We’ve all gone to the movies and said “I can make a better film then that.” Personally, I’ve said that more than most, being a part-time film critic and part-time filmmaker. But how easy is it really to make the Next Great American Film? Truth is, not all that simple. To say that the stars and the planets have to align in order to make a great film is not that far from the truth. There are many, many things that can derail a film. You could hire the wrong actors, the wrong cinematographer, the equipment could fail – heck, the Craft service table could have non-refrigerated mayo and give everyone food poisoning. However, I am of the belief that we make our own luck and that having the proper knowledge will increase our chances at success. Therefore, over the next few weeks I will be dissecting many movies to tell you what ingredients you need to make a great film. I will take them apart and show you in as much detail as possible, a great film and what makes it great. That being said, I have to give a few caveats up front.
It is very rare for any film to be purely and solely one genre. Let’s take the thriller/suspense genre for example. In the following paragraphs, I will define what I consider a thriller, but please keep in mind that you may consider some of my examples mysteries (The Silence of the Lambs) or action/adventures (The Bourne Series) or film noir (The Third Man) or sci-fi/fantasy (Alien) or crime (North by Northwest) or horror (Psycho) or political (Clear and Present Danger). On top of this, films can be categorized by as many as three or four genres at once. Alien can also be under horror. The Bourne movies can also be under espionage. However suspense/thriller ideas and motifs are just seasoning, additives that can be (and should be) sprinkled over any crime/mystery/sci-fi/etc. story, just as any crime/mystery/sci-fi/etc. should have suspense and thrills.
So let me define what makes up a thriller/suspense movie for the sake of furthering this discussion of the distinction between genres. To do so, I turn to the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. In 1962, Francois Truffaut interviewed Hitchcock for five days. During that time Hitchcock explained it thus: “Suspense bears no relationship to fear. Instead, it is the state of waiting for something to happen” In further discussing what makes for good suspense he said, “…if you have a scene where two characters are conversing in a café, and a bomb suddenly goes off under the table, the audience experiences surprise. On the other hand, if the audience sees the saboteur place the bomb, is told that it will go off at one o’clock, and can see a clock in the scene, the mundane conversation between two cafe patrons now becomes one of intense suspense, as the audience holds its collective breath waiting for the explosion. Fifteen minutes of suspense, as opposed to fifteen seconds of surprise. It was therefore necessary that the audience be as fully informed as possible.”
Therefore, a suspense/thriller is a story where an audience is waiting and anticipating something to happen. We are held, suspended, waiting for the other shoe to drop and we are thrilled with the prospect. This is in contrast, although not in direct opposition, to a mystery film because a mystery is a story where something has already happened and we need to find out who did it or why they did it. In a mystery, the viewer is often a step or two behind the detective, aware of all the evidence collected to solve the mystery but missing one crucial piece to complete the puzzle. In a thriller/suspense film, the viewer is often a step or two ahead of the protagonist. We need to know that there is danger, how severe the danger is and where it happens to be lurking so we can yell at the screen “Don’t go in that dark alley!” Movie genres are almost as subjective as movies are themselves. You may not agree with one of the movie/genre parings I made. Oh well. I bring this up because I will be referencing many films and I don’t want you to get hung up on my categorization of When Harry met Sally as a comedy with some drama when you think it’s a drama with some comedy. As they taught at my church, “In the non-essentials, liberty.” Sometimes we’ll just have to agree to disagree, okay? I’m also going to be going on the assumption that you know the basics of storytelling and its terms – e.g. protagonist = hero; antagonist = villain. If there’s something you don’t understand, well, you’re on the Internet. Look it up.
Let me stop here and declare that if you are able to write a solid story, it will mean you’re able to work in all genres. Write a good story and it will take a fairly large amount of bad acting, directing, lighting, camera work, etc. to keep you out of the limelight. Story is king - always keep that in mind.
For now, we will be going over characters, plot, music, conventions vs. clichés and endings. I say “for now” because I want this column to be something that is fluid and organic. I want to get input from you. If you have any questions for me, anything you would like me to cover in more detail, anything you may think I’ve missed please let me know as this column can only improve with a steady bit of dialogue from you. In any case, drop me a line and we’ll see you here next week.
