Potential Soundtracks for Our Thriller

listen to ‘Gloom Horizon’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Classic Horror 3’ on Audioboo

Storyboard for Our Thriller

Storyboard

How Sergio Leone utilises aspects of the thriller genre in the film Once Upon A Time in America

Once Upon A Time In America (1984) 
Directed by: Sergio Leone
Filmed in: Italy/ USA 
Released in USA- 1st June 1984
Genre: Gangster Thriller
Produced by: Warner Bros. Pictures 

Official Trailer - Once Upon A Time in America (1984) 

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This film was set in 1933 on the 5th of December; the day prohibition ended in the USA. . Prohibition was a period of almost fourteen years in which the manufacture, transportation, and sale of liquor was made illegal in the U.S; during this period, there were many mobsters and gangs who ran opium dens, and ‘dungeons’ as they were called, in which people could go buy overly priced alcohol.  Police sometimes found out about these, but were bribed and were sometimes given free alcohol, these were often called ‘Killer’ or ‘Dirty’ cops.

 Gangster and mobs were also involved with organised crime, which police found hard to control; these included, Drug trafficking, Human trafficking, Sex trafficking, Illegal immigration, and contemporary slavery and unfree labour.

In the opening of the film, towards the end of the credits, and throughout the beginning of the opening scene, we are made aware of the non-diegetic sound of the song ‘God Bless America’ being played on the radio; this song in itself can be related to ‘The Deer Hunter (1978)’ when the family are around the table and sing the song.  'The Deer Hunter'  is made by an Italian director  Michael Cimeno. The song 'God Bless America' is played during the final sequence in this film, it is ironically used against a scenery of war damaged vietnam veterans gather at a funeral tea. By playing the same song in the opening sequence as Cimeno did in the final sequence, Sergio Leone is paying a tribute to Cimeno. It also shows that Leone was connoting that his film also, would have similar narrative and also include a story of a gang/group of males that were also trappd in a gangster war, that involved betrayal, corruption and treason; we can compare this to the Vietnam War.

The movie is set in a corrupt nation, and this implies that Sergio Leone is showing irony through the song, by suggesting that the wonderful nation of America and the American dream were but fantasy, and the reality was a society full of mobsters, gangs and crime.  Sergio Leone was Italian; this film shows his outlook on the country. ‘Witness’ was directed by Peter Weir, an Australian man who also felt the society of America was perceived wrongly and the reality was that an innocent boy could enter a toilet, and witness the murder of a policeman, committed by two others. Both of these directors, were not from America, but could obviously see that America was a corrupt and dangerous society.

The first signifier that Sergio Leone has used is the diegetic sound of footsteps; this is a generic signifier and is used in many thriller films, for example Kill Bill Vol 1, when bill is heading towards the room. It is a way or creating tension, and building the suspense within the film. When Eve opens the door, the noir lighting has been used to create shadow and to create a mysterious effect. This establishes the genre immediately. It then shows a noir silhouette of Eve at the entrance of the door, this is a generic signifier. In the shot above, it shows half of Eve’s face in the light, and half in the shadow, this could imply that she may not be as innocent as we may have assumed. Her face in the shadows can be related to that one of Jason in Essex boys, when we are first introduced to him through the windscreen, half of his face is in the shadow, which signified that he had ominous qualities.  The film perceives her to be an archetypal character- a femme fatale; this is another thriller convention that has been used in this opening scene. It indicates that she is a dangerous woman, or a woman involved with dangerous men, or business. From Eve’s appearance, her glamour is evident. She is wearing red nail polish, and rings on her fingers which suggest danger.  She is also carrying pearls around her neck; pearls represent tears, they were classed as an unlucky superstition, this may be Sergio Leone’s way of foreshadowing the following events. The name ‘Eve’ also refers to evening time, which is the generic time in most thrillers, for crimes and violence to occur. In the film, she is a gangster’s mistress, which means that she is definitely not an innocent woman; she has been engulfed into a life of danger and threat; for wealth and noodles.

 

This shot shows that Eve is the same colour of the light, and that she is as beautiful as the light. This image also displays her elegance, beauty and style; her pearls are glowing, which may indicate that she is a vulnerable character. The non-ambient light from the lamp makes the shot look sepia, and matches with the colours of her clothes, this refers back to style, and it may also be implying that she possesses warmth.  Because it is lighting her face, it gives less mystery to the character and also reveals her innocence and purity to the audience

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 This shot also comes from the opening scene, Eve has just discovered bullet holes in the cover of the bed, the camera then pans out whilst she pulls the cover off of the bed, to discover the shape of a body made by gunshots in the bed.  At a crime scene it is the shape of the body that police create around the body, to indicate to them where it was found, when the body is taken away.  Sergio Leone is using irony here, it is similar to that at a crime scene, but we do not expect the police to commit the crime, but that is exactly what happens, he has used this purposely to signify the violence and crime soon to occur. 


