Steven Brence
10-25-2009, 02:55 PM
1. Why does “Little Caesar” begin with the Biblical quotation (Matthew 26:52): “…for all they that take the sword, shall perish with the sword.”? Does it do any more than give away the basic arc of the plot? Since it does give that away, what else is the film interested in thinking about, and provoking the viewer to think about, since the larger plot is rendered clear to the audience from the beginning?
2. What does Rico (a.k.a. Little Caesar) mean when he announces that he wants to “be somebody’?
3. How does he measure success in such an effort?
4. What does the film think it means to “be somebody”? Does it agree with Rico?
5. Why is Rico nicknamed “Little Caesar” (other than that he is short and has “Caesar” for a first name)?
6. What function does the character of Joe Massera play in the film?
7. Why does the film spend time developing Joe’s character apart from the Rico character, after whom the film is named?
8. What is the function of the Olga character?
9. What does variation in the experience of time by the various characters of the film reveal about how they relate to life and its unfolding? What else does this variation reveal about them?
10. How are the police represented by the film? Do we root for/identify with them? What does it reveal if it is the case that we do not?
2. What does Rico (a.k.a. Little Caesar) mean when he announces that he wants to “be somebody’?
3. How does he measure success in such an effort?
4. What does the film think it means to “be somebody”? Does it agree with Rico?
5. Why is Rico nicknamed “Little Caesar” (other than that he is short and has “Caesar” for a first name)?
6. What function does the character of Joe Massera play in the film?
7. Why does the film spend time developing Joe’s character apart from the Rico character, after whom the film is named?
8. What is the function of the Olga character?
9. What does variation in the experience of time by the various characters of the film reveal about how they relate to life and its unfolding? What else does this variation reveal about them?
10. How are the police represented by the film? Do we root for/identify with them? What does it reveal if it is the case that we do not?