Analysis of the Shining

Analysis of the shining

“Come play with us Danny “this scene starts with a one point perspective of Danny riding his tricycle throughout the corridors in the hotel, with very low key lighting that you would find in an industrialised type building, we feel no warmth or sense of security for ourselves or Danny in this moment, this is a convention of horror movies that we see at the very beginning of this particular scene and throughout many other of Stanley Kubrick’s films. The use of the steady cam tracking Danny’s every move is very useful as it helps us to feel as though we are involved in this scene or the idea that Danny is being followed closely behind.by following the tricycle close behind we are put in Danny’s perspective and the image is portrayed as though we are behind him on our tricycle this is done throughout this sequence by using a low perspective angle and an extreme long shot showing us the whole of this long winding corridor and the suspense of what could be around the corner makes us, the audience feel anxious and worried for the child.

This is a key convention throughout the psychopathic/horror genre as it fills the audience with panic and makes us feel the suspense that we believe Danny would also be feeling.

Danny disappears from certain shots as we track him from behind as he rides along at a faster pace than the camera, leaving us with tension and worry about what has happened to him. The audience starts to get different ideas of what may be awaiting them from around the corner this playing a crucial part in the suspense build up and the shock of what actually comes from around the corner.  As we start off in a low key lighting setting with white surroundings we end up tracking Danny into a corridor full of colour and pattern this could be showing us an insight into the child’s mind or foreshadowing what is going to happen in a few moments, the colour clash and the scattering of the corridor leads us into a setting which appears to be full of madness and disorder. The editing cuts us to a corridor, on this corridor we are now directly behind Danny and still seeing the corridor from an eye level view, we are seeing everything that Danny is witnessing, as he turns the corner the camera has a sudden stop, stopping it from tracking as we see the girls in an extreme long shot at the opposing end of the corridor, this shot is an over the shoulder shot giving the audience a bigger focus on the two girls directly in front of it. The twins are both dressed in light coloured clothing this could represent two things, either the children being innocent/angelic or that they are involved in some sort of paranormal activity whereas in a contrast to this Danny facing them is wearing a red jacket, this could symbolise the theme of good vs. evil or innocence vs. guilt opposing one another in a standoff in the corridor. The backlighting gives us a clear image of the two girls and their big shadow behind them which can be represented as a shadow of death hanging over them and predicting their future without even showing the audience what actually happened. There are many extreme close ups on Danny’s face as he is opposite the two girl, still at eye level as if the audience is in the place of the girls, a very regular occurrence in horror movies to portray the characters emotion more effectively and directly as we experience it first-hand. This is a shot reverse shot pattern showing the interaction between Danny and the twins although they are not in conversation yet we still see some sort of connection between them, as they start conversing the shot reverse shot is still the dominating shot in this scene, captivating the audience as its very entertaining in a fearful yet psychological manner.

The editing In the first cut shows us the twins from being alive to death then back to life and each time ultimately ends in Danny’s reaction as to what is being witnessed. Throughout the flashbacks we see a theme of chaos and tragedy, the girls have been murdered this is obvious to us due to the mise en scene as there is only an axe lying in front of the blooded corpses and an over-turned chair seemingly like there has been some kind of struggle. We see the mise en scene through a wide shot low angled camera so the whole of the corridor is visible for the audience giving the feeling of knowing and empathy towards not only the two dead girls but Danny as well due to the fact that he had seen it. There is high key lighting throughout this shot which is unnatural and unsettling due to the events that have taken place, giving the audience a mixture of emotions including confusion then invoking a hidden or even a new fear of death and destruction of human life.

 

 

 

 

favourite film of summer

2. What was your favourite film this summer? Write a 500 word personal response stating why you enjoyed it.

 My favourite film of this summer is titled “The wedding singer” released in 1998 it was a very popular romantic comedy written by Tim Herlihy and directed by Frank Coraci. It made $80.2 million in the United States and $123.3 million worldwide so is very well known globally.

It is my favourite film of the summer as It brings back many memories from when I first it was first shown to me as a youngster, now re-introduced to me as it was brought on dvd by a family member. I believe I connected with it a lot more due to more understanding of the comedic and romantic sides of the film, jokes are now self-explanatory and there is now a more feel good feeling to the film. The two stars of the film, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore are a few of my favourite actors/actresses which helped me get into the film a lot more, as we get a different genre from each of the characters, Adam Sandler brings the comedic side however is hinted with a side of romance and Drew Barrymore shows her beliefs of love on a more regular basis. The combination of romance and comedy give a feel good vibe throughout the whole film and is very infectious as you’re watching it. The film brings out many positive emotions for me and I believe that is what makes me enjoy it and repeat watching. I have enjoyed wa         tching the duet between these two stars in many other films including 50 first dates so I believe this plays a massive part in my favouritism for this film.

Another part of this film that helps me connect and appreciate it a lot more is the soundtrack, which includes 38 different songs which all give a different interpretation and emotion throughout the film. Though the film is based on a wedding singer it is the backing music to many of the scenes that make me feel much more for example when Linda returns the smiths “how soon is now” is played and it gives an almost gothic feel of her return stating through the music that it isn’t a good thing she has returned.

However my favourite part of the film has to be near to the end when Robbie discovers he is on the same flight as Julia to Las Vegas and performs a song to her whilst the rest of the passengers on the plane become the audience, it has an impact on me due to the emotion from the song and the fact that they both feel the same way as each other. Although the song doesn’t contain many serious lyrics it sums up their feelings for each other perfectly and I believe it is the best way to end the movie. The genre of the song is slow and romantic fitting in with feel good flow of the movie and giving us many emotions when it comes to the “happily ever after” ending. Through the use of many different genres of music I believe that the storyline is built up and a wider range of emotions can be discovered. This is why The Wedding Singer is my favourite film of the summer.