  Their costumes can be referred to 'reservoir dogs' (1992) directed by Quentin Tarantino. The group of men that stand in this shot can also be linked to the group of men in that film also. In both films, the group of men act like a pack, it is a feature that Tarantino and Leone have used to symbolise which are the main characters, by putting them in almsot identical suits, this shows they are all important and that they work together. 

Sergio Leone has used this particular shot to create tension and suspense; he has used three men instead of one; three men, is much more intimidating and dangerous than one. Their costumes reveal clearly that they are from the 30’s, they are all dressed very similarly, this makes the audience wonder they are connected by a gang or club.  The three men also share the serious expressions on their faces. The character in the centre of the image is displaying a gun, the one to the far right of the picture is slightly out of focus, and the other two in focus- this draws the eyes of the audience to the centre character, who bears a weapon, and is an important character within this scene as he is the killer. 

Leone has used a specific camera shot and angle, which are often used in thrillers. It shows Eve in the foreground and therefore the audience focus on the barbarity of her death. This is a powerful shot that shocks the audience as we can see Eve’s face staring blankly into the audience and that she is dead. The arch way in the shot works as a frame, to draw the audience to the corrupt cops that are slightly out of focus. The out of focus shots, is Sergio Leone’s way of displaying criticism towards the law in the USA during the 1930’s, it also communicates to the audience the power the three men withhold as they stand in a three, framed by the archway. The lamp to the left of the screen contrasts with Eve now. She is now not, beautiful and bright, she is lifeless. This is shown when the light is turned off by one of the male characters

This shot is shown straight after the scene of Eve’s death, this makes the audience believe that there is a second murder about to occur. A close up of the man’s swollen face covered in blood, reinforced the brutality and cruelty that occurred during this time period. This scene also uses Match on action between the police man, and the bleeding character.

Sergio Leone has used this generic worms eye shot of the lift shaft and a lift coming down,after the scene of Eve’s death and the mans bloody face, helps to build tension and suspense as the a lift is a generic location for a thriller due to the encolsed space and sense of isolation. It entails the sense of chlaustrophobia and entrapement along with danger.   He has used this shot to enforce the reality that the lift could fall on him, and the entrapment the character may feel as the shot makes it look as if the character is in a room who’s ceiling is coming down. This shot is also used to make the lift look mighty and make the audience feel small. The non-ambient lighting used, makes the shot look dark and dangerous, just like the storyline of this film.

This generic worms eye shot has been used by Sergio Leone, to create tension and fear. The shot shows the character upside down as this is how the audience would see him, it creates confusion amogst them, to show how the character would feel. It also shows the power and sheer importance that the character above him holds within the film.  The use of violence and death within the opening scene is establishing the thriller genre, it communicates to the audience the corruption within the society in the 1930’s, this also links back to the song at the beginning of the film, and the irony of ‘God Bless America’ within this film, of crime, corruption and death.

In the previous scene, Sergio Leone,  has made Noodles- the main character to be a heroic man,  but in reality he could almost be classed an antihero because he is shown smoking opium in this scene, a flaw in the heroic perception, as well as the fact he is not married to Eve although he lives with her.  Noodles is a gangster, and within this scene he has a flash-back, Leone has used the loud ringing of a telephone as a sound bridge in order to create tension and make the audience impatient and agitated by the repetitive sound.

Leone has used chiaroscuro lighting to show the three dead bodies of Noodle’s friends on the floor, laying under the rain. This shot is generic to the thriller genre as it contains dead bodies- something of which is used commonly in thrillers. The lighting used relates to nightmares, and reality. The noise of the telephone is on-going, and this creates a tense atmosphere amongst the audience.

The briefcase and the locker in this shot are also generic conventions used within the film, as the locker can signify secrecy and claustrophobia; it is a very confined space. The briefcase however is a generic convention but is enigmatic as the audience are unaware of the contents, this can be referred to Kill Bill Vol 1 when Bill also has a briefcase which is enigmatic and the contents kept secret.  Pulp Fiction is another film that can be intertextually referenced to this section of the film, In pulp fiction the contents of the briefcase is also not revealed, thus making it enigmatic.

