The Untouchables
The Untouchables is a gangster film set in prohibition era america when gangster Al Capone ruled the alcohol trade, Agent Eliot Ness is tasked with bringing down Al Capone's empire. This scene is a shoot-out/stake-out waiting for the book keeper of Capone's empire. The starting shot is an establishing shot which then tilts downwards to keep the centre people within the frame and then comes into a mid-shot of a singular man. Showing that he has been separated from the person he entered with while also showing he is a character of key significance. The camera then pans upwards and tilts so thats its focused on the other important character in the scene. Throughout the scene the clock is always visible and the main character looks to it several times, this creates a passage of time and shows its important to the plot. This creates tension as it build when time continues on. Mise-en-scene is present as the exist scene is clearly visible throughout the scene until the end when the target of the main character is trapped, this is a way of showing his lack of way out.
This is an eye-line edit, this shows the characters point-of-view and what he was looking at, this makes you feel very immersed in the movie and it creates tension and a sense of wanting to know what is going to happen next. The next shot is a birds-eye view of a baby with diegetic sound of it crying, to show that the baby will be relevant to the continuing plot within the film. The eye-line shot continues onto the door once again with the exit sign still visible. this shows a continuation of time but also creates tension and suspense within the audience. The lighting of the scene is very bright will clear view of the entire scene and nothing is hidden. This creates a wide open area and makes the scene look bigger. As the scene progresses the diegetic sound of the mother talking to the child from the previous shot has been overlapped by non-diegetic music, the music is tense and seemingly violins that are slowly building up as the camera goes from the main character to the door several times in a shot-reverse-shot. Other sounds are mixed into this. For example there is a train announcers voice off screen that adds another layer of realness to the scene and once again draws the audience in.
The main character is shown to keep looking at the baby and the woman and back to the clock, with a close-up of the clock it seems like an internal struggle that the character is having to go and help the woman has won and the importance of time is once again brought to the audiences attention and the viewer can't help but have a small amount of affection at the fact that even though time is important he is still willing to help the woman and the child. A backwards tracking shot that involves the camera panning shows the man moving towards to woman and child and beginning to help them up the staircase. As this is happening men begin to fill into the train-station and as the pram goes up a step a 'thack' sound is made whilst non-diegetic music begins to start adding more suspense and tension. As the ensemble moves higher and higher up the stairs nearer the exit point and under the ever so important clock the 'thack' sound becomes louder and louder, with the camera moving from shot to shot showing the man, then the men he's after and the child with the mother talking in the background it creates a confusing scene in the audiences head as each of the images flicker on the screen, with each showing of the baby it creates a sense of dread within the audience.The baby begins to cry as the scene hits its climax and is seconds before the shoot out begins.
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