No Country For Old Men Case Study

Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Woody Harrelson ( Tommy Lee Jones very well known, Javier Bardem an unknown Spanish actor)

Genre: Crime and Thriller ( An indépendant film will normally hold a crime or thriller element)

Production Company: Paramount Vintage, Miramax Films and Scott Rudin Productions ( Miramax films screen a lot of independent film such as Bridget Jones)

Certificate: 15 ( limits the audience somewhat as kids won't see it as it has a thriller/horror element)

Marketing: Trailer, Poster ( Not much marketing as it is not a massive blockbuster)

Release Date: 18 January 2008 (after the christmas blockbuster season as people go back to work and then the independent films can be released without fear of being outsold by the the bigger budget movies.) November in the US, again not a blockbuster christmas movie.)

Domestic Total Gross; $74, 283, 625

Worldwide Total: $171, 627, 166 ( Still a good gross as the budget was quite small for an independant)

Running Time: 122 Mins

Production Budget: $25, 000,000



This poster makes sure that it is getting the genre of the film across to the audience rather than background information about the directors and actors. Conventionally the title of the movie would be much bigger than the tagline however the tagline dominates this poster. The tagline ‘there are no clean getaways’ suggests murder with the word ‘getaways’ having connotations of escaping some sort of violence. Using the word ‘clean’ to describe the getaways suggests that there are probably some gruesome and bloody moments in this film. As well as describing the movie it is also sending a message to the audience, making the genre of the film very clear. 
The photograph in the background is a predominant part of the poster. Even though it doesn’t introduce any of the characters or settings but it is able to show the genre very clearly and portray the personality of the characters. Instead of giving the audience a clear idea of the film it is very vague which ties in well with the thriller genre, as thrillers tend to give very little away to the audience. The gun in the characters hand is the most obvious sign that this film is a thriller, as this prop has connotations of death, violence and murder.

There is a strict brown colour theme all over the poster, which connotes wilderness or abandonment. This colour theme continues throughout the text too but the movie title ‘No Country For Old Men’ is in a brighter shade to make it clear to the audience.
In one sense this poster is quite unconventional, this is because actors names are usually listed across the top of the poster. There are no names of any actors which suggests that most of the actors are relatively unknown, instead of having a list of actors there is a lot of credit given to the Coen Brothers, with several of their past films mentioned. This is also suggesting that if you liked their films such as ‘Fargo’ or ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ then this film will be quite similar.


Trailer Analysis 

At its center is a figure of evil so calm, so extreme, so implacable that to hear his voice is to feel the temperature in the theater drop. But while that chilly sensation is a sign of terror, it may equally be a symptom of delight. The specter of Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a deadpan sociopath with a funny haircut, will feed many a nightmare, but the most lasting impression left by this film is likely to be the deep satisfaction that comes from witnessing the nearly perfect execution of a difficult task. Just by the trailer you can tell that it is an independent film and not a huge scale blockbuster but one that looks promising.

The Dark Knight Rises Case Study

The Dark Knight Rises Case Study

Stars; Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway ( Christian Bale has been in the franchise for 3 films him and Tom Hardy will attract a female audience whereas Anne Hathaway will attract a strong male audience.

Genre; Action, Crime, Drama ( Action movies are well received, crime and drama show a strong antagonist in the movie.)

Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, DC Entertainment ( DC Entertainment- it's a obviously a comic book adaption, WB and Legendary Pictures are companies that have stayed with the franchise since the beginning.)

Certificate: 12A ( Attracts a wide audience, kids for the comic book side, men for the women in the movie and the action and women for Batman and the other men.)

Marketing: Trailer, Poster, Action Figures ( a big comic book adaption, has time to market toys, posters on buses for example this and sky fall were on the front of Harrods in London.)

Release Date: 20 July 2012 ( A summer blockbuster, everyone has time off in the summer holidays to go to the cinema with the family.)

