The Departed (2006)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
Running Time: 151 Minutes
The Departed was released on October 6, 2006 to overwhelmingly positive reviews.The film is one of the highest-rated wide release films of 2006The film grossed $26,887,467 in its opening weekend, becoming the third Scorsesefilm to debut at #1. the film is believed to be the most commercially successful of Scorsese's featuresand is his highest-grossing film to date,
Vacancy (2007)
Director: Nimród Antal
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Running time: 85 min
Vacancy opened at #4 in its first week at the box office grossing $7.6 million at 2,551 locations.The film has grossed a total of $28.4 million worldwide.
Showing posts with label thriller research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thriller research. Show all posts
Monday, 16 November 2009
“Vacancy” and “The Departed” Opening sequence analysis
The opening sequence of “Vacancy” sets the atmosphere and tone for the rest of the film, introducing characters, but not telling us that much about them, creating a sense that we do not know everything, and that there is more than the film tells us. Straight away, we can tell that this is a horror subgenre of thrillers, from the darkness, and the fear and suspense it is aiming to build up in the audience.
This is carried on throughout the rest of the opening sequence, as the dark obscures whatever is beyond the road, and the two main characters argue over things we are not informed about.
There is also an anticlimax, at the point when the car almost hits the (racoon?). The music builds up, and we are shown the silhouette of the animal in the cars headlights, as if it is something dangerous. What happens next, however (the car makes a sudden stop and skids off the road) has an impact on the rest of the film in that it damages the car, causing them to stop off later on. Pathetic fallacy is used to an extent, it being at night. This is something that you could say is a convention of thrillers, as the genre uses it a lot to create whichever atmosphere it is trying to portray.
Another point about the opening sequence of “vacancy” is the very long credits at the very beginning. The credits alone tell us something about the film we are about to see, with black and red being the dominant colours, and the music being very dramatic, and foreboding.
“The Departed” is an example of a very different subgenre of thrillers, the gangster film, and the opening sequence uses very different tactics to create a very different atmosphere and setting within the film. Conventions, almost clichés, of the gangster movie are used. An example of this is the narrator, who has an almost typical gangster voice. There are many similar films which open in a very similar way, which, in a way, is very suitable for a very well established genre of film, and does not detract from the opening in any way, merely informing us of the type of film we are watching.
One thing that “The Departed” has in common with “Vacancy” is that we get the sense of a background that goes far beyond what we see in the opening, as we see a flashback, involving one of the characters, who has already been established as a man who doesn’t care about morals or human life, shoots two people, along with someone else. We are not told anything about this, but we can assume that it has something to do with the boy he is talking to.
This is carried on throughout the rest of the opening sequence, as the dark obscures whatever is beyond the road, and the two main characters argue over things we are not informed about.
There is also an anticlimax, at the point when the car almost hits the (racoon?). The music builds up, and we are shown the silhouette of the animal in the cars headlights, as if it is something dangerous. What happens next, however (the car makes a sudden stop and skids off the road) has an impact on the rest of the film in that it damages the car, causing them to stop off later on. Pathetic fallacy is used to an extent, it being at night. This is something that you could say is a convention of thrillers, as the genre uses it a lot to create whichever atmosphere it is trying to portray.
Another point about the opening sequence of “vacancy” is the very long credits at the very beginning. The credits alone tell us something about the film we are about to see, with black and red being the dominant colours, and the music being very dramatic, and foreboding.
“The Departed” is an example of a very different subgenre of thrillers, the gangster film, and the opening sequence uses very different tactics to create a very different atmosphere and setting within the film. Conventions, almost clichés, of the gangster movie are used. An example of this is the narrator, who has an almost typical gangster voice. There are many similar films which open in a very similar way, which, in a way, is very suitable for a very well established genre of film, and does not detract from the opening in any way, merely informing us of the type of film we are watching.
One thing that “The Departed” has in common with “Vacancy” is that we get the sense of a background that goes far beyond what we see in the opening, as we see a flashback, involving one of the characters, who has already been established as a man who doesn’t care about morals or human life, shoots two people, along with someone else. We are not told anything about this, but we can assume that it has something to do with the boy he is talking to.
Friday, 23 October 2009
In what ways does the opening of “No Country for Old Men” conform to the conventions of a thriller?
In what ways does the opening of “No Country for Old Men” conform to the conventions of a thriller?
