Evaluation of Reservoir Dogs

Third Man

Director: Carol Reed

Country Made: Vienna

Awards: Won 3 Nominated for 3

Copy of Review: One of the most famous British motion pictures of all time, and voted favourite by the members of the BFI, Carol Reed's "The Third Man" is a must-see drama/thriller now out on the new Warner Bros DVD release. (BBCi DVD Review)

User Rating: 8.5/10

The use of Mise en Scene used throught The Third Man uses many generic features used in a thriller film, in the opening sequence there is a canted close up shot of a suitcase, this gives the feel of everything seeming un-natural and the world disorientated. In the suitcase are some black shoes which are important as they highlight the black market of Vienna. There is also a shot of a man with watches up his arm to show the crime of Vienna as it's seen as dangerous, which is also shown in the unglamerous shot of the body in the river to allowing the audience see Vienna as a dangerous place to be.

Showing this in the opening sequence shows Vienna as a place full of corruption and treachery. In the thriller there is music whichs uses a contrast which is lively and makes the whole series of events appear as just a joke. Rather than more sinister and and dark to buid the tension.

There is voiceover used in the opening and throughout the film, this is used in thrillers such as essex boys and fight club. The voice over for The Third Man is a British army captain which is significant to the time the history of the film as it was during the War that this film was set.

The main character Holly Martins is introduced wearing Generic costume of a thriller character, he is shown wearing a long black coat, trilby hat and carrying a briefcase. This shows his importance and mystery as a character as the hat and coat allow him to hide himself and the briefcase is always a reference of mystery and importance.

As Holly Martins is looking for Harry Lime he seen walking uder a ladder, this is ironic as it suggests his character to be expeirencing a lot of bad luck throughout the film.

Stairs are used throughout The Third Man and are a signifier of danger as there's the feeling people can fall down them or the spindels can be used to make the character look imprisoned or vulnerable.

The Third Man also uses shadow through non-ambient lighting to show mystery and danger in characters.

Kill Bill Vol.2

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Country made: USA

Year made: 2004

Awards: Won 8 awards, Nominated for 18

Copy of review: Morally the film is as infantile as its rigid code of honour — and there’s not much of that between hired assassins, or directors and critics. The Midas touch is Tarantino’s ability to switch mood and genre — and take his audience with him — in the blink of an eye.

User rating: 8.1/10

My opinion:10/10 I loved every minute of this film uncluding Uma therman (the bride) as the femme fatale and the part where she manages to escape from being buried alive.

Kill Bill 2 opens with an intertextual reference to Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho showing this film as a tribute to the classic thrillers, this is due to it being shot in black and white showing the independent femme fatale. A femme fatal is french for 'deadly woman' who uses their sexuality to charm their lovers and seek their desire this often leads to their fate . However there is a contrast in femme fatals of Marion Crane and the Bride. The Bride in Kill Bill is shown as a strong independent female whereas Marion Crane is a victim who is trying to buy her lover. For example Marion Crane is running away after stealing money to buy her lover, where as 'The Bride' is running towards the danger after being used and violated by a previous lover of hers 'Bill' who doesn't want her to carry on with her life. Marion Crane deviance is of a more traditional femme fatal as due to her vulnerable attributes as a female her character turns out to be fatal where as the brides character gets rewarded for her independency and deviance by killing Bill.

It also references the soundtrack in the opening sequence which helps create suspense within the events as it's the same music which is used in time of Marion Crance being stabbed in the famous shower scene. Therefore implys the danger involved for "The Bride".

There is a specific scene used in this film which is seen as generic. We see "The Bride" in her vulnerable state as she's just been captured and buried alive.

It shows her stuck in the coffin with no where to go. The coffin is a powerful utilisation of the genre to heighten her sense of doom and claustriphobia, she's also seen tied up showing her imprisonment and heighten the suspense and drama of her fate we're about to witness.

The lighting used is noir with chiaroscuro to give the impression of the her impending doom and nightmare showing a low angle close up of her face in fear to make the audience feel like we're with her experiencing her fear. This is also represented in her dirty costume and sweat building on her face.

When she's going in to the coffin there is an emphasis on diagetic sound of the nails going into the coffin this adds to the claustriphobia and how she's no longer within control . It also represents the dominant male role and how they should be the ones with the power, therefore with each nail going into the coffin it signifies the males superior ability over the now vulnerable female. There is also non-diagetic sound of western music which is an intertextual reference and tribute to Sergio Leoni's choice of music for the thriller the Good the Bad and the Ugly, as we see at the end the music used for the impending fate of the character as it's used to build up suspense.

Essex Boys

Essex Boys
Director: Terry Winsor

Country Made: UK

Awards: none

Year Made: 2000

User ratings: 5.8/10

My opinion: 7/10

The opening of Essex boys moves from the credits into a crack of sunlight from within a pitch black room. It begins on a point of view shot which gives the impression of someone being imprisoned as it is as though the audience are the ones trapped inside. As the crack of light is enhanced due to the garage door being opened, there's an emphasis on the garage door opening giving the impression of danger and power being projected from the character Billy. Garages are an important location of thriller films as they can often be used as hideouts, murder scenes or storage of drugs or illegal items. The garage is revealed as dirty and desolate making the location appear sinister and dodgy environment. The character Billy has to move cobwebs out of the way when he's trying to get into the car therefore representing his character to trying to get brush away a troublesome past.

The low ambient lighting used within this opening shot is Chirascura and makes Billy and Locke appear dark and frightening as it gives off the feeling of a depressing and sinister atmosphere. This is used in other thrillers such as Fight Club when Marla and The Narrator (Edward Norton) are situated in the room for people suffering from fatal diseases.

