Iconic Thriller Directors

Iconic Thriller Directors


All film are directed by well trainer directors who's work hard to get to where they have gotten with types of the films that they produce.  their works are recognised, because of their own unique style of directing and creating film , there are many iconic film directors in the world. That all have different ideas with the style of films that they produce to their audiences. there are many iconic film directors' that a high notice for their style of film that they make. I have chosen  four out of the many film directors.

STEVEN SPIELBERG

Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as archetypes of modern Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. In later years, his films began addressing such issues as the Holocaust, slavery, war and terrorism. He is considered one of the most popular and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He is also one of the co-founders of DreamWorks movie studio.

His trade mark 

• Uses powerful flash lights in dark scenes .
•  The outline of the beam is often made visible through dust, mist, or fog.
• Frequently uses music by John Williams.
• Often shows shooting stars.
• On-screen performers staring, usually at something off-camera.
• He often uses images of the sun. 
• His films often show children in some sort of danger.
• Consistent references to World War II.
• Frequent references to Disney films, music, or theme parks
• Frequently uses a piano as an element in key scenes

Some of his work

• Saving private Ryan
• Schinldler's list
• Catch me if you can 
• Jurassic park
• The pacific 

Here's an example of his work 

ALFRED HITCHCOCK 

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood. On 19 April 1955, he became an American citizen while remaining a British subject.

His trade mark 

• [Cameo] Often has a quick cameo in his films. He eventually began making his appearances in the beginning of his films, because he knew viewers were watching for him and he didn't want to divert their attention away from the story's plot. He made a live cameo appearance in all of his movies beginning with The Lady Vanishes (1938) (Man in London Railway Station walking on the station train platform), Young and Innocent (1937) (Photographer Outside Courthouse) ... aka The Girl Was Young (USA), The 39 Steps (1935) (Passerby Near the Bus), Murder! (1930) (Man on Street), Blackmail (1929) (Man on subway), Easy Virtue (1928) (Man with stick near tennis court), The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) (Extra in newspaper office) ... aka The Case of Jonathan Drew., excluding Lifeboat (1944), in which he appeared in a newspaper advertisement; in which he appeared in a class reunion photo; Rope (1948) in which his "appearance" is as a neon version of his famous caricature on a billboard outside the window in a night scene and Family Plot (1976) in which his "appearance" is as a silhouette of someone standing on the other side of a frosted glass door.

• [Hair] Likes to insert shots of a woman's hairstyle, frequently in close-ups.

• [Bathrooms] Often a plot device, a hiding place or a place where lovemaking is prepared for. Hitchcock also frequently used the letters "BM," which stand for "Bowel Movement".

• Often used the "wrong man" or "mistaken identity" theme in his movies. 

• [Blondes] The most famous actresses in his filmography (mostly in leading roles) were Anny Ondra, Madeleine Carroll, Joan Fontaine, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Eva Marie Saint, Kim Novak, Vera Miles, Janet Leigh and Tippi Hedren.

An example of his work

• To catch a thief
• Vertigo
• Psycho
• Shadow of doubt  
• I confess

An example of his work

FLITZ LANG 

Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-American film maker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute. His most famous films are the ground breaking Metropolis (the world's most expensive silent film at the time of its release) and M, made before he moved to the United States, his iconic precursor to the film noir genre.

His trade mark that always present in his films

All his films feature a shot of his hand

Usually wore a monocle, and probably only for dramatic effect

His protagonists are frequently hateful, violent but ultimately sympathetic figures

His films are dark (both visually and in tone)

Some of Langz work

• Metropolis 
• Clash by night
• Contempt
• Scarlet street
• The eye of evil 

An example of his work 

SOFIA COPPOLA 

Sofia Carmina Coppola (born May 14, 1971) is an American screenwriter, film director, producer and actress. In 2003 she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation, and became the third woman (and first American woman) to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing. In 2010, with somewhere, she became the first American woman (and fourth American filmmaker) to win the Golden, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival.

Her trade mark

• Sun filmed through leaves

• Character seen gazing out of a car window from the outside, looking in

• Character walking down a long hallway

• Introduction scene focusing on the main character during an unidentified point in time, shown to express their loneliness

Some of Coppola's work 

•  Somewhere
• Lost in translation
• The virgin suicides 
• Marie Antionette

 An example of her work 
















All the information that I used was found from Wikipedia and IMDb

The History of a Thriller Genre

The History of a Thriller Genre 

Thriller (also Suspense) is a broad genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. 

A thriller provides the sudden rush of emotions, excitement, sense of suspense and exhilaration that drive the narrative, sometimes subtly with peaks and lulls, sometimes at a constant, breakneck pace thrills. In this genre, the objective is to deliver a story with sustained tension, surprise, and a constant sense of impending doom. It keeps the audience cliff-hanging at the "edge of their seats" as the plot builds towards a climax. Thrillers tend to be fast-moving, psychological and threatening, and they will have chase scenes, and at times involve larger-scale villainy such as espionage, terrorism and conspiracy, alongside action.

