Thriller Conventions

A crime at the core of the narrator (often murder, but not necessarily).
A complex narrative structure with false paths, clues & resolutions.
A narrative pattern of establishing enigmas which the viewer expects to be resolved.
A protagonist who is systematically - empowered and drawn into a complex web of intrigue by the antagonist.
Extraordinary events happening in ordinaty situations
Themes of identity
Themes of mirroring
Themes of voyeurism
Protagonist with a flair which is exploited by the antagonist
Titles often reflect an aspect of the protagonists/antagonists psychological state
there is oftenn a scene towards the end of the film in which the protagonist is in peril.
Mise en scene which echoes/mirrors the protagonists plight.

Alfred Hitchcock the greatest ever director?

This week in media we learnt about the famous director Alfred Hitchcock and learnt about his famous work. He is known for making famous films such as Shadow of Doubt and Rebecca which won an oscar for best film. Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone in 1889 and started directing British movies he was the first director to make a British film with sound which was called Blackmail in 1929. Hitchcock began to make successful British movies and would lead to him getting the chance to go to Hollywood to become even more popular and make successful Hollywood films. His first American film was Rebecca in 1940 which one an Oscar for best picture. Hitchcock would go on to make popular films in the 1940s such as Shadow of a Doubt and Mr and Mrs Smith. His film Shadow of a Doubt, according to Hitchcock was his personal favourite. Hitchcock also made famous films such as Physco in 1960 which he was nominated for best director his film physo is considered by many as one of his best films. Hitchcock work as become so popular that 6 of his films have been in the National Film Registry (Vertigo, Rear Window,North by Northwest, Notorious and Shadow of a Doubt). His films Shadow of a Doubt and Notorious were also in 1998's AFI's 100 best American films and the AFI's 2007 update. In 2008, four of Hitchcock's films were named among the ten best mystery films of all time in the AFI's 10 Top 10. Those films are Vertigo (at No. 1); Rear Window (No. 3); North by Northwest (No. 7); and Dial M for Murder(No. 9). Hitchcocks film Vertigo was famous for bening the first film to have a reverse zoom shot. Hitchcock is known for making many cameos in his Hollywood films. Hitchcock died in 1980 in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California and remains one of the best-known and most popular filmmakers of all time.

Seven Deadly Sins

I was able to examine a thriller the other day called Seven a film made in 1995. The story follows retiring detective (Morgan Freeman) and his replacement (Brad Pitt ), jointly investigating a series of ritualistic murders inspired by the seven deadly sins. The serial killer (Kevin Spacey), the person who has commited these murders in intelligent as it is seen in the opening of the film that he removes his skin so that no one can match his finger prints. From the opening of the film alot of close ups and extreme close ups and use low key lighting to help show that it is a dark film noir film. In terms of money the film was success as it grossed $13.9 million on its opening weekend and went on to gross $327.3 million world wide. The film also was nominated for a BAFTA for best orginal screen play.