Thriller Directors

Francis Ford Coppola
                          

Francis Ford Coppola is a director of many films, for example;
'The godfather' (1972), 'The conversation' (2009).

He was born on the 7th of April 1939, in Detroit, New York. He was bought up in an Italian - American family. He first directed 'The haunted and the hunted' (1963). He studed theatre at Hofstra University and graduated.

Christopher Nolan
                                 

Christopher Nolan is a director of many movies, for example;
'Inception'(2010), 'Dark knight'(2008), 'Following' (1998).

He was born on the 30th July 1970, London, UK. He began making films at the age of 7. Hes been nominated for the oscars and had 42 wins and 36 nominations. Hes also the writer of the 'Dark knight' and 'Inception'. And hes the producer of 'Following'.

Alfred Hitchcock

                                            Alfred Hitchcock is a director of many films for example; 'Family plot'(1976),
'Topaz'(1969), 'Physco'(1960), 'Marnie'(1964),'The birds'(1963),'Vertigo' (1958)

He was born on the 13th August 1899, in London, UK.

He died on the 29 April 1980,Los Angeles, California, USA.

His nickname was the master of suspence. He was nominated for 5 Oscars, another 29 wins and 17 nominations. In 1915 he first became interested in movies. Then in 1923 he got his first chance of directing a movie when the normal director became ill.   

Movie extracts

Perfume: The story of a murderer

Perfume is a thriller, directed by Tom Tykwer. It was released in 2006. The movie is about Jean Baptiste Grenouille who was born in the dirty 18th century in Paris. He develops a superior sense and begins to create world famous perfumes, however it takes a turn for the worst.

This film is very gruesome and old fashioned, as it was set in the 18th century. The surroundings are very dirty as its set in a fish market. The setting is dark and murky which creates a mysterious atmosphere.

There is various camera angles used, so the audience can see the dirty fish market at different angles. To create tension the doors creek very loudly. 

This film is a thriller as it is very shocking and dark. However it incorporates horror aspects as as it is very gruesome at the start.  

Psycho

Psycho is an action thriller, which was released in 1960, it is a very old film. The director is Alfred Hitchcock.

As Psycho is a very old film, its all in black and white, this makes it very dark and shadowy, adding to the tension. Psycho is set in an ordinary village and house, which makes it very realistic situations. The house its set in is very dark and looks haunted, haunted houses are very common in horror and thriller movies. In the house all the objects have dark shadows, which creates a creepy surrounding. Also in the house on the wall there is a bird  which is a significant feature as it looks over the characters as they talk.

During the film, there is a participant view when the characters are having a conversation. This is effective as the audience can see in the eyes of the charcter and it puts the audience on edge as it seems like it is happening to them.

There is a lot of ambient sound, with the bad weather and very loud and heavy rain. This builds up the tension in the background. The music in the background is very sudden and creepy, the music at the start ia very fast, which causes suspence.                                                                    
                                                                                              

The props in the background involve a skulls, which shows the creepy and horror aspects. Due to the gruesome murder of the lady, this film links in to horror. Psycho is a thriller because its shadowy and not as gory as the other thrillers.

This video clip from Collateral shows a shooting sceen. It has a very dark atmosphere, which makes it feel mysterious.

Collateral

Collateral is an action thriller, it was released in 2004, the director is Michael Mann.

Colllateral is based around a taxi driver in LA, the film shows many realistic situations. The fillm starts in black and white which creates an old, dark atmosphere. As the film goes on the music begins to speed up and get louder, which builds up tension and mystery, as the audience don't no what will come next. However the audience can tell something is going to happen as the music is changing pace rapidly. As soon as the music has built up to dramatic sounds, it suddenly drops to silence.

Collateral is usually set at night in a dark town. These surroundings cause a creepy affect, keeping the audience on edge. At some points in the film the light is tinted green, creating a spooky background light.

This is the opening scene of Kill Bill, where the lady is dying. This beginning is in black and white, and the camera is zoomed up on the ladys gory face, using this zoom up shows clearly who it is, and you can see she's covered in blood. Because it's black and white, it seems very dark and old fashioned adding to the suspense.
During this clip a hankie is used to wipe the ladies face. Its unknown who it is, which makes it very mysterious. However if you look closely you can see that the name 'Bill' is on the hankie, which lets the audience know who the mysterious person is.

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is an action thriller which was released in 2008. Its directed by Christopher Nolan.

The dark knight is a batman film, batman being played by Christian Bale. The film is based around the joker and batman, when the joker begins to cause chaos around the city, batman is forced to deal with his mess.

The dark knight is located in a mysterious town. The film is always set at night which makes the surroundings dark and sinister, which causes a creepier atmosphere, and keeps the audience on edge. The batmans costume is also all black, which makes him look very dark and mystifying. At a point in the film the action/fighting sceens are located in a car park, which has low ceilings and dim lights. These surroundings cause a dark and eerie atmospere, which build up suspense and a mysterious tone.  

The music speeds up and gets louder when the fights get more intense, this fast music builds up the tension.        

The joker played by Heath Ledger, has masses of face paint on, which creates a mask to cover his face, which means the audience can not see who the real character is. The face paint also makes the joker look like a clown, and clowns are usually incorporated in scary/thriller films.

This film is a thriller because there isnt many, if any gory sceens, but its fast moving, and theres a lot of action involved.

Kill Bill:

Kill Bill is an action thriller, it was released in 2003.  The director is Quentin Tarantino.

At the start of kill bill there is the sound of fast and heavy breathing, the audience is unaware of who is making this frightened cry. The camera gradually zooms in on the bloody face of a lady lying on the floor. The surroundings are dark which causes a mysterious and chilling atmosphere. It begins black and white, however you can clearly see the brutal and bloody face of the dying lady, this beginning makes the audience aware of how the film is going to be – violent and gory.  The music which is played is very mysterious as it refers to guns and shooting, which could relate to future advents or what has just occurred, with the dying lady at the start. 

As the film progresses the camera zooms up on key body parts which are significant. As the lady rings the door bell the camera zooms up on her finger, showing that this is important. As the women begin to fight the sounds are defined, the sound of smashing glass is very loud and clear, this creates a sense of suspense. During the film there are a few different camera angles. While there in the kitchen the camera becomes bird’s eye view which shows exactly what is in the room.