How does the sewer scene in ‘The Third Man’ reflect the themes of Film Noir and post-war Europe?

 The city of Vienna was bombed 52 times during World War Two which left the city in wrecks. Vienna symbolised division, separation and mistrust. The director of The Third Man cleverly chose Austria's capital for the location of this Film Noir. Vienna was not only perfect because it symbolised darkness but also because it was/is an aesthetically stylish and breath-taking architecture. The darkness that this location portrayed is an obvious parallel to the core concept of film noir but even more importantly the beautiful fallen buildings is a great reflection of the typical anti-hero or femme fatal who show both glamour and gloom. The fallen architecture and rubble from the bombing also represents the destructive nature of humanity. The atmospheric use of black-and-white expressionist cinematography, with harsh lighting and distorted “dutch angle" camera angles, is a key feature of The Third Man. 

 Vienna’s sewers were also cleverly used in The Third Man. The grand sewers reflect the evil underneath Europe and the waste of mankind. The underground sewers are like a labyrinth and the director used geometric composition to create a sense of chaos and disorientation. The director also creates a paranoid atmosphere through the use of echoes in the sewers. When the anti-hero is being chased he can hear the echo of voices of the police coming from every tunnel in the sewer and this left the character disorientated and panicked about where the police were coming from. 

 The Third Man also uses mise en scene, framing and composition techniques and cinematography to create a claustrophobic and paranoid atmosphere. This classic film noir portrays the tension and paranoia in Europe at the time by creating an uncomfortable and trapped tone. The sewer scene especially promotes this, using the sewer setting to illustrate the evil and darkness that enclosed post-war Europe and the people within.   

This shot uses aggressive shadowing and sharp edges to create a German expressionist like composition. These techniques creates connotations of paranoia and claustrophobia and the physical act of the character crawling up an enclosed and narrow staircase create an uncomfortable atmosphere. The light coming from beneath the anti-hero reflect off of the bar of the staircases that symbolise a prison, therefore emphasising the character being trapped, the light illuminates and strengthens the tight and claustrophobic atmosphere created by the shot. The high camera angle of this shot make the character of Harry Lime seem helpless as he is struggles to pull himself upwards and as he looks up directly into the camera it seem like the viewer is the only one that can help him. This makes the audience feel uncomfortable and involves them in the paranoid shot.

Not being able to see the central vanishing point in this shot makes the audience feel uneasy and trapped. The light is symbolic of hope and the figure is blocking the hope and the only way to escape, the tunnel also portrays sense of claustrophobia. The vanishing point being blocked makes the audience look elsewhere and they are forced the look at the darker points in this shot making the viewer’s feel like they are also involved in the dark and evil that the sewer symbolises. The use of intense Key lighting as well as slight backlighting creates a silhouetted figure. The black figure reflects the darkness that mankind went through during the time of war and shows that the effect of the war is still prominent in people at this time. The man is positioned in the centre of the shot making him the main focus and emphasises the unknown vanishing point and the darkness of the man.

All of these points run parallel with the themes of Film Noir maintaining senses of paranoia and aggression, giving it continuity with the scene and the film.

In the upper half of the shot, you can see the police searching for Harry Lime while in the bottom of the shot you can see Harry Lime running away from them. The use of quadrants emphasises the chase and intensifies the tension. By doing this, the audiences is forced to look at both parts of the shot which also intensifies the chase. The police being on the higher level and Lime being on the bottom also creates connotations of good and evil or heaven and hell. There is a hint of German expressionism in this shot as the railing has sharp angles in at the top of the shot, this creates tones of paranoia and aggression which is relevant to the context of the chase. The clear contrast in harsh black and bright white tones in this shot also represent good and bad creating a metaphor of morailty. The chase itself is a metaphor for the fight against evil that Europe was facing at this time

Se7en:

Se7en's opening credits are in a montage format which means there is a lot of different clips that have been put together to create a singular clip. The opening credits are non-chronological with the clips jumping to extreme close ups of different types of detective work (finger-printing, filing etc). The fact the opening is non-chronological sets the tone/mood of a choas but also reflects of the hectic lifestyle of the detective we follow. The opening credits also establish the genre and theme of the film and it is very apparent that this film is a thriller as tension is built through the low light shots and eery music. The plot of the film is not established in the opening credits and is leaves the enigma of what criminal activity is being investigated.

