Thrillers - Research.
The Lodger; A story of the London fog.
A serial killer known as "the
avenger" is murdering blonde women in London. A new lodger, Jonathan Drew,
arrives at Mr. and Mrs. Bounting's in Bloomsbury and rents a room. The man has
some strange habits, he goes out during foggy nights and keeps a picture of a
blonde girl in his bedroom. The Bounting's daughter, Daisy, is a blonde model
and she is engaged to Joe, a detective. When Joe finds out that Bounting
suspects Jonathan, he is jealous of the lodger flirting with Daisy and arrests
the man accusing him of being the avenger[1].
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
‘The master of suspense’ otherwise
known as Alfred Hitchcock, is one of the greatest film directors in the history
of cinema. Hitchcock has directed more than 50 films, including his most
well-known film, Psycho. On the 13th of August 1899, Sir Alfred Joseph
Hitchcock was born in London, United Kingdom. Both of Hitchcock’s parents were
Catholic and he was raised around a strict regime. Unfortunately his childhood
was lonely and sheltered and this is said to have led to his obesity. However
his childhood has also benefited him, as a director, he used features of his
childhood in his films. For example he was sent by his father to the local
police station with a note asking the officer to lock him away for 10 minutes
as punishment for behaving badly. Hitchcock’s dad wasn’t the only one to give
extravagant punishments, his mother would force him to stand at the foot of her
bed for several hours as punishment (a scene alluded to in his film Psycho).
This idea of being harshly treated or wrongfully accused would later be
reflected in Hitchcock's films. It could be said that the reason for Psycho
being his most popular film is due to its relatability in the time period.
Hitchcock attended the Jesuit school
St. Ignatius College before going on to attend the University of London. He
eventually obtained a job as a draftsman and advertising designer for the cable
company Henley's. Whilst working at Henley's he began to write for the in-house
publication. Hitchcock represented themes of false accusations, conflicted
emotions and twist endings. In 1920, Hitchcock entered the film industry with a
full-time position at the Famous Players-Lasky Company designing title cards
for silent films. Within a few years, he was working as an assistant director.
In 1925, Hitchcock directed his first film and began making the
"thrillers" for which he became known the world over. In the 1930s, he
directed such classic suspense films as The Man Who Knew Too Much and
The 39 Steps. Soon after, Hitchcock left England for Hollywood. The first
film he made there, Rebecca in 1940, won an Academy Award for best picture. Some
of his most famous films include Psycho, The Birds and Marnie. His works became renowned for their depictions of violence, although
many of his plots merely function as decoys meant to serve as a tool for
understanding complex psychological characters.[2].
Notes on introduction:
• Bold
orange titles on a black background ‘ The Lodger’ A story of the London fog
• Picture
of a man in black and orange suggests he stands out from society
• Fast
paced circus like music is heard during the titles however the atmosphere is
sinister, due to the contrast between the music and colour of the titles.
• As
the titles disappear the framing around the figure/picture of the man closes in
on him like so:
• A
series of titles follow this and introduce the characters by their real names
and the characters in which they play. The framing re-opens around the figure
of the man and pans out from him revealing him slowly again.
• The
camera on this section is at a neutral angle using a mid-shot to show at the
start of the film all the characters are equal.
• After
the framing has re-opened a high pitched screeching noise is heard that sounds
as if someone is pressing lots of keys on the piano. At 1:18 in the clip this
occurs.
• The
face of a woman screaming slowly fades in as a close up. The whole picture we
see on the screen is taken from a high angle, belittling her. The black and
orange surroundings suggest she is in this situation because of the figure
shown in the titles.
• Black
has connotations with darkness whereas orange connotes fire.
• The
shot of the woman fades out again and she disappears into the darkness creating
suspense.
• A
jump cut is used to reveal some orange titles that are no longer in bold
writing. The music dramatically changes in this part of the opening, from
dramatic and dark, to the circus like music we first heard. ‘To-Night GOLDEN
CURLS’ appears on the screen quickly. This flashes on the screen four times
highlighting the significance this night has in the film.
• A
jump cut is used to switch to a worms eye view shot of a woman sleeping on the
ground. Once again the shot is very dark and tinges of oranges are seen all
over.
