The protagonists of the two films are very similar in configuration and setting. The male protagonists are noble and ruthless, seemingly ruthless but actually affectionate Hellboys. The male protagonist loves a little white rabbit with a weak appearance. And beside the male protagonist, there is a lady queen who has a ferocious love for him and has a beautiful and powerful heart like a snake and a scorpion. The place where the story takes place is also the most classic venue of Gothic movies-a gorgeous and dilapidated castle. However, the overall atmosphere of "Black" is relatively happy, and the ending is relatively satisfactory. And "gorilla" has an ominous atmosphere overall. The ending also ends with a lover separated by yin and yang. This is not only due to the director's style, but also due to the characters and relationships of the protagonists.
In "The Gorilla", the heroine Edith's father told the hero Thomas that his hands were the most tender hands he had ever touched. Edith's father's most direct meaning is that Thomas' inventions are only in the dream stage. Instead of building their kingdom down-to-earth and hands-on like a bunch of American industrialists. Throughout the film, this sentence also hints at Thomas' identity and experience: a prospective baron who has been relying on his ancestral property and can no longer make a living, and can only rely on cheating marriages to maintain his life and dreams. He has been to old European cities such as Milan, London and Edinburgh. Maybe the ones he met were all the fallen noble ladies with well-protected hands like him. Until he set foot on the new continent of the United States, it was not only Edith's temperament that was different from ordinary rich ladies that moved him, but also the industrialist life like Edith's father. His invention has been slow to succeed, probably not only because of financial problems, but also because of his dreamer character who is afraid to open his eyes and see reality. After returning to his hometown of Allerdale Manor with Edith, he gradually changed: he debugged the machine with his hands, worked with the servants, and his hands became increasingly rough, which made him realize what is real life. That's why he finally told his sister that the family had been dead for a long time. Thomas, a feudal aristocrat, hopes to bid farewell to those old and decadent ways of life through a new capitalist way of life. However, improvement cannot restore the decline. The ending of the film is a blissful hint that only death can lead to complete rebirth.
In "Black", however, the feudal nobles successfully changed their identities. "For some people, blood represents wealth and privilege," says the adult Barnabas in a voice-over as the family sailed from England to the United States. Successfully completed the identity transition from feudal nobility to bourgeoisie. Barnabas' father said to him: "Remember, a man should be proud of his career." Thomas was a nobleman who had absorbed the experience and wealth of capitalism but still returned to his hometown, and could not escape the habits of the ancient land. Barnabas is a capitalist who relies on his own hands and draws vitality from this new continent. So Barnabas is stronger-willed and more independent than Thomas.
Psychologist Jung believed that human consciousness has subconscious in addition to individual consciousness, and part of subconscious is collective subconscious. The collective subconscious is the unconscious at the bottom of the personality structure, the genetic traces of the activities and experiences of generations, including ancestors, in the human brain. Aren't those stories that are being told by word of mouth and are constantly being played out as a reflection of the collective subconscious of mankind? As the inheritance and development of Gothic novels, Gothic films are constantly reappearing the Gothic novels with vivid pictures. For example, "The Gorilla" has the taste of "Butterfly Dream" and "Bluebeard": a young girl married to a sophisticated and elegant gentleman, the marriage life with an unknown future and the unknown past of the married person. Mystery. What a psychological projection these stories are for young girls who yearn for a good love and a loyal marriage, no matter what era! At the same time, the two glamorous women Lucille and Angelica in "The Gorilla" and "Black" show the crazy and authoritarian love for the male protagonist, showing the desire for power in human feelings and relationships to control each other. And it is Lucille's controlling relationship with Thomas that makes Thomas develop a weak and dependent character, so it is more difficult to escape the ties with Lucille.
Aside from the nihilistic elements in the two films, compared with other gothic films, it will be found that the most eternal theme of gothic films is the struggle between darkness and light in human nature. These themes are dramatic interpretations of reality, just like a line in the movie "Northanger Abbey": "There are no vampires, no blood, and the cruelest crime is a crime of the mind." These repeated themes and elements lead to the No matter how innovative special movies are, it is difficult to create new ideas. Therefore, Tim Burton, who loves to make such movies, spoofed Goth in "Black". This may be a series of movies he has made. Do an anti-climax. In addition to the costume scene praised by the audience, the plot of Giltoro's serious film "The Gorilla" was criticized for being old-fashioned, but from another angle, isn't this film a sincere tribute to the Gothic theme from the director?
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