Red Dragon
analyse how the films opening establishes genre conventions and reaches target audiences through technical codes, narrative and characterization
Red Dragon is an American thriller film of 2002 the film is
based upon Thomas Harris' novel of the same name which features the
psychiatrist and serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The film is set as a
prequel to silence of the lambs.
The plot starts when Hannibal lecter is captured for
cannibalism and gets a life sentence in a prison whilst the person who captured
him has to track down another serial killer who says he’s trying to transform
himself into the red dragon of a famous painting by William Blake.
In the first 15 minutes revolve around Doctor Hannibal
lecter and what he is. The first scene is in an orchestra performance where
they focus on one person of the band and the switches back and forth between
his and lecter’ s face whilst zooming in to show Hannibal’s facial expression.
The scene suddenly cuts away to Hannibal in the centre of a long shot as host
to his dinner party. The mise en scene of this scene is the lighting is very
dim and has a red tint representing Hannibal’s state as the meat he has served
is the man from the first scene.
The next scene is where will graham who is an FBI agent has
come to consult Hannibal about a criminal’s behaviour as it seems the suspect
had been removing edible body parts from the victims’ bodies which leads will
to believe that the murderer is a cannibal. concern of Hannibal is shown on his
face when he mentions it might be a cannibal with an extreme close up and then
he walks out the room leaving will to look around .as the camera zooms in on
the bookcase will finds an interesting cook book in which he recipes have been
added to with body parts.as ill turns round Hannibal suddenly stabs him in the
gut in order to hold him there so he can choke him however will manages to stab
him with some arrows then shot him as he
come back towards him which is shown well with the use of white shirts in order
to show the areas of blood making it stand out. As Hannibal is shot back he
lands on his back and the camera pan vertically down to his face showing him looking
up towards the ceiling as if he’s dead yet he isn’t as we find out later on.
The scene has cut away and its now many years in the future
and will is investigating a serial killer who is killing off families in the
south and is nicknamed “the tooth fairy”
the murders carry on and another family dies which leads will to consult
Hannibal who has got life in prison for cannibalism. When will arrives at the
prison he is told to walk down a corridor to the end. The corridor is very
dimly lit and all that’s visible to will is a chair at the other end in front
of Hannibal’s cell. The tension for this is built up through the non diagetic
music and the slow forward track. The corridor is full of other criminals that
seem to be more mentally unstable compared to Hannibal as he is able to have a
civil conversation however h is the kind of criminal that gets inside the
audiences head as for the rest of the film he is in the prison cell as the main
character focus is on “the tooth fairy “.
I think that this film is a good representation of a
thriller genre film. In thriller films its mainly set around the protagonist
and the problem they face which in red dragon is will catching the murderer before
he strikes again. This becomes the emphasis throughout the film as the problem
to be overcome. The camera angles for thriller films are mainly close ups for
the emotion and suspension and long shots for things to jump out. Most of them
have a non diagetic soundtrack that is made to build up tension and suspense in
order to scare the audience or to keep them intrigued when nothing seems to be
happening. Also the mise en scne is key to thrillers as most have weapons and
dim lighting or to create a thriller effect t build upon to creat the setting .
other props are like the costumes as a good example is with white shirts to
emphasis the blood stains
In conclusion I believe this film is a good representation
of a thriller genre film and keeps to
the genre with the key aspects such as close us , non diagetic background for
suspense plus a sortyline with a problem
to overcome
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