• The
shot occasionally flickers suggesting a supernatural being is around the woman.
It could also resemble the age of the film.
• The
music increases in drama and the camera jumps to a shot of a woman in a hat and
coat. The woman’s eyes look as if they are haunted or possessed by something,
making the viewer feel uneasy.
• The
woman seen in the shot described above has both her hands on the side of her
face showing distress.
• Once
again a jump shot is used to introduce a different character, in this mid shot
we are introduced to what seems as an officer. The man in the shot is wearing a
hat and a police uniform. The simplicity of the uniform represents the time
period. He is also writing down notes on a small notepad. The scene is once
again black and orange however the orange in this scene looks as if they are
supposed to represent lights.
• The
last scene of the opening is a mid-shot taken from the side of a mass group of
people. The shot is taken from a slightly higher angle which emphasises the
amount of people in this particular scene[3].
Another Thin Man
Another Thin Man is a 1939 American
film that is the third film in the six-volume series, The Thin Man. It again
stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, and is based on
the writings of Dashiell Hammett. Their son, Nicky Jr., is also introduced in
the film. The cast includes their terrier Asta, Virginia Grey, Otto Kruger, C.
Aubrey Smith, Ruth Hussey, Nat Pendleton, Patric Knowles, Sheldon Leonard, Tom
Neal, Phyllis Gordon and Marjorie Main. The film was originally promoted in the
United States under the title of Return of the Thin Man, and was followed by
Shadow of the Thin Man (1941). In this adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's
"The Farewell Murder", Nick and Nora Charles are back in New York with
Asta and a new arrival - Nicky Jr. They are invited by Colonel Burr MacFay to
spend the weekend at his house on Long Island. McFay desperately wants Nick to
put his well-known detective skills to work, as he has been receiving threats
from Phil Church, a very shady character. When MacFay is killed, Church seems
to be the obvious suspect. However, Nick is skeptical. He suspects there is
something far more complicated going on. MacFay's housekeeper, daughter and
various hangers-on all may have had an interest in seeking the old man's demise[4].
Director;
Van Dyke was born on the 21st of
March 1890 in San Diego, California, USA and died on the 5th of February 1943.
Van Dyke began his career as an assistant director, notably under D.W. Griffith
on "Intolerance" (1916). He took over the direction of "White
Shadows of the South Seas" from Robert Flaherty in 1928 and, by the 1930s,
had developed into one of MGM's most reliable directors. Van Dyke was a capable
craftsman whose nonchalant approach to filming earned him the nickname
'One-Shot Woody'; it also brought him success at the box-office, particularly
with the "Thin Man" series, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.
His deft touch is evident in films such as "Trader Horn" (1930),
"Manhattan Melodrama" (1934), "Sweethearts" and "Marie
Antoinette" (both 1938)[5].
The House on 92nd street
The House on 92nd Street is a 1945
black-and-white American spy film directed by Henry Hathaway. The film, shot
mainly in New York City, was released shortly after the end of World War II.
The House on 92nd Street was made with the full cooperation of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and its head, J. Edgar Hoover, appears during
the introduction. Also, the FBI agents in Washington were played by actual
agents. Bill Dietrich is a German citizen recruited to act
as a double agent for the FBI. He soon
infiltrates a house on the titled 92nd Street run by the cold Elsa Gebhardt. As Bill gets closer to
uncovering who the mysterious Mr. Christopher, the leader of the ring, truly
is, his life is placed in danger[6].
Director;
Date of Death: 11 February 1985,
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
(heart attack)
Birth Name: Henri Leopold de Fiennes
Nickname: Hank
Henry Hathaway, a son of a stage
actress and manager, started his career as a child actor in westerns directed
by Allan Dwan. His movie career was interrupted by World War I. After his
discharge, he briefly tried a career in finance but then returned to Hollywood
to work as an assistant director under such directors as Frank Lloyd, Paul
Bern, Josef von Sternberg and Victor Fleming, whom Hathaway credited for his
eventual success. In 1932 Hathaway directed his first picture, Heritage of the
Desert (1932), a western. His approach has been described as uncomplicated and
straightforward, while at the same time many of his films are noted for their
striking visual effects and unusual locations. He had a reputation as being
difficult on actors, but some stars such as John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe
benefited under his direction. Although Hathaway was a highly successful and
reliable director working within the Hollywood studio system, his work has
received little attention from critics.
