Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film. The film centers on the titular character, down-on-her-luck prostitute Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) who is hired by a wealthy businessman and corporate raider, Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) to be his escort for several business functions, and their developing relationship.
Mise en scene in pretty woman shows in the opening scene a wealth exsclusive penthouse party, costumes display taste and money and the setting portrays an upper-class start to the film. As the opening progresses the mise en scene through the use of costumes, dialogua and surrounding contrast the opening scene to that of the red light district in beverly hill. Mise en scene uses lighting to portray the mood of the shot, the lightin dims as the opening progresses showin a change of mood and situation.
Camera Angles in Pretty Woman uses pans to illustrate the influencial and dominant characters. Ariel shots are used to show the city and give the audience a sense of location. The close up of womens body parts such as lips, legs and breasts, show women as objects in the film and give us an insight into the plot and how women will be viewed in it. Close ups are also used to show significant landmarks such as the 'Hollywood' sign, reinforcing the theme of luxury.
Sound as in most romantic comedies sports a soundtrack that documants the thoughts and emotions of its characters. In the establiching scene there is the diagetic sound of piano a sound instrument is used, as opposed to those used in horror films such as violins that have a harsher sound and connoatations. The music increases in volume and tempo the further away from the upper class party Richard Gere gets, showing the transition into another enviroment and making the character seem even further removed from their usual enviroment.
Editing in Pretty Woman is seamless however cuts quicken with the movement of the car in the opening scene, thsi illustrates speed and the movement of time. Cuts are also made between the 2 main characters Julia Roberts and Richard Gere to highlight their differences in lifestyle.
Pretty Woman was initially intended to be a dark drama about prostitution in Los Angeles but was reconceptualized into a romantic comedy. The film was a critical success and became one of 1990's highest grossing films, and today is one of the most financially successful entries in the romantic comedy genre, with an estimated gross of $464 million USD.