Research Questions

1. What is the purpose of the opening to a film?

The opening of the film introduces the viewer to the basic plot of the film it will show the viewer what genre it is to keep them interested and generally what is going to happen in the film.

2. What technique can a director use to create suspense in a film?

There are different ways to create suspense in a film these can be created by using different music and filming techniques. The music would increase in tempo and would fill out with different textures the music also can increase in volume. Settings can be used to increase suspense and transitions between scenes are used. The director uses things like red herrings and flashbacks to mislead the viewer from the actual villains to create more suspense.


3. How do you think a crime film is defined?

A crime film is a film that involves various aspects of crime and the criminal justice system it can fall under many categories like drama action and thriller films. The Mafia is a common example of a crime film .Common characteristics in a crime film follow the law so anything with police in it could be classed as a crime film the characters in a crime film depend on its sub-genre so if it is a gangster film it will be set in a corrupt city in foreign city, there could be Italian features throughout the film.

4. What films can you think that can fit into the crime genre?

Films like Goodfella’s and The Godfather would be the most common and obvious crime genres as they have aspects like drug taking and shooting’s. Most thriller films could be classed as crime films in a way most films fit the crime genre there are also less obvious ones like lion king where Scar kills Mufasa, this could be counted as a crime film.

5. The thriller genre can be divided into sub-genres – what different types of thriller films do you think exist?

· Action Thriller –Often a race with the clock, usually contain a lot of violence, guns explosions.
· Conspiracy thriller –The hero/heroine confronts a large powerful group of enemies who’s true extent only he/she recognises
· Crime thriller –A hybrid of both crime and thrillers has a suspenseful amount of successful or failed crimes often focus on the criminal
· Disaster thriller –Where the main conflict is due to a natural or artificial disaster such as floods hurricanes or nuclear disasters
· Erotic thriller –It involves erotica and thriller such films like basic instinct
· Legal thriller –in which the lawyer hero/heroine confront enemies inside and out of the court and in danger of loosing there life
· Medical thriller -The heroes are medical personnel and are working to solve an expanding medical problem
· Political thriller –In which the heroes must ensure the stability of the government
· Psychological thriller -The conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical
· Spy thriller -In which the hero is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or terrorists
· Techno-thriller -Technology is described in detail and made essential to the reader's/viewer's understanding of the plot
· Religious thriller-In which the plot is closely connected to religious objects, institutions and questions


6. What are the characteristics or conventions of a crime film? Narrative, characteristics, mise en scene, stars?

Usually set in a city, the cast are usually older and dressed smartly they are usually quite dark films and set at night

7. What do you think the audience pleasure of a crime film?

Audiences watching a crime film enjoy the mystery around the plot and like to see the way the hero solves the crime, a viewer watching the crime genre usually like’s the thriller genre so would like violence and some death, however in the end of a crime film the hero’s succeeds.

8. What do you think are the differences between a horror and a thriller film?

Thriller
A thriller film is based on a main villain with a villain driven plot, the villain presents obstacles/tasks the hero must overcome Thriller films are usually set in foreign cities, deserts, Polar Regions, or high seas. The heroes in most thrillers are frequently "hard men" accustomed to danger like law enforcement officers, spies, soldiers, seamen or aviators. However, they may also be ordinary citizens drawn into danger by accident. Thrillers often overlap with mystery stories, but are distinguished by the structure of their plots. In a thriller, the hero must ruin the plans of an enemy, rather than uncover a crime that has already happened.

Horror
A horror film is a film that attempts to create fear, the plots usually involve death and the supernatural also may have a central villain. The early horror movies were usually based on gothic horror like Dracula, but now there are being based on after world war two. Horror films are usually dismissed as violent. Some horror films incorporate elements of other genres such as science fiction, fantasy, black comedy, and thrillers.

9. Using the internet research the ‘top 50 thriller films’. Look at the top twenty – which ones have you watched? If it not many, why do your think this is the case?