Notes on the introduction:
• The
first shot is a shot of the ‘20th century fox’ title/logo. ‘20th century fox’
is seen as superior due to the low angle shot this is taken at. The shot is in
black and white representing the time period.
• A
fade is used to fade into the start of the film. Titles are shown that say
‘Twentieth century-fox presents’. Behind these white italic titles there is a
close up of an official document that says ‘Federal bureau of investigation’.
As a person (not shown in shot) turns the page, the camera zooms in on the next
page that is all blank apart from the title at the top, ‘The House on 92nd
Street’. The extreme close up of ‘The House of 92nd Street’ highlights the
title and gives it importance.
• In
the left hand corner of the shot there is a shadow across the page which
suggests that the people in ‘The house on 92nd street’ have something to hide.
They keep it in the shadows.
• The page then turns again to reveal the following shot below;
• The page then turns again to reveal the following shot below;
• In
the background of the opening already described there is triumphant music that
sounds celebratory. Maybe celebrating the end of the war for example.
• The
page is then turned another three times however on the third turn of the page
the camera zooms out to fit the writing on the page in. The shot is taken from
a high angle and is still in black and white.
• The
page turns again to reveal the names of the directors and producers etc.
• The
page carries on turning until a page is viewed that says ‘THIS STORY IS ADAPTED
FROM CASES IN THE ESPIONAGE FILES OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION.
PRODUCED WITH THE F.B.I.’S COMPLETE COOPERATION, IT COULD NOT BE MADE PUBLIC
UNTIL THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB WAS DROPPED ON JAPAN.’
• The
page turns again to say ‘THE SCENES IN THIS PICTURE WERE PHOTGRAPHED IN THE
LOCALITIES OF THE INCIDENTS DEPICTED - - WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, AND THEIR
VICINITIES; WHEREVER POSSIBLE, IN THE ACTUAL PLACE THE ORIGINAL INCIDENT
OCCURRED.’
• The
page turns again to say ‘WITH THE EXCEPTIO OF THE LEADING PLAYERS, ALL F.B.I.
PERSONNEL IN THE PICTURE ARE MEMBERS OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION.[7]’
Jack The Ripper (1959)
In 1888, Jack the Ripper is
committing a series of horrendous crimes throughout Whitechapel, London.
Scotland Yard Inspector O’Neil welcomes a visit from an old friend, New York
City Detective Sam Lowry who agrees to assist with the investigation in hope of
bringing this killing spree to an end. Sam becomes attracted to modern woman
Anne Ford but her guardian, Dr. Tranter doesn’t approve of this. The police
slowly close in the killer as the public becomes more alarmed as a result of
the events that have occurred. The killer’s identity is revealed and the killer
meets a distressing end[8].
Directors: Monty Berman & Robert S. Baker.
Monty Berman: Nestor Montague “Monty” Berman, born
in March 1905 and died June 2006, was a British cinematographer and film and
television producer. Berman began his film career as a camera assistant when he
was 17 and became a camera operator in 1934[9].
Robert S. Baker: Robert Sidney Baker, born in October
1916 and died September 2009 was a British film and television who occasionally
took up the art of cinematography and directing. Despite a productive film and
television career, Baker was primarily known for his long-time professional
work with Monty Berman. When World War II came, Berman was allowed to remain
crafting in an army film unit; it was there that he befriended Robert S. Baker
(the other producer for Jack the Ripper) with whom he created a lifelong
business partnership with. In 1948 both Berman and Baker founded Tempean Films,
which produced more than 30 B-Movies throughout the 1950s; mainly thriller’s
and mysteries Some of their popular work included ‘Jack the Ripper’, ‘The siege
of Sidney street, ‘The hellfire club’ and ‘The secret of Monte Carlo’[10].
Introduction/ opening and titles credits analysis:
Background information:
• Produced by Joseph E. Levine, Robert
S. Baker & Monty Berman.
• Directed by Robert S. Baker &
Monty Berman.
