The Breakfast Club (1985) Opening Scene - Performance and Movement

The Breakfast club is 1985 coming-of-age-drama directed by John Hughes. It stars 80's film icons Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez and Ally Sheedy. The 5 teens are sentenced to an all day detention on a Saturday, they all believe they have nothing in common but by the end of the 9 hours they realize they have more in common than you could believe and have created an ever lasting bond between them that will last a life time.

The opening scene of this movie begins with a montage of pictures of the school and a voice over of the character 'Brian' played by Hall, reading out the classic 1000 word essay the students produce together at the end of the film. his voice is very monotone and shows little emotion, the producers used this too show the students continuous boredom throughout the whole film and also to give the audience realization that although the characters may appear to change at the end of this film, ultimately they are still the same people, but just letting their true personalities show.

The scene then cuts to 'Claire', Played by Ringwald, sat in the car with her father, in an almost disgusted voice she says "why do i have to be here on a Saturday, its absurd?" She then turns away from hr father before he can answer her, the producers chose this scene as it show her confusion bout the whole situation and also to show the audience, that as a character 'Claire' feels as if she is above the other people there and that she deserves better treatment than them, this portrays her perfectly as 'the princess' she is suppose to be.

Another part of this scene is when all the character are sat at tables is the library, 'John', played by Nelson, walks up to 'Brian' gives him an aggressive look and gestures with his fist to move away, 'Brian' does so quickly. This form of movement used by Nelson is effective as it shows the audience the dominance 'John has over the rest of the characters and that they are all afraid of him, by not even using words he is able to get one of them to move, this amplifies the image of power 'John has over the rest of them.

The use of mise-en-scene in Se7en (1995)

Se7en is a 1995 psychological crime thriller film directed by David Fincher, staring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey. Pitt and Freeman star as two detectives investigating to a number of murders all linked to the 7 deadly sins, in an attempt to try and find the murderer played by Spacey.  Mise-en-Scene is a number of different techniques used by the director and producers to portray certain emotions and ideas towards the audience. Se7en used these fantastically to portray fear and suspense in the audience and to portray the thriller element in this film. The scene i will be focusing on is the end scene where detectives David and William (Pitt and Freeman) are escorting John Doe (spacey) to an unknown location where they are supposedly going to be shown where the two remaining bodies will be found. A different scenario occurs which leads to Johns demise.

One element of Mise-en-Scene is setting. The setting in this scene is a desolate wasteland outside of the unnamed city which William, David and John and travelling through in a cop car with the two detectives in the front of the car and John in the back. They are separated by a barrier which is not only placed there to protect the two detectives from John but also symbolizes the barrier between john and the rest of the world because of his delusions and obvious insanity. The setting of the desolate waste land also symbolizes John difference and separation to the rest of the world due to his radical ideas and actions. This setting also symbolises the dangerous situation the two detectives are getting themselves into as there are no people around the witness the destruction John is going to cause.

The lighting in this scene is very bright, which is unusual for a thriller film. The film makers could have used this to represent John’s blatant insanity and to show him now showing him true self to the two detectives. This bright lightening could also have been used to symbolise the obvious danger the two detectives are putting themselves into by driving out to this abandoned waste land with John and allowing him to control what they do. This bright lighting could also represent the clear and obvious control John has over the detectives and how he is able to manipulate both their actions and emotions so easily.

Another very important element of Mise-en-scene is performance and movement. In this scene the two detectives are obviously still overwhelmed and disgusted by John’s actions, William remains calm and silent, whereas David  blatantly show his disgust and dislike towards John. David turns his body towards John to try and show dominance however he ends up siting side on to John, this once again shows the power John has over the detectives and how they are fearful of him. Pitt uses some small hand gestures when talking to Spacey’s character, this is used to show assertiveness and dominance.  Spacey’s lack of movement shows his characters calmness and utter control over the situation. By not making violent movements or even raising his voice he shows that he knows his plan is working and it convinces the audience of his blatant insanity, as he is in a very bad situation (under arrested) and yet is still calm and knows he has control of the situation.

