Preparation for January Mock Exam: Film Research

Research of four different types of film

Film 1, American Blockbuster: Gravity (2013)

Gravity is a thriller and space drama American blockbuster directed and co-written by Alfonso Cuaron and his son, Jonas. The film stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as the lead protagonists who play astronauts who manage to survive a mid-orbit destruction of a Space Shuttle.

• Budget: $100 million (approximately)
• Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
• Genre: Space Drama/Thriller
• Box Office: Gravity has grossed $249,699,049 in North America alone as of December 1, 2013. It has grossed an additional $365,600,000 in other countries, making its worldwide box office so far: $615,299,049.
• Production: The film was produced by Warner Bros. after it had been in development at Universal Pictures for several years before the studio sold it to Warner Bros.
• Certificate: The film has received a 12A certificate from bbfc (British Board of Film Classification) for containing sustained moderate threat, disturbing images and some strong language.
• Marketing: The films theatrical release poster is shown to the right and features a close-up shot of the lead Sandra Bullock wearing a space suit helmet in space facing the earth which can be seen through a reflection on the helmets glass. The marketing for the film has been praised by many for being very intriguing without the common use of spoilers as to the outcome of the film. Narrative and visual surprises gave way to word-of-mouth and buzz which most likely attracted additional audiences. The aspect of a shared discover in the theater has also been praised by many.
• Release date: The film was released on November 8, 2013 in the UK in order to potentially not go up against potential Oscar winning films at the Box Office which tend to come out during the winter just before the Oscars occur, despite also being a potential winner according to reviews.
• Reception: Gravity has received a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes 'tomato-meter', meaning that 97% of critics approve of the film, making it certified 'fresh'. This makes Gravity number 14 on the sites top 100 films of 2013. The average rating for the film out of the 279 reviews counted is currently at 9.1/10, making it among one of the best reviewed of the year. The film has been listed by Empire magazine as the best film of 2013 for its ambition and achievement of taking the audience 'out of this world'. The very positive reviews from both critics and audiences from numerous film review aggregate sites have made Gravity into one of the years biggest blockbusters at the Box Office.

Film 2, British film: The World's End (2013)
The World's End is the third and final film in The Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy directed by Edgar Wright which features Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as the lead protagonists. The Two films prior to The World's End instalment were Shaun Of The Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007), both of which were British produced and managed to receive critical acclaim and Box Office success.

• Budget: $20 million (approximately)
• Stars: Simon Pegg (British), Nick Frost (also British). Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are best friends and English actors who rose to national stardom as best friends and therefore their films together often include a subtext of friendship such as in their first film together; Shaun of the Dead (2004) after first appearing together in the hit television sit-com Spaced (1999).
• Genre: The film is a science-fiction comedy, of which often includes and plays with the classic conventions of such and brings new twists to the table; the trio demonstrated this in their previous sic-fi comedies.
• Box Office: The Worlds End has so far earned $46,089,287 at the worldwide box office as of December 5th 2013, which was its closing date after having spent 15 weeks at the box office from August 23, 2013. The majority of the gross profit (54%), $26,004,851, was generated in the UK with the remaining 46% of profit, $20,084,436, being generated over seas in foreign countries such as America. The World's End managed to achieve a higher opening weekend in the UK and USA than its two predecessors in the Cornetto Trilogy, this could be due to many different reasons, my first hypothesis is that this is due to a growing number of fans of the trio's films over the years who desire to watch the film as soon as possible, another could be that the marketing for this film was possibly more effective than the previous two, suggesting that this could be due the stars being a larger part of the marketing campaign than previously.
• Production: The film was produced by Working Title Films and Big Talk Productions, both of which are British film companies, however the film was also co-financed by Relativity Media, of which is an American full-scale film studio. Filming took place, primarily in the United Kingdom in locations such as Hertfordshire, at Elstree Studios, Letchworth and Welwyn City.Welwyn Garden City. 
• Certificate: The film has been given a 15 certificate by bbfc for its use of strong language and strong sex references throughout, in America it received a rating of R for its pervasive language including sexual references.
• Marketing: The films theatrical poster can be seen above, it lists the two of the previous films in the trio's Three Flavour Cornetto Trilogy. Unlike the first film in the Trilogy, Shaun of the Dead, this theatrical poster focuses upon the star power of its leads to bring in box-office success. The poster features the tagline: 'One night. Six Friends. Twelve Pubs. Total annihilation.' This quickly gives the potential audience the premise of the film.
• Release date: The film was released on the 19th July, 2013 in the United Kingdom, it premiered at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square, London on the 10th July. The film was released on 23th August, 2013 in the United States. The films widest release was 1,553 theatres across the globe. 

