Two-minute Intros: Romance Genre

There’s Something About Mary (1998)



The opening scene of the film features a love ballad sung by a guy strumming a guitar and a drummer up in a tree. The camera then pans down from the tree, to Ben Stiller standing beside it. Stiller is portrayed as a 16 year old geek, who also has geeky mates. The initial sequence is set at a High School in Cumberland, Rhode Island in 1985. Stiller asks a girl out to go with him to the leavers’ prom, but she seems reluctant. When Stiller is hanging out with his mates he spots Cameron Diaz, Diaz is going out with a sporty jock at the time.

A guy called Warren appears and is looking for his lost baseball. Warren is a special needs person, who is picked on by the school bullies. All the while they don’t realise that Warren is Diaz’s brother.

This opening sequence is intended to introduce us to the main characters. It is shot as a flashback to the way they appeared when they were still at school, and had first met each other. They appear to be completely opposite to each other, but being familiar with the ‘romcom’ genre you assume that towards the end of the film they get together. This is typical romance film cliché.

Two-minute Intros: Horror Genre

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

The film opens with a title sequence that features a montage of the northern English moors at dusk, whilst heard in the background is the song ‘Blue Moon’ sung by Bobby Vinton (all the music featured in the film is based on the theme of the moon; eg. ‘Bad Moon Rising’ by Credence Clearwater Revival).

After the title sequence, a truck appears in the distance heading towards the camera. After a little while the truck stops directly in front of the camera. The driver gets out of the truck and lets out the two American hitchhikers (Jack and David) who had been sitting in the back with his sheep. The truck driver points them in the direction of East Proctor and issues a warning to stay off the moors and stick to the roads. The truck then leaves, leaving the two Americans alone.

The two friends head off, all the while chatting to each other.  Jack isn’t enjoying himself, but is thinking of the fact that they will be leaving England to visit Italy later on in the year. Jack also doesn’t like the fact that one of the sheep pooped in his rucksack. David tries to cheer his friend up. All the while the light is fading as the night draws in.

Nothing horrific happens in this two-minute opening sequence, but the director is setting the scene and introduces us to the leading characters. We suspect something is going to happen before too long, particularly as night approaches.

Two-minute Intros: Comedy Genre

The Life of Brian  (1979)

The film starts with stars individually lighting up in the night sky, accompanied by the sound of a choir singing. The camera pans down to reveal three silhouetted figures riding camels’ in a desert scene. The figures appear to be men dressed in Arab robes.

The camera then cuts to a scene with the same three men, still on camels, making their way down the narrow passageways of a town. The three men enter a hut and greet a mother and baby. The men startle the mother but then introduce themselves as three wise men. Mother questions how wise they are, “waking me up at 2am in the morning”. She thinks they might be “on the bottle”.

The wise men explain that they are here to pay homage to the baby. Mother is not interested and ushers them out of the house. She changes her mind and invites them back in when they offer her very valuable gifts. She is not so sure on the myrrh however.

This whole sequence takes place before the titles have appeared. We have discovered that the film is a comedy (men in drag, funny voices, etc.) and that it has a religious theme (three wise men).

Two-minute Intros: Action Genre

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Even before the film starts, the Universal Studios logo is accompanied by suspenseful, high octane orchestra music. This then cuts to a title card with the words: Moscow, Russia. This title card is accompanied by digital sound effects as the letters appear one after the other – like a word processor.

The film then flashes to a guy stumbling away from a handheld camera, the movement of the handheld camera is quite jerky and quite unstable. It is night time and it has been snowing. The music builds up as we discover the man who is stumbling and panting for breath is Jason Bourne, who we recognise from the earlier Bourne films.

Bourne is carrying an injury, as we see him limping to a train station. We find out he is being followed as he keeps looking over his shoulder. We then hear police sirens. As it turns out, it seems the whole of the Moscow police department is set on catching Bourne, and have come armed. At this stage in the film there is no indication as to why Bourne is on the run from the Moscow police.

Bourne is so desperate to evade capture; he tries to outwit the police by getting on a train, only to jump off further down the line. Unfortunately for Bourne, he is spotted by some police officers on a nearby bridge and the chase continues. The police speak in Russian (with English subtitles), it emphasises the fact that he is not in America.

