Monday, 12 January 2009

Top Rated Thriller Films

RankRatingTitleVotes
1.9.1The Godfather (1972)334,786
2.9.0The Godfather: Part II (1974)192,625
3.8.9The Dark Knight (2008)329,622
4.8.8Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)227,532
5.8.7Rear Window (1954)94,285
6.8.7Cidade de Deus (2002)121,892
7.8.7The Usual Suspects (1994)219,164
8.8.7Psycho (1960)114,587
9.8.7Fight Club (1999)296,529
10.8.6The Silence of the Lambs (1991)196,228
11.8.6North by Northwest (1959)75,253
12.8.6Memento (2000)214,194
13.8.6The Matrix (1999)306,888
14.8.6Se7en (1995)217,120
15.8.6Léon (1994)151,541
16.8.6Taxi Driver (1976)121,144
17.8.5Vertigo (1958)73,385
18.8.5M (1931)31,032
19.8.5Double Indemnity (1944)28,310
20.8.5The Third Man (1949)40,846
21.8.5Chinatown (1974)61,994
22.8.5The Departed (2006)198,516
23.8.5Alien (1979)143,233
24.8.5A Clockwork Orange (1971)154,162
25.8.5The Shining (1980)137,495


All information/sources from Imdb

Tuesday, 6 January 2009

My Genre Choice

I chose thriller as a genre choice for my film because I personally do enjoy watching thriller films in my own time. As thriller is a genre that often merges or includes other themes it gives thriller films more diversity so there is a wide range of differences between each films. There is more choice as what type of thriller film to watch but the main codes and conventions do stay the same. Thriller is the most notifyable film to have sub - genres so audiences are usually not disappointed in what they view this also may include other themes that may be viewed in other genres too.. Supense is usually high and red herrings or cliff hangers used extensively this all adds to the tensions composed successfully in thriller films.

Role Allocation

For my fiction film I am working on my own and so this means I will be doing all the roles and work for my production.

Writer/Director/Cameraperson/Editor = Shanola May - Fuller

Thursday, 11 December 2008

Box Office Releases

When accessing the all top USA box office films I found that the third top film of all time was "The Dark Knight" (2008). In this being an action thriller film for this genre this film did particularly well raking in $531,010,375.

Distributor: Warner Bros.Release Date: July 18, 2008
Genre: Action / AdventureRunning Time: 2 hrs. 30 min.
MPAA Rating: PG-13Production Budget: $185 million

Other successful top ten thriller films consist of: "The Godfather I and II", "The Usual Suspects", "Psycho" and "Fight Club".

Released Movie Name US Gross Worldwide Gross Budget
3/15/1972The Godfather$134,966,411$268,500,000$7,000,000
12/11/1974The Godfather: Part II$57,300,000-$13,000,000





Totals$258,786,940$392,320,529$74,000,000
Averages$86,262,313$130,773,510$24,666,667

Tuesday, 9 December 2008

Analysis of the opening scene of a Horror film

Saw
(Directed and Produced by James Wan and Gregg Hoffman)

Saw is an American horror franchise that currently consists of five films, the first distributed in 2004 is the first installment of the Saw film series. The film's story revolves around two men who are kidnapped, trapped and locked in an industrial bathroom with a dead body between them and given instructions related to escaping. Police detectives investigate and attempt to apprehend the criminal responsible, the "Jigsaw Killer".

Saw begins with two male characters trapped and chained in a unknown room, or to what looks like a bathroom. An establishing shotn is used to give an insight in to what the room is like while at the same time familarising the audience with the current location. The films often uses flashbacks to tell the story during the duration in which the characters are trapped. This helps to introduce other characters as they have a significance for the main part of the film later on.


Saw Box Office

The production budget was totalled at $1, 200, 000. This was preceeded by a gross revenue of $102,917,772. It was distributed by Lionsgate for its release on October 29, 2004.

Analysis of the opening scene of a Romantic Comedy

Hitch
(Directed and Produced by Andy Tennant and Alistair Finerty)

Hitch is a 2005 romantic comedy film starring Will Smith and Eva Mendes. Smith plays a professional matchmaker, who makes a living teaching men how to woo women. The film was released on February 11, 2005 by Columbia Pictures.

Hitch begins with an opening voiceover of the mind of a women when it comes to relationships. His face is not shown until characters are further introduced. The first shot shows a woman waking up in bed alone which shows its setting in the morning representing a new day or a new perspective on things. We can also tell this from the alarm clock. Other woman and men are further introduced as the voiceover continues revealing their thoughts and what they want from life. The camera cuts to each character giving point of view shots from each. The voiceover explains this as we find out Smith's character "Hitch" is what is known as a "love doctor" so the various unmamed characters are his "patients". The comedy element comes from the characters awkwardness in contrast to Hitch's smooth composure. The title appears in front of an establishing shot of Manhatten, New York.

Hitch Box Office

The production budget was $70,000,000. The film also ended up grossing $179,495,555 domestically, making it the tenth-highest grossing film of 2005. It also grossed $368,100,420 worldwide and broke Sony's record for best opening weekend for a romantic-comedy film.