Who Are My Favourite Thriller Actors?

Robert De Nero- thought of as one of the greatest actors of all time. The actor has starred in over 100 films within his career. He was apart of the cast for the 1974 film 'The Godfather Part II', which led him to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Domestic sales of the film were $47,542,841, which is a huge achievement.

He has also starred in 'Taxi Man' which is also an iconic Thriller, where he won Best Actor in 1977. However, 'Cape Fear' has been arguably his most iconic and prominent Thriller as he was nominated for 5 Best Actor/Villain awards. 'Cape Fear' had box office sales of up to $182.3 million U.S Dollars, which is huge compared to his early 1974 film. 

Leonardo DiCaprio- commended for his ability to perform vast roles in many a genre. This genre is seen to be his most acclaimed work. His most prominent Thriller is the 2015 hit 'The Revenant' which after six nominations; finally won an Oscar! "The Revenant Tops $300 Million Globally", which was a headline in February 2016, proving in the space of 2 months, these statistics were seen (http://variety.com/2016/film/news/the-revenant-global-box-office-300-million-1201699555/). Psychological Thrillers tends to be his most preferred Thriller, as seen in the 2010 'Shutter Island', where DiCaprio starred* as a U.S Marshal 'Teddy' Daniels, who is requested to an asylum of insanity located on a remote, distant island, to capture an escaped murderess. This Thriller saw stats of around $294 million. In this same year, DiCaprio was involved in the psychological thriller 'Inception'.

What Are The Conventions Of A Thriller?

To deeply explain Thriller Openings, I have chosen to study two different openings for this genre, in order to show how Thriller's can change and perceive it's audiences, through the first five minutes.

1. The Shining- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiV3J_e977Q

In this opening clip, Pathetic Fallacy is not used, which is slightly abnormal particularly for this genre. When we think of Thrillers, we tend to think of a dark setting (maybe at night), low light levels, accompanied with an eery soundtrack. However only some of the typical conventions of a Thriller are used. As witnessed, the music is of a mysterious and nervous nature, along with the title 'The Shining'. Thrillers tend to have 'The' at the beginning (THE Exorcist, THE Sixth Sense, THE Silence Of The Lambs) to make it more general and potentially relatable. The colouring is of a particular interest, as it demonstrates luscious green landscapes, and crystal blue waters, which as we know is not typically found in Thriller openings.

3. The Silence Of The Lambs- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sx08_OSXlY

As seen, this time the opening does include pathetic fallacy! The depressed, hopeless weather reflects the mood (although she does not know it yet). The setting establishes the typical Thriller opening, and what any audience would expect to find. Of course, there is fog in this already constructed forrest, which is seen to move and cover the girls path. She is presented wearing a grey jumper, which then blends and mirrors the mood of the opening, as she is coordinated with the low lit scene. In the first instance, she is pictured running, which leave the audience to connote nervousness, as well as the use of background stringed instruments, which infer mystery.

Which Thrillers Are Considered To Be The 'Best Of All Time' And Why?

One of the reasons humans in general fear thrillers overall is because of the fear of death and the supernatural world. this fear is present as audiences cannot comprehend it all. All audiences will have different viewpoints on what 'the best film of all time' is, however many of the same films have been voted for and therefore considered to decide 'the best'. I have selected the top 4 Thrillers to discuss:

'The Shining' (1980) ranked as one of the top 25 Greatest Horror Films. This is down to how the film was shot, the eerie hotel and how it was so isolated, the blood in the elevator and even the twins. All of this was enough to chill audiences to the bone. Audiences like to be terrified. They love the rush of adrenaline!

'The Exorcist' (1973) voted scariest movie of all time in 2006, also being chosen as best horror. This film is known by all that it toys with its viewers minds. This leaves the audience to ask questions when the procession begins... is it really a demon!? The Exorcist also has no soundtrack, besides the limited piano keys. By doing this, the audience is forced to watch the screen, gripping the audience and leaving them cold and alone.

'The Silence Of The Lambs' (1991) was chosen as the best suspense/thriller in 'The Greatest Movies Of Our Time'. The most obvious and effective camera shot is the 'peer to peer' shot, as this is used to engage with the audience as the viewers can see through the eyes of the murderer, juxtaposed with the eyes of the victim. The audience hangs on every word from Hannibal Lecter, as his voice is portrayed as inescapably hypnotic.