THRILLERS

[Paul Sifakis]

Hi there!

 

My graduate essay is on directing Thrillers (not horror movies such as Saw or Scream but thrillers like Psycho, The others, sixth sense, etc) and I desperately search for books, articles or essays on the subject.

 

Any online or printed article or book about thrillers and Direction of Thrillers, even Cinematography on Thrillers would be a GREAT help!

 

If anyone knows something please tell me!

 

Thanks!

[Jim Keller]

Is it safe to assume you're looking for citable sources? Obviously, the best education is to watch a lot of thrillers, and the directors' commentaries can be invaluable, but it's only a subset of professors who will allow you to cite such material in your bibliography.

 

I'm not aware of good books specifically on this topic (though I have no doubt some exist), but in the short term I'd suggest doing a periodical literature search on the names of several well-known directors and cinematographers, as most of them have at least been interviewed if not directly written about their experiences. There should be at least several books' worth of material out there, if you've got access to a library with a good periodicals section.

[David Mullen ASC]

Start with the Hitchcock-Truffaut book.

[Alex Ellerman]

BFI Modern Classics... movies like Heat, LA Confidential, Silence of the Lambs, etc. critical analysis from screenplay to cinematography. but every book has a different author, so your mileage will vary.

 

In my unsolicited opinion, you need to iterate the difference between a horror film (horrifying) and a thriller (thrilling), but be wary of the subsets (psychological thriller, action thriller, comedic horror) etc., and really define what you are looking for.

 

to me, Psycho was a horror movie when it was released, but by today's standards, it is a thriller. the bar for gore has just moved so far.

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=se...amp;x=0&y=0

[Claude Mangold]

also check out :

 

- Derry, C., The Suspense Thriller, Jefferson NC, 1988 old but useful

 

- Rybin, S., The Cinema of Michael Mann, Lanham MD, 2007

 

more about writing, but still: reading up on Syd Field can be very illuminating

 

and Vogler (The Writer's Journey), see Shapeshifters