Double Indemnity Theme

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.

To what extent does the Mise-en-Scene in ‘Night of the Hunter’ reinforce an understanding of the film's mood, character and narrative themes?

Mise en Scene mean all the elements of a shot which helps to convey a message to the viewer. The elements are setting, costume, location, lighting/colour and film techniques.

a film. It is what the viewers sees, hears and experiences while watching a film. A film’s Mise en Scene subtly influences viewer’s mood as they watch a film, much like decor, lighting, smells and sounds can influence our emotional response to an actual place. In Film Art: An Introduction, Bordwell (2001), explained that in Mise en Scene, realism can be achieved by giving the settings an accurate and convincing look or letting actors express their emotions through performance as naturally as possible. This paper will discuss and analyse the significance of Mise en Scene in Wong Kar Wai’s In The Mood For Love

In Summary, with these three examples it is shown that the play and the movie contrast quite a bit. Most of the story line and the dialogue were very similar to the original story in the movie but some things were changed, possibly to shorten the story to be able to make

Through the masking of narrative, secret window exposes order and chaos. The use of mise en scene throughout the first scene

Mise-en-scene is a french term of meaning “place on stage” which is how the setting of the scene is or the space of the film. The setting, the way the actress dress or look and lighting take a huge role in films. From what the viewers see without any narration can give so many messages from the film.

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

“With this hand, I will life your sorrows. Your cup will never be empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way in darkness. With this ring, I ask you to be mine”. She walks into the chapel and sees the couple telling each other their wedding vows. Little does she know this day will be the worst and best of her life. In almost all films directed by Tim Burton include dark colors and choral music. This is what bonds cinematic techniques and mise en scène. Burton’s unique style includes the use of lighting and mise en scène to convey that self-discovery is important in developing an interesting outlook on life.

The mise-en-scene in The Godfather I, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, plays a huge role in how the film is perceived by viewers. Mise-En-Scene is characterized as, “The arrangement of everything that appears in the framing – actors, lighting, décor, props, and costume” (elementsofcinema.com). The Godfather utilizes mise-en-scene perfectly. Coppola combined all the right components of a typical mafia film and made something extraordinary. From the clothing, to the homes, to the cars, and lighting; The Godfather was executed wonderfully. Lighting plays a huge part in The Godfather. The first scene opens with only one man talking, in low light. The relaxed lighting makes the scene intense and leaving the audience with a sense of fear. With the light just appearing on the man's face, the foundation is totally dark, highlighting the threatening tone of the scene. This scene uses the same lighting elements as chiaroscuro paintings would have. If you were to pause the scene at certain points you would be able to see the rembrandt light and the strong tonal contrasts between light and dark. Different props are also used throughout the film. When you think about the Mafia, you think Italian men

Remegio Hill October,10,15 Double Indemnity In the movie Double Indemnity, Billy Wilder showed a prime example of good and evil towards Fred MacMurray. Fred gets engaged into a murder scheme when he falls in love with Phyllis Dietrichson also by the name of Barbara Stanwyck , who is intent on killing her husband (Tom Powers) and living off the fraud accidental death claim. Walter, a successful man working for an insurance company is bored until he finds a woman by name of Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), who's a devious blonde woman who met her current husband by secretly killing his wife, according to the words of her stepdaughter. Neff call’s one day to renew the automobile

Mise-en-scene is the arrangement of everything that appears on screen, such as the actors, props and costumes. In the movie Scream, the characters wear outfits to make their roles obvious. The girl’s boyfriend is wearing a highschool jersey which shows who he is quite easily and the killer is

In any classic 1940’s cinema the most distinct attribute is the use of lighting and lighting techniques. Although filmed without colour, experiencing budget limitations and technology disadvantages lighting in film noir exceeded without obstruction. Billy Wilder used many lighting techniques throughout the production of Double Indemnity, his use of lighting formulated the intended atmosphere of scenes. The first lighting technique that is presented to the audience is within the opening credits, an extremely bright backlight casts a man on crutches into a complete shadow. The ominous figure loiters towards the screen inching closer with every introducing credit, the mysterious shadow man intimidates the audience with every step.

The steely determination exhibited by Hugo, who is a perfectly ordinary boy, tells the audience that ultimately, he will achieve his dream. Therefore, the audience can accept the invited reading that an ordinary person can overcome hindrances and achieve their dream. Scorsese’s decision to use Hugo’s expression in mise-en-scene is effective, however, the use of three point lighting is not effective. The three point lighting should be replaced with high key lighting to increase effectiveness and make the existing connotations more prevalent. Therefore, the director’s choices in mise-en-scene were not unduly effective.

Chazelle’s usage of mise-en- scène is used to demonstrate the important theme of volatile and manipulative student-teacher relationship. The dimly-lit room is representative of Fletchers’ personality, throughout the film Fletcher is portrayed as a manipulative teacher who would go out to any means to get what he desires. The costumes used in this scene are vital to express the volatile relationship between Fletcher and his students. During this scene, Connolly is the only drummer to be