Questionnaire

on the crime film genre. Hopefully the information I receive from this will enable me to make a new crime film which is more appealing to the audience, it will meet their expectations. I am going to try and find the key things people look for in a crime film.
1. Do you like crime films?

2. If no, why not?

3. List some features you don’t like about crime films

4. What’s your favourite crime film?

5. Do you prefer lots of action, a very good storyline or a good mix of the two?

6. Are guns essential to a crime film?

7. Do you like detective based crime films?

8. Do you think there needs to be a villain and a hero?

9. What characteristics make a good hero?

10. What characteristics make a good villain?

11. What kind of music do you think should be used? Fast paced or Dramatic/Theatrical?

12. What type of location would you expect the film to be based; built up city or small town area?

13. In a crime film, do you prefer film nior or natural lighting?



Film Nior is black & white lighting where you use shadowing and light to create scenes

Codes and Conventions of Crime Genre

Crime and Gangster Films are developed around the sinister actions of criminals or gangsters, particularly bankrobbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who operate outside the law, stealing and violently murdering their way through life. Criminal and gangster films are often categorized as post-war film noir or detective-mystery films - because of underlying similarities between these cinematic forms

Crime stories in this genre often highlight the life of a crime figure or a crime's victim(s). Or they glorify the rise and fall of a particular criminal(s), gang, bank robber, murderer or lawbreakers in personal power struggles or conflict with law and order figures, an underling or competitive colleague, or a rival gang. Headline-grabbing situations, real-life gangsters, or crime reports have often been used in crime films. Gangster/crime films are usually set in large, crowded cities, to provide a view of the secret world of the criminal: dark nightclubs or streets with lurid neon signs, fast cars, piles of cash, sleazy bars, contraband, seedy living quarters or rooming houses.

Gangster films are morality tales. Success stories turned upside down in which criminals live in an inverted dream world of success and wealth. Often from poor immigrant families, gangster characters often fall prey to crime in the pursuit of wealth, status, and material possessions (clothes and cars), because all other "normal" avenues to the top are unavailable to them. Although they are doomed to failure and inevitable death (usually violent), criminals are sometimes portrayed as the victims of circumstance, because the stories are told from their point of view.

What makes a gangster film?
1. The hero is in a poor state who dislikes his low status in life and wants more.
2. Unlike the Western, this story takes place in the big city. The wide open plains have been traded in for the seedy alleyways and wharves of the urban jungle.
3. The gangster can only gain power by taking it by any means necessary.
4. The only loyalty the gangster feels is for his own immigrant roots.
5. Success is measured in material goods – flashy cars, expensive clothes, and mansions. Women are measures of success as well.
6. The hero’s enemy is society, and the enforcers of the law. The police, the FBI, the CIA represent the enforcers of society
7. The end justifies the means.

Film nior is a type of crime film that usues black and white. The idea behind it is you use dark and light shading to build scenes and add drama and suspense to the film

Suspense Thriller is another type of crime film usually involving lots of violence and action but not always. It involves a dramatic plot which keeps the audience on the edge of thier seat. There is normally a huge twist which creates the suspense part of the suspense thriller.

Target audience of a typical crime film

I think the typical crime film genre is aimed at all fans of the genre itself, I would say since most are aged 15+ then a typical crime film is aimed at ages 15 to about 40 depending on the film, some films you could argue could be more appealing to those over 40 such as your detective stories. I would argue that the majority are aimed at men, most modern crime films involved lots of action, violence, explosions and gun fights which I would say are going to be more appealing to men rather than women.

History of the crime film genre

Crime and Gangster Films are 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.
Criminal/gangster films date back to the early days of film during the silent era. One of the first to mark the start of the gangster/crime genre was D. W. Griffith's The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) about organized crime. It wasn't the first gangster movie ever made, but it was the first significant gangster film that has survived. It wasn't until the sound era and the 1930s that gangster films truly became an entertaining, popular way to attract viewers to the theatres, who were interested in the lawlessness and violence on-screen. The events of the Prohibition Era (until 1933) such as bootlegging and the St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929, the existence of real-life gangsters (e.g., Al Capone) and the rise of contemporary organized crime and escalation of urban violence helped to encourage this genre. Many of the sensationalist plots of the early gangster films were taken from the day's newspaper headlines. The talkies era accounted for the rise of crime films, because these films couldn't come to life without sound (machine gun fire, screeching brakes, screams, chases through city streets and squealing car tires). The perfection of sound technology and mobile cameras also aided their spread. The first "100% all-talking" picture and, of course, the first sound gangster film was The Lights of New York (1928) - it enhanced the urban crime dramas of the time with crackling dialogue and exciting sound effects of squealing getaway car tires and gunshots.
Warner Bros. was considered the gangster studio par excellence, and the star- triumvirate of Warner’s gangster cycle, all actors who established and defined their careers in this genre, included: Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. Others who were early gangster stars included Paul Muni and George Raft.
Three great classic gangster films (among the first of the talkies) marked the genre's popular acceptance and started the wave of gangster films in the 1930s in the sound era. The lead role in each film (a gangster/criminal or bootleg racketeer of the Prohibition Era) was glorified, but each one ultimately met his doom in the final scenes of these films, due to censors' demands that they receive moral retribution for their crimes. The first two films in the cycle were released almost simultaneously by Warner Bros.: Mervyn LeRoy's Little Caesar (1930, William Wellman's The Public Enemy (1931).
Howard Hawks' raw Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (1932), a Howard Hughes' produced film from UA starred Paul Muni as a power-mad, vicious, immature and beastly hood in Prohibition-Era Chicago (the characterization of Tony Camonte was loosely based on the brutal, murderous racketeer Al Capone).