Image Analysis- Screen Shot freom 'Thelma and Louise' Ridley Scott (1991)

Camera Angles

This shot is a medium close up, this enables the audience can identify what is happening easily, it also enables the audience to get a good look at the expressions on the faces of the two characters. The woman in the shot is dominating the frame, which suggests that she maybe dominating the situation as well as the shot.

Lighting

This shot is lit by non-ambient lighting, it is a dark, menacing and threatening. The lighting enables the audience to focus on the characters and action at the front of the shot, and less on the character at the back of the shot, therefore the background is blurred.  The shining silver of the  gun is a very bright aspect of the shot, it draws focus to this prop, as it plays an important role within it.

Characters

The female character is very dominant, strong, and is in a generic positioning that in most films are acted by men, the woman in this shot is portrayed as a femme fatal due to the strong posture she has and her dominance over the man in the shot, we can see from this that he has obviously done something to provoke her anger judging by her facial expression.  

 The male character within the shot is living an un- proud moment, he is being dominated by a woman and is unused to the role reversal in this shot. His face looks as if he doesn’t believe she is ‘man enough’ to do it.

 Props

 The gun within this shot is an important prop- it plays a role of masculinity, The female is holding a male symbol, she has stepped over the line,  over the boundaries, isn’t staying within the rules of a woman’s role.

Location

In this shot, we can see an outline of a roof of a car, but it is not easy to identify that this scene is shot in a car park. This is an isolated location, as people have left their cars, and gone.

How does Ridley Scott challenge thriller conventions in the screen shot from Thelma and Louise?

Ridley Scott has firstly challenged the generic location of an enclosed space and has used an open car park instead. The cars within the car park are a male signifier, males are proud of their expensive cars, but this is not a proud moment for the man who is at gun point by a woman. He has used role reversal in this scene- the woman is playing a dominating male role, and also holding a masculine symbol. This shows the divisions between genders; it shows that women can also like cars and they can also play with ‘boy toys’ too.

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

Heavenly Creatures

Jackie Brown (1997)

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

Filmed in: United States 
Title Sequence

This film was directed by Quentin Tarantino, it is a tribute film to the 1970’s Blaxploitation films. The film is about a middle aged black air hostess who is involved with an arms dealer in the film.  The opening sequence of the film uses a medium close up, tracking shot to show the character moving along a moving walkway; these are commonly found in airports. The profile view enables the audience to see her iconic costume, which the audience can relate immediately with an air hostess, they can also tell that this woman is a very important character within the film due to the long period of time just focused on her in particular. Tarantino has chosen to use ambient lighting in this scene; he has also used non-diegetic sound of the song 110th Street by Bobby Womack.

When the woman comes off the moving walkway, the music becomes a higher tempo and reaches the chorus, the camera then cuts to a shot of the scanning machines, scanning the bags in the airport. It shows the passengers going through high security procedures, and shows the main character Jackie Brown passing past security and going straight to the terminal, and behind the desk.  This could suggest why no one suspects her to help the criminal, or to have committed the crime.

It then cuts to a low angle tracking shot of Jackie walking through the airport. She has an elegant posture which suggests importance, she is also at the forefront of the shot; this suggests moral superiority; she is powerful and stands out.  It also suggests to the audience that she has a high status and moral status. She does not make eye contact with anyone she comes across, and therefore may seem obscure.  Jackie is walking the opposite way to everybody else walking in the shot. Tarantino may have done this purposely to foreshadow that Jackie will later turn against society.

The camera then cuts to a medium close up of Jackie walking towards the camera, the camera is entirely focused on Jackie, everyone else is blurred out, and this suggests she is extremely important within the film. It  then cuts to a low angle, medium shot of Jackie walking through the airport, but this time she is walking much faster than everybody else , this suggests she is one step ahead of everyone in the film. Tarantino has purposely done this to ensure that the audience are completely focused on Jackie and no other characters within this clip.

When this scene is finished it cuts to another of two men slumped on a sofa watching television, Tarantino is trying to convey the corrupt society of America through the programme on the television. The programme is about guns and half naked girls; he also conveys the violence in America by showing the statue of liberty with a gun.

The shooting of Beaumont Livingstone

At the beginning of this scene we see Ordell visiting Beaumont at his apartment, during night time. Tarantino has used a medium close up of the two characters on a thin balcony, there is no sense of community and the low key lighting are all factors that connote isolation. Beaumont is represented as vulnerable due to the fact he is half naked.  Ordell however is fully dressed and is shown wearing flashy gold necklaces and pendants, something which indicates he is a wealthy man. It creates a sense of power, but also vulgarity.  Ordells costume reflects that of a hip hop gangster. This may reflect on the way he views women, videos such as the one below show that women are shown as pretty 'objects'.

