The titles that appear in the lock stock and two smoking barrels are not what you would expect from a crime thriller, due to the fact that it takes form as a crime-thriller-comedy hybrid genre, with comedy having an integral role within the narrative of the film. However, they do conform to the thriller genre as they employ typical conventions of the thriller film with the font being accented with shadow lighting effects. The titles are consistent with the time period the film is set in, as the font is clear and modern. It is a minimalistic bold lettering, which has connotations of a “no nonsense” attitude, something which typifies the British “geezer” genre of film. This font is reflective of the conservative, masculine attitude of the main characters in the narrative. It is apparent that the arrangement of the letters is non-standardised, with the letters being placed in what appears to be an unorganised manner, with the letters not being formatted in a straight line. This can also be seen in similar-era films such as ‘Starsky & Hutch’ and ‘Snatch’. The font itself tells us the film will be serious, whilst the non-standardised arrangement of letters hints towards the comedic elements that are present within the film. This arrangement could also relate to the nature of the characters as it is unorganised, which could reflect the possible incompetence of some of the characters, from which comedy will arise. The simplistic design is also very typical of the director Guy Ritchie, which suggests he would have had some input on the idea, his other films use little colour and are clear, which is found in some of his films such as ‘Rock n Rolla’ and again, ‘Snatch’, which reflects not only the genre of film they take, and the nature of the characters in the film, but also the key demographic he is trying to appeal to with his films.
This is the film title as it appears in the trailer. As you can see they are very easy to read, they are bold and stand out and they have a tilted orientation, which is a stylistic feature included to connote comedy, and hint towards the premise of the film. The picture to the left is also quite funny as you wouldn’t expect that to be a serious picture of the typical ‘gangster’. They also have reference to Britain as the background of the with the use of a union jack, this is included to introduce an element of British national identity to make the film appealing to British people, and people who have an interest in British culture and identity. The black background is also powerful as makes the title and graphic juxtapose with the background and highlight the features of the text. A “smoke” effect is included to make the titles more effective allowing them to take in this image fully and allowing the union jack to have a more empirical effect and allows the union jack to be effective without the need to make it large. The ‘pillar’ the characters appear to be stood on is red which is a connotation of blood and danger, things which are both a big part of the film and very common throughout with gun crime, car crashes and gang rivalry. This could be a dexterical symbol that connotes their status, that they have achieved great heights through the shed of blood and violence. The characters have also been edited into a silhouette which has, they provide us with a sense of mystery and we want to match the characters seen in the trailer to the four seen above, this is a technique used to relate to the audience and make them want to watch it. This use of the white colour reiterates the light tone of the film and further demonstrates it as a hybrid comedy genre film.
It has reference to its three part hybrid genre of comedy, crime and thriller throughout and they are entwined and demonstrated effectively. Crime is an integral element of the film with the involvement of weapons, drugs and gang rivalry being common themes throughout. It is also a thriller because the audience is made to feel tension through tense plot devices to evoke tension for the audience. This is evident in the trailer as one gang member is caught by another and held at gun point, and gang members hide in other gang’s houses, which is an area which they are not welcome. A comedic element arises through the apparent “dopiness” and stupidity of the other characters in the film. There is a scene where a character with a perm is shot and the bullet goes straight through his hair leaving behind a hole of smoke, this is a deliberately unrealistic “slapstick” effect to create comedy as it highlights the incompetence of the character being shot. As exaggerated action in accompaniment with “swooshing” is included as a stylistic device to introduce an element of individuality from other films in this genre, as it assumes a pseudo-cartoon style. It relates to other films directed by Guy Ritchie such as ‘Snatch’ with the thriller and crime side which is why I think he found scope to add humour, this is another reason the hybrid genres are very well portrayed.
The film is rated 18 so the audience intended is people over the age of 18. I think this is a suitable age rating for the film, because it includes adult themes such as weapons and drug usage and sexual content. In addition I think people younger than this age such as 14 or 15 would struggle to understand some of the subtexts and underlying meanings of the plotline and because of this will struggle to make sense of the storyline. The film could have to contain these elements in order to be successful so I think the certificate is appropriate.
The trailer appeals to these by showing the more violent, comedic scenes and clearly hinting that the characters are gangsters and involved with the gangster lifestyle. Stereotypically we know this involves weapons, drugs and sexual content mentioned above so it is clear to the audience that the full version will be rated 18. They do widen the appeal of the film with comedy which could also be a bad thing as younger viewers might be tempted to watch it or secretly download it on the computer without parental consent; I would say this is the only negative connotation of the trailer.
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels had a very unique selling point as it was one of the first successful British gangster crime thrillers at the time it came out in 1998. The fact that comedy and crime had been infused together, but still with its serious tone allowed it to be one of a kind and make it a desirable film to watch. I also think some people would have been able to relate to situations in it throughout or at least hear about the kinds or storylines in everyday conversation, particularly at that time in London as the film also involves lots of modern day issues.
The cast of the film also give it a high reputation and make it very creditable as it includes such actors as Jason Statham and Vinnie Jones. Jason Statham is quite a talented actor so the audience will enjoy watching his performance and he does all his own stunts, another respectable characteristic of an actor. Vinnie Jones is an ex Welsh footballer so he will already have had a largely accumulated fan base through that profession. He is also typically known as a ‘hard man’ so he plays the roll very well. The fact these actors portray the characters perfectly makes this kind of film very successful. In the trailer, the film was regarded as “Fresh, fast and utterly original” by Jonathan Foreman of the New York Post. His compliment will also encourage an audience.
The trailer begins with dialogue from the mouth of Vinnie Jones, he introduces the trailer with “rack them guns up, count the money and put your seat belt on”, and this is diegetic sound. As you can see this tackles the issues of weapons, money and is followed by a humorous comment, neutralising and lightening the mood/situation. As this is the first thing you hear from the trailer before any non-spoken sound you can already get an idea of what the film is going to be like. Music then begins as a guitar chord is strung and a rock riff is layered above it. This runs along with a chase scene were Jason Statham is running away from the police and it provides the action seen on screen with a sense of energy.
In terms of non-diegetic sound, an American narrator then begins to say the reviews it has received over the top of the scene and praise how good it is giving it credibility. This is in direct contrast with the actual film as ‘Lock, Stock’ is very British, but I think buy the narrator having an American accent it mixes it up and makes it less confusing; if the narrator was English it wouldn’t work as well as they would all have similar accents and it would seem quite monotone, America is home to a large culture of film so this also adds to its credibility.
The fast tempo rock soundtrack continues to build to a crescendo throughout as drums and percussion are layered on top, along with bass guitar. This makes us think it will be action packed, full of energy and chaotic throughout with lots of exciting features and scenes as that would fit the soundtrack we are hearing as do the scenes we are shown in the trailer. We also hear diegetic sounds and sound effects of money flickering, guns being reloaded and characters shouting which reassure the audience of what it will be like. Pauses in the narrative speech allow for characters to be introduced or say a few lines from the film, this is a way to tease the audience and leave them on a cliff-hanger which will make them want to watch the film. Halfway through the trailer the first rock song switches to a Classic Brit Pop song by Oasis, this adds credibility as they are a world famous band and it will be another enjoyable part of the trailer for people. Not only this, but fans of Oasis (which would have been millions of people) will be drawn to the film and may become encouraged to see it simply through this feature.
