The Italian Job

Director: F. Gary Gray

Year: 2003
Characters
Charlie
Stella
Steve
Handsome Rob
John Bridger
Left ear
Lyle
Why I chose this film
I`ve chose this film because it has good Audio and visual styles. This is important because typical
thriller movies have a lot of audio and visual style. I will analyse the first 7 minutes of the movie. It has
some enigma which creates curiosity in the audience. This is a typical way to keep the audience
watching. This movie has a lot of action which is typical in the thriller genre. Also the opening is
located in Venice which is an urban location.
What is the film about?
The Italian Job is based on a team who is robbing banks and rich people. This is typical in the thriller
genre because they have greed for the money. Usually something goes wrong which in this movie it
does because one of the group member (Steve) wanted all the money and he killed John who is Stellas
father. This created an emotional scene in the movie which is commonly used in the thriller genre. This
created a sense of revenge which is typical in the thriller movies to show that they are strong and not
scared of death. The movie is mostly based in Los Angeles. After a long time the group finds Steve
who killed Stellas father. And they found an opportunity to revenge his fathers death. They plan
everything and then one night when Steve is out they go into his house and take all his money.
However Steve knew this and he put all his money into Safe trucks. They had to quickly make a plan
which went in their favour. They got all the money also they baited Steve which went in their favour as
well. At the end everyone was happy.
Enigma Codes:
At the start of the movie we are in Venice. The second shot which is on a boat or something going
under the bridge creates a mystery which makes the people curious. They used low key lighting which
is typical in the thriller genre to create suspense or mystery. This is typical in the thriller genre because
it keeps the audience wathing.

The next shots are showing maps of a city. Because it doesnt show which city it is. It makes the
audience curious about what are they doing with the map, also the maps doesnt look new which could
mean they have this for a long time. Also there is 3 lines with different colours. We dont know what
they are for.

The first character we get introduced to is

Charlie who is one of the main characters in the movie. They used low key lighting which made him
look mysterious. This is commonly used in the thriller genre to create suspense and curiosity. He is a
typical thriller character because he is aged between 30-50 also because he looks mysterious the
audience becomes curious about him because they want to know who he is. He is a typical thriller
genre character because through the movie we can see that he is skilled also he is intelligent and quick
thinking. He is the protagonist of the movie. He is more mature then the other characters which means
he is the leader.

Later on we see him again where he meets John. He looks like a stereotypical character when he is
walking towards John. His hands are in his pocket walking calmly towards his friend. This shows that
he doesnt have fear which means he is innocent and he havent done anything bad.

When they are about the step onto the boat he looks around. This shows that he is experienced and high
skilled. This presents him as a stereotypical character because the protagonists are usually highly
skilled and intelligent. When they get on the boat he gets a walky talky. This shows that he is the one
who gives out the orders to the other. However he starts listening to Lyle who is a computer genius.
This shows that Charlie is a team player because he listens to the others as well before he makes a
decision. This is not typical in the thriller genre because usually the protagonists are in solo but
sometimes there are teams.

The second character we get intorcued to is John`s

daughter Stella, she is the second main charcter. The first shot we see her in she is sleeping in the bed,
this suggets that she is not in the job.This is stereotypical in the thriller genre because the woman cant
handle the situations as a man would. She looks innocent because of the Mise en scene they have used.
She is wearing white clothes which suggets that she havent done anything bad. By using the Bordwell
and Thompson theory she is not going to do anything bad all the way through the movie.

When she is talking on the phone is talking calm and happily. She is a stereotypical woman who
doesnt do anything bad, however because she knows what his dad does for living she might in the
future she might do something bad.

The next character we get introduced to is John. His not a typical

thriller character because he is very old. This makes him venerable. Because he is old the audience will
care for him. However he is not a typical old guy, he is a professional robber. The first shot we see him
is a medium shot which shows his upper body. This shows that he is curious because we cant see his
whole body. This is a typical way to build up curiosity to the audience which is important in a thriller
genre because it creates enigma which makes the audience keep watching.

