Shadow of a doubt was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, it was created in 1943 and was one of Hitchcocks favourits out of his own collection of films. We watched two parts of the film in class and analysed them with mise-en-scene, as follows;
Settings And Props;
One of the main props is the Cigar, this suggests that 'uncle Charlie' has a high taste and a lot of money to spend. The large sum of money scattered over the bedside table and floor reinforces the first prop and also suggests that Charlie has more than enough money as he is careless of it, its of little importance to him. The place uncle Charlie comes from seems rundown, poor and almost eerie. We know this as their are broken and burnt cars which seem to be placed in a bad atmosphere. This contrasts with Santa Rosa where his neice lives which looks a much nicer place; almost perfect with its white picket fences, flowers and smiling faces.
Positioning of Characters and Objects in a frame;
When uncle Charlie seems to be escaping the two men, he seems very casual and resourceful when avoiding them, almost as though he is used to this lifestyle. Also Uncle Charlie is positioned in the centre of the screen, with the two men who are after him in the foreground, whilst Charlie is in the background. Also the fact they are either side of him, suggests a sense of entrapment on Charlie's behalf, like the two men will close in on him throughout the film. Also uncle Charlie doesnt move when the curtain is open. but once drawn he seems to come to life in the dark, this could be suggesting that there is a sinister, dark side to him. It also suggests that uncle Charlie is the antagonist. Uncle charlie and his neice, Charlie seem to both be positioned in the same way on both of their seperate beds, showing the contrast between the two.
Here is a montage i made of Uncle Charlie and his neice on http://www.onetruemedia.com/
Settings And Props;
One of the main props is the Cigar, this suggests that 'uncle Charlie' has a high taste and a lot of money to spend. The large sum of money scattered over the bedside table and floor reinforces the first prop and also suggests that Charlie has more than enough money as he is careless of it, its of little importance to him. The place uncle Charlie comes from seems rundown, poor and almost eerie. We know this as their are broken and burnt cars which seem to be placed in a bad atmosphere. This contrasts with Santa Rosa where his neice lives which looks a much nicer place; almost perfect with its white picket fences, flowers and smiling faces.
Positioning of Characters and Objects in a frame;
When uncle Charlie seems to be escaping the two men, he seems very casual and resourceful when avoiding them, almost as though he is used to this lifestyle. Also Uncle Charlie is positioned in the centre of the screen, with the two men who are after him in the foreground, whilst Charlie is in the background. Also the fact they are either side of him, suggests a sense of entrapment on Charlie's behalf, like the two men will close in on him throughout the film. Also uncle Charlie doesnt move when the curtain is open. but once drawn he seems to come to life in the dark, this could be suggesting that there is a sinister, dark side to him. It also suggests that uncle Charlie is the antagonist. Uncle charlie and his neice, Charlie seem to both be positioned in the same way on both of their seperate beds, showing the contrast between the two.
Here is a montage i made of Uncle Charlie and his neice on http://www.onetruemedia.com/
Costume Hair And Make Up;
The costumes in which everyone is wearing seem very smart, casual and old fashioned. Uncle Charlie's suit in particular looks as though it is emaculate, he is very particulate about looking smart. Also his hair seems to be slicked back, these both reinforce the fact that Charlie is in someway wealthy and looks as though he takes pride in what he looks like.
Facial Expressions and Body Language;
Both Charlie and Uncle Carlie are seen lying on their beds in the same relaxed way as if uninterested in the world around them. Both characters seem bored, tired almost as if they are lifeless.
Lighing And Colour;
At the beginnning of the scene their is light entering through the window, however when the landlady comes down and pulls this down the room is plunged into darkness, this is also when he moves from his relaxed position and becomes more tense as he moves around the room. This reinforces the fact that he is the atagonist of the film. The opening also seems to have a lot of shadows and uses low key lighting, making the film seem more eerie. Also later on when uncle charlie is on the phone he has a more ominious look about jim due to the shadow that is created over his eyes caused by the hat he is wearing, maybe suggesting he is sinster.
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