MAN ON FIRE

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

MISE-EN-SCENE

COSTUME AND MAKE

UP PROPS

SETTING

LIGHTING

FIGURE EXPRESSION

OpeningThe 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.

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.

Props and settingThe 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 .

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.

Camera shots and anglesAn 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

Sound The film opens with a melody from a church organ and is a non-diegetic 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.

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 A sudden introduction of

fast paced distorted rock creates excitement and ferocity furthermore creating enigma.

Editing 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

The continued cross cutting between shots creates a sense of chaos and fast pace action leading to a higher intensity creating enigma

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

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.

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