Thrillers are characterized by frequent action, fast-pace, and sometimes heroes and villains. It also has various sub-genres.
There are mainly heroes and villains in most thrillers. Traditionally, the villain drives a plot and the hero must overcome this issue. The story usually has a lot of mystery in it to create the suspense and dilemmas. They also have cliffhangers in it.
Thrillers are all about thrilling people more than scaring them. Horrors are easily mistaken for thrillers as they are quite similar - they both have the same kind of story lines. Thrillers have more suspension in there sounds and suspension at the beginning of the film so you can tell what genre the film is from the beginning. They tend to be more spooky and screechy.
We managed to track down a chart with data on how many thrillers were released in the year 2008 and heres what has come up:
This information was taken from, http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/media/pdf/2/p/2009.pdf
The Ten most popular thrillers of all time are;Basic Instinct (1992) about Douglas’ cop falling for Sharon Stone’s man-killer dominatrix author.
The Big Sleep (1946) was the film in which Bogie fell for Bacall: the chemistry between the two is almost incendiary.
Casino Royale (2006) Debut for Daniel Craig as 007. Gadgets, the tireless bed-hopping, the excessive stunts.
Fargo (1995) Kidnapping gone wrong, an unhappy marriage and a wealthy businessman who refuses to pay a ransom. Set during a Minnesota winter.
Get Carter (1971) Gritty thriller meets Greek tragedy. London-based gangster travelling to Newcastle to get payback for his brother’s death. With the violence as unglamorous as a pub brawl and a mood as bleak as Tyneside winter, it’s one of the nastiest and most honest films about revenge ever made.
Jackie Brown (1997) Absorbing tale of an middle-aged air hostess outfoxing a shrewd gunrunner over a stash of money. The intricate plot is a model of machine-crafted precision, but the leisurely pace allows for some rich characterisation and some soulful reflections on ageing.
LA Confidential (1997) A scabrous attack on Hollywood’s blind devotion to the culture of celebrity. So it’s a minor miracle that a big studio should ever have financed this sprawling, densely plotted tale of police corruption, shady movie stars and tabloid journalists in the first place. The greater miracle is that Ellroy’s vision was preserved in all its gloomy brilliance by Curtis Hanson’s sharp direction and fearless performances from a first-rate cast.
Le Samourai (1967)A major influence on US cinema’s crime wave in the ‘70s.A hit man is a stone-cold classic violence. The film combines the tough-guy cynicism of film noir and crisp Parisian cool – with an added dash of Eastern mysticism.
Memento (2000) A tale of a amnesiac victim of crime attempting to solve the case. Disassembling the constituent parts of the thriller, Nolan pieced them back together to use the genre to probe the nature of identity. A profound, perplexing puzzle-piece of a film.
The Usual Suspects (1995) Revolving around five professional thieves brought together for a police line-up is played like one long, expertly deployed con trick, pulling the rug from under us so many times we’re left reeling. An unspoken law of omerta forbids viewers of the film from revealing the movie’s glorious final twist.
Here's some expected codes and conventions to be in thrillers:
Sound and editing : Involves several different camera angles and quick snaps and changes between shots. Music tends to be full of tension and has a racey sound to go with the action etc.
Lighting - Shadow, mirrors and stairs are mostly used.
Narrative - Normally shown from different characters points of view. Not just one persons view. Normally it is made out so the audience has empathy for one of the characters.
Setting - According to what the story line is based on. Not a particular setting-base.
Mise-en-scene - Dim/dark lighting, (illegal) weapons for props. Camera shots are normally close ups or normal shots. Quite a lot of camera movement.
Sub-genres of thrillers:
Conspiracy thriller is a sub-genre with a secret. Usually the hero becomes a threat to the conspirators, and must escape their response. An example is the novel'The Chancellor Manuscript.'
Ecothriller tales, involve some threat to the environment, either globally or locally. The Green Rain is an example. Michael Crichton's novel State of Fear became a best-seller.
Legal thriller often includes legal figures like lawyers who put their lives at stake in order to solve the mystery. It mostly takes place around the courthouse/room. An example is 'The Firm'.
Medical thriller often involves medical people such as doctors. They have their own lives at risk again, either by a mysterious disease being broken out, or their life is threatened by a patient etc. An example is 'Death on Call'.
Psychological thriller build up slowly until the action/violence takes place later on. It normally is on emotional or mental conflict between the characters. The conflicts may not even be possible in real life. For example 'The ring' is not something that would happen.
Religious thrillers usually have an artifact or historic secret that centres up the plot.
'The DaVinci Code' is an example of this.
Action thrillers usually involve violence, aggression etc. It includes weapons and guns, explosions etc. An example would be 'The Bourne Identity' & its following films.
No comments:
Post a Comment