Domestic Total gross: $448, 130, 642

Worldwide Total: $1, 081, 032, 830

Running Time: 165 Mins

Production Budget: $250, 000, 000

This is the main theatrical poster for the film. You can tell this as it reveals full information about the production personnel, main stars in the film and the distributors as well as the name of the film and a main image. The names of the stars of the film are placed in the centre of the top of the poster, mainly so it does not cover the main image and take away a lot of attention from the main image. As well as acting as a unique selling point for the film it attracts people who like these actors. The text is white and in block capitals and is once again insignificant to the main image. There are several narratives shown within the poster. It is obvious in the poster that Batman will encounter several problems in the film. The poster has a catch line which helps intrigue the audience as it give hints about the film and the narrative. The catch line 'A fire will rise', the fire is represented in the main image in which it looks as if a fire is rising out of the crumbling city which is in the shape of the Batman symbol. The genre is action as well as fiction.

Trailer Analysis 

The Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) we see as the trailer opens is without doubt a clear echo of the Bruce we were introduced to at the start of Batman Begins. Bearded, pained and haunted by the past, it’s a clear indication that the fall Batman took at the end of The Dark Knight has truly left its mark.

Also making a reappearance from the first movie is Wayne Manor. If TDK saw Bruce/Batman at the height of his power, living and working in the heart of the city, this seemingly broken incarnation has retreated to the fringes of his hometown, hiding away from the world inside his rebuilt family home.

Whereas the previous trailers seemed concerned with selling both the premise of the film and introducing the character of Bane, this time out the accent seems to be on introducing Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) to the wider audience.

From the way the trailer begins and ends on a Batman and Catwoman verbal exchange, it appears that this famously combustible relationship may well be the central spine of the story. On first glance, it appears that Catwoman will start off as an ally of Bane before morphing into Batman’s de-facto sidekick along the way. But will things really be that straightforward?

There’s certainly a precedent for Catwoman to team up with Batman in the comics, and in both of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight books, Batman’s sidekick is not only a girl, but one who matures into the role of Catwoman (well, Catgirl) as the story progresses. 

But what is the nature of their relationship? Antagonistic? Purely professional? Or is there romance in the air between the Bat and the Cat?

One of Nolan’s key influences right from the start of his time with the franchise has been a Denny O’Neil and Dick Giordano Batman short story entitled The Man Who Falls.

We’ve seen its influence at work in the image of the well in Begins and again during TDK’s conclusion after Batman saves Commissioner Gordon’s son from Two-Face’s clutches.

However, for this final installment, Nolan seems to have pushed that image even further with Wayne seemingly imprisoned (another echo to the opening of Batman Begins) inside an underground facility where the only point of access is a giant well that resembles the one he fell into as a child.

Serving as both a literal obstacle for Batman to overcome and as a more expressionistic representation of Wayne’s state of mind, it seems that Nolan is setting up Wayne to finally overcome both his recent and longer term demons.

Is this how the Dark Knight will rise?

Since the casting of Joseph Gordon Levitt as Detective John Blake we’ve learnt next to nothing about his character or his role in the movie. While this trailer doesn’t give us any definitive answers, it does give us a few hints.

From the way Blake is portrayed, it seems obvious that he’s being very much set-up as the ‘everyman’ of this story. However, there does appear to be more to Blake than meets the eye.

Firstly, if Blake’s exchange with Selina Kyle is any indication, then it would appear that Blake is key to Catwoman switching sides during the battle with Bane. How or why this happens we don’t yet know, but the interaction between these two characters looks intriguing.

Secondly, Blake’s conversation with the small child drawing the chalk bat symbol on the floor suggests that Blake has a long-standing sympathy for the Batman. While this is by no means a big moment, it does seem quite telling.

Does Blake have a pre-existing relationship with Batman? Is he a character we’ve met before? Maybe he’s the kid Batman saved in The Narrows during Batman Begins, now grown up and serving as part of Gotham’s finest?

Amour Case Study

Amour Case Study

Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert ( known stars in France) 

Genre: Drama, Romance ( Romance stereotypically attracts a women audience)

Production Company: Wega Film, Les Films du Losange

Certificate: 12A ( Attracts a wider audience, there won't be any explicit content)

Marketing: Trailer, Poster ( Not many marketing content as it is a French independent film)

Release Date: 16th November 2012 ( Not a christmas blockbuster and is not released in December and so will not be pushed out by the big budget movies)

Domestic Total Gross:

Worldwide total: $1,735,418    

Running Time: 127 Mins

Production Budget: 7, 290, 000 euros

The picture clearly shows an elderly man holding a woman’s face this reveals a bit about the movie as it deals with dementia.

