1. Thrillers Learning Outcome: be able to recognise the conventions of thrillers so that we can assess to what extent ‘The Constant Gardener’ fits this type.

2. The Lumiere bros " A train appears on the screen," "It speeds straight at you - watch out! It seems as though it will plunge into the darkness in which you sit..." [Maxim Gorky, from a newspaper review of the time) Some audiences did indeed flee the theatres in terror Audiences went to the cinema not simply to see but also to feel something which they would not ordinarily experience in real life Did the thriller sensation originate with the first public screenings of films by the Lumière brothers in 1895?

3. The Suspense is Terrible… I hope it will last! This witticism from Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest contains an intriguing paradox. Why is it that we both fear and enjoy being frightened? Alfred Hitchcock always thought it started in a mother's arms, when she says 'Boo!' to her child, who is first startled and then delighted. (BFI – Screenonline.org)

4. Prior knowledge check 1. In pairs, list as many thrillers as you can think of. 2. Once you have done that, try to think of the different TYPES of thrillers there are. 3. What are the main ingredients of a thriller?

5. Definition of a Thriller Thrillers may be defined by the primary mood that they elicit: fearful excitement. They are recognised by the intensity of emotions they create, esp. apprehension and exhilaration, of excitement and breathlessness, all designed to generate that all- important thrill. In short, if a thriller doesn't thrill, it's not doing its job

6. Some types of thrillers legal thriller spy thriller action-adventure thriller medical thriller police thriller Psychological thriller romantic thriller historical thriller political thriller religious thriller high-tech thriller military thriller Suspense thriller

7. F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu (Germany, 1922)

8. Alfred Hitchcock His films of the 1920s and 30s are some of the first British thrillers he declared his intention was "to give the public good healthy mental shake-ups"

9. Hitchcock’s early thrillers The Lodger (1926) (silent) Blackmail (1929) The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935): http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search _query=39+Steps&aq=f http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search _query=39+Steps&aq=f Sabotage (1936) The Lady Vanishes (1938)

10. Hitchcock’s films established some important ground rules for thrillers: whodunit is not that important the leading protagonist can be an innocent bystander who gets caught up in the adventure, e.g. Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) in The 39 Steps. hero is often an Everyman figure grappling with unexpected danger, not too far removed from possibility.

11. Alfred Hitchcock’s later thrillers Vertigo: http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=9p8SpTfVKpc http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=9p8SpTfVKpc Psycho The Birds North by Northwest

12. 1950s: Thrillers with a Social Conscience Racial prejudice in Sapphire (1959) Homosexuality in the groundbreaking Victim (1961). Dangers of atomic research Similarly, the Boulting Brothers' Seven Days to Noon (1950). Capital punishment Time Without Pity (1957) Class hypocrisy and police malpractice Blind Date (1959)

13. Thrillers of the 60s & 70s The Man Who Knew Too Much: (set in Marrakesh) http://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=jvKT4VoR0xY&feature= related&pos=2 http://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=jvKT4VoR0xY&feature= related&pos=2 James Bond Octopussy Exotic locations, chase sequences, beautiful women http://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=EZQJzHrPVGw&feature =related&pos=18 http://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=EZQJzHrPVGw&feature =related&pos=18

14. Roman Polanski Chinatown – secrets, danger Film noir http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aif eXlnoqY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aif eXlnoqY

15. Political Thrillers In recent years, thrillers have given their stories greater resonance by use of political undertones E.g. The Manchurian Candidate (1964 and 2004) comment on power of CIA, brainwashing during controversial wars

16. Recent Thrillers The Bourne Ultimatum: Contains the elements of quest / chase / conspiracy http://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=DIgXv YOVwgI http://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=DIgXv YOVwgI

17. Why do we love thrillers? “The Thriller remains a fascinatingly flexible form that, at its best, can undermine complacency through a dramatic rendering of psychological, social, familial and political tensions; and can encourage sheltered but sensation-hungry audiences, in Hitchcock's phrase, "to put their toe in the cold water of fear to see what it's like." (Source: BFI Screen online)

18. So, to what extent does The Constant Gardener… match the conventions of a thriller?