Analysis of 2 film openings


“Get rich or die trying”- Jim Sheridan- 2006

The opening starts with some gangster fast paced music along with the titles appearing in different locations.
The first shot is of a car side mirror we see the reflection of other cars behind the main car, the we see inside the car the first shot is a close up of the main character which tells us that he must be an important character in the film because he is the first character in the scene and it’s a close up of him. Next we see another character who is putting on some leather gloves then we see a teenager sitting in the back seat, his facial expression looks like he is really scared and does not want to be there, this immediately tells the audience that something bad is going to happen next we see the men loading up there guns which proves the audience right. Once the car stops again the camera records in the car side mirror and slowly zooms in on a shop on the street this is a very weird way to film something and can make the audience feel on edge. Moving on the boy knocks on a door and as soon as the man opens it they all run in with there guns up as this is happening we hear a constant screeching sound which a type of sound that will send a shiver down your spine and once they are in the room there everything speeds up there are a lot of cutting of the camera and quick movements with the camera is well which makes the action even more tense as well as the music. As all this is going on the camera goes to a medium/close up shot of the main character who tells the teenager to stop moving and then cuts back to the main character were we see him wink at the kid this causes an enigma, and you want to carry on watching to see the outcome of the robbery.

I think this is a good opening sequence because there is action from the start of the film and gets you hooked as soon as you hear the music. A few minutes after the robbery the main character gets shot 9 times and then it goes back to tell the story of his life and how he ended up in that position a technique seen in some film noirs. As the opening is very interesting it makes you want to watch the rest of the film and to see how he ended up doing what he is and if he dies from the gunshots or not.

This is also how are own opening is like its tense from the start and starts at the end and tells the story of how the character ended up were he is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx57e33rSvo


“Seven”- David Fincher -1995


I chose this next film opening because when it is really different I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film opening like this one. It is a really weird opening and from the start put loads of questions in to my head straight away I think it will have the same effect on other people is well, even thought it made me feel uncomfortable I still wanted to watch the rest of the film to find the answers to all the questions I was thinking of.

The film starts with pages been flicked on a book and the some titles appear, the titles are all blurred and not right they kind of look like blood dripping down a mirror, they are pretty small and the lettering is thin making it difficult to read.

The opening sequence doesn’t give away nothing at all you cannot see any of the characters identity, you cant even see the location there in, the camera cuts to different shots quickly and doesn’t allow you to focus on a certain thing, the images you do see are also quite disturbing at one point you see a blade taking a bit of skin of a finger, these aren’t the typical type of things you would expect to see at a start of the film, this is a unique point about the film.
The music is kind of slow however a range of different noises are used in it.
Everything to do with the opening to do with this film doesn’t make sense this is why it is so interesting and makes you want to watch it.

I hope are film noir will make the audience ask themselves questions like who is he? Why is he tied up? Why has he been beaten up? Etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEZK7mJoPLY&feature=related