The opening of this thriller begins with scratchy bells ringing and the entire outlook is all set within a blue colour. The opening is blue dominated, which symbolises the sad and sorrowful atmosphere - this is appropriate for a thriller, so this effect actually works very well.
The firs character we see is crouching next to a dead girl, and on her wrist is a blue bracelet which also mixes in with the blue overlook. The music is bone chilling and the feeling of being cold comes into it also, so audiences realise how depressing the director is trying to make the film look.
"Zodiac"
This thriller opens up with a tracking shot from a car pulling up to a house. The suspense builds as soon as the man gets into the car with the girl, and they pull up to a deserted place. It is dark outside, and the radio in the car is playing faintly in the background. The people in the car jump when a group of people have sneaked up behind them and set off fireworks. They calm down when the group drive off. But then we see a shadowed figure walk up to the car and we cannot see his/her face. This makes the audience wonder who it is, especially when the person shoots the boy and the girl, then walks off. This creates an interesting opening and makes the audience wonder what is going to happen next.
"No Country For Old Men"
At the beginning of this film, there is no music and just an opening speech. We are unsure of who it is that is speaking, but it is pretty clear to the audience that it is a grown man from the West. Throughout the speech, on screen we see a series of tracking shots of the West, and then it cuts to another scene where a police officer is talking on the phone. Most of the colours we have seen so far are similar beige and brownish colours that are quite neutral. But then there is a sense of dramatic irony when we see a dark figure size up the man on the phone in the back ground, the black clothes he is wearing contrasting with everything else so that the audience instantly know he is symbolising danger. There is dramatic irony here because he slowly creeps up behind the police officer and prepares to strangle him, but the man is unaware of this and only the audience are. When the dark man strangles him, there is a great rolling shot of his struggling to show the madness of the situation, as this is probably one of the most shocking scenes in the film.
"A History Of Violence"
At the beginning of the film there is no music and the opening is pretty basic and ordinary. There is an eerie hissing sound at the start of it, and the characters exchange words with no emotion in their voices. When the tracking shot of the man pulling up in his car is over, we see him get up and walk into the building, and this is where the chilling music slowly begins to build up. It starts off very minor and then gets louder and more dramatic. The situation falls into panic when the man reveals a corpse on the floor. The music becomes very over the top at this point, and then the man slowly pulls out a gun when he sees the little girl appear. He puts a finger to his lip and then pulls the trigger aiming the gun at her, then the gunshot is fired which triggers the screaming of a different girl in the next scene. This leaves the audience in frustration because they are left wondering what happened to that girl and the man with the gun - did she really end up getting shot?
"No Country For Old Men"
At the beginning of this film, there is no music and just an opening speech. We are unsure of who it is that is speaking, but it is pretty clear to the audience that it is a grown man from the West. Throughout the speech, on screen we see a series of tracking shots of the West, and then it cuts to another scene where a police officer is talking on the phone. Most of the colours we have seen so far are similar beige and brownish colours that are quite neutral. But then there is a sense of dramatic irony when we see a dark figure size up the man on the phone in the back ground, the black clothes he is wearing contrasting with everything else so that the audience instantly know he is symbolising danger. There is dramatic irony here because he slowly creeps up behind the police officer and prepares to strangle him, but the man is unaware of this and only the audience are. When the dark man strangles him, there is a great rolling shot of his struggling to show the madness of the situation, as this is probably one of the most shocking scenes in the film.
"A History Of Violence"
At the beginning of the film there is no music and the opening is pretty basic and ordinary. There is an eerie hissing sound at the start of it, and the characters exchange words with no emotion in their voices. When the tracking shot of the man pulling up in his car is over, we see him get up and walk into the building, and this is where the chilling music slowly begins to build up. It starts off very minor and then gets louder and more dramatic. The situation falls into panic when the man reveals a corpse on the floor. The music becomes very over the top at this point, and then the man slowly pulls out a gun when he sees the little girl appear. He puts a finger to his lip and then pulls the trigger aiming the gun at her, then the gunshot is fired which triggers the screaming of a different girl in the next scene. This leaves the audience in frustration because they are left wondering what happened to that girl and the man with the gun - did she really end up getting shot?
I'm pleased you have started this work. Even more detailed analysis is needed. Watch each scene a few times. Analyse exactly what the Director has done. Think about Camera, Editing, Sound and Mise en Scene. Don't forget to complete the final film opening.
ReplyDeleteMr Williamson