Film 3, US Independent: Reservoir Dogs (1992)Reservoir Dogs is a crime film, the first of which to be written and also directed by now critically acclaimed director, Quentin Tarantino. The film is about growing paranoia within a group of six individual criminals who joined forces after being recruited by supreme crime boss Joe Cabot to carry out a diamond robbery.

• Budget: $1.5 million (approximately)
• Stars: The film features six main anti-hero protagonists, a convention of the film noir genre, the first being Larry Dimmick, nick-named Mr White who is played by actor Harvey Keitel. The second is Freddy Newandyke, nick-named Mr Orange who's played by Tim Roth, the third is Vic Vega, nick-named Mr Blonde who is played by Michael Madsen, a reoccurring collaborator with Mr Tarantino, of whom also stars in his debut feature as Mr Brown. The fifth member is Mr Pink who is played by Steve Buscemi and the sixth member is Mr. Blue (Eddie Bunker) who is played by Edward Bunker. The Boss himself, Joe Cabot, is played by Lawrence Tierney.
• Genre: Reservoir Dogs is a Crime Film, Thriller
• Box Office: The film opened up in nineteen theaters which led to an opening gross profit of $147,839 in its first week. Following its initial success it was later shown in another 42 cinemas across the world and had a total box office figure of $2,832,029. The film was released on October 23rd, 1992 and closed at the box office after seven weeks of screenings on December 10th. 
• Production: The film was produced by Lawrence Bender who rose to fame along with Tarantino after the films success and has since produced all but two of Quentin Tarantino's films: Death Proof (2007) and Django Unchained (2012). The is an 'Indie' film, which had an original intended budget of just $30,000, of which Tarantino would shoot the film with his friends (including Mr Bender), until, actor Harvey Keitel agreed to be a part of the film and also co-produce it, this led the filmmakers to raise $1.5 million to produce the film. The film was created by Live Entertainment and distributed by Miramax Films, a prominent player in the independent film industry which was acquired by The Walt Disney Company the following year (1993) after the film was released.
• Certificate: The film is rated an R by MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) for its strong language and violence and was given an 18 by bbfc for its contents of strong bloody violence, sex references, torture and strong language throughout.
• Marketing: The film has used many different posters and other marketing tools since its release 21 years ago, however often considered to be its best is the one to the up right. The poster features a shot from one of the films greatest scenes in my opinion, of which is also a climax of the film.
• Release date: The film was released on October 23, 1992 in the U.S on a Friday, around a month into the fall equinox. Many (including Reservoir Dogs), but not all films which open at the box office, open on a Friday, this is to cash-in on a two-day weekend, the time of the week in which most people are likely to spend their pay-check due to added free time as it is the ending of most peoples work week and having received a pay check on the Friday. Friday is also considered a very auspicious day to start a new.
• Reception: QT's first feature film has received critical acclaim by most critics with an average rating of 8.8/10 from most critics on rotten-tomatoes.com, the majority of the audience, 94% in fact, enjoyed the film. In terms on critical reception, 92% of the 59 critics of whom had reviewed the film, enjoyed the film thus giving it a certified 'fresh' rating on the site. In comparison to Tarantino's later pieces, only Pulp Fiction, his 1994 follow up has not only achieved a rating as high, but actually has a higher aggregate rating of 94% based upon 68 critics who reviewed the film, thus making Reservoir Dogs Tarantino's second most well reviewed film. Some criticism which has arisen since the release of Reservoir Dogs is that Tarantino's films tend to be more style than substance.