As it moves out from the garage the scene around the car is shot so it's nearly black and white showing as a tribute to past thrillers such as Psycho and the Third Man. It also shows the surrounding area as unglamerous setting the scene of dirty dealings and murder. As the car goes into the tunnel it gives the impression of a gun going into a bullet which allows you to assoociate Billy and Locke in the car with death. And within the tunnel the lighting moves across the drivers face creating lines which gives the impression of prison bars and the situation Billy is about to get into suggests that it's dangerous.

The costume used of Locke and Billy is dark and generic to that of a traditional thriller film in the way its dark and simplistic. With Billy wearing a leather jacket to show his status and to know he's no to be messed with and Locke in a casual shirt and black jacket letting the audience know he's higher up from Billy as he doesn't need costume to represent this. This costume is a feature of British thriller where the gangster (Billy)will be wearing casual attire which makes him appear tougher. This contrasts to the American thriller such as Reservoir Dogs which see's the gangsters wearing a full suit and tie, making them appear superior and dangerious. However it also follows similar attributes of the 'Boss' wearing casual costume to show he's superior to everyone else.

The non-diagetic voiceover and medium shot of Billy in the car establishes him as the main character and alows us to see through his eyes as he lets us into his own thoughts and processes. he appears on edge as his crime partner Locke suddenly appears in the windscreen. The close up of Locke's face see's him as the higher character as his expression his evil and menacing as he's trying to frighten Billy. This shows him as a victim as most criminals are seen as confident and in the know where as he's shown as being shocked by the actions and violence around him.

When they are in the car heading to their destination there is a medium shot of Billy driving with the light reflecting on the windscreen. The light is going over Billys face in thin lines which represents someone being imprisoned or trapped. It represents the bad nature of these two characters and how their rebellion against the law.

As they reach the meat packing factory they switch their vehical to a white van. A white van is a generic feature of a thriller as a white van will often be used to harbour criminals or illegal substances therefore representing crime. Therefore this switch of vehical lets the audience understand this. The White van also represents entrapment as the person inside is completley vulnerable with no way out.

Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho

For help with creating my media essay I watched Psycho and managed to gather ideas to help me for when it came for me making my thriller.

Psycho was created in 1960 and stars Janet Leigh as Marion Crane the femme fatal, usually the mainipulative dominant female. It was filmed in Black and white to add to the idea of a nightmare situation as well as paying tribute to 1940's Noir thrillers.

Psycho is famous for it's use of sound to create tension, this is used straight away in the opening credits and sound graphics are also added to highlight the tension. The use of sound is quite similar throughout and helps the audience to feel unease and wouldn't have nearly the same effect if the music wasn't added, for example as Marion Crane begins her get away we are constantly being reminded by the sound used that the situation she has put herself in is unlikely to end well and highlights her as the victim. This sound also is always creating that motion of sudden quick movements which already can give the audience the idea of murder.

These quick sound references are the only pieces of music throught the film heard as Hitchcock went with a much simplisitic idea to create a sinister atmosphere through simplistic events showing that it doesnt always have to be about CGI and special effects.

Sound becomes very important as we get to the famous shower scene as when Marion has left Norman Bates all that is heard is her turning the shower and the sound of running water. It isn't until we see the shadow image pull back the curtain that we here the famous music that creates the most amazing tension and fear within the audience as it's so simplitstic and striking.

Mise-en-scene used within psycho is very important as the location of this is always giving reference to Marions fate. In the opening shot we see it crane shot along Phoenix giving the date of the day we are about to witness, this is generally used within a crime therefore already gives clues to whether or not a murder is going to be taken place. We see a voyouristic view as the camera cranes into the window as we begin to be looking into her life. The window is also a very important aspect into a thriller. We see Marion coming across as the femme fatal as she's laying on the bed in just her underwear. We are also already seeing Marion as the victim as she's used by the dominant male as he see's her as his sex object where as she's wanting more, this is showing her naivety.

We see in the opening scene Marions underwear is white where as after she's stolen the money and is planning on running away her Underwear is now black showing her descent as she thinks the money will buy her happiness.

We are always seeing close up's of her hands holding the money which is all the audience need to be able to establish what it is that Marion has done and what it is she's about to do. These simplistic actions make it much more effective and give a better sense of ambiguity as the audience are left to figure it out.

Later on there is perfect use of Mise-en-scene as Marion has arrived at Bates motel and is sitting in the hotel office talking to Norman Bates. Throughout there conversations we see shots of birds surrounding either Marion or Norman. The birds are representing the symbol of death and are showing Marion as prey, therefore insinuating that she is about to meet her fate. This is also ironic to both Marion and Normans names as Crane is a type of bird and Bate is what people use when trying to lure there prey. A bird is also seen falling to the floor to also help in signifying her death.

The use of lighting when they are within the study is very noir showing it as very morbid and sinister as well as having the typical whether conditions of heavy rain regularly used to create a more sinister environment.

This is also helping the idea of Marions naivety and sense of entrapment withing the hotel as we see a desolate location and the idea that she has nowhere to go.

These are just a few important points in the first 30 minutes of psycho as we see the fall of Marion Crane and the way in which Hitchcock has portrayed her as a character as psycho is massively famous thriller in the way it gives off these conventions as a genre.

A review from the San fransico times describes it being

" blended the real and the unreal in fascinating proportions and punctuated his film with several quick, grisly and unnerving surprises."

And an audience response

The movie has arguably the best mid-plot point and climactic twist in thriller history, and certainly the best-directed ending. The last few shots are chilling and leave a lingering horror in the viewer's mind.

I personally give this film a 10/10