Rank Rating Title

1. 9.2 The Godfather (1972)
2. 9.0 The Godfather: Part II (1974)
3. 8.9 Pulp Fiction (1994)
4. 8.8 The Dark Knight (2008)
5. 8.7 Rear Window (1954)
6. 8.7 Fight Club (1999)
7. 8.7 Psycho (1960)
8. 8.7 The Usual Suspects (1995)
9. 8.7 The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
10. 8.6 The Matrix (1999)
11. 8.6 North by Northwest (1959)
12. 8.6 Memento (2000)
13. 8.6 Se7en (1995)
14. 8.6 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
15. 8.6 Léon (1994)
16. 8.6 Taxi Driver (1976)
17. 8.6 Vertigo (1958)
18. 8.6 Double Indemnity (1944)
19. 8.5 M (1931)
20. 8.5 El secreto de sus ojos (2009)
21. 8.5 The Third Man (1949)
22. 8.5 Alien (1979)
23. 8.5 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
24. 8.5 Das Leben der Anderen (2006)
25. 8.5 A Clockwork Orange (1971)
26. 8.5 The Shining (1980)
27. 8.5 Chinatown (1974)
28. 8.5 The Departed (2006)
29. 8.5 Aliens (1986)
30. 8.4 L.A. Confidential (1997)
31. 8.4 Reservoir Dogs (1992)
32. 8.4 Rebecca (1940)
33. 8.4 El laberinto del fauno (2006)
34. 8.4 Metropolis (1927)
35. 8.4 Touch of Evil (1958)
36. 8.4 The Prestige (2006)
37. 8.3 Safety Last! (1923)
38. 8.3 The Great Escape (1963)
39. 8.3 Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
40. 8.3 Le salaire de la peur (1953)
41. 8.3 Les diaboliques (1955)
42. 8.3 Strangers on a Train (1951)
43. 8.3 Sin City (2005)
44. 8.3 Notorious (1946)
45. 8.3 District 9 (2009)
46. 8.3 Hotel Rwanda (2004)
47. 8.3 Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
48. 8.3 Jaws (1975)
49. 8.3 The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
50. 8.3 The Big Sleep (1946)


Out of the top twenty I have only seen 5 the reason for this I think is because the top films are quite old and I haven’t had time to watch them.
For this task I have chosen 3 popular thriller movies, I have chosen The Godfather, Pulp Fiction and The Dark Knight.

10. Using the internet, find three posters for thrillerfilms. Complete a brief semiotic analysis of the posters. What colours are used, what kind of imagery, taglines, certificate, narrative?

These posters make it verry easy to tell the genre of the film just with a quick glance.

The colours used are a the main contributing factor of this,. Black is the main colour used in The Godfather poster with most of it just blacked out with the writing and the godfather himself in white. Pulp Fiction has a bit more colour in but sticks to dark coulours to make it look like a dark room iluminated by a lamp. The Dark Knight poster is set at night to create a dark atmosphere the only soucre of light is a burning bat symbol on the building in the background. All three follow the same colour scheme of dark coulours which creates an atmosphere of suspence and gives the film a scnce of mystery.

The imagary used in each poster is another contrubuting factor to the thriller genre The Godfathers only other colour used is red this is the rose on his suit the red symbolises aggrssion. On the Dark Knight there is a burning building this automaticly show’s there is going to be violence in the film, in both Pulp Fiction and The Godfather there is gangsters which also shows there is going to be violence in the film. There is also guns on the the Pulp Fiction poster.

Taglines are also important on the poster of The Dark Knight the line “Welcome To A World Without Rules” is used this automaticly tells the viewer that there is going to be a lot of crime in the film, on The Godfather “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” This shows there is going to be a deal in the film most likley a crime.
All these different elements contrubute to the overall thriller poster but they can all be used in different ways for example red can also represent lust and love but in a thriller the main use would would be to symbolise violence and mortality.