Film 4, British Independent film: Shaun Of The Dead.

Shaun Of The Dead is a 2004 horror-comedy British independent film staring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, directed by their close friend Edgar Wright. It is the first film in the trios "The Flavors Cornetto Trilogy", and arguably the best according to audience viewers, despite not being the most critically acclaimed. The film entails a heroic escape from an uprising zombie Apocalypse in England.

• Budget: The films budget was approximately just $6,000,000, despite its excellent ensemble cast and special effects.
• Stars: The film features Simon Pegg as Shaun, Kate Ashfield as Liz, Nick Frost as Ed and other comedians/actors which helped the film receive box office success.
• Genre: Shaun of the Dead is a comedy-horror film, of which the title of the film is a take on the classic 1978 horror film 'Dawn of the Dead' directed by George A. Romero.
• Box Office: The film has managed to receive Box Office success after taking in $30,039,392 from a limited release of 607 theaters and home-viewing world-wide, thus generating a profit of approximately twenty-four million dollars as of 02-11-2009, meaning that since it has likely generated even more. On its opening weekend from September 24-26, 2004 it managed to only gross $3,330,781 from the box office, of which made it number 7 at the box office. In its first week of ten at the box office it grossed $4,452,421. The majority of the films revenue since has come from DVD/Blu-ray/digital sales of the film for home viewing, this has helped the film to become known to a wider audience such as that of the U.S.
• Production: The film was produced by French-based film production company StudioCanal and British film production companies; Working Title Films, Big Talk Productions and Film 4 Productions. Shaun of the Dead was Big Talk Productions first feature film after it was founded by Nira Park in 1995, since 2004 the company has co-produced each film in the Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy. After both staring in the 1999 British sit-com Spaced, also produced by Big Talk Productions, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg worked on Shaun of the Dead. The film was distributed by Universal Pictures in the United Kingdom and Rogue Pictures in the United States.
• Certificate: The film has received a 15 certificate by bbfc due to its use of very strong language and strong bloody horror in the United Kingdom. In the U.S the film is rated R for zombie violence/gore and language by MPAA (the Motion Picture Association of America).
• Marketing: The films main theatrical poster in the United Kingdom can be seen above, it includes the films tagline: 'A Romantic Comedy. With Zombies.'. The poster features Simon Pegg closely surrounded by numerous zombies on an apparent red London bus, therefore giving the location of which the film is set. Specific spot lighting is used to draw the attention of the viewers onto the stars (Simon Pegg) presence, however Simon's name does not appear in large on the poster, hence suggesting that he did not have enough star-power at the time to really sell the film to an audience. The film has used a few trailers, of which those targeted towards American viewers have been criticized themselves by critics for revealing far too much of the film.
• Release date: The film was released in 607 theaters in the United Kingdom on April 9th 2004 and on the 24th of September in the United States. The summertime opening-date of the film could have been chosen by the filmmakers to make the film appear as if it were a potential blockbuster. By releasing the film in the summer, the film is more likely to take in a larger box office revenue than if it were released earlier in the winter as it is award season, meaning generally higher quality films are released in time for award ceremonies, therefore meaning more competition for ticket sales. Following the films success in the UK, it was given the go-ahead by its distributors to be viewed in foreign theaters. 
• Reception: The first installment in the Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy, has received critical acclaim by the majority of film critics on rotten-tomatoes.com with a certified 'fresh' rating of 91%. The averaging rating of the 189 critics who reviewed the film being 7.7/10. However audiences have given the film a higher rating on average with 7.8/10 and an overall approval rating of 93% of the audience having enjoyed the film. A brief synopsis of the reviews by the website states: 'Shaun of the Dead cleverly balances scares and witty satire, making for a bloody good zombie movie with loads of wit'. The film was met with criticism by a few who thought that the second half of the film was nothing more than a standard horror-movie with a lack of true comedic moments.