Kill Bill Volume 2 Thriller Opening

Tarantino's most recognizable intertextual reference to Sergio Leone's films is the use of the soundtracks from "The Dollar's Trilogy". The first soundtrack is used in the opening sequence of the "Graveyard" scene in Kill Bill Vol.2 when The Bride confronts Bud. The soundtrack is called "A Fistful of Dollars" which is from the first film in the trilogy. It's very powerful and heroic. It represents the Bride's entrance being associated with the heroic-ness of "The Good" (Blondie), but then being kicked back down to a low hierarchy statues by Bud because he is seen towering above her while she is laying on the ground.

Tarantino uses a graveyard to establish the surrounding area as being lifeless, barren-like and desolate just like a desert. By doing this, thecharacter the bride is represented as if she has no chance of being rescued. She is at the mercy of a character called Bud (Bill's brother) whose archetype is represented as being "The Ugly". Just like how Tuco capturesBlondie, and then forces him to walk across the desert - which is lifeless, barren and desloated, just like the graveyard.

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The title of "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" explains the three main character-archetype of Sergio Leone's western:

"The Good" - Blondie. Blondie is the main hero of the film. In Kill Bill Vol.2, The Bride is the hero and thus being represented as "The Good". This archetype is the 'good guy'.

"The Bad" - Sentenza (aka "Angle Eyes"). Sentenza is the main villain of the film and emery to Blondie. In Kill Bill Vol.2, Bill is represented as being "The Bad". He is emery to The Bride. This archetype is the 'bad guy'.

"The Ugly" - Tuco. "The Ugly" is full of greed and is found between "The Good" and "The Bad". This is Bill's brother Bud.  

The location of the graveyard in Kill Bill Vol.2 can be seen as an intertextual reference because the scene then cuts to a graveyard in the 'middle of nowhere' - a barren-like area. This could also be seen as an intertextual referecne to "Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (2007).

'Jesse James' is mainly set in fields and barren-like locations, much like "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" aswell as in the graveyard scene of "Kill Bill Vol.2". It is an intertextual reference because of the use of a descent-like area as a location.

The costume in 'Jesse James' is also very similar to the type of Western costume used in "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", perhaps it inspired the costume for 'Jesse James' and many other westerns.

The costume which The Bride wears during the graveyard scene in "Kill Bill Vol.2" is a slight intertextual reference to Blondies' costume. The close up shot of the 'cowboy' boots The Bride wears this is intertextual reference, which 'film-buffs' look out for within Tarantio's films. By wearing these boots, the reference is to portray the heroic statues of Blondie - the 'shoes which The Bride is trying to fill. The non-deigetic soundtrack is very heroic and powerful, this too also represents the states of Blondie.

Tarantion's second most recognizable intertextual reference to Sergio Leone's "The Dollar's Trilogy" is by using a second soundtrack from the trilogy. This non-deigetic soundtrack is called "Ecstasy of Gold", and is from the ending scene of "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" during the Mexican standoff. The soundtrack, "Ecstasy of Gold" is very musically rondo. The rondo within the soundtrack could possibly represent the constant battle between the three main characters during the Mexican standoff - the soundtrack will not change until one of them 'makes a move' on another.


In terms of relating the non-degetic soundtrack to the graveyard scene in "Kill Bill Vol.2", the battle is between The Bride and Bud as The Bride has no dialogue which is spoken towards Bud throughout the entire film. This resemples much likeness of the silence during the ending scene of "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". "Ecstasy of Gold" is often used within the Western genre as a tribute to "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". For example, Adam Oxsen's film is named after the soundtrack - "Esctasy of Gold" (2009) and includes very simliar scenes from "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly".

9 Picture Analysis

9 Picture Analysis

The opening of a thriller film can either make or brake the film. A trend which occurs throughout multiple thriller films is the use of the colour red in the opening title sequences. A film which demonstrates this very well is the New Zealand based filml called 'Once We Were Warriors' directed by Lee Tamahori released in 1994. The video clip mentioned is posted below:

The use of red text against a black background connotes to violence and death. This is used to show that the characters introduced in this way are shady and perhaps are into crime etc. A couple few screen shots of how this is used are below:

Notice that there is a black splatter on the 'S' in 'Morrison'. This could represent decay or even blod splattering. Whichever it may be, it surrounds this character with a slightly violent edge.



The title sequences contains the same splatters on the R and S. This gives the audience a clue as to what this film may be about.

Other films which include red within the title/title sequence are Kill Bill Volume 1 directed by Quentin Tarantino released in 2003. The red streak of blood following the line of the brides' katana.

The red streak designed to look like blood surrounding the name 'Reservoir Dogs' connotes to the four men on the front as devious and possibly dangerous. The four men are all dressed the same. This deprives them of any sense of identity and creates an enigmatic aura about them.

