Further research on Thrillers

To give you clear idea of what this genre represents, I chose to investigate one of acclaimed director, Alfred Hitchcock’s early thriller’s as an example, referred to as an early masterpiece by some, the 1938 classic ‘The Lady Vanishes’ really embodies the genre being a pioneer this movie set the tone for many more of its kind to come after. It created the aesthetics for thrillers for as long as there will be thrillers to watch. One of the most stand-out aspects of the ‘The Lady vanishes’, is the effective use of sound. The movie opens with striking non-diegetic atmosphere music, giving the viewer just the right dose of excitement and anticipation for the events to follow. Music has been used to create contrast between different parts of the film and the change of scenery and atmosphere from time to time. Even though the clips starts with dread creating thriller-like music but it quickly shifts into happier almost birdsong type of sounds as the camera moves into a city setting of building and houses, suggesting a shift in atmosphere as I previously pointed out. The skillful use of camera work also greatly complimented the piece; the use of pans in particular showed the viewer the atmosphere they were entering into. From the beginning of my research I have mainly looked into doing something along the lines of this, in order to successfully document the transition from happy to sinister. Another typical thing I noticed in majority of older films is that the credits were always shown at the beginning juxtaposed to all modern films in which the full credits only roll out at the end in accordance with progression in the industry. In conclusion I can say ‘The Lady Vanishes’ is a classic example of a thriller that checks out all the requirements that a thriller should consist off and when creating your own thriller should be used as inspiration.