The opening to the film “No Country for Old Men” conforms to the conventions of thrillers in a variety of ways, although it is not entirely conventional in it’s approach.
The most obvious feature of the opening part of the film is the presence of death. The fact that a character dies near the beginning of the film, or indeed anywhere in the film, is a common theme in the genre, and death is something that plays a part in nearly all thrillers.
Aside from this, something else, shown even earlier on in the film, which conforms to the setting of a thriller, is the bleak setting, a desert, which is accentuated by blowing wind, dust, and a distinct absence of anything that can be recognised as alive. This is shown from the very beginning of the film, and this, again, is a feature that is common to many films in the genre, as it gives the events that happen within the film much more impact. It gives the impression of loneliness, and helplessness.
The character introduced at the beginning of the film gives us the impression of being the kind of psychotic character so prevalent in thrillers, and confirms this impression by killing two people during the opening scenes of the film. The second character introduced has the look of a cowboy giving us a slightly better impression of himself than the long haired maniac we have previously seen. This impression, however, is slightly tempered by this character’s insensitive attitude towards death, and in this way, the film does not follow the conformities of a thriller, as neither of the characters we have so far been introduced to have been of an entirely benevolent nature, one showing a preference towards shades of grey that are not always typical to most thrillers, although not unheard of.
Another thriller convention that is used in the opening to “No Country for Old Men” is the lack of dialogue, which emphasises the loneliness and desolate nature of the situation. The film, like many thrillers, also starts on a foreboding note, instead of going straight into the action, which helps build up the tension towards the later parts of the film.
Although the film’s opening does conform to the conventions of thrillers in many ways, there are also ways, in which it doesn’t. One is the previously mentioned shades of grey that are prevalent in the characters’ morality. Another would be the amount that happens within the opening scenes of the film, although this doesn’t go against thriller conventions either. The lack of explanation of what is going on is something that is prevalent in many thriller openings, as the film makers often want the film itself and the symbolism therein speak for itself.
To conclude, the opening to “No Country for Old Men”, is, in many ways, the typical opening to a thriller, and contains many of the themes and symbolism that is often used. However, it does differ in a few small ways, making it a unique, instead of entirely clichéd opening to the film.
The opening to the film “No Country for Old Men” conforms to the conventions of thrillers in a variety of ways, although it is not entirely conventional in it’s approach.
The most obvious feature of the opening part of the film is the presence of death. The fact that a character dies near the beginning of the film, or indeed anywhere in the film, is a common theme in the genre, and death is something that plays a part in nearly all thrillers.
Aside from this, something else, shown even earlier on in the film, which conforms to the setting of a thriller, is the bleak setting, a desert, which is accentuated by blowing wind, dust, and a distinct absence of anything that can be recognised as alive. This is shown from the very beginning of the film, and this, again, is a feature that is common to many films in the genre, as it gives the events that happen within the film much more impact. It gives the impression of loneliness, and helplessness.
The character introduced at the beginning of the film gives us the impression of being the kind of psychotic character so prevalent in thrillers, and confirms this impression by killing two people during the opening scenes of the film. The second character introduced has the look of a cowboy giving us a slightly better impression of himself than the long haired maniac we have previously seen. This impression, however, is slightly tempered by this character’s insensitive attitude towards death, and in this way, the film does not follow the conformities of a thriller, as neither of the characters we have so far been introduced to have been of an entirely benevolent nature, one showing a preference towards shades of grey that are not always typical to most thrillers, although not unheard of.
Another thriller convention that is used in the opening to “No Country for Old Men” is the lack of dialogue, which emphasises the loneliness and desolate nature of the situation. The film, like many thrillers, also starts on a foreboding note, instead of going straight into the action, which helps build up the tension towards the later parts of the film.
Although the film’s opening does conform to the conventions of thrillers in many ways, there are also ways, in which it doesn’t. One is the previously mentioned shades of grey that are prevalent in the characters’ morality. Another would be the amount that happens within the opening scenes of the film, although this doesn’t go against thriller conventions either. The lack of explanation of what is going on is something that is prevalent in many thriller openings, as the film makers often want the film itself and the symbolism therein speak for itself.
To conclude, the opening to “No Country for Old Men”, is, in many ways, the typical opening to a thriller, and contains many of the themes and symbolism that is often used. However, it does differ in a few small ways, making it a unique, instead of entirely clichéd opening to the film.
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