Quentin Tarantino has made a very significant intertextual reference between the 2004 Kill Bill Volume 2 and the 1966 western “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.” This intertextual reference is used in the form of landscape, the scenes from both films show a baron and limitless landscape that connote isolation. The use of the deserted landscapes is also present in many other thriller films, such as in Animal Kingdom when Craig runs away from the police and Essex boys when Jason leaves his victim stranded in the inescapable marshes. In addition to this 10 years after “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly,” Clint Eastwood directed his own western style film called “High Plain Drifter” and in the opening scene of this a very similar landscape is used as well as music, inferring the same isolated and ruthlessness.
Tarantino uses this inter-textual reference to present the Bride as an iconic heroin. In “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” the good character is called Blondie, similarly to this the good character in Kill Bill is The Bride [Bellatrix.] Because of the similarities between the two characters the audience can infer that they are both knowledgeable and courageous figures, this is reflected in the buried alive scene from Kill Bill and the Digging for Money scene in “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.”
The song used by Tarantino is “Ecstasy of Gold” by Ennio Morricone, a distinctive composer that has collaborated with Sergeo Leoni on many occasions. The song is used perfectly, it encapsulates the struggles that The bride is going to go through and the song starts just as Bud has finished digging her grave, and in “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” it is used just as the three are entering the baron fighting ground, which is coincidently surrounded by a graveyard. The use of this song and it’s intertextuality indicates to the audience that Bellatrix is brave, strong hearted and that she will get escape death for sure. It is also a very good indication that Blondie will defeat his foes and continue to live on, the song has been used in a very effective manner as it foreshadows future struggles that the hero type characters will evade from.
Directed By- Quentin Tarantino Genre- Crime/Drama/Thriller Released: 25th December 1997 (USA) and 20th March 1998 (UK) Filmed in the United States Produced by Miramax Films
Jackie Brown was directed by Quentin Tarantino and it is about an air hostess being heavily involved with an arms dealer, it is also a tribute to the 1970's blaxploitation films. In the opening sequence of the film Quentin Tarantino uses a medium close up tracking shot to show the character walking along an escalator that is typically found in an airport. The way in which Tarantino captures the black, middle aged women walking enables the audience to see that she is going to be an important character in the film, as she is focused on heavily and some low angle shots are used to reinforce this. The lighting used in the scene is very ambient and the use of non diagetic sounds in the form of Bobby Womack, 110th Street adds emphasis to the Character of Jackie Brown because if you listen to the lyrics they seem to be a story about someone trying to make it/ get out of the ghetto, which is reasonably interesting and could foreshadow the rest of the film.
The character of Jackie Brown then comes off the walkway/escalator and the chorus of walking across 110th street is playing, this cuts to a close up shot of the scanning machines and a passenger who's bags are being scanned. However Jackie is able to walk straight on past the security desks and to the terminals. [We don't know anything about her involvement with Ordelle at this point, but you could now see how she could execute the deals because of how easy it is for her to get past.]
This then cuts to a medium, low angle shot of Jackie walking through the terminal. She is walking with her head up and a very straight, sophisticated posture which shows the audience her importance to the film yet again. She is also the closest character in the foreground of the shot which could suggest her superiority and power to the audience and also the other people walking in the shot. The audience can also tell she is an important part of the film because when she is walking through the airport, nobody else looks on her level, by this I mean that the people walking in the shots are inferior to her. She also doesn't make eye contact with one person which could suggest that she doesn't care/too good for them, in this particular sequence Jackie is walking completely the opposite direction to everybody else, foreshadowing that at some point in the film she may turn again something, which could be Society.
This then cuts to a slightly low angle, medium close up of Jackie Brown walking towards the camera, this is the first time the audience has seen all of her face therefore could suggest that she keeps herself to herself. Every other person in this shot is blurred to reinforce the importance of the character of Jackie, she is in her own world if you like. This then quickly cuts to a close up of Jackie's face as she is still walking through the airport, still all other people in the shot are blurred out and are also walking at a much slower pace, suggesting that Jackie is more advanced, keeping the audiences concentration firmly on the character of Jackie Brown. Another medium close up tracking shot is then used to show Jackie running through the airport to her check in desk just before a flight, this could foreshadow that later in the films she could be running from someone/something or maybe even justice?
This scene then finishes and cuts to a medium shot of two men on a sofa, one of which is white that looks shabby and one that is black that is smart. This then cuts to a close up shot of a television and a show called "chicks who love guns" is on, this is showing pretty much naked women in bikini's with AK-47's and all sorts. However the two characters sitting on the sofa are not interested in the girls at all, the black male aka Ordell is thoroughly explaining what gun it is, where he finds it, how much it costs and how much he sells it for. Immediately the audience can tell that the man [Ordell] is an arms dealer which might help the audience to figure out for themselves what might happen.