Bourne, now heading away from the train station, discovers a local chemist, and smashes his way in. We assume he’s desperate, as he is knocking over medicines and glass jars, just to find the one he needs. He performs self-surgery to heal his injuries from what we suspect is a bullet wound. The camera shots used during this scene are close-ups and extreme close-ups. He appears to calm down and we see a flashback sequence where he is interrogated, this may start to explain how he comes to be in his current situation.

Crime Genre Clichés

·         Bloody violence
·         Corrupt cops
·         Good cop / bad cop interrogation
·         Good guy(s) among villains
·         Feet dragging of dead person or near-dead person
·         Film starts with fighting
·         Corrupt lawyer
·         Women play small roles
·         Bodies in car boot
·         Rats/Snitches/Grasses/Informers
·         Code of honour among gangsters
·         Minority groups involved in crime
·         Tracking shots used
·         Undercover cop
·         Cop breaks rules / ignores boss
·         Thugs abuse women
·         Interrogation scene
·         Mobsters use neighbourhood as base for operations
·         Criminals tend to have a faith
·         Racist name calling
·         Action takes place at night
·         Car chase
·         Cop gets shot
·         Courtroom scenes
·         Scenes in police station
·         Slobby detective / well-dressed gangster

Comedy Genre Clichés

·         Nerdy guy who’s bullied at school
·         Hero – idiot
·         There is usually a slob featured as the main character
·         Characters have to overcome fact they’re losers
·         Identity mix-up
·         Love interest
·         A sharp-talking best friend
·         Blonde/brunette lady has a large comical role in film
·         The slob drives a very old, rusty car
·         Bodily functions featured in on-going jokes
·         Slapstick
·         Gay jokes
·         An idiot/more than one idiot
·         Parents are losers and negative
·         Romantic sub-plot
·         Journey/road trip
·         Guy who’s off the wall (bit weird)
·         Disabled stereotypes
·         Racial stereotypes
·         Sexuality stereotypes

Blog Feedback

Research and Planning 15/20: Well done Mark - a promising start to your blog. Some really good analysis. To improve your grades link your points to the target audience and your own ideas for your project. Include some mindmaps and youtube clips to support your posts to make your work even better. Well done!

The American

 

Director: Anton Corbijn

Year: 2010

Starring: George Clooney

Synopsis:

George Clooney stars in the title role of this suspense thriller. As an assassin, Jack is constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, Jack retreats to the Italian countryside. He enjoys being away from death for a while as he holes up in a small medieval town. While there, Jack takes an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious contact, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten). Enjoying the peace he finds in the mountains of Abruzzo, Jack accepts the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli) and begins a relationship with a prostitute, Clara (Violante Placido). Jack and Clara's time together evolves into a romance, one seemingly free of danger.

Review:

The film is constructed with minimal dialogue enabling the viewer to focus on the loneliness of the lead character. The cinematography is excellent with beautifully shot landscapes, highlighting the remoteness of the location of the town which can be read as a metaphor for his loneliness. Not a lot is revealed about Jack’s background, but there are clues that he is ex-military (regimental tattoos and familiarity with weapons). References to butterflies appear throughout the film, possibly suggesting a metaphor for his fragile existence. Clooney conveys well, a man on edge who can trust nobody, even his girlfriend. He sleeps fully clothed with a gun at his side, and the slightest noise wakes him.

I felt the film was too long and slow paced. The acting was good and the locations looked beautiful. This is the opposite of your typical Bond/Bourne thriller where the viewer gets completely immersed in the action. You are left to discover the lead characters background and motives from various clues that appear throughout the film.

Rating:

***

Action Genre Clichés

·         Fast-paced action
·         Massive explosions
·         A series of exciting set pieces with quieter moments between them
·         Snappy editing cutting between many camera angles
·         Use of handheld camera during chase scenes
·         Split screen during phone calls
·         Use of rock music as soundtrack
·         Heartbeat featured on soundtrack during tense action scenes
·         Foreign terrorists
·         Big henchmen
·         Muscular hero – shows off physique in sleeveless vest
·         Beautiful damsel in distress/love interest
·         Baddy often played by British actor
·         Geeky baddy hacks into security systems
·         News reporters and journalists often appear on the scene
·         FBI/CIA/Army often involved with the rescue operation
·         FBI/CIA/Army inept compared to the hero’s resourcefulness
·         Hero improvises a weapon by using nearby objects
·         The hero performs a slow motion jump/dive to avoid explosion
·         Lots of gunfire from baddies, but bullets always miss the hero
·         Often unlimited ammo
·         Hero sometimes throws villain off tall building/landmark
·         Packed full of fights (punch-ups)

·         Tends to have chase scenes (foot/car/truck/motorbike)

·         Torture of baddy/hero to get information

·         Hero’s close friends turn traitors

·         Hysterical lady gets slapped on the face by baddy, who wants to concentrate

·         Hero picks off baddies one by one
·         The baddy boss is always the last and toughest to be killed
·         The hero diffuses bomb just before it’s about to explode

The Shawshank Redemption – Opening Five Minute Analysis

·         Film starts with black and white titles.

