Detailed textual analysis of the opening of three films

Carry out a detailed textual analysis of the opening of three films of your genre discuss all the stuff

SE7EN:

The very first thing we get at the opening of this films is the digetic sound of police sirens going off, this sound instantly sets the scene by letting us know that this is not going to be a very happy film, we are greeted by one of the main characters who is wandering round his house getting ready, we see a chess board in the room, giving the hint of intelligence and strong mind to the scene. The man who is getting ready does not seem happy when he is looking in to the mirror, the mirror itself shows a reflection of himself as we later learn he is coming up to retirement so he is reflecting on his past. We see him pick up a badge and a knife, two powerful objects that one show authority but also hint at danger. The rain in this opening never ends and by doing this the director has allowed the sense of gloom to hang over the whole scene of conversation between the two detectives once again allowing the viewer to realise that this is not going to be a happy film. The metronome ticking almost shows balance in the scene, only to be followed up by the credits which are almost opposite as we see different short clips of a person shaving their finger prints off, obviously to show that they are not trying to reveal their identity as they are in contrast causing an up-stir, this is different to the equilibrium of the metronome, the director may have used this to show that even though things may be looking normal that something dark may always be happening.

Inception:

This film starts with the company that created the film being advertised, there is dramatic music from an orchestra playing in the background, this immediately is creating tension for the audience building the suspense in to what the opening might hold. We see a man waking up on a beach with the sound of the ocean clearly recognisable, he looks up only to see a child and their mother, this calming shot is ended quickly as another man comes in the scene with a gun poking the passed out, washed up man in the back to check if he’s alive. By bringing a gun in to the scene we can tell already that this thriller is action packed and as he finds the pistols in the back of the mans trousers we start to think who this man is. This sense of mystery is what can help a thriller movie create tension. He is put in a different environment with a Chinese man, there is a sense of power around this man as he is obviously rich, the main character has his head down as he’s eating showing respect to the man, we don’t know whether to respect this man or if he is going to hurt the main character, so suspense is once again building to keep the audience in their seat. A good thriller will want the audience constantly on the alert, questioning the film and whats happening.

Fight club:

This film is different to the other two as it starts with the title screen, the movie behind the titles is a close up microscopic view of the brain starting out at the fear centre, even if the viewer was not to know where is was we could tell immediately that it has a more psychological side to the thriller, this would be good for people that like to think about a thiller instead of just watching dramatic, tense building scenes. Wondering  what is going to happen in the sequence is part of a good thriller movie. I might want to make our movie have a more direct approach to the film as I think the audience sometimes likes to guess ahead of what’s going to happen, and when it does happen they feel pleased with themselves.