Research into the history of Thriller films
Introduction
Films which belong to the Thriller genre are films uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements (reference from Wikipedia). Thriller films often create these elements by using conventions typical to the genre, for example having a chase scene where the victim is chased by the killer, usually masked, and gets away, this creates the element of tension and excitement.
Thriller film timeline
1920s-1930s - In 1928 the first ever thriller film was released, a time when films were still black and white, as well as silent. Named 'The Lodger' the film was directed a Alfred Hitchcock, about a serial killer named 'The Avenger', who was murdering blonde women, meanwhile a landlord has a unusual acting lodger, who only goes out on foggy nights and has a picture of a blonde women in his room. Right from the first ever thriller film we can see the initial thriller conventions being used, a blonde female victims, a mysterious killer and an enigma. Alfred Hitchcock then went onto being dubbed the 'Father of Thrillers', directing many classic thriller films. He then directed a thriller named 'Blackmail', this was not only his first film with sound but notably the first British film to use sound. There were many other British directors making thriller films, including Walter Forde, Victor Saville, George A. Cooper and Michael Powell.
1940s
1920s-1930s - In 1928 the first ever thriller film was released, a time when films were still black and white, as well as silent. Named 'The Lodger' the film was directed a Alfred Hitchcock, about a serial killer named 'The Avenger', who was murdering blonde women, meanwhile a landlord has a unusual acting lodger, who only goes out on foggy nights and has a picture of a blonde women in his room. Right from the first ever thriller film we can see the initial thriller conventions being used, a blonde female victims, a mysterious killer and an enigma. Alfred Hitchcock then went onto being dubbed the 'Father of Thrillers', directing many classic thriller films. He then directed a thriller named 'Blackmail', this was not only his first film with sound but notably the first British film to use sound. There were many other British directors making thriller films, including Walter Forde, Victor Saville, George A. Cooper and Michael Powell.
1940s
During this period Hitchcock began to thrive in the thriller genre, releasing Oscar award winning 'Rebecca', and 'Foreign Correspondent' in 1940. However his first well known thriller film was 'Suspicion', which largely focused on the relationship between a married couple, this was the start of a new sub-genre, named 'psychological thrillers'.
1950s
Hitchcock began this period with another classic, named 'Strangers on a Train', where as the title implies two strangers meet on a train and trade murderers, with one wanting his wife murdered in order to marry another woman, and one stranger wanting his father murdered, this introduced that there could be more than one bad person in the film and also introduced the use of more than one perspective. Other non-Hitchcock thriller films included 'Niagara' directed by Henry Hathaway featuring Marilyn Monroe as the wife who plans to murder her unstable husband. The majority of thriller films released in this period are crime based, and often contain a conflict between a married couple.
1960s
The 1960s saw the release of one of Hitchcock's greatest films, 'Psycho', this combined the aspect of previous thrillers, using shock, an intelligent story line, and strong emotions between the characters. The film is about a woman who stays in a motel owned by a male, who is being controlled by his mother, however one of the most famous scenes in the movie is the shower scene where the mother murders the female, with the use of over 50 cuts and over 70 camera angles involved, it has been named a masterpiece by many.
1970s - 1980s
This period saw the end of Hitchcock's directing days, with his last thriller being released in 1976 named 'Family Plot'. However during this period there was the release of Steven Spielberg's 'Duel', about a travelling business man being chased down the roads by a crazed truck driver, meanwhile exploring the travelling business man's life, this gained a cult following. This time period also saw the increase of violence used in the thriller genre, and because of this it sparked more exciting and extreme narratives used in the films.
1990s - Present
During this period there was a strong theme of obsession in many of the thriller films released, for example, 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' featuring Matt Damon and Jude Law, and 'Malice' featuring Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman. However this period also saw the increase in detectives hunting down a serial killer. This theme was used in the Picture Winning Thriller 'Silence of the Lambs' directed by Jonathan Demme, about a detective who seeks the advice of a imprisoned serial killer in order to catch another.
The most successful thriller film ever made was 'Hannibal', making a total lifetime gross of $165 million dollars. The film is set after the film, 'The Silence of the Lambs', where Staring attempts to catch Lecter before his surviving victim captures and kills him. The reason it could be the highest grossing was because it is a sequel of an already a very successful film, therefore audiences would wish to go and see it to find more out about the killer, this could be why it was so successful. The film was aimed at teenagers as it was highly promoted in the media, something that teenagers are interested in and would therefore go to see the film.
The second most successful thriller film made was the prequel to Hannibal, 'Silence of the Lambs', this was the first out of the two films, grossing at $130 million overall, the plot follows a detective looking for the advice of a serial killer, Hannibal Lector, in order to find another serial killer 'Buffalo Bill', I believe the film was so successful because of the interesting plot, something which had not been done before, therefore interesting audiences. The target audience being the same as Hannibal, however because of the more complex plot it easily attracts older audiences.