The shooting of Beaumont Livingstone by Ordell Robbie
This scene starts with Ordell visiting Beaumont at his apartment during the night. A medium shot is used to show the two characters on the thin balcony, there is little sense of any community at all and the lighting also infers a sense of isolation. The medium shot used captures the way both of the characters look beautifully, from this shot the audience can tell Beaumont is vulnerable and weak due to the fact that he has his shirt off. This is contrasted heavily when it comes to the character of Ordell, a firm standing man that is fully clothed in brands that reflect a gangster-esque style.You can see his gold is elaborate, this clearly makes Ordell superior and much more powerful than Beaumont.
From 2.50 both characters proceed to walk down the stairs to Ordell's car, after he claims that he has a job for Beaumont. The characters are shown walking, Ordell is walking upright with a very good posture and Beaumont is walking sluggishly, again signifying his vulnerability, particularly to Ordell. Here Quentin Tarantino uses a very clever type of tracking shot to show the characters walking parallel to railings, which strangely suggest to me that events could happen which would put either of them in trouble. These railings look like a Prison Cell, very similar to when the young boy is driving the car in Essex boys and bars appear on the screen.
At 3.34 an extremely low angle shot is used to show both characters looking into the boot of Ordell's car, this is a generic convention of a thriller as it represents claustrophobia/isolation. The use of a low angle shot helps to back up the power and importance of Ordell, this shot could be representative of people looking down at other people/decisions. Quentin Tarantino likes to use the low angle shot from within the boot in Pulp Fiction and Reservoir dogs and many other of his great films.
Ordell then proceeds to talk to Beaumont about guns and other such things and asks Beaumont to help him with a job. Beaumont is very adamant on this which starts off Ordell on trying to persaude him by offering him Junk food if he does so, thus representing a negative image of America in a sense that everybody is quite obsessive with junk food. The very noir lighting and feel to this particular clip of the scene helps to establish to the audience that something dark/ threatening could be about to happen.
Ordell manages to finally convince Beaumont to get into the trunk of the car and proceeds to do so. Again this part of the film is similar to Essex boys because Jason put the man in the back of the white van, where he was then led to die pretty much, this could be a reflection of that? A medium shot is then used to show Ordell getting into his car, once he is in the Drivers seat the mise-en-scene of the clip becomes very very dark. This darkness is used to show Ordell put leather black gloves on, foreshadowing the killing of Beaumont Livingstone. The audience at this point can hear both non-diagetic sound in the form of some light music and diagetic sound made from Ordell putting on his gloves. This then cuts to a close up shot of Ordell going in his glove box compartment and revealing a pistol, again foreshadowing future events.
The car then proceeds to drive straight down the dark and murky road to a vanishing point and then makes a left turn. The camera angle at this moment in time is tracking and panning the movements of the car. The camera angle then switches to a high angle long shot, almost birds eye view of a dark abandoned factory/warehouse wasteland and then you just see the headlights from Ordell's car entering this place. This wasteland is almost very similar to the marshes in Essex boys, a grotesque environment in which their is no ground of morality. Both Jason and Ordell knew exactly where to take their victims and what to do with them, signifying intelligence and an enormous amount of power. The car then stops in almost the centre of the shot and you see Ordell get out, open the boot and fire 2 or 3 shots at Beaumont, this location and use of lighting helps to tell the audience what an outcast of Society Ordell really is.
Don't go shopping with Robert De Niro
In this particular scene Melanie and Louis are in a shopping mall participating in their part of the exchange of two bags. Quentin Tarantino has challenged the typcial conventions of the thriller genre here by setting one of the main events of the film in daylight, in a mall with lots of people about. Melanie is essentially stuck to a strong hand of Louis and will not let her leave his sight. Previously in the film these to characters have grown to have a small bond with each other, dope smoking etc.. However now Melanie is really testing Louis' patience by being pandantic and playing mind games with him, the audience never really knew before this what the bad side of Louis was like, not too many questions about why he was in Jail arose from the film, leaving a sense of Enigma that Melanie is soon to find out about.
The two then leave the mall and head for the car park to find the car. Here Melanie is continuing to beleaguer and provoke Louis by asking him a series of questions about the location of the car. "Is it this isle, or the next one?" Louis then says he has found the car and Melanie keeps asking him if he is sure and positive, making his temper very unpredictable. Louis then stops and turns round to talk to Melanie warning her to keep her mouth shut from now on. However Melanie incapable of this and has clearly underestimated to ruthlessness of Louis, he turns round with his pistol out and shoots her two times, in broad daylight infront of many cars. This action defines the character of Louis very well as it shows how ruthless and temperate he is, the fact that he just walks off to the car afterwards tells the audience he has no remorse/ regret at all, he really doesn't even care about the consequences.
