Research of 'Once upon a time in America'

Name of Film: Once upon a time in America
Director: Sergio Leone
Release Date: 1st June 1984
Funding Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
Audience Response: Average rating for the film is 8.4/10
Demographic who find it most appealing: The group that find it most appealing is males under 18.



The establishing shot of Eve is a close up (silhouette) of her framed in a door way. Noir lighting is used to create the effect of fear and danger as you just a figure at the door. The first sound is the door opening before you can see anything, this installs fear into the audience as they can't see what is happening and what is there.



The noir lighting in this shot gives the feeling of isolation and danger. We can only see her face so anything could be about to jump out in front of her. The sound used in this shot is diegetic, with only footsteps being heard and the rustling of which we hope is her coat and not someone ese's in the dark.




The sound in the background is ‘God Bless America’. This is an ironic statement about the condition of New York in the 30’s, suggesting that they were violent, making them a dangerous place to be. It also gives the audience a clue of what is going to happen next in the scene. The purpose of the shot is to increase fear into the audience. Eve looks small and vunerable in this shot making her seem powerless to what ever is waiting for her in the darkness of the room. She is seen as the same size as the bottles on the table at the sides of the mise-en-scene, this suggests that she is worthless in the big world of 'gangsters' and is important as two glass bottles.



This is the first shot in which we see Eve's face. The light gives off a warm glow which gives the sense that with the lights on Eve is safe from the danger of the dark. The light alos makes her seem like a beautiful angle, symbolizing that Eve is the femme fatale. There is no music being played at this moment int the time, this makes the scene feel eerie and adds the sense of danger and being powerless.



This shot gives a sense of mystery of what the holes are and what is under the bed. The audience want to know what is underneath, but they also know that if Eve pulls the covers up she will be in danger and willing her not to. This is a genre convention that is in most thrillers, the woman doing something which she shouldn't and the audience know that in the end she will die because of her mistake.