Another one of the most succesful thriller film series is the SAW series, making an overall gross of $230 million, the series follows a character called 'Jigsaw' who places people in traps for various reasons thinking they would imporve them, trying to show them the importance of life, these traps being very gory. This series done so well because of that fact that the plot is interesting however the gore side of the films interested, because its something they don't see everyday. This is also very successful because of the wide target audience, aimed at young teenagers to younger adults, whereas the gore side of the films would not interest older audiences.
Summary
From this research I can see that over the years, even though the themes of the thriller films have changed, for example a wife wanting to murder her husband and vice versa, to detectives hunting down serial killers, the main objectives of the thrillers has remained, with them all using the elements of surprise, tension and excitement. I have also realised that the themes used in each year of the thriller films are themes which can relate to the person watching the film, for example there was a lot of domestic abuse around the same time as the theme of husband murdering his wife and vice versa, I believe this has been done in order for the viewers to relate to the film even more, and begin to feel the character's fear.
1950s
Hitchcock began this period with another classic, named 'Strangers on a Train', where as the title implies two strangers meet on a train and trade murderers, with one wanting his wife murdered in order to marry another woman, and one stranger wanting his father murdered, this introduced that there could be more than one bad person in the film and also introduced the use of more than one perspective. Other non-Hitchcock thriller films included 'Niagara' directed by Henry Hathaway featuring Marilyn Monroe as the wife who plans to murder her unstable husband. The majority of thriller films released in this period are crime based, and often contain a conflict between a married couple.
1960s
The 1960s saw the release of one of Hitchcock's greatest films, 'Psycho', this combined the aspect of previous thrillers, using shock, an intelligent story line, and strong emotions between the characters. The film is about a woman who stays in a motel owned by a male, who is being controlled by his mother, however one of the most famous scenes in the movie is the shower scene where the mother murders the female, with the use of over 50 cuts and over 70 camera angles involved, it has been named a masterpiece by many.
1970s - 1980s
This period saw the end of Hitchcock's directing days, with his last thriller being released in 1976 named 'Family Plot'. However during this period there was the release of Steven Spielberg's 'Duel', about a travelling business man being chased down the roads by a crazed truck driver, meanwhile exploring the travelling business man's life, this gained a cult following. This time period also saw the increase of violence used in the thriller genre, and because of this it sparked more exciting and extreme narratives used in the films.
1990s - Present
During this period there was a strong theme of obsession in many of the thriller films released, for example, 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' featuring Matt Damon and Jude Law, and 'Malice' featuring Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman. However this period also saw the increase in detectives hunting down a serial killer. This theme was used in the Picture Winning Thriller 'Silence of the Lambs' directed by Jonathan Demme, about a detective who seeks the advice of a imprisoned serial killer in order to catch another.
The most successful thriller film ever made was 'Hannibal', making a total lifetime gross of $165 million dollars. The film is set after the film, 'The Silence of the Lambs', where Staring attempts to catch Lecter before his surviving victim captures and kills him. The reason it could be the highest grossing was because it is a sequel of an already a very successful film, therefore audiences would wish to go and see it to find more out about the killer, this could be why it was so successful. The film was aimed at teenagers as it was highly promoted in the media, something that teenagers are interested in and would therefore go to see the film.
The second most successful thriller film made was the prequel to Hannibal, 'Silence of the Lambs', this was the first out of the two films, grossing at $130 million overall, the plot follows a detective looking for the advice of a serial killer, Hannibal Lector, in order to find another serial killer 'Buffalo Bill', I believe the film was so successful because of the interesting plot, something which had not been done before, therefore interesting audiences. The target audience being the same as Hannibal, however because of the more complex plot it easily attracts older audiences.
Another one of the most succesful thriller film series is the SAW series, making an overall gross of $230 million, the series follows a character called 'Jigsaw' who places people in traps for various reasons thinking they would imporve them, trying to show them the importance of life, these traps being very gory. This series done so well because of that fact that the plot is interesting however the gore side of the films interested, because its something they don't see everyday. This is also very successful because of the wide target audience, aimed at young teenagers to younger adults, whereas the gore side of the films would not interest older audiences.
Summary
From this research I can see that over the years, even though the themes of the thriller films have changed, for example a wife wanting to murder her husband and vice versa, to detectives hunting down serial killers, the main objectives of the thrillers has remained, with them all using the elements of surprise, tension and excitement. I have also realised that the themes used in each year of the thriller films are themes which can relate to the person watching the film, for example there was a lot of domestic abuse around the same time as the theme of husband murdering his wife and vice versa, I believe this has been done in order for the viewers to relate to the film even more, and begin to feel the character's fear.
This post demonstrates some understanding of how thriller films have changed and developed over the years. You have included a variety of films, from different years, to demonstrate your knowledge.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you need to expand on the narrative that you have included within your post and relate it back to the screenshots that you have included.
Also aim to reference your research and within your summary, explain how this task will assist you with planning your thriller film.
The box office information that you have included above, helps to demonstrates further understanding of how thriller films have changed and how they appeal to an audience. You have considered three films and you have also started to consider how films and narratives appeal to an audience.
ReplyDeleteAim to consider how this research, will assist you with creating your own narrative