Reservoir dogs was directed by Quentin Tarantino released in 1992.

The word 'Seven' being written in red gives the audience the idea of blood, anger, hatred, danger etc. The typeface (font) of the word 'Seven' is also like handwriting.

Se7en was released in 1995 and directed by David Fincher.

The fact that the symbol of the dragon starts off at the bottom as a flame is significant because it relates to a dragon breathing fire but it could also suggests that the central character 'plays with fire'. Red is also used here as the colour of blood, anger and hatred. The fact that you only see half of her face is suggestive of her enigmatic nature within the film. It keeps her identity a mystery much like in 'Reservoir Dogs'.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was released in 2011 and was also directed by David Fincher.

The red running through the centre of the crowd  suggests that there is a divide between good and bad which links to the name of 'Angels & Demons'. The theme of red continues within the title by having a red '&'. The only people wearing red in the picture are Catholic priests which could represent corruption and murder within the church. This is the opposite view which religion has in the real world. The character being played by Tom Hanks is caught in the middle of the red suggesting that he is walking a very fine line.

Angels and Demons was released in 2009 and was directed by Ron Howard.

BBFC

BBFC

The BBFC is an independent company which determines what classification should films, DVD’s and video games should be. For the BBFC to make a decision on what classification should be they need to take into consideration the issues such as language, discrimination, violence, sex and drugs in films, DVDs and video games, parental concerns about younger viewers and recent BBFC decisions. The BBFC also have to take into account the abundance of UK laws when making the classification decisions. 

Uc & U Classification

A ‘U’ film is suitable for audiences aged four years and over. U films should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror that may be involved.

PG Classification

PG stands for parent guidance and this classification is for general viewing but for children under 8 years may be disturbed by the film, so the parents need to take into consideration if there child should be allowed to watch it.

12A Classification

12A rated films may be watched by anyone who is 12 and over, also if you are younger than twelve you will be able to watch a 12A when accompanied by an adult. 

12 Classification

12 rated films are only to be viewed by people over the age of 12.

15 Classification

No persons under the age of 15 can view a 15 rated film.

18 Classification

No persons under the age of 18 can view a 18 rated film

R18 (Restricted 18)

Restricted 18 contains explicit material and can only be shown in specially licensed cinema's and licensed sex shops

Preliminary Storyboards

Preliminary Task

Disappearance Plot


A teenage boy has been put in detention after school on a friday night and as he walks in he spots a bag with a drink in it and being a teenager he didn't take notice of the hazard sign. He then drank the liquid which resulted in him getting an abnormal power. This power made everything he touch disappear, he realises something is wrong after he tries to pick up his books and leave but they disappeared. After making a few things disappear he is freaked out and runs away.

Comparing Conventions of Two Thriller Openings

Comparing Conventions of two thriller Openings

The two thrillers that I am analysing are Exorcism Of Emily Rose (EOER) which is a Supernatural Thriller and Law Abiding Citizen (LAC) which is a gory thriller. I will be comparing both these thriller on their similarities and differences of their conventions.

In EOER it starts off with white captions of writing fading in and out and the last caption says ‘based on a true story’ which is conventional of a thriller to be based or inspired by true stories because it creates an intense atmosphere for the audience. The sound in this caption sequence is of a non diegetic exorcism mixed in with an eerie consistent noise throughout and this is also conventional of a thriller to have chilling sounds at the start to get the audience enticed. After the captions the film carry on the eerie sound but drop the exorcism sound and this still has the audience captured in an intense atmosphere. The camera shot is a close up of a wooden post in the countryside with barbed wire running through it across the screen and it is unusual of a thriller/ horror not to have an establishing shot. They do the same in LAC because they start with a close up of a child’s hand. At the end of the shot the movie title appears in red and this adds to the intense atmosphere. The font is gothic which is conventional of a movie to inform the audience that this movie is a thriller. The next scene is an establishing shot of a an isolated rugged house in American countryside sometime on a winters morning with an overcast view of the sky in the background with fields and this is conventional in a thriller to have an isolated house because it tells the audience that anything can happen here. A man in this shot starts walking towards the house in this shot in a black trench coat and a 40’s style hat with black smart shoes which is round the age of 55-65, the camera then cuts to a mid-shot of him knocking on houses door and there is no one in, the man looks unnerved. They have made this scene carry an intense atmosphere with the music of the non-diegetic eerie sound with an occasional chime sounding which gives a chilling effect, this is conventional of a thriller to make a chilling by using music and the music does make this scene otherwise it would be boring. After this the man walks away from the house after having no answer and after a few steps pauses and looks at an isolated barn and then has a close up of a creaking rusty metal wind pointer in a shape of a cockerel which is on top of the barn. This scene is also unnerving for the man and the audience and they have done this with a mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic sound of trees rustling, chilling whistling wind and a non-diegetic eerie sound still carried out and this is conventional of a thriller to have slow tempo editing at the start but is accompanied by chilling eerie sounds to set the mood for the movie so the audience are not comfortable in their seats.

