a) Attempt a ‘purely textual’ approach to its combination of sound, cinematography, editing and performance.

b) Then argue how this might be related to theories of the genre(s) or other groupings (eg authorship discourses) by which your chosen film has usually been classified.

Film Chosen: The Untouchables, 1987, 119 min.

Synopsis of Film: Set in the 1930s Chicago during the alcohol prohibition era where corruption runs riot. Federal Treasury Agent Eliot Ness is on a mission to hunt down big crime boss Al Capone. Ness gathers together a team to help him: a sharp shooting rookie George Stone, an experienced cop-on-the-beat Jim Malone and his accountant colleague Oscar Wallace. Using unconventional means typical of the 1920s/30s mob wars, the four wage a shoot out battle to bring Capone and his empire to justice.

Film Clip Chosen: Jim Malone is in his apartment where he is violently shot down by assassin Nitti aided by another member of Capone’s mob.

The film begins with an establishing shot of Malone’s apartment. This is vital as it informs t

Distinct and impressive sound and editing are effectively combined in the consequent frames: a low level shot of Malone presents him crawling back along the corridor towards the audience, drenched in blood. This excellent choice of shot mixed with the sound of Malone’s coughing, the vivid red splutterings of blood and the contortion of his body present to the audience a tense and disturbing scene signifying his immense notion of pain. Non-diegetic sound intensifies the drama of the scene as a rolling drum beat expressing a rumble of thunder is heard whilst Malone continues to crawl, this is interspersed with the rasping diegetic sound of Malone’s violent coughing. As the thundering drumbeat dies down an operatic voice follows, fading in quietly at first, increasing with volume simultaneously with the intensity of Malone’s coughing. The camera then cuts to a completely different scene and the sound becomes diegetic (thus revealing its source) presenting to the audience an extreme close up of the male opera singer on the left hand side of the frame. Spectators are seen in the background and as the camera tracks in closer it becomes clear that the spectators are Capone and his cronies. The editing between the two scenes of the perishing Malone and Capone seated at the opera illustrates an effective juxtaposition of the shots, the scene with Malone not only shows his physical struggle fighting for life but also symbolises the struggle of his character striving to overcome the corruption of Capone and his empire. The camera tracks into a close up of Capone who is wiping his eyes with a handkerchief, on a denotative level this presents Capone being overcome with emotion from the opera. Nitti appears in the shot behind Capone and bending down to whisper in his ear. There is no dialogue but the sound of the opera strengthens, and Nitti appears whispering to Capone. The visual action of Nitti informing Capone and the creative juxtaposition between the two scenes, cross-cutting back to Malone fighting for life, and back again to Capone in the theatre all construct a dramatic irony for the audience. A the opera reaches its resounding crescendo Capone’s emotion changes and his expression shows a sickly smile creeping across his face. The opera reaches its resounding crescendo signifying to the audience that he has got his revenge – Malone is no longer a threat.

The lighting tones in the alleyway mirror the lighting from the street scene at the beginning, it is low key creating sinister shadows and a murky atmosphere, this is also enhanced by the old, dark brown, stone wall of the setting. However, the costume of Nitti provides a stark contrast to the lighting as he is dressed in a crisp, white suit and hat, vibrantly picking him out of the shadows, this effectively illustrates Strauus’s theory of binary opposites. A sense of irony is evoked by this costume choice because the colour white usually has connotations of purity, goodness and innocence, this costume choice provides the audience with a challenging visual code as he is clearly the villain.

Malone is seen opposite the bathroom door with his back to the camera, he is in a vulnerable position and is unaware he is being watched which continues building the tension. He then walks out of sight as the camera proceeds to track round into a long shot of the corridor. The choice of setting in this frame compliments the cinematography extremely well, the use of the long corridor correlates with the long shot and smooth movement of the camera to build the pace and hold the tension as the assassin advances forward to find Malone. The audience are kept in the assassin’s position as he creeps towards the back door, his hand appears again as he moves to open it. The use of sound within the scene is crucial; it plays a vital role to enhance the level of anxiety within the progression of the narrative. At the beginning high-pitched piano chords chime at slow pace combi

Some topics in this essay:
Bordwell Thompson, Jim Malone, Malone Capone, De Palma’s, Palma’s Untouchables, Untouchables Essay, De Palma, Wallace Using, Stephen Burum, Federico Fellini, de palma’s, close ups, camera cuts, malone’s apartment, shot nitti, machine gun, audience positioned, camera tracks, city street, costume choice, city street night, director brian de, brian de palma, opera reaches resounding, cuts medium close,