Iconic Thriller Directors! (6/12/2011)

I decided to write about some Iconic directors known for their thriller movies. 

I chose Alfred Hitchcock, David Fincher and Quentin Tarantino.

I have got my information from wikipedia, thriller bloggers.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK  

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13^th August 1899 – 29^th April 1980) was a well known British Film director well known for his iconic movie ideas. He was the person behind many of the thriller techniques widely used in thrillers today. He pioneered many of these techniques in suspense and psychological thriller genres. After he well established his career in silent films and early talkies in the UK, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood in 1956. His career spanned over half a century Hitchcock became fashioned for, for his directorial style. His use of camera made to move in a way to mimic a persons gaze. He also framed shots to maximise anxiety, fear, and empathy and used ‘innovative’ film editing. A theme known throughout Hitchcock’s is ‘fugitives on the run from the law alongside icy cold blonde female characters’. They also all have twist endings, violence, murder and crime.   His techniques are so established that no thriller film is complete without using one of his techniques. ‘Hitch’ as he was also known by has influenced many thriller directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Robert Zemeckis and better known Tim Burton. As another name of his, he truly is ‘the master of suspense’.

DAVID FINCHER

David Andrew Leo Fincher born August 28^th 1962. David Fincher is a well known American film and music video director. He is well known for his movies, seven (1995) The game (1997) Fight club (1999) Panic room (2002) and Zodiac (2007).

Fincher has received many awards for his movies. Fincher received academy award nominations foe best director for his movie, The curious case of Benjamin button in 2008. He recently was awarded a BAFTA for best director and a Golden globe for his film the social network. His recent movie was 2011’s The girl with the Dragoon Tattoo.

Fincher was a young aspiring film director, he began to shoot his own movies at the tender age of eight years old using a 8mm camera after being inspired by the movie Butch Cassidy and John the Sundance Kid. His first job was loading cameras and doing other work for John Korty at Korty films. He used this experience to climb the ladder to director instead of going to a film school. After working for John Korty he was hired by Industrial Light and Magic in 1983. Fincher worked on productions like twice upon a star, star wars: episode VI-return of the Jedi and Indiana Jones and the temple of doom.  In 1984 he left ILM to direct commercials for the American Cancer Society. His most controversial piece was a commercial showing a foetus smoking a cigarette. This lead to Fincher to the opportunity to direct the commentary The Beat of the Live Drum featuring Rick Springfield in 1985. Fincher later joined Propaganda Films to improve his directing skills. He then moved on to feature films.

David Fincher’s first feature movie was Alien 3 in 1992. The film received an Oscar for its visual effects the film was hit hard by critics reviews. Fincher went on to have disputes with 20^th Century Fox over script and budget issues. In the “director’s cut” Fincher went back to directing commercials and music videos, during this time Fincher directed the Grammy Award winning track ‘Love Is Strong’ by The Rolling Stones.

In 1995 Fincher made his debut back into feature films by directing the movie seven. The film starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. The film grossed $11 million domestically and over $300 million internationally. Arnold Kopelson the chairman of new line cinema, refused to allow the filming of the ending climatic scene, with the aid of Brad Pitt, who said he would not be involved with the film if the ending was changed, which allowed Fincher to include the scene in the final Cut.

In 1997 Fincher directed The Game. The film was well received by critics but still got middling results in the box office. T he film starring Michael Douglass grossed $14.3 million on its opening weekend. It made $48.3 million in North America and $6.1 million in the rest of the world. This made a total gross of $109.4 million.

Fincher then went directed Fight Club 1999. The film featuring Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter and Brad Pitt. The film was an early disappointment at the box office and received many mixed reviews, the film went on then ruined by critics and alienated audiences leading to a box office failure in the US.  Later many critics and audiences changed their perspectives of the film and the film went on to appear on ‘best of the year list’.

In 2002 Fincher added to his impressive portfolio with the amazing Thriller movie Panic Room. Starring Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart. The film grossed $92 million in the US box office alone. Fincher himself describes the movie as mainstream thriller. He described the film as a “date movie” and a “really good B movie” about “2 people trapped in a closet”.

Fincher returned with vengeance 5 year later. In 2007 Fincher directed the movie Zodiac. The film starred Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr, Anthony Edwards and Brian Cox.  The film was filmed mainly using a Thompson Viper Film Stream Camera. High speed cameras were used to shoot for the Blue Rock Springs and Presidio Heights murder scenes slow-motion shots. It was meant to be released earlier but had to be set back as Fincher refused to cut 20 minutes off the end of the movie.  Zodiac was one of the best reviewed films of that year, but even so the film struggled in the US box office. The film only grossed $33 million. The film did better overseas grossing $51.7 million. After an aggressive campaign by the studio and expectations of Robert Downey Jr’s supporting performance, Fincher directing and Vanderbilt’s script the film did not earn any Academy Award nominations.

QUENTN TARANTINO

Quentin Jerome Tarantino born March 27^th 1963 is an American film director, screenwriter, produced, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990’s Tarantino began his career as an independent film maker with films employing non linear storylines and the aestheticization of violence. Tarantino is well known for his films, Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill (2003,4), Death Proof (2007), Inglorious Bustards (2009) and upcoming movie (Django Unchained (2012). He has earned Academy Awards, Golden Globes, a BAFTA and the plame d’OR, as well as numerous Emmy and Grammy nominations.  His movies tend to be characterised by his influence from grindhouse, kung fu sand spaghetti western. Tarantino also collaborates frequently with fellow film maker and friend Robert Rodriquez.

Tarantino met Lawrence Bender at a Hollywood party, Bender encouraged Tarantino to write a screenplay. Tarantino directed and co-wrote a movie called my best friend’s birthday, during editing the film was destroyed in a lab fire but its screenplay would form the basis for True Romance. In January 1992 Reservoir Dogs screened and was an immediate h it with audiences and critics. True Romance was released in 1993 and his screenplay Natural born killers was sold. As of the success of reservoir dogs Tarantino was approached by big Hollywood projects such as Speed and Men In Black. He decided to declines these offers and instead go to Amsterdam and finish work on his next screenplay Pulp Fiction. After the screenplay pulp fiction was finished Tarantino directed episode 4 of Four Rooms. ‘The Man From Hollywood’ a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock presents which starred Steve McQueen. Four rooms was a collaborative effort by Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell and Robert Rodriguez. This film was not favoured by critics. Tarantino wrote and starred in Robert Rodriguez film From Dusk Till Dawn.  The film got mixed reviews buy yet had 2 sequels which saw Tarantino and Rodriguez as executive producers.

~Abbie Hales