The Manchurian Candidate

The Manchurian Candidate is a paranoid thriller, political thriller and it can also come under a greek tragedy. The reasons for which some people categorise it as this is because it links to the Oedipus complex within thef film, this means when a child has sexual feelings towards the opposite sex parent and feels they have to eliminate the parent of the same sex. In context to the film it is where we see Raymond shaw and his mother kissing. The psychoanalytic theory is named after the Greek myth of Oedipus who, unknowingly, kills his father and marries his mother. The film is different from other thrillers as it draws the audience in by confusing them and making them want to watch on to find out what is happening in the characters lives.
The film is about a group of men who fought together in the army, who when ata placement were captures and taking away to be brainwashed. However we do not find this out until the end once Marco has added up all his clues, we find our Raymond Shaw's mother is behind it all.  We believe something happened when they was out fighting, but they have all been 'programmed' in a sense to not say anything about what happened to them, and live off a lie.
Throughout the film we follow the protagonist trying to overcome a vast variety of tasks. By not telling us the reason for the characters strange dreams and behaviour till the end of the film the director can make it so the audience can have their own opinions on the film.
There are many key scenes in the film this includes the murder of Senator Jordan, the2004 version differes from the 1962 version as in the classic Senator Jordan is shot. In the remake the Senator is drowned in the water, this creates a dreamy state by the remote lake. This is because the director wanted the water to symbolize how the characters are drowning.
During the final scene of the film we see the death of Raymond and Eleanor, this is when Raymon realises his sould has been corrupted and he decides to sacrifice himself and his mother to stop the possibility of becoming owned and operated.
At the end of the film we also see a prominent picture of mount rushmore on a backdrop during the final scene. It invites the viewers to wonder about whether past, present or future leaders may be corrupted, and there could be conspiracies.

North by Northwest

North by Northwest is one of Alfred Hitchcocks most famous film, made in 1959. It stars, Cary Grant as Roger Thornhill, Eva Marie Saint as Eve Kendall, James Mason as Phillip Vandamm,  Leo G. Carroll as The Professor and Jessie Royce Landis as Clara Thornhill. North by Northwest is about an innocents man identity being mistaken. Roger Thornhill is mistaken for George Kaplan as he is chased across america by agents who want to stop his interference in their plans to smuggle out microfilm containing government secrets. The the duration of the film we meet many characters and different relationships develop. Hitchcock uses a variety of skills in this film including a McGuffin and cliff hangers, literally, where at the end of the film we see Eve Kandall  (Eva Marie Saint) literally hanging off of the edge of mount rushmore.

Another famous scene from North by northwest is the cropduster scene, when Roger Thornhill is tricked into going to an isolated crossroads, with flat countryside all around and nobody in sight. A man finally arrives, but then takes the next bus. Before he leaves, the puzzled stranger observes that a biplane is "dusting crops where there ain't no crops." The plane soon flies towards Thornhill, and the pilot starts shooting at him. He flees to the cover of a cornfield, but the plane dusts it with pesticide, forcing him out. Desperate, Thornhill steps in front of a speeding gasoline tank truck, which stops barely in time. The plane crashes into it and explodes. When passing drivers stop to see what is going on, Thornhill steals a pickup truck and drives away.

Techniques used by Alfred Hitchcock

A McGuffin is also pronounced as MacGuffin or Maguffin. This s a plot element which drives the plot forward. It is what the whole story of the film evolves around. It is usually the central focus of the film at the start but slowly declines and is usually forgotten about, although it is important to the characters, it is only their o help the story flow. McGuffin's are common in films, especially thrillers.

An Enigma is a mystery or a problem in the story. In thrillers the protagonist normally has to try and solve it or find it before the film finishes. The definition of enigma is a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation.

A Red Herring diverts the audience's attention from the truth, it deceives them on purpose, it is often used alongside an Enigma. And is used to create suspense.

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock is known his pioneering of suspense and psychological thrillers.Hitchcock is well known for his thriller psycho, other famous ones are north to north west and The Birds. People refer to him as the greatest British Filmaker. He involves a large viarety of techniques into his films, including; Mcguffin, Enigma and Red Herring.

Alfred Hitcock promoting the film 'The Birds'

A McGuffin is also pronounced as MacGuffin or Maguffin. This s a plot element which drives the plot forward. It is what the whole story of the film evolves around. It is usually the central focus of the film at the start but slowly declines and is usually forgotten about, although it is important to the characters, it is only their o help the story flow. McGuffin's are common in films, especially thrillers.

An Enigma is a mystery or a problem in the story. In thrillers the protagonist normally has to try and solve it or find it before the film finishes. The definition of enigma is a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation.

A Red Herring diverts the audience's attention from the truth, it deceives them on purpose, it is often used alongside an Enigma. And is used to create suspense.

What Is A Thriller?

A thriller is a genre of afilm, it involves, tension, suspense, cliffhangers and much more. It also has a variety of different atmospheres, such as crime, violence murder and menace. A typical thriller often contains a victim and a villian. Examples od thrillers are; Psycho, Godfather and Children of Men.

Welcome To My Blog

Hello and welcome to my blog. Over the media course i will be reguarly updating it and explaining what my coursework is. My task is to create a 2minute trailer for a thriller, and my blog is used to take down ideas.