Winner of the Cannes Film Festival.

The cast, all French.

The name of the film ‘love’ in French. The director and production companies.
Film by Michael Haneke who made the award winning German film White Ribbon.

Trailer Analyis 
Opens with the Cannes film festival slogan, we know it's award winning, it holds positive reviews from critics and shows the plot of drama and romance, the old man is upset his wife has dementia.

Skyfall Case Study

 vStars : Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris ( Daniel Craig- big budget actor that will attract a female audience as well as a male action loving audience. Javier Bardem will also attract a female audience, Spanish and oscar winning. Bond girls will attract male audience.)

 vGenre: Action, Adventure, Crime ( Big budget movies tend to be action and adventure.) 

 vProduction Company: Eon Productions, Metro Goldwyn-Mayer( metro Goldwyn-Mayer is a really popular company that has brought out many well received old films as well as new)

 vCertificate: 12A ( Attracts a very wide audience with men wanting James Bond's lifestyle, teenagers thinking he's cool and women thinking he's handsome.

 vMarketing: Trailers, Posters, Aftershave, Heineken advert, Video games ( A big franchise with it being the 23rd movie in the Bond's 50th anniversary, lots of this marketing builds up hype.)
     Release Date : 26 October 2012 ( near halloween so people have a half term/ holiday off, a good substitute if people don't feel like watching a halloween horror movie)

 vDomestic Total Gross: $248,219,280 ( Biggest selling UK film)

 vWorldwide Total: $871,219,280

 vRunning Time: 143 Mins

 vProduction Budget: $200,000,000

Clear title of the movie and the 007 icon makes it clear it is the next in the franchise.

Release Date, creates hype and is a good use of marketing.

Dust shows that it will be an action film, just because he’s well dressed doesn’t mean he’s afraid of getting dirty.

Production companies (that brought out other great movies).

Shirt and Cufflinks show Sophisticated side.

Gun shows danger and the typical James Bond weapon, means that the film may be gritty and there will be more gadgets.

Classic black and white background makes the text easier to read.

                                                          Trailer Analysis 

v First scene is M on the computer writing James Bond’s Obituary.

v James is shot and the plot is revealed about the agents being revealed. Then MI6 is blown up. Shows production company, Metro Goldwyn-Mayer.

v We also learn more about the film's plot from this trailer, specifically that M's much-speculated indiscretion involved a “judgment call” that resulted in the loss of some very important information - the names of every field agent working undercover. This information goes public, in a YouTube video, and we're guessing that leak directly leads to the line of coffins.

v “How much do you know about fear…. but not like this, not like him’. Javier’s character shows up. This is created fear and animosity. He sees MI6 as old-fashioned, and chastises M's deployment of Bond after the earlier events. “Mommy was very bad,” he asserts. There's an intriguing shot in the middle of the trailer where he's in a transparent holding cell, like Hannibal Lecter in Silence Of The Lambs, and he goads M, while Bond is present, by saying “The two survivors. This is what you made us.” We're left in the dark about that one, but we like the idea of a villain who can really get under the skin of our hero and his allies.

v The release date and title is shown at the end along with the choice to see it in Imax.

Skyfall

v Stars : Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris
v Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime
v Production Company: Eon Productions, Metro Goldwyn-Mayer
v Certificate: 12A
v Marketing: Trailers, Posters, Aftershave, Heineken advert, Video games
v Domestic Total Gross: $248,219,280 v Worldwide Total: $871,219,280
v Running Time: 143 Mins
v Production Budget: $200,000,000 

Alien Analysis

Alien is a Sci-fi horror made in 1979 by Ridley Scott. Compared to horror films of today, the Chestburster scene is fairly timid, but in 1979 it was one of the most disgusting scenes people had ever seen.
The famous chestburster scene has many symbolic aspects such as the sexual/gynecological symbol.
Kane who has in essence been raped by the 'facehugger' is forced into giving birth to the alien. A big theme in the movie is actually birth; the computer is named Mother, characters are first shown coming out of pods, the aliens are at first eggs. His writhing around on the table is representative of male perceptions regarding the pain and weakness of women in childbirth, and traditional roles are reversed by placing the male in the role of the 'mother'. At the start of the the scene the crew are happy and have seemingly averted disaster. The shots are at eye-level, as the scene progresses the shots get higher. These high angles imply vunerability and a potential threat to the crew.

