Through out the years thrillers have changed dramatically. 1930's and 1940's thriller films are based on more crime thrillers, they didn't have any monster killers and was based on true life situations. Thrillers back in the 1930's and 40's were more realistic then thrillers we have today. The thriller conventions we have today are low key lighting, pain, blood, and elements of suspense. Thrillers back in the 1930's and 40's were also mainly based around a romance where the men character's run off with a woman to protect themselves or to keep them from trouble. Having a mystery element was common in thrillers back then also. In the 1960's and 1970's thrillers started moving on from a mystery theme to a fast paced horror theme. There was more killing in thrillers from the 60's and 7o's with the murderer having a hidden identity. The characters in the film showed more pain and created an element of suspense for the audience. Thriller films we have today are all fast paced and are more edited to build tension for the audience. Some are gory and the killers are monsters for example the film mama the killer is a monster.
An example of a 1930's film is the 39 steps. It was made in 1935 and was one of the first thriller/crime films to be made and was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starred Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll.The plot is about a man in London who tries to help a counter-espionage agent prevent an organisation of spies called the 39 steps from stealing top secret information. An agent is killed and he is accused of murder, as a result of this he goes on the run with a lady he has a romance with to save himself and stop the spy ring. In 1999, the film came fourth in a BFI poll of British films and in 2004 Total film named it the 21st greatest British movie of all time. It was voted one of the best British thriller films of the 30's.
Vertigo is a psychological thriller based film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was released in 1958.. The narrative is about A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her. The film also comes under a mystery and romance genre. Hitchcock used a 'dolly zoom' method involves the camera physically moving away from a subject whilst simultaneously zooming in to create a 'vertigo effect' The music in the film seems like it goes round in circles to create a vertigo effect also. Similar to the 1930's film the 39 steps, there both mystery thrillers based around a women and both directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Both Vertigo and The 39 Steps arn't fast paced horrors, theres no chase scenes in them and the theme is crime thrillers.
Psycho is a thriller suspense film which was released in 1960 and was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The narrative of the film is about a young woman who is in a relationship with her boyfriend Sam but they cant afford to get married so she steals money from her work and decides to run away when she embarks on a hotel called 'bate motel' where she ends up staying. The hotel manager 'Norman bates' has schizophrenia as he pretends to be his dead mother and murder people including the young women. Alfred Hitchcock decided to make thrillers evolve in a different way. Psycho wasn't a mystery film or a crime thriller, the narrative of the film was completly different to all the other thriller films that have been made before. Alfred Hitchcock started something new which changed thrillers from then on.
Halloween was made in 1978 and directed by John Carpenter. Its very different to The 39 steps and vertigo as by this point over time thrillers changed by becoming more exciting and having an element of suspense. Halloween was one of the films to be evolved in this way. The plot is about a six year old boy (Micheal) who killed his sister on Halloween in 1963. Exactly 15 years later he escapes out of psychiatric hospital, returns home, and stalks teenager Laurie Strode and her friends. It was inspired by 1960's film psycho which started the change in thriller films.
In 1999 a thriller film named the sixth sense was released. It was directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist who tries to help him. Thriller films in the 90's had more editing shots in the film to build suspense for the audience. By the 90's a key element in the films was to create an element of excitement and they all mainly done that. They also had conventions in thrillers we have today such as low key lighting, loud music and blood.
Thriller films that have been very successful are: The sixth sense, Psycho, Shutter Island, Seven, The silence of the lambs and vertigo. I believe there all successful as they incorporate a murder which creates an element of excitement and makes it very interesting for he audience. One of the best thriller directors is Alfred Hitchcock. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. He framed shots to maximize anxiety, fear, or empathy, and used innovative film editing. Hitchcock was known for engaging the audience with suspense, accusing the wrong man of something, and portraying a fear of authority. He also threw in comic relief, portrayed villains as charming, used unusual camera angles, and preferred classic blondes for his leading ladies. His leads (both male and female) portrayed poise, intelligence, underlying passion, and glamour.
Many of Hitchcock's films have twist endings and thrilling plots featuring depictions of violence, murder, and crime. He became known as the master of suspense and created many thrillers between the 20's and 60's. Hes most successful films are thrillers such as: the 39 steps, the lady vanishes, strangers on a train, vertigo, Psycho and the birds.
Another successful director is Quentin Tarantino. His most famous thriller film is reservoir dog which was released in 1992 which one greatest independent film of all time from empire magazine. His second film 'pulp fiction' was also very successful and is viewed as the greatest films of all time. Most of his films are fast paced with violence which is why they became successful. Revenge is also often common in his films. He became very successful from the kill bill films also.
This research will help me plan my film as i can see how thrillers have changed and need to add conventions into my film which recent thriller films have. Also i will add a sense of mystery to my thriller film as many mystery based thriller films have been successful and maybe have a blonde woman to play the victim.
This post demonstrates a proficient understanding of how thriller films have changed and developed over the years. You have included a variety of films to show your understanding, but you need to ensure that you have related your points to detailed scenes from films, to develop this post.
ReplyDeleteAlso aim to reference your research that you carried out