Director- Peter Jackson Uk release-10 February 1995 (UK) Certificate-18 Produced by Wingnut films in association with the New Zealand film commision. Filmed In Canterbury, New Zealand.
Many generic thriller conventions are used in Heavenly Creatures such as the use of clocks, as time is important in thriller films, use of claustrophobic spaces and quick glances at weapons. Peter Jackson has however challenged the generic location of a thriller film and contrasted it to the norm, the mise-en-scene presents a very different image as it is sunny in open spacing and it has pretty features such as landscaping.
Clocks play a very important role in this film as there are many events that take place in a short amount of time, such as the murder of the mother and the time of the boat back to England. In this particular scene the clock pops up in the frame at least 3 times, this makes the audience aware, adds suspense- could something happen at a certain time? It also makes the audience interact with the girls and it then becomes almost realistic.
An over the shoulder shot/birds eye view shot is used to show the two girls and the mother walking down the steep, narrow confined path that her daughter has led her to, the use of this particular camera angle establishes to the audience that something may about to happen.
During this part of the scene there is no dialogue, however the famous Intermezzo from Puccini's "Madam Butterfly" has been used by Peter Jackson. It is a tragic opera about a young Japanese woman who marries and has a child with an American Solider, he left for three years and came back with a new American wife and wants his old son to join the new family. The young Japanese girl is forced to give up her son, she does so, kisses him then commits suicide. This links in with the current situation in the film and it also adds to the hyper reality surrounding the film, in a sense that you cannot tell between dream and reality, a new imaginary world. It builds and creates an odd suspense which clearly notifies the audience that the girls are about carry out the grotesque event that has been foreshadowed.
The camera angle then changes to a panning shot that fully establishes where the girls are taking the mother, to a desolate woodland area that is what seems to be an idealistic place to carry out a murder. The mother is entirely unaware of the event that is about to take place and Peter Jackson has done it to exaggerate the cruel and evilness of the two girls. However Peter Jackson has really challenged the conventions of a thriller here because the landscape seems to be nice and dreamy, almost something that you would see on a holiday perhaps. The lighting used throughout this scene is ambient, this contrasts the generic conventions again as most major events take place in a dark, bleak and gritty location.
From this point on the feel of the situation seems to change, Peter Jackson has now focused the camera angles on the feet and head and shoulders of the girls to build a large suspense around the event, it also presents a weird sense of beauty. This particular part of the scene is filmed in slow motion, this encapsulates and personifies the girls feelings and emotions, and again adds to the dreamy and unrealistic feel it creates.
This close up shot of the mother's daughter is all the audience really needs to see to confirm the event that is about to happen, the bag has been focused on frequently in the film as this is a generic convention, close ups of a weapon. Following this it cuts to close ups shots of the girls hands and feet, they seem to appear nervous and anxious which adds even more tension and suspense to the film. The three of them carry on walking and they come across a muddy section of path, during this the mother holds her hand out to her daughter for help, this subtly significant to me because it captures the harshness of the daughter, the mother has helped her all her life and when the mother needs help, it gets thrown back in her face, again it foreshadows the following murder.
This low angle close up shot of the girls feet in the deep mud is a reflection of what the girls are about to get into, it could represent the consequences of the girls actions in a sense that they will ultimately end up in a deep situation, perhaps end up in prison or could they end up getting their own bodies massacred? They walk further along the path and the mother stops to look at the time, the clocks and time have played a significant role in this scene and it makes the audience feel connected and concentrated. This also foreshadows her own death, she hasn't got long left.
The daughter then reaches to her bag, this immediately alarms the audience and lets them know that the murder is about to happen, in a confined and dimmer location which is a convention of a thriller. The girl starts to beat her mother with the brick in the stocking, after one shot a close up of the mother is shown, she is a bloody and disorientated mess, this is a sickening image and helps to understand how twisted the two girls are. The use of flashback in sepia which is a convention has been added whilst the girls are continuing to stone the mother, underpinning the idea of a hyper-reality and fantasy. The colour of the images start to change colour to perhaps symbolize age, will the girls ever see each other again?
The film is based on a true story of the Parker-Hulme Murder in Cristchurch, New Zealand in 1954. Two girls had created their own fantasy world and people often thought it to be lesbianism, which at the time was thought to be a thing of insanity, the murder was carried out in Victoria Park down a small narrow confined path, the girls then proceeded to beat her with a brick. The girls fled back to the tea shop and told the man that her mother had hit her head, the brick was later found nearby in the woods and the girls had lost their case, they were found guilty of murder and sentenced to five years in Prison and upon release were never able to see each other again. The girls would have been put through the death penalty, but as they were too young they were not able too.
