Tuesday, 8 January 2008

The Thriller is a type of genre which is used in literature, film and television. Thrillers often take place in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, or high seas. The heroes in most thrillers are frequently "hard men" accustomed to danger: law enforcement officers, spies, soldiers, seamen, or aviators. However, they may also be ordinary citizens drawn into danger by accident. While such heroes have traditionally been men, women have become increasingly common. The sub-genres include: Action Thriller; Conspiracy Thriller; Crime Thriller; Disaster Thriller; Drama Thriller and Supernatural Thriller.
Examples of films, which are in the ‘Thriller’ genre include:
· Phone Booth
· Ronin
· The Bourne Identity
· The Manchurian Candidate

Other examples of the thriller in movies include Donnie Darko, Red Eye, Psycho, North by Northwest, In the Line of Fire, The Fugitive, Solo Voyage, The 4th floor and Marathon Man. - from http://blackboard.centralsussex.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_271_1

Thrillers usually overlap with mystery stories, but they are distinguished by the structure of their plots. Thrillers also occur on a much grander scale: the crimes that must be prevented are serial or mass murder, terrorism, assassination, or the overthrow of governments. Jeopardy and violent confrontations are standard plot elements. While a mystery climaxes when the mystery is solved, a thriller climaxes when the hero finally defeats the villain, saving his own life and often the lives of others. In thrillers influenced by film noir and tragedy, the compromised hero is often killed in the process.

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