A sense of panic is immediately created by the situation, which is potentially life threatening. In addition, there’s chaos applied by the feathers flying around the cabin and the use of fast editing and close up shots, which create extra tension and suspense. The conversation between Harrison Ford and the female adds to the panic because of short, snappy sentences.
Clip two was made in 1960 by Alfred Hitchcock and bears a title that obviously suggests it should be a horror/thriller – psycho. In the scene, Vera Miles is viewed climbing into the shower in total silence. The clip is filmed in black and white which I feel shows her vulnerability more. The colour white is mostly used as showing something as pure and good so having the actress this colour, and blond haired too, creates the presumption that she is the victim and generally a good person in this film. Because she is stepping into the shower she is obviously naked, this adds to her vulnerability and produces an enigma: making the audience suspect something bad may happen to her and fascinating them into watching to find out what. In addition to this, the silence helps build the tension; using any music (even a piece that may suggest danger) would spoil the tone and wouldn’t have the same dramatic, seat-gripping effect. It also allows the audience to hear her movement and highlights the fact that she is alone in this environment. Furthermore, it can be said that a lack of background music makes the victims situation more realistic, as well as adding to the dramatic effect.
The main actor in clip three is well known for these types of roles and is mainly associated with the ‘Spaghetti Westerns’ of the 1960’s. So when Clint Eastwood is mentioned or seen, the audience automatically expects the stereotypical cowboy. ‘For a few dollars more’ is no exception. Clint is again seen dressed in a cowboy hat, jeans and spurs; surrounded by sand and deserted towns.
In the clip, he is seen drinking from a well whist a man shoots at a young boy, before kicking its father to the ground. The audience now expects a showdown between Eastwood and the ‘wicked’ man. This man is dressed all in black, supporting the idea of colour being used to represent people’s character, and he is also Mexican. His ethnicity adds to the perception of this being an evil character, regardless of his cruel actions onscreen. Clint Eastwood, on the other hand, sports chiselled features and a sense of ‘cool’, naturally radiated by a lead role or hero. He is, nevertheless, a character that appeals to everyone: women want him and men want to be him, however stereotypical that may sound.
The first two clips chosen suggest the genre or the film from the title. The initial impressions are reinforced when studying the scenes: the mayhem in clip one and the way the character (Indiana Jones) is dressed confirms the adventurous theme; the vulnerability and suspense portrayed in clip two adds to the idea that this is a thriller. The genre of the third clip is not identifiable from the title but is instantly recognisable as a western from the setting and the dress or the characters.
It is not just one factor that places a film in a certain genre or another. Sometimes a viewer must look at a combination of points, such as those mentioned in the opening paragraph, before the genre can be identified.
