyone speaks standard dialect there isn’t any accents. The dialogue correlates with the class because each character has an attitude based off of their home life and their group of friends they are a part of. We know what the characters want even thought they don’t talk about it through their actions as well as their tone of voice. There is swearing in the movie, quotes and other words that are improvised. A notable quite from Bender is “Eat my shorts” and an improvised word that Bender came up on his own is “Neo maxi zoom dweebie.” Brian is chosen to narrate at the beginning and end of the story because he agreed to write the essay for everybody. 

The Breakfast Club Editing Review

        In The Breakfast Club there are many establishing shots that help us transition from one scene to another. An example of this is at the end of the film after Claire and Bender kiss, Claire is seen getting into her car and we see Bender still standing there. As Bender is still standing, the scene cuts to Mr. Vernon in the library reading the letter Brian wrote to him explaining who they think they are. After this scene, the movie cuts to Bender once again but this time we see him walking on the football field leaving with his fist in the air during the final scene.

            In the movie we see different types of shots, ranging from close – up to reaction shots. An example of a close up shot is when the characters are in the library eating lunch we see each character up close and then all at once. An example of a reaction shot is when they are all sitting on the library floor, while Claire and Bender are arguing with each other, we see Claire then we see Bender and so forth. By doing this we see each character and their emotions and reactions to what is happening in this particular scene. These scenes could be shot as a master shot or as a sequence shot.

            An eye level shot is the scene where they are sitting on the library floor where they are revealing about themselves because it allows us to see all of the characters at once. Bird’s eye view is towards the end of the movie when Claire gives Bender her diamond earring. Here the bird’s eye view angle allows us to see the differences between them. Meaning that we see Claire’s pink nail polish and we see Bender’s black fingerless leather gloves too. A high shot would be at the end when all of the students leave, we see Mr. Vernon reading the letter. During this scene we not only see him but the whole room at a bigger perspective. This angle also makes Mr. Vernon’s assignment seem little now that Bender, Claire, Allison, Andrew, and Brian are all friends with each other. In the final scene of The Breakfast Club we see Bender walking down the football field at a worm’s eye view. This scene especially with the angle shows Bender’s strength and new found confidence in himself. During the final scene, we as the audience see all of the characters and our eyes follow the camera movement from one to another and so forth, almost like we are really there. Throughout the scenes where Bender and Claire kiss, and Andrew and Allison kiss the camera movement rends to become slower to capture the movements and moments. Almost as if they are trying to freeze time and stay in that moment forever.

            The Breakfast Club has a couple of motifs in the movie. One of the more notable motifs is the characters social ranking in high school and being casted as stereotypes. This means that each character belongs to a specific group of friends at their school. Claire who is a “princess” belongs with the rich, popular kids who are usually towards the top being the center of attention along with the jocks. Bender is a “criminal” who belongs with the rebellious kids. Bender has a bad attitude and comes from a bad family who doesn’t treat him well. Andrew who is an “athlete” is also very popular, and like Claire is usually at the top and is the center of attention. Brain is the “brain” meaning that he belongs to a lot of clubs including the math club, physics club, and the Latin club. He’s also very smart and is basically every parents dream child. Allison is the “basket case” being the weird kid, she doesn’t really have any friends and she is a compulsive liar. She decides to come to detention because she doesn’t have anything better to do.

            A second motif is their home life. Bender doesn’t seem like he has a good one, his parents ignore him and don’t care about him, which is probably where he bad attitude comes from. Claire on the other hand has parents who don’t reinforce rules. This is shown in the beginning of the movie when she is getting dropped off for detention and her dad is telling her that skipping school to go shopping doesn’t make her a bad person, to which she replies can’ t you get me out of this? Her dad also tells her that “he’ll make it up to her.” For Andrew his dad has influenced him to cut up and goof around like he did in high school. Andrew also struggle with trying to be number 1 and be perfect in his dad’s eyes. Allison doesn’t really have much interaction with her parents which might mean that they ignore her or don’t pay much attention to her. She also seems to lack communication skills. Brian is pressured by his parents to do well in school. This is shown when his mom drops him off and she tells him that “he better use this time as an advantage” while he’s in detention, to which Brian responds that it won’t happen again.

            The shots in the movie are both fragmented and lengthy. The lengthy shots are for the longer scenes in the movie. The point of cutting to each scene is so that there is a smooth transition from each scene. The cutting of the movie is manipulative, it doesn’t leave us wondering what happens next or what’s going on? The personality of the filmmaker is very apparent throughout the movie, John Hughes is very involved with the movie. The rhythm that the editing establishes with each scene is very smooth and flows together well. Editing is a minor function in the movie because there isn’t too much that needs to be edited in the movie.

The Breakfast Club Movement Review

           The Breakfast Club has a little bit of movement throughout the movie. One of the first examples of movement is when we see each character getting dropped off for detention in the beginning. We first see the character, then their parents, and back to the character again these types of shots are considered close ups.

            Throughout the movie, we see different types of camera angles too. For example, a panning shot is when Bender, Claire, Allison, Andrew, and Brian are running down the hallway. This type of shot can also be considered a dolly shot too, so the cinematographer can keep up with the characters as they are running. An example of a long shot is when Bender, Claire, Allison, Andrew, and Brian are sitting on the library floor we see the characters and the background too. The movie didn’t have any crane, aerial, or serial shots.

            In The Breakfast Club, there isn’t any animations or flashbacks throughout the movie. During certain parts of the movie the camera is moving. An example of this is when the characters are in the library sitting at their desks when they start talking the camera moves from one character to another as each of them speak, this allows us to see their emotions as well. The Breakfast Club is really deemphasized with longer shots and close ups, which is what we see throughout most of the movie.

            Most of the shots in the film are naturalized since they are acting, but also stylized because they are being told what to do and say. The movie is both literal and symbolic, but more symbolic because the movie has meaning, peer pressure, as well as the struggles of being a teenager in society. The camera’s movement throughout the movie is smooth, not choppy. Especially during the panning scenes. An example of a freeze frame is as they are running down the hall everyone but Allison is in focus and not blurred except for Allison since it’s an action shot. Overall, I feel that the movement in this movie works well.