Suspense and Tension in Brian De Palma's film The Untouchables

The film I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang stands out from its time through its contemporary use of sound. Not reflective of the musical genre popular at the time, the film only uses sound for an effect needed in the story such as the sound of a train or gunfire. While other films at the time used music to fill in silent gaps, or to drown out static, I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is a demonstration of strong dialog and a purposeful story. Due to the new flexibility in sound, this film focuses on the development between the characters through dialog and not the use of sound as a commercial commodity to sell the film. This new focus on the corruption of the criminal justice system was enabled by the new technology allowing the film to have

The Untouchables was about Eliot Ness is very tired of Al Capone committing crimes and getting away with it. Ness makes a team to take down Al Capone however, Al Capone kills two of Ness’s men who were on the investigation but this motivates Ness to get him into custody. Honestly, this movie was generally a good movie because it teaches you about prohibition, organize crimes, and Al Capone. These things are very important to have insight about because these rules explains why our society is the way it is today. Therefore, I think this was a very put together movie that can give you an insight on how one man had America on edge.

Sound and music have long since been staples of the gangster genre, used both to add more tension in suspenseful scenes, or to immerse an audience in the time period of the film. These examples and many like it are most notably used in the 1990 Gangster film Goodfellas by Martin Scorsese, who uses these to set the atmosphere of each scene, and reinforce the running narrative of the film. Goodfellas retells the story of American born gangster Henry Hill, and the rise and fall of him and his way of life from the ‘50’s through the ‘80’s. I picked Goodfellas as the focal point of this essay because of it’s use of music and sound to set it’s story’s atmosphere both visually, and through auditory means.

The Public Enemy by William Wellman (1931) is a renowned gangster film that paved the way for an emerging genre whilst maximizing the use of sound technology of which the effects were still reverberating around Hollywood in the 1930’s to amplify and exaggerate the narrative as well as other elements such as mise-en-scene but also to assault audience with a new experience. The emergence of an all-talking gangster film that capitalized upon and left a lasting impression on the audience and on society as it commented on social and economic issues that surrounded the American people such as race and social status. However, at the time when The Public Enemy was released in 1931, Hollywood was beginning to feel the effects of the Wall Street Crash, which meant that they began producing films that their audience wanted to see and that we’re affordable which lead to the rise of the gangster genre, which flourished for the next few years. Ruth Vasey’s assessment of The Public Enemy is incredibly insightful into how sound impacted the film and its audience but also how sound was used in correlation with the other elements of the film to create its visceral impact on the audience. However with the introduction of sound, more obstacles we’re discovered such as the issue of censorship as it had a “perceived capacity to undermine middle-class vales”.

Unfortunately, Ness was never able to see his team’s achievements shown in a glorified melodrama. When it comes to understanding the Untouchables and their impact on history, we have to know who the members were and what their mission was. The members were selfless men that believed with every fiber of their being that there could be an end to all of the violence created by Al Capone. Their mission was to stop him and his men at all costs, even if it meant working outside the law. These men laid down their lives for the greater good of their city, doing it “the Chicago way”, and as a result they will go down as one of the bravest and most elite team to ever be assembled in this

In one of the beginning scenes, Mr. Incredible is on-route to catch some thieves fleeing from the scene, similar to something out of a James Bond movie. It is hard for the viewer to remain calm as the music quickly moves into the fast-paced repetitions of a piano accompanied by the jazzy melody of a 60’s saxophone. This fast paced rhythm becomes the heartbeat of the entire scene creating a sense of urgency for the situation at hand with audience members stressing to keep up with the evading criminals. Without even knowing the full extent of the scene, including what crime these felons had committed or what would become of them once they got caught, it is the exuberating intensity of the music that is acting as an adrenaline-induced toxin giving the moviegoers the feeling of almost being right alongside Mr. Incredible himself. All perceptions of being just a spectator are lost as the music fully immerses the viewers with each screech of the trumpets producing a butt-clenching result while they narrowly weave through traffic closing the gap on their

With Prohibition present within the United States in the 1920s to the 1930s, corruption mixed with organized crime is widespread. In the city of Chicago, from the judges and the mayor downward, crime and corruption flourishes through illegal distribution of alcohol, or also known as bootlegging. A major player during this chaotic period, gang boss Al Capone, has the entire city, including law enforcement, politicians, and business owners, bowing to his will through a fear combined with violence and extortion. The opening scene demonstrates the ruthlessness of gang violence in Chicago. Despite the hopelessness, there are some who are aware of the city’s criminal status and want to bring Capone to justice. Eliot Ness, a Treasury Department agent, is put in charge of putting a stop to Capone’s illicit operations. With the help of a veteran Chicago cop, Jimmy Malone, a Treasury accountant, Oscar Wallace, and a police academy cadet, George Stone, the four set out on a crusade to thwart Capone and his organized crime gang. After several successful interceptive raids, the four men began to develop a reputation within the city. With the help of Oscar, the group of four realize that their only chance of legally apprehending Capone is to connect him with a crime of tax evasion. They believe that they finally have the advantage over the organized crime, but what they soon come to realize is that many who hold power in the city are corrupt and actively protect Capone. As conflicts