The props used are clearly associated with investigations and detective work. These include books, photos, flies, pens and paper.

The colour palette used is reasonably dark, this and the low key lighting gives connotations of danger and death. Most of the colours are black and white, however when the photos are shown being developed you see the red light that is used develop them. This dark red connotes danger, but also shows that they are just being developed.

The transitions of the opening sequence vary. Some are straight cuts and some cross fade or fade to black. The Fading give the effect of the clips being linked together and creates an eery feel, and the fade to black reflects the sincerity and darkness of the overall film. 

This shot reveals the character of Somerset in a few moments. The shot shows his main possessions laid out in perfect order in an overhead shot. The badge tells us he is a detective of some description which a typical of Neo-noir. The pocket knife connote the conventions of violence and danger in film noir as well as telling the audience that the characters life involves violence. The old look of the knife suggests the character may have a violent background. The flowery paper is a powerful enigma and leaves the audience wondering the reasoning behind its place in the shot. The feminine flower contradicts the other brutal objects in is sat with. This shows that there is a sensitive side the character but as the flower seems worn down it suggests this sensitive side is being deteriorated as a result of the cruel aspects of his life.

 The ambient lighting in this photo is typical of film noir, this with the diegetic sound in this scene of sirens and shouting creates a disturbing and uneasy atmosphere. The dark shadows in this shot also adds to idea of immorality. This shot emphasises the loneliness of this character in the city through like being in the darkness and being trapped by the two light sources either side of him. The character not being in the centre of the frame also emphasises his loneliness. The fact he is in a double bed and he has a double bed suggests he has lost a lover and the two lights represent two people which also strengthens this theme

                                                                                   

 

This metronome is used to counteract the chaotic sounds of the urban city. The beat the metronome creates gives a sense of calm and shows the character is trying to distract himself from the chaos of the city, the city noises represent his crazy lifestyle and the metronome represent him trying to calm and control his hectic life.  It also connotes dull themes and could be a reflection of the characters bland home life. 

                                                                                                      

                                

                                                                                                 

How does the director of Peaky Blinders use camera angles and mise en scene to establish expectation and character?

'How does the director of Peaky Blinders use camera angles and mise en scene to establish expectation and character?

This is a usual camera angle which shows the ‘Peaky Blinders’ gang in a reflection, upside down. This shot is quite disorientating which creates an unnerving feel to the shot. The shot instantly tells the viewer that the group is not just a group of ordinary men and that there is something different about them. The organisation of the men is significant as instead of being structured and in a formation there seems to be no order. This could mirror the idea of the men are bring disorder to a neutral environment. In the centre of the shot there is a strip of blue sky that eventually as the group move forward they block, taking the natural light source out of the shot. This is symbolic of the peace and neutral atmosphere being disrupted because of the men. The scene become much darker after the natural light is blocked, which strengthens the point of the only light in this scene was blocked by the men.

This shot uses an unusual camera angle to portray the group as upside down. This immediately signifies that the members of the group are not just ordinary men going to work- there is something different or special about them. In the middle of the shot there is a strip of clear blue sky that eventually the group block. This is symbolic of the peace and neutral atmosphere being disrupted stopped because of the men. After this shot, the lighting in all the scenes is dark and therefore the fact that the only light in this scene is blocked by the men strengthens this point. The organisation of the group of men is significant as instead of being structured and ordered there seems to be no formation the men are walking in. This relates to the point that the men are bringing some kind of disorder to a neutral environment but also implies a gang like culture upon the men and therefore gives the audience the expectation that they are a violent and powerful group.

In this image, only the reflection of the men can be seen. This gives the scene a more elusive feel and connotate ideas of darkness and mystery in that all that can be seen is dark silhouettes and part of their surroundings. Again, the dark costumes, which make this scene more mysterious and illusive, are a huge part of the connotations that come with these pictures, which again, highlight mystery and danger. This type of shot is creative and helps to make the idea of mystery and power more prominent. The dark clothes with the dark surroundings entice the reader into finding out more about the characters, their surroundings and why the director has shot these frames in the way they have been.

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