Analysis Of Double Indemnity

Sunset Boulevard and Double Indemnity, are just two out of the many incredible films directed by renowned director Billy Wilder. The two films which were released six years apart, (Double Indemnity- 1944, and Sunset Boulevard- 1950) are uniquely similar, in that both films share many of the same aspects, idea’s, and similar in narration, as one another. Both of these extravagantly, directed films are indeed classics. The films, both tell an intriguing story of spiritual loneliness of a female character, and how they use their power, money, and provocativeness, to “lure” the male character. We see the life of a once innocent (male) character, who is being hurtled towards his own self destruction, the character is “supposedly” unaware, of his own self harm through his seemingly ‘good/beneficial’ decisions that he makes.

The majority of the film’s sound is derived exclusively from diegetic speech and sound effects that bolster its overall realism. However, the first instance of nondiegetic sound occurs in the opening credits when a male narrator provides rudimentary background information on the “Doomsday Device”. This voice-over narration stimulates the suspense of the narrative while providing the spectator with unrestricted information by revealing more insight than the characters know at this point. The ensuing credits sequence incorporates the song “Try a Little Tenderness” which communicates the idea that men should be tender with their women. The romantic song is cunningly integrated with the image of two B-52 bombers connecting, as one refuels the other. The sequence is suggestive of romance and the physical act of love. Following Dr. Strangelove’s infamous speech at the conclusion of the film, a montage of nuclear bombs detonating is shown with Vera Lynn’s

He is able to use these parts to manipulate the audience’s emotions. The music playing from the car is an on-screen sound. As the man gets attacked, the volume increases. The sound helps intensify the scene that has been created by the film’s visual elements. The audience then subconsciously forms ideas, opinions, and feelings about what they are seeing. The viewers develop scared feelings as the scene intensifies to the happy upbeat tune. The increasing volume of the cheery song reflects the violence and the sinisterness of the scene. The song stops with the slamming of the car’s driver-side door as the man is abducted. There is a moment of silence and then a new song abruptly entered the silent scene. The music is non-diegetic and is an offscreen sound. The song is screechy, high pitched, and jagged sounding at first, continuing the anxious and scared mood. The song shifts into a sort of soulful hymn. The tone shifts along with the song. The audience begins to feel relieved and relaxes to the peaceful song.

Throughout the scene, the use of non-diegetic sound is used to make the audience feel worried and scared as to where Jasper is taking Charlie and what is going to happen. The deep, dusky scary music played in the background has an effect on the audience, creating a dramatic feel as Charlie did not know what was ahead for him in the shadowy, dark forest, fearing for his life as Jasper Jones is portrayed as a bad person in society because of his skin colour. Furthermore, throughout the scene, non-diegetic sound is used as an additional background sound, intensifying when Jasper and Charlie come near Laura Wishart’s hanging, dead body. As Jasper and Charlie closely creep up to Jaspers property, the music suddenly intensifies, creating a mysterious approach about what is going to happen next.

The 1944 Crime and Drama film, Double Indemnity, directed by Billy Wilder, showed the love story between an insurance representative and one of his client's wife who plotted to commit insurance fraud on his company, Pacific All Risk Insurance CO., in order to be together. The insurance representative, Walter Neff, met Phyllis Dietrichson during one of his visit to Mr. Dietrichson's home. Phyllis inevitably becomes interested in acquiring accidental insurances for her husband which includes double indemnity. Walter begins to suspect her intentions but shortly later, they began to have an affair and Phyllis proposes to kill her husband in order to receive the money. Walter agrees to this proposal and plans the perfect death so his company would

James M. Cain’s Double Indemnity is a typically literary work of roman noir genre, adapted for a film later. The story itself is about a premeditated murder planned by the married femme fatale Phyllis Nirdlinger and her secret lover Walter Huff, specifically consistent with roman noir genre. Phyllis Nirdlinger is a typical femme fatale in this novel. She seduces the insurance agent Huff regardless of her own husband. For example, “She pulled me to her and kissed back” (Cain ch2), “I liked you all the time” (Cain ch2) and many other flirty words in the novel. What’s worse, in order to capture the money from her husband, she manages to kill him with Huff. Sex and money, as the main themes of roman noir genre, are the two main motifs of this novel as well. The story happens in Glendale of California (Cain ch1), which is explained in the very beginning of the novel. This kind of setting implies its specific roman noir genre convention. “A dark railroad track in the middle of the night... a dirty road...vacant lots” (Cain ch7). The description of the surrounding environment of the railroad track has the clarified mark of roman noir genre. The ending of Double Indemnity is a huge misery. Huff could not get rid of the nightmare after cruelly killing Mr. Nirdlinger, psychologically ill. In the same time, he has large divergence with his lover Mrs. Nirdlinger. Their intimate relationship breaks up. Finally Huff commits a suicide with his lover after his crime being discovered. The