• Screenplay by Jimmy Sangster.
• Music composed by Stanley black, Jimmy
McHugh and Pete Rugolo.
Notes on the introduction:
• Black and White
• Bold white writing across the screen
saying “London ~ 1888”
• Background music plays throughout –
very light, sounds much like fairground music.
• High angle or a Victorian street,
focusing on lamp being lit on the far left side of the screen –Showing the
audience the lamp has been hand lit emphasises the era/century the extract is
set in.
• Camera moves slowly; slowly pans and
slowly zooms in on individuals.
• Uses a medium shot to show two
characters having a conversation.
• Panning is used to follow a certain
individual, sometimes gets closer to create a certain relationship between that
specific character and the audience.
• Close up of iconic prop – make up
falling out of her purse onto the road.
• Slowly picks up the iconic prop-
builds tension.
• Manly, Evil and deep voice is used. –
as this happens the Music becomes louder, sudden and more sinister.
• Zooms out as the evil man speaks-
can’t see him yet.
• Once he’s asked a question, the music
becomes more tense, high pitched and quicker. The camera zooms in on the
woman’s fearful facial expression as she is on the floor picking her make-up
from beneath her. High angle shot shows her vulnerability.
• Startled and scared, she arises to her
feet slowly and leans against the brick wall behind her. – Scene becomes very
dark, could suggest they’re secluded, on their own.
• Man’s hand appears from left side of
the screen (only his hand) and grabs woman’s throat, she is shaken and
petrified.. Man’s arm in black coat and black leather gloves- wants to keep his
identity hidden- mysterious.
• Close up of his bag dropping to the
floor.
• Woman squeals, gasping for air as the
man has his hand around her throat.
• Close up of man grabbing knife from
his bag – builds tension.
• Slowly bring the knife up to the woman
– man still unidentified, this builds more tension.
• Cut shot (with the use of editing) of
knife, *stabs woman* woman’s facial expression, back to the knife, back to the
woman as she falls to the ground.
• As the woman falls to the ground, Bold
white writing saying ‘*the director* presents’
• As the man goes to pick his bag up, he
freezes and “jack the Ripper” is shown in bold white writing. However, in a
different, more noticeable font.
• As he’s walking away in the left top
corner it states who is involved in the extract.
• Use of fog is emphasised to create an
eerier atmosphere.
• Then cuts to the next scene (beginning
of film).
Psycho (1960)
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Phoenix office worker Marion Crane is
dejected about the way life has treated her. She meets her boyfriend Sam in
lunch breaks and they can’t get married as Sam has to give majority of his
money away in alimony. Then, Marion is trusted to bank $40,000 by her boss. She
sees the opportunity to take the money and begin a new life, leaves town and
heads towards Sam's shop in California. Exhausted after a long drive in a
storm, she exits the motorway and goes to The Bates Motel. The motel is managed
by a soundless young man called Norman, who is controlled by his Mum.[11]
Director: Sir Alfred
Joseph Hitchcock, KBE
Alfred Hitchcock was an English film
director and producer, and has been nicknamed the ‘master of suspense’ due to
his inventive techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. He
directed and produced both silent films and early talkies, he is renowned as
England's best director, and Hitchcock moved to Hollywood in 1939 and became a
US citizen in 1955.[12]
He has won many awards, including 2 Golden Globes, 8 Laurel Awards, and 5
lifetime achievement awards, and was
nominated for an Academy Award as Best Director 5 times, but never won.
Introduction/ opening and titles credits analysis.
Background information:
• Produced by Alfred Hitchcock.
• Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
• Screenplay by Joseph Stefano.
• Music composed by Bernard Herrman.
Notes on the introduction:
•Black and
white
•Shows
production company; “a paramount release”
•Fades out
to black then fades in to a grey background– Background music starts, builds
tension... violin, creates anxious atmosphere.
•Thin black
lines go across the screen from right to left.
•White
writing appears in the background in between the lines of black and grey.
•Lines then
shoot to the right off the screen, white writing fills in and says in white
bold letters “Alfred Hitchcock’s” on a black background. This makes the writing
clear and stand out.
