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Viewing entries from category: Thriller

The Wave Case Study »

jclarke | Thursday March 10, 2022

Categories: GCSE, WJEC GCSE, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, The Wave, Genres & Case Studies, Drama, Thriller, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge Introduction Exploring films that have been produced outside of those made and distributed globally by the Hollywood film studios offers us an exciting opportunity to broaden our horizons: in terms of storytelling (the way of telling, or organizing the elements of a story), the stories themselves become of broader interest in other cultures and their cinemas. Watching films from around the world, rather than only those made by American and British film producers is an…
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Elephant Single Film Study »

jclarke | Saturday January 19, 2019

Categories: A Level, OCR A Level, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Independent Film, Elephant, Directors, Gus Van Sant, Non-Hollywood Films, Genres & Case Studies, Crime, Drama, Thriller

YouTube link to trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htlsOf3PnGY Copyright © 2019 Edusites. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use within the subscribing school only. Copying or lending of any part of this document in any form or by any means to external bodies and / or individuals is prohibited. Context Cinema is always evolving and it’s an exciting process to witness, to explore and to understand. A film such as Elephant is just one example of…
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The Conversation Single Film Study: Part 1 »

Darin Caudle | Friday July 06, 2018

Categories: A Level, OCR A Level, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Directors, Fancis Ford Coppola, Hollywood Films, The Conversation, Genres & Case Studies, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrhRsZ56b4g Copyright © 2017 Edusites. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use within the subscribing school only. Copying or lending of any part of this document in any form or by any means to external bodies and / or individuals is prohibited. Guide Navigation The Conversation Single Film Study: Part 2 Rationale Section A of Paper 1 focuses upon the micro-elements of film form and the construction of meaning…
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Under The Skin Single Film Study »

jclarke | Thursday June 28, 2018

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Directors, Jonathan Glazer, Non-Hollywood Films, Under The Skin, Genres & Case Studies, Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S1yhSp5jaI Copyright © 2017 Edusites. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use within the subscribing school only. Copying or lending of any part of this document in any form or by any means to external bodies and / or individuals is prohibited. Introduction Go into a newsagent and scan the film and tv section of the magazine shelves and you should see science fiction healthily represented: SFX magazine, Sci-Fi…
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No Country for Old Men Film Study Part 1 »

Graham Panton | Wednesday September 06, 2017

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, American, No Country for Old Men, Directors, Coen Brothers, Genres & Case Studies, Crime, Drama, Thriller

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/38A__WT3-o0 No Country for Old Men Single Film Study Part 2 here Contexts Context of Production Films are shaped by the contexts in which they are produced. They can therefore be understood in more depth by placing them within two important contextual frames. The first involves considering the broader contexts of a film at the time when it was produced – its social, cultural and political contexts, either current or historical. The second…
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Vertigo Single Film Study »

Graham Panton | Saturday September 02, 2017

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, American, Directors, Alfred Hitchcock, Hollywood Films, Vertigo, Genres & Case Studies, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/UHhsEYDg8GI Copyright © 2017 Edusites. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use within the subscribing school only. Copying or lending of any part of this document in any form or by any means to external bodies and / or individuals is prohibited. Contexts Context of Production Films are shaped by the contexts in which they are produced. They can therefore be understood in more depth by placing them within two…
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WJEC AS Film Studies FM2 US Cinema Comparative Study: Dirty Harry and Gran Torino »

Rob Miller | Wednesday September 09, 2015

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS AS, FM2, Section C: US Film Comparative Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, American, Directors, Clint Eastwood, Don Siegel, Hollywood Films, Dirty Harry, Gran Torino, Genres & Case Studies, Action, Action Thriller, Drama, Thriller, Western, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Genre, Narrative, Representation

Dirty Harry (1971, Don Siegel) Gran Torino (2008, Clint Eastwood) Centres can choose from a range of different American film texts: the three main areas of study are Messages, Themes and Values, Narrative and Genre, Representation of Time and Place (often linked to messages and values) and Representation of Character. You can compare in Section B but in Section C you must. The above choice of texts reflects films belonging to the same genre but it is very possible to explore two films that…
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WJEC AS Film Studies FM2 US Cinema Comparative Study: Taxi Driver and No Country for Old Men »

Rob Miller | Monday September 07, 2015

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS AS, FM2, Section C: US Film Comparative Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, American, No Country for Old Men, Hollywood Films, Taxi Driver, Genres & Case Studies, Crime, Drama, Thriller, Hot Entries

FM2 British and American Film Section C: US Cinema Comparative Study For further details of assessment requirements and past Section C exam questions, please go to FilmEdu’s Gilda (1946) and L.A Confidential (1997) Comparative Case Study  and FilmEdu’s Minority Report and Blade Runner Comparative Study for other comparison resources. Taxi Driver Like No Country for Old Men, Taxi Driver is a film about nihilism – with 31 years between them both films have characters that…
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WJEC AS Film Studies FM2 US Cinema Comparative Study: Minority Report and Blade Runner »

Rob Miller | Monday October 06, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS AS, FM2, Section C: US Film Comparative Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film Industry, Film Distribution, Film Marketing, Film Publicity, Film Promotion, Films & Case Studies, American, Blade Runner, Hollywood Films, Minority Report, Genres & Case Studies, Action, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller, Hot Entries