In LAC it does a similar technique as EOER and does not have a establishing shot at the start but in this opening it doesn’t have one at all and this is very rare in any movie. The first scene is very calm and relaxed in LAC and starts off with a close up of a child making a necklace and in the same room is her dad doing his work and they are having a natural conversation with a shot reverse shot. All the sound in this scene is diegetic and the setting is a typical happy middle class American family in a house at night in a chilled atmosphere, which is created by the child in her pyjamas and the father in a casual jumper and trousers. This is conventional of a thriller to have a calm atmosphere at the start of the movie but the producers of EOER have gone for an unsettled theme for the start to entice the audience and so they have used two different techniques. Next there is a knock at the door, which gets more and more impatient and so the father goes to answer it as his wife is busy in the kitchen and told him to so he leaves the child in the room unattended. This creates a sense of danger just by the sound of the knocking on the door and this is conventional of a thriller to build an intense atmosphere by a doorbell or knock at the door and they have done the same in EOER. The father opens the door and the camera shot view is from outside a person standing at the door and then you see a man hit him on the head so the atmosphere has completely changed and the editing now has become faster paced, music has been added to match the atmosphere which is fast paced. This is typical of a thriller to have juxtaposing moods to get the audience out of their seats and in EOER they have not made a juxtaposing mood they were building a long suspended mood. Then three men enter the house in typical criminal black clothes the camera then cuts to a match on action of one of the criminal’s cable tie his hands together and after the lights get turned off which is parallel to the mood of dark violence. This is conventional of a thriller to have a lighting matching the mood of the scene, they have done the same in EOER as they have given a slight grey filter to the camera. After this the father is on the floor getting beaten by the baseball hat with diegetic sounds of the crunches of contact from the baseball bat hitting the father also there is a sequence of fast paced shots of hits to match the atmosphere and they have done this so the editing will match the music in this scene and also to intensify the atmosphere.

To conclude both films have a lot of conventional aspects to them and are similar in many ways but they have both used different techniques to create intense atmospheres.

Conventions Of A Thriller Analysis

Analysis of the Conventions of a Thriller

The Crazies

The movie I am analysing for typical conventions of a thriller is The Crazies and this is a well-known movie and it is about the inhabitants of a small Iowa town suddenly plagued by insanity and then death after a mysterious toxin contaminates their water supply.

The first scene starts with the credits of the two companies that produced and distributed the film and they are Overture Films and Participant Media. This is conventional of any movie to have the companies at the start but to emphasise to the audience that it is a Thriller they have put no music to it and have faded the diegetic sound of the first part of the scene in. The first shot is of a burning building in a street, which is in America in a rural village and this starts the audience guessing what has happened? It then cuts to a few other scenes of fire in the village and finally finishes with an establishing shot of the whole street up in flames and deserted and it is a conventional of a Thriller to have a scene by having chilling music which entices the audience to a scene which gives the audience incentive to watch more of the movie by involving an action/spooky/intense shots. All the sound in this first scene is diegetic all the way through which adds an intense and authentic affect to the scene also they have made the editing of the scene noticeable because you notice the change of shots and these different angles gives the viewer a unnerving feeling as they do not know what is going to happen and the tempo of the editing is slow paced.

The second scene starts with a black screen with text saying 2 days earlier and non-diegetic country music is playing over the top. After this it cuts to a few establishing shots of rural American fields and it is about midday and the country music is still playing and this is parallel with the visuals on screen. It is typical of a thriller to have juxtaposing scenes and it is also stereotypical of a thriller/horror to show you present day and then go into the past so it makes the audience start to think what has happened. After the establishing shots it cuts to a long shot which is a side view of the road and has a typical American police car driving down it and it cuts to a close up of the sheriffs badge after that it cuts to a view of half the steering wheel and the windscreen and the camera focuses on the long road and then the sheriffs hand and you notice that he is married and this may become relevant later in the movie. Finally it cuts to an high angle establishing shot, which is on a crane, and it is looking right down the street and this shot makes the audience notice that it was the same street was on fire and they have made the audience notice by using the same shot of when the street was on fire. The sheriff’s car then drives from underneath the camera into the street. The sounds in these shots have the country music continuously flowing through them and the tempo of the editing in this scene is slow which shows that there isn’t any danger also this street looks like a safe environment and leaves the audience guessing what could have happened in those two days and this adds a sense of suspense of what will happen in the movie.