The scene has no music, which allows the screams of Kane and the shocked wails of Lambert and the rest of the crew to have a greater impact. The score is a pulsing diegetic sound that is intended to be the ambient noise on the ship but sounds unmistakably like the beat of a human heart. This heartbeat-like noise becomes clearer and more distinct as the scene progresses, mimicking the increasingly rapid cuts from shot to shot. Wide shots are used when all the characters crowd around Kane. Almost all the shots are two-shots, three-shots and medium shots to capture all of the action as it unfolds, with these shots come deep focus. It builds realism, the shots of Kane look like handheld shots and are very jerky. This creates P.O.V, like the audience is actually there and trying to hold him down. Another use of Mise-en-scene would be that Kane is wearing a white shirt before the alien emerges which ensures that the bright red blood would be visible. Also it takes place in the dining area of the ship which would naturally be a very clean and clinical area. White walls and the high-key lighting create a sense of false security.

In the 'Here Kitty' scene, the cat hisses behind Brett's shoulder and we expect him to be taken or eaten.
The scene uses various elements of film noir along with other elements of German expressionism and traditional silent horror. This means that low-key lighting is used more frequently.
There is water dripping from the roof, you wouldn't expect water to be inside a spaceship- vicious liquid drips from the aliens body and mouth. The heat, gas and wetness give the ship a living breathing aspect, with more of a environmental feel than a cold mechanical look. It's like a jungle, with chains hanging like vines and running water, with the alien acting as a carnivore hunting it's prey.

Hanna Analysis

Hanna Analysis

This scene is the car chase in which Erik is chased by a gang.
The genre is action (Car Chase), Crime(Thugs) and mystery(Hanna's abnormality).
The use of Mise-En-Scene is very subtle but ultimately very effective. The graffiti'd street ands vans in the slums of Berlin indicate violence and recklessness. The gang represent the 70's skinheads that many pre-teens were scared of. Marissa is wearing a green coat that may signal envy or even sickness whereas her hair is red showing a feisty even dangerous side to her like a flame. Hanna has dull blonde hair and a grey sweater symbolising she is washed out. Erik is wearing a messed up suit showing he is the one in charge and that he used to be an agent. There are lots of little hints to things such as cars spinning meaning that Hanna's life is spinning out of her control, the cars are shaking stating how dangerous and unstable the situation is. There are two poles/bars at the end where Erik and a thug are fighting representing good and evil and when Erik merges into the one side he has become evil by killing the thug to protect Hanna. At the end he is seen dead on a playground spinner repetitively turning possibly representing the circle of life and how is life has now come to an end.

There are a lot of quick camera movements to emphasise the action with a mix of straight cuts and jump cuts. In the first scene it is a close up- eye level shot with deep focus, in the park there are a lot of distant long shots to mid shots. There are a few oblique angles with two 180 degree rules shots. It is set in daytime and therefore high-key lighting.

There is mainly Non-diegetic sound with there being a soundtrack provided by The Chemical Brothers which has all the attributes of an action score; the build up of pace to the full on fighting to the toned down realisation, it wonderfully compliments the scene. There is a use of slowed down breathing when Hanna is running and a non- diegetic use of an amplified heartbeat that shows the desperation. There are diegetic sounds aswell with gun shots, breathing and running sounds. As a child you are brought up to think people are nice and kind but when you get into the real world you realise people can be actually quite mean, Hanna shows that innocence in this clip more poetically than others when she drops to the floor when Erik is shot which envokes feeling because of the shot use, lighting, sound and the Mise-en-scene.