American Gangster is a perfect example for our film trailer because the plot does not revolve around the typical Italian Mafia; ultimately the perspective from an African-American mafia is the unique selling point of this film. The importance of family and integrity is a key theme in this film which has transferred to our film trailer.
New York City is clearly identified as the location because of the establishing shot; Denzel Washington's first line enhances the effect of the establishing shot for he states the name of the city. The audience are immediately informed that he is the protagonist because of the way he is walking in the middle of the group while the other characters surround him eagerly listening to his words. Some gangster iconography include: the first walking sequence and the shooting. When the narrative references keywords such as 'business', the scene cuts to a matching scene like the note-counter counting a stack of dollar bills - money is also an iconography of the gangster genre.
As the narrative progresses, the jump-cuts between the police's perspective and the gangster's perspective divide the audience because we see two sides of the story. The contrasting attitudes of the gangster and the police displays the conflict between these two opposing sides. The police view these actions as crimes whereas the gangsters' warped view is that these crimes are justified as hard work. The luxury and wealth of the gangster is a typical convention of gangster films and in this trailer it is portrayed by the large mansion and stylish suits. The protagonist is most likely described as an anti-hero and is said to be the "most dangerous man" because he commits crimes like murder but for the good of his family, therefore he does not possess the typical attributes of a hero.
A problem arises when the police begin to investigate the gangster and his family is threatened. A police car interrupts the gangster's peace as it appears in a shot with the mansion. Overall, this trailer ends ambiguously because he drops the gun in the last scene which could mean many things. The hip hop music in the middle of the trailer suits the African-American perspective as hip hop originated from people of colour. The intertitles entice the audience to watch the film as they reveal that this film is based on a true story, the famous director and celebrity actors, highlighting their awards and achievements in smaller text.The click of a gun closes the trailer with credits that include the distribution and production companies which conforms to the conventions of a trailer and sustains the gangster theme throughout.
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