Foundation Portfolio Genre Research

The genre I have chosen to research is Gangster.

Themes and Ideas

Money Motivation Violence Suspense Action The Mafia Drugs

The themes inside Gangster Films, could include money motivation, usually a gang wants to control an area and earn the more money than anyone else. Violence is common in most Gangster movies, there is a lot of use of weapons to display power over others, this can introduce betrayal and/or Vigilantes. Suspense in Gangster movies is usually created through silence and is followed by an intense action scene. Action in the gangster genre is usually a fight, so for example, a gunfight between two gangs in a scene where other things have happened, but reconstructed. The mafia normally control the whole of a specific state or area. They will be respected and recognised. Normally they will be controlled by one overall leader. Drugs are like the currency of a Mafia, they will have warehouses where it will be stored.

5 Opening Scenes

The Godfather - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBfMikOuv2U - A man talking under low key lighting, only his facial structure, and the top of his bald head is lit. A slow reverse creep reveals a second character. An alcoholic drink is handed to the focused character to suggest sophistication. Goodfellas - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGs-yzWrjdI - Multiples characters are situated in a car, going somewhere at night. Little dialogue is used to increase suspense. They use regular mid-shots and long shots to show the action from a neutral perspective. Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o1UXSxTjfo - A man selling stolen goods to pedestrians with a 'cockney' accent, a beige tint. Then police run into the scene and a narrative voice plays over the top. Then the traditional white text on black background is introduced. The Shawshank Redemption - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF4DWljYcac - A large crowd of people inside a prison talking individually. The focus is on two men conversing then a narrative comes over the clip of the man talking. Then they use an establishing shot to show where they are and rises high above the prison while still being narrated. The Departed - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxpoS_sL3tY - They show a hectic fighting scene, also with narration over the top of it. It uses tracking shots to follow a single important character that is respected as you can tell by the dialogue.

Gangster Movies

The movies inside the gangster genre have popular names that frequently occur. Martin Scorsese is well known for his directing of such films as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and more famously Goodfellas Actors that frequently occur in Gangster films include;

Robert De Niro Joe Pesci Marlon Brando Denzel Washington