Rational choice theory was first discovered in the mid-eighteenth century and was originally referred to as classical theory. Philosopher Jeremy Bentham and scholar César Beccaria, were some of the first to analyze and investigate this theory. In order to determine whether or not a dichotomous relationship exists between an individual’s free will and their decision to commit a crime. One must first consider whether that individual has control over making a rational decision. During this time offenders were considered to be rational, therefore the punishment received for the crime committed, must significantly

The very intro of the film begins with a score of fast-paced and spasmodic music, and the very atmosphere of the film already comes off as apprehensive. The music in the beginning sounded a lot like violin music, and violins are known for producing either soft, delicate tones or screechy and high-pitched cacophony. However, Hitchcock chooses to use the screechy violin sounds to corporate into music because the violin’s

In Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity (dir. Billy Wilder, 1944), character Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) becomes enchanted by the seductive Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck). However, through an act of lust, Neff gets involved in a murderous scheme with Dietrichson. The entirety of the movie is a flashback as Neff recalls his scheme. He records his guilty testimony onto a dictation machine, which is partially overheard by his clever boss, Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson). Double Indemnity is composed of several shots, scenes, and sequences that intentionally provoke anxiety and alienation; these instances also contain elements that have a peculiar combination of realism and oneirism. In one of the earliest scenes, Walter Neff meets

Another way that Welles challenged the technical elements of the Hollywood cinema was through the mise-en-sce`ne. Mise-en-sce`ne is the staging or the action of putting on a scene. One of the concepts in putting on a scene or staging is the illusion created from the lighting and camera angles. In one scene in the movie, Kane is in one door way watching his wife Susan leave out of their home,

Throughout the movie, a fun whimsical tune is played in the background of most scenes to fit the comedy aspect of the movie. When the mood of the scene becomes more serious, such as a scene when Margaret and Andrew are having a moment, the music changes to deeper, drawn out, chords. This music was also used to psych audience members out. In certain scenes, Andrew and Margaret will start to share what appears to be a moment and the slower, more serious, background music is played. Then the moment is squandered by the nosey grandmother coming into the room and ruining the moment. At this time, the music goes back to the fun, comedic, music.

Another aspect of sound in this film was how it affected the story. By using sound dramatically in certain parts and not using it at all in other parts, sound gave this story an entity of its own. For example, during long stretches of film with mostly dialogue, there was no music played in the background, only a phone ringing in the distance, or the men's voices during their deliberation. These long silences also took place during editing shots of the town and images that surrounded this German city. This dramatic difference in sound was a revelation of how mood can be made by images and sound put together to make an incredible component.

In this over the shoulder shot from Spielberg's Jaws- the audience can hear both the conversations in the scene (Brody on the phone and mom and son)- the mise en scene informs the audience which conversation is more important and the mood of the scene by using lense, staging and form. Furthermore the lense is focused more on Brody and the back is slightly blurred out, direction the audience's attention to Brody even though the conversation in the background is audible. Staging is also used to show importance and mood because Brody is in a full frontal position which has the most intimacy, it's like the character is looking at us and asking for attention. Finally the the two windows in the back and the door give a sense of continuity and make

One would have to say that one of the most notable features of the film would have to be its soundtrack, which incorporates no music but only diegetic sound, from the preliminary noise of the river flowing under the bridge through the even louder sounds of the forthcoming American tanks to the quaking clamors of the ending battle scenes. A prodigious example of sound transpires within the middle of the film. It is when the boys are woken from their cots and called into combat; the sequence features electronically distorted sounds that together equally insinuate the boys’ disorientation as well as the disorientation of the viewers.

The song ends abruptly and as it does it links with the editing as "Paris, 1900" appears on the screen to inform the audience of the time and place it is set. This shot then dissolves into a much darker shot, informing the audience that maybe this film isn't about the celebration of love, and that something sinister is going to happen, the sound also links well with this as it is quite melancholy, this song signifies to the audience that the story beginning to unfold is a tragic one. The character singing is directly addressing the audience as he narrates the story through song, and the contrast between the sound here and the sound in the previous shot is extremely noticeable as it is much more depressing. It is known as parallel sounds as it matches the action in the shot and emphasized by the morose characters and the shadowy lighting.