Thriller film

Thriller films are movies that primarily use action and suspense to engage the audience.

Related Topics:
Movie - Audience

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Thrillers emphasize nervous tension and anxiety. Thriller films are distinct from horror movies which emphasize fear, or action movies which emphasize exhilaration. The motive force of a thriller can range from small-scale fraud to international conspiracy, but topics such as disasters (the disaster movie) or defeating criminals (the policier or crime film) are typically the preserve of other genres.

Related Topics:
Nervous tension - Anxiety - Horror movie - Fear - Action movie - Motive force - Disaster movie - Policier - Crime film

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Alfred Hitchcock is considered by many to be the master of the genre. His ability to create "nail-biting" scenarios is studied in many film schools around the world. North by Northwest is a prime example. It builds tension with a minimum of pugilistic action, relying instead on mystery and suspense. One of the reasons Hitchcock may have been so effective at this genre was his tendency to put "the common man" in the position of what would be the protagonist in an action film.

Related Topics:
Alfred Hitchcock - North by Northwest

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Script writer Robert Mckee noted that Thrillers are essentially about the battle of justice vs. injustice. He also noted that another defining characteristic is that there is often a price to be paid for the conclusion of the story. Within the 'thriller' genre exists many sub-genres: These can be defined by their Point of View (POV) e.g. those solving a crime (detective story), those perpetuating the crime (caper), a tough guy?s POV (film noir), a psychologist (psychodrama) or those prosecuting the law (court-room drama). Each possible protagonist in such a drama can have both major and minor character roles and an opposite; e.g. detective (minor - Jack Vincennes, Kevin Spacy's character in L.A. Confidential or major ? Sherlock Holmes) and it?s opposite (minor - Capt. Dudley Liam Smith, James Cromwell's character in L.A. Confidential or major ? Moriarty, Holmes?s nemesis).

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