Task 1 Research in to thriller genre

Ed Skinner9130

Reepham College

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Institutions: Directed and Written: Guy Ritchie Released: 28th August 1998 (England) Production Company: Summit

Entertainment Box office Returns: $3,753,929 (Box

office mojo) Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller Staring: Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones,

Jason Flemyng.

Audience As the certificate of the film is an ‘18’

its target audience is aimed at adults over the age of 18.

But considering the genre of the film, storyline and the actors involved it has a specific adult audience.

The film includes drugs and gang related issues which could suggest an audience specific social class (group 2).

IMBD User Comments Title of a personal review. ‘Seriously addictive movie - The most

balanced movie ever made?’ ‘Aside from Pulp Fiction, the Best

Pulp movie around!’ It's a deal, it's a steal, it's the movie

of the bloody century! -This is by and far one of the best movies I have ever seen. The wit is sharp, the humour is black, and the plot is downright twisted.

Technology

With the induction of 3D and 3D iMAX technology I don't think the film would have been changed to any better. This British film as with a lot of other British films they rely on a low budget but a very clever and well written story line. Adding 3D depth to it would only ruin the purpose of the film.

Technology With the introduction of the DVD

released 3 years prior to the opening of Lock Stock, the film was in the right frame for DVD sales. But as in increase in the use of online viewing the film has a dramatic increase of viewing. But many sales have come from new audiences created from the latest film’s of Guy Ritchie e.g. Rock and Rolla, Sherlock Holmes and Snatch.

Opening of the film This film opening sequence starts with a black screen with white

writing with the production company, but a bass guitar is playing and stops suddenly creating a sense of urgency or shock.

Next we see a market stall with a seller behind a lot of people giving a speech with cocky slang about his products. Admitting he has stolen good in his speech lets us believe there's something more to the character. He also makes reference to a ‘bag being taken home last night and it cost more than £10’, this could suggest drugs maybe cocaine. So we instantly have an insight to this character.

A bass line starts playing in the background again whilst he continues selling, his cockney slang is of a very stereotypical market seller in London. But suddenly a ‘buyer’ shouts ‘BACON, COGGERS’ and they quickly pack up their goods and start running away. The music volume increase and we are shown them running around a corner with a large brief case with two old fashioned police officers chasing them around the corner and over a traffic bar.

The police officers outfits allow us to believe the scene is set in 80-90 era due to the old fashioned police uniform. The name ‘Bacon’ is a very unusual name but could suggest a character’s mannerism as a pig, or could be to do with the cockney slang of the ‘saved our bacon’. He could be seen as a authority figure in this film.

Mise en scène

Marijuana growing is against the law, but the man seems to be standing in a mass production of growing a Class B drug.

The man is dressed in a light brown but long, light brown coat. It could suggest that he is hiding something from the viewers.

He is using an knife to hold up what looks like large amounts of money, possible from the production of the marijuana.

The bundles of money can be associated with the drugs but the man looking at it could possible be the owner, or not wanting to get his fingerprints on the money.

The money leads us to think, is the money stolen, from the drugs, fake?

The character is positioned in the shot with the large proportion of the scale of the growing, showing its a serious matter.

The position of the money and the character is looking down at the money giving a sense of authority.

Same character as before but seems to be holding a gun and a man appear to be missing a foot, possibly shot? Gangsters?

The man in wearing white clothing could suggest innocent, helpless? He’s also on the floor is he weak or defenceless, dead?

A group of men and they all seem to be wearing the same light brown coat and is traditional for gangs or groups to wear matching clothes to fit in to look united.

The group are behind bars or in a cage connotations of criminals should be locked away? Are they guilty of something?

This surrounding seem to be very empty are they in a desolate area old perhaps. Wooden floor boards and a old window. White covered bricks show innocent again maybe?

Representation Different social classes are represented with in the first opening,

we see a ‘working class’ man to introduce us to the film, but to our first impressions he is actually a grafter and quite a clever man. We see other people buying off the con-man, possible to be working class or unemployed. Gender is another thing that crops up in the film. This film is a highly based male orientated film, the only woman in the film was a highly assertive female that didn’t take any banter of out of order behaviour off any of the males.

The general perception of the film in the terms of age was that the older they are the more respect and the more authority you had over the younger. E.g Harry the Hatchet was feared by the bacon and he companions. He had many contacts and his side man was a 6ft 2, 20ST ex boxer.

Race was also seen as a stereotypical view as well, a African American man with a afro was the owner of a marijuana farm and was feared of by many people who he dealt with as customers.