What makes a movie?

Yet, classical cinema is deferent than other film types for it typically presents stories in a truly unique fashion (Bordwell and Thompson 108-109). Unlike other types of films, the classical film uses stylistic properties for no other purpose but to enhance the story (Sokalski 22). A good example of this can be seen in Tay Garnett's film The Postman Always Rings Twice. Through watching the film it becomes clear that the director never wants the viewer to become distracted from the narrative. All aspects of the narrative are more or less "spoon fed" to the viewer as the film's style commands nothing more than the explicit representation of the intended story. The stylistic properties employed do not allow the viewer a second to become preoccupied with anything but the causal motives of the characters, the unfolding plot and the necessary inferred events of the past. Thus, The Postman Always Rings Twice is a perfect example of a classical film for its" stylistic properties make its narrative as definitive as possible. .
             Perhaps the clearest illustration of this can be seen in the different settings employed throughout the film. With the exception of the street outside of Twin Oaks, the beach, the highway both Frank and Cora walk beside when choosing to dessert Nick, the road Frank and Cora take home from the hospital, the docks within Los Angeles, the mountain range where Nick is murdered, the train station and the concluding crash site, the settings are generally totally constructed. With the use of a limited number of constructed settings, the simplicity of the backdrop allows the viewer to focus on character dialogue without being distracted by complicated sets. Take for instance the setting of the kitchen, a setting where a great deal of the crucial plot developments are set up by Frank and Cora. The setting has enough detail to let the viewer know that the action is in fact taking place in a kitchen, but the setting lacks any major details that would catch the viewers attention.