Consider how effectively does David Lean creates an atmosphere of fear and suspense in the opening sequence of 'Great Expectations'

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Harriet Blair 11R

Consider how effectively does David Lean creates an atmosphere of fear and suspense in the opening sequence of ‘Great Expectations’

Welcome to the new monthly section of The Film Watchers’ Journal in which we discuss a question asked to us by a reader. As it is nearly Halloween, our topic for this month will be, ‘What is the best way to create an atmosphere of fear and suspense in a film?’ To do this I will first discuss my personal views on this question and then we will take a deeper study of the classic suspenseful opening of the 1945 film ‘Great Expectations’, directed by the great David Lean and the Academy Award Winner of Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction in 1946.

To start with, let’s consider what makes a film scary and suspenseful. Some may say that it is outright scares and jumps, though I believe that it is more than that. Something within us needs to feel the fear of the characters and there are many techniques a director can use to achieve that. One of the main causes of fear is the music. Large periods of silence can really get you feeling scared as you wait for something to happen, but equally I also would say that it is chilling when you hear the odd sound such as creaking or the wind to give a sense of realism and pulls at our basic fears of these sorts of noises. Another way that many films are made to be scary is by their use of lighting. Again the basic fear of the dark is used, but also making certain aspects of the scene light or dark can foreshadow future events and subconsciously make the viewer feel worried about what is going to happen. There are also of course many other ways of making a scene fearful and suspenseful such as camera movement, the relative size of what is in the frame, speed of editing and lots of other things besides but we will get to this as I analyse the opening scenes of ‘Great Expectations’ as it has many good examples which can be noted.

To start with it would be wrong not to look at how the opening shot of the scene in which the book is read. At first glance it may not seem to have any fear or suspense as it is a very everyday object, but I think that there is relevance to this in the overall build up of apprehension. As it is read, the calmness of the melody in the background is slowly overtaken by the sound of the wind as the story begins, and the way this is makes you wonder what is going to happen and starts building up some tension, especially as the pages of the book flick in some supernatural way. It immediately focuses you on it as the book is lit up, framed by the darkness of an unknown place which may be playing on our fear of the unknown. It then fades into the next scene, which I believe gives it a sense of smooth carrying on, and the suspense really starts to kick in.

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One of the key ways in which David Lean creates fear is by the imagery of death all around, a common technique used by directors. One of the chief examples of this is when Pip runs past the gallows in the wide open marshes. With the use of perspective he really looks the same size as the first, almost as if it is made for him. Subconsciously I think that this must make the scene more worrying for the audience as they have the picture of him and death together in their minds. This is strongly reinforced by the ...

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