At 3.34 the two characters are shown from a very low angle, within the boot of a car; a very generic convention of the thriller genre as it connotes claustrophobia and isolation. The angle used by the camera is to show the power of Ordell within the scene. This low angle shot from within the boot is very much part of Tarantino’s style; he used it in, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir dogs, Death proof, Kill Bill and several other films that he has made.

PULP FICTION (1994) Marsellus wakes up after being hit by Butch's car

Later when Butch hits Maynard.

RESERVOIR DOGS  (1992)   Mr. Brown, Mr. Pink and Mr. White looking at Marvin Nash.

DEATH PROOF(2007)

Zoe and Kim looking under the hood of Jasper's 1970 Dodge Challenger.

KILL BILL VOLUME 1 (2003) 
The Bride looking at Sofie Fatale in the car.

The Deadly Vipers and Sheriff McGrawooking at the dead Bride.

 He even uses the ‘trunk shot’ more than once throughout ‘Jackie Brown’

Ordell looks very confident; they are talking about hit men and guns, and standing over a boot containing the guns.  They also talk about junk food, a way in which Tarantino is trying to convey to the audience the obsession with junk food in America. Tarantino has used this angle to create tension and to create a sense of threat.  The noir lighting has been used to create a dark atmosphere amongst the audience. From this angle the audience can see that on the left; Ordell, is wearing black and on the right of the shot is Beaumont; in white. Beaumont is wearing white to indicate his naivety and that he is gullible.

Beaumont is then shown to be shut in the boot, which can be linked to the victim in Essex boys who was put at the back of the van and taken to a place where Jason could dispose of him. When Beaumont enters the car trunk on his own accord, it foreshadows his death that is soon to come. It also allows the audience to think about how trunks are usually used in thriller films; for kidnapped victims. Quentin has used dark mise on scene and to a close up shot of Ordell sat in the car, which is a very generic convention of the thriller genre. The audience can hear the non- diegetic sound of the music and the diegetic sound of him putting on his gloves. The audience are then made aware of the gun when Ordell pulls it out of the glove compartment.  The audience can hear the diegetic sound of Ordell touching and twirling his gun. Ordell is then shown turning round and smirking; this indicates to the audience what will happen next.

It cuts to a shot of the car, from the front with the headlights on. A car with its headlights on is a generic convention of the thriller genre; it was used in Peter Weirs ‘Witness.’ Both shots in Witness and in this scene have used noir lighting and been used to create surrealism and to create visually pleasing aesthetics, it has also been used to make the audience feel as if they are witnessing a nightmare.  As the car turns around, the light is faced straight into the camera lens.  The low angle shot of the car makes it seem menacing, and like an angel of death. It also makes the audience aware in this case that the car takes people away, and doesn’t bring them back.  The car speeds down the wet, dark street. This can be inter-textually referenced to Thelma and Louise, in the scene they are escaping from the car park; the streets are also wet and dark.

Non ambient lighting is used to show the low angle, panning shot of the car speeding into the vanishing point, which can be linked to Witness also, when Samuel walks into the toilet. The camera pans to a high angle long shot of the car. The camera is also showing a high angle, long shot of a poorly lit abandoned warehouse/ factory which represents Ordells’ personality, something which the audience realise shortly. The audience can then see the car coming into the grounds of the abandoned factory. The scene of the shooting is filmed from a long shot, which leaves the audience to use their imagination. This conveys to the audience Ordell’s attitude, it tells them that his morals and emotions are detached from society and from his actions.

Shopping with Robert De Niro is no fun

In this scene Louis and Melanie have gone to the shop, where two bags have been exchanged. This scene is set in day light, which challenges the conventions of the thriller genre. At the beginning of the scene the audience sees that Melanie is struggling and trying to escape from Louis’s clutch. They also see that she is winding him up, by playing games. The audience can tell that Melanie is immature – she is the ‘Dumb blonde’ that smokes dope.  As the scene continues the audience can tell that Louis is growing to be aggravated. 

When the two exit in the car park, and are finding the car, Melanie questions him. The audience are abruptly surprised when Louis shoots her in daylight in the middle of a supermarket car park this shows that Louis is ruthless; he murders Melanie in broad daylight, and is not afraid of the consequences. He is a dangerous canon.  This scene shows that the typical ‘dumb blonde’ has taken another direction, but ‘Black Jackie’ is going places. She’s going up in the world, whether than Melanie is going down.

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