Costume and makeup plays a very important role in this film. The two detectives characters start out in the film as well dressed and frankly hygienic men. By this end scene however, it is obvious by the state of their clothes and general appears, that John’s actions have had a great impact on all of their life. This is shown in Pitt’s character especially, for example his suit is now dirty and wrinkled and his shirt is untucked. This show his loss of control over his own life and shows the audience that he make be coming close to a point of breakdown. The physical wounds his character has is a physical representation of the affect john has had on him mentally. His broken arm could symbolise to the audience how close David is coming to breaking, which eventually does happen and he ends up shooting John, which was part of Johns plan from the start.  Spacey’s character is dressed in the classic American bright orange prison outfit and handcuffs. These handcuffs symbolise that even though his plan is working, his is actually in prison and is still going to have to pay in some form for the crimes he has committed. His character however has no visible injuries, unlike the detectives, this symbolises to the audience the control john has had over the situation and the pain he has caused other people and without causing any damage to himself.  

What Makes 10 Rillington Place a British Horror

The first and most obvious thing in my opinion that makes 10 Rillington Place a British horror film is the setting. It is set in classic small and damp Victorian terraces house in Notting Hill, London. This makes the film British as it is authentically British and is most likely to be obviously British to most people. This setting also makes the film more of a classic horror asa the inside of the house is dark and damp with steep possibly dangerous staircases and narrow hall ways. The beginning of this film is also set during a blackout of world war two. This makes the film classically British as it was very common accurance in British cities during world war two. the darkness due to this makes the film more classically horror as it suggest the unknown situations these women are getting them selves into by going to see Mr Christie and how they are 'blind' to his ways.

Another thing that makes this film classically British is the actors/ characters. The mains character John Chrisie, played by Richard Attenborough, has a classically British 'posh' accent and wears smart 'British style' clothing. The character Tim Evans, played by John Hurt also has a highly distinctive welsh accent which also makes the film British. The  character Beryl, played by Judy Geeson, is portrayed as the classic English rose, although she is not very smart, she is classically British with her fair skin and hair, and simple floral dresses and cardigans. this makes her stereo-typically British and magnifies the 'britishness' of this whole film.

Interstellar

Released in 2014 this epic space adventure set on a futuristic dystopian earth where man has destroyed most of its natural resources, food is running out and dust covers everything. Ex space shuttle pilot 'Cooper' played by Matthew McConaughey must travel across our solar system to a worm hole where there is the possibility of a new planet o the other side. He must risk everything to try and save man kind.

The first thing you will notice when you watch this film is the sound track, its a mixture of up beat rock, which then changes to a very space orientated sound track to match the change in scenery. An adaption of the song 'Star Spangled Banner' which is performed by Jimmi Hendrix is also used in the film. This song could have been used to link back to what would be the passed in the film to show the viewer that this is what could happen to the earth if we do not start taking better care of it.

In one scene when 'Cooper' and the other pilots are on the spaceship a strange mirage like figure appears by the side of Anne Hathaways character. They believe that this is the brig that will lead them to the new planet, Hathaways character slowly reaches out her hand to touch the being, she make constant eye contact with it and has an amazed yet also scared look in her eyes. This is a very effective scene as it adds a mystical and futuristic element to this movie, helped greatly by the very good acting on Hathaways part.

Moulin Rouge!

Moulin Rouge!- released in 2001 it is one of my all time favorite films. Staring Ewan Mcgregor and Nicole Kidman, it encompasses the erotic and expressive nature of the true Moulin Rouge Paris whilst still using a fairly 'modern' soundtrack. Written and directed by Baz Luhrmann it is a true masterpiece of modern cinema.

The soundtrack includes songs from big names like David Bowie, Missy Eliot, Pink and Christina Aguilera. some of the songs are performed by the original singers, for example 'Nature Boy' by Bowie, whilst others are performed by the cast, for exampl my favorite song 'Elephant Medley' in which Mcgregor and Kidman perform a medley of love songs.

This film follows the classic story line of forbidden love, when 'Satine' (Kidman), a dancer and prostitute at the Moulin Rouge falls in love with a simple writer 'Christian' (Mcgregor) after a series of confusing event. The two must keep their love a secret from 'The Duke' (Richard Roxburgh) who will only invest in the Moulin Rouge if he believes 'Satine' is in love with him. All the characters proceed to write a play to convince 'The Duke' to invest and encounter many trails along the way. This tragic love story encases everything a love story/musical should whilst still being moderately realistic.

Set in the year 1900, Luhrmann truly captures this not only with the setting and costumes, but also dance routines and surprisingly the late 20th century songs chosen. The colors red and black feature greatly in this film, red to show the love and also passion which was very prominent in this area of France in 1900, and black to show the danger which the lovers are putting themselves in and the ultimate death of a character.

If you like romantic films, with a slightly darker side and films with incredible soundtrack, you will love the Moulin Rouge! I am not in the least bit surprised it was nominated for 8 Oscars.