·         1940’s music playing during titles and first scene.

·         The main characters are played by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.

·         The film is directed by Frank Darabont.

·         The film is based on the short novel “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” by Stephen King.

·         The film is set in 1947.

The film opens at night outside a house and the camera pans to Tim Robbins (Andy Dufrane) sitting in an old car. He may be drunk, he looks upset and his hair and clothes are dishevelled.  It looks like he may have been sitting in the car for quite a while. He reaches into the glove compartment and removes a wrapped object; he slowly unwraps it and reveals a revolver and bullets. He then has a swig of whiskey.

The action now switches to a courthouse where Andy is being questioned by a lawyer - he’s on trial. We learn that his wife has been murdered, that she has been having an affair and wants a divorce from Andy, however, Andy has refused to give her one. His wife leaves him to go and live with her lover.

The action now switches to a very passionate scene where a woman (his wife) and a man (her lover, Glen Quentin) are kissing.

The action switches back to the courthouse where we learn through the lawyer’s questioning and Andy’s answers that he had been to a couple of bars before following his wife on the night she and her lover were murdered. Andy admitted he was waiting for them both outside their house.

The action switches rapidly between courthouse and car. However, when challenged by the lawyer that he murdered his wife and her lover, Andy insists that he drove away and threw his gun into the Royal River.

Back in the courthouse the lawyer sets out his case saying that Andy’s wife and her lover were brutally murdered, “their bodies riddled with .38cal bullets”. Despite the Royal River being dragged, Andy’s gun has still not been found.  Whilst the lawyer is summing up, the camera pans across the faces of the jury. Andy still protests his innocence.

The action switches back to the car. Andy has a swig of his whiskey before turning off the lights in the car. He gets out of the car and the bottle of whiskey smashes to the ground, plus a few bullets. He walks slowly towards the house. During this scene we hear the lawyer’s voice summing up with lots of hard evidence against Andy.

This opening five-minute sequence is very important in setting up the rest of the film. It establishes that two people have been murdered (a woman and her lover), possibly by the husband, although he claims he’s innocent. Nevertheless he is convicted of the murders and sent to jail to serve two life sentences back two back.

Romance Genre Clichés

·         Main character of the film usually female

·         Lead character very attractive

·         Unlucky in love

·         Narrator tends to talk about her life story and her unfortunate relationships

·         Tends to have love rivalry

·         Tends to have a supportive character / best friend

·         Best friend is usually fat or gay

·         Tends to have an A/B list of actors in the cast

·         Slow romantic music at intro to films

·         Comical scenes

·         Gay stereotypes

·         Faithful, but hopeless sidekick

·         Getting ditched at alter

·         Will they/won’t they moments

·         Pushy mother, subordinate father

·         We know he’s a wrong’un

·         Opposites attract

·         Mr Right finds her initially annoying

·         A confrontation

·         Mr Wrong split up

·         Wedding at end of film

Horror Genre Clichés

·         Blonde girl or male jerk tends to be the first to die

·         This person has become separated in a group in unfamiliar surroundings

·         Victims lost and alone

·         Tends to start with a scared person running

·         The reason for her being scared is not initially revealed

·         Takes place at night

·         Car breaking down in middle of nowhere

·         Victim runs slap-bang into baddy

·         Bad things happen at night

·         Bad things happen when there’s a full moon

·         Tense, jumpy moments

·         Glimpses of the baddy in the background

·         Creepy sound effects

·         Creepy or discordant music

·         Bad dreams and nightmares

·         Children who are evil or possessed

·         Creepy children singing nursery rhymes

·         Stumbling helpless female victim

·         Decrepit house in the middle of nowhere

·         False climax (red herrings)

Blog Feedback

Some really interesting opinions about the films you have chosen to analyse Mark - to improve your work even more make sure you comment specifically on the opening two minutes of them. Think carefully about the ways in which the opening two minutes introduce genre, narrative and character to hook the audience in. Well done - a credible start to your blog!