An early thriller film is "The Third Man" which is directed by Carol Reed in 1949. This film is about an out of work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins, who arrives in a post war Vienna divided into sectors by the victorious allies, and where a shortage of supplies has lead to a flourishing black market. He arrives at the invitation of an ex-school friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job, only to discover that Lime has recently died in a peculiar traffic accident. From talking to Lime's friends and associates Martins soon notices that some of the stories are inconsistent, and determines to discover what really happened to Harry Lime. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041959/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Another film called "Psycho" which is directed by Alfred Hitchcock was released 11 years after in 1960. This film is about a phoenix office worker Marion Crane who is fed up with the way her life has treated her. She has to meet her lover Sam in lunch breaks and they cannot get married because Sam has to give most of his money away in alimony. One Friday Marion is trusted to bank $40,000 by her employer. Seeing the opportunity to take the money and start a new life, Marion leaves town and heads towards Sam's California store. Tired after the long drive and caught in a storm, she gets off the main highway and pulls into The Bates Motel. The motel is managed by a quiet young man called Norman who seems to be dominated by his mother. This film contains many conventions of thriller films, the director of the film does break the 180 rule which isn't conventional but does use iconography, the knife, and does use low key lighting to create suspense. Although the film does not involve violent scenes to a gruesome extent, for example when the women is in the shower we do not see the women actually being stabbed or come in contact with the knife.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
A later film, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which is directed by Tobe Hooper was released in 1974. En route to visit their grandfather's grave, five teenagers drive past a slaughterhouse, pick up a sinister hitch-hiker, eat some delicious home-cured meat at a roadside gas station, before ending up at the old family home... where they're plunged into a never-ending nightmare as they meet a family of cannibals who more than make up in power tools what they lack in social skills. This film also uses many conventions throughout the film, the film is different to the previous films as we see the man killing the people and looks as though they are in contact with the weapon. In addition this film also includes lots of editing which is similar to the previous films I have spoken about. This film also uses Low key lighting to create shadows and thus create tension and suspense for the viewers.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072271/?ref_=nv_sr_4
Final Destination, a film made in 2000, is directed by James Wong and is about a boy named Alex who is boarding his plane to France on a school trip, when he suddenly gets a premonition that the plane will explode. When Alex and a group of students are thrown off the plane, to their horror, the plane does in fact explode. Alex must now work out Death's plan, as each of the surviving students falls victim. Whilst preventing the worst from happening, Alex must also dodge the FBI, which believes Alex caused the explosion. This film uses many different conventions throughout the film. It mostly uses Low key lighting to create suspense and tension for the audience. It also uses many different camera angles and editing styles to show different characters perspective and to create suspense.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195714/?ref_=nv_sr_2
The last film i will be talking about is a film which was release in 2013, The Purge, which is directed by James DeMonaco. 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 podsxlice 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 (Ethan Hawke) gated community during the yearly lock down, he begins a sequence of events that threatens to tear a family apart. Now, it is up to James, his wife, Mary (Lena Headey), and their kids to make it through the night without turning into the monsters from whom they hide. This film uses a huge amount of things conventional to the thriller genre, for example there are many knifes used (iconography) and there is also lots of low key lighting to make the audience unable to see whats in the scene and gets them scared. It also includes many different camera angles to represent how inferior or superior the character is.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2184339/?ref_=nv_sr_1
From this table below we can see how much money the top 17 thrillers made overall and also the amount of money they earned in the first weekend. It also shows the studio it was produced by, whether its a sequel and the date of the release. From this table I can analyse why films mad the amount of money it did and how well it did in the first weekend.
From this we can see that Hannibal, which was released on the 2nd of September 2001, made $58,003,121 in the first weekend and $165,092,268 as a total gross. I believe this is because of the story line used and also the conventions used. The thriller is about the continuing saga of Hannibal Lecter, the murdering cannibal. He is presently in Italy and works as a curator at a museum. Clarice Starling, the FBI agent whom he aided to apprehend a serial killer, was placed in charge of an operation but when one of her men botches it, she's called to the mat by the Bureau. One high ranking official, Paul Krendler has it in for her. But she gets a reprieve because Mason Verger, one of Lecter's victims who is looking to get back at Lecter for what Lecter did to him, wants to use Starling to lure him out. When Lecter sends her a note she learns that he's in Italy so she asks the police to keep an eye out for him. But a corrupt policeman who wants to get the reward that Verger placed on him, tells Verger where he is. But they fail to get him. Later Verger decides to frame Starling which makes Lecter return to the States. And the race to get Lecter begins. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212985/?ref_=nv_sr_6) I believe this story line is very appealing to people as it is a little bit realistic but isnt realistic enough to frighten people to think it may happen to them.
We can also see that Saw IV is ranked 9 and made 31,756,764 in the first weekend and a total gross of 63,300,095. Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive in the terrified community to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw's latest grisly remains and piecing together the puzzle. However, when SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend or face the deadly consequences. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0890870/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) I believe this film made this much money as it includes a lot of conventions and has a good story line which the audience can relate to. Although I believe it didn't make as much as the previous Saw's as they were brilliant films which were hard to match up to as they ay have run out of ideas. Another reason it didn't make as much as films like Hannibal as its story line wasn't that realistic and doesn't allow the audience to create relationships with the characters as the narrative isn't realistic.
Lastly we can see that Psycho II which was released on the 6th of March 1983 didn't make that much money on its opening weekend, $8,310,244, but did make more money afterwards and gaining a total gross of $34,725,00. This thriller is about a Now declared legally sane, Norman Bates is released from a mental institution after spending 22 years in confinement over the protests of Marion Crane's sister Lila Loomis, who insists that he's still a killer and that the court's indifference to his victims by releasing him is a gross miscarriage of justice. Norman returns to his motel and the old Victorian mansion where his troubles started, and history predictably begins to repeat itself. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086154/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) This film didn't make as much money in its first weekend as many other films as it was created a good 20 years ago and wasn't very realistic and didn't allow the audience to create a relationship with the characters. This was because the director didnt use that many conventions to make the film realistic and relatable for the audience.
This post demonstrates some understanding of how thriller have changed and developed over the years. You have identified a variety of films, which helps to show your understanding of conventional narratives. But you need to ensure that you have elaborated on the examples, by providing further detail on the plots, characters, themes, etc. You have already started to do this, but you need to expand on the points that you have made. Also you need to reference your research and especially the narrative points that you have included.
ReplyDeleteAim to include summary, to explain what inspirations you will use and consider within your own narrative
The box office information that you have included within this post, demonstrates further understanding of how thriller films appeal to an audience. You have considered the narratives and box office information well. You have also started to consider the role of the audience, but further discussion of the conventions is needed, to demonstarte further understanding of the genre.
ReplyDelete