My understanding of the conventions of a gangster film.

1. BY WILL SMITH

2. What do they involve?
•
The generic conventions that we associate with gangster films in particular are
not that hard to identify. The things we expect to see include; suits, guns,
cigars, cars, alcohol, money and violence, representing the ‘high life’ or
‘American dream’ that seems to be the narrative goal of most gangsters, as well
as weapons, drugs and dead bodies which represent the gangster’s way of life
and disregard for the law.
•
Crime and Gangster Films are also developed around the sinister actions of
criminals or gangsters, particularly bank robbers, underworld figures, or
ruthless hoodlums who operate outside the law, stealing and violently
murdering their way through life.
•
The women are usually secondary characters in gangster film as they are rarely
seen and when they are used they are only there to be sexy and nothing more.
What gangster genre do I want to do?
- I want to base my project on British Gangster.

3. Sexy Beast
1)
1)The first shot is of the sun which shows that
it’s hot and its the middle of the day because
the sun is in the centre of the sky. Also the credits
are in pink which is opposite to how we would think a
gangster films credits would look. Using pink as the credits
implies that we might expect to see more binary oppositions
throughout the film. Also its a point of view shot.
2)
2)This is the opposite shot to the one just before as the previous
shot was of the man looking up at the sun in a point of view shot
but now it’s as if this is the point of view shot from the sun as it is
looking directly down on the man. This is the shot that the voice
over begins to talk about how hot he is and how he could ‘fry an
egg on his body.’
3)
3)This is kind of an establishing shot as you see into the background
which shows a swimming pool and lots of palm trees. This shows
that the man is either on holiday or he has a house abroad. This
means that he is wealthy but might have earned his money illegally.
Also this shot introduced a second character who has an accent
which also shows that he’s abroad.

4. Layer Cake
1)
1)At first you see a man walking down a road at night which you later see is
2)
2)As the door shuts and the night turns to day, during
3)
3)Then once Daniel Craig has walked out the door he gets
Daniel Craig once it’s brighter. He is walking into a house which starts of dark
just as he's walking in and once the door is shut it fades into day time but
still faces the door. This shows that this house might be significant
throughout the film. Also the lighting suggests that he has been out and he
has come back late at night. It is clear that its his house since he is showing
no sign of threat when entering and he has the keys. He is in a black jacket
and he’s wearing a grey top. Since he is wearing casual clothes this could
mean he’s been somewhere like a pub or just a casual place.
that transition the
film title appears on the screen angled to the position of the door. It is
in white capitol letters which appears to be very bold and then it
fades away just before the door is opened.
in the car and drives off. The next shot is an establishing
shot of a big white mansion which seems opposite to
what he was doing the night before such as; coming
home late at night, wearing casual clothes. There Is
a big contrast and maybe this could be significant
throughout the film.

5. Get Carter
1)
1)All the credits appear when the train goes through the tunnels which means
when the credits appear in a white font they will be on a black background
which makes each of them stand out. Also all the names are in capitol letters
and the less important words are in lowercase. The credits appear throughout
the opening scene and it keeps cutting back to Michael Caine sitting on the
train.
2)
2)The camera cuts to
3)
3)It cuts to Michael Caine making his way through the train through
from Michael Caine moving around the train to the
credits appearing in the tunnels. He is shown to be reading a book and sat in
a carriage with a child and three adults. This gives the impression that he is
casual and just another normal person, or this is the impression he is trying
to give. He is in a suit and tie which could mean he is a business man or has
a professional job.
casual people which implies that whoever he is, no one knows who he
is or why he’s there. Also there are waiters serving people on the rain
which suggests that this is first class as you wouldn't expect to see
waiters on a normal train. The lighting coming through the windows
suggests its day time plus it adds to the effect of realism.

6. Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels
1)
1)This film is a Guy Ritchie film which is clearly
shown here as its the only thing shown on the
screen. Also the font used is in a typewriter
fashion and it’s all in lower case letters which
gives it a much more casual look.
2)
2) At this point in the opening credits the man is trying to sell
jewellery to the public but because he is standing in front of a
garage it gives the effect that it is not legal and he’s doing it in
the back streets. Also he is wearing a scarf and a long coat
which could imply that it’s cold but he needs to keep working
like this as he lives of his earnings.
3)
3)The film title is in a type writer fashion as well but
it is all in capitol letters which implies that this
is the final credit. Also it is the only credit
which is bright white, all the others are in
a cream, discoloured white.

7. 1)
Snatch
1)The first scene is of four men in a van but then
they use a jump cut twice of them taking the costumes
to make it quicker and to make the audience not lose interest.
Having these four men leaves questions to the audience like why are
they there? And what’s going to happen to them?
2)
3)
2) When the title of the film is shown it is in a bold underlined white
font which gives a clean yet strong feel to it which can be opposite to
how gangster films are meant to be perceived. Also the background
is blurred so you immediately focus on the diamond and film title.
Also because the diamond is in focus this could mean diamonds are a
key prop in the film.
3) In the first 2 minutes of ‘snatch’ , they use different special effects
such as freezing the screen and turning the image into a cartoon-like
way as the actors names appear on screen next to the still image. All of
the credits are in capital letters and most of the important words or
nicknames are in a larger font size.