For example, sound, or the lack thereof, is often one indicator of coming events. In horror movies, ominous music can often put the viewer in a chilling mindset, giving them the impression that something is about to happen. They may not know what is about to happen, but they sense something nonetheless. The same sort of techniques are used within Who Framed Roger Rabbit? to create suspense. In one particular scene, silence is used just as effectively as sound to set the ominous, suspenseful mood. When Eddie Valiant enters the bar where Roger is supposed to be hidden, he finds the toon singing, dancing, breaking plates, and causing an overall ruckus. The atmosphere is upbeat and carefree, but shortly into the scene, everything falls silent. The audience realizes that something has stopped the bacchanalian tones, that had originally filled the scene. This change in onscreen behavior and sound gives the audience enough of an idea that something bad is about to happen, although they don’t know what. Suspense is built within the audience as they await the explanation for this shift. Moments later, the audience learns that the disruption was caused by the entrance of Judge Doom, the main antagonist. Though the suspense that was built before his appearance has now been resolved, a new feeling of suspense takes its place. Now, the audience finds themselves wondering if the judge will discover Roger and Eddie in

I think the director, Oliver Stone, did a very good job keeping a movie with little action and special effects scenes, and mostly talking interesting and attention grabbing. The long scenes of dialogue were expertly scored with music that builds suspense while leaving you with an eerie, someone is watching you, feeling. Also during the scenes of dialogue, the director uses a lot of movement and quick changes in camera angles to keep your attention. I do not think these effects were overstated as they were, in my opinion, what made the film so captivating and enjoyable to watch. Often times during the movie I found myself feeling anxious and like someone was spying on me because of these effects and that’s what really made me feel a part of

One such example of this are the “Danny’s Ride” scenes which show Danny Torrence riding on his big wheel through the empty hallways of the Overlook hotel. There are three such scenes throughout the film and each build upon the previous by using different elements of sound and camera movement. The evolving elements of sound and camera movement are used to not only put the audience on alert, but to mirror Danny’s emotions as he and his family descend into madness. In the first scene Danny is being followed closely by the camera using a Steadicam rig, and is entirely void of any music or dialog.

The three basic categories of sound are dialogue, sound effects and music. Dialogue is the conversations in the film that are the characters that further the development of the plot of the movie (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014, pg. 202). Sound effects are used in the film to create realism while keeping the story interesting to maintain the viewers on the edge of his or her seats. Sound effects could also include diegetic or non-diegetic sound. Music is the sound used to help tell or enhanced the scene. It also makes the movie more exciting and upbeat.

Since the first sound film in 1927, filmmakers employed tools to create sound effects and ‘complete the illusion’ (Cavalcanti, 1939). The use of sound became essential to the quality of films, particularly in fiction where the audience seeks entertainment and thrill. Indeed, Rockett (1982) notes that music, background noises and sounds effects are the elements creating a particular mood or atmosphere. This theory is notably applicable to the horror genre, as its specificity is to incite fear and play on the viewer’s nerves.

Suspense: watching the movie separation brings uncertainty to the viewers, problems that happen on a daily basis can be very complicated and also very simple, even the complicated problems roe from something very small. For example what exactly happened to Razieh khanom? Did Nader actually pushed her and caused her a miscarriage or she lost her baby due to the impact of that car hitting her? Or maybe it was something else such as working a lot. The answer is unknown; the movie is simply saying real life situations can be very complicated due to not knowing everything.

In the article Untouchable, Tom O’Neil tells us what being an untouchable is all about. By interviewing those labeled as untouchable, O’Neil finds a way to truly express to us what it’s like to be an untouchable and the true underlying complications that the seeming unbreakable caste system has projected on its cultural members.

Therefore, they are still left to the unknown up until the climax, which is the killing of Colonel Kurtz. The non-diegetic music helps to shape the audience’s emotional response. The chords of this music and drum beat underline fear and apprehension. What is going to happen next? The audience awaits with dread the next shots and feels anxiety. The psychedelic guitar riff and the rhythmic drumbeat create hypnotic sound. Music represents madness in this sequence and the faster it goes, the more intense the suspense is.