•Lines
appear again and do the same thing as it did with Hitchcock’s name with
“psycho”.
•The word
“psycho” then separates and slides off the screen.
•Lines
appear again, fade out and brings up white bold writing stating the cast, who
the editor is, makeup artist etc.
•*Background
music still playing* it’s fast and very dramatic, builds tension and leaves the
audience feeling on edge – notes get longer and then sharp and fast.
•Lines fade
out, Establishing shot of buildings fade in- music hold a high note for a long
while and then when the buildings appear, a short, sudden low note.
Jaws (1975)
Amity Island is facing a new problem:
something killing swimmers in the sea. With fear increasing, tourism on the
island is affected, as well as the lives of the residents. Brody, a police
officer, tries to solve this problem, and finds that a great white is what has
been terrorising the sea. After multiple missions to kill the shark with no
success, Brody assembles a team to try and kill the shark. Everyone but Brody
is killed and he is left to kill the shark himself. As the shark attacks, he
kills the shark by shooting the gas canister in his mouth as his boat sinks.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Spielberg is
consistently considered as one of the leading pioneers of the 'New Hollywood' era, as well as being viewed as one of the most popular
and influential film-makers in the history of cinema. [13]
He is one of the co-founders of DreamWorks Studios, one of the biggest and most
popular film production companies worldwide. 3 of his films—Jaws, E.T.
the Extra-Terrestrial, and Jurassic Park —achieved box office
records, with all of them becoming the highest-grossing film made at the time
they were released.
Introduction/ opening and titles credits analysis.
Background information:
• Produced by Richard D. Zanuck and
David Brown.
• Directed by Steven Spielberg.
• Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl
Gottlieb.
• Music composed by John Williams.
Notes on the introduction:
• Background music deep, long and short
notes.
• Panning round a few people round a
bonfire on a beach.
• Very dark lighting- mysterious.
• Bold White titles used over the
panning of the people.
• Music fades out and can hear people
talking and socialising- having a good time. Although all seems well, the music
creates an eerier atmosphere – apprehension, something could go horribly wrong.
– expecting disaster.
The Shining (1980)
Novelist Jack Torrance takes a job
interview as winter caretaker of the isolated, old, huge and beautiful Overlook
Hotel. In the interview, Jack is told by the manager himself, that the previous
caretaker - Grady, chopped his family and later killed himself with a shotgun.
Ignoring the story, Jack brings his wife - Wendy and his son Danny. It happens
that Danny, has a mysterious power known as "The Shining" that shows
him things from the past and future. As the days go by, Danny has visions of
previous guests and employees who died at the hotel years before, meanwhile
Jack starts driving into insanity, turning more and more aggressive, at the
point that Danny and Wendy gets convinced that Jack might try to do the same
thing, Grady did.[14]
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Kubrick (July 26, 1928 – March 7,
1999) was part of the New Hollywood film-making wave, and he is regarded as one
of the greatest and most influential directors of all time. He was an American
film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, and editor, although he
worked predominantly in the UK. Living in Hertfordshire meant he had almost
complete artistic control of his films, but with financial support from major
Hollywood studios[15].
Introduction/ opening and titles credits analysis:
Background Information:
• Produced
by Stanley Kubrick.
• Directed
by Stanley Kubrick.
• Screenplay
by Stanley Kubrick and Diane Johnson.
• Music by
Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind.
Notes on the introduction:
- Deep and loud music (trumpets), which is slow and broken up with dragged notes, ‘dangerous’, ‘notorious’ and ‘mysterious’. Noted gradually become lower and in trios, which makes the audience feel danger and fear. Throughout the piece, gradually becoming deeper and louder, but the deep notes occurring more frequently.
- Establishing tracking shot of river, islands and the mountains. Island framed by mountains and shadows, makes the audience feel isolated.
- Aerial tracking shot following car. Shows a winding road surrounded by woodland. This could symbolise a disruptive future surrounded by uncertainty.
- A series of ‘twang’ noises introduced on top of the deep music, they sound off tune and strange, make the audience feel very uneasy and uncertain, and could symbolise that in the lives of the characters.
- Noises sounding faintly like breaking string or screeching birds come under both of these, enhance uneasy feeling, and as it continues makes the audience sceptical.
