In this blog post I will be researching into the history of thriller films. The thriller genre in general is a play, novel or in this case film which consists of an exciting plot usually involving crime. Every thriller includes a villain of some sort who torments the victim throughout. All thrillers rely on there main elements of suspense, shock and surprise to captivate their audience and give them a high level of anticipation and anxiety as the plot builds towards it's climax. Plot twists and cliff hangers are often used to, to confuse the audience further and ensure they have the fear of the unknown which is very desired in this genre.
How has the thriller genre changed over the years?
One of the main heroes of the thriller genre is director Alfred Hitchcock. His first thriller and third silent film 'The Lodger', based upon Jack the ripper was directed in 1926 and saw a huge amount of success which spurred Hitchcock on to make more. Since then he has created over 50 feature films which has earned him the title of 'the master of suspense'. Hitchcock lead the way for other pursuing thriller directors and dominated most of the early thriller success.
1920's and 1930's
In these years the thriller genre was a new concept so the scenes they contained had very minimal suspense unlike the films we know today as the audience members of this period were easily shocked causing the films content to be made very basic. Audiences didnt have a preferance at the type of thriller they perfered yet causing all of the thriller made during the 1920's and 30's to have very different story lines.
- 1923- The first ever thriller film was made called 'Safety Last' and was directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor. Because it was the first ever thriller all thrillers have aspects of this film or it wouldn''t be classed as a thriller.
- 1928- The film Spies directed by Fritz Lang was one of the earliest spy films made and was said to have anticipated the James Bond of the future.
- 1929- Hitchcock released his 10th film and 2nd thriller Blackmail which became Hitchcock's and Britain's first sound film.
- 1931- Fritz Lang then created a real life story of serial killer Peter Kurten and was called German film M. It featured the actor Peter Lorre.
- 1932- Next came a spy film directed by Greta Garbo called World War I in Mata Hari and was based on a the life of a real-life double agent.
- 1934- Hitchcock then returned with The Man Who Knew Too Much. After it's release it became one of the most successful and critically acclaimed films of Hitchcock's British period.
- 1935- One of the last iconic films on the 1930's was Hitchcock's romantic thriller The 39 Steps. It was his first spy romance collab in the thriller genre.
1940's and 1950's
These years it was considered to be Hitchcock's golden years and it was in the 1940's he produced 'Rebecca' which became Oscar winning. During the 1940's and 50's the main theme that appeared in most plots featured a husband and wife as domestic plots were favoured by audience members.
- 1943- During this year Hitchcock released his personal favourite 'Shadow of a doubt' which was based upon true events from a 1920 serial killer know as The Merry Widow Murderer.
- 1944- Director George Cukor's then created his psychological thriller 'Gaslight'. This was about a man who plotted to make his wife insane to take her inheritance.
1951- saw Hitchcock release 'Strangers on a train'.
1953- saw the release of the film 'Niagara' by Henry Hathaway and starred the iconic Marilyn Monroe who tries to kill her unstable husband.
1954- The film 'Dial M For Murder' starred with Ray Milland as a villainous husband who attempts to murder his wealthy wife Grace Kelly.
1960's and 1970's
By time the 1960's thrillers were a very popular film genre which saw the arrival of new directors such as J. Lee Thompson, Terrance Young, Francis Ford Coppola and Roman Polanski.
- 1962- Director J.Lee Thompson created 'Cape Fear' which featured a menacing character seeking revenge.
- 1965- Polanski's first english film;'Repulsion' where a young woman goes increasingly mad.
- 1967- Terrance Young's 'Wait until dark' which was a famous thriller during its release date. It featured a victimised blind woman in her Manhattan apartment and an evil con man in search for drugs.
- 1974- Francis Ford Coppola's created tense spy thriller 'The Conversation' which showed a man uncovered a murder while he was being spied on himself.
- 1978- Directed by Irvin Kershner the film 'The Eyes of Laura Mars' was yet another stalker themed thriller.
This decade saw this main thriller interest in being within FBI thrillers and the case to solve murders and crimes. However in this time people also become fixated on the idea of stalkers and the dangerous obsessions people had.
- 1983 saw the release of Sam Peckinpah's final film 'The Osterman Weekend'. It was based on Robert Ludlum's best-selling novel and starred a creepy CIA agent.
- 1989- Phillip Noyce released a psychological thriller starring Nicole Kidman called 'Dead Calm'. This thriller became a bench post for the thrillers of the 1990's as it had elements of obsession and escaping which heavily influence later films.
- 1991- Jonathan Demme released Best Picture-winning crime thriller 'The Silence of the Lambs' involved a young FBI agent in a psychological war against a cannibalistic psychiatrist.
- 1992- Barbet Schroeder's suspenseful 'Single White Female' was with Bridget Fonda and her obsessed roommate-from-hell Jennifer Jason Leigh.
- 1995- 'Se7en', a thriller starring Brad Pitt, was about the search for a serial killer who re-enacts the seven deadly sins.
- 1999- Anthony Minghella's psychological thriller 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' plot involved a man being obsessed with someone then assuming his identity.
Today's age has seen thrillers become even more popular and successful however today some thrillers are often a thriller/action mix to satisfy the audience members who now look for more action filled scenes.
- In 2005 Hostage was released and was said to have been borderline action
- One popular film of the 2000's came in 2008 with the release of Eden Lake.
- 2009 saw the release of The Last House on the Left a twisted thriller which focuses on the fear of the unknown and isolation.
No comments:
Post a Comment