Trailer Analysis - Delicatessen (1991)

DELICATESSEN



I have chosen to analyse this trailer as although it is set in a post-apocalyptic setting, it is not made inherently obvious in the trailer, and it is not a very important part of the film. The trailer is also strange as the plot isn't described in the trailer at all.

Camera angles, shots and movement

• Near to the start of the trailer, there is a close up of someone holding a knife, this connotes danger.
  
• At the end of the trailer, there is an extreme high-angle shot from behind two people. This again conveys a sense of danger.
  
• Following this, there is a low-angle shot where someone chops down onto the camera with a cleaver. This is an obvious sign of danger.

Mise-en-scene

• The first shot of the trailer is a high-angle establishing shot which shows a swinging sign on the wall of a shop that says 'Delicatessen'. This shot is typically used to show people walking outside a shop, however, there is no one there, suggesting abandonment which connotes a post-apocalyptic setting.
  
• Following this, there is a shot featuring snails on a record player. This conveys the idea of nature reclaiming the earth that is often prevalent in post-apocalyptic films.
  
• Shortly after this, we see two people dressed in 40s/50s clothing. This clothing has connotations of war and nuclear threat, as those things were prevalent at that point in time.
  
• In the same shot, we can see that the room is cluttered. This gives an impression of hoarding, which is a stereotypical element of post-apocalyptic fiction.
  
• Soon after we see a shot of a man sharpening a cleaver, which has connotations of danger.
  
• Following shortly after this, there is a shot of a man listening through a wall. This connotes hostility.

Editing

• Throughout the trailer, everything is in rhythm with the 40s/50s music. This is creative and makes the trailer more memorable, which means that people will be more likely to watch it.

Sound

• Throughout the trailer, there is 40s/50s music. This has connotations of war and nuclear threat as it is music from the time of the cold war, and after the world had witnessed the destructive power of the atomic bomb.