2. General information
MAN ON FIRE is an action thriller starring Denzel Washington released in
2004. The film tells the story of an ex C.I.A operative who swears
vengeance who commit an unspeakable act on the family he was hired to
protect. The film is directed by Tony Scott and stars academy award
winners Denzel Washington and Christopher Walken
4. Opening
The First thing to appear on the screen is the
20th century fox logo, this logo and brand reeks
power through its enormous appearance and
the addition of the triumphant music.
Scott free is the next brand to
follow and through the use of its
artistic theme creates enigma and
uncertainness.
5. Costume and make up
The costume and make up in the 0pening
scene adhere to the genre of this film. The
first character we see is a young handsome
dress smartly in a suit and appears wealthy.
His kidnappers are dressed
appropriately in accordance to
their role as they were sunglasses
to hide their identity. Their
presence at the beginning of the
film helps to establish the genre of
the film in that it is a thriller.
The man
appears naked
and blindfolded
looking dreadful
on the side of
the road. This
clearly
establishes the
dark tone to the
film and genre
as he has been
tortured and
beaten.
6. Props and setting
The setting is established
and is seen first in the film, it
is a aerial shot of the inner
area of Mexico city , this
area seems fitting for the
nature of this film as Mexico
suffers from poverty
corruption and gang crime .
A cut off ear is
used effectively as
a gruesome prop
and again is fitting
to show the
violent nature of
gang crime and
the dangers of
kidnapping .
7. Lighting and figure expression
The Lighting in this film is
extremely dark and mellow
which reflects the essence of the
dark tone of the film and its
plot. The setting is dark and this
creates enigma which adds to
the films depth and mirrors its
genre of a thriller movie.
The movement of the
kidnappers in this scene is
stereotypical of what a
viewer may imagine, they
appear aggressive and are
intimidating towards their
victim and his companion
furthermore showing no
remorse in their actions
adding to their threatening
representation as they
grab their victim by the
hair and throw him into
their vehicle.
8. Camera shots and angles
An Aerial shot
establishes the
setting and
identifiable to the
audience as
Mexico. It sets the
scene for the
opening sequence.
The fast pace change between each
shot creates high intensity ,adds to
the enigma of this thriller film and
increases the grip it has on the
audience keeping them on the edge
of their seat
Their are many close ups
throughout this opening
sequence one example
emphasizes the fear and
distress caused by
kidnapping and extortion .
In this shot the is a close up
to show the young man
fear and him looking into
the distance pondering his
future and whether or not
he will be murdered
9. Sound
The film opens with a melody
from a church organ and is a nondiegetic use of sound. This
creates a spine chilling
atmosphere and a dark tone as
church organs are linked with
death as they are played at
funerals.
A sudden introduction of fast
paced distorted rock creates
excitement and ferocity
furthermore creating enigma.
The use of the church
bell moments before the
kidnapping of the young
man signifies an
important moment is
coming and dramatizes
the scene creating high
intensity and an edge of
the seat feeling amongst
the audience
10. The screen loses all
colour when it states
that ‘70% of the victims
do not survive’ to show
the darkness and how
severe this figure
actually is
Editing
The constant changing between
slow motion and fast paced
action creates enigma and
creates excitement, energy and
tension
The title of the movie
appears after a chaotic
scene as it builds up
tension and creates a
climax making the title
dramatic and signalling
the beginning of the
film
The continued cross cutting
between shots creates a sense of
chaos and fast pace action
leading to a higher intensity
creating enigma
11. Atmosphere
All these factors are used and
create a very dark , gloomy but
gripping atmosphere which fits
to the plot and genre of this
film therefore not misleading
the audience and giving them
exactly what they paid for.
12. THRILLER CONVENTIONS
This film conforms to the expectation of what a thriller action movie would include.
The film sets off with an anecdote to introduce the audience to the nature of the film
and is represented in a gruesome manor as we see the man tortured and the
emotional distress of his relatives. The kidnappers also conform to the stereotype of
most scary and villainous characters as they are dressed in sunglasses to hide their
identity and are also extremely aggressive towards their victim. The film opening in
general also adheres to any other film opening as tension builds until the title of the
movie appears making the title significant and creating enigma in the process