- A distorted screaming sound is introduces which indicated the horror in store, and this is enhanced when the echoing screams get louder.
- Tracking shot with a tilted frame following car, which goes from a green area with trees into an area filled with rubble, and shows death and destruction.
- Titles – sharp, bold and bright blue. They stand out as it doesn’t blend into the scene, and shows abnormality in the film.
- Tracking shot into tunnel – shows they are entering ‘black hole’ in their lives that is unescapable.[16]
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Child psychiatrist Malcolm Crowe is
confronted one night by his former patient Vincent Gray who he failed to help.
After Vincent shoots Crowe in the stomach and kills himself, Crowe can't stop
thinking about it. A few months later he is hired to help a troubled boy named
Cole Sear, who has many of the same problems Vincent had. Crowe sees a chance
to redeem himself, but doubts his ability to reach the boy, particularly when
Cole claims to see ghosts who don't know they're dead. After trying to help
him, Crowe realises that Cole is telling the truth, and the only way he can see
him is because Crowe himself is dead[17].
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Manoj Shyamalan (6 August 1970) is known
professionally as M. Night Shyamalan. He is known for making movies with
contemporary supernatural plots - The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000),
Signs (2002), The Village (2004), Lady in the Water (2006), The Last Airbender
(2010), and After Earth (2013). He is also known for filming and setting his movies in and
around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was raised, and for including
unexpected plot twists in most of his films. Most of Shyamalan's commercially
successful films were co-produced and released by the Walt Disney Studios'
Touchstone and Hollywood film imprints. In 2008, Shyamalan was awarded the
Padma Shri by the government of India[18].
Introduction/ opening and titles credits analysis:
Background Information:
- Produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Barry Mendel.
- Directed by M. Night Shyamalan.
- Written by M. Night Shyamalan.
- Music by James Newton Howard.
Notes on the introduction:
- Blackout the whole introduction – creates uncertainty and a sense of the unknown.
- Bright blue stands out against the dark background.
- Font relatively formal, gives the impression that the characters are educated and will have a good job.
- An eerie wind noise in the background makes the audience uneasy. Short and sharp violin plays in a high pitch, creating tension.
- As the film title appears the violin plays very fast and the temp and pitch makes the audience feel in danger.
- The piano and violin music has some off notes and repeating riffs, which creates suspense.
- Volume and tempo gradually increases, heightens suspense and fear.
- The music begins to fade out – the piano notes lower in pitch while playing the same riff, which also creates tension and fear[19].
Taken (2008)
After reluctantly agreeing to let his
17-year-old daughter Kim go to France with her best friend, Bryan Mills is
horrified to hear that she is kidnapped by an Albanian gang whose specialty is
prostitution rings. With only 96 hours to go before he'll never find her again,
Bryan rushes to France to save her. As a former CIA agent, he has all the
skills necessary to rescue her - if he can only find her. Bryan saves Kim, and
takes her back to the US to be re-united with her mother[20]
Director: Pierre Morel
Pierre Morel is a
French cinematographer and film director, best known for directing District 13, From Paris with Love and Taken. After spending his
formative years in cinema school, Pierre Morel debuted in 2000 as camera
operator with the first Richard Berry's film L'Art de la séduction. The
next year, he began a career as cinematographer, working with such directors as
Louis Leterrier, Corey Yuen, Nancy Meyers, Alek Keshishian, Luc Besson and
Phillip Atwell. At the same time, he directed his first film District 13 in
2004, followed by Taken in 2008 and From Paris with Love, in 2010[21].
Notes on Introduction:
• The
movie begins with a dream or a memory of a birthday party which we presume is
the daughter of the Character played by Liam Neeson.
• The
Filter of the dream is as if it is being recorded by a camera. This could be to
show it is the past however in other thriller films this sequence could be to
show a girls last sighting before she went missing. This point is backed up by
the music as it’s doesn’t match the happy video that is being shown. The music
is composed of soft sad music beginning with a quiet whistle.
• The
noises of the video were not clear and more of an echo. Among the whispers of
the mum talking, there is a cold child’s laugh which can make the audience
believe that it is a horror thriller.
