Sin city

This essay will look at the opening of sin city, examining the use of mise-en-scene, cinematography, costume and setting and how each adds their own element to this extremely unique film.

To begin The mise-en-scene of this film is very dark using film noir styling’s and colours only present in objects or people of great importance to emphasise their role in the film. The opening scene is of a man promising to help save a women from whatever she is running from and then shooting her and stealing her money, although this may seem brutal the visuals show the mans true feelings of what he has done and how he may regret his decision. The women’s dress and lipstick are both coloured, in a black an white world this stands out greatly and is obviously their to portray her passion and possible fear of the world. When they kiss the styling’s change and they become almost a page in a comic book making their connection less meaningful and distancing the audience from their relationship.

The use of costume in sin city was no after thought each character can be identified from a unique costume style showing their individual personality, in the opening the women’s dress is obviously designed to show her passion through its colour however it also makes her seem very venerable as it is open backed and she is objectified as in many film noir films as the victim and sex object nothing more, this is proven true when she agrees to be helped by the stronger man and it is revealed that she has been running from something. The mans costume is a suit of no great wealth it is a symbol of his absence from the cares of society whilst still being a working part within it, the fact that no colour can be seen on him shows his bleakness of soul in not wanting to show any emotion; he plays a typical film noir character being isolated and alone focusing on his object able work.

Props are used frequently in sin city usually to convey the mood of the scene, in the first scene a cigarette is used to convey the women’s sexuality, this was common in the days when it was considered inappropriate for women to dress provocatively, the cigarette is used to convey a connection between the pair and when it disappears from the cameras view that connection seemingly breaks and the comic book style kiss ensues creating an even greater sense of distance between the pair even though they are physical close.

The setting of the opening scene of sin city is on the top deck of a building in a dark surrounding city, the setting is designed to look empty and hollow so the story focuses on the characters unless it need to draw emphasis to the scenery at anytime, the darkness in the opening scene is also a tool to convey how the women is to bright for the city and stands out of the ordinary and shows her disposition to be that she is being crushed by the darkness of the city, however the man is completely at home in the empty and dark environment suggesting immorality.

The cinematography of the scene is very interesting always changing the shot length and angle, this makes the scene seem very concise and only what is needed to be seen is seen focusing the attention on the characters. The scene ends with a dramatic pull out of the city from the rooftop of the murder, in doing this the characters seem dwarfed by the magnitude of the city and are immediately made unimportant from the scale of things.

To conclude Sin City uses a vast array of techniques to convey its point and sometimes to mislead and confuse the watcher, it is extremely effective in achieving the effect it desires on the audience making the whole film not just the opening a masterpiece and triumph of modern films.

The use of chiaroscuro in the third man

This essay will talk about the use of chiaroscuro in the third man, focusing on the introduction and how it is used throughout to create a sense of confusion and foreboding.

The third man is a film set in Vienna following a man named Holly martins who has come to Vienna because he was promised a job of some description that his friend Harry lime who on his arrival is found to have died offered him, As the story evolves it is found that lime did not in fact die but is hiding due to his line of… work and will not meet Holly and insists on running from him in this avid thriller.

Chiaroscuro is the artful use of shadows and light, an example of this is light coming through blinds and striking the face of a person such as is done in casino royal.

The first shots in the third man are exceedingly gloomy showing a bombed and broken city with statues of angles weather worn and battered, the opening sequence also boasts the appearance of body’s in an icy sea and sinister black market scenes.

The use of chiaroscuro in the opening scene is very dramatic immediately showing the film to be a plunge in to darkness and despair the shots are extremely dark and have a grainy feel especially the shots of the body in the water the stark contrast between the ice and water creates a vivid image of the morality in the city and how it is turbulent and constantly re adjusting itself, this is present throughout the film the battle for right and wrong is portrayed in many ways in the third man.

The angles are very dark cast in shadow and server the purpose of being a clear representation of Vienna as the once great city, now descending into darkness but not yet totally consumed in it, this give4s the watcher a great sense of fear for what is to come and confuses them as to what the morality Vienna as a city is leaving them hopelessly lost just as Holly is helping the audience to relate to him.

Chiaroscuro is rarely used to portray positive images as it is mainly the use of shadows however it can be used to create other effects than darkness, the scene of the third man featuring holly walking up the gothic styled stares casting a strong shadow on the wall shows the imprint a person can have on the world around him whilst also showing how people can not change the way things are but only try to distort them so they suit the individual better.

An extremely useful scene for chiaroscuro in the third man is the sewer scene, this scene arises when Holly follows Harry into the sewer in an attempt to catch him and unravel the mystery, the shot is flooded with light despite the locating, the shadows in the shot are now being left behind and Holly is clearly walking into the light and obvious play on enlightenment in the story, the shot is extremely clever in that it transforms a place seldom thought of as uplifting into a sanctuary of light where the dark shadows hide between light and the good shows through, this also shows that Vienna is extremely dark in nature if the only place light can be found is within a sewer.

In conclusion chiaroscuro in the third man is a great tool for causing a sense of darkness and all things associated with it, the film is made to seem bleak and empty by filling it with shadows and darkness, however chiaroscuro can portray the lack of flaws in a place by removing shadows or using them minimally this effect is amplified in the third man as the film is full of darkness.