The ultra-violent, landmark film in the depiction of Italian-American immigrant gangsters included twenty-eight deaths, and the first use of a machine gun by a gangster. Over fifty years later, Brian de Palma remade the film with Al Pacino in the title role of Scarface (1983).
The coming of the Hays Production Code in the early 1930s spelled the end to glorifying the criminal, and approval of the ruthless methods and accompanying violence of the gangster lifestyle. The censorship codes of the day in the 1930s, notably the Hays Office, forced studios to make moral pronouncements, present criminals as psychopaths, end the depiction of the gangster as a folk or 'tragic hero,' de-glorify crime, and emphasize that crime didn't pay. One way the studios quieted some of the protest and uproar over "America's shame" was to shift the emphasis from the criminal to the racket-busting federal agents, private detectives, or "good guys" on the other side of the law. In William Keighley's G-Men (1935), the best example of this new 'gangster-as-cop' sub-genre, screen tough guy James Cagney starred as a ruthless, revenge-seeking, impulsive, violent FBI agent to infiltrate criminal gangs on a crime spree in the Midwest. Although he was on the side of the law working undercover, he was just as cynical, brutal, and arrogant as he had been in his earliest gangster films.

Analysis of opening scene of S.W.A.T

The scene begins with immediate action, there is a hostage situation, and masked men are assumedly robbing a bank in a well built up city typical of the crime genre. Almost immediately there is violence and the death of a police officer by the masked men wielding typical mobster/ terrorist weapons.
There is a lot of shot reverse shot between the innocent bystanders and the masked men, this builds tension.
Shortly after, SWAT turns up, dressed in SWAT uniform, they wear professional equipment and uniform that makes them stand out from the rest, they are meant to appear as the pro’s involved. The first four characters you see are assumedly the main characters in the film and they quickly assess the situation.
Focus is on the cops as a group, which is a contrast to your usual crime film focused on a group of mobsters. This parallels the mob structure in the gangster film. Another contrast you have is the uniformity of the group, as in a mobster film they are all well dressed in suits and in this they are all dressed equally in their uniform, arguably you could say they are less dressed than the typical mobster.
The music is also very dramatic and suits what is happening in the scene, the speed of it matches how fast the scene is moving along quite nicely and it makes the scene more powerful.

BBFC 18 Classification

Suitable only for adults
No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema.
No-one younger than 18 may rent or buy an ‘18’ rated video.

The BBFC guideline states aducts should be free to choose thier own entertainment. However, these are some of the exceptions;
- Where the material is in breach of the law or has been created through breaking the law
- Where the material shows appears to risk harm to its audience. Anything which may have an affect on public health etc.
- Where there are more explicit images of sexual context which cannot be justified by content

Examples of 18 Films

- Saw
- American Pie
- Final Destination

BBFC 15 Classification

Suitable only for 15 years and over
No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema.
No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.

Elements of a 15 Film

Discrimination - Must not be endorsed
Drugs - May be shown but not promoted or encouraged
Horror - Strong threat and menace permitted unless sadistic or sexualised
Imitable Behaviour - Should not be shown in any detail that can be copied
Language - May be frequent use of strong language, stronger words like 'cunt' may be acceptable under certain content.
Nudity - may be allowed in no great detail, no limit on educational context.
Sex - May be portrayed without great detail
Theme - No theme is prohibited
Violence - Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury.

Examples of 15 Films

- Bruno
- Orphan
- Alpha Dog

Analysis of S.W.A.T

Very dark silhouettes of characters, suggesting the characters themselves are dark; members of a SWAT shouldn’t be dark should they? So you know there is something sinister going on.
Arguably quite large guns take up a fair proportion of the poster indicating there will be violence and death and a lot of shooting.
“Even cops dial 911”, why would cops want to call for help? This is a teaser which entices the reader to watch because it builds suspense and an anticipation to know more, it’s a very sinister line. It is an enigma code.
Large white font for the title, indicating the film is solely based around some SWAT officers and what they do etc, but doesn’t give too much away.
You only see half of the characters faces, indicated they are two faced or have split personalities and a dark side to them.

Analysis of Public Enemies

We have a very black/white/grey colour scheme with the exception of the characters face. He is the only character presents, tells us he is the main character in the film.
The fact his face is not greyed out could be a hint that he is in fact not as bad as assumed and in a way, a good guy amongst villains.
Dressed as we would expect a typical gangster to dress, gloves, Tommy gun and that classic hat along with a long coat and what we assume to be a suit underneath it, these are what is called gangster icons.
The gun suggests violence and death.
The background is a street of a typical well built up city, the building are very tall and greyed out leading us to believe it is a rough part of the city where the gangsters are associating.

Analysis of Slevin

The colour scheme is very dark, very dark colours suggesting the film is dark; it builds a feeling of something sinister and twisted.
Seems to be blood dripping down the backdrop, this suggests there will be death/ murder and violence.
Four characters on the poster are most likely the main characters, with the one at the very front most likely having the leading role.
They are wearing quite dark clothing suggesting dark side of personality to them.
A gun takes centre stage with the title, telling us the theme of violence and guns are involved. The fast a silencer is attached tells us that there an element of secrecy about the murder and something sinister is happening.
At the very bottom we have a large city at night, the night itself adds an eerie atmosphere, and the big city is typical of a crime film.