Thriller - Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons
Director: Ron Howard, (2009)

The film Angels & Demons is about a professor uncovering the mystery behind the kidnapping of several cardinals who are the favourites to be the next pope and are due to be executed. It stars Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor.

Camera: The camera, at the start, zooms out of an extreme close-up of a golden ring, which is later to be found out from the narrator as the Pope's ring. It pans around the ring and shows clearly the insignia or coat-of-arms upon the ring.

The camera then cuts to a tray of tools and the cloth being taken off. There are then several close-up shots of the ring being prepared and the tools being taken. A mid-shot is then shown of a priest with a sad expression. He raises the tolls and before he can hammer, it cuts to a close-up of the impact upon the  ring. This is done for effect, showing the impact and the effect that the tools are having upon the ring. It is then shown by a close-up on the ring again that a cross has been marked into it, showing more religious symbols and hinting to religious themes within the film.

It then cuts to ring being destroyed completely and then a seal being placed upon some ribbon which could possibly hold an important document together. There is then a close-up of the seal, at this time a narrator explains that once a pope has died then the cardinals then are sealed for nine days of mourning. This links with the image shown as the papal seal is also being placed upon the documents.

A shot is then shown of outside the Vatican where many people have gathered as the deceased pope is brought out.

The narrator also explains this. The narration is done in the style of a news reporter and later we see a news reporter outside of the Vatican.

Editing: The editing within the opening sequence has a slow motion shot on the hammer as it is brought down upon the ring. This to add emphasis on the ring being hit and destroyed. It also features blurred effects while the camera in zoomed in very very closely to the ring, until it zooms out. This also adds emphasis on how close the camera is to the ring.

Mise-en-scene:

The costume show religious figures such as cardinals and priests, wearing that kind of attire. The colours are a vibrant red and a black. Black is usually represented as 'evil' or 'bad' which could mean that either that character is bad or evil, or perhaps that evil is coming. The red also could signify this as red is the colour of danger. The lighting within the opening scene is natural, showing it to be daylight. The setting is, from the cut of outside, the Vatican. This shows the film to be religious or have heavy religious themes to it.

Sound:

• There is the sound of a narrator, describing why the ring as being destroyed.
• violin - sad - representing angels from the title
• choirs/drums - representing demons from the title
• mysterious
• choirs - religious
• threatening
• powerful
• god-like

The music within it is powerful. At the start it begins with violins hinting that a sad event has occurred, which is confirmed as the narration that begins later that the pope has just died. The violins could also represent the angels as it says in the title of the film. The music then goes on to become more religious, with choirs sounding and drums playing. This hints at an upcoming danger within the film. It also could representing the demons as it says in the titles. The sound of the choirs can be quite frightening as they sound powerful and dangerous, perhaps as if they are heralding some danger that is yet to come within the film.

When the hammer strikes the ring, the music stops, showing that the destruction of the ring has some significance. Then, afterwards more choirs sound but they are more melancholy and sad. This could signify that a era has passed and something has been lost.

Titles: The titles are in serif font. By doing this it makes the film look more formal and more serious than if it was in sans serif. It fades in and fades out, it becoming golden and as if it is a camera reflecting light in the lens as it fades in and out.

There are also many other titles such as the ones for the companies. The iconic woman holding the torch for Columbia Pictures at the start. It then goes on to show more subsidiary companies such as Imagine Entertainment and Skylark Productions.

The Opening Sequence