Thriller Research

History of thriller

The thriller genre was first used in 1911 with the silent film ‘what women suffer’ and then the 1914

series ‘Perils of Pauline’ which showed weekly and one of the first thriller themed motion pictures. In

the 1930’s, the period of detectives, there were films like 'The Thin Man' based on the book by

Dashiell Hammett that was produced into a TV series and 'Bulldog Drummond'. The next best thriller

theme film was Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 ‘The 39 Steps’the film set the template for adventure

thrillers, which the Bond movies would follow. Then came the 70s gritty crime thrillers like ‘The

French Connection’, ‘Chinatown’ and ‘The Long Goodbye’, in the work of independent-minded

directors like the Coen brothers. But it’s in its glossy, high-concept form that the thriller dominates

today. Paul Greengrass’s ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ in 2004, a good example of a modern Hollywood

thriller and sets the stereotypical thriller with action scenes, car chases, acrobatic fight sequences

and set-piece pursuits in foreign locations.

Thriller Poster Analysis

Technical codes

-Green tinge to the photograph

-Close up of face to show emotions

Symbolic codes

-Setting in the background of fields, gives people

an idea of the destination and plot

-Main character close up, concentrating with gun,

confident - gives the audience a view of the type

of character

-Man with a gun-danger and action, violence, sets

the genre of the film

Written codes

-Bold title, in red and white to stand out, also the

red might represent danger, or blood.

-The tag line tells part of the story, makes people

want to see what happens, again represents

danger and action

Technical codes

-Blue colour

- long shot of setting lets the audience know the scene

and can guess the plot, which makes them want to find

out more

Symbolic codes

-Man with gun

-

Written codes

-Bold red title, against dark background, so it stands out

Technical codes

-The poster is trying to appeal to a more mature

audience.

-Dark and dirty colour, creates mystery and horror

Symbolic codes

-The colour scheme gives us the impression that the

movie is going to be gritty and unpleasant

-The main image of a hand holding a mobile phone is a

relation to the title. The arm and hand look dirty, as if

they person has been through a tough time which helps

to add to the idea of violence and death.

-The phone itself has an imagine of a woman who looks

as if she is in pain and suffering. The colours she is

Written codes

-Title in red again, stands out very clearly from the black

background it is very dark and sinister

-The serif font has been used for the text, which fits in

with the theme of the poster.

-The word ‘Stranger’ has a negative connotation which allows the audience to make assumptions

about the film already.