Textual Analysis - 3 thriller film openings

American Psycho 2000-1min 49sec clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H_UVPPFpS4

 …Is a blunt, gory, sarcastic humorous comedic thriller. I watched a clip of Patrick Bateman killing off another prostitute and noted the mise en scene, mood and atmosphere, sound – diegetic and non diegetic and also the camera angles to induce fear and editing, I made some notes below;

FIRST PART:

Lots of dark lighting and Shadows,

Hand held camera, unsteady – adds to realism.

Mise en scene – blonde young woman running around terrified in silk WHITE camisole, makes her seem more vulnerable and innocent, spotlight is on her.

Fast paced, camera becomes the audience’s eyes, we feel like we are in the film, very jumpy, adds to realism, scream is piercing. But we still do not know what she is running from.

PART TWO:

See man with chainsaw wearing only trainers and we realise – Mise en scene shows he is crazy! He has a spotlight too. Everywhere is dark and shadowed in the huge flat, like a giant maze, lots of doors, the  blonde keeps bursting through, like we are half expecting murderous killer to attack and enter through. Sounds of gushing water as if blonde’s being drowned as she scrambles and reads the blood stained wall, tensions is being built up here. Small speech, it’s all about action. Lots of blood and dead/half eaten female bodies in this scene.

Mise en scene: all furniture in house is bright and white, and light, indicating purity amongst where a psycho lives. The halls are white we think she’s escaped and then….

PART THREE:

Numerous stairs, innocent girl screaming and nearly escaped, then chainsaw drops and kills her. MASSIVE prolonged eye-catching jaw dropping built up for the INEVITABLE. Damsel in distress, ditzy blonde prostitute, who  after putting up a good fight is killed in the most tragic way – falling chainsaw? Kinda adds to the humour and drama of the film.

MEMENTO 2000

 – 10mins 44sec clip opening scene!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HnW_930nmQ

PART ONE:
- creepy, time lapse, rewind effect is good, FLASH BACK or fast forward to what is to come. quick paced, POV shots and hierachial shots, man with gun standing above man beaten to the floor.

PART TWO:  in greyscale, black and white as if before the present day. strange monologue man talking to himself, sussing out the situation keeping the audience up to date.
confusing the present day is filmed in colour alongside in black and white when he is back in his roomr. Definitely within the psychological thriller boundaries – VERY CONFUSING. Interesting movie. Like the rewind, take two kind of action.
The film startsin the middle and kind of completes a full circle, explaning everything as it unfolds, plenty of puzzles and twists and turns for the audience to try and keep up with.

THE CAR JOURNEY:
there seems to be an increase intention until they reach there destination, speech and conversations are directed which the audience do not fully understand, which grips us in and challenges us to follow.  180 shots and over the shoulder shots, plenty of POV shots to five audience real insight into situation. take an instant disliking to character with the car and glasses, he seems suspicious, we feel like the monologue is us speaking and that we are very much apart of what is going to happen next.

REPLAY OF THE FIRST SCENE - ( THE SCENE DOES FULL CIRCLE) :

- then the scene completes full circle and we are back to where started and piece oft he puzzle fit together. then there is more b/w and the audience become as confused and the central character.

BLUE VELVET 1986

– 9mins 50sec clip

 – old man strangled by anonymous stranger in garden.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDIdonK4XDQ&feature=related

PART ONE:
man casually hosing the garden and

made in 1986 hardcore thriller film, lots of basic cuts - the simplicity is brilliant  has a kind of midsummer murders / rosemary and thyme feel to it at the start, but a lot more sinister.
Creepy -blue velvet- music, bright summer day. first image is red roses standing upright in the garden, then wilting yellow flowers, no dialogue. woman inside house watching movie with man and gun, quick cuts to garden scene. 

man has stroke and dies, creepy bugs in garden.

CUT:
quick cuts back to the Television image of gun being aimed, adds to drama and tension in the scene then quick cut to the garden scene, man having a heart attack is a contrast, as he appears to be suffering due to his body giving up, but what has induced the heart attack?
the rustling in the garden grass and the boy watching the drama unfold, the dog jumping at the water hose; all these create extra drama and tension as there is so many different things to build up suspense going on, lots of direct cuts, slow moving zooming ins and outs, POV shots, closeups as they move into the grass and shubbery.