2. About the film
Rated 12 by the BBFC due to the violence and threat included.
Released in 2008, directed by Christopher Nolan
Produced by the production company Warner Bros
The inspiration for the film was the Joker’s comic book
The budget for the film was $185 million and the
box office raised $1.005 billion.
3. Narrative Conventions
Plot twists & turns – The joker is one of the masked criminals
Multiple lines of action – we see many different elements of the bank
robbery taking place
Narrative retardation – we don’t know that the Joker is one of the criminals
in the opening, and instead of calling 911, they dialled Batman – “that’s
funny, it called a private number”
Mis direction – we think the man in the bank is a hero when he stands up but
he’s just a nobody and gets killed (although he says the important line: “you
don’t know who you’re stealing from”)
Deadlines – the robbers want to get the job done before the bus comes
Principle of concealment – all of the bank robbers end up killing each other
4. Reviewer’s Opinions
The Guardian - - “There are some really
exhilarating set-pieces, especially the one that kickstarts the
proceedings”
Roger Ebert - - “the special effects are
extraordinary. They focus on the expected explosions and
catastrophes, and have some superb, elaborate chase scenes.”
Empire - - “It isn’t perfect but then, like its hero,
like his late co-star, and as Nolan’s fitting tribute so ably observes,
nobody is”
5. Technical Conventions
Camerawork
Establishing shotExtreme close up
Effects:
- Allows the audience to clearly
see that they have been tricked
and shows the Joker has
appeared – highlights a key
moment
Effects:
- Shows us where the action is
taking place
- Looks quite dramatic
- Helps the audience understand
where they are
Tracking is also used to follow the action and create a sense of pace and danger.
6. Technical Conventions
Editing
- Continuity editing is used
throughout
- This makes the audience
believe what they’re watching
- There is some fast paced editing
used in the opening when people
begin to shoot each other in the
bank
7. Technical Conventions
Sound
- Diagetic – most of the sound used in the opening is diagetic sound (e.g.
characters talking and gunshots being fired)
- Exaggerated sound – sounds of zip-wire and gunshots are overly exaggerated
to create a feeling of danger and to highlight their importance
- Eerie, tense music – the music used in the opening is mostly tense and at times
quite fast paced creating a dramatic feeling.
8. Technical Conventions
Mise-en-
scene- Costume – the criminals are wearing stereotypical dark colours, but also wear
scary clown masks that hide their identities
- Dark lighting at points (e.g. when the criminals
break into the actual bank)
- Props – the important props in the opening are the guns
and in particular, the grenade that is put into a characters
mouth. This shows the sheer danger and makes the
audience worry about what will happen to the characters.
9. How the opening doesn’t follow
conventions
The criminals are wearing white masks decorated
with bright colours – usually bad people wear dark
colours to symbolise their dark nature
The first character to die isn’t blonde – it’s a man
who tries to stand up to the criminals
10. Our opinions
We feel that the opening is exciting and fits mostly with the
conventions of thriller films.
It could, however, go into a bit more detail to enable us to
understand the story more after the bank robbery has started.
