History of thriller (Mrs Georgou)

1. Thriller timeline 
2. A genuine, standalone thriller is a film that provide thrills and keeps the audience cliff-hanging at the "edge of their seats" as the plot builds towards a climax. The tension usually arises when the character(s) is placed in a menacing situation, a mystery, or a trap from which escaping seems impossible.

   

   
   1920's-30's - In 1923 Alfred Hitchcock produced his first film called 'the lodger'. This was a silent thriller that followed a 'Jack the ripper' plot. The thriller movies in this time period were considered the most important thriller films produced. From the codes and conventions used in these films it is now clear to what classifies a 'thriller' film. 

   
   

   1940's - In 1940's Hitchcock continued to produce thrillers such as; foreign correspondent, Rebecca, Saboteur and shadow of doubt. George Cukor directs one of the first physiological thriller in 1944 called 'gas light'. Gaslight shows the origins of a thriller film. The typical conventions of a thriller are emphasised in this trailer. We are shown the theme of murder as the protagonist talks about it in a certain section during this clip. We also see the expected scene of a stronger, powerful, dangerous man towering and maybe even attacking the younger, vulnerable women. Although we do not get a clear detailed view on the film the clips still shows us that it is liable to include an antagonist and a protagonist.
   
   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
                                                                                                                                                                                                               1950's-60's - In the 1950's Hitchcock made a massive change to the thriller genre. He added technicolor to his thrillers, they were no longer in black and white. He also added a touch of glamour to his films by casting 'glamorous blonds' to play his ladies. Through the reputation of these codes and conventions used by Hitchcock, he slowly built up what was expected of a thriller film. Psycho was a reknowned thriller durinmg this time period being one of Hitchokcs both well known peices. It simply conveys the orfordox conventions used at this day. Firstly, it shows a man, being the antagonist, and a women, being the protagonist. Thiller films are typically set out this way and Hitchcock obsessably applied this. Also this film has a ' gorgous blond ' staring as the victim. Directors nowdays still use an attractive actress as the vulnerable victim as the audience easily feel sympathy for them. The clip I have chosen also shows a typical murder scene in a thriller. The man uses a knife to attack the protagonist, over the past years of thriller a knife has been generally used as the murder weapon. This is beacause it shows gore and blood creating a sense of shock for the audience. Suspense is a key factor of a thriller film. The sequence builds upon suspense by prolonging the death by emphasing the details before such as the ripping of paper and the shower itself. Also we do not see who the angtagopniost is creating as sense of mystery and tension. We are given great examples of suspense, suprise and shock in this clip which are the main conventions of a thriller, still used widely today. 
   
   
   
                                                                                                                                                                                                      
   1970's-80's - Thriller films in this era began to edge closer to the horror genre, adding volume to the mix, however they still kept a clear difference between the two genres.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
3.  21st Century- During this time period the thriller genre moved closer and closer to the horror genre. Films started to contain more blood, gore and death, also containing the effects of action films. Instead of re-using any common plots of old thriller, they decided to modernize it by adding plots that included government conspiracy, terrorism and large world wide issues. A typical thriller from this time periopd is taken. This is based on governmaent issues and current worldwide problems, showing a typical plot of resent thrillers. It also provides a lot of action, this represents the new, very popular action thrillers of this period. The clip I have chjose presents various conventions that have originated from the first thrillers and the Alfred Hitchcock time period. Firstly it shows a vulnerable, glamourous, young girl being attacked and 'taken' by a more powerful men. This consept originated from the 1940s in a film such as 'gas light'. It shows how although many of the plots and content of thriller may have changed, a lot of the conventions have satyed the same. Also the clip shows an emphasis on suspense. This is built as the scene is prolonged through silence and exaggeration of details. Suspense is a key convention of a thriller as in increases the impact of the shock factor.  

Key changes over the years - Over the course of time there have been many changes made to the genre. For example the stereotypical plots, although still used, have a modern twist. Often including situations relevant to modern society. For example 'Unknown' or 'Taken', including government or terrorist based plots.

As time progressed, music and sounds were used too 'heighten the viewers mood', too make them feel tense and too create suspense.

Lighting and colour also became available to the directors, this allowed them to used dark, shadowing lighting to emphasise the dark side to characters. 

Key films

 Alfred Hitchcock's

• The Lodger - Considered the first ever 'Thriller' film.
• Rebecca - Combined other genres such as romance that made the thriller genre more appealing to a wider audience. 
• Frenzy - Changed the direction of thrillers and moved closer to the horror genre, with an array of blood, gore and death.

Dead Calm (1989) Phillip Noyce, a psychological thriller, this film followed a 'villain-driven' plot in which the protagonist is trapped and must escape from the villain, also contained elements of obsession - a plot that had a great influence on the thriller genre

Top 10 thriller list 

Rank	Title (click to view)	Studio	Lifetime Gross /Theaters		Opening / Theaters		Date
1	Hannibal	MGM	$165,092,268	3,292	$58,003,121	3,230	2/9/01
2	The Silence of the Lambs	Orion	$130,742,922	1,642	$13,766,814	1,497	2/14/91
3	Basic Instinct	TriS	$117,727,224	1,884	$15,129,385	1,567	3/20/92
4	Seven	NL	$100,125,643	2,528	$13,949,807	2,441	9/22/95
5	Red Dragon	Uni.	$93,149,898	3,363	$36,540,945	3,357	10/4/02
6	Saw II	Lions	$87,039,965	2,949	$31,725,652	2,949	10/28/05
7	Saw III	LGF	$80,238,724	3,167	$33,610,391	3,167	10/27/06
8	The Bone Collector	Uni.	$66,518,655	2,623	$16,712,020	2,587	11/5/99
9	Saw IV	LGF	$63,300,095	3,183	$31,756,764	3,183	10/26/07
10	The Cell	NL	$61,334,059	2,476	$17,515,050	2,411	8/18/00

Hannibal is top of the list, it has produced the most 'lifetime gross' therefore making the most money and being the most successful thriller. Reasons for this may of included the time it was produced, the way it was produced and the great opinion of the public. Hannibal had two extremely well known, successful actors starring in it such as Antony Hopkins, Julianne Moore and Gary Oldman. This gave the film a massive edge as they were popular actors making people desperate to watch the film. The film was also first published as a very popular book, this also increased viewings as people wanted to experience the film.

Towards the middle of the table is Red dragon. This made $93,149,898 in its life time, very near the hundred mark. This film was a sequel to the Hannibal however was not as successful. One reason for this could have been that they lost some key actors such as Julienne Moore and Gary Oldman, therefore losing the excitement. However they still had Antony Hopkins who was a very popular actor at the time which helped with their viewings. Another reason this film may have fallen in the list is that it has a very similar storyline to Hannibal. People may have thought it was too similar and therefore could have been put off it slightly.

Towards the bottom of the list was 'the cell'. Although this was a very popular film it is low in the ranking of simular films to it. One of the stars in this film was jenifer lopez, although being a famous singer she was not reknowed for being an actor, this could have damaged the film as she may not have the quality that some actors possess. It also wouldn't have had as much marketing as some of the hannibal and saw series as they have been some of the biggest thriller films in recent history. Therefor it was have not got as many viewings.     

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