This some of the factors/conventions that you will find in a thriller genre film

The history of a Thriller Genre goes back to 1920s to 1930s great thrillers such as Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, Walter Forde, Victor Saville, and George A. Cooper. Throughout the year he develop more into his great works, as the years goes on many more great director start to fellow his lead. During the 1940s great directors like George Cukor created psychological thrillers such as Gaslight throughout the 1940s. In 1950s more and more thriller film are been created by great directors such as Henry Hathaway, as the year goes till this day great thriller directors are creating amazing film that gets the audience out of their sits, with the advance in technology director can create many different affect to set the scene for the films that they are creating and presenting to the audiences.  Many movies of the 21st century are most made of different sub-genre of thrillers with amazing plots and storyline that create very imaginative enigmas for many of the audiences that will be watching the films.

This are example of modern day thriller film and 1920s thriller film. 

This one of Alfred Hitchcock's greatest works

This a thriller film by David Slade

DVD or Poster Analysis

My bloody valentine 3D is a horror thriller film, the image of the masked men takes over the all of the spaces, as they are the main of the film. The props that is been shown indeciates danger and sets the enigmas of the style of film it is. The title is in bold read letter , which also indecaites danger, because the colour red can be assocaited with danger, the film been in 3D means that the audience will be able to see every detail of the iamges that is happeninmg in the film. The word 3D is in arsh grey colour that looks like it has been created from an still image fom the film.

The names od the actors/actresses are wrtten at the bottom of the image so the image can be the main focus of the poster, so it can get the atttention of audience a`s that is the first thing that they will see , even before the realses date of the film, which is also written  in red colour to match with the colour of the title of the film. the font size of the realse date is bigger than the front size of the anmes of the actors/actresses in the film. It also shows the production companies for the film , but also in small writting as the images is the mean focus of the poster.

Typical Sypnosis of Thriller

Typical thriller sypnosis follws a usual narrative structure within the different types of thriller

Crime Thriller
The usual synopsis focuses on a criminal or policeman. They focus on the crime that’s going to be committed or has already been committed. Similarly they usually emphasize action over psychological aspects. The main topics within a crime thriller are; serial killers murderers or robberies. An example of crime thrillers are The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo directed by David Fincher

Psychological thriller

The synopsis usually involves the main character battling with himself  in the sense that they are  in conflict with an mental illness or strong emotional feelings. These types of thriller are usually intense, on edge and gripping. Some examples of psychological thrillers is American Psycho Dirceted by Mary Harron

Conspiracy Thriller

Usually involves amateur journalists or reporters who usually by accident stumble on something. The more they look into it the deeper they get into conspiracy. They have to look past the lies and mystery to unravel the truth. An example of a conspiracy thriller is Most Wanted Directed by David Hogan

Sci- Fi Thriller

Usually involves an extra terrestrial being coming to earth and facing many obstacles. Then usually theyre looking for a away back home. This type of thriller usually ends in the beings returning to their homer planet. An example of a sci-fi thriller is Star wars Directed By George Lucas 

Still frame analysis

This a still frame image of the thriller film shutter island in the frame it shows Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow and Mark Ruffalo in one of the scenes in the film. The mise-en-scene of the frame sets the time in which film was set, the props used in the film also set the time of the film. as does the costume of the chahracters in the frame. The camera shots such as the over shoulder shots help to shows the importance of each character, the close up should shoes the expression of each character which sets the enigmas for me and auidence that are looking at the picture, wondering what is going on , however the picture also shows the realism of the event. 

Sherlock

State the production and distribution companies. How are they introduced? What purpose do they serve at the start of a film?

The films production and distribution companies were Warner Bros. Pictures and Silver Pictures production. It also shows that the film is a  a Guy Ritchie Film and that it is from  Wigramproduction. They are introduced towards the end of the opening sequences and are shown in creative font on  ancient  historical looking paper which looks like papers that investigators would have written, is gives us the audience that style of film Sherlock is already.

In the opening sequence Information of who the  Director ,  the screenplay writer , the producer and executive producers as well as the co-producers , the director of photography , the production designer and the editor of the film. There is also information about the cast of the film as well as the film title of the film " Sherlock Holmes" , the casting team , music producers , costume designers , Visual effects supervisor . Then at the end of the sequence the production and distribution team of the film is presented.

Where exactly is the film’s title placed? Beginning, middle or end of the opening sequence?

The film title is placed right in the middle of the opening sequence. Which sets the scene for the type of film it's.