After a few shots we see his whole body also in the shot we can see where he is. He is a typical old
man walking on the streets of Venezia. His daughter is worried that he robbed a shop. This suggests
that they will rob someone or a place. He aslo says that this is his last job and then he is done. This
suggests that he might get into a situation where he will end up dying or just living his life happily.

After John puts down the phone he meets Charlie. They look like they well know each other. This
suggests that they are friends also Charlie looks like someone who is a protagonist or/and leader
because the way he is dressed and how he is walking is stereotypical to show who is the protagonist

or/and leader.
The next character is Handsome Rob, he is a typical thriller character because he is a midlde aged
person, he looks around which suggets that something dangerous is going on. This shows that he thinks
carefully bceuase he doesnt want anyone to see what they are doing.

When he gets on the boat he is

releasing rope. This shows that he is the driver of the boat. By using the Bordwell theory this suggets
that he is the driver for every veichle. This suggets that he is higly skilled becauase they are robbers
and they need a driver that can get away from anything.

The next character is Left ear. He is a typical thriller character because he is aged between 30-50. He is
the one who can disappear in the public. He is wearing spy type of cloths which suggest that he is
someone who looks around and gets the information.

The next character is Lyle. He is a typical thriller character because he is skilled. We can see this
because he is the Hacker or the guy who know everything about computers. This means he is skilled
because he got a scan of a house when Charlie asked him, he said technical term which means he
knows that he is doing. Also he is aged between 30-50 which is typical in the thriller genre.

The next character is Steve. He is a typical thriller

character because he is aged between 30-50. He looks like the person who gets the big jobs done. We
can see this when he goes into the house on his own. This means he lives with danged which is typical
in the thriller genre.

Locations:

The opening is set in venezia. This is a typical location because there is a lot of people in venezia, this
means the people can disapeer easily. Its an urban location, it also has a lot of turists which means its
crowded. People can disapeer easily and no one will notice it.
Camera, editing techniques and sound
Arial shot was used when john was talking to his daughter. This is used to shows the audience where
the scene is set. This builds up curiosity in the audience because when john's daughter heared where he
is she was confused, which means se didnt know that his father went to venice. They used cross cutting
to show the audience that they are in two different locations. They used non digetic sound which was
music. They used it to keep up the audiences tension.

They used a tilt to introduce Charlie. This shows that he is significant because he is the leader of the
group he needs to stand out. With the tilt show going from to bottom to the top will make him look
more powefull. They used non digetic sound which is music. This was a curious type of music which
makes the audience focus on him.
After that they used the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot. This was used to show the audience that
they are talking to eachother also the 180 degree rule with the dialogue makes it more clearer to the
audience who is talking to who. Over the shoulder shot have been used which helps establish each
character.
Match on action was used when John passed the Cigar to charlie. This was used to make the motion
continous.
Long shot was used when Handsome Rob is on the boat. This was used to show to the audience where
they are. This is used to show that something i going to happen because they are going with the boat.
Close up was used when the scew falls out from the door lock. This was used to create curiosity in the
audience because they dont know what is about to happen. Another macth on action was used when
Steve opens the door and there is a medium shot of him from behind the door opens. This also showed
where he is, which is a big room full of antiques, this suggets that they are stealing something from that
room.
Titles
The titles have standard fonts however they are light brown which is usualy represents responsibility
and family. This suggets that the people who are in the movie are like a family. They work together and
they take responsibility for what they do. This could also mean that someone will be responsible for
something later on.
Target audience
The target audience for this action thriller movie is 16 to 30 because it doesnt have a lot of agressivity.
However there is a sense of revenge which is why its a 16+ movie. The characters are middle age
which means teenagers and middle aged people are going to watch this movie. The movie has enigma
which means the people who like movies that creates curiosity will watch it the most.