Introduction One of the most interesting ways to engage with genre is to select two films from the same genre and compare and contrast them. Critically, select two films produced in significantly different time periods and places - by doing this kind of analytical exercise we’re able to go some distance in identifying some of the ways in which a genre evolves. Science fiction film certainly seems to offer a particularly rich case study in terms of what kinds of ideas texts can be encoded…
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Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971) Case Study »

Rob Miller | Monday September 22, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film Industry, Censorship & Regulation, Film Distribution, Film Marketing, Film Publicity, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, Genres & Case Studies, Crime, Drama, Independent, Thriller, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Representation

FM4: Varieties of Film Experience – Issues and Debates Section C: Single Film – Critical Study Section C of FM4 offers students the ability to engage in a critical study of a single film, within a synoptic framework – this means the micro and the macro features need to be studied, as well as issues of representation. Useful will be placing the film in an institutional and cultural context in reference to production, funding distribution, audience, audience reception but also genre and…
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Vertigo (Hitchcock 1958) Case Study »

jclarke | Monday August 18, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film Industry, Film Marketing, Film Publicity, Film Promotion, Films & Case Studies, Hollywood Films, Vertigo, Genres & Case Studies, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge Understanding the relationship between the micro and the macro elements of a film is an essential part of our analysis of movies. Every shot, every sound accumulates to form the expression of an idea. Thinking about movies in this way might prompt us to acknowledge that a camera move for example, can express a character’s psychology, sometimes more forcefully and memorably than a line of dialogue could ever do. In the opening scene of Vertigo (1958) as the film’s…
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Popular Film & Emotional Response: Understanding Emotional Responses »

vikiwalden | Monday March 25, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Hollywood Films, Schindler’s List, Non-Hollywood Films, World Cinema, La Vita e Bella, Genres & Case Studies, Action, Biography, Comedy, Crime, Drama, History, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge Students can find studying spectatorship challenging.  There are many theories of spectatorship, but starting with the theory can lead students to list theoretical ideas rather than engage with the texts. Let’s not forget this A2 Film Studies unit is about “emotional responses? more than critical ones. This is a good place to start with students. What is “emotion?? What is “popular film?? And what elements of the film experience trigger emotional…
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Living with Crime »

jclarke | Friday March 22, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS AS, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film History, Cinema in Context, Film Industry, Film Distribution, Production Companies, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, London to Brighton, Sweet Sixteen, Genres & Case Studies, British Film, Crime, Independent, Social Realism, Thriller, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge Crime and cinema have a longstanding relationship. Going right back to early cinema one of the landmark silent films was The Great Train Robbery (1903). There is a shot in that film which is overtly referenced as the last shot that we see in the American crime film GoodFellas (1990). click on image to enlarge However, whereas we might argue that the criminal life that’s represented in the Hollywood-produced GoodFellas is somewhat glamourised and told in an overtly…
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AS OCR Film Studies: Contemporary English Language Film »

nicoleponsford | Tuesday September 11, 2012

Categories: A Level, OCR A Level, OCR AS, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Hot Fuzz, The Woman in Black, Genres & Case Studies, Action, British Film, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Independent, Mystery, Thriller, Hot Entries

In both the exam and in the coursework, candidates will be asked to study English Language Texts. They are NOT able to study the same texts for both sections and will prepare for this in different ways. For example, the coursework will act as a catalyst for their creative work in their portfolios. In the exam, students will have part of a two hour exam to answer a specific (unseen) question on an aspect of the film. Both the coursework and examination texts will have shared aspects. This is…
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Towering Inferno Case Study »

vikiwalden | Wednesday November 02, 2011

Categories: GCSE, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Hollywood Films, Genres & Case Studies, Action Adventure, Disaster, Thriller, Hot Entries, Towering Inferno

Paper 1 | Disaster Movies Case Study | Towering Inferno Synopsis The film opens, with beautiful wide shots, following a helicopter out of the wilderness into the centre of San Francisco; Architect Doug Roberts explains his plans to go and live in the countryside, as he prepares for the opening ceremony of the Tower, he designed for James Duncan (J.D.). As part of a routine systems check, an electrical short starts a small fire on the 81st floor, which is initially undetected. Doug confronts the…
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Fight Club Case Study »

Rob Miller | Monday October 31, 2011

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Hollywood Films, Fight Club, Genres & Case Studies, Comedy, Drama, Film Noir, Romance, Thriller

A2 Film Studies Section C: Close Critical Study Synopsis and Character Profiles Fight Club is based on a surprisingly short novel by Chuck Palahniuk, where it is suggested the desire for meaning drives civilisation. The film takes this as it essence, but offers a broader range of more complex representations. In terms of narrative, the film is initially about the life of a disillusioned office worker - played by the narrator, Edward Norton – he works for a car insurance company, who appraise…
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Amores Perros (Love’s A Bitch) Case Study »

Rob Miller | Monday October 31, 2011

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Amores Perros, Genres & Case Studies, Drama, Gangster, Romance, Thriller

Urban Stories: Power, Poverty and Conflict Synopsis and Character Profiles Amores Perros is a film about a three interconnected stories in Mexico City that borrow from, or arguably make, intertextual references to Pulp Fiction in terms of the non linear narrative. A car crash is the pivotal scene that involves, and effects, all three narratives and serves as a narrative arc – in Story 1 (like Pulp Fiction chapter headings are used) Octavio and Susana fall for each other, but not before Susana…
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