List the information that is included in the title sequence and the timeline

0.07 Directed by Guy Ritchie
0.12 Screenplay by, Michael Robert Johnson and Anthony Peckham and Simon Kinberg
0.17 Screen Story by Lionel Wigram and Michael Robert Johnson
0.22 Produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey, Dan Lin
0.29 Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were created by the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and appear in stories and novels by him.
0.34 Executive producers , Michael Tadross and Bruce Berman
0.39 Co- producers , Steve Clark - Hall
0.44 Director of photography , Philippe Rousselot
0.49 Production designer , Sarah Greenwood
0.54 Editor , James Herbert
1.00 Robert Downey Jr.
1.03 Sherlock Holmes title appears
1.07 Jude Law
1.12 Rachel Mcadams

1.16 Mark Strong

1.19 Eddie Marsan

1.22 Kelly Reilly

1.26 James Fox, Hans Matheson, Geraldine James

1.31 Casting by Reg poerscout - Edgerton

1.35 Music Produced by Hans Zimmer and Lorna Balfe, Music by Hans Zimmer

1.42 Costume designer, Jenny Bearan

1.45 Visual Effects Supervisor, Chas Jassett

1.50 A Warner Bros Pictures Presentation

1.54 In Association with Village Roadshow Pictures

1.57 A Silver Pictures Production

2.01 A Wigram Production

2.06 A Guy Ritchie Film

Napoleon Dynamite

State the production and distribution companies. How are they introduced?
What purpose do they serve at the start of a film?

Napoleon Dynamite was produced by MTV and Fox Searchlight Pictures and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The companies who feature in the Napoleon Dynamite opening sequence are the first information that appears on the screen. The titles are presented on items of food and crockery and later on in the sequence, titles are appear on pieces of scrap paper. By introducing the production/distribution companies early on in the title sequence, this makes the audience aware of the companies past film productions.

Where exactly is the film’s title placed? Beginning, middle or end of the opening sequence?

The title card for Napoleon Dynamite appears at  0:35 of the title sequence, which is relatively close to the beginning. By introducing the title card at the beginning of the sequence, this allows the audience understand the narrative and also  the information that is being presented in the opening. however if the opening was presented at the end it might confuse the audience and also create enigmas for the audiences as too why it has been left so late . 

List the information that is included in the title sequence and the timeline

0:04 Fox Searchlight Pictures

0:11 Paramount Pictures Present

0:20 In association with MTV films

0:29 Starring John Heder

0:35 As Napoleon Dynamite

0:42 John Gries

0:50 Aaron Ruell

0:59 Efren Ramirez

1:07 Tina Majorino

1:15 With Diedrich Bader

1:25 Casting by Jony Weitz

1:35 Music by John Swihart

1:42 Edited by Jeremy Coon

1:52 Production, Cory Lorenzen

1:59 Director of Photography, Munn Powell

2:07 Executive Producer, Jony Weitz

2:15 Producted by, Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt & Sean Covell

2:29 Written By Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess

2:35 Directed by Jared Hess

Iconic sounds connected with the genre

A lot of pieces of music or sounds that are used in Thriller films, start off with a loud distinct noise that the audience recognises and gets there attention straight away , it is often a loud bang or a slam of a door. It then quietly often goes into a piece of music that is quite fast and quite often the piece of music sounds like someone is running from someone or something that will put them in danger. It gives the audience the enigmas that something bad is going to happen or has already happened to the character in the film and that character is in need of help and rescue. The music sometimes slows down but then there is a  sudden tense noise which shows that  character is trying to hide or get away from something.The music sometimes the pace of the music picks t back up and we can just hear certain sounds such as breathing or foot steps, dripping water or rain.

However, some pieces of music are used in every scene of the film as a soothing on top of the fast pace beat/music. This type of music can have the opposite effect and the audience may feel as everything is very calm and relaxed and then if something that makes the audience jumps suddenly happen, this music may pick up its pace and beat which the audience weren't expecting it to hear any time soon. this mostly happen in horror thriller films or horror films.  

This an example of an iconic sound effect 

Youtube documentaries/programmes which give insight into thriller

THE WALKING DEAD

The walking Dead is a horror thriller which involves human zombies eating each other. This a series based programmed made in the America and its also shows in the UK. this programmes gives an insight on thriller genre as it shows and representation of the conventions of thriller. In the programme it shows the protagonist the suvriving human , have to protect themselves from the zombie humans from eating them alive.  It shows death of the zombies and the normal humans as they are to be killer if they are infected so they do not become a danger to the others around them. It shows tension e between the surviving humans which calls fights and argument, it also creates tension and also with the audiences as they they become tense when they see the zombies attacking the humans. it creates enigmas for audience as they start to wonder and thing what type of infection is causing things such as that and how it spread over the world. also how the humans will survive and what they might or will do if their was in that situation. I can relate to that, because when i was watching the programme that all that was going through my mind.

The trailer for walking dead 

















TRUE BLOOD 


































True blood is another horror thriller programme that is been shows on national TV. it is also an America made programme that is also shown in the UK. True Blood shows an insight of thrill in it, as it also shows some conventions of a thrill genre. in true blood it shows the protagonist been innocent normal people being targeted and killed and sucked by blood thirsty vimpiers. It shows death of the people who's blood has been drunk. it shows tension and creates tension with the audience as they watch and witness the killings. it creates enigmas with audiences, as they sit and wonder what happens next at the end of each programme, as it tells a story each time and they likely following on. when I watch true blood it made me that on how interesting it would be if vimpiers were real in the world and what it might be like to know one or be one myself.

The trailer for true blood 

The trailer of both programmes made want to watch it so intensive , because I like horror thriller, because of the different tense feelings I get when I am watching them. It got interested in wanting to know the storyline and hoe everything started.