• A
sequence of different close ups of a birthday cake that are linked by numerous
jumps with white flashes during every jump. This still has a somewhat
supernatural feel to the scene considering the film is an action thriller.
• For
a split second the quality of the picture improves and a small bit of the scene
repeats itself momentarily and again when the little girl blows out her
birthday candle. Throughout this sequence the picture filter continues to
change from an old camera like picture to an even better quality and back again
until eventually the scene flashes to Liam Neeson quickly waking up.
• Now
in reality the lighting is very dark and the room is full of very dull colours
with the primary colour being grey. This may suggest that this character
played, by Liam Neeson, is not living a happy life. However when a lamp is
turned on, the red in the picture of his daughter stands out. Considering every
other colour is grey and dark, the only object in colour is his daughter that
resembles the only person he cares about.
The Purge (2013)
In an America wracked by crime and
overcrowded prisons, the government has sanctioned an annual 12-hour period in
which any and all criminal activity-including murder-becomes legal. The police
can't be called. Hospitals suspend help. It's one night when the citizenry
regulates itself without thought of punishment. On this night plagued by
violence and an epidemic of crime, one family wrestles with the decision of who
they will become when a stranger comes knocking. When an intruder breaks into
James Sandin's gated community during the yearly lockdown, he begins a sequence
of events that threatens to tear a family apart. Now, it is up to James, his
wife Mary, and their kids to make it through the night without turning into the
monsters from whom they hide. When a gang comes after the stranger in their
house, they are given a deadline to give him up. However, they can’t find him.
The gang break through the defence systems and James is killed while trying to
save his family[22].
Director: James DeMonaco
James DeMonaco is an American
screenwriter, director, and producer best known for his work on the films The
Purge, The Purge: Anarchy and Little New York. He was born in 1969 in Brooklyn,
New York City, New York, United States[23].
Introduction/ opening and titles credits analysis:
Background information:
- Produced by Jason Blum, Sebastien K. Lemercier, Michael Bay and Bradley Fuller.
- Directed by James DeMonaco.
- Written by James DeMonaco.
- Music by Nathan Whitehead.
Notes on the introduction:
- Blackout. Bold, white writing stands out on the dark surface. Text short and snappy, straight to the point – helps with context.
- Deep, low, continuous note, which creates a menacing atmosphere. The quote at the beginning explains the context and creates anticipation.
- Writing fades in and out, could suggest coming in and out of consciousness for violence victims.
- Music lightens as we meet CCTV footage of violence and crimes, juxtaposes the negative behaviour with positive music. Suggests people are used to this and it is a normal occurrence.
- CCTV grainy, and often from a high angle, which shows that the characters are weak and in danger.
- Writing now jumpy and still fading in and out. It is randomly placed, showing uncertainty. All footage had huge dark elements.
- Various different forms of footage, which indicates it is widespread and not all from the same place. E.g. black and white, colour, green. Footage is never clear.[24]
The Lodger, Another thin man and House on 92nd street written by Grace Blick.
Jack The Ripper & Jaws and Psycho intro analysis written by Alex horn.
Psycho summary and director summary written by Georgia DeBranco-Chessum & Alex Horn.
Jack The Ripper & Jaws and Psycho intro analysis written by Alex horn.
Psycho summary and director summary written by Georgia DeBranco-Chessum & Alex Horn.
The Shining & The Sixth Sense and The Purge &Taken plot summary and director summary by Georgia DeBranco-Chessum.
The purge intro analysis by Georgia DeBranco-Chessum and Alex Horn.
Taken intro analysis by Daniel Parsons.
Edited and Published by Georgia DeBranco-Chessum.
The purge intro analysis by Georgia DeBranco-Chessum and Alex Horn.
Taken intro analysis by Daniel Parsons.
Edited and Published by Georgia DeBranco-Chessum.
Pictures found by Georgia DeBranco-Chessum.
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper_(1959_film)#Plot
- plot synopsis
[9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Berman
- About Monty Berman.
[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_S._Baker
- About Robert S. Baker.
[14] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl
Written by ‘Matheus Marchetti’.
[22] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2184339/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl
Written by ‘Universal Pictures’.
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